Remember, story progresses in PRODUCTION order. We've had Where No Man Goes Before,and Corbormite Maneuver. This chapter directly follows Mudd's Women.

It wasn't often that Jim felt like his first officer was laughing at him. But ever since Mudd had stepped foot on the ship Jim had been certain that was exactly what Spock was doing behind those pointy ears of his.

At least Jim could say with all certainty he hadn't been nearly as taken in as the rest of his crew. Maybe he'd seen too many pretty faces, but while lovely and unquestionably alluring the women hadn't been enough to completely undo him. Scotty and McCoy, by all accounts, had been much worse off. And Jim wasn't even going to mention the crew in general. The slobber had been an inch thick on the deck plates. If they'd stayed much longer the female crew members would have skinned the women alive.

Still, Jim was positive Spock wasn't laughing at the others quite like this.

That Vulcan smirk was still on his face hours after they'd left the colony. Even sitting here across the table contemplating his next chess move Spock was acting amused. How he'd gotten to be able to read the man so quickly was a mystery, but James Kirk never questioned a talent when it presented itself. So he could read the half-Vulcan like a book. Big deal. At the moment that wasn't helping him one bit. An amused Vulcan was not good company if the source of said amusement was your own foolishness.

Spock looked up from the chess board and raised his eyebrow in question before he gave a resigned sigh and pushed the board aside. "Eve was a remarkable woman."

Jim looked up in surprise. Now that he had his captain's attention Spock leaned back in his chair and regarded the other man with dark eyes. "She apologized for Mudd when he insinuated I had no feelings. Remarkable that she would believe it necessary to do so." Spock's mouth gave a small quirk that Jim had come to recognize as irritation. "I'd rather have had an apology for being called part 'Vulcanian' as well as knowing how he was able to discern my hybrid status." Spock crossed his arms stiffly. "Why you Terrans insist on placing unnecessary suffixes onto other species names is simply beyond my comprehension."

Jim couldn't stop the laugh that fairly burst out of him at that. "Spock, you mean to tell me you were more insulted that he mangled your specie's name than that Eve assumed you were offended by being called emotionless?"

Spock drew up sharply. "Captain, I simply recognized Eve's good intentions. She had little exposure to outside culture. For her it was natural to assume I would take offense. It is Mudd that I find…repugnant." Spock gave a small frown. "The term 'Vulcanian' is somewhat vulgar and is generally only used by pro-human factions. The last time I was called such it was by a group of drunken cadets that resented my appointment at the Academy. I did not appreciate Mudd's use of the term. The man was…abhorrent."

"To tell you the truth I found him rather amusing, if troublesome." Jim admitted with an apologetic smile. "It's an unfortunate truth that it's men like that who are responsible for Earth's rapid colonization. It's…a painful reality."

"Men like that are why humans are banned from several star systems." Spock muttered. "My mother would have loved to have gotten her hands on him. She'd have likely caused him permanent harm."

Jim took a sip of his drink and relaxed back in his chair. "Why? What does she have against his kind? From the way you said that it sounds personal."

Spock looked away for a moment as if gathering his thoughts. "Personal matters are rarely discussed by Vulcans, Jim." Spock let out a soft sigh. "But it is my understanding that doing so is imperative to what you humans call friendship." Spock locked eyes with his captain. "I ask that you do not share this information."

It was only when Jim nodded his consent that Spock started talking again. "Mother wasn't born on Earth. Her family were spacers and she thinks she was born in flight somewhere near Andoria. They didn't even bother to record the exact day let alone the location. Her father was much like Mudd- at least by her description. He was unscrupulous, manipulative, and generally motivated by the basest portion of his nature. She left the ship one day when it was docked at a spaceport in Tellarite territory. She was looking for a new pair of shoes. He made her mother leave her there. Later, when the authorities caught up to them, they claimed she was too much of a financial burden. They turned her custody over to the Federation. The spaceport authorities estimated she was 6 Earth years old at the time, although her growth had been negatively affected by constant space travel with an inadequately shielded vessel and a lack of proper nutrition. It is possible she was considerably older. Her birth parents hadn't even bothered to teach her the basics of the alphabet. She couldn't even sign her name on the court documents."

Jim hung his head. "I'm sorry, Spock. I wish that was the first story like that I've heard. It's…not a good way to start life."

"No, it is not." Spock agreed. "However, she was adopted by an older couple without children and taken to Earth. They provided her with remedial education and she was able to quickly catch up to her peers. By the time she entered secondary school there was little left of the uneducated, frightened child she had been. All that remains of that past is her intense dislike for individuals like Harcourt Fenton Mudd."

"You didn't seem to hate him when he was here." Jim shook his head in confusion. "I could tell you didn't care for the man, but you don't seem to have inherited your mother's hatred."

Spock picked up a chess piece and twirled it absently in his fingers. "No, I did not. Mudd was not the one that abandoned my mother. His crimes are not nearly so onerous as those of my biological grandfather."

Jim leaned forward against the table. "Did you ever try to find them? Your mother's birth parents I mean."

Spock shook his head. "My father located mother's parents when I was born. According to Vulcan custom a child forges a slight mental bond with close family members. While my father did not intend for that to take place with my biological human grandparents he still wished for them to be present for the ceremony seeing as both my mother's adoptive parents had already passed. He thought confronting her birth parents might help mother to let go of her pain. He considered my birth the ideal impetus for reconciliation – as a diplomat he thought he was suited to the task of arbitrating their meeting." Spock set the chess piece down with a sharp clang. "He found my grandfather serving a life sentence in a rehabilitation colony for killing my grandmother and my infant aunt not two years after he'd abandoned mother at the spaceport."

"Oh God, Spock, I'm so sorry." Jim risked a hand on Spock's arm and was slightly shocked when Spock didn't shake it off. "That had to be a terrible thing to grow up knowing."

"I did not." Spock lowered his eyes to where Jim's hand still rested on his arm but made no attempt to remove it. "He did not inform mother of his discovery. It was not until I made the announcement my decision to enter Star Fleet Academy that he informed us. He thought the knowledge of my ancestry would compel me to stay on Vulcan and to go further in the study of the mental disciplines. He thought mother would take his side in this, believing as he did that it was necessary for me to have more control because of this familiar history of violence. He did not understand why mother was insulted by this. She had been apposed to my choice, but after father's revelation she helped me pack."

Jim squeezed Spock's arm once before letting go. "Mothers are highly interesting creatures, Spock. She was probably worried as hell about you but her anger at your father was enough to make her go firmly to your camp. After all, he'd just insulted both of you and linked her to a man she hated. It's not surprising she sided with you."

"It did not last." Spock 's mouth gave another quirk of irritation. "She thought I would take a planet bound assignment or stay on as an instructor at the Academy. When I wrote to her of my assignment to the Enterprise under Pike she was…displeased."

"She was worried." Jim clarified. "You're an only child, right? She doesn't have anyone else besides you and your father. It's not easy being that alone."

Spock nodded. "I know. I still have a tentative link to mother and on occasion I can detect…her feelings on the matter. Although she is human she has always been able to maintain the Vulcan mental bonds. We stay in periodic contact, when father is away and she can manage to get a message to me undetected."

"He won't even let her send a message?" Jim asked, his anger growing towards Spock's father.

"He has not forbidden it." Spock explained. "He refuses to hear of me and no longer claims me as a son, but he did not place such a restriction on mother. But it is hard for her to communicate to me and then not mention something to him. It is easier for her to limit contact. Society on Vulcan is far more structured than on Earth. If it were common knowledge that she had maintained contact with a disowned child against her husband's wishes it would make life more difficult for her than it already is."

Jim sighed. "You miss her."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "To miss her would be to show an emotion."

"Yeah, yeah it would." Jim agreed and smiled softly at Spock. It was obvious that Spock wasn't going to come right out and say it, but the man clearly missed his mother. Spock never wanted to be accused of being half-human, never wanted it to be obvious in his behavior or visage, but he was always quick to admit his connection to this human in particular. Jim wasn't about to call him a mama's boy to his face, but it was readily apparent who Spock was closest to of his family, disownment not taken into consideration. Spock clearly didn't feel like sharing anything else either, his body language conveying he was starting to feel uncomfortable. Oh a whim, Kirk turned the conversation back onto himself. "So, what horrific childhood drama would you like to know in return? I've got a ton of dirt on my brother Sam. Did you know he almost got a girl pregnant in school?"

Spock's eyebrow slowly lowered. "I am not accustomed to asking personal questions, Jim. However, if you are offering, I have been puzzled by something I discovered prior to your taking command. I have found it useful to read the personnel files for incoming ship crew and did so when your name was listed as a possible replacement for Pike. Perhaps you could explain why there is a sealed note in your personnel record dating from your early teen years? You were not yet even in consideration for the academy. It is unusual that a civilian would be in a situation that would warrant a sealed note on their record, one that would follow them into service years later. I did not feel it was my place to use my security clearance to pry into your personal matters and thus did not open the sealed portion of your record. If it is not too personal, what is the note and why is it sealed? Granted it requires a very low security clearance to access, but it is unusual."

Jim felt himself go pale and Spock immediately started to apologize. "No, Spock. Don't. You have every right to ask. It's no more personal what you just shared." Jim took a deep breath. "When I was a kid I did pretty well in school. There was this exchange program for gifted students that sent kids out to colony worlds and let us get some exposure to different cultures and the technologies that were being used out in the field. I'm from a farming area and I'd done a few science fair projects on alternative grain production methods so when this program started up I applied to the agricultural section and was accepted. I was supposed to spend 6 months on an agricultural colony where I could see some of those alternative methods in action." Jim swallowed thickly "The note…I was on Tarsus IV."