-AN-

Thank you all so much for the encouragement and advice! It really means a lot to me! Well anyways here is the next chapter. It is a little cliff hanger-y and I do apologize for that. However since it is the summer time I should be able to keep updating regularly. J

Also I'm going to be putting telepathic speech in bold italic and alien language in italic. We will just have to see how this works. Hopefully smoothly…lol

Enjoy!

-Spock-

The Star Fleet convention center is covered in a broad spectrum of colored lights. As the center is usually white I assume that this was done to signify the diversity of the United Federation of Planets.

Mother steps out of the shuttlecraft first with the assistance of one of the attendees. "Well we have finally made it boys! Isn't it nice to be able to move around?" She turns around and waits for an answer from my father and I. We both give her a quick nod before disembarking from the craft.

"Amanda I will have to depart from you both now as I am going to be a key speaker in a diplomatic panel this evening. I trust that you will be capable of navigating the convention on your own."

"Yes, yes Sarek we will both be fine. Maybe Spock and I can browse the merchant alley to do a bit of shopping before the main lecture in the dining hall." Mother links arms with me and smiles. Her public displays of affection have always been somewhat unnerving.

"You have my Federation credit card so that is a viable option. I will meet you both at the shuttlecraft approximately 13 minutes after the lecture has ended." With that he leaves.

"Well I guess it is just going to be me and you tonight Spock. Let's make the best of this vacation."

I nod and allow her to lead me into the convention hall. As soon as we enter I am bombarded by an array of sounds. Oftentimes advanced auditory senses are a disadvantage. The hall was filled with a plethora of federation species. Although most of them consisted of the founding species (Human, Vulcan, Andorian and Tellarites) there were a number of Coridans, Rigelians and Denobulans present as well. To witness so many species in one peaceful space was a true marvel. Unsurprisingly 98% of the federation's ambassadors approached my mother and conversed with her in their native tongue. Throughout the entire merchant alley she was stopped and given gifts of all kinds. I do not believe she had to pay for anything that she expressed even a mild interest in. Although being the Vulcan ambassador's wife gave her status, it was her charm and xenolinguistic skills that made her so popular at these events.

"Do these high levels of social interaction ever tire you mother?"

We were seated in the middle of the merchant alley taking a small break from all of the festivities. A vendor had gifted us with a pot of Orion tea and had insisted that we sit down and sample it. My mother sipped the tea thoughtfully before answering.

"I actually never do Spock. These sorts of events are part of why being married to your father is so entertaining."

I look at her incredulously and take a sip of my tea.

"Now don't look at me like that!" she says teasingly, "You will most likely never find these social events as pleasing as I do. But I do know that one day you will find someone whose company you will never grow tired of."

"I find that to be highly improbable."

Before she could respond an intercom sounded to announce that the main lecture would be occurring in an hour and a half. After the announcement mother rapidly consumed the rest of her tea and motioned for me to do the same.

"We better hurry to that lecture. I know there will be plenty of people in the dining hall who will want to converse with us. If we don't get there early it will be impossible for us to find our seats in time. Your father would be livid if we were late."

Together we gathered up her gifts, returned the teapot to the Orion vendor and began to walk over to the dining hall located due north of our current location. I found myself wishing that my mother and I would never arrive at the dining hall. The endless string of pleasantries I had to perform were becoming tedious. Unfortunately upon arrival my mother's prediction became accurate. As soon as we stepped onto the dining hall floor we were assaulted by ambassador's who were all vying for her attention. After 15.4 minutes of exchanging pleasantries I felt my mother tug on my consciousness through our mental link.

"Spock I can see that this is becoming quite the burden for you."

She was speaking to me telepathically while carrying on her vocal conversations as well. I sent her waves of agreement over the link.

"Alright I have found an alternative that may be significantly easier for you."

What did she mean?

"See that human girl sitting at the table by herself to the left of us? Take a break and go talk to her."

Why her?

"She's the only person I've seen here that is remotely close to you in age. Plus talking to a stranger is a good way to build up your social skills. Maybe. Anyways talking to her beats talking to all of these people now doesn't it? You can just meet me at our table before the lecture starts"

I considered my options for 3.4 seconds before agreeing to her proposition.

After disengaging myself from the link I turn to the crowd and excused myself. Thankfully no one notices my announcement and I am able to leave unnoticed. Mother waves at me before I leave to go attempt my first self-engaged social interaction.

-Uhura-

My father had permitted me 45 unsupervised minutes in the merchant's alley after arriving at the convention. I had asked to go to the educational cultural center earlier, but he had refused saying that it was a waste of time to learn about inferior species. However he did enjoy the world of business so going to the merchant's alley was inevitable.

"Nyota, I will be going to talk to some of the Andorian jewelers here. Honestly I really don't think I can handle more than 45 minutes in this retched place." He looked around in disgust at the life forms around him before pulling something out of his pocket. "Here is my credit card. Do not lose it. Meet your mother and I in front of the building at exactly 7:45 no later, understand?"

"Yes father." I replied stoically and accepted the card from his hand.

"See you in a bit my star! Have fun." Mother gave me a quick hug before they took off.

I was completely alone now in a sea of wondrous people. If it didn't look so childish I would be spinning around and jumping for joy. This was the type of world I wanted to be in. It was all so overwhelming that I couldn't decide where to go to first. To get a scope of the place I speed walked around the outside perimeter of the alley. It appeared that it had been organized based on species. Since my Orion is the strongest I decided to start at an Orion tea shop. I approach the stand and introduce myself in High Kolari. The elderly green shopkeeper looked taken aback at first but then welcomed me with a smile.

"I have met a seldom few humans who can speak High Kolari. Your pronunciation is quite marvelous. Now what would you like my dear?"

"I would like to sample whichever one you most enjoy. I have no knowledge of Orion tea sadly." I responded in kind.

"Ah I see, then let me pick you out one that I particularly enjoy."

While he brewed the tea I felt myself bubble up with pride. Being able to keep up a conversation in full High Kolari was quite a step for me. Aside from this instance, I have never practiced my language skills with an actual native. Or anyone really for that matter. My father had forbid me from learning foreign languages that were not Terran. If it weren't for my mother sneaking me alien language books and recordings I would never have been able to learn.

"Here you are miss. Drink it while it's hot to get the full effect." He said as he handed me a cup.

"Thank you so much." I handed him my card but he refused it.

"For one who speaks so well this one is on the house."

I smiled and thanked him again. As I walked away towards another set of vendors I noticed a strange pair in a seating area drinking tea together. A human woman and a Vulcan. Even though I did not know much about Vulcans outside of their language, I knew that they generally did not socialize with humans outside of diplomatic sessions. Seeing the two gave me a bit of hope for human-alien relationships. I finally took a sip of my hot tea. It was soothing and fizzy at the same time. Strange but wonderful.

The rest of my time in the merchant alley was spent going from vendor to vendor with the hopes of improving my language skills. Each and every vendor accepted me warmly after I spoke to them in their native tongue. A few of them even gave me pointers on pronunciation, which I appreciated and desperately needed. I flew around the area conversing and learning to my heart's content. After a particularly long conversation with a Tellarite woman about how to properly hold an argument, I decided that it was probably time to meet up with my parents. I glanced down at my watch and grimaced. It was now 8:20. My feet began to run before I could even process the movement. Hopefully the consequences for being late were not going to be too severe.

"Nyota dear I am so sorry about this. I knew your father was strict about schedules but I didn't think he would be this mad. Maybe if you had a communicator on you it wouldn't have been so bad. He just worries so much sometimes."

My mother and I were sitting at our designated table in the dining hall. Since father wasn't a diplomat or a member of Star Fleet, our table was rather far back and off to the side of the main stage.

I bit my lip and rested my face in my hands. "I know mother… I just completely lost track of time. It really was my fault."

As soon as I had found my parents I was assaulted by a long string of aggressive scolding. At least father was hissing to me quietly in Swahili to make the situation less embarrassing. He had made it quite clear to me that for the rest of the night I would be confined to the table. So far my mother had managed to stay with me at the table, but from the looks of it my father had other plans.

"M'umba come with me. It appears that some of my colleagues were able to attend and would like to see you." He said all this without even a glance at me. He then held out his hand and waited for my mother to take it. She did not object and took it immediately. As she walked away she turned her head and mouthed the words 'I'm so sorry' at me. I forced a smile back at her and then put my head down on the table. This time I was alone as well, but in more of a self-contained bubble than a sea. I tried reciting pi to distract myself, but it did not ease my frustration. After some 20 odd minutes a cold monotonous voice broke my isolation.

"Excuse me. Would you permit me to converse with you for an indefinite amount of time?"

What the hell? I look up from the table only to find myself staring straight at the young Vulcan I had seen earlier at the merchant alley.

"Sure! There is currently no one seated at this table so you can sit wherever you want."

He nods and takes the seat one over to the right of me. How funny that he doesn't want to sit directly next to me. I cover a broad smile with my hands and marvel at my luck. Now father said that I wasn't allowed to leave the table, but he never said anything about anyone joining me.