-AN-

Woo! Well here is chapter 3! I am so glad that you all enjoyed chapter 2. This story will be going kind of slow at first so I apologize for that. But it will pick up I promise!

-Spock-

The first thing I noticed about the Terran girl was her eyes. They were the color of amber and carried a certain unshakable clarity that made it feel as if she were looking straight through me. The feeling was disconcerting. Her skin was an even mocha color that appeared quite alien in comparison to my own pale skin. Her face was 89% symmetrical, but her imperfections did not detract from her overall aesthetics. She was perhaps the most striking person I had ever met and I felt the need to look away from her for fear of being overwhelmed.

"Hey! Excuse me? Are you alright? Did you want to talk or are you just going to keep staring at me blankly?" The girl had leaned over towards me and was apparently attempting to imitate my stare.

I had been caught. According to my other interactions with humans I had nearly 1.8 seconds to react. This girl was clearly my junior; yet why was I so intimidated by her?

"What is your name?" I said quickly. If my calculations were correct her suspicions should dissipate now.

Her eyes narrowed and she sat back in her chair. I watched her hoping for a response, but instead I saw all emotion drain from her face. She then held up the Vulcan Salute to me.

"Live long and prosper."

Confused I saluted and replied in kind. "Peace and long life."

I managed to hide my shock that she spoke Vulcan. Aside from my mother I had never heard it spoken so fluently. Before I could question her further the girl continued the conversation.

"I have always wanted to say that! And now I get to say it to a real live Vulcan? Unreal."

She was talking to herself so I did not want to interrupt her. After her standard monologue was done she turned to me and introduced herself in Vulcan. Her name was Uhura, she is 15 and has lived in Kenya here since birth.

"Uhura? Is that your full name?" I inquired becoming slightly confused.

"Yes. Just Uhura." She replied back curtly.

"I was not aware that some humans only have one given name."

She stared at me slack jawed. Did I say something to offend?

"It was a joke!" She stifled a laugh, "My first name is Nyota. In Swahili it means star. But you can just call me Uhura."

Although she was not a gaseous ball of energy, the name Nyota was fitting for her.

"I fail to see how concealing one's first name constitutes as a joke, but it is a pleasure to be of your acquaintance Uhura. My name is S'chn T'gai Spock. You may address me as Spock."

"Nice to meet you Spock. So what has brought you to this diplomatic convention to the stars?" She inched forward in her chain and leaned 35 degrees closer to me. I adjusted my seating position over by 2 inches to account for her movement. Her close proximity made me significantly more uncomfortable than usual human contact.

"My father is the Vulcan ambassador to Earth. He was invited here to be a keynote speaker for one of the panels."

Uhura's eyes lit up as I spoke of my father. I felt a slight prick of some foreign emotion. Strange. It was unimportant so I let it fade away quickly.

"Wow. So you are an ambassador's son! That must be so interesting. Travelling all over the galaxy and meeting new people. My father is a jeweler and a strict one at that! I am lucky to just get out of the house."

"My father's job does have a stimulating effect on my life. Because of his career I have had the opportunity to learn 9 federation languages."

As soon as I finished my sentence Uhura clapped her hands together and then slammed them onto the tabletop.

"Spock! That is exactly what I want to do! I want to explore the universe and speak to all sorts of species and learn about their world. You have my dream in the palm of your hands!" She says all of this to me very rapidly and loudly.

My senses were shocked. I had not prepared for this level of social interaction, a simple "Do I?" was all I could manage under her pressure.

"Yes you do. You are so lucky Spock. All I have is my limited language resources and an extensive knowledge of mathematics. You have the entire universe." She rested her head in her hands and appeared to be brooding.

How would my mother fix this situation? This girl expressed her emotions in such a flurry that I was completely unsure of how to respond. I glanced over at Uhura. She was not currently looking at me. I decided to send my mother a quick telepathic distress message.

"Mother I need your assistance. I have upset the human female. How do I proceed?"

A shot of reassurance was sent over to me.

"My goodness Spock, you have only been conversing with her for 15 minutes. Just analyze what she has been saying and I am sure you will find the correct response."

He link fizzled out and I was on my own again. I reflected on our conversation and finally arrived at a logical solution.

"How extensive is your knowledge of mathematics Uhura?"

She replied without looking at me. "Fairly extensive."

I nodded and retrieved a napkin and pen that had been left on the table. I quickly formulated my own version of an enjoyable Terran game called Sudoku. I placed the napkin and pen in front of her. She eyed me warily and then picked up the pen and solved the puzzle in 78 seconds. She flipped the napkin over and formulated her own Sudoku square for me to solve. I completed the square and transitioned into a full blown physics equation. She answered it easily and handed me another equation. The pattern kept repeating itself with increasing difficulty. After the 23rd equation I stole a glance at her, she had an infinitesimal smile on her face while she solved the problem. A wave of relief spread over me. This was by far the most successful social interaction I had ever experienced.

-Uhura-

Every time I tried to get closer to him he would inch away ever so slightly. I was pretty sure he thought he was being inconspicuous, but it was really quite the opposite. It was comical to see him shy away from me with even the smallest of movements. However talking to someone while being an entire chairs length away was begging to feel awkward. I noticed that his guard seemed to drop when he was performing a math problem. After I had finished the problem he had given me I grabbed a new napkin and wrote down a problem that I knew would not work out. I passed him the napkin and he began to work on it. A few moments later his left eyebrow rose to signify who knows what emotion.

"Uhura I do not believe that this equation can be solved. Perhaps you-" He stopped talking and his body stiffened as soon as he had looked over to me. In the time it took him to realize that the problem was wrong, I had quietly scooted over to the chair next to him.

"Perhaps I made a mistake?" I said with a mischievous grin.

He put the pen down and sat back as far as he could in his seat. Spock looked slightly conflicted. It took him a few seconds to recompose, but he did not let the conversation lag for long.

"You are quite proficient in math for someone your age. May I ask why?" he asked in standard this time

Thank god. My Vulcan vocabulary was running thin. "My father wants me to attend the Institute for Advanced Mathematics in New Jersey after I graduate from high school. He wants me to become our company's head accountant and work for him, just like my brother and sister do. Ever since I was small I've had private math tutors and had to attend extracurricular math courses." I waved my hands with fake excitement.

He stared back at me vacantly. Maybe sarcasm was a bit too much for this Vulcan to handle.

"It appears that you are not enthused by your current situation. Are you not able to object to it?"

Ah, he did get it! "I don't think I could ever object to it. My path has been chosen for me even before I was born." I sighed and ran a hand over my face. "Besides even if I could say no I don't think I have the strength to defy my father."

Wow. I have told this virtual stranger more about my life than anyone else save for my mother. I even told him my first name! Something about him just made me feel like he would understand me and my situation. Spock leaned forward a bit and looked at me dead on. For the first time I suddenly felt very aware of him. How alien he was from me. Not just his pointy ears, but all elements of him seemed foreign to me. His eyes especially were so strong and dark that I felt like I was about to be swallowed up by them.

"I too face a similar conundrum in my life Uhura. My father has chosen my path for me as well. I have followed his will all my life and am on track to being accepted into the Vulcan Science Academy. I have never objected to it because I am not sure what I would do if given the chance to live independently."

"It's a rare thing to meet a Vulcan who is unsure of themselves." I responded astonished.

"Half Vulcan." He said in response.

"Wow I didn't know that there were any half Vulcans. I assume that your mother is human?"

"You are correct in this assumption. I am the only hybrid of my species." He paused and thought a moment, "Uhura what would be your ultimate goal if you were not an accountant?"

"I would join Star Fleet and become a communications officer. Language is my passion and I would love to help people with my knowledge of it."

He nodded slowly and stated, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or one."

I tilted my head to the side quizzically. "What do you mean by that Spock?"

"Your aspirations and talents would undoubtedly be a benefit to Star Fleet. By becoming a member of Star Fleet, the range of those you could positively impact will grow exponentially. This is a stark contrast to the singular benefit of becoming an accountant for your father."

What he had just said was what I told myself every day after learning of Star Fleet's communication program. There was no doubt in my mind that although we were both very different physically, our shared conflictions enabled us to perfectly understand one another. Specie inferiority be damned. I stood up and grabbed Spock's hands.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I really needed to hear that from someone other than myself." I was on the verge of tears. Everything felt so clear after a simple observation made by an impartial Vulcan.

Spock shot up in his seat and wrenched his hands out of mine. A look of bewilderment was sprawled on his face. Of course, I had forgotten that Vulcans held a strong aversion to touch.

"I am so sorry for touching you Spock!"

He averted eye contact with me and began to scan the crowd desperately. "It is fine. Now I must be going since the main lecture will commence in 6.5 minutes. I appreciate the time you have given me."

And with that he was gone. I sat for a moment and closed my eyes to help me absorb the past hour. All of my experiences today had solidified my resolve to join Star Fleet. A few moments later my parents arrived at the table. My father was still refusing to look at me. Mother sat down next to me and recounted the conversations father had with the Andorian jewelers until a large bell chimed. Just as Spock had said the lecture did start in 6 minutes. Vulcan's must have an amazing internal clock.

As the first key speaker appeared on stage my mother leaned over to me and whispered, "So are you having a good time Nyota?"

"Yes, I am so glad that you took me." I grabbed mother's hand and squeezed it gently.

Today was the first day of my life that was lived solely for me. Today marks the day that I took destiny into my own hands in order to benefit the greater good and me as well. This day was perfect all because of a socially awkward Vulcan telling me that my dreams weren't wrong. I couldn't even focus on the lecture taking place right in front of me because one phrase kept racing through my mind.

"Thank you." I said as quietly as I could so that maybe, just maybe, that Vulcan boy could hear me from wherever he was.