Hi guys! Here's the next chapter! I am so glad that everyone is enjoying it so far. Heads up, this is a very Spock-centric chapter. Next one will be more Uhura-y :)

-Spock-

"God that was a long ass meeting! They keep getting longer and longer it seems, doesn't it Spock?"

How was it that I was always seated next to Professor Briggs during every pre-course meeting? He was insistent on talking to me after every meeting concluded. My responses to him were minimal, but still he pursued conversation.

"Spock can you believe that our break is almost gone? Tomorrow we start classes and I'll have to deal with all the smartass new recruits again." Briggs continued complaining and followed me all the way out of the staff building.

"Do not forget that you will also be assisting me in the Kobayashi Maru project."

He slapped himself on the forehead. "Damn that's right! With four classes and your project I'm going to be so busy… And my plan to get with Shoshana didn't even pan out so there's no girl in my life to comfort me. Don't get me wrong, your advice was solid. She's just… difficult."

"She did not respond positively to your affections?"

Briggs released a loud sigh. "No, the results were not positive. I confessed to her and she laughed it off. She thought it was a joke. I guess that I had waited too long to say something. Shoshana said that she can only see me as a friend. If only I had acted sooner!"

Fascinating. For once I actually needed to keep him talking.

"Do human women grow accustomed to keeping men in one particular role?"

Briggs gazed back at me with a blank expression. "God Spock you really are clueless! Haven't you ever heard of the ominous friend zone?" He wiggled his fingers to suggest mystery.

"No. Is it within close proximity of the Neutral Zone?"

Briggs burst out laughing. I could not see why as nothing humorous had been said.

"Spock, the Friend Zone is ten times more frightening then the Neutral Zone will ever be. There is no escape from the Friend Zone. It's everywhere. Once a girl has been around you long enough she'll put you into a category. If you're lucky, you'll be boyfriend material, if you're not you end up in the friend zone."

This confused me. "Is friendship not desirable?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong. Being friends with a girl is completely fine. But if you ever want to take things to the next level and date a girl it will be nearly impossible if they don't see you as more than a friend."

"Women are complicated and appear to be highly illogical."

Briggs stopped walking. "You know Spock, if you didn't have that weird thing about people touching you I would give you a hug. That is the most human thing I have ever heard you say."

This was a most confounding day. Apparently being unable to comprehend the opposite sex was a highly relatable human trait.

"Anyways, I'm done with Shoshana. I'm just going to focus on my work." Briggs then leaned in 26 degrees closer to me. "Although I AM pretty interested in this girl that I requested to be my assistant. She's smart, capable and is quite the beauty. Since I had only looked at her recruit form I hadn't seen what she actually looked like until yesterday. Man what a piece of art she is."

"What cadet is this 'piece of art'?" I inquired.

"You've probably seen her around Spock! She's pretty hard to miss. Her name is Nyota Uhura. I'm pretty sure Professor Sato scouted her as well for her universal translator project. Man! How am I supposed to compete with that?"

I could not respond to Briggs. After he had said cadet Uhura's name my body became tense. An inexplicable rage spread throughout my body at the mere thought of someone noticing cadet Uhura in this manner. I suppressed the urge to kick Briggs' legs out from underneath him and crush his windpipe.

"Uhh earth to Spock? Are you still in there?" Briggs called out to me and grabbed my sleeve.

My violent intentions towards Briggs' evaporated once he had touched me. Horror overcame me as I realized how possessive of cadet Uhura I already was. The depth of my feelings towards her were much greater then I had thought.

"I have to go." I began running towards where my bond indicated cadet Uhura was.

I could hear Briggs call after me, but he did not matter. Right now I needed to convince cadet Uhura that she should accept my proposal and become my assistant. If she did not, I felt that my somewhat murderous jealousy may become too strong to handle. I would have to break the bond and that was something that I would like to avoid at all costs.

The bond kept pulling me towards cadet Uhura's current location. I had no plan to persuade her to join my cause. Briggs and Professor Hoshi Sato were my competition. Obviously Professor Sato, the distinguished communications officer, would be the cadet's first choice. The statistical likelihood of cadet Uhura choosing me over Professor Sato was less than 8%. My chances appeared slim. I stopped running and forced a silence on my bond to allow my mind time to formulate a plan. Only one persuasive tool appeared logical to me. Before I found cadet Uhura there was someone else I needed to speak to first.

-Uhura-

Studying in the academy library was absolutely fantastic. I had my very own glass noise proof cubicle to work in and had some of the world's largest databases of information at my disposal. It felt as If I had died and gone to heaven. Classes started tomorrow and I needed to keep myself prepared. Plus this solitude gave me a great opportunity to decide on whose assistant I was going to be for the semester. Aside from commander Spock, my other offers came from a professor named Briggs and the phenomenal Hoshi Sato. Although learning about particle synthesis seemed very interesting, I was really torn between the commander's project and Hoshi Sato's project. The commander's project was a tantalizing mystery that is so secret that it's not even listed on the academy website. Hoshi Sato's redevelopment of the universal translator on the other hand was a very large scale project that required many assistants throughout the course of the year. It would be amazing to pick her brain to see how she developed her linguacode translation matrix that revolutionized xenolinguistics. So far the commander's project seemed mildly disturbing compared to Sato's prestigious project. I could feel myself leaning further and further towards accepting the universal translator project. Sadly I think I'll have to let the commander down.

After 3 hours of studying in the library I decided that my brain couldn't hold any more information. I logged out of my PADD and spun round in my chair to face the cubicle's glass door.

"Oh my god!" I nearly had a heart attack. Standing at the entrance was commander Spock. He was staring at me intensely through the wall which did not help his stalker case. How long had he been there and how did he even know where I was? Slowly, I got up and exited the cubicle. The commander side stepped out of my way and nodded to me in greeting.

"I apologize if my presence has startled you cadet Uhura. I was passing through the library and happened to notice you were here. Upon seeing you I was reminded of the news I needed to inform you of."

His reason for approaching me was even stranger then when he had found me at the track. I dismissed his reasoning since it was too weird to think about any further.

"What news do you need to inform me of commander?"

"At a staff meeting this morning I was informed that you had been approached by Professor Sato to assist her in her universal translator project. We discussed who needed your help more. She decided that I did due to the sheer magnitude of what I am doing. However Professor Sato did inform me that you are welcome to be her assistant next semester and that she is willing to tutor you privately if you so desire it."

I was stunned. This was a lot of information to take in. Now being his assistant didn't seem to look all that bad.

"So you're saying that I can be your assistant for two quarters while having private tutoring sessions from Hoshi Sato? How is that even possible?"

Spock responded without sipping a beat. "I simply informed her of your merits and she appeared more than eager to assist you with your studies."

I stood there in silence for another couple of seconds. "Why would you do all this for me commander?"

"It is simply logical. I require your assistance in my project as you are the most suited cadet for the task." Suddenly his cheeks flushed green. "Also I see a great deal of potential in you."

I could feel my face flush a bright red. That was one of the best compliments I had ever received in my entire life. I couldn't believe that this exceptionally socially awkward Vulcan was making me blush.

"W-well, thank you for the recommendation." I said in an uncharacteristically sheepish voice.

"You are welcome. Will you accept my assistant request now or shall I wait until Monday for your reply?" He said in his same stoic voice.

I might end up regretting this decision, but there was absolutely no way to say no to him. Not after all the thoughtfulness he had shown me.

"No commander I will give you my reply here and now." I crossed my arms and glanced over at him with hooded eyes. If I didn't know any better I'd day that he was holding his breath waiting for my reply. "I will accept your proposal and become you assistant. Can I please know what the project is now?"

The commander's eyes were wide with some sort of unidentifiable emotion.

"It is fortunate that you have accepted my request."

I began to tap my foot on the floor in an excessively loud manner. He noticed and continued on.

"The project is hard to describe verbally. Would you like to see the prototype in the staff science labs?"

Hmm, was being alone with my almost stalker soon to be professor such a good idea?

"Sure. Let's go right now!"

Honestly the worst thing that could happen was him making me so uncomfortable that'd I would want to leave. After talking to him on the track though I felt that we had made leaps and bounds in our social interactions.

"Very well. Seeing as my day is currently unoccupied we may go now."

I flashed him a satisfied smile and he proceeded to lead the way to the staff labs.

-Spock-

I had accomplished the inconceivable task of recruiting cadet Uhura as my assistant. Now I was able to spend time with her outside of our coincidental meetings. In the near future I would need to reiterate my thanks to Professor Sato for allowing me to have cadet Uhura as my assistant. Strangely I would also need to give credit to Briggs who had informed me of the repercussions of inaction and the finality of this so called 'Friend Zone'.

"This way cadet Uhura." I motioned to the hall adjacent to us. We were at the staff labs and were 420 feet away from my prototype. Cadet Uhura was currently mesmerized by the exotic plants being grown by the biology department's genetic botany project. She looked up at me and pointed to one of the more elaborately colored flowers through the glass.

"It says on that plaque that this flower was genetically engineered and cared for by lead assistant Hikaru Sulu! Will you and I get cool signs on our project once we're done?" She smiled at me. I felt immensely content to be around her when she was feeling so pleasant.

"It is doubtful." I told her. Immediately her mood fell. Strange how a human's emotions can change so rapidly. "However I will inquire about such labeling closer to our completion date."

"Alright, let's keep going and see what all the fuss is about your mystery project."

She headed down the hallway slightly ahead of me. Before today I had never appreciated the short length of the female cadet uniforms. The dress fit cadet Uhura exceptionally well and visually lengthened her already long legs. I tried to estimate the sine equation that would best represent her hourglass figure, but she moved too frequently for me to formulate it. She stopped walking and pointed her right index finger to the room to our left.

"Here we are commander, 'Professor Spock: Room 308."

"Indeed." I responded slightly disappointed that I did not have more time to study her form before reaching my lab. "Computer open lab."

"Voice command accepted. Lab doors opening. Please watch your step."

I entered the lab prior to cadet Uhura due to the fact that the room was not lit and there was a dropped step before the entrance. Cadet Uhura folded her arms and appeared displeased.

"What's with the windowless scary pitch black room? Can't we turn the lights on before we clamber on in?"

"Negative. Due to the nature of this project and the usual traffic through this hall the lights must be shut off for security purposes."

She still looked skeptical. Although she had no logical reason to doubt my words, at some level I understood her fear.

"Here" I held out my hand to her. I felt pure shock emanate from her.

"Are you sure? I know Vulcans don't like to be touched. I can just deal with it sir, I don't want to offend you."

She was flabbergasted by my gesture and was frantically grasping at her ponytail. I found her confusion to be endearing. Thankfully further touching would not increase the depths of our bond since both parties needed to consent to that.

"Nonsense." I informed her and extended my hand 12% more.

Her hand reluctantly latched onto mine. She locked onto my eyes as she jumped down into the lab. The door closed behind her and we were enveloped in complete darkness. For 2.6 seconds I allowed myself time to enjoy the sensation of her hand gripping mine. It was cool and had a soothing effect on me. In the absolute darkness of the room her hand was the only reality I knew and I wished it could stay like that. However at this moment in time I knew that to be impossible.

"Computer, all lights and systems are to be rebooted and turned on."

"Command accepted. All systems are go Commander."

The lights flickered on and revealed all that I had accomplished so far on the Kobayashi Maru project.

"Oh my god. Commander. It looks like we are on the bridge of a Constitution class starship bridge. That's why the floor was so deep!" Cadet Uhura let go of my hand and began to pace about the mock bridge. Her hands ran over everything within range of her. "This is incredible. It's just like being on a starship!"

"Since that is this room's intended purpose I am glad for that observation."

She sat down in the communications officer's chair and began to fiddle with the system. "Wow. This is all fully functional equipment. What exactly is this all for?"

I sat down at the science officer's station and swiveled my chair to face hers. "This is going to be the academy's first litmus test for command line cadets. The project's codename is the Kobayashi Maru test."

"What exactly is it going to test?"

"The Kobayashi Maru will be a highly realistic scenario test that will be administered to all command track cadets. The test will be used to assess a cadet's discipline, character, and command capabilities when facing an impossible situation and there is no answer to the problem."

Cadet Uhura was silent for a moment. "So we are creating the ultimate no-win scenario?"

"Precisely. We are tasked with creating 400 of most difficult situations ever presented to these cadets. We are to expose them to fear in the face of certain death and teach them to remain in control of themselves and their ship despite that fear."

Cadet Uhura nodded slowly. "So basically we get to make the academy Boogeyman."

I paused to asses her statement. "…In a sense, yes. If you are uncomfortable with this you may still join professor Sato in the-"

"Hey, hold up commander! I didn't say anything about being uncomfortable." She flashed a grin at me and stood up. "We get to create something with nearly limitless possibilities, and we're helping people while we do it."

I was impressed by her response. She did not fear the responsibility and seemed rather excited to strike fear into the hearts of many. This reaffirmed my decision to not include her as a beta tester.

"So how realistic does this bridge get?" She asked while staring out of the main observation screen. Synthesized images of stars and cosmos flew by her.

"Well I will be having some of the more creative professors assist me with realistic visual simulations as my artistic skills are lacking."

She laughed at this. "Ha, I could tell commander! These galaxies are kind of flat!"

Sadly it had taken me weeks to prepare even this crude of an image. "We will also be doing extensive research on the scenarios we write to ensure their plausibility."

"Okay, and what about the environment on the bridge?"

"That is accounted for as well. Internal environment changes will be affected as well. Life support systems will reduce and so will the artificial gravity."

"We can lose our sense of gravity in here?"

"Yes. I recently installed the anti-gravitational fields on the bridge last week."

Cadet Uhura was now twirling her long ponytail around her right index finger. "Demonstrate."

"Demonstrate what?" I asked.

"The anti-gravitational field! I've always wondered what it's like to be weightless." She smiled again at me and I felt unable to deny her any request.

"As you wish cadet." I maneuvered towards the engineering station and slowly adjusted the field. Weightlessness struck immediately. I felt my feet lift off the floor and saw Cadet Uhura rise off the ground as well. She squealed in delight as she began to inch towards the ceiling. I reached down and activated my magnetic shoes as I had no desire to be stuck weightless in this lab until a janitor could assist us.

"Commander this is amazing! It feels so… I can't even describe it right. It feels like this is where I belong."

Her words perplexed me. "What are you inferring cadet?"

"This might sound ridiculous, especially to you, but…" She was now 6.2 feet off of the ground. "Woah!" Her arms flew out as she steadied herself in this unstable environment. "Phew. It's hard keeping your balance in zero gravity. I guess all those years of ballet lessons didn't pay off at all."

Cadet Uhura's train of thought was all over the place. I returned my gaze to the computer before me and began recalibrating its operating system. After allotting the cadet 3 more minutes of uninterrupted zero gravity time, I cleared my throat to remind her of her unfinished thought.

"Oh! Sorry about that commander, I get sidetracked pretty easily." She laughed at her own misgivings. "Hey before I tell you what I was going to say, look up."

As I had been conditioned to, I followed her instructions without any further questions. Hovering above me was Cadet Uhura. She was upside down and her legs were folded under her in a manner similar to the traditional ways of the Japanese. She was staring into my eyes unflinchingly. Her face was only 2 inches away from mine. I became immobilized.

"I snuck up on you didn't I? I'm getting good at keeping my balance in zero gravity." She was silent for 3.4 seconds. "Y'know I feel like Spiderman hanging over you like this, although I guess the roles would be reversed."

She smiled at me and I could in no way respond.

In a hushed tone she continued to speak. "Anyways, what I was saying earlier was that this is where I belong. You may not believe me but I have always felt like an stranger visiting another country. Wherever I go, even in my own home, I feel like an alien. Being the outlier in a family of traditionalists made my childhood difficult… But being here in this simulated outer space, I feel like I'm home."

I knew exactly how she felt. As a child on Vulcan I had been ostracized due to my mixed birth. For my entire life I had experienced what it was like to be an alien on your own home planet. It was not until I joined Star Fleet that I felt what it was like to belong. Both Cadet Uhura and I had a complete understanding of one another.

"I understand."

I stood up and slowly began to power down the zero gravity field. My hand reluctantly offered itself to cadet Uhura. She grasped onto it for support as she began her descent.

"Thank you." She said after reaching the ground.

I glanced back at her; Cadet Uhura was stretching her arms above her head to relieve tension in the shoulders. Her uniform had ridden up slightly to reveal 14% more of her upper thigh. I did not know if it would be appropriate to inform her of this.

"…You are…most welcome." I replied.

Cadet Uhura looked down at her legs and began fidgeting. "Darn these uniforms! They're so short." She pulled her hem back to standard length.

I was relieved, although I was unsure if the Cadet had noticed the attire malfunction herself or if she had caught me staring.

"So what now commander?"

"I will continue calibrating these computers to my specifications. I would like for you to create 25 different no-win scenarios and present them to me during my break after Xenolinguisitcs 200."

She appeared to be confused by this statement. "Oh, alright. I will take my leave and begin planning these scenarios commander."

"That would be satisfactory cadet." I sat back down at the science station and began rebooting the system.

"Goodbye then commander. Live long and prosper."

Without looking back at her I performed the Ta'al and responded appropriately. After the exchange I heard the lab door open and close. I waited for 2.2 minutes before allowing myself to relax. I leaned over the science station and rested my head in my hands. Having cadet Uhura as my assistant may prove to be as dangerous as not having her.

Never before had I felt the want for human touch as I did just now. The need was so primal that it shocked me. Every time I had touched her hand I did not want to let go. I wanted to trace my index finger over every inch of cadet Uhura's hand to remember the sensation of it perfectly. Her touch was different than anything I had ever known and I wanted to know more. I wanted to memorize everything about her, right down to the structure of her cells. Another foreign concept that had disabled me was the overwhelming desire to kiss cadet Uhura when she was floating above me. Although I was not familiar with this 'Spiderman' character, I am sure that he would have felt the same way if he were in my situation. While I have never kissed someone, I was willing to try it as long as the receiver was cadet Uhura. I was already willing to try anything as long as it made her happy.

This bombardment of highly emotive thoughts continued for half an hour before I cold calm myself enough to think straight. I sat up in my chair and closed down my lab. I went to my living quarters and situated myself onto my bed, no covers. My mind drifted towards cadet Uhura and I began to wonder if this mindset was a distinctly human trait or if Vulcans experienced it as well. To my regret the wisest course of actions to receive answers to all of my questions was to call my mother in the morning. Maybe she could also enlighten me on this so called friend zone.

I laid in bed for 4 more hours until sleep finally ebbed onto me. Thoughts of her never left my mind.