An: Okay I'm back! If you haven't read the first few chapters then you are going to get lost. I am doing my best to make things clear but there is always someone who needs clarification.
Enjoy this chapter!
A Wrinkle in Time
Chapter 6
The Concubine's Mission
(Vulcan-1 day later)
Amanda had long since left on her trip to bring back her son's concubine and King Sarek wished she were sitting next to him now. He loved her greatly and worried that after his death, Amanda would be at the mercy of the Vulcans that hated her so much.
Since coming to the palace, Amanda had the protection of the King and was highly favored. This meant that no one, not even the nobles could cross her path or upset her without there being some kind of harsh punishment. Such a position ensured the concubine's safety, but did nothing to help Amanda gain any friends among the nobility. For while in public they bowed, acknowledged, and even spoke to her, in secret, they spat at her name, mock her human heritage and at times fantasized killing her.
Amanda only importance was that she a concubine to the king and the mother of his successor.
As was common among Vulcan kings, they took young female lovers away from their home- worlds to live in their harems. And Amanda being the daughter of a poor space merchant was no exception.
That was until the King saw how beautiful she was and invited her to live with him.
Before he met Amanda, he was as stern with his concubines as he had been with his wife.
After Amanda, he was never the same again.
She was smart, sassy (or what Vulcans considered sassy), seductive, beautiful and inspired him.
But…
He never allowed her to get in the way of him ruling his kingdom and Amanda was not involved in politics. Even after she gave birth to Spock, her political importance did not increase.
King Sarek came under much criticism after Amanda gave birth to the first Vulcan/human hybrid in the royal family. Many including his own brother wanted Amanda to have an abortion, but Amanda promised Sarek the child would not get in the way of Sybok taking the throne.
Amanda wanted the child and Sarek wanted Amanda to be happy.
Therefore, she had Spock and kept him with her.
And this was the way it was, Spock wasn't going to succeed to the throne. It wasn't even a thought, until Sarek began to see fundamental differences between his sons.
Sybok even as a child was cruel to his servants, never wanted to work and expected things to be handed to him. Sarek had a difficult time teaching the young prince the merits of loyalty, of hard work and treating others with respect. His mother, T'lana encouraged Sybok's intolerable behavior, as well his extreme hatred for both Amanda and Spock.
As Sybok grew older, his behavior worsen and Sarek began to feel as though he had no choice but to chose Spock as his successor.
It was not an easy decision. Spock was half-human and Vulcans were not too keen about interracial marriage let alone the children such marriages produced.
But Sarek could see that Spock had what it took to be perhaps the greatest king Vulcan ever had.
Spock was loyal, hardworking, fair, and treated everyone with respect. Sarek trusted his son enough to send him on diplomatic peacekeeping missions, and Spock would never fail in resolving conflicts between feuding species. The economic gains made from Spock's missions increased Vulcan's wealth and power, and Sarek was greatly pleased.
Still, Sarek worried about Spock and his human blood. He did not want the bloodline to become diluted with human genetics and so he arranged a marriage with T'Pring to ensure that would never happen.
Sarek for a time was please, until Spock became like his father in other ways.
He developed a fondness for human women.
Spock's harem was filled with them. Human women whose skin ranged from ebony to ivory and he indulged in his sexual fantasies with them. Only because he was such a great son did Sarek allowed it to continue, until Spock stopped sleeping with T'Pring and made no effort to siren a proper heir.
Such a thing only worried Sarek more about his family line.
The other noble families saw this and knew eventually Sarek's dynasty would end and be replaced, perhaps by another prominent Vulcan family.
It was almost like a dream coming true for them.
Sarek knew what would happen if Spock continued to refuse T'Pring and not have a suitable heir to succeed him. The empire will fall into chaos and ruin.
This was why Stonn was sent to Solaris Prime.
Spock needed to fulfill his duties as a Vulcan prince.
(Enterprise)
Syon loved being on a federation starship and learning about Sulu and the ways of the universe he was from. He thought it was interesting that Vulcans in Sulu's universe suppressed their emotions, because here Vulcans are infamous for their bad tempers and emotional outbursts.
"So you said that the Sulu you knew helped your mother give birth to you?" Sulu asked.
"Yes, my mother talked about him often. He died when I was about five years old."
"Were they friends?" Sulu wanted to know, for he always thought Nyota was attractive.
"Looking back on it now and listening to what my mother has said about him. I think Sulu was in love with my mother. He went above and beyond to take care of her. But my mother was so blind in her devotion to Spock."
Sulu cursed in his mind.
Even in this universe, Spock has to get the girl of my dreams!
"How ironic it was that this Sulu took care of you and your mother. And all the while, your mother was in love with another man. Or alien I should say."
Syon thought about it for a second and then said, "Yeah, my father tends to have a lasting impact on people. My mother really believed he would come back for us, until Nero came…"
Syon was silent.
"I just thought of something. Since, your mother sent us a message for help and Captain Kirk went back in time to 1999 Earth, things have been set in motion that will change everything."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you said Nero took you from your mother when you about ten years old, right?"
"Right."
"Now that your mother sent that message as an older woman that isn't going to happen. I am sure by now Kirk has found the other Enterprise crew and is trying to find a way back here."
"I guess your right, but why not travel and beam them back?"
"Believe me if it was that easy I would have done it. But if this ship traveled back and if we become infected with that nasty disease then we are stuck there. Not to mention…."
Sulu went silent.
"You can't be sure that they are still alive."
Sulu nodded his head.
"That is the problem. We been trying to establish communications with the crew but the ship is damage."
Syon lowered his head.
"I'm sorry about that. I was under Nero's orders."
"All is forgiven. We just have to get in contact with you father. I don't trust your uncle."
"Sybok? Why?"
"For Spock to be in line to throne means that Sybok for whatever reason was no deemed worthy enough. He may be holding a grudge and might try to hurt both you and your father."
The Enterprise shook and Mr. Jones shouted!
"Captain we're under attack!"
Sulu who was sitting in the Captain's chair turned from Syon.
"Raise the shields!"
"Shields are at 60 percent. The last attack damaged them."
Syon felt horrible. Sulu was now his friend and he didn't want him killed.
"It's Nero! He wants me!"
Nero's face appeared on the screen.
"I want Syon on this ship or else I will destroy the Enterprise!"
The crew was silent.
Syon said nothing at first, but then touched Sulu on the shoulder.
"Please follow me to the transporter room."
The two men walked to the transporter room and Syon turned to Sulu.
"He is under orders from T'Pring to kill me. I just know it. I am a threat, but why T'Pring? She can't take the throne anyways." Syon was confused.
Sulu having studied royal families understood completely.
"It has to be Sybok. She is working with him. Her only claim to the throne is through either your father or your uncle. Now you are aware of the truth, she sees you as a threat." Sulu felt awful for having to send Syon back into Nero's clutches.
Mr. Jones walked in behind them.
"Syon, T'Pring doesn't know what Nero has done to Vulcan in our Universe, because if she did he would be dead. Take this and use it to your advantage." Mr. Jones handed over a small disk.
"What is that?" Syon asked.
"Just a disk that contains information as well as footage of Vulcan being destroyed by Nero's ship. All federation starships keep records both audio and visuals of all missions for record keeping. Take this copy and use it against Nero."
"I will! Please find a way to contact either my father or the king and tell them what is happening. If no one believes you then show them this."
Syon took a small necklace from around his neck.
Sulu held the necklace in his hand.
"I wasn't born in the palace or else I would have a royal insignia, however, my father gave my mother this Bajorian necklace as a symbol of his love for her. She gave it to me just a few months before Nero took…I mean kidnapped me. Show it to either my father or grandfather and they will know you speak the truth."
"He will?" Sulu asked.
"Yes, my mother told me that the necklace is the only one of its kind and has her Vulcan name carved on the back. And the string that ties the necklace comes from my father's black hair. It's a deeply personal gift."
Syon stepped on the transporter.
Sulu gave him the Vulcan salute.
"Live Long and Prosper."
Syon was back on board Nero's ship.
Sulu turned to Mr. Jones.
"We can't let this young man fall into the hands of Nero. There has to be something we can do."
"Yes, there is. We can go to Vulcan."
"Vulcan?"
"Yes, we are sitting ducks here. We must go to Vulcan and explain to the King what is going on."
Sulu nodded his head.
"Vulcan it is then."
(Earth)
Bones came back from his job as a lab attendant and was bewildered when he saw the other Enterprise crew, until Sulu explained. "I been trying to find a cure, but Earth at this time is so primitive. I tried to slow the rate of inflection but it's like putting a Band-Aid on a severed limb. " Bones took a bite of his sandwich.
"Is there a name for it?" Leonard asked.
"No, not medically anyway. I call it the Vulcan cooties." Bones joked and the other humans laughed.
Spock raised an eyebrow. He did not understand human attempts at humor.
"Vulcans rarely get sick. So I don't know what happened to this Vulcan that would cause an entire population to become infected." Spock felt he had to defend the Vulcans even in this universe.
"Yeah, perhaps in your universe, but here Vulcan before becoming a powerful empire, regularly used biological warfare on populations. Usually, with diseases they carried. As a species, however, Vulcans are immune to a lot, but when they come into contact with others their diseases are harsh and deadly." Bones slipped his soda as Nyota sat down next to him. "Odder still, because in our time Earth is apart of the Vulcan Empire. Were they trying to get a head start or something?"
Nyota's belly looked even more swollen and everyone knew it would be only a matter of time before she went into labor.
"Spock told me before he left, the disease was considered taboo on his home world, but he doesn't know he got it. When I asked for clarification he only told me that it was a private matter." Nyota ate her sandwich and Ny could see that a Vulcan pregnancy not only made her heavy but also swollen all over.
Spock had to think. A taboo disease? Only Pon Farr and few other Vulcan sexual practices were considered taboo and not shared with outsiders. Expect for one other disease, a disease that if the Prince had meant….
Spock's thoughts were interrupted.
His mind began to scream that he had made a mistake in his calculations.
A very costly mistake.
He thought that this mission would only take a few hours to perhaps a day or two to solve, but it hadn't with being in a different Universe and all. It completely messed up his plans to take care of his Pon Farr in private and away from the rest of the crew.
His Pon Farr had begun and there was nothing he could do about it.
How could have made such a horrible mistake?
Everyone ate and talked about Prince Spock, a mysterious Vulcan who left two things on the Earth, a pregnant lover and an infectious disease.
They had no idea what was happening to him.
"I tried everything to cure Captain Kirk but nothing is working. His condition is getting worst and I think its time that I just take him out of his misery." Bones played with his hands. He was nervous.
No one said anything.
"I agree." Sulu added. "Kirk wouldn't want us to do this to him."
"Wait! Perhaps we can cure him once we leave Earth." Kirk defended the other universe's version of himself.
"We have no choice lad. What if we don't get off this world for another year or longer? Leaving him to suffer like that isn't right." Scotty said.
"Not to mention the damage it would to do the timeline if this disease spreads anymore than it has." Ny added.
"I will be the one to do it. After I pray and ask god for forgiveness." Bones finished his sandwich." Nyota, you may not know a lick about cooking, but you sure can make a sandwich!"
Nyota smiled.
"Why do you feel as though you must ask for forgiveness? What you are doing is logical." Spock said and Kirk had to remind the others about the ways of Vulcans in their universe.
"Wow! Spock you are nothing like the prince! His emotions guide everything he does." Nyota chuckled and Ny had to force herself not to roll her eyes. This version of her was annoying.
Just then, Nyota started screaming.
"I think the baby is coming!" Nyota clutched her stomach for dear life.
Sulu took Nyota into her room.
"Ny, I am going to need your help. Get some towels."
"We should take her to the doctor!" Scotty said foolishly.
Everyone looked at him.
"Yeah, let's take Nyota to the doctor and then explain why her baby is a pointy eared, green blooded goblin, who happens to be the son of a Vulcan prince!" Bones sneered.
Spock was annoyed.
"Vulcans are not …." Spock was cut off.
"Now is not the time to argue!" Ny got the towels and followed Sulu into the room.
To a Vulcan whose hearing is very sensitive, Nyota's screaming was agonizing.
(T'more)
T'Pring and Sybok thought tirelessly how to savage the debacle they know where in.
"We have to do something quickly!" Sybok was jumpy and jittery ever since he learned Syon was still alive.
"We have to get to Prince Spock…"
"And do what?" Sybok shouted, "He doesn't want you! He won't even sleep with you! The only thing we can do now is to kill him and then I will take the throne!"
"What if we get caught?"
None had the answers.
"Spock was exiled which means his father doesn't want him. I can make a claim to the Vulcan High Council for the right to succeed for I am the son of a king too!"
"That might work; however, Sarek did not exile Spock. He left himself."
"Sarek is dying and has to name a successor before the empire falls into chaos. I am sure once I've explained my position the council will vote me as the new king."
"It might work. Contact T'lau and arrange a meeting with the council. But we don't have much time!"
(Nero's ship)
Syon had Nero right where he wanted him and Nero caved in.
Nero told Syon everything about T'Pring and Sybok, their plans for both him and his father. Syon told Nero he had proof that the Romulans destroyed Vulcan under his orders. If Syon were to share this information with the King or even T'Pring, Nero would be done for. Therefore, Nero agreed to work with Syon, in exchange for Syon allowing Nero to escape with his life when it was all done.
Syon had only one destination in mind.
Solaris Prime.
(Enterprise)
Syon contacted Sulu and told him of the situation and Sulu told him where he was going. Both men said their goodbyes with the promise of reuniting back on Vulcan.
Two ships.
Two different directions.
Sulu prayed a small Shinto prayer for safe passage as his ship was badly damaged.
But he had no choice.
(Solaris Prime)
Stonn reached Tilian in Solaris Prime and approached a large temple.
Prince Spock's new home.
As he walked out of his ship, he was greeted by two Bajorian monks.
"I am happy you came." The monks bowed their heads.
"Where is the prince?" Stonn inquired.
"He has been living among us as a monk to atone for a sin that keeps him enslaved."
"The prince is atoning for a sin he never committed! I must speak with the Prince at once!" Stonn demanded.
The monks exchanged glances. "Why?" They spoke in unison.
"Because the fate of the empire rests in his hands!"
An: I know what a tease! The story is almost done. This chapter was a bridge chapter, which means it moves us closer to the climax. Questions? Let me know.