Illyria-4, 2254

"I can't believe I got stuck with you two," Commander Jennison grumbled, hacking away at an overgrown bit of jungle to create a path. A bulky man, he had sweat all the way through his uniform, complaining about the heat from the moment they'd touched down. "Let's just find the Vulcan landing party and get out of here."

"I am not sure I understand your frustration, Commander. As one of the top Cadets at the Academy, I am more than capable of assisting you in your mission today," Spock said, following behind closely. For him the planet seemed almost cool, certainly nothing to compare to the scorching heat of Vulcan. From behind he heard a grunt of indignant laughter, and he turned to face the girl trailing behind them. In truth he'd almost forgotten about her, she was strangely quiet for a human female.

"I'm not exactly the bottom of the barrel myself, you know," she told them, Southern accent strengthening with her frustration. She seemed to be handling the heat fairly well, just a few beads of sweat gathering across the bridge of her nose. Spock had first laid eyes on Cadet Sophie-Anne Caldwell when they boarded the shuttle down to the planet, having been thrown together for a hands-on training mission. They, along with Commander Jennison, were tasked with locating a missing crew of Vulcans that had arrived on the planet a few weeks earlier. After the first day communications had ceased, and now they were there to offer assistance.

There was nothing particularly special about the girl, from what Spock could see. She was of medium height and build, with light brown hair which she kept pinned back neatly. Her only outstanding feature seemed to be her eyes, which were a shade of dark green he'd never seen before. At least she hadn't slowed their progress.

"You might be a big shot in the classroom, but here in the real world you're both just newbies. Try and keep up, I'm not going to wait around for you," Jennison grumbled, causing Sophie-Anne to chuckle.

"He's a real charmer, isn't he?" she asked, only earning a single lifted eyebrow from Spock.

"I am unsure as to the relevance of your comment. I hardly see what Commander Jennison's personality has to do with his ability to lead an expedition..."

"It was a joke," she interrupted, waiting a beat to see if he'd laugh. When there was no response she sighed. "Never mind."

"I apologize. Human jokes generally escape me," he explained shortly, though he couldn't quite keep the sharpness from his tone. If it wasn't Vulcans saying he was too human, it was humans complaining he was too Vulcan. There really was no pleasing anyone.

Commander Jennison held up a hand and motioned for them to wait, which they did while he disappeared into a dense thicket of trees. Sophie-Anne dropped a hand to her hip and stared at Spock in a way that unnerved him. "Doesn't it get exhausting, controlling your emotions all the time? I would go crazy."

The question hit a little too close to one Spock had asked his father many years ago, and it took a moment longer than usual to contain the feeling it gave him. "On the contrary, I would think it would be exhausting to be at the mercy of one's emotions. By not controlling them, you allow your emotions to control you."

"You didn't really answer my question. It's not about what's worse, I'm just wondering..."

"Hey," Commander Jennison barked, stomping loudly through the underbrush. "If you ladies are done having social hour, I'd like to continue."

With that he stormed off, leaving Spock and Sophie-Anne to trail behind. Spock could feel a spark of annoyance fighting for dominance. Why must she ask so many questions?

"I've just never met a Vulcan before, I guess I don't really understand you," she continued, and finally Spock had to stop and turn to face her.

"Cadet Caldwell, we are currently partaking in a live mission, perhaps your inquiries are best saved for a later time?" he asked, causing her to scowl. It wasn't at all a fearsome expression, when she frowned she looked a little like a mad kitten.

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but Commander Jennison isn't exactly interested in our input. I bet we could disappear and he wouldn't even notice."

"Now we're talkin'!" Commander Jennison's voice cut through the leaves, sending both Spock and Sophie-Anne into a short sprint to catch up. When they crested the hill they found him, a dopey smile plastered on his face. In the river below were a half dozen of the planet's indigenous women, Teldosians, bathing naked in the water. Sophie-Anne's mouth fell open as she covered her eyes, while Spock's gaze seemed to come unfocused as he turned his head slightly to the side. The Commander, however, was spellbound.

"Commander, the Teldosians have proved on numerous occasions to be hostile to outsiders. Perhaps it would be best if we could avoid contact..." Spock said, and Sophie-Anne nodded in agreement.

"If they've captured the Vulcan scouting party, we need to call in back up," she said, only to be waved off by Jennison.

"These are just a few ladies, certainly not anything to concern yourselves with. I'll go down and ask if they've seen anything, you two wait here," the Commander ordered, and Sophie-Anne shot Spock a pleading look.

"Commander, please. Contact with these women is unwise..." Spock tried, but Jennison had already plunged down the hill, his arms held up in a peaceful gesture. Sophie-Anne sighed.

"You know he has the communicator, right?" she asked. Spock simply nodded, watching as the Commander inched closer to the women. They'd already gathered together in alarm, and Spock touched a hand to his phaser. Before there was even a moment to react two male Teldosians erupted from the trees, using pairs of long sharp knives to sever Commander Jennison's head from his body. It landed with a thud on the ground and rolled away, and Sophie-Anne couldn't control her scream. Spock tried to clamp a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. The men down below looked up, spotting them through the trees. Without waiting to see what would happen, Spock and Sophie-Anne began to run.

XXX

Earth, 2258

"Move over," Sophie-Anne commanded, barely allowing Spock enough time to switch his seat. When he gave her a curious look she shrugged, tugging down the hem of her red skirt. "I like the window, and I know you don't care."

"How was your encounter with Doctor McCoy?" he asked, and her eyes widened. Of course he'd seen that, those Vulcan eyes never missed anything.

"Awkward. Apparently he's assigned the Enterprise as well, talk about bad luck," she grumbled, pretending to be busy on her PADD. Honestly she wanted to forget that she'd bumped into Leonard McCoy at all, especially since she was just starting to find her place in Starfleet.

"I had forgotten about your involvement with him."

Sophie-Anne laughed, pulling her hair down and beginning to braid it to one side of her head. "I wish I could forget it," she said.

He seemed to be reaching for a thought, and after a moment he caught her eye. "Would you like to... discuss it?"

The words sounded so funny she had to fight not to laugh again. She knew the last thing he wanted to do was talk about her feelings, but the fact that he would offer was pretty sweet.

"Not really, but thank you." An uncomfortable silence descended, and she was glad to spot a dark ponytail swaying through the aisle. "Oh look, there's Uhura. I'm going to go sit with her, you can have your window back!" She hopped up with a bright smile, climbing over him and into the aisle. He didn't bother switching back to the window, just waited until he felt her hair brushing his cheek as she leaned over the back of his seat and squeezed his shoulder. "I'm sure everything is fine on Vulcan. Don't worry, okay?"

And with that, they were bound for the Enterprise.

XXX

A/N: sorry for the small delay! whenever i get in spock's head space everything just feels harder to write... plus my 2009 dvd has gone missing since i moved, very annoyed! i'll try to be better about updating :)