Thanks to all who have read, followed, faved, and reviewed so far! This chapter took a while, and it could not have happened without the help and support of my friend, Zhi'rev, who acted as beta reader and confidante for this. You're the best, Zhi'rev!
Lieutenant Uhura had not moved from the communications console in hours. She was entitled to a dinner break and had been offered relief of post by another communications officer, but had denied both. Between messages sent to Starfleet, she worked on another puzzling conundrum about the planet Eonsul. Uhura knew that she was the only one who would be able to find the answer because, to her knowledge, no one else was proficient in this advanced Romulan code. Why had Dr. S contacted them in this language? Did they want Romulans to attend their distress call? She had reviewed Captain Kirk's incoming reports time and time again. Dr. S claimed the planet was completely isolated. But with a little research, Uhura found conflicting evidence.
She could not call out from the Enterprise, but she was able to tap into Eonsul's records of communications. Their last contact had been a few months ago, to the scientists' ship, returning to pick them up. Since it was a Federation ship, the transmission went out in English. It read, "Turn back. Contagion." This fit with Dr. S's testimony so far. Hand on her sound-blocking earpiece, Uhura looked intently at the console's screen, waving away a yeoman attempting to give her a glass of water. She was receiving a transmission of a message nearly six Earth months prior. It was written in the Romulan cipher, addressed to a small planet in the Romulan Empire. The signal could be traces back to the exact room where Dr. S sat. Uhura noted that he seemed to be the only one sending out any type of communication. She wrinkled her brow and read: "This may not reach you soon, but I am well. Give my love to mother and the girls. Signed, Sirol." Something suddenly clicked in the weary Lieutentant's mind. Eonsul was not isolated from other worlds. At least, the records showed that Dr. S most certainly was not. It is said that Vulcans do not lie, thought Uhura. But no one had ever said that about Romulans.
She pressed a button. "Enterprise calling Captain Kirk."
Some static ensued, but then, "Kirk here. Go ahead, Enterprise."
"Lieutenat Uhura here, sir. I found something that you may be interested in."
Spock turned towards Neil's voice. "I am. How astute of you to make that observation," he said.
Meanwhile, Leila bit her lip. The other scientists tried to hide their surprise but were unable. They also wore expressions of fear and began to slowly get out of the water.
Neil turned to Leila, "You knew? And didn't tell us? Don't you know what could have happened to us?" His teal eyes shot her a piercing glance, but he kept his distance from both of them.
Spock could sense Leila's worry, but her face remained composed. "Relax. No one will find out. That's what these costumes are for, right?" She forced a chuckle. "You four better bring these specimens back to the lab. I must talk to Mr. Spock alone for a moment." She exited the natural wading pool, grabbed her clothes and shoes, and motioned for him to follow her. Their respite had been short-lived.
"All right, but be careful," said Neil. He began retracing their path through the dense foliage. Leila seemed to have an untarnishable rapport with them. Despite the tension, her peers obviously respected her authority over them. Suhana turned and looked back at Spock, still standing motionless up to his waste in water. Spock noticed that she wore the same skeptical smirk as Jim whenever they landed on an unknown planet together. But without a word, she grabbed their basket of plant samples, turned around and kept walking.
The other male scientist, Henri, elbowed his partner, Ira: "A Vulcan. How about that?" They followed the others and were soon out of sight and sound.
"Why did my heritage come as such a surprise to Neil?" Spock said, walking to shore. Suddenly the smooth rocks jabbed at his bare feet creating the sensation of walking on nails.
"Oh, Spock, I should have told you, but there wasn't time. Come, I will brief you as we walk back together."
"One moment," he replied, sitting on a log. "It would be entirely illogical to begin the journey without redressing. We must not risk the possibility of creating open wounds vulnerable to infection."
"And all this time, I thought you were a science officer, not a doctor." She laughed and sat next to him, beginning to pull on her white boots. He stiffened; a little too close for comfort. She sensed it, and slid herself father from him. His side ached from labored breath. He didn't know why; the air temperature was actually beginning to cool down. Spock picked up his cloth headband and examined it closely. Then he tied it on, covering his ears and eyebrows once again.
"Dr. S is the leader of this planet, as I am sure you've gathered. You might also be wondering why he is not working to cure the disease," began Leila. Spock looked into her clear blue eyes, with a crystalline shine. He knew it would be impolite to do otherwise when she was speaking to him, but it took everything in him to focus on the words she was saying.
"...not a medical doctor. He's an entomologist."
"Ah, the study of insects. A fascinating profession."
"He is an intelligent man." Leila said. Spock thought he heard something more than admiration in her voice. He thought she had the same wistfulness about her that Jim often exhibited when he discussed women like Edith Keeler. Because of this, Spock hoped his intuition was still compromised.
"But-" she continued. "He is very... Oh, it's so hard to come out with it. Forgive me, Spock." He heard her breath catch in her throat. He wanted to smoothly move closer. But what logical purpose would that serve? His mind returned no answers.
"Leila, it seems whatever you have to tell me is of great importance. If it causes you pain to say it, might I suggest a mind meld?" Why had he said that? Surely there were less drastic measures to be taken.
"A mind meld? I've heard of that. Vulcans can cause two minds to become one... How ironic would this be considering what I have to tell you." She paused, deep in thought. Then she sucked in a confident breath. "No. Spock, I know I can manage without."
Without awareness of his movement, Spock inched closer to Leila on the log. All he could hear was the echo of his words from a short time ago, words he had said to Stonn upon finding out that the other male Vulcan would wed T'Pring. Having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. In this moment, Spock knew one thing: he wanted Leila Kalomi. He wanted her body, her mind, and her spirit.
With his brain focused on the mission and his heart beating too fast to be of any use, what was telling him this? What told him to grab her hands in his, and rub the tops of them with his thumbs? What force was behind his movement close to her eyes, her face? He could feel her soft eyelash on his nose. His arm snaked around her neck and hair and pulled her close to him. His lips found their way to hers and somehow the rest of his mouth followed. For a moment he couldn't do anything else but kiss her, take a breath, and kiss her again, deeply, feverishly, madly.
He couldn't tell if she was enjoying their exchange or not. Something had taken control of his movements. What was it? His hand glided over the fabric headband that she had just retied on her head, outlining its edges with awe and wonder. Setting sunlight dripped white shadows onto her forehead, adorning her skin with little jewels. His fingertips spread and touched her brow and felt her essence, the core of her being, and he wanted more. Curling his hand into her hair, he accidentally ventured into her mind: fear, terror, fight, masked weakness. This realization made him want to shelter her, protect her: protect her from people like himself. He couldn't stop. He had to know all of her. His lithe fingers slipped down from her neck to the smooth shirt fabric that she had just re-clothed herself with. They ventured lower, lower down to her hip. The garments ached to be removed. So he caressed them, hoping to ease them off as gently as a Vulcan in heat was able to manage.
Suddenly a blow to his chest pushed him away from his desire.
The forceful blow turned out to be Leila's hands. "Spock, what are you doing?" She said with a hint of disgust, surprise, and pleasure all rolled into one. "I am certain that's not how mind melds work. That was, very, uhn-unlike you." She trembled. Had he hurt her? He had no recollection of what he had done. If he wasn't overwhelmed by her presence, he would have been flush with shame and embarrassment.
She wasn't afraid. Standing, she yanked him up by his wrist. "We must leave now, if we are to make it back before dark." Reaching for her canteen, she took a long swig, and held it out to Spock.
He took it. The taste of cold living liquid flashed his memory back to all of his recent encounters with water: the Enterprise pool, the waterfall. He remembered, and a twinge of shame did come before he covered it. It took humility to admit that Dr. McCoy had been right. Blood fever was not over. It was far from over. But identifying the reasoning behind his actions was the first step to handling them.
He began to walk through the tree-lined path, clasping his hands behind his back. She fell into step with him.
"You must...forgive me." It was not a command. It was a plea from the deepest part of him that he could stand to show her.
She ignored his vulnerable request, instead opting to change the subject. "I am ready to tell you what I know, to explain Neil's reaction."
Head down, Spock gave a sharp nod and concentrated on not tripping on roots or vines.
"Ever since we arrived here, Dr. S has constantly expressed distaste - no, Spock, hatred - for the Vulcan race. One moment I overhear him wanting to annihilate the – your – entire race of people, and the next - he can't stand the sight of you. Oh, Spock, it's awful! When the Enterprise was detected flying overhead, he called in my team and asked if we were familiar with the ship. Of course, many of the informed scientists knew of your widely reported 5-year mission. Then, he asked if any of the crew were Vulcan. I of course told him none were, because I wanted your ship to come. I want to live, we want to live and be rid of the disease, and I know you, Spock. I knew you would help us."
Spock's face showed a slight wrinkle of distress. But he kept listening, as the trees became thicker and the path narrower.
"If I had told him of a Vulcan First Officer, he either planned to shoot your ship down right there or let it pass over this planet. I'm sure of it!"
Spock was almost too shocked to speak. This visit just became more and more puzzling. In a moment of desperation, he grabbed her wrist, and gently slid his hand into hers, squeezing it. He knew this gesture tended to reassure humans. He usually found it uncomfortable and unnecessary, but not now. "Did Dr. S ever articulate his reason for...strongly disliking... the Vulcan race?"
"He's so prone to emotional outbursts that none of us had the gall to ask. We just wanted to get off of this planet alive and invested all of our energies in uncovering a cure for the disease." She paused. "I'm frightened," Leila finally admitted, squeezing his hand back.
He took out his communicator. "Spock to Dr. McCoy. Doctor, what is your progress?"
McCoy answered immediately, "Spock, where the blazes are you? That science team of yours brought back an interesting specimen. I think I'm onto something. Get your green-blooded self out of the trees and high tail it back here!"
"Yes, Doctor. Spock out."
To Leila, he said, "The Doctor appears to have found something. Now would be a logical time to be hopeful." He let go of her hand and began walking with new conviction.
"Oh, Spock," she said, her sigh riding on the trails of the ethereal breeze. "Why did we let each other go?"
Nightfall was approaching by the time Spock and Leila made it back to the compound.
Spock turned to her. "You should join the others and get some rest, while I provide assistance to Doctor McCoy. Conserving energy during an epidemic would be most logical. Especially since your body has hosted the pathogen longer than mine."
Leila smiled and placed her hands on his arms. "Spock, during an epidemic, logic is the first thing to be abandoned. Besides, I might be of assistance, too, you know. I have studied some in the field of medicinal herbs." She left him and began walking towards the medical building.
It was no use wasting time arguing with Leila. Spock respected her evaluation of her own abilities. Leila's strength of constitution continued to surprise him. He couldn't help noting the difference between this new Leila with the delicate, gentle flower he had known on Omicron Ceti III. The two women were worlds apart in disposition. He followed after her, taken aback by the sudden tangent of thought.
When Spock entered, he saw McCoy and another doctor conferring with some other medical personnel. On the table beside them lay one of the plants that Suhana had gathered hours before. Its pointed leaves were reminiscent of Earth's ivy, but the leaves were thicker and the stem appeared to contain fluid. At the top of the plant was a flower of the blandest grey tone. Spock likened the color to the hide of the extinct mammal Loxodonta africana, commonly known as the elephant, if his Earth zoological history was correct.
Bones saw them first. He grinned at the sight of them. Their clothing was nearly dry, but it was still damp enough for the Doctor to notice. "Get caught in a downpour, did ya?" he drawled.
Leila found this remark slightly amusing and curled her lips up. Spock did not.
"Mr. Spock, Miss Kalomi, you'll be pleased to know that a breakthrough is in progress," said the other doctor. He sounded quite lively despite presumably being overworked and infected.
Bones seemed reluctant to abandon the humor of their appearance. However, he managed to re-focus his eyes down on some chemical readings, "But it's not a cure. Dr. O here believes that this plant's digestive juices can ease symptoms."
"Digestive juices?" Spock inquired. "This plant does not produce it's own nutrition."
"Yes, I am familiar with these types of carnivorous plants. An example would be Earth's Dionaea muscipula."
"The Venus fly trap," Spock replied.
Leila laughed and clapped twice. "Very good, Mr. Spock!"
"Precisely. This plant also eats insects. We found the remnants of one that was about to be digested, and are working to identify it now," said Dr. O.
Just then, the door burst open. Captain Kirk flew in with his usual gusto. But the expression on his face was one of trepidation, not excitement. "Spock! Bones!" His breathing was labored, but he worked to calm down when he saw the others staring at him wide-eyed. "I…need… to talk to you."