Many thanks to my awesome beta, TheWindowView.

Here's a little bit of a longer chapter for you all. Read and enjoy!

Wena leaned back in her seat and opened her mouth to tell Kirk all she knew.

Mig interrupted her though, seemingly just as eager as her to finally get the truth out. "It was one of our amateur engineers."

Kirk's eyebrows rose. "Oh?"

Nodding, Mig continued. "Yes. Our two head engineers, Jacek and Grego, were incapacitated by this man before he then tampered with the warp drive. I believe he also tampered with the navigations system."

Neither Nethi nor Wena made eye contact with the captain as he looked at the other faces around the table. Nia's eyebrows were furrowed and she was squinting slightly in confusion.

"So," She began "why not just say that in the first place?"

"It was Bakor." Wena whispered.

Nia's head once again met her hands. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me." She swore.

Silently, Kirk watched the interaction between the four Paladians. At this point in time, maintaining control of the flow of the conversation wasn't as high a priority as was gaining information. He was gaining plenty by just observing the way they regarded each other.

For example, it was obvious that Sargent had little involvement in the current situation. Her surprise and frustration were genuine. Mig was sincere and almost desperate as he spoke. Nethi struck him as being simple minded, caring only for things that personally affected him and his family, and being ignorant to the rest of the world.

Verde… Verde was different. She struck him as being very angry and at times seemed to be a female Bones. Only, a little higher strung. He really wasn't sure how Sargent and Verde got along, given what little he knew about the two women. Nia was certainly stuck to the half-Paladian's side.

As content as he was to watch, Kirk did need information. "Who is Bakor?"

Wena's voice was small as she answered "He's the son of one of our Council members."

"Council members?" Kirk questioned. "As in Federation Council?"

Every Paladian nodded slowly.

"Oh hell." Kirk said. "Oh hell."

Nia snorted. "Yeah."

"What the hell happened?"

Mig sighed. "We are not certain." He sent a meaningful look at Wena.

She caught it and began to speak. "He started exhibiting symptoms of extreme paranoia and – and he may have been caught in a delusion when the events in question took place."

McCoy spoke up "And you didn't think to document this?"

Wena glared at him until the look softened as she turned to Kirk. "As the most qualified of the medical personnel on board I should have caught the signs." She let out a short breath as her eyes got glassy. "Obviously, I didn't." She rubbed a shaking hand over her face.

"It is not your fault alone." Mig countered. He looked at Kirk and said "Bakor was an amateur, but was well liked by both Grego and Jacek. He was also incredibly intelligent. In the midst of his delusion, he trapped the brothers, altered the headings of the navigations system, significantly damaged the warp drive to the point an emergency landing of the ship was necessary."

Nethi finally spoke. "Our pilot is very good, or else we may not have made it."

"Pilot's lucky, too." McCoy said from behind Kirk. "Damn near landed you on top of the only oasis in the area."

"I assume Bakor was also the cause of the explosion that destroyed most of the remainders of the ship?" Kirk asked.

"You assume correctly." Wena said. "We aren't quite sure how he did it, but with the way he was acting no one was really surprised."

The way she said that seemed off to Nia. As she stared at her friend, Nia realized, She liked Bakor. She knew him and liked him. This is more than just missing the signs of a crewmember. This is missing the signs in a friend.

"So why lie?" McCoy asked, slightly baffled.

Kirk understood though and answered the question for the Paladians. "Because the last thing Palad needs is for the actions of the insane son of a Federation Council member to be public knowledge." He crossed his arms with a smug smirk that didn't really reach his eyes. "Palad is already being viewed in poor light after the issue with the aide agreement with the Vulcans. Palad looks bad, looks incompetent or like liars. Add potentially hereditary insanity to the list and you have a whole new ball of chaos." The smirk fell away and the blond man sighed. "Palad's public standing and standing with the rest of the Federation could be damaged by this."

"Which is why it isn't in our reports." Wena said.

"But it will be now." McCoy stated. He looked at Kirk. "Right?" He asked.

Nia began to wonder just why he was hovering behind Kirk. When had he appeared anyway? During her 'episode' after Wena had unleashed all her emotional turmoil on Nia. Was that why he was there?

The data PADD alerted Kirk as a message came through. It was Spock's findings.

"Alright," Kirk said. "I think I've heard enough. I have the findings from the investigative team on the planet, which I will look over shortly."

In very short order, Kirk dismissed the Paladians and sent them on their way. After they left, McCoy turned to Kirk.

"Why did you send them away?" The doctor asked.

"Because, Bones, I want to confirm their story without their bias nearby."

McCoy grunted in response. "So is there a reason for my continued presence or do you just enjoy wasting my time?"

"Spock is sending up a body."

"And you wanted me to hear the explanation so that I can confirm or deny their story."

Kirk slapped the other man on the shoulder. "Exactly."

After they left the captain's ready room, the two women went in a different direction than the two men.

Wena let Nia lead the way down the hall as she was clearly heading for the mess hall and the half-Paladian really didn't know her way yet around the ship. She'd spent most of her time on board in Nia's quarters, asleep.

Sitting down for a quick meal, Wena decided to break the ice. "So, I know you're mad at me."

Nia shook her negatively. "I'm not mad, just disappointed, I guess."

"Of course,." Wena said. She geared herself up for 'the talk'. Sometimes she wished Nia would just yell. "You want to talk about it?"

Her answer surprised the doctor. "Not much to talk about. I wish you had trusted me more."

Guilt plucked at Wena. "I'm sorry. I do trust you; I just don't know how to handle this situation."

"I understand that." She smiled at her, light grey eyes meeting green. "I really do. That's why I'm not mad."

"Just disappointed?"

"A little, yeah."

Wena accepted her answer, nodding. "Alright. So, you gonna tell me about the guy we had lunch with yesterday or what?"

Nia stared at her with one eyebrow raised.

"Don't give me that look. What's going on between you two?" Wena asked, rolling her eyes at her friend.

Snorting, Nia shook head. "You're going to kill me."

"… You're dating him, aren't you?"

She coughed. "Maybe."

Wena stared at her. "You're right. I am going to kill you."

"So I could have told you sooner, but it didn't seem like the appropriate time and I didn't want to cheapen what has been going on with you." Nia explained.

A light bulb clicked on for Wena. "Wait a second; this is new, isn't it? I mean like couple weeks new, not couple months new."

"Couple months?" Nia scoffed. "Please, girl. Imminent peril or not, I would not have been able to keep my mouth shut if this had been going for a couple of months."

"You still held out longer than I would have."

"Right because you were oh so bursting at the seams to tell me about Bakor and his madness."

"I was!" Wena defended. "Couldn't you tell?"

"Uh, ice cream date much?"

"Oh, right."

The two shared a look and giggled.

Giggles quieting, Wena grinned softly at her friend. "So, obviously you met on the ship?"

"Yep." Nia answered as a wide smile spread across her face.

"Oh, will you just spill already?" Wena snapped, her patience wearing a little thin.

"Fine, fine!" Nia said. "So yes, I met him on the ship. He was one of the first to greet me and then I sat with him at lunch the next day."

"Really? So it was all love at first sight and he asked you to sit with him?" Wena near squealed.

Nia gaped. "No! I was just looking for a place to sit and there happened to be an empty seat at his table."

"Ah, yeah that's not nearly as exciting." She sighed. "Here I was hoping for some good drama."

"Ok, there might be a little drama." Nia told her sheepishly.

"Ex?"

"Sorta, but she's cool."

Wena stared at her. "I was only kidding."

Nia laughed at the look on her face. "I know. It's the truth though."

Shaking her head, Wena tried to get the conversation back on track. "So what's the drama, if not the ex?"

Giggling, Nia tried to calm herself. Otherwise, the situation would turn into one of those times where she started laughing before the punch line could be told. "I didn't eat lunch with him once, but several times."

"Bow-chicka-bow-"

"Don't even."

"Sorry. Can't help it."

Nia shook her head. "Anyways. I had been eating lunch with him for several days when some rumors started to get spread about us."

Wena's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yep. And it didn't help matters when I, uh, 'touched' him." Nia looked away briefly before turning her eyes back to catch her friend's reaction.

"You 'touched' him? As in, you 'touched' him? Are you kidding me?" Not waiting for a response, Wena plowed on. "Why would you do that? You know how rude that is! It's a total invasion of privacy!"

"I know, I know.' Nia held up her hands as she spoke. "I don't know what I was thinking. I just knew he was hurting and the instinct to help hit me hard. Not as hard as his emotions, however."

"That's not surprising."

"It was almost as bad as what you and the others put me through today."

"That is surprising."

"Yeah, so now I know why Vulcans control their emotions so tightly."

That also surprised Wena. "He's Vulcan?"

Nia stared at her friend before pursing her lips. "You met him. Weren't the ears a dead give away?"

Cheeks a vibrant red, Wena grumbled "Oh shut up. I wasn't paying attention."

"Some doctor you a – gah, Wena that was my mouth!" Nia spat the wadded up piece of napkin out as her friend laughed at her.

"I can't believe he's Vulcan." Wena shook her head. "Only you."

"What's that supposed to mean? Do you want the rest of the story or not?"

"Well, yeah. Don't leave me hanging. How did he react to you 'touching' him?"

Nia shrugged. "Pretty well, as far as I could tell. He has excellent emotional control, so I really couldn't tell. He did sit with me for a while, and helped me work through the emotions."

"That's good. Why did the rumors start from that?" Wena asked.

"Because we were in my quarters for a few hours. And no, nothing happened."

"But that doesn't matter for the rumor mill."

"Not at all. I'm not sure what happened on his end, but then Michaels, my assistant in the lab, approached me about the rumors. I made a joke about the sparring mats and soon we were goofing off and talking about how great 'Matt' was."

"Oh. Oh, don't tell me." Wena could see it coming. "Don't tell me he overheard the conversation and misunderstood everything that was said."

"And told the captain who then came to me to ask why I hadn't filed the appropriate documentation for an inter-personnel relationship."

For a moment Wena thought her friend was kidding. When it sunk in, she started laughing and clapped her hands in mirth. "Oh my gosh. That had to be awkward. Oh, that is hilarious."

"Tell me about it. I was so embarrassed when I realized what the heck Captain Kirk was talking about."

"I can imagine. So did anything else happen after that?"

"Not much. We talked and realized we like each other. Well, I realized I liked him and took his presenting of the official documentation for an onboard relationship as a sign that he liked me too."

Wena nodded. "Makes sense. So how was the first date with this… what's his name again?"

"Commander Spock. He's the – "

"The one who is not only the First Officer, but also the one leading the investigation of the remains of the ship?" Wena gaped then shook her head. "Well at least he's not the captain."

Nia rolled her eyes. "Right. We haven't been on a 'date' yet. What is a date, anyways?"

"Oh you know. I'm sure that Henry took you out on plenty."

Nia just shrugged. "Not really. Paladians don't date."

"I know that. I may have been raised on Earth, but I am half Paladian and not totally ignorant." Wena snapped, offended at the implication.

"Well Henry knew that, and so he didn't try to court me in the human sense."

"So are you and Commander Spock trying to date in the 'human sense'?" Wena asked. Her eyes flickered behind Nia for a brief second.

Nia frowned. "I don't know. I guess so. I have no idea how Vulcans court."

"We do not." A familiar voice said behind her, startling her with its closeness.

"Spock," she said with a smile. "I wasn't expecting to see you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is this not our usual arrangement?"

Wena snorted as Nia flushed. "It is. The captain told us you were on the team that was looking over the rubble of the colony ship, so I expected you to be busy with that."

Spock sat down next to Nia. "Did you not expect the task to be performed in an efficient and timely manner?"

"Well – " Nia just barely caught the hint of a smirk that tipped the corners of his lips before she stuck her foot any further in her mouth. She gave him a sly grin. "Well, you were working with humans. I assumed they would slow you down."

"I was recently informed of what happens when one assumes." He responded.

"Ah yes. " Nia said. "You make an ass out of you."

"And me." Wena piped up. Her eyes grew large. "Damn it, you did it again!"

Nia couldn't help, but giggle. When she saw Spock's stoic expression, she wondered what he thought of their antics. Maybe she would get a smile out of him yet.

Addressing Wena, she said "It's not my fault you fall for it every time."

"You're the one who apparently can't spell."

"Can't or won't?"

"Same difference."

"I do not believe that to actually be the case." Spock interjected.

Wena opened her mouth to argue back and then seemed to remember who exactly she would be going against. She settled for rolling her eyes with a muttered "Whatever. Not gonna go there." She dug into her lunch with a little more veracity.

Nia just smirked and continued eating.

The table fell into a brief silence that barely lasted a couple of minutes before Wena abruptly stood with a remarkably clean plate.

"Where are you going?" Nia asked. She could have sworn Wena's plate had been almost full just a minute ago.

"The medbay." She caught Nia's look and said "Don't worry, I won't annoy Dr. McCoy too much. I just want to see how the others are doing for myself."

Nia nodded in understanding. "Alright. If I have to come get you again, though, I'll tell everyone about that time –"

"You won't have to come get me. Jeez. So untrusting." Wean rolled her eyes as she left the table. When she had placed her dishes in the appropriate receptacle, the doctor turned around for a brief moment and made eye contact with Nia. She winked and then ducked out of the mess hall as quick as she could.

Nia stared at the empty space near the doorway, dumbfounded. Then it clicked. "Oh that little…"

"Is there a problem?" Spock had witnessed the interaction, but was unaware of its meaning. He almost frowned. Her friend had left rather quickly after his arrival; had he been the cause for her departure? "Did I cause an offense with Dr. Verde?"

Quick to reassure him, Nia shook her head. "No, no that's not it. She didn't leave because she was offended."

"But you also do not believe she left to go to the medbay?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I think it was just an excuse."

That didn't make any sense to him. "An excuse for what?"

He didn't expect the slight blush that bloomed in her cheeks. "She left to give us time together."

"I was not aware her presence affected such a state of being."

"Spock!"

A/N: Some answers to the intrigue and a little bit of interaction with Spock. Don't worry, there is more in the next chapter XD I have to say, Spock really likes to challenge me. It's difficult to keep him from being OOC.

Anyways, thank you, thank you to Cc, and QHJumper for reviewing. And, of course, thank you to all who are following this story. I'm glad to know you like it enough to get alerts for it :)