Once enough time had passed for Kirk to recover somewhat from the experience of meeting the Enterprise in human form, Spock cleared his throat. "The personification of the Enterprise told us that one or more beings awaited me in the desert area of this planet. With your permission, I will have myself beamed to that location, so we can gather data on a second creature."

Kirk smiled. "I can't wait to see who appears to you!"

"Is it your intention to accompany me?"

Kirk shook his head. "I'm not leaving you alone with whatever manifests to you any more than you did when the Enterprise manifested to me. Besides, we need at least two witnesses, so we can compare notes and corroborate each other's perceptions."

"Agreed." Spock flicked open his communicator and had them beamed up to the ship, then beamed down to the desert area of the planet. Once they'd solidified again, the two men looked around.

Although it had been nighttime by the lake, the desert was on the opposite side of the planet, and it was day here. The desert was mostly flat, gradually rising to higher ground in the distance. The stony substrate was covered by golden sand, with frequent small rocks and the occasional larger rock formation. A few desert plants dotted the landscape, mostly small scrubby bushes close to them, with a group of cactus plants in the near distance. The sun had risen two hours ago, and the slanting light struck sparks from bright speckles in the sand. A light wind blew out of the west, and the temperature would be considered pleasantly warm on Earth or bracingly cool on Vulcan.

Kirk gestured towards an archlike rock formation that rose out of the sand nearby. "Why don't you sit over there, while I go check out those cacti? The Enterprise first manifested while I was alone, and we might need to separate to get your 'god' to show up."

Spock looked at the rocky arch and the distant cacti. "You should be able to reach the arch from the cacti in 5.4 minutes, if you run at your top speed. I will contact you as soon as a creature begins to form."

Kirk grimaced. "I don't want to spend several hours inspecting plants; let's hope this doesn't take long." He began walking towards the cluster of cacti.

Spock scanned the surrounding area with his tricorder, finding nothing unexpected, then settled himself against the rocky arch to wait. The tricorder was not the only instrument at his disposal that might bring him information, however, and he cautiously extended his telepathic senses. A telepathic scan of his surroundings brought him no new information, though; he felt nothing except his usual sense of the presence of Kirk's mind, as a spot of brightness or light near the cacti.

Though Kirk had hoped for speed, a Vulcan treasures free time in which to contemplate the universe. Spock needed to be more alert than meditation would allow, but he could ponder any of the pending scientific questions that needed more thought than he'd had time to give them heretofore, and he did so, even as his eyes kept careful watch.

Spock had just settled on a plan for future research on a particularly interesting problem when a dust devil began to swirl, ten meters in front of him. The wind was still as light as it had been when they arrived, so a natural dust devil was exceedingly improbable. Spock flipped open his communicator and notified Kirk, then gave the swirling sand his full attention.

What began as a small dust devil swept up more and more sand and increased in size until it was as tall as Spock himself. At that point, the sand began to swirl faster, compressing until it was a nearly solid column. A cloud of sand formed around the column, forming a curtain or veil, hiding it from view. Spock scanned the phenomenon with his tricorder, but the scan showed nothing that he could not see with his eyes. Whatever process formed these creatures, it was nothing his tricorder could read. He slung the tricorder back across his shoulder and waited patiently, watching what he could.

Eventually the swirling stopped and the outer cloud of sand fell to the ground, revealing what had been within it. A Vulcanoid man with pale golden skin the color of the desert's sand stood looking at Spock. A vein of darker sand had given him black hair, pushed behind pointed ears and falling in waves to his shoulders. His eyes were bright blue, and even from a distance, there was a suggestion of steel in them. The man was fully humanoid once formed, just as the woman formed of water had been, and no one who had missed his formation would believe him to be a creature made originally of sand.

When the creature was fully formed, Spock decided to test it with his telepathic senses. He could only read a creature's actual thoughts when in physical contact with it, but from this distance, usually he could at least gain a sense that another mind existed. The creature that Kirk believed to be a personification of the Enterprise had been accompanied by mechanical sounds, and while Kirk believed her, Spock privately considered that it was at least as probable that the woman had been an android, one constructed in much the same fashion as the androids on the Shore Leave planet had been. He had been forbidden from using his telepathic senses with her, but that injunction did not apply to the current creature.

Spock cautiously opened a small crack in his telepathic shields, then immediately slammed that crack shut when he was nearly bowled over by the sensation of a mind of great power. His own mind was more powerful than that of most creatures he encountered, but this mind dwarfed his. It was very close, clearly that of the creature in front of him, rather than someone hiding a greater distance away. Fascinating. A mind had formed of sand while he watched, and not just any mind but a mind of power. He found this far more remarkable than the formation of a merely physical form.

Spock relinquished his seat on the arch formation, and standing, inclined his head to the Vulcanoid man in a graceful nod. At that point, Kirk ran up, puffing, and stood by his side. The captain squinted at the creature, then looked at Spock. "Has he said anything yet?"

Spock shook his head. "Negative. He only just now achieved his full form."

Kirk took a step back, standing a few feet behind Spock and off to one side. "Well, this vision or visitation or whatever is here to see you, not me, so I'll observe but try to stay out of it."

Spock nodded. "Agreed."

The golden Vulcan walked forward until he was within easy conversational distance, then raised his hand in a Vulcan salute. "Spock, I greet thee."

Spock raised his own hand in greeting. "Whom have I the privilege of addressing?"

The creature lifted an eyebrow and asked, "Whom hast thou served for all of thy life?"

Spock raised his own brow. "You are Logic, then? Or perhaps Science?"

The man shook his head. "Logic and Science are two of my beloved children, but I am larger and grander than either, for I am Truth."

Once again Spock inclined his head gravely in greeting, then raised it and looked into the man's steel-blue eyes. "Why have you come to me? Do you believe me to have failed you?"

Kirk made a scoffing sound at the mere idea, but Truth did not scoff. He said, "Few men of any race have served and courted and furthered me with the diligence thou hast shown ... yet it is equally true that few have shunned me with thy fervor."

Spock frowned. "Specify."

Truth looked stern, his Vulcanoid features making his face uncomfortably reminiscent of the face of Spock's father. "Thou facest all truths unflinching, save for one: the truth of thy divided heritage. Thou dost proclaim thyself Vulcan, dost guard thy Vulcanity as assiduously as possible, and dost feel shame when thy human heritage is made manifest. Yet I am Truth, and I say to thee that thou art a human-Vulcan hybrid!"

Spock exhaled just lightly enough that it could not quite be called a sigh. "That is so. Yet 'human-Vulcan hybrid' is not something upon which one can base a solid identity, partly because there are too few others to form any sort of culture or community, partly because the two halves fit together rather poorly. I freely admit that my biology is that of a hybrid, but my identity is Vulcan, and it is my right to form my identity however I wish."

Truth shook his head. "It would be thy right, did a foul sense of shame not cloud thy choices." Truth gestured at Kirk. "This man is human, yet he commands thee, and thou dost his bidding willingly. Is he a lesser creature than thy father, this man who owns thy affection, respect, and loyalty?"

Spock pressed his lips together. "If you are Truth, then you know that he is not. I have never met a more worthy individual than James Kirk, nor do I expect ever to do so in the future."

Truth gestured expansively. "And if this human is more worthy than all else that thou knowest, how is it that thine own humanity shames thee? Can his humanity be of great value while thine own debases thee?"

Spock sighed. "My father shamed me for any expression of humanity, as did our other relatives, my teachers, and my peers. Although I have rejected their attitude consciously, their teaching began so early and was so pervasive that I have found it difficult to eradicate it completely."

Truth looked disapproving. "And yet thy father it was who ensured that thy mother would be human. By what right did he impose the expectation that thou wouldst refrain from manifesting a heritage that he, himself, had given thee?"

Spock shook his head. "My father's expectations of me have always been illogical, yet he has been unwilling to admit to a lack of logic where I am concerned. It was partly for that reason that I left Vulcan and joined Starfleet."

Truth looked at him consideringly. "Thou dost reject thy father's expectations with thy mind, and yet thy heart is still governed by them. Neither thou nor thy father has responded to thy dual heritage with the logic that both of you claim to exercise."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "My father was an adult when he echewed logic where I am concerned. I was a child, reliant upon the adults around me for my knowledge of the world. I would say that the greater responsibility, then, is his."

Truth nodded. "Thou speakest true, and yet the burden of non-acceptance of thy heritage falls most heavily upon thee. The fault may be thy father's, but thou art the one who pays the price, and a change in thy life can come only from a change in thine own mind and heart." Truth shook his head. "Thou controlest not thy father, and therefore can thou only make changes within thine own self."

Spock sighed. "There is another obstacle."

Truth cocked his head to one side. "And that is?"

Spock stood stiffly, as he did when embarrassed. "My colleagues are human, and if I were to become more relaxed about my human ancestry, I believe they would feel that they had won some sort of contest or proved that humanity is better than Vulcanity." Spock shook his head. "Perhaps humanity is not shame-worthy, but neither is Vulcanity. In my current environment, I find it preferable to be entirely Vulcan."

Kirk stepped forward. "Spock! Spock, I can't speak for everybody, but when I've tried to get you to act more human, it's been for the same reason as Truth, here – it's because I want you to accept all of yourself."

Spock tilted his head to one side. "And Dr. McCoy?" he asked dryly.

Kirk sighed. "Yeah, I think it is a contest to Bones. But you can't let HIS opinion control you. That really would be letting him win!"

Truth glanced between them and spoke to Spock, "The human speaks true."

Spock swallowed. "I will take what you have said under advisement. It will require a great deal of meditation and a great deal of self-examination to undo the effects of decades of shame." He turned to Kirk. "And even when I have done so, you may notice no difference in my behavior, for I do not intend to abandon my Vulcanity, merely to cease feeling shame at my human ancestry."

Kirk shook his head. "I don't need you to do or be anything different; I just want you to feel more comfortable in your own skin." He stepped closer to Spock and put a hand on his shoulder. "And Spock, if I can help in any way, you have only to ask. I'm happy to talk with you about it or even to clamp down on Bones if he gets in your way too much."

Spock didn't trust himself to speak and contented himself with nodding gratefully at Jim.

Truth said, "My time here is limited, and I must go. If I have spoken mostly of the negative, my son, know that it comes of concern for thee. Aside from thy ambivalence about thy divided heritage, thou art among my staunchest adherents, and thy efforts to serve and further the cause of Truth have been noted and cherished ... as art thou. If I have spoken but little of how fervently and how thoroughly I cherish thee, it is because I know that to do otherwise would embarrass those emotions that thou pretendest not to have."

The golden Vulcan's face broke out into a smile for the first time, and although it was a startling expression on a Vulcanoid face, the golden smile he bestowed upon Spock was loving and proud. It was the smile of a doting and affectionate father, one who loved his son desperately, and Spock's undernourished heart drank in that smile as a man dying of thirst in the desert drinks in his first draught at an oasis.

Truth stepped backwards, several long steps until he was again ten meters away. Another small, localized sandstorm blew up, swirling around the golden Vulcan until he was obscured from view. It lasted a very short time, and when it ended, the golden sand stretched as featureless as before.

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Author's Notes:

1. I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. First I was sick, then I became obsessed with creating a Starfleet career for the computer game The Sims 3. (I'm still working on the career; it's becoming larger and more elaborate than I'd originally intended, so it's taking a long time. I'll mention it when I've finished it, for any Sims 3 players out there.)

2. In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Sarek says, "My logic is uncertain where my son is concerned," but since this story takes place during the first five-year mission, that's many years in the future, and he has not yet admitted it. :-)

3. I've been asked about the next chapter, but the story is now complete; I'm only doing Kirk and Spock. (If I'd intended to do another individual, that person would have been present for the first two chapters.)

4. I have a chronic illness that leaves me non-functional more days than not. I will try to respond to any comments I receive; unfortunately, my good intentions are frequently thwarted by my poor health. (I do read them all with great attention, even when my health doesn't permit me to reply.)

5. As I've mentioned before, I'm a licensed clinical psychologist in real life. I was amused when writing Truth's conversation with Spock to find that it had come to resemble a therapy session, but then there's SO much truth to the cliché "Wherever you go, there you are." :-)

6. I'm going to borrow Ster J's wonderful disclaimer, because it fits me so well: I don't own Star Trek; IT owns ME. :-)

7. Thanks for reading!

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