Chapter 2
oT'Khasi, nam-tor nash-veh t'ish-veh*
.
(epigraph)
Wise man said, "Just find your place
In the eye of the storm.
Seek the roses along the way,
Just beware of the thorns".
Scorpions, "Send Me an Angel"
.
But no search parties could possibly go out or fly out the next morning – the desert itself said no to that. The desert seemed to be on the young fugitive's side.
The dawn brought with it strong wind that started to blow in more and more fierce gusts that tore off leaves from the scattered pollu bushes and rolled the tufts of dried grass into balls that went jumping madly towards the mountains. And before long, a wall of dull reddish color rose on the horizon and started to grow higher as it was getting nearer. Muting the bright red glow of the dawn and rapidly gathering speed.
A sandstorm was rolling towards the city of Shi'Kahr, and it promised to be a formidable one. The low mountain ridge would not stop it.
.
Spock allowed himself a few moments to admire the advancing force of nature. That was all he could allow, and even that was unwise, when he should have been running for shelter in the near mountains. But the sandstorm was fascinating.
First a small cloud of dark sand on the horizon turned into a rising wall, and that wall grew again into a giant copper-colored cloud that filled the sky, pulsating and reflecting the red sunrays before it dimmed them out. It almost appeared as a live entity, arising from sleep and stretching to its full height. Moving deceptively slow – until you blinked and it was everywhere and upon you, swirling and roaring and drowning out everything around you, even the light of the sun.
Before that happened for real, Spock wrapped a scarf over his face, pulled on his hood and hurried across the dried plain covered with grass tufts and pol bushes scattered here and there. There was a wind-carved rock further to the right – big and bizarre-shaped enough to have cavities that could hide a boy his size. He knew that rock well and had used it before in sandstorms.
But this time something new awaited him there.
.
First grains of sand were already flying around and trying to get under his hood and into his sleeves when Spock reached the Sheltering Rock (as he called it). It was about ten times his height. Now he had to find a cavity on the leeward side and make himself a shelter with blankets. He was not afraid of sandstorms, not at his age and some desert experience, but this one was going to be long and strong. He had to secure himself a place where he would still be able to breathe even if swept over by masses of sand.
The rock now weakening the wind gusts near the ground, Spock could throw back his hood and take a good look around. He stepped closer to a suitable cavity that was deep enough to have dark shadow inside and situated most opposite from the wind. He shook the backpack from his shoulders and took out his large desert cloak and blankets. If he adjusted them with the help of stones, they would serve as sand-protection curtains to the cavity.
The sudden menacing growl made him drop them all.
A sehlat! Nor-sehlat, to be precise (1). Hiding from the sandstorm too.
Wild nor-sehlats were not friendly to Vulcans. The domesticated ones were good reliable friends, and millennia of selection had made them into a different breed – still not completely tame, but at least not dangerous if you treated them right. While the wild ones went their own way and regarded Vulcans as just any other prey. They were smart enough to not come near the cities or science stations or industrial complexes, but travelers in the wilderness still had to take great care, just like in old times, and preferably carry stun guns with them. (Killing wild animals was not allowed these days, except in cases of extreme necessity of self-defense).
Spock had no stun weapons - only a common traveler's knife. No chance for him at close combat with the ferocious beast… He backed away from the shadowed cavity, trying to not startle the animal, and rapidly calculated his chances.
Thankfully, the very storm that was almost upon them and was more ferocious and dangerous than any wild sehlat could be, presented Spock with some fair chances. It was highly unlikely that the animal would care for feeding while in the face of natural disaster. It would only care for defending its hiding place. So, if it didn't see Spock as an intruder on its territory and if Spock didn't show how scared he really was…
Spock cautiously pulled back some more, picked up his things and went to the other side of the rock. Not the wind side, but to the end closest to it. He and sehlat could stay on different sides of the rock through this storm. And after that Spock would climb the rock and wait for the beast to go away.
Spock covered himself as best as he could and began the routine to slow his breathing. The flying whirling sand cloud was already there, gritting at the Sheltering Rock and roaring and howling and whining like a whole big pack of wild nor-sehlats.
The sandstorm raged all day.
.
The sun was already low when the wind finally subsided and the sand particles that had been madly racing in the air all day long started to fall tiredly to the ground.
Spock slowly got out of his shelter.
He had fallen asleep while doing breathing exercises to reduce his oxygen intake. And had slept over two full sleep cycles – which showed how tired he really was. No so much from the night crossing of the Llangon ridge – the secret narrow path was a shortcut, and it was just a usual walk for him. He was more exhausted mentally, with all the events of the previous day. So he fell asleep and slept soundly, regaining strength. But when it got too stuffy inside his makeshift tent and the covers began to sag under the weight of sand, his body gave him a warning signal. When he awoke and pushed the sand mass away from the covers to let new air in, he heard a change in the tone of the storm wind and knew that it was already wearing out .
He had to still wait for some time to finally be able to uncover himself and get out. When he did so, with sand streaming down from his covers and his clothes, the sun was getting low.
"The nor-sehlat!" he remembered and, hastily packing up the cloak and the blankets, started climbing the rock.
Rising to three times his height – an already safe place, but sehlats could be large beasts and so it was better to get higher – Spock looked down to where the sehlat's temporal lair was.
And saw that the beast had crawled out of hiding too.
.
But… the beast was moving slow and whining pitifully as it did so. It was clearly hurt. It crawled rather than walking. And it was not the huge ferocious man-eating predator Spock had imagined when he heard the warning growl from the shadows.
It was a young one, a cub. Still small for a sehlat, though already amost Spock's size. And, as Spock could see now in the light, the animal had suffered not only from the storm. There were dried crusts of blood here and there on its ragged hide, and all its movements suggested of being heavily bruised.
Spock froze where he stood clinging to the rock wall. This reminded him too much of how, six years ago, he was also clinging to a rock and watching his old and loyal friend I-Chaya getting bruised and battered in a fight…
"A le-matya did this to this young cub? But then – he is small, a le-matya would have killed him and eaten him long ago…"
Spock was not afraid anymore. He could see no le-matyas around as far as the visibility range went in this place, now that the air was cleared. And this little wounded nor-sehlat could not possibly chase him. Spock climbed down and started walking away.
But a heart-wrenching wail stopped him on his tracks. The sehlat cub was in pain – and somehow to just walk away seemed cruel.
.
Spock and the little sehlat eyed each other cautiously. The sehlat tried to growl and rear up – but only collapsed whining in pain.
"How can I help you, little one?" asked Spock. "You know, I am somewhat familiar with your kind. I can't just let you die here".
The sehlat cub tilted his head clumsily and perplexedly, as if trying to understand. But when Spock took a step forward, the cub tried to growl again.
"I see," said Spock in a soothing voice. "You have the right to defend yourself, little one. But I mean no harm. And I think I know what to do…"
A mind meld.
He used to establish mental contacts with good old I-Chaya (Peace to his katra! He definitely had one…), so he could probably do the same with this cub. Of course, the late I-Chaya had been domesticated and living in Sarek's household for decades. The old animal was coming from a domesticated breed, was used to be around Vulcans and to understand what they wanted. And this cub was a wild nor-sehlat – a future man-eating predator…
But it was hurt and no one could possibly help it here. And wasn't Spock taught to cherish and protect all life, even that of the predators?
.
Spock lunged forward, caught the cub's head in both hands and stared straight into his eyes. The cub stared back, shocked and motionless.
"Shall I tell him to give me his thoughts? Not to a wild animal, I doubt he would understand…" So Spock simply concentrated and cautiously entered the creature's mind just like he would an unknown dark cave.
And it was indeed dark inside, but the presence was strong, and that presence began sending images and emotions through the mental link.
"Lost. Hungry. Hurting. No pack around to protect me. No scent of them. No scent of Mother. No food. No water. And this stranger – enemy, food or … or who? Not from the pack. Not like me. Small… No fangs, no claws. I can eat him? But I am hurt, I have no strength… I am lost. He will eat me then? What is he doing with his paws? Wants to kill me? I don't want it! Mother, mother!.." And the little sehlat let out a piercing wail.
Spock, now joined to him in his mind, also threw back his head and wailed. This cub called for his mother, and Spock understood him well… This was not a man-eating predator before him now – this was simply a lost child. And this child was afraid of Spock, of what Spock was doing, and it was lonely and hurt.
The sehlat's fear and pain washed over Spock, and Spock had to back away a little in his mind, still keeping the link.
But Spock was the sentient one here. He had to make some decision, for both of them. Animals have perception, instincts, emotions – but they have no rational thinking, no logic. Especially cubs.
Spock concentrated on sending the creature waves of peace. The cub relaxed a little.
Spock was also undoubtedly the older one here. This little sehlat was still in the period of nursing, when cubs followed their mothers everywhere and could not hunt by themselves. Spock briefly wondered if this one was so adventurous as to actually try and go hunting by himself…
The sehlat suddenly replied through their mind link, showing Spock a series of pictures...
A lair in the foothills. Mother is out on a big hunt, he is lying in the sunshine. A lizard coming close, smelling good – edible. He makes a clumsy cub-jump at it – it runs away. He follows. Rocks slide by, and then the lizard hides under one of them. He tries to dig it out, but can't. He sees a blue bird and forgets about the lizard. He follows the amazing flying creature, whelping excitedly. He looks up at it and doesn't look down. And then the whole world whirls around him: rocks, bushes, sky, ground… And they all hit him as they whirl. Then a big prickly bush rushes at him and grabs him. He whines and waves his paws at the bush. That big bush is so scary that the other bushes, the rocks and the sky – they all draw away and stop hitting. But the nasty big bush puts its claws into him… He wails and makes a desperate effort to break free. Then he runs away not looking where he runs – simply away from that prickly monster…
"I see", whispered Spock. "This is how you got here. You were lucky to find that rock to hide. Or the lacerations on your skin would have been from vultures too. If they had left you any skin at all".
The dark shadows above, Mother growls when they appear, Mother doesn't let me chase them?
Spock involuntarily smiled at how the images the cub transmitted were brimming with curiosity.
"Yes", he answered, in whisper and in images both. "They are dangerous". He sent the cub the warning sense of danger connected to the image of a vulture. "We… the young of my species… are also very heavily warned against coming close to them. And we are taught to avoid them when they appear. Never chase them, little one. Even when you grow up".
You not big? You not a grown hunter? Why alone? Why away from the pack? Lost too?
"Klon-maut nor-sehlat kan-bu…"(2) muttered Spock to himself. Then he explained to the sehlat: "I am not grown up yet. But I am not lost. I know this territory very well. I have been here before. And I have food and water with me – because, unlike you, I prepared before I went out".
The images of food and water sent the sehlat cub into such fit of rapture that Spock had to break the mind link before he received too much animal passion on his end.
.
He looked at the excitedly whelping cub warmly though: how little he still is, how naïve… Mature sehlats, even domesticated ones, even his loyal soft-hearted I-Chaya, were better not kept hungry for too long: aggressive by nature, they wouldn't beg you to feed them – they would take it by force. And they wouldn't care if they injured you in the process. So if you kept a sehlat at home – you had to be punctual with his feeding time, to keep your mastery over him. But this hungry and scared cub now almost saw a surrogate mother in Spock... Spock pulled a little away from the tongue lapping all over his face.
"Alright, alright, little one! Let me see what I can do".
He could offer the sehlat water for a start, naturally. Rising, Spock fumbled in his backpack and took out a water-skin. It was filled with water from the small decorative drinking fountain in his room. Spock then paused a little: he sincerely sympathized with the lost cub, but putting the water-skin's opening into the animal's mouth? That was not appealing at all. Even though he had some disinfectant in the backpack.
Spock looked around and promptly saw a better solution: a small depression in the rock near them formed a natural small basin. Easy for the cub to reach too. So he poured some water there.
The cub didn't need invitation. Crawling closer on shaky paws, he started lapping the water desperately.
Spock in the meantime took out his medicine bundle and food packets. He looked from medicines to food and back and decided to start with food. That would also probably help the cub to relax more.
The little sehlat sniffed Spock's vegetarian provisions suspiciously and finally chose dried fruit.
.
When the sehlat's lacerations were tended to (the cub was already licking Spock's face every time he got closer, but was not enthusiastic about disinfectant) and Spock was relieved to discover that no bones were apparently broken, it looked like he had provided the cub with all the possible care. Now the animal could survive longer.
And it was time to move on: there were always other predators around, and this cub had been calling for his mother…
"I cannot find your mother for you, little one. And I would prefer not to meet her. She will not understand. But if you call loud enough, she will probably come. And I better be gone by then".
Spock held up the water-skin for the sehlat cub to see and then emptied it into the stone basin.
"This is all I have, but drink it, and it will last you a few days. If new sandstorm doesn't come. Pray to your animal ancestors that your mother comes first. I have done all I could".
With that, Spock stepped away. The sehlat cub whined and tried to crawl after him. Spock reached out, though with some hesitation, and put his hand on the cub's head again, establishing the link, sending him reassurance and instructions to stay near the little pool of water, drink it overnight and wait for his mother. And feeling a suspicious stinging in his eyes. If things had gone differently and Spock hadn't been on the run – he could have taken this cub home as a new pet…
"I have to go, little one… Live long and prosper".
.
By midnight he is already far away in the desert.
He looks up, into the now fully-cleared brown-tinted night skies of T'Khasi (3), still dark before the rise of T'Khut (4), her sister-planet. The whole Nevasi system with its three suns (5) and with its large neighboring planets seems so close, just raise your hand and reach it. And the stars are close and familiar and inviting. With the constellations bright and distinct, shining like handfuls of large diamonds scattered in the volcanic sands. Showing the direction as good as any navigational equipment if one can read them – and he can.
The astronomic charts have always held much more attraction to him than any diplomacy skills his father taught him. Not that Spock objected to diplomacy in general, but why can't his father see where his son's true talents lie? To be a scientist and a traveller combined, to see the world, the universe, to make discoveries of all kinds – so much better than all that etiquette and politics!
He has already visited his mother's home planet Earth, accompanying his father on an ambassadorial mission – and was struck by how black, distant and scarcely lit the Earth night skies were. How small and feebly flickering were the constellations visible from Earth, how distant those stars were. No wonder it was so hard for humans to start outer space travels… Even their Moon – Luna – was so small and distant when looking up from the Earth, even though astronomically it was Earth's sister-planet only slightly smaller in size, related like T'Khut to T'Khasi. But humans were inspired by their modest-looking celestial bodies anyway, throughout all their history. Humans were fascinated by their small and cold Moon and made so many songs and poems about it, and about the stars too. Some of these songs and poems seemed actually more impressive to him than the actual sight of those small celestial bodies in the distant night skies of Terra...
On T'Khasi, the night skies are very close, especially when you are out in the wild. On T'Khasi, you are one with the Universe whenever you choose to step out of the city.
.
When T'Khut rises, it finds him walking all alone, energetically and surely, avoiding the carnivorous plants, looking out for animal and bird predators, correcting his course by the stars, putting his foot nimbly on any uneven surface, jumping over the crevasses in the stony ground, sliding on the sand dunes that begin to appear more frequently… He can see in the dark well – one more thing inherited from the ancient Vulcan nomads and hunters – and in the dim light of T'Khut he can see everything around him clearly.
T'Khut the Terrible, T'Khut the Watcher - looming menacingly over him, like some giant angry entity, fires burning on her rough uneven face… The evil twin of T'Khasi, even more harsh and unforgiving to all life than T'Khasi herself who is always so harsh on her children.
But T'Khasi, always harsh on her own children, seems to spare this half-breed adopted one. Every time when he leaves the civilized oasis of Shi'Kahr and walks away on his own across the ragged terrain, trying to get lost in the timeless beauty of the landscape – he never really gets lost.
T'Khasi, I am yours. I was born here. I claim my birthright.
.
.
.
*T'Khasi, nam-tor nash-veh t'ish-veh - "T'Khasi, I am yours" in Vulcan.
.
(1) Nor-sehlat - Nor-sehlats and le-matyas are the largest wild predators on Vulcan in times of Federation. Le-matyas are roughly like large yellow-green furred mountain lions with poisonous claws. Nor-sehlats are the wild variant of sehlats, bigger in size than the domesticated ones and man-eating (like wolves compared to dogs, though sehlats also have traits of both grizzly bear and saber-toothed tiger). So, even though Spock had a sehlat as a pet until 7 and knew sehlat behavior, he still had good reasons to beware of the wild ones in the mountains and desert.
(2) Klon-maut nor-sehlat kan-bu… - "Very smart little nor-sehlat baby…" in Vulcan.
(3) T'Khasi – the true native name of Vulcan (even though upon joining the Federation of Planets the Vulcans adopted the Earth-originated Latin name for daily use too). As "The Starfleet Vulcan Manual" has it: "It is a hot arid planet with only 14% of its surface covered with water. (Compare that with Earth's 80% water). It has a high atmospheric pressure and relatively high gravity. Its oxygen level is lower than what humans are used to with 12.9% (compared to Earth's 20%) because there is so little oxygen-producing vegetation"©.
(4) T'Khut – "the Watcher", the twin-planet of Vulcan, too large and too close to be counted as a "moon". It occupies one-third of the Vulcan sky when on the rise. Vulcan and T'Khut form a binary planet system. So adult Spock on the Enterprise was telling absolute truth when he told Uhura that "Vulcan has no moon". Vulcan has a sister-planet. In fact, T'Khut has its own small moon.
(5) Nevasi system with its three suns and neighboring worlds – as the Memory Alpha site has it: "According to theStellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library("Stellar Cartography", pp. 22-24 & 34), the Vulcan system was the 40 Eridani A system. The 40 Eridani system was known to the Vulcans as Nevasi. The primary star, 40 Eridani A (Nevasi A), was class K. The innermost planet was a rocky class B planet named Ket-Cheleb. Vulcan (T'Khasi) was in a co-orbital relationship with the class G planet T'Khut ("the Watcher"), which had one moon named T'Rukhemai ("the Eye of the Watcher"). The icy planetoid Delta Vega was located in the outer asteroid belt. The two companions of the main sun 40 Eridani A, 40 Eridani B (Nevasi B) and 40 Eridani C (Nevasi C), were a white class A4 dwarf and a red flare class M4 dwarf, respectively.