Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last conversation. You are all so wonderful. Remember that these emails were written the day before, but they did not arrive on Enterprise until after midnight. Yes, the server is annoying.

Also, this might be one of the longer chapters in the story. I am not apologizing for that.

Day 298: Greetings from the Vulcan Farmlands

From: NyotaUM

To: Spock's_cuddlebunny

Time arrived: 12/16/2260 00:00:01

Subject: Of course, the emails are acting weird

Hey, Jim, I am not surprised that the emails are not pushing until one second after midnight. That makes total sense for the ridiculousness that is the Starfleet email server after the Vengeance Fuck up. Rapid messages are no longer the default when planetside. But with us being so close, I assumed that this would still be treated as internal ship communications. Regardless, I will try not to be offended if I'm not getting speedy replies. If things go badly, I promise we will send up an emergency message.

Yes, there are restaurants. I'm going with Gina tonight to one because she needs some time away from the kids. They're doing an etiquette dinner. It's a requirement for the Enterprise kids but optional for the science cadets.

Although I would love to try indigenous Vulcan cuisine, I plan to enjoy it without children or baby cadets present. Apparently, we're going somewhere where they have Vulcan cannabis-infused teas and other drinks. I will not partake, but Gina probably will because the kids have been a little much. Not the Enterprise kids (outside of Chris three) but the science interns. The rest of the chaperones are taking bets if someone will get kicked out of Starfleet before the end of the trip. Gina has already confiscated a lot of Vulcan headache edibles. Is it so hard to understand no drugs/alcohol while under 18 or while working? Or for the cadets that this is not a shore leave but still on-duty time? Apparently so.

Things are going better at the Vulcan Science Academy than I thought they would. I like the work I'm doing. Also, none of my coworkers are horrible. We are already coming up with some ideas to streamline the process. I also think I will send Candace down from my communications team to work on the project after I return to the ship. At least until we are out of the system. I already sent a formal request to Spock and my supervisor here. I'm waiting for word back from them, but if you can convince your spouse to sign on the dotted line, I will adore you forever.

So how are you dealing with Peter not being there right now? Even I am having trouble sending my child off to various New Vulcan locations, and I get to see my kid every night. At least for now, I'm sure I will be a crying mess when I have to go back to the ship to watch over things while you and Spock play the diplomatic happy couple. I am deeply regretting that I won't get to see you play diplomatic spouse. I feel like that would be a golden blackmail opportunity.

Anyway, my break is over so I will write to you later.

XXXX

From: Peter_K

To: Spock' s_cuddlebunny; Jim's_cuddlebear

Time arrived: 12/16/2260 00:00:01

Subject: Greetings from the Vulcan Farmlands

It's okay that you and Uncle Jim are taking turns responding. I don't think he would've told me that I'm receiving a death benefit from my mom. Uncle Jim seems touchy about that. I know he doesn't like to think about any of the money he received from his father dying.

I'm not sure how to explain the concept of blood money to somebody who isn't from earth originally. I guess it would be money that comes to you by unfortunate circumstances. Such as getting a huge insurance settlement because you got hurt in an accident or, in this case, having a trust fund because your mom died while working. Trust me, I would much rather have my mom than any amount of money. But at the same time, at least I know I'm provided for.

Yes, I did get to feed a baby sehlat. I also got to learn about all the other conservation efforts. They're trying to look for genetically similar animals that might be able to carry sehlat to term so that they can increase the population. They will also have to worry about genetic variation to ensure that they don't become extremely inbred. However, they were able to get 75 sehlat and the genetic material of many more for the Conservation Center. So, they believe that they will have enough genetic variety to keep the species healthy and viable.

They're hoping to do that with several other species being cared for at the Animal Conservation Center. They're currently trying to rebuild the populations of 25 different species once indigenous to Vulcan. With plans to work on at least 30 more. It's a lot of work, but they are hopeful that within the next 15 years, they will be able to release some of these animals back into the wild. I'm thankful not everything was lost. It would be horrible if Sehlat ended up like Whales or polar bears.

Yesterday we went to the New Vulcan Botanical Gardens. They're trying to cultivate a lot of native Vulcan species. Some they were able to grow through seeds or cuts that were on other planets. They are also trying to re-create some of the lost plant life through genetic engineering. I wasn't really paying attention to that part of the lecture, so I don't remember what specifically.

Honestly, I preferred spending time in the gardens instead of lectures on scientific techniques. The flowers were so beautiful. We learned that on Vulcan of old, there were different climates besides the desert. The botanical gardens are trying to re-create these environments in different sections of the garden along with the appropriate plant life. Again, it's really pretty.

Today we went to a farm. As somebody who spent part of their childhood in Iowa, I wasn't that excited. Especially because there were no animals on the farm. Chris 3 had an allergic reaction to Vulcan corn. He's now slightly purple. Gina glared at me for laughing even though she was trying not to giggle herself. Nobody likes him.

Your sister has been having a great time hanging out with us. She absolutely loves learning about her culture. She says she is learning more with us on these trips than she ever did in the learning pods. I agree. I really wish we didn't have to spend three hours this morning learning about genetically modifying corn to be more like the original Vulcan product.

Oh, I got a letter from Liz. She told me the story of how you and Uncle Jim managed to get together, but I feel like she left some important details out. Apparently, your meet-cute involved the Kobayashi Maru and you bringing Uncle Jim up on academic dishonesty charges. She also mentioned that people were taking bets on if you would strangle each other or start kissing. I personally would have gone with kissing. I'm 12, and I could pick up on the sexual tension in the video. Actually, so can your father. I don't know what he said when he watched the video, but it made Nyota giggle.

Anyway, I have to get ready for tonight. After surviving today's day on the farm, complete with food sampling, we now have a Vulcan etiquette dinner. Good news we are going to be allowed to try cuisine from the entire Vulcan diaspora. Bad news, we're going to have to learn proper diplomatic etiquette.

Honestly, I think Gina has wanted to do this for a while. Actually, I think this lesson might be for Josephine and me because we have to go with you to the formal banquet on the 23rd. Saavik already knows diplomatic etiquette because she's had to go on a few dinners with grandpa. This feels cruel and unusual.

He will be with us at the dinner. He is the main chaperone since Josephine's mom and Gina decided to dine elsewhere. I think she just wanted a break from the cadets. I don't blame her at all.

Xxx

From: kitten_loverJJMU

To: Doctor bones

Subject: I promise I'm doing well on New Vulcan

Time arrived: 12/16/2260 00:00:01

Hey Dad:

Mom completely understands you being exhausted and only writing to one of us. She also read the email over my shoulder because I let her. She promises she's not backsliding or breaking Uncle Spock and Jim's rules about reading other people's correspondence without permission. Do you know why my mom will end up in serious trouble if she tries to break into my diary or read my emails?

Since she read the letter with me, it was like you wrote to both of us. However, she's looking forward to your letter. She is sure that it will get pushed to her pad about midnight tonight. She has been back-and-forth on rapid messaging with her team, trying to figure out why messages are getting treated like outside messages, not internal Starfleet communications. Those messages are going back and forth at an almost normal speed. They think it is some weird Starfleet coding thing. She will figure this out. Mom is on a mission.

So we just spent quality time at one of the nearby farms this morning. Today Chris three found out Vulcan corn really hates him. Because of this, he will not be attending our etiquette/training dinner. He is such a dick. Sorry, that's the only word that I can use to explain his behavior. There are a few other words, but those are expletives as well. He hasn't gone full-blown Jeremy, but that requires puppy murder.

The farming operations here are huge. I don't think we'll have to worry about a famine. Possibly because of the Tarsus genocide, they're taken great pains to avoid fungi and other things that could kill crops. They're also concentrating on plant diversity. They're also not depending on just one farm. There are several others, including some that are a few hundred kilometers away from the city. If that goes well, they will start building another settlement within the next 10 years. There's a lot of effort going into really rebuilding the new colony and the Vulcan society.

Peter is looking forward to dinner itself but not the etiquette portion of the evening. Chris two and Jay feel the same way. They're mad because we're going to have to learn proper event etiquette. I am excited to learn about traditional Vulcan cuisine. Although I can understand being upset about the dinner becoming an educational exercise.

Mom isn't going to be there. She's going out to dinner with Gina. I think Gina is done with the cadets. And is just exhausted with us. Grandpa is in charge, along with Pav. The interns who opted not to come to the dinner are on their own because the doctor is too busy taking care of Chris 3. This is probably a mistake, but I think Gina was giving them all enough rope to hang themselves. I think she has something planned.

XXXX

From: Spock's cuddlebunny

To: NyotaUM

Time sent: 12/16/2260 12:19:21

Subject: Re: Of course, the emails are acting weird

It's great to know that we will have to go over the on-duty drug policy with the interns again, especially the underage interns. Also, given the reason that Spock is in emergency meetings today with Gina, we probably need to go over the sexual misconduct policy. I'm not even surprised. I expected the Ashleys to pick up some Vulcan cannabis, but I think they got all of that out of their system early on. Or they've gotten much better at not getting caught. No, you can't look at their personal communications to see if they're up to normal teenage shenanigans.

When they're 18 and not on my ship, they can do whatever they want. But they have a few more years. However, let's just concentrate on nobody getting pregnant or being manipulated into doing things they don't want to do. The Vulcan cannabis will do significantly less damage. Although let's do keep them away from the liquor.

Gina's been emailing me too but on the work account. I wonder if I need to give her my personal email address because there was a lot of cursing there. Although, like you hypothesize, the work emails are getting here a lot faster. Almost in real-time.

Apparently, we don't pay Gina enough to babysit actual potential Starfleet officers who should know better. Spock entirely agrees with that. If anybody deserves a Vulcan cannabis-infused beverage, it's Gina right now. At least she won't have to deal with a hangover.

Although considering she caught three different cadets at the bar you were going to, I don't think she actually got to enjoy that drink. They're the reason why we're going to have to go over the drug policy again. Seriously, no more underage cadets. Nope. Like seriously, did they think they were going to get served at a Vulcan bar? Spock bear says the minimum age for cannabis tea is 18. That's different than the Vulcan headache version of the herb. Also, they have a children's version.

And that's actually not even the worst thing that happened yesterday. You probably know, and if you don't, I can't tell you. But I am pissed and thankful it wasn't Ashley 2. Let's just let her have her teen romance with Jay. It's good for her. Regardless we're scheduling sexual misconduct training sessions when everybody gets back.

I also got an email from the good Doctor on the work account. Apparently, Chris 3 is trying to take my crown as the person with the most allergies on Enterprise. She is convinced that the whole planet hates him. Maybe it realized he is a bigot and is reacting accordingly. Even I am not allergic to corn. Well, Vulcan corn, apparently earth corn he's fine with.

Again, I think the planet just knows he's an asshole. Per Spock, the animal that almost bit him is really good at picking up moods and energy. Spock almost laughed in public when he found out that Chris 3 almost got bit by one. Do you know how much of a dick you have to be to get one of those soft fluffy creatures to bite you? Well, actually, you might if you've seen the video.

Spock already approved your request. He actually would like more officers on the planet while we're here. However, the powers that be want us to focus on the other project because it is very important to the colonies' development. They'll be more officers coming since there is now a permanent Starfleet facility on the planet.

So how is high new Vulcan cuisine? Did you actually get to eat anything before Gina had to escort the baby cadets back to the dorms? How is the shopping district in general? I wouldn't mind taking Spock on a date night if we have a free night. We haven't had one for almost a year. We were so busy that we pretty much didn't go out for the last month before the start of the five-year mission. Now we have a kid.

Your boyfriend really misses you. He has a standing invitation to have dinner with us. That way, we can make sure he doesn't work himself to death. He's going back into sad bachelor mode again. I remember this mode from when we were roommates at the Academy. I hate it when Leonard is sad like this. But it also makes me realize how good you have been for him and how much of a positive effect you have had on his life. You are literally one of the best things that have ever happened to him. He absolutely adores you.

Spock misses you as well. Sorry, he can't write today because we're dealing with some fallout from something that happened in engineering in addition to some cadet discipline issues. (Normally, it would be me handling it, but Spock is worried it could be a trigger, so he's doing it. It's a completely different situation, so I don't think it would be, but he's being such a sweetie pie.) So, we have a new interim head of engineering. The other one is being fitted with a prosthesis. The silver lining, we might have to have a shore leave in February to do some renovations and repair work. We can't do it here while near New Vulcan because they don't have the facilities yet. Spock is working things out with command. This is one of those moments where I'm glad that's not my job anymore.

Anyway, I hope things go better. I also hope you make it to a Vulcan Tea bar eventually. I'm sure you need a nice cup.

XXXX

From: Doctor bones

To: kitten_loverJJMU

Subject: Re: I promise I'm doing well on New Vulcan

time sent: 12/16/2260 21:23:01

I'm glad to know your mom is not backsliding. It's probably best that you don't know why your mom would get into serious trouble and be sent away from us if she started reading other people's emails again. Let's just say it's related to how your idiot uncles got together. Privacy was violated, and somebody was rightfully upset and got his vengeance. It all worked out in the end, though, so don't worry about it.

Unfortunately, new allergies can show up at any time. It wouldn't surprise me if the kid was allergic to the planet. Although now I'm going to have to pre-drug your uncle Jim before we land just to be cautious. I could see him suddenly developing an allergy to the various Vulcan plants. Honestly, I'm just glad you're not the one reacting. I don't want you to get sick down there.

I would tell you to be careful at dinner, but you're not going to see this until after the fact, so I won't. I assume you were safe because Jim only got rapid messages about the Interns sneaking off to Vulcan 'tea' bars. I am sure the good doctor would have rapid messaged if you had an allergic reaction. I have received none of those messages from her. Although there were a few about the cadets. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose what was said in those messages.

I'm not your biological mother. I really don't care if you call somebody a dick, especially because they are one. It is important that you speak your mind. Although your mom can teach you a whole range of curse words you can use in various languages, she's very good at that. I know a lot of Romulan curse words now. Although you probably shouldn't say most of them around Spock's baby sister. Actually, Vulcans, in general, might be a little more sensitive about that thing.

I got a few pictures from your dinner as well. You look adorable in your formal dress robes. Where did you get formal dress robes? I blame Spock's father. You look good, though. I'm glad you're having fun.

Although I do miss you. I'm looking forward to when you'll be back in the new year. Until then, stay safe and keep sending me pictures.

Xxxxx

From: Spock's_cuddlebunny

To: Peter_K

cc: Jim's_cuddlebear

Time sent: 12/16/2260 22:12:13

Subject: Re: Greetings from the Vulcan Farmlands

Hey, it's your uncle Jim writing this time. Spock is in a deep space meeting with the higher-ups at the moment. However, he wanted me to tell you that he also feels that no amount of money could make up for losing his mother. So he gets your definition.

Oh, God. I can't believe Liz actually sent you that video, and my father-in-law watched. I'm actually really embarrassed. Yeah, bad decisions were made on all sides. That might be part of the reason why I didn't tell you exactly how we first met. We screwed up. I still don't know how we got together. We made so many mistakes during the first week of our acquaintance, including accidental Vulcan marriage.

Do not let any preteen Vulcan get into your mind, no matter how cute they are. Also, no touching of hands. I think that was covered during your Vulcan culture classes but let me stress the importance of not touching hands. When I hold your uncle's hand, in his culture, we're making out. Thankfully your uncle respects both human and Vulcan cultural norms in that regard. It's really why I adore him so much. Also, on that point, don't play chess either. I have stories.

When you get back, we will tell you the full story of how we got together, including nonconsensual strangling, unintentional sending of emails, and unauthorized reading of said messages by a certain aunt of yours. Again, mistakes were made on so many sides. I'm surprised we actually made it to marriage, quite honestly. But apparently, this isn't the timeline where I managed to completely screw things over.

We got your pictures from your exercise in cultural decorum. I didn't see a food fight breaking out in any of them, so I'm hopeful. But it probably helped that Chris 3 did not attend due to his allergies and the planet possibly hating him. I'm looking forward to losing my most likely to have an allergic reaction crown. Although mostly, I'm just grateful you're not the one picking it up. I was really worried about you getting sick on the planet. But I am glad things are going so well so far.

I know that you're going to have some in-class activities at the science academy for a few days. Unfortunately for you, it will involve more going over experiments. I'm picking up that you only like to do science with Spock. Although I think you have at least two more days at the Vulcan Cultural Center soon. I cannot remember your entire itinerary. Plus, I think your grandfather has some extra activities for the week when you'll be there without the other kids.

Anyway, keep sending us pictures right back when you can. We miss you. We can't wait until the 22nd once we are there with you. I think your Uncle Spock wants to actually go back to the animal sanctuary because he really wants to pet a sehlat. So, do I, for that matter. I will have it added to our schedule. Our schedule's already full, but we will make time. Anyway, we'll see you soon and keep sending pictures.

To be continued…