The Pon T'Keshtan

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

A medical team rushed to the Conference Room with a gurney for Spock, while other medics, pulling on their white scrubs and lab coats as they left their quarters and other activities, raced from all corners of the ship to the Medical Bay to assist with the influx of new patients. Reports were flooding in from every deck: crewmen were passing out, stricken with blinding headaches, seizing, or suddenly nauseous. Others were experiencing moments of intense depression or rage; fights were breaking out among some of the crewmen closest to the effect's epicenter. The worst, Ensign Kolchak, a shuttlecraft pilot stricken with a seizure as he maneuvered out of the Shuttle Bay, had crashed into the wall, pitching face-first into the control console and suffering burns and lacerations.

Nyota knelt beside Sa'aat, who was cradling Spock's head in one palm and ignoring everyone else. She pulled one of Spock's hands between hers, trying to transmit devotion and supportive thoughts to him. Kirk, an arm wrapped around his middle to squelch the receding pain caused by Spock's emotional niagara, stood and helped Dr. Surrey to his feet. "You okay, Doc?" he grunted.

"I feel like I've been hit with a sack of potatoes," Surrey answered, "But I'm okay."

"Me, too." Kirk looked at McCoy. "Bones, what the hell was that?"

"A shariv t'kae," Sarek, already recovered, informed them from where he knelt on the floor beside his son. Spock's body flopped like a rag doll as Sarek rolled him onto his back. Emerald blood oozed from his right nostril across his cheek, to his ear and then to the floor. His open eyes were unseeing.

"This looks like an atonic seizure or sudden akinesia (1)," McCoy noted to himself as he snatched a medical scanner from the table. He and Kirk staggered to join the others gathered around Spock. "The information was too much for him, Jim," McCoy continued. "What we felt was the back-splash from Spock's emotional overload.(2) His brain is now killing parts of itself to stay ahead of the trauma."

"It's kind of like firefighters using bulldozers to contain a wildfire," Dr. Surrey added. "They don't care what they crush or knock down as long as they can get the conflagration under control."

"Can Spock survive that?"

"That depends on how long it continues and how many brain cells die in the process," McCoy set the medical scanner to Vulcan physiology settings as Nyota admitted, "I - I don't feel what you're all feeling." A part of her was thankful to be spared Spock's reflective pain-waves, though another part felt slighted, singled out. "I don't understand."

"Spock is shielding you," Sarek told her.

"What?" Nyota, McCoy and Kirk all said at the same time.

"He can split his mental focus like that?" Surrey asked, shaking his head in awed disbelief.

"He is, therefore he can," said Sa'aat.

"The Vulcan mind can compartmentalize -"

"Yes." Sarek looked at Nyota. "- Especially a mind as unique as Spock's. Even in injury, he is capable of fortitude. As the brain seeks to cut off and isolate his more Human response to the trauma, his Vulcan mind reaches out to secure himself - and you.

Sa'aat said. "Such was to be expected."

"Why?" Nyota asked him, shocked and confused.

"It is necessary," Sa'aat said, expressionless, without facing her. Nyota stared at him. "Your affection for Spock is a stabilizing force which he seeks to preserve. It will provide him with added stamina and an extra incentive to fight his way back to full consciousness when the time comes," he explained.

"Did... did you just give me a compliment?"

"I state only - "

"'Only facts', yes, I know," Nyota blinked and frowned in bewilderment. "Thank you, anyway," she added.

McCoy, standing over her, activated the medical scanner and passed it over Spock's body. "There's a subconjunctival hemorrhage(3) in the right eye; minor hemorrhaging the right naris; seems to be epistaxis; no indications of hematemesis or hemoptysis.(4) Blood pressure is too high for Spock... There seems to be some odd contusions all over his arms... A five-pattern, like deep bruises left by hands... That's weird. Was he self-injurious?" McCoy asked Dr. Surrey.

"No," Surrey answered. "Not that I'm aware of."

McCoy continued with the readings. "...Some of his brain wave patterns are markedly reduced, almost like he's in a coma, but others are off the chart. There's an electrical cascade going on in some layers of the brain, while others are almost dormant, as though they're in a hibernation state. At least he's still breathing on his own; that's hopeful. Respiration is thirty-five breaths per minute, though; that's too elevated for a Vulcan in a restive state..."

"Spock?" Nyota said. There was no response.

"He is slipping further," Sarek said to Sa'aat.

"Maybe purgatory is better than hell..." Dr. Surrey muttered.

"We need to get him to the Medical Bay," McCoy said to Kirk. "I can't do anything for him here."

"I can," Sa'aat said, setting his fingertips against Spock's temple and pressing lightly.

"What are you doing?" Nyota asked, recognizing the prelude to a mind-meld. As Sa'aat closed his eyes and drew in a long breath, preparing to delve deeper into Spock's mind, she pushed his shoulder, trying to shove him aside. Spock was a fit Vulcan, but Sa'aat's body felt like solid cement and he didn't budge. "Wait. Tell me what you're doing." Sa'aat ignored her. "Listen, just because you complimented me, doesn't mean I'm going to give you a free pass to spelunk through Spock's head. Stop it, and talk to me!" She slapped Sa'aat's shoulder then drew her hand back, wincing in pain. "Sa'aat!"

"Sa'aat is an Adept. He can help," Sarek explained.

"Yeah, well, Lieutenant Uhura is Spock's medical proxy," McCoy informed the Vulcans. "So, in this case, she trumps Sa'aat. When Spock's incapacitated, whatever she says goes."

"I am his father," Sarek reminded him.

"I know, and I appreciate your position, Ambassador, but Spock didn't assign his medical rights to you; he assigned them to Uhura."

"Sa'aat, tell me what you're doing," Nyota demanded.

Half in and half out of the link, Sa'aat turned to her and said in a low voice, "Fai-tor-fam du t'whl'q'n kashek. Masu-vohrayek nash-veh bloau ish-veh, fa'marau nuh'glu-svi' ish-veh zaprah-tor." (5)

Nyota was caught between outrage and confusion, unsure what to do or say. McCoy prompted, "Whatever you're going to decide, make it fast."

"The longer you wait, the greater the risk of irreparable damage," Sarek told her.

"I... I'm not sure. I want to do what's best for Spock."

"At this moment, Sa'aat is best for Spock," Sarek assured her.

"Klopau, Komihn!"(6) Sa'aat said through his teeth.

"All right," Nyota's eyes filling with tears as she clutched Spock's limp hand in her lap. "Ek'yeht. Hi kuv du Spahk dash-tor, ugaya-tor Khosaar nash-veh, pi'Komihn il fam, nash-veh du dungi-shitau ne'le!"(7)

Sa'aat ignored her threat and set his mind in search of Spock's.

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In the Medical Bay, Nurse Chapel skillfully managed triage, separating the severely injured from those dealing with temporary and diffusing maladies. As he entered with Spock and the others from the Conference Room, Dr. McCoy yelled, "Status report - !"

"We've got it under control, Doctor," Chapel said over the heads of several nurses. "The effect, whatever it was, dissipated almost as fast as it appeared. Lots of cuts and bruises, a couple of fat lips, and a few concussions; but nothing life-threatening so far."

"Keep me apprised," McCoy called back to her and then directed the techs to take Spock into a private suite. Sa'aat, still connected to Spock through the link, moved alongside the gurney, while Nyota, Sarek and Kirk followed a step behind.

Christine flagged the captain down through the crowd, "Captain? Captain!" She gestured toward the com-link panel in the room. "There's a message for you from Command."

Kirk, putting aside his concerns for Spock for the moment, went to the com-console. He sped through the part of the transmission where Nurse Chapel had covered for him with Commodore Cameron, stopping when he got to "We've received an emergency transmission from New Vulcan." As Kirk listened, some of the less-occupied medical staffers and less-injured crewmembers gathered around, eavesdropping. He didn't mind; it concerned them all.

Dr. Surrey, thrashed from being so close to Spock's "anomalous psionic discharge" - the term had been coined by the medical staff in an attempt to explain what had affected the crew - found a clear spot on the floor against a wall and sat down. When a male nurse finally came to attend him, he said, "I think the blast may have shorted out a few synapses, but otherwise I'm okay. Got any aspirin?"

"Old fashioned guy, huh?" The nurse smiled. "How about a little morphenolog(8), instead?"

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In the private suite, Sa'aat and Sarek lifted Spock from the gurney and placed him on the biobed. The mechanism lit up with readouts on everything from his external injuries, to his autonomic functions and brainwave patterns. It was mostly colorful gibberish to Nyota, but she could tell several readings were well above or below the NORM marks on the gauges. She found a backless stool in one of the corners of the room, and rolled it silently behind Sa'aat then touched his back lightly so he knew she was there. Without opening his eyes or acknowledging her, he sat on the stool and rolled it as close to the biobed as space would allow.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Sarek said on Sa'aat's behalf.

She watched as Sa'aat fingered Spock's head with both hands, linked himself more soundly to Spock's mind and plunged in deeper, finding fixing points at which to anchor the both of them so they didn't slip off into oblivion. At the same time, Dr. McCoy watched the biobed monitors for changes in Spock's condition. Nyota looked at Sarek and said, "Tell me again Sa'aat knows what he's doing."

"I trust him with my son's life," he reassured her. Coming from Sarek, she knew it meant a lot. He did not make a habit of speaking in empty superlatives, or giving praise lightly or undeservedly. Still... she didn't entirely trust Sa'aat not to remove, with a surgeon's skill, those thoughts and memories he thought Spock might not need or desire.

"Vazgau-fam s'ish-veh," she said quietly to Sa'aat. (9)

"Hizhuk," he muttered from the depth of the meld. "Thakau-tor bolau nash-veh."(10)

"By the look on your face, I take it, he just told you to shut up," said McCoy.

Nyota nodded, her pursed lips impeding the expletives she wanted to say.


Commodore Cameron's transmission continued, "So far there are nearly eight-hundred Vulcan women suffering from placenta previa and placental abruptions, and there might be a lot more in the wings. According to the statistical data we've received, over one-thousand six-hundred and fifty-three women were impregnated under the Ek'tevan Prerogative. New Vulcan's medical personnel were gearing up for a lot of concurrent births, but they weren't prepared for anything like this. They're overwhelmed, and have asked the Federation for doctors, nursing staff, portable diagnostic beds, and medical equipment. I've already issued a blanket order for all available staff in Starfleet Medical to assemble for immediate transport to New Vulcan. I've also contacted the Aesculapian Faculty on Io-Five to lend a hand, along with the Iatrical Conclave on Denobula (11). If we move now, we can have our medical bivouacs set up on the planet and operational within four to five days..."

"Well, there goes any chance of extended shore leave," one of the techs grumbled; Kirk glared at him.

The Commodore's transmission went on, "...We want the Enterprise to run point on this mission, Kirk, and have Doctors McCoy, M'Benga (12), and Deerfoot coordinate the medical operations. They're going to need to give everyone a refresher course on Vulcan physiology and parturiency, so we can hit the ground running when the teams get to New Vulcan. Dr. M'Benga should be your best resource in that regard. Since the transitional government on New Vulcan isn't entirely settled in yet, we've asked for, and received, confirmation that all Starfleet personnel will be granted diplomatic immunity during this crisis, so there shouldn't be any problem, from a legal standpoint, with your people going back down there. I know that Ambassador Sarek and some of his people from the Fonn Vuhlkansu are already traveling with you... Just be careful not to step in anything too politically messy. If you need anything else along those lines, Ambassador Marissa McCormick, from the Federation Alliance for Vulcan Affairs,(13) is making herself available to you as planetary liaison. Admiral Pike is seeing that the USS Merton, the Laurant Despins and the Martin James (14) are also at our disposal. They'll let you know when they can rendezvous with you as soon as they're packed up. This is a Priority-One mission, Kirk, so, no lollygagging. Get your people off Jagusch-McGillis and en route to New Vulcan as quickly as possible, and keep me apprised of your progress. Cameron, out."

Sighing, Kirk rubbed his hand through his hair. From those gathered behind him he heard Dr. Surrey say, "No rest for the weary, huh?"

Kirk shook his head, "Not on this ship."

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Nyota, standing on the opposite side of the bed, watched as Sa'aat leaned in close and tiptoed his fingers across Spock's forehead, through his sleek hair and along his temples. It was as though Sa'aat traced Spock's mental processes to the back of his brain and led them forward again, applying a sort of phrenic compression and containment where needed. With each slow pass of Sa'aat's fingers, Spock's vital signs crept closer to the NORM, and his body seemed more alive, less mannequin-like. Through pure willpower and telepathic wisdom, Sa'aat was gradually hoisting Spock from whatever chasm his mind had thrown him.

As she watched Sa'aat, Nyota wondered if he felt the same things she did when Spock engaged her in a mind-meld, or if because he was also Vulcan, his experience was more profound. She had once tried to explain to Christine the intimacy of being linked in such a way. Of course, when Nyota had first told Spock that she had shared some of the details of their more sequestered interactions with Nurse Chapel, he had been mortified. Eventually, however, he let go of his angst when he discovered over time that Christine was a true and discreet friend to Nyota, who faithfully kept the shared information about their private moments private.

"There don't seem to be words in the Human vocabulary to accurately describe it," Nyota had told her. "Even the Vulcan words maut-ugelik and kaik-fam (15) fall too short."

The touch of Spock's mind, coupled with the heat and masonry of his body and the flood of sexual arousal, evoked an influx of unfettered desire, insatiable thirst, vivid hunger and seemingly limitless gratification. Linked with him, she could understand the elegant flash and dazzle of his brighter emotions, the soft curl of his humility, the hot ember of his slow-to-burn rage, the iron strength of his loyalty and honor, his luminous curiosity, his honeyed devotion and his dappled doubts. She could also hear the echo of dozens of simultaneous thought processes, and that just scratched the surface.

"When we're linked," she had told Christine, "even my eyesight changes. I can see the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. Did you know some flowers have color patterns Humans can't see? Spock sees them, and when we're linked, I can too... My hearing improves; even my sense of smell… Vulcan males give off a pheromone when they're aroused, like red-spice and frankincense. It kind of explodes off them, and drifts onto your skin like invisible pollen..."

All these things made Spock so beautiful to her, so incomparable, so wholly masculine, so uniquely "him"... and the idea of Sa'aat touching or sharing it made her insides wrinkle and her teeth grind. Yet, she knew, in his way, Sa'aat loved Spock, too. How could she begrudge him that? How could she demand Spock ignore or rebuff a man who was using every ounce of his mental strength and acuity to bring Spock back from the brink?

Although she appreciated Sa'aat's efforts and the curative good he was doing for Spock, Nyota also felt both envy and fear. She hated to admit to the small pinch of resentment at the back of her neck every time Sa'aat displayed his expertise, every time he bested her with a word or an action. She had told him she didn't consider him a rival, and that she wanted him to support Spock in any way he could. However, in the face of Spock's collapse, she wasn't feeling so generous. She didn't want to view Sa'aat as competition for Spock's attention and affection, but a part of her saw him that way nonetheless. Nyota suspected Sa'aat wanted Spock in every way she wanted him: spirit, brain, and body. And although she had stood against several females who had vied for Spock's attention, and had won handily, she had never had to battle a male before - or a Vulcan. Oh, she trusted Spock - he spoke often of his devotion to her - but she wasn't so sure about Sa'aat.

Sa'aat was an enigma: a peace-loving Vulcan who killed for living; an Adept who could, at one moment, dredge an injured mind from the darkest psychological abyss, and in the next, with a simple flex of his ability, snuff out that mind as easily as blowing out a candle. If he wanted to, she suspected, Sa'aat could turn Spock's heart and mind to ice against her. But did he want to? Nyota was uncertain, and it was this uncertainty that made her suspicious and skeptical about him.

She had hoped she could develop a sort of sisterly affection for Sa'aat, for Spock's sake, but it was difficult when she felt she couldn't quite trust him. Semuk had trusted him, after all; and look what had happened to him! Yet, there he was, her skillful and cryptic challenger, sitting across from her on the stool she had provided, his hands on Spock's skin and his mind in Spock's mind. Even as she ached for him to do all he could to heal Spock, Nyota also wanted to rip Sa'aat away, wrap herself around Spock's body and claim and protect him.

"Gol-tor ish-veh, Sa'aat," (16) she whispered, her voice and mind pleading.

The door to the room opened silently and Captain Kirk poked his head in. "How are things going?" he asked in a hushed voice.

McCoy stepped over to him, answering just as quietly, "Sa'aat is working to stabilize him, Jim. I don't fully understand what he's doing, but it seems to be working so far. Spock's physical readings are slowly improving. His autonomic functions are working; he's breathing, his heart is beating..."

"What about his brain, his mind?"

"I can't even begin to assess that until he regains consciousness; and I don't want to use chemical interventions to bring him out of his present state just yet. Whatever the Vulcans are doing, it's helping him. I'll keep an eye on him, though, and let you know if anything drastic happens."

"Thanks, Bones," Kirk said. He leaned further into the room and said softly, "Lieutenant?" When Nyota gave him her attention he said, "I'm sorry... but I need you on the bridge."

Unconsciously, Nyota shook her head; then, fighting an upswell of anguish over being separated from Spock, nodded and said, "Yes, Captain." With a glance at Sa'aat, and projecting the thought, "Prah muhl, k'diwa" (17) to Spock, she reluctantly followed Kirk from the room.

As the turbolift carried them to the bridge, Kirk explained the transmission from Command and said, "I'll need you to coordinate communications between ships, and between the Federation and New Vulcan medical teams. I'm also going to need you to call our people on Jagusch-McGillis and get them back to the Enterprise ASAP."

"Yes, Captain," Nyota said without looking at him.

After a moment of awkward silence, he tried to reassure her. "Spock... Spock is going to be okay. He has a strong, disciplined mind. He'll find a way through the mess in his head, and... He'll... He'll be fine."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Nyota asked him.

"Both," Kirk admitted. "But... I kind of suck at it, don't I?"

"Yeah, you really do," she answered with a sad but supportive smile.

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Once Dr. Surrey had been discharged "as fit as you're ever going to be" by Dr. McCoy, he headed back to Conference Room One. He gathered the PADDs from the table and the floor, not wanting to leave such private information where anyone could just walk in and find it. He was heading from the room, juggling the devices, when something touched his foot and seemed to "vacuum" at his pant leg. Startled, he dropped the PADDs and heard an oddly resonant "yaoup!" from under the table. He bent down carefully to see what was there and came face-to-snout with Pa'shu.

The sehlat snuffled him, drew back slightly and then sneezed directly at him.


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Pulling the crew from Jagusch-McGillis only took a few hours. After broadcasting the "all aboard" signal, the ship's sensors locked onto each crewmember's unique bio-signature. In Scotty and Ensign Chekhov's capable hands, the transporters plucked the crew from the planet's surface, even from among dense crowds and remote jungle areas, in groups of four, eight or twelve, depending on the pads activated and how close to one another the crewmembers were situated. "Everyone was back aboard in record time, people," the Captain said with an appreciative grin as he spoke to the crew through a ship-wide broadcast. "Thank you." He informed the crew of their new mission, and the Enterprise broke orbit to rendezvous with the other ships assigned to accompany them to New Vulcan.

While Scotty kept the ship moving at full-capacity speed, and gave the engineers a primer on the construction of emergency medical bivouacs, risk analysis and personnel management, Nyota, at the long-range sensor and communications arrays in the bowels of the ship, assigned CS teams to specific tasks. Some were the point-of-contact, or POC, for transmissions from the Martin James, the Merton and the Laurant Despins, while others with more xenolinguistic skills were the POC for the Ionian and Denobulan ships, the Oc'c and Greezai respectively. Nyota also coordinated with Dr. McCoy a schedule of ship-to-ship seminars, including one on general Vulcan physiology and Vulcan pregnancies hosted by Dr. Deerfoot from the Martin James, and more in-depth collateral presentations broadcast from the Merton by Dr. M'Benga on the Vulcan circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, nervous and reproductive systems. She then integrated the information from all these teams and entities - including Engineering - through her station on the bridge, so she could provide Captain Kirk with up-to-the-minute updates whenever he requested them.

She also set up a direct transmission-link with Ambassador McCormick of FAVA, aboard the Laurant Despins. The two had met before via com-link, when Spock and the members of the Fonn Vuhlkansu had fled New Vulcan after the enactment of the Ek'tevan Prerogative. Nyota didn't like the woman... probably because they were too similar to one another and grated on each other's nerves. Both alpha females, neither wanted to take orders or directions from the other. McCormick's ambassadorial rank won out overall, however, and Nyota graciously and dutifully accepted that reality. "Thank you for your cooperation," McCormick said, and stroked the Ambassador's badge at the shoulder of her uniform like a beloved cat. Nyota forced a smile and closed the channel so she wouldn't have to listen to the woman for the rest of the evening.

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Dr. Surrey stepped into his bedroom from the bathroom, dressed in a kimono-like robe, toweling off his silver hair. He walked over to Pa'shu, who had pulled a cushion from his sofa with her mouth and was using it as her pillow. "Okay, let's try this again." He bent over so she could sniff his head.

She drew in several long snuffs - and didn't sneeze.

"Hooray!" He smiled, ruffling the fur on her neck with his free hand. "See, sweetie? You were just allergic to my aftershave."

The sehlat roared.

"Oh, no, no," Dr. Surrey scolded her. "Use your inside-voice."

Pa'shu cocked her head to one side in puzzlement.

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It was past twenty-one-hundred hours when Nyota, ordered by Captain Kirk to get some shut-eye, quit for the day. In her quarters, she changed into a comfortable batik-print shift and soft shoes, and was headed out the door for the Medical Bay when she noticed her desktop com-link's light was blinking. She skimmed through the messages, looking only at the ones from Captain Kirk and Dr. Surrey. Kirk's message thanked her for a job well done and added a short list of duties for her to tackle before they arrived at New Vulcan. Dr. Surrey told her that he had Pa'shu, and would continue to look after her for as long as required. Nyota left him a message apologizing for 'abandoning' the sehlat and thanking him for being so helpful and supportive.

When she reached the Medical Bay, it was nearly deserted. All of the activity from the afternoon had abated, and only two patients remained, S'Risha and Ensign Kolchak, the pilot who had crashed his shuttle into the wall of the Shuttle Bay during Spock's shariv t'kae. The ensign, covered with a clear mask that accelerated the healing of his burns and lacerations, but made him look like an android, was asleep - or unconscious. S'Risha was awake, however, reading texts from the library computer through a PADD. Dr. McCoy had somehow rigged a small anti-gravity device to her belly that kept the placenta floating in the correct position so it couldn't pull further away from the uterine wall; the same way the chalazae could keep a yolk balanced in the center of an egg. Nyota saw lights blinking on the tiny appliance through S'Risha's blanket. The woman spared Nyota a glance and then returned to her reading. Since McCoy and Christine had already retired for the day, Nyota checked in with the on-duty nurse before going to look in on Spock.

The Vulcans had turned off the lights in the private suite, leaving it illuminated only by the biobed's monitors, and had increased the temperature to 32.77° Celsius (18) in order to make themselves and Spock more comfortable. Sarek was in a corner, in a lounge chair a nurse must have brought for him; Sa'aat, still sitting on the stool Nyota had brought him earlier, was still connected to Spock through his fingertips. In the monitors' glow, Sa'aat's skin looked ashy and drawn, and there were dark circles under his closed eyes. His lips were tight in a grim frown.

Nyota approached Sarek. He glanced at her, acknowledging her presence, but said nothing. She didn't know if he was trying to keep the room quiet and distraction-free for Sa'aat, or if he himself was in deep concentration, lending Spock and Sa'aat extra mental support. She remained silent in deference to him and looked at the readouts on the biobed.

Some of the information was in layman's terms, so even someone without a medical degree, like Nyota, could understand it. She could tell most of Spock's physical functions were back within Vulcan norms; his blood pressure, body temperature, and heart rate readings reflected the healthy man he was. The gauges tracking his brain activity, however, were not as encouraging. Some readings were still off kilter, in the "red zone" on the graphs.

The digital rendering of Spock's brain, next to the jagged scrawls from the EEG (19), displayed the areas where the brain's activity was most intense in luminous blue-white, while the less active areas were cast in pale yellow or dormant green. Although the blue-white zones were predominant, that, in itself, wasn't a bad thing. Nyota knew it wasn't unusual for the Vulcan mind to be active when the body was at rest; during both the po-zung sleep and coma-like tow-kath, (20) the brain worked feverishly to heal and restore the body as it lay in a quiescent state. What concerned Nyota were the tiny sun-spot-like blotches on the image: black flecks imbedded in the brighter portions that represented the now dead areas of Spock's brain, clusters of cells and synapses burned out by the fiery mind-storm. They seemed insignificant when compared to the active regions, but the sight of them - undeniable proof of the damage done - made Nyota want to cry. She put her hand to her lips to keep them from trembling, and carefully stepped closer to the bed.

Spock was in a medical-issue gown, covered in layers of blankets up to his rib cage. A medical pip applied to the upper left quadrant of his chest blinked white-then-blue, feeding data not only to the biobed, but also to other analytical computer systems that would sound alarms throughout the bay if Spock's life-support functions failed. His mouth was open, compensating for the fact he couldn't breathe easily through his nose yet, and his chest rose and fell in a regular rhythm that was only interrupted when some activity flashing through his brain made him gasp or briefly pant. Under his eyelids, his eyes moved, he was dreaming... or hallucinating. Nyota reached to touch his foot - just to let him know she was there - when Sarek caught her elbow lightly, startling her. "Im'roi k'nash-veh ko-fu," (21) he said in a hushed voice.

Nyota, stunned by his use of such a familiarity, nodded silently in agreement. They left the suite as quietly as they could. Sarek escorted her into the corridor before saying anything else. During his silence and out of respect for his Vulcan sensibility, Nyota didn't make a fuss over the fact he had called her daughter - a term of affection seldom if ever used by Vulcans in reference to non-Vulcan non-family-members.

"You must be tired after your long day," he said as they entered a turbolift together, "I know Humans require regular intervals of sleep within each twenty-four hour period, so I will not keep you. But I would like to ask a personal kindness."

Nyota couldn't help but smile; Sarek sounded just like Spock when he said that. "Anything, Ambassador."

"I am aware you view Sa'aat as a competitor, or as an otherwise untrustworthy individual." There was no sense in denying the truth, so Nyota said nothing. Sarek continued, "I will need you to put those feelings aside, however, as there will come a time, most likely within the next twenty-four hours, when Sa'aat will require your assistance in easing Spock out of his present state of akinesis. My request is that you make yourself available when Sa'aat calls upon you, and that you facilitate my son's recovery by cooperating with Sa'aat in whatever capacity he deems best."

"Since you know my mind, Ambassador Sarek, you know how much I love your son. You don't need to ask for any indulgences from me; I will do whatever I can to help Spock."

"I anticipated you might, but it would have been rude to make assumptions."

When the turbolift drifted to a stop, on the same deck where Nyota's quarters were situated - He's sending me away. - Nyota stepped out into the corridor leaving Sarek behind in the lift. She turned to him, however, asking, "Ambassador, would it bother you greatly if I someday became your daughter-in-law?"

"If I answered you in the affirmative, would you be less inclined to assist my son?" Sarek asked.

"No, of course not."

"Then I must assume Spock has chosen wisely," Sarek said, then pressed the button to close the door.

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(1) Atonic seizure or sudden akinesia: According to the Epilepsy Foundation website, "Atonic seizures produce an abrupt loss of muscle tone. Other names for this type of seizure include drop attacks, astatic or akinetic seizures. They produce head drops, loss of posture, or sudden collapse. Because they are so abrupt, without any warning, and because the people who experience them fall with force, atonic seizures can result in injuries to the head and face..." Akinesia is "motionlessness" which is often a symptom of depression with catatonic features. According to The Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders on-line, "... People who are severely depressed may show disturbances of motor behavior resembling those of patients diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia. These depressed persons may remain virtually motionless or... may experience intense emotional pain from simply moving a finger." Neither of these are precisely indicative of what's happened to Spock, but they are the nearest comparisons Dr. McCoy can make based on his own medical knowledge.

(2)Vulcan projection: This notion isn't originally mine; it's based on the ST:TNG episode "Sarek" (1990) in which Sarek is suffering the effects of the mind-debilitating "Bendii Syndrome" and loses control of his emotions. He starts projecting his feelings all over the ship, causing a kind of "epidemic" of violent emotional outbursts among the crew. According to the Memory-Alpha site: "...A dangerous side effect of Bendii Syndrome is that the loss of emotional control can be telepathically projected to others... An attending Vulcan telepath can keep these projections under control, but when the sufferer is particularly stressed, the side effect can overwhelm such efforts." I figured: like father, like son... and had Spock project his intense emotional pain out around him like a shockwave. Sarek and Sa'aat were hit by the blast, but then helped to contain it so the non-Vulcans on the ship wouldn't be further affected.

(3) Subconjunctival hemorrhage: According to MedTerms on the web, "...A very common cause of a painless bloody eye usually first noticed by somebody else or by the person with it when they look in the mirror. The bleeding results from a break in a small blood vessel in the sclera, the white of the eye. This releases a tiny amount (less than a drop) of blood which is trapped underneath the conjunctiva, much like the blood in a bruise is trapped in the skin. It is called a subconjunctival hemorrhage since it occurs beneath the conjunctiva, the transparent membrane covering the sclera. A subconjunctival hemorrhage can occur with heavy lifting, coughing, sneezing, vomiting or for no apparent reason. It looks bad and may be frightening but is not dangerous and leaves no residual change in vision. There is no discharge from the eye...and everything returns to normal within 3 weeks as the blood is absorbed."

(4) Epistaxis, hematemesis or hemoptysis: These are medical terms. Epistaxis is a nosebleed. Hematemesis is vomiting blood. Hemoptysis the expectoration (spitting) of blood from the lungs, trachea, larynx or bronchi. Dr McCoy has ruled the major concerns of vomiting up or coughing out blood, and decided that Spock's nose is bleeding. The nose bleed is a reaction to the pressure the emotion trauma caused inside of him (as is the hemorrhage in his eye). They're troublesome and look horrible, but they're not life-threatening.

(5) Fai-tor-fam du t'whl'q'n kashek. Masu-vohrayek nash-veh bloau ish-veh, fa'marau nuh'glu-svi'ish-veh zaprah-tor.: From the Vulcan this translates as, "You don't know anything about the Vulcan mind. I must anchor him before he drifts too far inside of himself to be retrieved." NOTE: When referring to themselves, Vulcans call themselves "Whl'q'n" (this, according to the Vulcan Language Dictionary, VLD)

(6) Klopau, Komihn!: translated from the Vulcan it means, "Decide, Human!" or "Make a decision, Human!"

(7) Ek'yeht. Hi kuv du Spahk dash-tor – ugaya-tor Khosaar nash-veh, pi'Komih n il fam, nash-veh du shitau ne'le: translated from the Vulcan this means, "All right. But if you hurt Spock, I swear to Khosaar (the Vulcan god of war), puny Human or not, I will put you down."

(8) Morphenolog: an analgesic used to alleviate pain. (DS9: "Life Support")

(9) Vazgau-fam s'ish-veh: from the Vulcan this translates as, "Don't steal from him." (Or, more literally, "steal not from him")

(10) Hizhuk... Thakau-tor bolau nash-veh.: from the Vulcan this translates as, "Quiet. I need to concentrate." (Or more literally, "Quiet. To focus needs this one.")

(11) Denobula: According to the Memory Alpha site, "...Denobula is a planet and the homeworld of the Denobulan species. Located in the Denobula Triaxa system, the planet has a single large, inhabited continent..." Dr. Phlox, who served aboard the Enterprise under Captain Archer, was a Denobulan.

(12) Dr. Jabilo Geoffrey M'Benga: in TOS Dr. M'Benga served aboard the Enterprise under Dr. McCoy, and was one of the few Human Starfleet doctors who specialized in Vulcan medicine. Author's note: It is unknown, at this point, if he was still studying (in the alternate reality) on Vulcan when it was destroyed, or if he was already actively serving aboard the Enterprise, so I took some poetic license with the character in my story and put him off-planet as the head of his own medical facility on Earth, thus making him available to go to New Vulcan and assist with the crisis there.

(13) Ambassador Marissa McCormick, of the Federation Alliance for Vulcan Affairs (FAVA): she was a character I created in my other story "The Ek'tevan Prerogative"; she's not canon.

(14) The USS Merton, USS Laurant Despins and USS Martin James: these are ship's names that I made up myself. The Merton and Laurant Despins are named after family friends, and the Martin James is named after one of my younger brothers. All of these ships are medical frigates.

(15) maut-ugelik and kaik-fam: "maut-ugelik" is Vulcan for "brilliant; shining; full of light" and "kaik-fam" is Vulcan for "without equal".

(16) Gol-tor ish-veh, Sa'aat: translated from the Vulcan this means, "Help him, Sa'aat" or "Assist him, Sa'aat."

(17) Prah muhl, k'diwa: from the Vulcan this translates as "get well, beloved".

(18) 32.77° C is approximately 91° Fahrenheit.

(19) EEG: short for electroencephalogram, a graphic record of brain wave activity.

(20) Po-zung and tow-kath: The po-zung is explained in Chapter 4 of this story and in my previous story "The Ek'tevan Prerogative". The "tow-kath" is from Trek canon, specifically the TOS episode "A Private Little War". It's a deep healing trance Vulcans can put themselves into. In order to recover from the trance, however, they need great physical stimulation. In the TOS episode, when Spock put himself into a tow-kath after being shot with a flintlock, he required his doctor to slap him hard in the face, over and over again, in order to pull himself out of the trance.

(21) Im'roi k'nash-veh ko-fu: from the Vulcan this translates as "Walk with me, daughter."