A Vulcan's Wish Chapter One

Spock had started his shift exactly 12.53 minutes before a blonde yeoman with a dubiously regulation hair style addressed him in an inexplicably nervous manner.

‘Sir, Mister Spock Sir.’

‘Yes, Yeoman?’

‘Sir, I have just been asked to extend the new Captain’s greetings and ask you to join them both for a celebratory drink.’

‘Them?’

‘The Captain and the Chief Medical Officer, Sir, in the Captain’s quarters, Sir.’

Spock looked down at the yeoman, who was looking intently at him, her hands balled at her sides as she awaited his answer or dismissal.  He sighed, which anyone would take for resignation in any other species, but of course Spock was Vulcan and didn’t feel such things.

‘Tell the Captain that I will be there shortly, I must finish calibrating the computer before attending the ‘soiree’.’  Spock said and turned back to his viewer at the science station.  The Yeoman looked as if she was going to speak up for a moment, but then thought better of it and hurried off to give Spock’s message to the Captain.  She didn’t know how Spock’s message would be received.  She hoped that it wouldn’t be seen as a personal failure on her first day.

Spock finished his calibrations 24.22 minutes after the yeoman left him.  This mildly surprised him as he finished approximately 2.26 minutes more quickly than expected.  He shut down his station and turned towards the turbolift.  He rode the turbolift to Deck 5, exited, and soon found himself outside Room 3F 121 - the Captain’s quarters, formerly Captain Pike’s, now Captain Kirk’s.  He passed his hand over the bell, and almost immediately the door opened.  His first impression was disorder.  Boxes were piled up around the room, some opened, some not, some half unpacked, the contents abandoned in favour of it seemed, something humans often find particularly irresistible.  On the Captain’s table stood a distinctively shaped bottle which Spock identified as Saurian brandy.  Two chairs were facing each other, and in one chair was the new chief medical officer Dr. Leonard McCoy.  He was a new addition to the crew, much like the Captain, and he replaced Dr. Philip Boyce, now retired, whom Spock had greatly respected.

‘Mister Spock, nice of you to finally join us!’  Dr. Leonard McCoy said in an unmistakable southern drawl, characteristic of a particular geographic location on Earth.  ‘We were beginning to think you’d stood us up and that we’d have to finish this bottle of Saurian brandy all by ourselves.’  Spock was sure that the drawl was somewhat thicker than the last time he had met the doctor.  ‘Didn’t we Captain?’

From behind the sleeping quarters partition out stepped the Captain, two glasses in her hands, one approximately half empty, one completely empty and dry.

‘I know I could replicate another one easily enough, but I find drinking out of something with history, more satisfying.  What say you, Mister Spock? Oh, and welcome,  I’ll not add this tardiness onto your record.’ She smiled a smile that could only be described as disarming; it was a playful, genuine smile which reached her eyes.

Spock of course, did not return the smile, but nodded in deference.

‘I do not find that the age of the glass I drink a beverage out of has any effect on the taste or satisfaction in the act of drinking.  I think it must be a human affectation.’

She smiled again and nodded toward the empty chair.

‘Please sit.’

Spock sat and the Captain set herself to pouring Spock a glass of Saurian brandy.  Usually, Spock would have spoken up and stopped her, but he found himself somewhat remiss in his duty.  He found himself looking at her closely as with slightly flushed cheeks (undoubtedly consequence of a large share of the open bottle) she poured the strong alcohol in the small, antique glass.  She was stockier than many women women on board, sturdily built, she looked muscular and athletically fit but it was also apparent that she was liable to enjoy things to excess.  A thin layer of fat rounded her off in all areas and gave her face an especially girlish look especially when she smiled and her cheeks dimpled slightly and creases formed around her eyes.  She gave the impression ‘gold’ - dark honey gold hair falling to one side, brown eyes that lightened to a warm gold when the light caught them, and her skin glowed with health and vitality.  For the moment, she wore green but soon she would be clothed in raiments of command, Spock didn’t think that a colour could be more fitting.

Spock must have watched her for a moment too long, the Doctor noticed.  The Doctor pursed his lips in an effort not to smile too broadly.

‘I wouldn’t go chasing that tail Mister Vulcan, it’s got a reputation to uphold, isn’t that right Jim?’

The Captain Jamie ‘Jim’ Kirk finished pouring the drinks (Spock’s new glass and topping up her own and the Doctor’s) and pulled a wide eyed, bemused expression.

‘I don’t know what you mean, Doctor.’  She said as she walked around to the front of the desk, glasses in hand, and proffered the glasses to her friend and her new first officer.  She leant on the desk between them as she did so.  Spock took the glass from her right hand, despite no intention to drink.

‘Go on Bones, take one.’  The Captain wiggled her left hand slightly as if trying to catch Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy’s attention.  A look of mock horror crossed his face.

‘But Captain,’ he gasped, ‘if I drink from your glass I’m bound to catch something!’

‘Bones!’  The captain’s expression really was shocked, her cheeks flushed.

‘Cooties, Jim, cooties.  I’m yankin’ yer chain.’ He said reaching for the glass, but the Captain lifted the glasses out of reach.  

‘I think you’ve had enough, Bones.’  She grinned and downed each of the glasses in one, and looked defiantly at her friend, who looked first shocked and then resigned at the confiscation of his drink.

‘Well… looks like the party is over, I’m going back to sick bay to play with my bones and rattles.  Mr Spock, I would say make sure she gets home, but, she’s already here.  I leave her to you.  See you later Jim.”  With that he got up and made to leave the room.

‘See you later, Bones.’ ‘Jim’ smiled and held her hand up in a wave, which ‘Bones’ returned, and with that he left the room.

Spock had been mercifully left out of the pantomime between the Doctor and the Captain, but he had watched them and their display of levity and camaraderie.  He slightly regretted not coming sooner, he would have enjoyed watching their performance.  He of course knew of his new Captain, who didn’t?  Charismatic, brave and clever, and now the youngest Captain to be given a command in Starfleet and of a heavy cruiser no less.  She had recently recovered from serious injury from the space battle that had distinguished her and earned her commission.  She appeared to be favouring one leg as she leant against the desk behind her and there was a stiffness to her arm movements on the same side.

An awkward silence was broken as the Captain who had been appraising Spock with soft eyes, dropped herself into McCoy’s vacated chair and said,

‘I hope you don’t think me too much of a lush Mister Spock.  I’m not on active duty for another couple of days, they’ve thankfully given me time to make myself comfortable before our voyage into the unknown.’  She continued and looked straight into Spock’s eyes.  ‘Bones and I go way back, it’s good to be serving with him again.’  She paused.  ‘I know that you asked for a transfer Mister Spock, and that that transfer was denied by Admiral Nogura.  I’d hoped I could use this time to get to know you, you’re my first officer Mister Spock and I need you on my side.’  Slight strain appeared around her eyes then and she looked into her lap.

‘You need not fear any disloyalty from me Captain.  While it is true that I requested a transfer, it is not due to you, but due to… my debt to Captain -now Commodore- Pike.  I would have liked to continue serving under him, but both Starfleet and the Commodore himself decided that I would be better serving as first officer on the Enterprise under your captaincy.  I respect that decision.’

A wary, hopeful smile came to the Captain’s face then.  ‘That’s good, I’d been worried that…’ she trailed off, and looked thoughtfully away, chin resting on the palm of her hand.

‘Thank you. Mister Spock.’

Spock, still holding his untouched glass of Saurian brandy, let his eyes wander around the room until they alighted on the top of, what he recognised as the top of a tri-dimensional chess set.

‘You play chess, Captain?’  Spock asked.  Kirk was jolted out of her reverie, and followed Spock’s gaze.  

‘Oh yes, yes I do… or I did.  I seem to go through partners a little too swiftly.’

‘And why is that Captain?’

‘I win.’

Intrigued, Spock walked over to the box with the half revealed chess set in it.  Just before he reached out to touch it, he remembered his manners.

‘May I, Captain?’  As he turned to her he saw on her face amusement and interest.

‘Go ahead Mister Spock.’  Spock picked up the box and set it on the desk.  He unpacked it and started to set the pieces into their starting positions.  When he had finished, he turned to the Captain and said in a way extraordinarily companionable for a Vulcan.

‘I am also lacking a partner to play chess with, Captain, for very much the same reason as you yourself stated.  Perhaps we can both solve this problem, together.’

‘I would be delighted.’  She smiled and turned to the board.  ‘White or Black?’

Four hours passed then, and the game came to a close.  ‘Jim’ Kirk had narrowly won, finally getting the best of her opponent in a daring manoeuvre involving her knights and a seemingly forgotten Bishop.  She turned to Spock, beaming.

‘I believe that’s checkmate Mister Spock.’  Spock remained staring at the pieces, puzzling his mistakes. 

‘Your moves were illogical Captain.’

‘Yes, but did they allow me to win?’

‘How-’

‘A feeling in my gut, Mister.’  She winked at him.  

Despite what she said, Spock was sure that this woman sitting opposite him, stretching, was being coy about her abilities.  There was a chess master sitting opposite him, he was sure of it.  His respect and interest in his new Captain had increased since meeting her, despite her initially slightly inebriated state.

‘Now, you better get back to your duties Mr. Spock, I have taken liberties.  I also have duties to attend to.’  She looked balefully around her room, and sighed.  ‘I probably shouldn’t abuse my poor Yeoman and have her do it for me, besides, I’d never find anything…’  She brightened up and held out her hand to the Vulcan in the human gesture of friendship.

‘Pleased to meet you... Spock, I look forward to working with you, and plenty more chess games.’  When Spock didn’t respond to the gesture, she looked abashed and went to move her hand down.  ‘Sorry, that was insensitive of me, Vulcans don’t like…’

Seemingly on impulse, Spock grasped Kirk’s hand.  He meant to say something like I’ll take it in the spirit it was meant, or perhaps We share at least half a common ancestry, but those thoughts were pushed from his mind by what can only be described as a charge that seemed to leap between them as they touched.  Spock disengaged from the handshake as calmly as he could, Kirk stood slightly stunned for a moment, touched her palm with the other hand thoughtfully and then smiled brightly.

‘That was one heck of an static shock!  I didn’t know Vulcans conducted electricity so well!’

‘The same could be said about humans.  I’ll take my leave.’

Spock left Kirk’s quarters and had to take a moment’s respite outside.  A shudder ran through his body unbidden at the memory of the spark.  He rubbed his palm much like Kirk had done.  In that brief contact, through his touch telepathy, he had touched a mind bright and open and welcoming.  A brilliant unconstrained mind full of questions and wonder.

She is… fascinating.

If Spock had been human, he would have walked away with a spring in his step;  being a Vulcan Spock did no such thing and walked at his usual pace to continue his shift.

In his efforts to be a ‘Vulcan’s Vulcan’, he would deny for a long time, that simple feeling.

Kirk stood stunned for a moment after the Vulcan left.  This had been her first time having her mind touched by a telepathic species.  She doubted that it would always feel as good as it had just then, but the feeling of rapport she felt with the Vulcan at that moment made her feel complete.

He is… an interesting individual.

Smiling to herself, to turned and surveyed the chaos that was her quarters, sighed, and opened the next box.