Into the Valley ~ No Fury #Uhura

Previously ~ The Vagina Monologues

“And…why were you bleeding again?”

Spock paused for a moment, as though considering not telling Nyota what happened in the holodeck. But then something instinctively told him it would go better for him if he were just honest with her.
Or at least…partially honest. Vulcans tended to handle complete honesty a bit better than humans.

So he told of how he went to his usual training session, only to find the Romulan waiting for him. He, ahem, briefly described their fight, and skipped entirely over the Pon Farr conversation. He didn’t want to keep her in the dark forever, but he didn’t want to discuss that with N’Tal hanging over everyone’s heads.

Oddly enough, his girlfriend remained calm. “I bet Hikaru helped her pull it off; it has him written all over it,” she reasoned. “He told her where and when you’d be training, and then hacked the system for her.” Nyota chuckled. “He probably thought it would be funny.”

It was astounding how humans could suddenly embrace logic when given disturbing news. Then again, she didn’t know the whole story.

“Indeed he may have,” the Vulcan nodded grimly. “I underestimated the thrall she has him under.”

“That may not entirely be it,” Nyota giggled. “I think some of it had to do with him wanting to irk you in a way. This is Hikaru we’re talking about.”

“True,” he nodded again. He rose from her bed, careful not to grimace when his wounds stung. “I should go to the Nurse’s Station. I will have to be vague, however, about how came by these cuts.”

Nyota nodded gravely, understanding immediately. “Drawing blood is against regulations.”

He looked at her for a moment, as if wanting to say something, but instead he simply leaned into kiss her goodbye. Seconds after he left, her personal computer beeped. Apparently, her mother was calling.

“Nyota!” Bahati Uhura greeted her daughter cheerfully, her entire face glowing like a child’s on Christmas Eve. “Darling, how’s your new school? Is it everything we thought it would be? You look…well…you look…um…uh, d-darling? Why are you…topless?”

Panicking, Nyota snatched up a pillow to cover herself. After a split second, she realized how much worse that looked.

“Do you normally answer a call topless?”

“No, Ma.”

“And isn’t it the middle of the afternoon over there? Why aren’t you up and dressed?”


“I suppose it is a Saturday. And you are a teenager. But how will your roommate feel walking in suddenly and finding you topless?”

“Ma, Vira doesn’t care. Our rooms aren’t that big—sooner or later, we were bound to see…stuff.”

“Vira?” Bahati beamed. “Is that your roommate’s name? Oh, darling! What’s she like? Where’s she from? What’s her major?”

“Uh…,” Nyota trailed for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. “Um, brainy, Trill, and…xenobiology?”

“Xenobiology?” Bahati clapped her hands excitedly. “And a Trill? Is she joined?”

“She’s too young to be joined, Ma.”

“Have you made any other interesting friends?”

“Well, there’s Hikaru—he’s my boyfriend’s roommate—and then there’s Jim, and Lenny—”

“Your boyfriend?”

Oh—so close! Thought if I just squeezed it in there somewhere she wouldn’t quite catch it….

“Yeah, Ma. His name is Spock and—”

“Is your boyfriend the reason why you’re topless? Aren’t you two a bit a young to be getting topless?”


“And what kind of name is Spock anyway? Is he another Trill?”

“He’s a Vulcan, Ma.”

Bahati’s eyes grew impossibly wide. “A Vulcan? You’re going out with a Vulcan?”

“Well, half-Vulcan, Ma. His mother’s human.”

“A hybrid?” Bahati frowned, as though trying to remember something. “I’ve only heard of one such case. You’re not talking about Sarek’s son, are you?”


“Do you have any idea who that boy is?” the older woman gasped. “Do you have any idea how important his father is to Federation?”


“Zuri! Kamaria!” Bahati bellowed over her shoulder. “Ny’s hooked a rich alien boy!”

Ma!” Nyota barked. “We just started going out this week. It’s not serious, okay?”
Bahati blinked, shocked at her daughter’s outburst.

“Ny,” she began softly, cautiously, “do Vulcans even know how to kiss?”


This is serious.

When he was at the Nurse’s Station, Spock got a message that his father was hailing him. As soon as he was tended, the Vulcan hurried back to his dorm. As Spock opened up his personal computer and logged on to answer his father’s hail, he pause to think of how the man never called him while he was at school. As long as he did well and stayed out of trouble—all expected from a proper Vulcan youth—his father found it illogical to commune regularly with his son.

In seconds, a graying Vulcan graced his computer screen.

“Greetings, my son, in whom I’m well pleased.”

Greetings, Beelzebub.

“Father,” Spock nodded courteously.

“I trust that you are well?”

“Yes, Father.”

“You are aware of the news from Romulus?

“Yes, Father.”

“Ambassador Mioral has won the admiration of many here on Vulcan.”

“Will he be extradited?”

“Unlikely,” Sarek shook his head. “Unless it is the wish of Romulus to go to war with the Federation over one man, it is likely Mioral will be here on Vulcan for a long time.”

Spock resisted a twitch. Surak’s ears!

“Of course, the Ambassador’s daughter is my concern at the moment. I understand you have met Miss N’Tal?”

“Yes, Father.”

“She and her father have created an interesting proposition. Mioral has suggested we dissolve your bond with T’Pring’s family and create one with Mioral’s instead.”

That fucking bitch. Spock hadn’t known such rage since a boy at his old school called his mother “the human whore.”

How many times did N’Tal have to hear the word no? Did the Romulan thrive on rejection? Was she plagued with Jim Kirk Syndrome? And what gave her the right to get both their fathers involved in her little crush?

Despite all his Vulcan discipline, Spock felt his ears turn a dark, poisonous shade of green. The only other time they ever did that was when he tried steak for his first and only time.

“You intend that I should…mate with N’Tal?” That last part came out a bit clipped, but Spock didn’t care.

“It is a logical match.”

You evil, sadistic, old bastard!

“I fail to see the logic in such a match, Father.”

“A marriage between the son of a Vulcan Ambassador and the daughter of a Romulan Ambassador will send a message to the Empire, Spock.” Sarek said with the faintest surprise, as though he figured Spock should’ve already known this.

Well, excuuuuuuuse me!

“Forgive me, Father,” Spock began very carefully. “But Mioral is no longer an Ambassador. He is considered a traitor to the Empire. Also, I am half-human and carry little significance in Vulcan politics.” Pause. “I…am no one, Father.”

“You are my son.” Despite his calm, neutral voice, Sarek was clearly offended, there was grim note in his voice. “You are a true child of the Federation, a blending of bloodlines and a living example of interspecial cooperation. And Mioral, though stripped of his rank and privilege, is an honorable man with a vast following in the Empire, from military commanders to university chancellors to activists in the Romulan dissident movement. Again, your marriage to his daughter could create great changes in the Empire.”

You. Ancient. Evil. Bastard.

“Forgive me, Father, but I disagree.” Spock paused, as if bracing himself. He’d never uttered those words before. “In order for such a marriage to send an appropriate message, the affection between N’Tal and me would have to be genuine. That will never happen. I find her to be a highly disagreeable individual. She and I are…not compatible.”

“And your refusal has nothing to do with your…human girlfriend?”


That time Spock actually twitched. It was painfully visible and he instantly regretted it.

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, my son,” Sarek continued dryly, as though faintly amused. “I am certain your…girlfriend will understand once you explain the situation.”

For a moment Spock wondered if N’Tal had done any cranial damage in the holodeck. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Give up Nyota for a life with N’Tal? Just to send a message to the Romulan Empire?

Spock was suddenly reminded of the first time he ate chocolate.  His stomach churned at the memory.

“I am sorry, Father, but I must decline.” He didn’t mean to shake as he said that, but he felt as though he was going to be violently ill.

“My son, if you do this thing for me—”

“I have already done everything for you,” Spock reminded him briskly. “For seventeen years, I did everything for you and the side of me that is Vulcan. But now, I wish do something for my mother, Father. She didn’t send me to Earth for merely a fleeting experience. I apologize if you find my decision disappointing, but I will not mate with N’Tal.” Pause. “I am certain you and Mioral can find her a better mate on Vulcan.”

“I cannot force you to bond with a female you find disagreeable,” Sarek accepted, “but I must ask why you have not told me of your human girl.”

“I only started seeing her this week, Father; I wasn’t sure if there was anything to tell,” Spock replied stiffly. My mother is soooo calling me after this. “I met her in Vulcan Literature, where I found her analyses and interpretations to be very insightful.”

“Hm,” the old man said softly, as though forgetting he was even talking to his son. “As it was…with your mother.”

“I am not saying Nyota is a replacement for N’Tal or T’Pring,” Spock hurried, encouraged by his father’s dreamy tone. “I’m just saying she is…important to me right now.”

“Mioral will be most discouraged.”

“Please extend my sincerest apologies, Father.”

“And his daughter? Shall I speak with her as well?”

Oh, no you don’t! You’re not robbing me of that!

“Don’t worry, Father.” Spock’s eyes narrowed as his whole body went rigid. For the first time since the Romulan’s arrival, he was actually eager to see her.

“I will speak with N’Tal.”

Next ~ Tantrums