Chapter Text
The next morning, the medications Jim's doctor had given him helped lower his fever and make him feel better. He was more aware of where he was. At least Spock and Bones had not perished and were by his side. The pain in his abdomen was much less. He had spoken with Spock, and they had shared Vulcan caresses and kisses. The doctor was informed of the new relationship that existed between his two friends. He reacted very well, was pleased and joked with Spock, throwing him some of his most sarcastic remarks.
The time had come for Spock's brother, Sybok, to explain why the transporter had failed, the existence of this undiscovered planet and the unusual mix of humans and Vulcans. And above all, what was Spock's brother doing in that place?
The four men were in the tepee occupied by Jim. The captain was still lying down, and the other three men were sitting on skins on the floor. Having eaten, drunk and rested properly, the two crewmen looked much better. The healer had helped fit a better sling to support the doctor's shoulder. Sybok was preparing a hot herbal tea to comfort his guests.
Spock watched him. It was unheard of for the two of them to be brought together in such an unexpected way. Finally, his brother seemed to relax and began to tell his story.
He pressed his fingertips together as he crossed his long legs. "As my brother well knows, I have never been a typical vulcan. Ever since I was a child, I have meditated on our laws and customs. Surak's teachings did not fully satisfy me. The Vulcan High Council has never been in favor of being questioned. My sense of the spiritual, of the way of life I longed for was not part of the planet on which I lived. I wanted to learn, to let my emotions flow, somehow, even if I controlled them. I couldn't be a block of stone, never smile, or cry."
McCoy raised an eyebrow,surprised by his statement.
"Go on,please!" Jim said.
"Along with a group of malcontents, we bought a starship and decided to leave, to find a place where we were happy and could be what we were."
Spock nodded. "That was a shock. They were the sons and daughters of some of the most recognized and powerful Vulcans. An elite, well educated and expected to carry on the work of their fathers. About two hundred young men and women departed."
"I imagine your father,Sarek, very unhappy with the situation." McCoy added.
Spock blinked softly. "Neither my brother nor I have been what our father expected of us."
"We tried to settle on a planet that was not on the star charts. But we had problems with the population. They were belligerent, aggressive and warlike. Our message of peace and love was not accepted in any way. Some of us were even killed. It was necessary to flee, if we wanted to survive." Sybok lowered his voice sadly.
"I'm sorry!" Jim exclaimed, from the bottom of his heart.
Sybok looked at him gratefully.
"Let's just say...we left that ill-fated planet,with more than just our ship. We left with a cloaking device."
McCoy was incredulous. "You stole the device right out from under their noses?"
Sybok reddened visibly. "It's not something we're proud of, but ... it was. We visited several planets, until we found this place. A place similar to Vulcan. Primitive and with inhabitants with a simple lifestyle. Humanoids from the cave age. They, at first, saw us as gods. We learned to communicate with them, and showed them that we wanted to be their equals. We have mixed with them, we have children and mixed couples.
Jim was beginning to connect the dots. "What does that cloaking device consist of?"
Sybok threw a knowing smile at Jim. "This planet is undetectable to any known sensor. Moreover, no machines, weapons or electronic devices work here. We want our life to be peaceful and natural."
"That technology is completely unknown. I can't believe it can hide an entire planet." Jim replied.
Sybok sighed. "Believe me, Captain Kirk, it's functional. It can also be dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. Can you imagine what could be done with this powerful technology. Create and destroy empires,wars of all kinds,countless deaths."
Leonard shivered slightly. There had already been too many genocidal, power-hungry killers in Earth's ancient history.
Spock began to realize the extent of his brother's discovery. "I do not understand,then,how we were transported by mistake,to the surface of this planet,when our mission was elsewhere far away."
Sybok shrugged. "Perhaps there have been disturbances, or stellar storms that converge when in close proximity to this hidden planet. The device has a chaotic behavior that we have not been able to control, which causes some living beings to have materialized on the surface of our planet by mistake. We don't have the instruction book; gentlemen, I know it's a silly joke, but we function a little bit without quite knowing what we are doing."
"Highly illogical." Spock muttered.
McCoy swallowed saliva. "Have there been others like us?"
"That's right. Not too many,fortunately."
The doctor became agitated. "Where are they,what have you done with them?" He stood up quickly, as his frightened eyes looked alternately at Jim and Spock.
Sybok raised his hands, expressing calm. "My dear doctor, we are not murderers. You need not be upset."
"You have condemned them to remain in this inhospitable place forever!. Are we your prisoners?"
"Please, Bones, calm down and let Sybok explain." Jim demanded.
"All right,damn it! "The doctor growled. His shoulder gave him a sharp stab of pain,and he decided to sit down and not make any more sudden movements.
Sybok had crossed his arms, and nodded. "Thank you captain. We do not hold anyone here,against their will. We are able to stop the cloaking device from functioning for a few moments. At that time, the unwanted guests are returned to where they were to be teleported to."
"How do you know they return in one piece, and are not broken down into scattered atoms and floating in space?" McCoy asked. That had always been one of his greatest fears.
"I have faith and confidence that it is so." The vulcan answered him.
McCoy rolled his eyes. "I believe in science,not faith and assumptions."
Sybok clenched his jaw and he frowned. "Lack of faith,my dear doctor, reliance on logic and science alone,was one of the reasons we were driven to leave our home planet." His voice became melancholy.
McCoy sighed. "An idealist in search of inner peace." He thought.
"So, brother, you ask us to trust only you, so that we can return to our former lives. It is illogical. Indeed."
"It is not only that. You cannot spread the existence of this planet,nor that of the cloaking device. We have become your guardians, here. Our group wants to continue your way of life. Neither the Federation of Planets, nor the Klingos, nor the Romulans or any entity outside of us can know what we possess. As I have already told you,it could have dire results for all known galaxies."
Kirk shifted uneasily in his bed. "Then what is the solution you propose. Our life is elsewhere. For my part, I do not wish to remain here."
"I wish to return to my work, have contact with my daughter and take care of this pair of idiots." McCoy replied,as he pointed a finger at his friends.
Spock raised an eyebrow. "My place is with Jim. I love him."
Jim choked, as he blushed and smiled sweetly.
Sybok made eye contact with his brother. "I'm glad Spock has found love. There is always the hope that Vulcans will put aside some of their culture and open their minds." He reached out his hand and caressed Spock's face. "I love you, brother, and my soul is satisfied for you."
Spock did not move a muscle, but a slight quiver in his mouth manifested that he was moved. "I imagine the solution you are going to offer us is that part of our memory be erased. Everything we have experienced here, must disappear from our memories."
The other Vulcan nodded. "That is the way to proceed."
McCoy opened his eyes and groaned. "To poke and prod my mind using that sort of Vulcan voodoo of yours. Do you really think I'm going to allow that."
Kirk rubbed his forehead hard. "Bones...you have said you do not wish to remain here, this is not your life. We're going to have to trust Sybok. I have as many doubts as you do,but if we don't accede to his requests...." Jim took the doctor's hand and stroked it gently.
"I am scared to death,Jim."
"I know, my dear Bones. I am now together with Spock, we are united by a loving bond. We are a couple. But I don't want to lose you, I want you to be with us, as the best friend I've ever had."
"It's all right. You always get us out of the most compromising situations, Jim Kirk. I'll try to find the confidence within myself. But I warn you,it's very very deep inside me!"
Kirk smiled in amusement.
The two brothers left the tent, leaving the doctor to tend to the captain's wounds.
"I would like to show you the device." Sybok announced to him.
"It's not logical. I'm going to forget everything I've been through here."
They strolled slowly,among the other teepees in the village. Some blond-haired, pointy-eared children greeted them noisily. Spock recognized some of the Vulcans, they had been schoolmates. They smiled and hugged him shamelessly. How they had changed!!!. A pregnant human was caressing her belly, while a vulcan looked at her with love. The atmosphere was peaceful, simple and familiar. That was the world that his brother and his companions had created. Sybok did not look like the vulcan tortured by uncertainty that he had known. His long black hair and the way he dressed,in simple animal skins gave him a wild look,but he was still the sharp,intelligent brother he had always admired.
"Many of the children you see are half human half Vulcan, Spock."
A tall, lanky teenager approached the pair. "Father!" he exclaimed warmly.
"Spock, I want you to meet...your nephew."
"Hey, you're named after me!" the boy exclaimed. "I'm going to go help mother. I'll see you later!"
The young boy walked away, quickly.
"Forgive his manners, he's...an adolescent." Sybok told him. "I have never forgotten you, brother."
Spock bowed and put his hand to his heart. No more words were needed between the two.
Walking for about half an hour, they came upon an old Vulcan starship. Next to it, a cubic figure, black in color and of considerable size, was resting on the ground. It was shiny,as if made of polished glass,it looked more like a jewel than a device of such unequaled power.
"Fascinating!" Spock exclaimed. "Something so beautiful that it is capable of evil,if not used correctly."
"I wish many things would change in the universe,especially wars and power struggles. At least we helped somewhat,as this device guardians."
Spock nodded. "I wanted to ask you something... Who were the uncontrolled group of vulcans and humans who attacked and injured us?"
The Vulcan suddenly became serious. "The effect of the device seems to produce in some of us,over time,a noticeable violence. When that happens,beings who become irrational are driven out of the village. They have grouped together, both human and Vulcan. Sometimes, skirmishes occur and they try to attack us. We know how to defend ourselves against them. They are a minority now."
"What if they become a majority?"
"Then our idyllic paradise will change and we will have to leave the planet. That's why we haven't dismantled the ship, Spock. I feel that I will not remain in this place all my life. Somehow, you and I will meet again."
"That's an assumption that doesn't follow from logic."
"I know, it's my intuition. I know you reject your human emotions. I, as a vulcan, have learned to live with them."
"When do you plan to proceed with the erasure of our memories?"
"As soon as the captain is a little more recovered."
"I'm going to miss you,Sybok."
The other Vulcan's eyes filled with tears. "That's a lot,coming from you."
A week later, Sybok performed the mind meld with the three men,so that they would completely forget what had happened on the planet. He hugged his brother,who returned the gesture. Jim enjoyed the procedure, while the doctor trembled slightly. James Kirk and Spock were going to have a future together.
McCoy would continue to stand by his friends,caring for them. Spock's older brother turned off the device for a second,and the three men dematerialized,reappearing on the surface of the planet they were initially going to visit. They had no trace of the injuries they had suffered on the undiscovered planet. Nothing in their memory.....about Sybok and the planet to be discovered.
Jim's usual smile had become perpertuous. He was now with the one he loved. He had always enjoyed his work, but this quiet landing party they were experiencing would remain in his memory forever. He watched, in the distance, as Spock and Bones worked together.
McCoy approached his Vulcan friend. The first officer had stopped, tricorder in hand, and seemed absent. The lush flora of the beautiful planet surrounded them. Jim was venting his energy,giving orders to the geologist and the rest of the crew that was part of the landing party.
Spock felt a strange sense of inner emptiness. There was something that had left him, without knowing exactly where it came from. There seemed to have been a parenthesis in his existence. He decided to dismiss the idea as illogical.
"Are you all right, Spock?" The doctor asked him.
"I'm functional. I've simply remembered my...family. It's not logical, but I feel that...I need to spend more time with them. I must call my mother and father more."
Leonard smiled. There was no teasing at that moment.