See, I told you it wouldn't be long, but this chapter wasn't as easy as I hoped it would be. Anyway just so you know, I am trying to layer POV so that you get the same scenarios from different perspectives to give a complete picture, so because of this there may be some questions that aren't answered in this chapter, but should be in the next POV. Anyway now for Spock part 2.

The carrfae (car-fay) were waiting for them when they beamed down onto the planet. From the small group that had gathered to greet them, fifteen in total, they were quite unlike any humanoid species Spock had thus far encountered. From what he could observe, the carrfae wore a limited amount of clothing, so as to expose as much of their skin as possible for aesthetic appeal; however, this was not to emphasise the features associated with reproduction, but rather the skin itself. Every exposed part of the carrfae appeared to have been elaborately tattooed with a variety of metallic colours, forming loops, rings and swirls, not unlike a human fingerprint and the setting sun gave their bodies a silvery sheen. The clothes they did wear, had the same colour for the top and pants, but the colours had as much range as their skin and the tops worn by both genders were sleeveless and ended at the point where the sternum would end in a human and the material pressed closely to their skin. The pants they wore, if they could in fact be referred to as such, merely seemed to serve the purpose of concealing their genitalia, but no more. Their hair was colourless and long, with no difference in length between the male and females and both had hundreds of what appeared to be gems beaded through multiple braids. Their ears were quite different as well, appearing to be quite similar in shape to the fairy wings of human mythology and their eyes were large, almost round, similar to the nocturnal mammals of Earth.

As Spock observed these differences, the female members of the group moved towards them without fear, joy radiating from them. Each one moved towards a different member of the landing party and reached for their hands. Spock flinched back from such intimate contact, his eyes moving to the captain, whose hands were held tightly in the carrfae's and their arms were swinging side to side between them before their arms swung up above their head in an arc and they were forced to spin to keep their hands joined. The carrfae let out a pleased sound and pulled the captain close, pressing her mouth to his forehead. The carrfae in front of Spock moved in front of him now and seemed to attempting eye contact, getting more distressed when she could not. Allowing his eyes to meet hers, Spock felt a sense of welcome flood through him and she relaxed. Quickly they hurried away and some of the men stepped forward. Like the women, they went for the hands, except for the one before Spock, who waited patiently for Spock to observe what the others were doing. This time the carrfae pressed the tips of their fingers to that of the humans and raised their hands above their heads, before moving out in a circular movement, their hands pressing closer together until their palms were flat against each other. Once again the carrfae took the human's head in their hands and pressed their lips to their forehead. Turning back to the carrfae before him, Spock felt a sense of openness, complete mental openness, that had Spock instinctively locking down on his own mental restraints when he felt them being pulled at. At this, the man did not quite frown, but Spock could sense his displeasure. Once more they more they moved back; making way for a new arrival. Unlike the carrfae before, this one's skin was faded and her hair was coiled around her head, free of decoration.

'People of federation, I bring welcome you. I given name Coventina (koh-ven-TEE-na). I mother carrfae,' Coventina said. 'I told alliance desired.'

'That is correct,' the captain said, moving forward confidently. 'I am Captain Kirk, and this is my first officer Commander Spock.' Spock nodded his head in acknowledgement and Coventina looked over him carefully.

'Spock, you not like others,' she said. 'You closed off, but aware.'

'You are correct, my father was vulcan, not human,' Spock said.

'Have you had meal? We feast,' Coventina said, without pausing for response, making it clear there was to be no debate on the matter. Turning around, she led them towards the city, having been beamed to spot close to the forest bordering the city. As they entered, it was made swiftly apparent that the buildings were designed to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible, without compromising the stability of the structures. The building they were led into was long and wide and extremely quiet considering the number of people inside must have numbered in the hundreds and the tables and benches they sat at stretched almost all the way across the room. It quickly became apparent why it was so quiet, when Spock felt the heavy attack on his mind due to the immense onslaught of telepathic activity.

'Meal time is family time,' Coventina said and Spock realised belatedly that the captain had asked a question. 'Come.' Coventina led them to the end of a nearby table and sat down. The carrfae, it seemed, like vulcans, were completely vegetarian. The captain sat down beside her and Spock next to him, clamping down further on his shields as a Carrfae sat down beside him.

'Spock?' She said hesitantly and Spock turned to face her, noticing it was the woman who welcomed him earlier.

'I am Spock,' he said, when she said nothing further.

'I am Boannan (boh-ANN-ehn),' she said and Spock felt the tentative press of her mind against his, nudging against his mental barriers. When she became aware that he would not allow for such an intrusion, she began to cry. It was not only her crying either, Spock observed, as many other carrfae broke off their conversations midsentence to cry as well. 'I not understand. You aware. You aware, but alone. No one touch your… your thoughts. Why you hide from us?'

Spock froze, unable to think of a logical way of dealing with such a heavy amount of emotion. 'It is not the vulcan way. We find it an invasion of privacy. We rarely touch each other so that our minds remain our own.' This did not appear to be the correct thing to say, as Boannan only wailed louder, as did the others.

'Lonely. Lonely!' Boannan said, her hands clamped over her ears.

When she quieted, Spock said, 'I believe you do not understand. I am not alone.'

'They not aware, not as you aware, not your pain or happiness; they blind to you,' she protested and Spock nodded in acknowledgement.

'They are not, but I am not alone, for with my familial bonds I am never alone. Even now, as far from them as I am, I still sense their existence,' Spock said, slowly becoming more certain of his answers.

'You have familial bonds?' Boannan said, her face clearing to be replaced with hope. 'I pleased. Do have… m-marriage bonds?'

'Yes we do, though such a bond is usually formed at seven years of age,' Spock said.

'Are such bonds made for life?' Boannan said, her face serious and Spock found the sudden shift alarming.

'Yes, for at least one of the bond members, such a bond is for the remainder of their life,' Spock said.

'And do you have such a bond?' Boannan said, her eyes flickering to the left of Spock for a moment.

'No, my intended died with she who was my mother on my home planet,' Spock said.

'I thought…' Boannan clapped her hands, before glancing down at Spock's plate. 'I stopped you eating. Please do now,' she said and turned back to her own plate.

As Spock began to eat his own food; a bright pink and blue soup, made of two immiscible substances that separated as soon as left undisturbed; he became aware that the captain was in a conversation with Coventina.

'So Spock, you're probably better at explaining this than me. What impact does the federation have on the cultures they ally with?' The captain said, turning to his right to face Spock and Spock, taking his cue, launched into an explanation.

'Captain, it is quite remarkable how you manage to find yourself in these situations,' Spock said when they were taken to their sleeping chamber.

'How was I meant to know they form alliances through weddings and stonings? This is only the second time the federation has made contact with them,' the captain said with a huff.

'Indeed, the situation with Ensign Chekov is quite a dire one, I will attempt to negotiate with them tomorrow, to see if such an act can be avoided, or we may need to take a more direct approach to the situation,' Spock said.

'You really have a knack for the understatement, Mr. Spock,' Kirk said and looked around the room. 'Hey Spock, we may have a bit of a problem here.'

'Indeed, it appears they have only given us a single place to sleep,' Spock said, looking around the small room they were assigned. 'It is fortunate that, as I am vulcan, I do not require the amount of sleep a human does.'

'Are you sure? I mean we could figure something out, I mean…'

'I am. I will need time to strengthen my mental shields, I was not prepared for such an actively telepathic race,' Spock said trying to hide the fact that his controls were fraying.

'Wait, you say they are actively telepathic?' The captain said, surprised. 'Why didn't you tell me sooner?'

'I have not had the opportunity to do so, though, I did not know you were unaware. Even for a psi-null, I find it difficult to believe that amount of psychic ability was not felt,' Spock said. 'It is quite different from being among vulcans, or even humans, as the former block projections and the latter do not do so intentionally, nor do they actively seek to corrode the defences I form against such projections.'

'Ok, another question, how is it that you nearly got shot?' Kirk said, his eyes taking on a look of mischief that Spock was not fond of. 'I mean, according to Bones, you'd think that shot would change course mid shot and hit me; I mean I was standing right beside you.'

'If you were not so eager to place yourself in danger, your rate of injury would decrease to a more acceptable level. As for your point about the good doctor, I would not attend to his paranoia,' Spock said, causing the captain to laugh.

'Don't let him hear you say that,' the captain said.

'To my knowledge, he has heard me say such on multiple occasions. Your warning is a belated one,' Spock said, his eyebrow raising, making Kirk laugh harder.

'True,' the captain said, before his face turned serious. 'Anyway, if I wasn't the one in danger, I would just be placing someone else in danger and that is even less acceptable.'

'To answer your original question, one of the carrfae children was curious as to the function of the phaser and when they were unable to find the answer, they activated the it,' Spock said, conceding the captain point.

'Oh, well as long as it wasn't intentional or anything,' the captain said scratching the back of his neck. 'Well I guess I better contact the ship and get some sleep. God knows how Bones is holding up after not hearing from us.'

'I was under the impression he was not interested in reports from the ship. To quote "I don't want to hear what dumbass things you get up to when I'm not around",' Spock said causing the smile to return to Jim's face.

'Yeah, well you just wait; we'll be getting complaints from communications about him harassing the officers. He just says he doesn't care to hide just how much he does,' Jim said and walked over to the other side of the room, flipping open the communicator as he walked. Spock sat down on the floor while he waited, as no other furniture was in the room.

'Good old Bones,' the captain said as he returned. 'He was asking after you, you know?'

'Indeed, I would not have expected such an outcome.'

'Yeah, well he tried to get me to promise not to tell you,' the captain said grinning.

'But did you not just inform me of it?' Spock said confused.

'Yeah, well he couldn't see me doing this now could he?' Kirk said holding out his hand which revealed the middle finger crossed over the index finger.

'I do not believe I am aware of the gesture,' Spock said, curious.

'It's an old human gesture, I'm not really sure where or when it originated, but it basically means that you don't really intend to follow through with the promise,' the captain said and Spock realised it was another one of the illogical things humans did and chose to forget about it. 'Anyway I better go and get some sleep.' The captain stripped off both shirts as he walked and sat down on the bed, removing his boots and socks, before pulling back the covers and climbing under them. 'Hey Spock, do you know how to turn the lights down?'

Spock looked around the room and saw a knob sticking out of the wall next to the door and turned it, causing the room to fall into darkness. 'Sleep well captain.'

'Um, thanks Spock,' the captain said.

Spock did not relax at all during the night.

As he had surmised, the Carrfae were nocturnal and the level of telepathic activity grew and fell at an inconsistent rate throughout the night and this gave the illogical impression that time passed at decreased rate. When the captain did awaken, it created in Spock a great amount of relief, as he had been unable to concentrate on a finding a solution the remainder of the night, nor the next morning.

Sitting up, Jim said, 'afternoon Spock,' but while his voice indicated cheerfulness, Spock had noticed Jim had also been quite restive.

'Indeed, though I do not understand why you feel the need to point out that fact,' Spock said, refusing to acknowledge the pride he felt when the captain's smile became genuine. Nor was it logical to analyse a situation when one is not prepared to accept all potential consequences.

'Wow, you look as good as I feel,' the captain said.

'I do not believe my appearance has so significantly altered since you last looked at me,' Spock said, trying to avoid drawing attention to his severely weakened mental state.

'I should have fought harder about the bed, I'm sorry,' Kirk said, one hand running the back of his neck.

'Apologies are illogical and unnecessary considering the situation. Indeed the quality of rest would have been poor at best due to environmental factors, which seem to have affected you own rest, despite being psi-null. Add to that the short duration of rest, which would remove any benefit in attaining sleep,' Spock said. The captain nodded, needing no further explanation.

'So, did you work out a way of helping Chekov?' The captain said hopefully.

'I must confess, I was unable to discover an effective solution, within mission guidelines, while in my current state,' Spock said, trying to prevent his colour from altering to match the shame at such a loss of control.

'We'll think of something, we always do,' the captain said confidently.

'I believe the human saying is, 'there is always an original time',' Spock said.

'It's 'first time', and I guess there is, but it won't be this time,' Kirk said, looking around the room and giving a small smile. 'You know Mr Spock, I never imagined I would ever be discussing ship business with you, in bed.' Laughing quietly, Kirk straightened out the sheets around him.

Spock tilted his head. 'Captain, it is my understanding that you have been confined to sickbay with such frequency, there is very little we have not discussed while you are in bed.' Once again Spock was given the illogical impression Jim's eyes were sparkling and he certainly did not feel warmer, it would be illogical considering the temperature had not fluctuated to even a minute degree.

'Oh, I could think of a few things,' Kirk said, with a slight incline of his lips. 'But enough about my high heel collection, we have to save Chekov and I have to avoid getting married.' Spock chose not to analyse the statement, a decision he often made when human illogic exceeded any possible reasoning and picked up the captains shirts, handing them over and waited patiently for the captain to put them on.

Leaving the room, Spock became aware of the increasing buzz of telepathic activity. It had decreased at some point in the morning; however, it appeared the carrfae projected even in sleep, to the minds of those around them.

It did not take them long to find the carrfae who had already woken, as they were standing outside the building Chekov had been taken the previous evening to prepare for his 'task'. It had been explained to Spock that the sacrifice would create a life long marriage, and show they would die for their allies. This did not explain why neither the ensign, nor the pilot was currently in discussion with Coventina.

'I don't like this,' Kirk said, his eyes narrowed. 'Come on Spock; let's see what's going on.' Pushing their way through the crowd, the captain led them to the carrfae leader, who smiled upon seeing them.

'I hope you slept well,' Coventina said, her arms stretching out to take the captains head in her hands and place a kiss on his forehead.

'I did,' the captain lied, the smile he gave deceptively real, but Spock could see the strain around his eyes.

'It is a joyous day. Very few allies come to us with the intentions of joining our people with love bonds,' Coventina said, her face reflecting her words, but something felt off with the emotions, which kept Spock on guard. Though he was able to keep out the thoughts of those around him, his barriers were strained and it was frequently too much effort to keep out the emotions; especially those that wished to be felt.

'Excuse me?' The captain said and Spock realised this would be one of the situations where humans reflexive responses would hinder the situation.

'Indeed, it can be the only reason why this man; Hikaru was it?' Sulu gave a small nod, though his face remained blank and he stood slightly in front of Chekov in a defensive position. '…Would come to the room of the sacrifice last night. Indeed he confirmed it himself and stated that you, James, wish to take the place as sacrifice.'

Spock noticed the captain's face had lost a significant amount of colour and he too was barely able to restrain an emotional out burst.

'If you do not mind, I wish to confer with Lieutenant Sulu,' the captain said and Coventina twirled her arms so her arms were bent and her palms facing outward, which the captain must have taken as acceptance, for he grabbed the lieutenant by the arm and dragged him a distance away.

Despite Spock not being able to hear the conversation, it was quickly made obvious the captain was discussing him, when the lieutenant looked at him a total of twelve times, the last five with an expression of guilt. When the captain turned around, Spock saw an expression of fury on his face and he motioned Spock to join him, while the lieutenant returned to stand beside Ensign Chekov.

When Spock neared the Captain, Kirk's face relaxed slightly and he said, 'you know Spock; a year ago I would have never thought that you would be the one person that had complete trust in me.'

'What did the Lieutenant say occurred?' Spock said and Kirk smiled.

'I should have had you talk to him, you're damn near giving me frostbite and I'm not even the one who did anything wrong, for once,' Kirk said laughing and Spock inclined his head, acknowledging the illogical statement. 'Look Spock, don't give him too much of a hard time. He really thought he was doing the right thing, besides you will be too busy trying to save this alliance. Oh and you will have to make they don't, you know, kill me,' Kirk said and Spock's hand tightened around the other behind his back.

'You state that as though it is not already a frequent occurrence,' Spock said and Jim laughed again.

'Then you should be an expert by now,' Jim said and Spock immediately tried to piece together any sort of plan which could save Jim. It would not be permissible to allow his… injury. He was removed from those thoughts, when he felt a hand clench his shoulder and his eyes met Jim's own. 'Hey, I'm trusting you to get me out of this. I haven't finished with you yet. Getting you to develop a sense of humour was only the beginning.'

Spock froze, his mind cataloguing every part of Jim's face and expression, imprinting them in his mind. Jim clapped his hand on his shoulder once more and was gone.

'Jim.'

Spock barely even noticed when Sulu came over a moment later, his only words were, 'I didn't know'.

Dinner was just as loud as it had been the previous evening and yet just as vocally quiet. This night, Spock did not even make an attempt to eat as the captain's absence, as well as the reason behind that absence only increased turbulence of the emotions he felt. The fact he had not a moment to himself was dizzying and he felt quite ill. It was not until he woke from unconsciousness that he realised just how much.

'Wake up Spock. Union is now. Must wake.'

Spock groaned as his head pounded and he could not tell if he were hearing the words with his ears or his mind. After far too long, the words began to sink in and his eyes opened to see Boannan leaning over him.

'You awake. Hurry, not much time.'

No more encouragement was needed and Spock leapt out of bed and ran out the door to see a large circle of carrfae and in the middle was Coventina, Lieutenant Sulu, Ensign Chekov, an unknown male and female carrfae, another unknown male carrfae and Jim, the last two were bare chested and their arms bound in front of them with ropes of the same metallic colouring that seemed to be favoured everywhere and on their knees. It was then a sparkle caught Spock's attention and he saw each of the carrfae holding two large gems behind their back. It is also then he realised just how quiet it is, vocally and telepathically, and his mind aches to relax now that there is no threat to his shields.

'First, we sacrifice. Prove our loyalty,' Coventina said and instantly the carrfae raised one of their hands, holding the gems high.

Later Spock would have no recollection of what happened next, neither the cry of rage nor him shoving past the carrfae to cover Jim as best as he could. Protect. Whipping his head around, he stared at Coventina, his sudden uncontrolled fury mounting as he saw her smile at his reaction.

'I see that you are displeased by our actions, Spock,' Coventina said, smile widening. 'Would you take the place of your friends and take the one who you hold so closely to you now and unite our people?' Coventina's sudden fluency was ignored as Spock fought to think through the words she spoke over the haze of his emotions.

Jim, it appeared, had taken this opportunity to crawl out from Spock's protective hold and he took Spock's face in his hands, forcing Spock to meet his eyes. Calm slowly seeped through the haze and Jim rested his forehead against Spock's.

'Spock, this may be our only option,' Jim whispered hesitantly and Spock's protectiveness grew and he clenched his eyes to try and hold onto the wisps of control that he seemed to have gained. Spock trusted his captain, his friend and if he thought it was right, as Spock could not provide a solution of his own, Spock would do this.

'Yes.'

'Excellent, preparations will be underway,' Coventina said and there was a loud trilling.

An unknown time later, Spock found himself once more sitting in front of Jim; the tension in his mind easing again, now that Jim was safe.

'Spock, I have to go now, Boannan wishes to speak to you and I need to talk to Coventina, will you be ok?' Jim said and Spock found himself, almost reflexively about to reply in the negative.

'I will be fine, captain,' Spock said and Jim smiled.

'Ok then, try and stay out of trouble,' Jim said and left the room, Boannan entering immediately after.

'You are looking better,' Boannan said happily, as though Spock's present state was entirely due to her actions. 'Now that mess is out of the way, we can finally prepare the true union.'

'You… you did not intend for Ji-the captain to bond with Macha, nor Lieutenant Sulu to Ensign Chekov?' Spock said, already suspecting the answer.

'No, of course not,' Boannan said with a laugh. 'We want this alliance to be strong and that cannot happen when the two people forming the bond are not aware. That bond would not last, nor did they expect it to. Their ways are not ours and they are not yours.'

'If this is the basis of your logic, my bonding with the captain would also be illogical,' Spock said, his hands moving to clasp behind his back.

'There is one factor you are not acknowledging, Captain Kirk is aware of you and that is all that's needed,' Boannan said and as if her words were the key to a complex mathematical formula, all the moments that seemed random were revealing a pattern.

'If the captain is indeed aware of me, as you suggest, I was not aware of it,' Spock said.

'Is this not wonderful then? You shall be parted, but never parted, never and always touching and touched,' Boannan said, in what could only be described as glee.

Spock's hands gripped tightly to each other to fight down his sudden anger. The lack of meditation, adequate rest and the constant strain of being amongst so many active telepaths wore down on his ability to stabilise his emotions and it was becoming more and more difficult to do so. 'How are you aware of those words?'

'Your shields drop in your sleep,' Boannan said, as though she had not trespassed his mind. 'T'Pring was it? She was lovely, but I only saw her as a child. I do not understand.'

'That was the only time I saw her,' Spock said, his eyes hardening.

'No matter, you will have Kirk soon, he will fill your void and you won't be lonely anymore,' Boannan said and cheerfully skipped over to the door, her hair swinging and causing the beads to clatter against each other. 'I will fetch him now and then we can perform the ceremony and you will be bonded; everything will be good again, you will see.'

'You did not mention stoning?' Spock said, uncertain as to if she should be reminded.

'Oh that, it's not happening,' Boannan said.

'I was made to believe that is part of the alliance ritual,' Spock said, relieved that it was to be avoided now.

'No, that would have been punishment for betraying us, when we knew that if such a marriage were to be made it would not be recognised, or would be reversed,' Boannan said unconcerned and without another word spoken, she left.

Spock stared at the door, feeling almost as helpless as the moment he realised she-who-was-his-mother was to be forever lost and only just out of his reach. His mind was frayed from his steady loss of control and soon it would be shared with another. He did not dare to consider the damage he may inflict on his captain's mind in such a state.

Moments later he heard a knock on the door and he turned around in time to see Kirk slip into the room.

'Hey,' Kirk said quietly and Spock nodded back. 'I was wondering; will this be permanent? I mean I doubt you want to be stuck in my head for the rest of my life.'

Spock hesitated before answering, 'It is possible for such a bond to be ended, yes.' He did not mention the repercussions of the breaking of such a bond. His hated eyes must have betrayed, though, as Jim took a step closer, his eyes imploring.'

'Spock…'

'We're ready now.' Spock and Kirk turned to the door to see who had interrupted them, to see a young carrfae, the metallic sheen of her skin still bright and her movements fluid as she made her way over to them. 'Oh, I am so excited. It has been many months since the last bonding and there is nothing more beautiful.' She had yet to stop moving and her stream of emotions clattered against Spock's shields as the beads did in her hair. 'Oh, I have not introduced myself and I was told it was oh so important.' Moving over to the captain, she took his hands and raising their arms, they twirled on the spot in greeting before she took his face and kissed his forehead and stepped back. 'My name is Fianna (fee-ye-na). Come now, you must dress and then we will go.'

The clothes they were to wear were quite different than the ones Spock and Kirk were used to; consisting of a barely opaque sarong with beads of many colours, that fell to just above their knee (Spock's was dark blue, woven with silver and Kirk's was green woven with gold) and their wrists and ankles were covered in thin, plain metallic bangles. On their chests and neck, symbols were painted using a substance that appeared similar to the carrfae's natural skin pigmentation.

Once this was done, Fianna led them outside and across a small stream to a circular island. Around the outside, white stone pillars, draped with vines were placed evenly and white concrete circle rose out of the centre, but it was not a slab, but tiles and in the spaces, various types of plants and flowers lined each tile. Spock and Kirk were led into the middle and told to kneel, join hands and wait. The first was done easily enough, but Spock hesitated before complying with the second; it was only after Jim gave a small smile that he was able to do so and felt the hum of emotions under his touch.

Kneeling there, he truly realised what his mind had been piecing together all along and that was the carrfae were a complete contrast to the vulcan. From the beginning, Spock realised they were different, but it was rare to find a race that had this level of dissimilarity: where vulcans show their respect for the mind by allowing privacy, the carrfae show there's by sharing it; where vulcans focused on logic, carrfae cared for beauty; where vulcans prided themselves on logic over emotion, carrfae favoured emotion over logic; vulcans are solitary and carrfae thrive in community; vulcan's live in a desert planet and carrfae live in forest, where vulcans appeared the same, the carrfae were as different as fingerprints. Kneeling in the circle so similar to the place of koon-ut-kal-if-fee, yet so different, looking into the eyes of the one to whom he would be bonded, Spock never felt more isolated from anything he ever knew.

After a short time, they heard the sound of flutes playing and growing louder from all directions and as the carrfae arrived and Spock realised another detail, this would be no small, private affair, hidden in shame, but a celebration and Spock did not know which was worse. A short distance away, another couple knelt parallel to Spock and Kirk and Coventina came to stand in the middle.

'Here we witness a union in love and the creation of an alliance between the carrfae and the federation. On the behalf of the carrfae, the ones who will shoulder the responsibility and show the strength of our alliance are Fianna and Nuada (noo-AH-da) and on behalf of the federation we have Spock and James Kirk. Now join me sister, Epona (eh-POH-na) and to join these minds to one another for as long as they hold emotion in their hearts. My brothers and sisters, join your minds and bless these unions.'

Spock would never forget, in all the years he lived, the smile the captain gave him as Coventina placed her fingers at the point where their skull met their spine, (the place the carrfae used for telepathic connection) and entered their minds. Nor would his infallible memory ever allow him to forget the first tentative touch of Jim's mind. As their minds moved ever closer together, a tidal wave of water washed over the dry, cut and scarred surface of his mind, yet it was as gentle as the breeze and healed his mind with it's breath. The healing bond drew Spock in so deep he felt as though he was travelling with the captain's blood. It was nothing like the bond he shared with T'Pring and…

Coventina's hands dropped and with much effort Spock drew back and threw down a wall between their minds. He could feel a pulsing, steady as a heartbeat at the back of his mind, but ignored it and looked outward, meeting Kirk's confused gaze.

'Spock, what…?'

'Where is it?' Boannan said as she broke away from her place in the circle, her voice a mixture of shock and confusion. 'It was right there a minute ago and now it is gone, silenced.' Her eyes closed, her head tilting to the side as though listening intently, the beads clattering against each other. Spock tensed as he felt her mind drift across the bond, before slamming against the wall dividing Kirk and Spock's minds, driving Spock to his knees.

'…spock…'

Spock dimly recognised the captain's voice, but it was muted as he felt another slam against the wall and it was almost with relief when his mind went black.

Sorry this isn't as long as the last chapter, but Spock kind of fainted. Anyway, what did you think of the alien race I created? I know there is probably a fair few questions as to why Kirk hasn't decided they just leave and forget about it, but they will be answered in Kirk's POV which begins next chapter. Also, you have probably noticed that Kirk is showing a degree of empathetic ability, it is just I read this really cool essay and they explained how they believed Kirk in the original series did have those abilities to an extent and, well, I kind of found myself agreeing with it and so I included it. Despite the fact no one answered the last lot of questions I will ask another and the answers will be in the final chapter. The question is, who do you think said 'what have you done?' at the end of the first chapter? Thanks for reading and I hope you all stick around for the next chapter in Kirk's POV. Hopefully it will be a lot easier than these two have been.