Chapter 5

The Captain took longer than he usually does to get to the bridge. When the turbo lift doors opened I knew immediately who had entered the bridge by the gasps coming from my fellow crewmates. Turning in my chair I addressed the captain.

"Captain, the message from Starfleet is ready to be view as soon as you wish."

He smiled and strode towards me, Spock in tow. Finally looking at him, I couldn't suppress a gasp of my own. He really had been transformed into a child. He was so… Small! As a child, he was adorable with his pixie face, bowl haircut that was just a bit long around his pointed ears, and his Vulcan child's tunic. He was even smiling. He looked up at the Captain with admiration as Kirk introduced us.

"Spock, this is Lt. Uhura, my best communications officer. You two were. . . Friends."

Spock's giggle surprised me.

"I'm the first officer!" he proudly sang out as he excitedly hopped from one foot to the other. I had never seen him this worked up before. I had to smile though as he threw himself forward and hugged me, almost purring with happiness.

"Well, I'm glad to see you too! He's extremely emotional, Captain."

Kirk shrugged, "Maybe it's because he's a child. He was extremely talkative on our way to the bridge from the mess hall. I don't think I've ever heard him laugh before, but he was in hysterics over the smallest things. Maybe this is a sign that he's warmed up to us?"

I wasn't as optimistic, and gently pulled Spock out of his death grip on my leg. My suspicions were confirmed when I noticed the smudge of brown on his cheek. Narrowing my eyes, I looked up at the Captain, feeling very protective of the small child now happily sitting in my lap.

"Captain, by any chance, is this smudge on Spock's cheek chocolate?"

My glare must have intimidated him because he seemed taken aback and stammered a bit before replying.

"Why, yes it is. We had a little bit of ice cream on our way here, not too much, just a taste. I hadn't noticed the mess…" He trailed off as I pursed my lips in displeasure and sighed. I discovered that Spock's hands were also sticky when he reached for a knob on my control panel.

"Captain, as a general rule, Vulcans do not eat chocolate. It's like alcohol to them."

Understanding dawned on the Captains face, and he looked down at Spock with a mixture of amusement and trepidation as a quiet "oh" escaped him. Our conversation was interrupted by a series of beeps from my console, as another urgent message from Starfleet came through. At this sound, Spock bounced out of my lap and dashed around the small room, giggling, before jumping up into the Captain's chair, fingers hovering over the buttons, causing the view screen to flicker before showing the message from Starfleet. Kirk lunged for the small Vulcan and snatched him out of the chair, clearly annoyed. He placed him in my lap, and quickly hushed the child's protests. I softly whispered in his ear in his native tongue, telling him to be still and quiet; thankfully he listened.

One of the Admirals appeared on the screen, his face a mask of concern.

"Captain Kirk, I am afraid I have distressing news for you. I know you are currently engaged at the colony on Ios, giving the settlers supplies and your crew rest, but something has come up. Since you're the closest starship, you'll have to do. We have received word that the Romulans are planning to attack a colony in the next sector within a few days. Two Romulan war ships have been spotted, and they are advancing on the colony on Mycetta Tres, a planet that also has a large, peaceful indigenous population. The planet is made up of mostly farmers and the capitol is home to many great artists. At this time we do not know what the Romulans want with Mycetta Tres, I need you to apprehend them, avoiding violence if possible. Star Fleet out."

The screen blinked once and went blank. I pushed a few buttons on my console, letting Star Fleet know that Kirk had received the message. Spock hopped off of my lap to go inspect the science station. Seeing this, the Captain sighed and flopped into his chair.

"This is the last thing we need. Uhura, let Starfleet know we're on our way and put out an order for everyone on leave to return to the ship immediately. Sulu, set a course for Mycetta Tres, we'll leave in one hour. How long will it take?"

Sulu punched a few buttons in his console and then quickly responded, "Twenty two hours captain, at our fastest speed."

He pushed the intercom button on the panel in his chair and within seconds Scotty's voice filled the room.

"Scotty here."

"Scotty, this is the captain…"

"Oh Captain Kirk, I am so sorry for what happened to Mr. Spock, it truly was an accident. My men and I are working on solutions; we'll have it sorted out in no time at all."

Kirk interrupted his apology, "I'm glad to hear that, but it may have to wait. We need to head to the colony at Mycetta Tres as soon and as quickly as possible. A couple of Romulan warships are headed there. Is the ship ready?"

"Aye Captain, she's right as rain. You just tell me how fast you need her to go, and she'll get you there."

"Good, that's what I like to hear. We'll leave in an hour; I want you on the bridge then. Kirk out."

The Captain spent a few minutes going from station to station around the bridge, checking up on everyone's progress before sweeping the now sleepy Spock up into his arms and heading for the medbay. As he passed me I couldn't help but smile when I heard him muttering about how McCoy was going to hypo him if he was late in delivering Spock in time for his scheduled checkup. It would serve him right, everyone knows that Vulcans do not eat chocolate.