Author's Note: I'm very excited to be back with a new story, one that is triumvirate focused and a little on the angsty side. I'd like to clarify that this one is set in an entirely different universe than my others. We're starting afresh! Also, unlike in my other stories, there is no Jim/Carol pairing, just friendship. As the writer, I reserve the right to dance around the idea, however. Spock and Uhura are distinctly together. :-) I'll be updating weekly. Maybe sooner if I can swing it. Thank you, DLB48, for offering your wonderful beta reading skills. You go above and beyond- and I am exceedingly grateful.

Thanks so much for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.

"Young Kirk, your refusal to kill Khan resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent people, civilians and members of Starfleet alike." Prince Lequa's silken voice swept over Nyota. The surrounding beauty of the prince's home mesmerized her, as did the tones of each of the Re'an, but she couldn't ignore the demoralizing accusation directed at the captain. She stiffened. "How can we, as a primitive society, be expected to trust your Starfleet...your Federation...if one man can cause such irrevocable harm?"

Nyota delicately raised the goblet to her lips, curving her fingers around the glass and fighting the urge to scramble over to the captain and insert herself in front of enemy fire. The Re'an were old friends of the Federation? Hardly. She swallowed, the liquid burning as it slid down her throat. Kirk's jaw clenched as he undoubtedly fought the urge to defend himself and Starfleet.

The Enterprise crew had stumbled upon their current mission as they were already in deep space, three months into their five-year exploration of the unknown. The Re'an, a race distinguishable by their six and a half foot slender forms, blue skin tones, broad foreheads, and voluminous peach-colored eyes, disappeared nearly twenty years ago. The Enterprise had come upon them less than seven days earlier. Now, Kirk was to promote the standard of peace that they had always shared between themselves and these indigenous beings of Beta Re'an IV before they disappeared. She'd heard Prince Lequa's frank observation, of course. As hurtful as that was to hear, it was McCoy's failure to show support of the captain which cut to the quick. McCoy knew more than most how stressful it was for Kirk to reply to such a deviously played comment.

McCoy's eyes fixated on the prince or the guards and never once strayed to his best friend in his usual emotional support. In fact, his body shifted away from Kirk. It was the faintest of change in mannerisms and one a capable linguist could detect blindfolded.

"Sir, with all due respect, I believe the root of the problem does not lie entirely with the decisions I made as captain at that time. They exposed cracks and flaws within our system that are being rectified to the best of our ability as we speak."

"There are cracks, and there are deep fissures which have no way to be mended."

"It was the evil doing of men, Prince Lequa. A false sense of hierarchy that many peoples face across the galaxy when leaders become hungry for power to protect themselves at any cost."

"Ah, men," the prince smiled. "Now we get to my point."

Kirk's eyes narrowed. "Please, continue."

"Our understanding is that men - your human comrades - are capable of great things as well as the worst of things. It saddens my heart to see such an imbalance in your world." The prince paused. "Here, my people learned long ago that evil gives us nothing."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Our people are too strong for it to exist. It cannot have any power over us whatsoever. Thus, it simply vanished."

Kirk smiled. "We, as humans, have learned more about ourselves by fighting for good and overcoming evil. It compels us to endure, to have compassion."

"We do not need to learn such virtues."

"And humility, Prince Lequa?"

"You are quick, Captain Kirk."

"Evil may have soiled our history, but overcoming it gives us promise for the future."

"Promise?"

"Hope," Kirk said quietly.

"Do you know of such a history? Do you have a history like this, young Kirk?"

"I am an Iowa born, Starfleet captain who will always stand partly in the shadow of my father."

"So you had a taste?"

"Not as much as some," Kirk exhaled a breath. "I lost my father by the hands of a madman the very day I was born. He saved hundreds because of his sacrifice."

"Very tragic, indeed."

"That loss has given me that which I aspire to. The greatness that was in my father."

McCoy made a faint noise in his throat. Did he disagree? Why would he do such a thing? Nyota looked discretely at Spock, who watched McCoy with detached concern.

"That is admirable, Young Kirk," the prince stated.

Kirk's face tightened, his eyes reflecting a hard glint. "I know my past actions may be considered as...brash. Since then, I have learned. Those lessons I do not take for granted."

The prince's children entered and clambered around their parents, disrupting the conversation. Their faces exhibited the joy their people were known for as they were greeted with the same enthusiasm by their parents. The banquet was over. Kirk bowed to the prince and excused those under his command from the table. Nyota, along with Kirk, elected to stay in the hall to converse with the people who intrigued them so. She felt a special bond with Kirk for this mission. They'd had poured laboriously over everything she knew regarding the Re'an and their communication habits. Kirk not only did that, but he also spent the rest of his preciously spare time at the site where they'd stumbled across a buried weapon. The weapon, of course, caught the attention of Dr. Marcus and Kirk's presence at the site has buffered relations between the team and the ever-curious Re'an.

Kirk's eyes sought McCoy's as the doctor stood from his seat but McCoy strolled from the hall without a single word. A frown flickered across the captain's face. His gaze brushed past the demanding Re'an children to the disappearing form of the doctor. Kirk's eyes still held that undeniable edge and his posture was no different. Whatever emotion Kirk felt, he now held at bay with a perfected control.

Kirk's glance flickered back to the small, bald-headed boy who proudly displayed his domesticated snake across his white cloak. Uhura crowded beside them both, curious now that she saw the boy looked and dressed so much like his father, the prince.

"Captain, are you alright?" She asked in a discreet, soft voice.

"I'm fine." The tick of Kirk's jaw told her otherwise. His smile tight, he held the snake in his hands, allowing it to coil around his wrist and up his forearm.

"That wasn't your usual peace keeping conversation."

"No," Kirk exhaled slowly. "It was not."

"Are you still coming over tonight?" She asked, thinking the question would help relax Kirk.

He stared blankly at her. The snake stretched its body, claiming every inch of Kirk's shoulders with a lazy drape.

"You, McCoy, Christine, Carol...to our quarters?

"I...am afraid I won't be able to make it." His face had almost settled into his practiced captain expression when he seemed to think better of it. His smile filled with tenderness he'd showed her more regularly the past year. The past week, however, the brotherly affection had dwindled to almost nothing. "But you all have fun, alright?"

"Very well, Captain." She considered him silently as he interacted with the boy and his snake. The snake was as charmed as the accompanying child, the captain equally charmed. Kirk reluctantly handed the snake back to the child when it was time to board the Enterprise. As the snake uncoiled from his arm, the child's father sauntered over. Prince Lequa patted the snake's head.

"It has been a delightful visit with your crew."

"It has been too long since our Federation had the honor of your company."

"The displacement of our home is not your doing. But now that you have found us, I hope you will find reason enough to return." The prince's lips curled up in a smile. He extended his arm to the snake. Its tongue darted out, seeking to taste the proffered skin and slithering over to the prince once it determined the owner. "Perhaps seeing how we live will inspire you, as well. This indigenous snake has more intelligence than your earth reptiles. It knows I am its master even before I speak. It will not harm me - or my child."

"Or the captain, father." The boy smiled.

"Indeed, living as connected as you do with the creatures around you is truly remarkable," stated Kirk.

"This snake also has a gift, as do the beasts here."

Kirk glanced at Nyota and raised an eyebrow. "I'm all ears."

"It will only coil around those stronger than themselves. My boy is strong in spirit. We all are. It's inborn, not that we have suffered. But, you, Captain Kirk, have experienced more tragedy than the death of your father or even that of last year."

Kirk gave a small but honest smile. "Once again, the depth of this world amazes me."

"Will you tell us, Captain Kirk? About that tragedy?"

"I fear I cannot," he shook his head.

"We are all entitled to secrets." The prince's patronizing look settled distastefully with Nyota. "I will respect yours since you have respected ours."

The prince offered his hand, an uncharacteristic attempt to show favor towards them as humans.

Kirk shook it after a brief hesitation. "Thank you."

"You are welcome, Captain Kirk." Prince Lequa presented his hand likewise to Nyota. As they shook hands, he pressed his lips to her hand. She stiffened her spine at the faux pas. Under no circumstances was this type of physical contact allowed in the Re'an society except between lovers or spouses. Lequa was too intelligent not to realize he'd blurred the lines between their respective social rules. "Lieutenant, it's been a pleasure."

Kirk's decisive step towards Lequa caused the prince to directly release Nyota's hand. She breathed a sigh of relief, especially on Kirk's behalf, as they still parted cordially.

"That was inappropriate," Kirk muttered under his breath after they stepped outside of the royal home. "And did you see how he looked at you earlier? I'm tempted to-"

"No harm done," she said quickly. She bit her tongue, knowing full well that her husband was no longer as cool and collected as before. It was just as sweet that her captain was also protective. "Perhaps...he just forgot himself."

She returned her attention to her surroundings, especially the lush fields and formidable mountains sweeping over Re'an V. As Kirk had been equivocally entranced by the beauty when they arrived, Nyota frowned as Kirk now ignored it. He glanced directly at those already waiting - Spock, McCoy, and three security officers. Kirk's eyes returned to McCoy as he requested to beam aboard the Enterprise. McCoy offered nothing to acknowledge the captain. If she'd blinked, she'd never caught the glimpse of the hurt McCoy had inflicted upon Kirk.

Nyota's stomach clenched. It was an expression she'd seen on the captain only once. And although it devastated her to think of Kirk's emotional distress on the day Kirk first visited Admiral Pike's grave, she allowed herself the memory. This pain was real. It wasn't anything passing. It was a haunting distress, deeply rooted.

What the hell was going on between the captain and McCoy?

I will find out, Nyota.

Hearing her mate's calm reassurance eased her worries slightly, but she still felt compelled to track Kirk's movements as he stepped off the transporter platform upon their return to the ship. Spock, too, warily observed the captain as they followed him to the bridge. There was a slight droop to Kirk's shoulders and a hitch in his step which had not been there before they beamed down to the planet.

Then she remembered. Her skin chilled as the image of the snake curling around Kirk's body crept to the forefront of her mind.

What did he mean, another tragedy?

"Lieutenant Uhura, open a shipwide channel." Kirk picked up his PADD as he settled in his chair and sighed.

"Yes, sir." Nyota shook the thought from her mind.

"Captain?" Spock arched an eyebrow.

"Prince Lequa permitted our archaeologists more time at the site. It's good news for Dr. Marcus, who is hoping that a missing piece to the missile is found." Kirk paused, looking over his shoulder at the First Officer. "We're staying another day."