The two security guards that Spock had ordered arrived just as Spock and the others were preparing to leave his quarters. He spoke quietly to them, rapidly giving them orders to scan the ship for alien life forms. When they walked into Briefing Room 2, Kirk's senior officers were surprised to see that both Sarek and Kirk were already present for the briefing. Without knowing what the nature of the classified mission was, Spock could only have people with a top level security clearance present, and that was only four people on the whole ship, plus Ambassador Sarek.

"Please, be seated, gentlemen." They all sat down. A moment later, the door opened, and Commodore Thavalan stalked inside. Her eyes were narrowed, and her voice tight, when she said, "Captain, I believe you are supposed to be in your quarters."

"My apologies, Commodore. I was hoping you would allow me to be involved in the briefing."

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Captain. Your choices are your quarters or the Brig. Choose wisely, Captain. I'll be down to see you, shortly."

Making eye contact with his first officer, Kirk said, "Keep my ship safe." Spock nodded once. Kirk left, reluctantly.

Looking at the rest of the men assembled there, she said, "First, I will tell you that I will be spending the next five or six weeks aboard your ship. My mission is two-fold. The first part, as you might have guessed, is an inspection of your sick bay, and evaluation of the medical staff aboard this ship. That is also the shortest part of my mission. The second part, and the one that will be far more time consuming, I think, is to observe the crew in a variety of situations. Starfleet Medical is studying how starship crews react to stressful situations, in order to decide whether more training is needed in this area at the Academy, and with a secondary, long term goal of deciding whether psychologists and psychiatrists should be added to the medical staff of starships. I will be accompanying your landing parties when they explore, and I will be speaking to everyone on this ship at some time or other. I will try very hard to respect your duty roster, although that may not always be possible. I will expect your cooperation during those times when unexpected things happen. Any questions?"

"Commodore, I do not have any questions, but I would like to be clear. I have been charged by the Captain with protecting this ship. I will not tolerate any orders that put this crew at risk or make it harder for them to do their jobs. It matters little to me who issues them."

"Mister Spock, I am not here to hurt anyone. Please understand that the Starfleet Surgeon General's office gives me just as much authority on this ship as your Chief Medical Officer has, and I should tell you that I have the full backing of Starfleet Command, and that they will not tolerate any interference that keeps me from doing my job. I am here to help, to catch those crewmen that may be on the edge before disciplinary issues happen, and when they do happen, to evaluate the root causes and try to keep them from happening again. If you will trust me to do my job, you might find not only that I know what I am doing, but also that I can be of benefit to the crew of this ship.

"Now, a few words about your primary mission. As you all know, two days ago, Starfleet Headquarters received a distress signal from Lugubria. The people are becoming violently ill, and no one knows why. When I say violently ill, I mean just that, gentlemen. Those who suffer from the disease grow more violent as it progresses, and wreak havoc, until they collapse, comatose. Their scientists are stumped. Your mission is to help the medical personnel on the planet determine the problem and effective treatment options.

"Be warned. We know very little about these people, other than they joined the Federation twelve years ago, and we built a starbase there. Ten years ago, they closed it, and when they did, they closed their society along with it. We don't know exactly why that happened, but they never renounced their Federation membership. The world did, however, request the records that the Federation kept in Memory Alpha be returned or destroyed, and thus, none of our ships can access that information at this time. We have requested that they give us records for research, but so far, they haven't done so. We may be flying blind on this one, gentlemen. They are humanoid in appearance, and probably the most human-like beings in the galaxy. Don't make the mistake of assigning human characteristics to them. In looks, they are very like humans, in actions, quite different.

"Doctor, you will be the Medical officer in charge on Lugubria. Once there, the ship and crew are at your disposal for whatever you need, as long as we can be. If we have to leave for any reason, we will do so after other ships arrive, so you won't be without shuttle service for supplies, if needed. Other Federation worlds have ships in route, and once they make planet fall, all of them will answer to you. Now, if there are no further questions, Gentlemen, this briefing is adjourned."

She stopped at the door, and turned back to face them. "Remember, all of you, that this is a classified mission. Nothing that was said here goes outside these four walls."

She paused for a moment, watching Mr. Scott leave.

"Mr. Spock!"

He looked at her inquisitively.

"I would like a word with you." Almost imperceptibly, Spock glanced at Dr. McCoy who shrugged slightly. Spock stood at parade rest, hands behind his back, the picture of polite interest. Sarek and Dr. McCoy started to leave the room, and Commodore Thavalan stepped over to them.

"Stay with us, please."

When they were all seated again, Dr. Thavalan looked at Spock. "Commander, I asked to speak to all of you because I have some bad news for you and the Ambassador. As your CMO, Dr. McCoy also needs to know." Her face was impassive, but her voice gentled just the slightest bit.

"You were too far away to receive a subspace hail when we received the news at Starfleet HQ." She was carefully looking everywhere but at Spock, out of respect for any emotions he might not mean to show. She continued, "We received word last evening that your mother has been abducted."

"How?" McCoy asked.

"Nearest my colleagues can figure, she was working outside of her home in Shi' Kahr, and was literally abducted from the garden."

Spock said nothing, but there was something moving behind his eyes—a fierceness that left no doubt in anyone's mind as to which of the two cultures of his parents he'd embraced the most fully. Of all the things Bones had experienced in his travels throughout the galaxy, Spock's countenance at that moment was the most disturbing. When he spoke, his voice was carefully controlled, but it contained an edge that few ever heard there. Spock looked to where his father was seated, and asked, "How long have you known?"

Sarek looked mildly uncomfortable, if such a thing were possible for a Vulcan. Finally, he said, "I lost all mental contact with your mother while I was en route to rendezvous with this ship. The bond remains intact, so I know she lives; however, beyond that, I am…uncertain. I thought it was the interference of which we spoke earlier, which kept us from being able to speak mind to mind. The interference intensified as my shuttle moved closer to this vessel. Had we been able to finish our private conversation, we would have discussed this, my son."

"Commodore, I wish to request shore leave in order to retrieve my mother."

"I'm sorry, Commander, but that isn't possible. You must be here to assist in the command of this ship until the Captain is able to take over again. Don't worry. We will do everything possible to assist the Vulcan authorities in recovering your mother." Spock nodded grimly, and Dr. Thavalan saw that veil of Vulcan calm wash back over his features, but he was not altogether steady. Apparently, McCoy noticed as well. He spoke first. "Spock, I want you to come on down to sickbay and rest for a couple of hours." Seeing the look on Spock's face, he said, "Medical orders, Mr. Spock."

The Vulcan started to say something, but Dee cut him off. "Don't argue with him, Spock. You don't need to be on the bridge right now."

"Doctor, I think I'd like to be alone. Will it satisfy you if I go to my quarters?"

"I'll walk with you." Spock was in no mood to argue, and he knew McCoy would be satisfied if he allowed the doctor to accompany him to his quarters. Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked back the way he'd come, down the hallway and into the turbolift. He ordered it to stop on the floor that held his quarters. Dr. McCoy followed close behind him, careful not to touch him, although he doubted that the Vulcan would object too strongly at the moment. When they reached Spock's quarters, he paused outside the door.

"Thank you, Doctor McCoy. You may return to sickbay now. I will rest."

"I don't think so, Mr. Spock. Your human half, that part of you that came from your mother, must be in great pain right now. I won't ask you to talk about it because I know that won't happen, but I'd like to stay—at least for a little while."

"I said I wished to be alone, Doctor."

"I understand. Give yourself at least two hours, and then come on down to sickbay and check in with me, so I can clear you for duty before you go back to the bridge. As of right now, you are grounded, until you come to see me."

"Understood, Doctor."

Spock disappeared behind his door, into the safety of his own cabin, and stretched out on his bunk. The mask fell away, and to his shame, he felt the usually well controlled emotions that he kept so carefully in check, rise within him.

(0o0)

After Spock left, Commodore Thavalan looked at Ambassador Sarek and asked, "What is it you require for your mission, Ambassador?"

"A shuttlecraft and a pilot to start. I must attend to something that has bearing on my mission, and then I will return here."

"May I suggest a couple of security guards to add to your list?"

"I do not believe that is necessary, Commodore."

"Perhaps not, but Sarek, I am concerned. Starfleet makes it a practice to run any news of this nature through Intelligence agencies, just to see what they make of it, and in this case, they suspect that someone may be trying to get to you and to Spock through Lady Amanda. I just want to be sure that this mission of yours is not playing right into their hands. You would be a powerful pawn, for someone. As would Spock. Together, doubly so. Yet, they have concluded that you are safer together than you would be separately."

'That is assuming I cooperated with them. I would not. Neither would Spock, certainly."

"Everyone has a price, Sarek. You might be surprised what you might do, if they found yours. Please forgive me if I am overstepping, but I would think that your wife would come close to being that price for you, not to mention a newly reunited son. Your regard for your wife is well known throughout the galaxy. Life of a public figure, I'm afraid."

"Commodore, I will consider your suggestion. Your concern is logical, and I find, not without merit."

"Thank you, Ambassador. If you will excuse me, I must speak to Captain Kirk. "

(0o0)

Kirk was pacing the confines of his cabin. When he heard the door chime sound, he paced back over and pushed the release to open the door. When he saw the Commodore, his jaw tightened.

"Captain, I'm sorry to take so long to get to the part you play in this mission." She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "You've been selected for a special mission. You may choose one or two persons to accompany you, but not Mr. Spock. I don't want to leave the Enterprise bereft of its two most senior officers."

"Commodore, I don't understand."

"This mission is highly classified. Only those with top level security clearance may know anything of it, and the fewer who know, the better. Therefore, no one on your ship may know anything while still on board, regardless of security clearance." Kirk nodded, and she continued. "All right, then. The Enterprise, under the command of Bob Wesley, will handle the crisis on Lugubria, then rendezvous with Ambassador Sarek's shuttle. The ship will escort him to negotiate an extremely sensitive matter of great importance to the Federation. You, along with the personnel you choose to accompany you, are going in to retrieve Lady Amanda of Vulcan. Then, you will rendezvous with the Enterprise and ensure that both the Ambassador and his wife make it back to Vulcan safely. The rumor is that the Lady Amanda was abducted because someone is trying to get to the Ambassador through his family. Neither Spock nor Sarek are safe, but they will be safer together than they would separately."

"If Bob Wesley is commanding my ship, who's commanding his?"

"His First is in line for a ship of his own, but Starfleet has had cause to doubt whether he is ready. This will be a good test run for him, what with his own starship crew and another captain and crew to support him. If he gets into any trouble, he has close to seventy years of command experience to draw on between the three of us."

"So Bob Wesley will be the fleet commander for the mission?"

"It looks that way."

"My crew is very close. They don't deserve to be kept in the dark on a matter of this importance."

"I'm sorry, but that's the way it has to be at the moment. That falls into the purview of my mission, and I can say nothing of it. Perhaps you will be able to tell them at a later time, and if not, they will know, soon enough."

"When do we leave?"

"Intelligence tells us that the interception point will be a twenty-four hour journey for this ship, but the ship they are on will not pass that close to Enterprise's position for another four days. That gives you three days to get ready, one day for travel, and then you must complete your mission. Are you up for that, Captain?"

"Yes, I am."

"You may choose two people to accompany you on this mission, but not Mr. Spock. I will not leave the Enterprise bereft of command personnel. Remember, you can tell them nothing until you are underway. Lives depend on this, so be certain."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Have you someone in mind to accompany you?"

"How many of my personnel are you allowing me, Commodore?"

Smiling slightly, she said, "I know you would take the whole ship if you could, Captain, but Bob will need a few of your people to help him run this ship, if you would like it returned to you in one piece, and I still have a job to do-one that requires access to your people. Still, I think we can spare one or two for your cause. Will that be sufficient?"

Kirk nodded.

(0o0)

Spock had stretched out on the bunk in his quarters, trying to calm the deep disquiet that had taken hold of him more completely than ever before. He had been lying there for a while, and usually he would be able to calculate precisely how long that was, but right now, he could not do so. He needed, once again, to find that reserve of Vulcan calm that was usually inside him, so that he could reach out to his mother. He slowed his breathing, attempting to concentrate on his private meditations, but he kept seeing his mother's face. Right now, he was powerless to stop the images invading his mind, threatening to overwhelm him. Finally, he rose, preparing to make his way down to sickbay to obtain McCoy's permission to go back to work. He needed to think about something else for a while.

The chime outside his door sounded, and he thought it was probably the captain. Although he did not want to see anyone, really, Jim was his commanding officer, and he'd been a friend to him, in more definitions of that word than he'd realized existed, for as long as they'd known one another. Spock owed him no less than to allow him to come in. Sighing deeply, he said, "Come." Spock did not see the Captain when he came in, since he had his back to the door, and could not bring himself to turn around and acknowledge the visitor. His control was still shaky, and he did not wish to show that part of himself to anyone.

"Spock," a quiet voice, not at all like the Captain's, said. He started, and at last he turned slowly to face his visitor. His features showing just the slightest hint of surprise, he hastily started to come to attention, but then a hand came up in a decidedly non-Starfleet, but rather universal gesture that meant he should rest easy. She regarded him intently for a moment, and if he had not known better, he'd have thought she was reading his body language and mental discharges to see how he was, but that was not possible, since Andorians were not a telepathic race. Almost as if she knew what he was thinking, she said, "If you cannot quiet your mind, you'll never be able to reach your mother. My knowledge of the Vulcan mental disciplines is limited, but if I am not mistaken, you can reach her, even though she's not telepathic. Can't you?" While she was talking, she dialed the food synthesizers to give her a pot of hot water. When it came, she withdrew a pouch from her pocket, drew out a handful of leaves, and threw them into the pot. Spock eyed the teapot and his visitor somewhat warily. "What do you know about Vulcan mental disciplines?"

"Not nearly as much as I know about making Vulcan spiced tea, and that's not saying much." The tea had steeped long enough now, so she poured it into the cups, threw some more ground herbs, of a different kind, into the cups and swirled them around to mix them. She put one down in front of her own place, and slid one across the desk from her. Mechanically, Spock sat.

"Drink that. You need something in your stomach." She sipped hers as she sat watching him. He picked up the cup, recognizing a medical order when he heard one, and sipped it. He was pleased to find that it tasted precisely like it was supposed to taste.

"You are the first non-Vulcan I have ever known who could stand to drink this tea. Where did you learn to make it?"

"I lived on Vulcan while I was in medical school, but it was my mother who taught me how to make it. How many Andorians do you know who have pointed ears, and no antennae?"

Spock's eyes lightened as though presented the obvious answer to a mystery that had been bothering him. "So, you are half Vulcan and half Andorian?"

"I believe that's what I just said."

"So you are telepathic?"

"By nature yes, but not by training."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that I have the gifts of both my parents, but I grew up on Andor. I was not subjected to the training that most Vulcan children are adept at by the time they are six years old. Spock, I know enough about Vulcan mental disciplines to know that they are a very private affair, however, if you are agreeable, I think I might be able to help you reach the Lady Amanda."

"How? You stated already that you are not equipped with the training to do such as this."

"That's true, but I do possess the strength and the focus that you are lacking right now. If you can trust me to do so, I believe I can lend you the strength to find that place within yourself from where you can speak to your mother, mind to mind." Almost imperceptibly, Spock inclined his head slightly, and she held up both hands, palms facing outward, watching him closely as she did so. Very slowly, he lifted his hands to hers, until only the tips of their fingers brushed lightly together. A jolt of electricity shot through them both, and then a wave of calm washed over them. For the first time in over an hour, Spock felt centered again. Leaning on her strength, he took the time to slow his breathing and sharpen his focus.

Finally, he reached out to his mother, and though she could not answer him in the same manner a telepath would, he read her emotional state almost immediately. She had always been very careful not to show too much emotion, since she lived among Vulcans, but strong emotion was difficult to block out, even for a well-trained telepath, and she was seriously injured and badly frightened, which caused her emotions to burst forth through the tight control she used to hold them in check. He heard nothing articulate, and it would have been inaccurate to say that they spoke, there was too much distance between them, and her mind was too scattered at the moment for that, but he sensed her fear, the weakness from her injuries, and he sent thoughts and images to reassure her. No matter that he did not feel all that reassured himself.

When convinced that he had done all he could to reassure her, Spock came back to himself slowly, opening eyes he'd not realized were closed, and very cautiously drew his hands away from hers. When he did so, she stood up very slowly, as though dazed.

"Commodore, are you all right?"

"Yes, Mr. Spock. I am well. I'm glad you were able to reach your mother. McCoy's two hours are almost up, and you seem much steadier now. If you wait another half hour or so, then he will probably let you go back to work. I will be in my quarters. Call me if you need me."

(0o0)

Lieutenant Uhura was in a bad mood. She lifted her tray from the synthesizer a little bit impatiently and moved to find a table in the ship's main dining facility. The alarm in her cabin had malfunctioned, and then she had been delayed with personnel issues this morning, and as a result she was running a tad late, and would be cutting it fine to make it to the bridge on time for her shift. She had to be there half an hour earlier than the other Alpha shift officers, in order to check her equipment and re-wire any circuits that might have gotten crossed over night. Looking around, her impatience grew as she noticed that every table was full. She saw motion out of the corner of her eye that drew her attention. Looking up, she saw two familiar figures waving her toward their table. Distractedly, she made her way toward them as the two went back to their conversation.

"Did you hear Mister Spock and Dr. McCoy discussing Lugubria?"

Lieutenant Uhura stiffened in her chair. Lugubria. Oh, please, no. Goodness no. Not right now. Please, not right now. She forced herself to breathe deeply and tried to bring her mind back to some semblance of calm from the absolute terror invoked by the mention of a name she had not heard in more than ten years, a place she thought she had put behind her.

"—them talk, it is more fascinating than anything we've run into in a long time. So, Pavel, are you planning to join the landing party?"

"I vill wolunteer, but I don't know if Captain Kirk vill let me go."

"Both of you would be smarter to stay on the ship for this mission, gentlemen," she snapped abruptly. Both Sulu and Chekov looked at her as though she had slapped them. They blinked at each other. Neither of them had ever heard their friend speak this way before, using that tone of voice. They were not sure what to think. Before they had the opportunity to respond in any way, she rose abruptly, snatched her tray off the table, and they watched in stunned silence as she crossed the room and slammed the tray down on top of the disposal chute, violently jabbing the buttons that would clean it and whisk it off back down to the kitchens to await transport once more. Then she stalked to the door, uncomfortably aware of the eyes on her from around the room.

"Vhat's vrong vith her?"

"I don't know, Pavel, but I intend to find out. Come on, we'll be late for duty if we don't get back to the bridge." The two junior officers rode the turbolift up to the bridge, and when it stopped, they took their places, noticing that three of the ship's four most senior officers were all on the bridge at the same time, which usually meant that something serious was going on. Strategically, it was not a smart move to have all those with appropriate levels of command experience in the one place where, if there was an accident, they would all be destroyed at the same time, potentially leaving the ship without a command staff, and having learned that lesson early on, Commodore Thavalan hardly ever took the chance. Today, given the circumstances, she didn't have much choice. Unfortunately, this meant that Uhura was feeling the full brunt of the Commodore's tongue in front of almost all of the senior officers on the ship. She stood stiffly at attention facing Dee, who was standing in the area immediately in front of the command chair.

"Lieutenant, would you care to explain your tardiness?"

"No sir, I wouldn't," she replied tartly, and an audible intake of breath traveled around the bridge. Spock raised an eyebrow. She would catch hell for that one. Nobody would have been foolish enough to address Kirk in that manner, and they all knew what the Captain's reaction would be to anyone addressing any senior officer in that manner. Sulu cringed as Dee's eyes narrowed and a muscle began working in her jaw. "At least, not with so many people around," she amended, somewhat sheepishly.

"All right," she said slowly, in a dangerously calm tone that was so much like a cat playing with its captive mouse before springing on it and devouring it. "Lieutenant Uhura, you will go to your quarters and stay there until I call you. Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, you are with me. Lieutenant Sulu, you have the conn. Please call Mr. Palmer and Mr. Stiles to the bridge. Chekov, you will act as science duty officer until Mr. Spock returns to the bridge. Gentlemen, if anything comes up, call me."

"Aye, sir."