Chapter 4

AUTHOR'S NOTE- Sorry this chapter has taken so long to write- life just kept getting in the way, but this blasted snowstorm pretty much took care of that! I have set myself a deadline of no more than 2 weeks to finish the story, so I need to just write. Thanks to all who've stuck with it.

Standard disclaimers about the characters we all know and love, but the OC's are all mine. And, considering it's unbeta'd, all the mistakes are mine as well.

A brief cheat sheet of my OC's-

T'Pyra- Sarek's new wife, an architect by trade, and also an amateur healer with a special affinity for troubled children. She lost her husband, sons, and grandchildren when Vulcan was destroyed. Together, the couple have six foster children who lost one or both of their parents in the destruction of Vulcan.

Skarret (18) – Oldest of the foster children, and pen pal of Nyota's cousin Erinda (Rin for short). He's a redhead.

Sarrim (16) – Second-oldest, and Selek/Spock Prime's favorite. Unbonded

T'Pres (14) – Foster daughter bonded to Larrek

T'Myrin (10) – Foster daughter bonded to Sokar- both girls are favorites of T'Pyra

Samak- (6)- Youngest foster brother, and Sarek's favorite

T'Lyr (4)- The baby, and Nyota's favorite

Erinda (Rin) Wong- Nyota's first cousin. Daughter of Li-Tzu Wong and Malika Uhura Wong

Thinking back on the situation later, Spock decided that, had his wife not been a Communications officer, she would have excelled as a Security Chief. At the sound of the first explosion, when Spock signed off with his family on the shuttle, Nyota had sprung into action. The disturbance turned out to be two younger Wong cousins who decided to set off some fireworks- within seconds, she had each by the shirt collar, issuing a tongue-lashing that left both boys apologizing profusely. Within minutes, she had corralled all members of the welcoming party and sent most back to the family enclave. Of the seventy-eight who were there when Spock first contacted the shuttle, only 25 remained when the shuttle finally touched down 23 minutes later (the nine original members of the Wong/Uhura /S'chn T'gai families, six elder women and four elder men whose status within the family meant they could not be sent back, and four singers and two drummers).

"I do hope your family does not get the impression that you have married into a family of crazies," Nytoa said though their bond.

"You have not yet met my relatives on my mother's side. My mother's cousin Mariella used to insist on performing selections from Chinese opera whenever we visited, although she neither spoke nor understood Chinese, and had spent most of her life living in Augusta, Maine with four cats, two goats, and an imaginary friend named Rufus." Nyota started laughing aloud, and the corners of Spock's mouth gave that small twitch that indicated his amusement.

"You're making that up," she said, aloud. "You can fool other people with that 'Vulcans don't lie' business, but you have to be making that up."

"Ask my father if you doubt me. Mariella was a well-regarded artist and poet, and one of my mother's favorite relatives. She welcomed both my father and myself into the family with no hesitation or reserve, although she consistently tried to encourage us to eat lobster during our visits. Her enthusiasm for life was initially quite startling to me, but I came to look forward to our visits with great anticipation, and now look back on them with equal fondness. "

"Even Rufus?" Nyota teased.

"Especially Rufus- he took responsibility for a window broken when an experiment with an improvised catapult went awry." The corners of Spock's mouth twitched again, and Nyota laughed again, just as the doors to the shuttle opened and her Vulcan family emerged.

The drummers and singers broke into song, welcoming the visitors to the African Free States. The elders, who had all been advised ahead of time that they should not touch the Vulcans unless they were touched first, stepped forward to greet the visitors. Sarek and Selek, who were familiar with greeting customs from any number of civilizations, nodded and bowed, introducing T'Pyra and the children.

"Father, Mother T'Pyra, Selek, my brothers and sisters, welcome." Nyota spoke to them in Vulcan and Swahili, for the sake of the elders. "Thanks to the family elders for honoring us with their presence, and to the musicians who have welcomed my Vulcan family to my homeland. We will see you all back at our home." The elders nodded, as did the musicians, and made their way towards the transport that would take them bak to the family home.

"And," added Nyota, I think some of our other introductions can wait a moment while I formally introduce my cousin Erinda Wong and my brother-in-law Skarret?"

Skarret had been scanning the crowd as discretely as possible, nodding respectfully to the elders and others, while still looking for Erinda. He hadn't seen her, and was somewhat confused as to why- he had seen the people he believed were her parents, and two men who looked as if they could be her brothers, but not the young woman he had seen during their video conversations. So, upon hearing his name, he stepped forward- and felt his breath catch.

The reason he hadn't seen Erinda wasn't because he hadn't seen her, but because he didn't recognize her. Instead of the casual clothes she usually wore, she was dressed in a traditional African-style clothes accented with jade jewelry from her Chinese relatives. She was beautiful.

"Peace and long life, Skarret," she said, in Vulcan, with a tolerable accent. She smiled as she met his eyes. "Welcome. I am pleased to see that you have arrived safely."

"Live long and prosper, Erinda," he replied, still trying to maintain his composure. "It is gratifying to meet you in person." And then, "Father, Mother, this is Erinda Wong."

Sarek nodded towards the young woman, and addressed her. "Indeed- Miss Wong, we have heard quite a bit about you."

"Ambassador, Lady T'Pyra, I am honored. My parents, Li-tzu and Malika Wong." The Wongs stepped forward, and introduced themselves to the visitors.

Nyota interjected,"Everyone, I know there are many more introductions to be made, but I think it best we make our way back to the compound. Plus, I think our two youngest visitors want to see some of the large animals out in the wildlife park, and if we leave now, we'll be able to take them out before the sun sets." T'Lyr and Samak nodded at Nyota, which she recognized as the Vulcan equivalent of jumping up and down.

Spock spoke up."If you'll all follow me to the transports?" The Vulcans began making their way towards the ground vehicles, with T'Myrin and T'Pres making a very brief informal introduction of their fiances to their elder brother. Erinda's brothers followed, and began talking to the fiances. Sarek and T'Pyra began conversing with the Wongs, while T'Lyra and Samak began questioning Nyota as to what kind of animals they might see when they went out into the park. Nyota's parents introduced themselves to Selek and Sarrim, and quickly engaged them in conversation over a particular concert of classical Vulcan music that had been broadcast the prior week. Through it all, Rin and Skarret never took their eyes off of each other.

"Are you still contemplating having Uhura women quarantined whenever there are Vulcan males around, my emir?" Nyota asked through their bond as they clambered into the transports.

"On the contrary, amira, I have had to reassess my earlier opinion. I now believe it would be even more practical to establish an Uhura matchmaking service. You have at least twelve other single female relatives of marriageable age. . ." He didn't bother to finish his thought, as he could already feel his wife laughing in the back of his mind.