Epilogue: Resolution

Nyota walked down the corridor, the heels of her boots clunking against the floor, echoing against the metal-lined walls. Starfleet personnel brushed past her, and she smiled and nodded at them as she passed.

It had been two months since she returned from New Vulcan. Two happy, relatively calm months. Others complained that they were bored- but she found that boredom and calm were two different things.

She reported for bridge duty, had her sessions with Remaja, and spent the evenings in the warm arms of her husband. Life couldn't get any more simple- or better.

The only disruptions had been the occasional ringing of the comm unit. It was her parents, trying to contact her- every time they called, she disconnected the console. They didn't have anything to say that she would want to hear. If she had to avoid them the rest of her life- so be it. It didn't matter if their behavior hurt her. She wasn't going to give up Spock to appease them.

Nyota paused at Remaja's door and keyed in her code. She had just gotten off bridge duty, and it was time for their session. She entered to find the woman already sitting at the table, waiting for her.

"Hey, Remaja." Nyota said, smiling as she set down her PADD.

"Hello, Nyota. Did you bring the data slates I asked for?" Remaja asked. Nyota reached into her carrying case and drew out several multi-colored data chips with a flourish.

"There they are." Nyota said, setting them on the table before her friend. "All the way up to high school graduate level."

Remaja's English was almost perfect now. It was astounding how fast she had become fluent. In the last two months, Nyota had started her on educational programs- she had flown through the elementary and middle school levels. McCoy had told Nyota that it was possible that she had an even faster learning curve than Vulcans- something Spock had begrudgingly agreed with. Unfortunately, this would only fuel the interest scientists would have for her. Remaja was leaving the ship in a week- to be dropped off at base on Earth. Nyota had tried to get an extension on their study, but Starfleet had flat-out refused.

Remaja had helped her complete most of the language study, anyway. She had a full working alphabet and an extensive vocabulary. Nyota wasn't quite as fluent in the new language as Remaja was in Standard, however.

"Are we going to the rec area today?" Remaja now asked. Nyota shook her head apologetically. Once Remaja had demonstrated continued excellent behavior, Kirk had given her permission to leave her quarters- but only as long as Nyota was with her.

"No, I got off duty too late. Tomorrow, though, okay?"

"I understand. Your husband waits for you." Remaja grinned slyly. "Must not keep Ears waiting in your bed."

"You've become more and more impertinent, you know that?" Nyota asked, and reached over to take Remaja's PADD from her. "You must have been around Captain Kirk too much lately."

Nyota loaded the first chip into the PADD and handed it back to Remaja.

"I find this technology the most fascinating of all." Remaja said as she took the PADD back. "So much knowledge in such a small device."

"Fascinating?" Nyota smirked. "You and Spock are more alike then you'd ever admit."

"There were no such things on Tenoba." Remaja continued, ignoring what she would consider to be an insult. For some reason, she really distrusted Spock- she didn't like his ears, and how he never smiled. And the fact that Nyota's evenings were reserved for him.

"Tenoba." Nyota repeated. Remaja had used that name before. It was the native name of Scorpius Three- but it would never be Tenoba in her head.

"They are not advanced." she now said. "They are too busy warring and plundering and capturing to pay attention to science."

Nyota felt her breath leave her. For months, she had avoided the topic of Remaja's home world. Now the Tenoban was bringing the subject up herself.

She did want to know. But part of her was afraid of what she may find out.

"You never talk about it." Remaja observed, yellow cat-eyes trained on Nyota. "I know you want to. Why else would you have taken me on? You could have easily given me to someone else months ago. You want to understand."

Nyota took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I do. But not if it's in any way a painful subject for you."

"My pain on the matter is not your concern. You deserve to understand. You are not Tenoban- you do not comprehend what happened."

Nyota sat back in her chair, staring at the woman across from her. Remaja was watching her intently.

She had been over what had happened for four months. The nightmares had stopped the night Spock came to her and they bonded. But she could not deny that there were still times when, unexpectedly, that dark hut would float into her mind's eye. She would remember blood, dirt, pain...she supposed the emotional scars would never fully go away. And for months, whenever those images came to mind, she could only think of one word: Why?

Scorpius Three was connected to everything that had happened recently. Her 'break-up' with Spock, and their subsequent making-up bonding- and then Kathosia. The similarities between Kathosia and Tenoba were striking. And those indirectly affected their visit to New Vulcan- it was all interconnected. If not for what had happened to her, who knew when she and Spock would finally have bonded? Would Spock and Sarek ever mended their relationship? Would Spock have killed the Koshaak?

It was strange that something so pointless, so cruel and scarring, could produce so many good things in a chain reaction of events.

She needed closure. She needed to know why this one bad thing had happened to her. She couldn't let her fear prevent her from it- she was stronger than that. If she she could stand up to her parents and stand by her decision, then she could stand up to herself and finally hear the truth.

"What happened on Tenoba?" Nyota asked quietly. Remaja kept her gaze on her as she began to speak without hesitation.

"The big man who claimed you as his property was my owner. His name was Joraat. He was the leader of the tribe- he was allowed to take what he wants as his. Tenoban men are possessive and violent. Mating rituals there are not like how they are here- there is no romance, no love. You are lucky to have that. But I should start by telling you my own story.

"I was taken from my own village when Joraat attacked and pillaged it. I lived there with my mate, and our daughter, Tyani." Remaja broke off here, and Nyota saw that her eyes were filling with tears. She blinked them away before continuing. "I was lucky to have my mate. We did love each other- that is rare. He was good to me, and we cherished Tyani.

"My mate was killed in the struggle. I did not see it happen- but I saw his body. I did not have time to mourn him...I had to get Tyani to safety. He would have wanted that, too. I knew what Joraat was looking for. He was looking for potential mates. That is what they do...burn other villages to the ground to look for suitable women." Remaja paused again. Then she continued.

"He found me. He took Tyani from my arms and took us to his village. He took my daughter somewhere else, and I was tied to a pole in a hut very similar to the one you were in. Then the poles and whips came. They beat me- just as they did to you."

Nyota had known this, but hearing Remaja talk about it like it was nothing unnerved her. When she did not immediately continue, Nyota asked; "Why? Why did they beat us?" that was what she wanted to know the most.

"I said that mating rituals are not the same for Tenobans as it is for you. Some villages, such as the one I am from, are peaceful and no longer practice such brutality. But some- like Joraat's village- still do. They tie their women to poles and beat them. Why? To break them. To make them obedient. To prove that men are the bringers of pain if they are not obeyed.

"They beat women until they cry, until they beg for their lives. Only then do they let them go, to serve their whims and desires. If the woman does not break, then they kill her. I did not break. I refused to beg. So they brought my Tyani before me, and made me watch as they killed her."

Nyota was stunned. Remaja looked away from her for the first time, down at the table.

"She was only six years old." she said quietly. "The sight of her laying there dead broke me, not the whip. Your doctor McCoy has offered to remove the scars from my back, but I refuse. They are a reminder. A reminder that I should have given in sooner, to spare her life. And if they still killed her, I should have let them kill me, too."

"Remaja...it's not entirely your fault. You didn't know they would kill her..." Nyota said, reaching out to take Remaja's hand.

"That is true. They did not need to kill her...she was only a little girl. I despise Joraat, and his people. I bade my time, pretending to be obedient while still grieving for my mate and my daughter. Then, one day, a hunting party came back with you. They spoke of your odd eyes and dull teeth, and of your skin, which is lighter than ours but darker than the men you came with. They said you were beautiful, and that Joraat wanted you as his. So they took you to the hut and bound you.

"I listened at the door as they beat you, and every time you cried out my heart hurt for you. You are not Tenoban. You were from somewhere else, somewhere far away. Somewhere they don't beat their women. I wanted to help you- so I did. I gave you water and bathed your wounds. And when you escaped, I warned you that others were coming. When you took the strange device and spoke into it, to this ship, I knew that I had a chance for my own freedom. I took it when I took your arm.

"You do not need to be grateful for my saving your life, Nyota. You are not beholden to me. I saved you, and you saved me. We helped each other to freedom, and we are even. And since we have been on this ship, you have been a friend to me when no one else has."

Silence fell in the room, neither of the women looking at each other. Nyota was struggling not to cry. For months she had wondered why she had been in that hut...for months she had wondered what had happened to Remaja. Now she knew, and she found that Remaja's fate was far worse than hers had been.

"I am sorry, Remaja. You should not have lost your daughter. The Tenobans..."

"Are cruel, and I have no desire to ever return to that place." Remaja said flatly. "There is nothing I can do for Tyani now. She lives on in my memory, and she and my mate wait for me in the afterlife. They would not want me to feel guilty for a situation I could not control. It took me three years to realize that. Joraat would not have allowed Tyani to live, no matter what. They would still have killed her, I know that now from other things I saw in that village."

They were quiet for several minutes. Finally, Remaja picked up her PADD and looked at the screen.

"I leave in five days, correct?" she asked. Nyota nodded. "I understand that I must go."

"You will have more freedom on Earth." Nyota said. "You can do whatever you want."

"Do you think..." Remaja looked up at Nyota again, curiously. "Do you think that Starfleet would accept me?"

Nyota was surprised. "You want to join Starfleet?" she asked.

"Yes. I would like to be a science officer." she said. "I have a great like for science. Would they take me?"

"Well...yes, I'm sure they would, as long as you pass those high school-level courses and the entrance exams into the academy..." Nyota said. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I would like to see other planets. And I feel that the Enterprise is my home, after being here so long. I would like to serve with you, one day."

"That would...that would be nice." Nyota said, and watched as Remaja started the first ninth-level course. The glanced around, and noticed the picture of her cousin that still sat on the bedside table. Remaja had said that she looked like Tyani...Nyota swallowed past the lump in her throat and looked back at Remaja, whose eyes were on her again.

"Do not feel sorry for me, Nyota. I am coping. The past is the past. You should enjoy your own life instead of being concerned with mine. You have a husband that you love, and someday you will have children. Focus on that, not on me. I have moved on, and you should too."

Nyota looked away but nodded. Remaja was not wallowing in self-pity, and she didn't need Nyota to do it for her. She was right- Nyota should concentrate on the future.

"I'm going to miss you, Remaja." Nyota said quietly.

"I will miss you too, Nyota." Remaja said. "Can we keep in touch? I will be lonely on Earth."

"Of course we can! Before you leave, I'll teach you how to operate the communications console. Then you can call whenever you need to."

"Thank you." Remaja smiled widely, pointed teeth glittering. Nyota stood, and went around the table to hug her friend.

"You'll be back on the Enterprise before you know it. You know, Spock was able to blast his way through the academy in two years. I'm sure you can do it in one."

"Ah yes, Spock." Remaja said, pursing her lips. "Isn't he waiting for you?"

Nyota glanced at the time. "He's off-duty now." she said.

"Then go." Remaja said, pushing gently on Nyota's arm. "And do not think about me or my past. I do not want it to sadden you. Be grateful for what you have."

Nyota squeezed Remaja's shoulder and smiled before heading for the door.

"See you tomorrow, Remaja." she said.

"Goodbye, Nyota." Remaja replied.

Nyota left the room and started toward the turbolift. She was in the lift when she realized that she was smiling to herself. Somehow- even after the emotional conversation today- she always felt better after talking to her. Remaja was wise, and had been through more than Nyota ever had. And she had survived...and was even thriving. She was starting over.

The lift doors slid open, and Nyota walked to her door. It opened for her and she entered.

Spock was sitting up on the bed, back against the headboard, wearing only a pair of black cloth pants he often wore to bed or when meditating. He was reading from a PADD and did not even look up as she began to take off her boots and strip out of her uniform. She pulled on one of his undershirts and crawled into bed beside him. Still not taking his eyes off the screen before him, he moved his arm to accommodate her as she snuggled up against him, resting her head on his shoulder, throwing one bare leg over his thigh. His warm fingers closed over her arm, and began to slowly rub it.

She rested one hand against his chest with a sigh. He was so warm, his presence so comforting. Remaja was right...she should be grateful for what she had.

Scorpius Three was over, and it was behind her. Even Remaja was moving on. It was time for her to, also. Thinking about what had happened to them would only make her feel worse, and it would not help. She had her closure now...she knew what had happened, and why. That did not make it easy to accept, but she now had her answers.

Nyota felt hot lips brush against her forehead, and she looked up. Spock's eyes were on her, dark and full of love even if the rest of his face didn't show it. She smiled, and tilted her face up more. He kissed her tenderly, slowly, and she smiled against his lips. He rested his forehead against hers for a moment, and his love flowed into her, filling her, buoying her spirits. He would not let her think about anything sad, and he was telling her as much. The past was the past, no matter whose past it was.

As he returned to his PADD, she pressed her cheek against his shoulder, still smiling. This was true peace.

A/N: Yes, I ended it kinda sad, and it was short...but I needed to wrap up some loose ends. The sequel is going to be called 'Endurance'. I think. Might change it, I don't know...what do you think? But it should be up sometime in the next few days. It will eventually have more of Remaja, and Nyota's parents. Tomorrow I'm going to work on the Sarek/Amanda story, though, which is called 'The Vulcan's Wife'. (EDIT: First chapter of The Vulcan's Wife is now up) Not very creative, I know. Me+titles= lame. So look for both!

Well, what do you think of the ending?