Author's Note: Thank you for chosing to read my story. This is my first time posting a multi-chapter story over a period of time. The story is roughly 95% complete, so you won't have to worry about the author quitting or getting bored before it's over.

Disclaimer: Star Trek is not owned by me, but I am adding my little piece to the Trek Universe with my additional characters. I hope you enjoy it.

Day 1 - Monday

Cadet Uhura woke with more energy than normal this morning. It was going to be a great day. Being a student at the academy was a rough job, and being an ambitious one with goals was even worse. To get her top choice of assignment when she graduated she would not only have to be top of her class, but also prove her ability to be a team player. This meant not only being part of at least one extracurricular club, she had to show she was a go-getter by taking on additional assignments, like her job as a teacher's assistant.

She looked at the stack of PADDs with her assignments for the next week, the three ongoing research projects that were due by the end of the semester, and the papers she had to grade for the professor she aided; Commander Spock, or 'Senior Hottie' as her room mate sometimes called him. As she got ready she decided she would finish grading the papers while she had breakfast. There would be no time today as her official office hours were cancelled. And for the next week she was excused from all classes and all other assignments until the Vulcan representatives left.

She smiled at herself in the mirror; she and Spock would be working on the grand-daddy of all communications projects starting this afternoon. Five representatives from the Vulcan Science Academy would arrive today and she would be the cadet to assist Commander Spock in working with them. Just because she was Commander Spock's assistant didn't guarantee her this spot. Six of her rivals also submitted applications to work on this project, and after a brief test in Vulcan translation and a simulation involving interspecies cooperation she was chosen by the chair of the department, Admiral Tapping.

When she was called into Admiral Tapping's office and given the news she felt overwhelmed and was modestly pleased with herself. The admiral said she was gifted and would be a true asset to Starfleet if she kept up her current momentum. Those thoughts were mirrored in the eyes of the other professors in the office, and when she looked at Spock she could swear she saw pride in his eyes. Perhaps it was her imagination, but she would like to believe she saw it. She remembered the look she got from Cadet Saunders as she walked down the hall.

She took a deep breath as she finished packing her bag, turned to say good-bye to her sweet, but under achieving room mate who was still in bed and she went out to seize the day.

Uhura stood in the office she shared with Commander Spock bouncing on the balls of her feet and beaming with excitement.

"Cadet Uhura, I understand your excitement over this assignment, but I don't think our guests will appreciate your… exuberance." His voice was stern, but she could swear she saw a glimmer of amusement in his eyes and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. She convinced herself that he was smiling at her in his own way every time he did that. She knew that she had imagined a lot of emotions coming from him, sometimes she could swear she saw affection. But he was a Vulcan and that wasn't possible.

"I know Commander, but I'm just so excited. You know me so well, so I thought I'd allow it out here in your office. Burn off some of this energy before I have to be super solemn to meet with our Vulcan counterparts." She gave him a big smile unable to hold it in anymore and jumped up and down a few times. She let out a deep breath and turned to see the corners of his mouth were raised even higher. "Ok, I'm ready now."

"Are you sure Cadet? We still have six minutes and twelve seconds before the meeting begins if you feel the need to jump up and down a few more times."

She chuckled "I'm sorry Commander, but I don't have to tell you what this opportunity means. Re-examining the translation sequences in four areas of science so the Vulcan High Command and Starfleet can communicate more effectively and with greater accuracy… there are people who work in communications for decades and won't work on something this significant."

"Well, you have earned it. Most people in communications barely know standard Vulcan much less several dialects. You have worked hard and I can not think of anyone else in the academy that would be better suited."

She looked up into his eyes, speechless and moved by his words of high praise. They were a rare gift that she would treasure. "Thank you so much Commander. You have no idea what it means to me to hear you say that." She smiled up at him again as her heart began to pound in joy. She stomped her feet a couple of times then stopped. "Don't worry, I've got it out of my system. I'm ready to go."

Upon their arrival she gave a cursory glance around the conference room and saw that each seat was set with a communications array, water and juice had been set on the table. PADDs were also waiting for them and a beautiful centerpiece of flowers were set in the middle of the table. Starfleet Academy had given them their best and she was honored to be included. They were waiting in the conference room when the five VSA representatives arrived escorted by Admiral Tapping. He quickly announced them and promptly left so they could introduce themselves to each other and get started.

Cadet Uhura, like most of the people at the academy had never met another Vulcan besides Spock. She expected that she would be able to easily interact with them based upon her relationship with Spock. Most people didn't like him, didn't understand him. They thought he was cold, heartless and kind of mean. But she knew better, she could see it in his eyes. Working with these other Vulcans should be about the same.

Although she was still bubbling with excitement within, she focused on pushing those feelings way down. She wasn't Vulcan, but she needed to appear as stoic and clinical as possible so they would respect her. Although an assignment like this was a big career booster, she knew that if she screwed it up, it would end her career before it started. They filed in one by one almost as if they were soldiers in the military rather than an academic convoy.

She instinctively stood up straighter upon seeing them and the nervous energy she had been trying to suppress dissipated into pure nervousness as she looked into their eyes. She swallowed hard as a wave of uncertainty spread through her. She looked at the group of three men and two women, who had eyes that were completely void and unreadable. This was not something she had expected. The first of their group was a stately looking woman who was just beginning to gray. She gave the Vulcan greeting which she and Spock answered. She proceeded to introduce herself and her team.

"I am T'Lori, leader of this team. To my left is my bondmate Sulak. Although his expertise is in matters of the mind, he is also an expert in all Vulcan dialects, even the undocumented slang sometimes utilized by our youth." Uhura looked at the oldest of the males who seemed to carry an air just as regal as his wife.

"This is Professor T'Maii", the younger woman nodded her head. Uhura swallowed as she took a good look at the woman. While T'Lori was amazingly beautiful, she had a bond mate, but when she looked at T'Maii, it almost took her breath away. Her skin was so smooth and so beautiful, golden bronze in color. Her high cheekbones and that long thick dark hair adorned so beautifully. She wondered what Spock thought of her. Would Spock be interested in her? The thought made her stomach turn. She swallowed hard as she nodded her head in acknowledgement.

Then there were the two current students, Spivik and Sorrel. It was interesting to her how the Vulcan's were so similar in appearance and yet so different. She wondered if every male on the planet had the exact same haircut? They actually looked to be older than Spock, not much older, but older still. They nodded to her and to Spock as did the others. She wondered why they were still students considering Spock had already served aboard a space ship and had been teaching for almost 3 years. Spivik she actually found attractive, but Sorrel, although his features were just as Vulcan as the others he looked odd to her somehow. She wondered if he was considered ugly for a Vulcan. Uhura nodded her head to her fellow students and thought she saw Spock flinch slightly when Sorrel's name was mentioned, but it was so slight she must have imagined it.

Spock in turn introduced himself and her. Although she had studied what there was of Vulcan customs, the information was sketchy and she wondered if there would be any nuances that the books had failed to mention. Spock certainly wasn't any help as he said there were no nuances to be aware of. And to her chagrin he was right, there was no chatting, no cordialities beyond the introductions. They sat down and went right to work. She was still excited, but without any banter or extraneous discussions it was going to be a very long and tedious week.

Uhura noticed that when she made comments or suggestions she felt as though they were not well received, almost ignored. The Vulcans were never excited by the discoveries or challenges they overcame and didn't offer the normal affirmations that humans would give. But when any Vulcan in the room made a comment it seemed to be considered quicker. Anything she said was followed by a longer stretch of silence and her suggestions were met with a greater degree of scrutiny.

At first she thought perhaps she was just being sensitive, but she decided to take a Vulcan approach to her concerns. She actually started to measure it for an un-bias comparison. Vulcans were responded to within five seconds and she was responded to in twenty seconds or more. All inquiries were addressed directly to Spock; she almost felt like she wasn't in the room. A small voice of doubt surfaced in her mind that perhaps her suggestions were not good enough, but when Spivik suggested something similar to what she had said not more than fifteen minutes earlier it was received with prompt acceptance. She gnashed her teeth.

One of her fellow cadets had mentioned that Vulcans thought humans were inferior because of their emotions, but she didn't believe it until now. She was looking forward to the lunch break, but T'Lori thought it was illogical to take a break just for eating when there was so much work to be done. The cafeteria staff brought in trays assorted with fruits, vegetables and grains that were agreeable to the Vulcan diet. While none of these items were objectionable to her she knew she would be heading to the cafeteria to get a cheeseburger when they were done for the day.

She observed how the Vulcans ate while they worked. In the past she had noticed how Spock was so particular and neat with his food. She thought it was a personal quirk, but now she realized it was cultural. They didn't handle any of their food with their hands, even the carrot sticks. She also noticed how Sorrell glanced her way every time she picked something up with her hands to put in her mouth. They all looked at her the first time she did it, with the exception of Spock of course. She wondered if they considered it insulting to eat with one's hands. By this point she didn't care, she was human and there was no way she was going to sit there a cut her bread into little bite site pieces so she could eat them with a fork.

She picked up another carrot stick with her hands and glared at Sorrell. True to form he looked her way as she was about to put it in her mouth. When he saw she was staring at him, he looked away back to his station. But she still noticed him watching her out of the corner of his eyes.

The cafeteria staff had brought them food, but didn't bring additional water. Sorrel addressed her directly for the first time

"Cadet, additional beverages are required" he said as he pushed the water pitcher in her direction.

Part of her wanted to grab the picture walk over there and hit him over the head with it, but she was the junior person in the room from the host planet. She should have expected that any grunt work would be passed along to her. She went to reach for the pitcher, but was halted when saw Spock raise his hand for her to stop.

"Cadet Uhura's time is best spent here helping us work through the algorithms, I will have one of the department aids come clean the room and refresh the beverages. In addition Student Sorrell it would not be acceptable for you to assign duties to Cadet Uhura as she is not under your command and is your academic equal."

Everything stopped for a moment as Spock's comment drew everyone's attention. Sorrell's eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing as he turned his head and resumed his calculations. The team resumed its normal activity as Spock summoned for a department aid. It took all of Uhura's strength not to smile in some measure of satisfaction. Especially when she noted Spock's clipped tone. She wasn't sure, but she wondered if Spock had given him the Vulcan version of an insult.

Cadet Saunders entered the room looking glum as she grabbed the water pitchers for refilling. On her way out she grabbed all the empty trays and plates. She gave Uhura a dirty look on her way out. Uhura thought to herself 'if you only knew'.

When T'Lori finally ended their session for the day Uhura never believed she longed for the end of a day so much. She began to pack up her belongings like the other Vulcans, but she took the longest time possible so she could confer with Spock. Spock summoned Cadet Saunders again so she could escort the Vulcans to their guest rooms. Once the VSA delegation was on their way Spock turned to leave.

"Commander, can we speak for a few minutes?"

"Unfortunately not Cadet. I must go to Admiral Tapping's office now to debrief on the project."

"Oh" she said dejectedly.

"If you are amenable, we can meet tomorrow morning before we are due to begin the project?"

"For breakfast?"

"I am not opposed to the idea. We can meet in front of the general cafeteria at 0700 hours. Will that be sufficient time for the discussion?"

"Yes it will. See you in the morning Commander." He nodded then continued to pack his things.

Uhura was mentally and emotionally exhausted when she entered her room that night, but she still had class work to review. She may have been excused from class, but she still had to learn the material. Another six days of this and she would need a vacation to recover. Who knew that being around non-emotional beings could be so emotionally draining.

A/N: Thank you for reading the first chapter. The 2nd chapter will be up in a few days. Your comments and review are welcome.