Title: Poetry and Promises remix

Author: Linstock

Code: Spock/Uhura

Rating: NC-17

Type: Remix.

Au: As this was a long story I have chosen to concentrate on the first six chapters only. This decision was based on time constrains. As it is a Mirror!verse challenge I felt I had to have that element in the story as well.

Part one is may own addition to the story and the actual remix of Poetry and promises starts in Part 2.

As the Spock in this story is a younger than the one in the Mirror!verse episode I decided that he has not yet grown the famous goatee. I found it surprisingly challenging to remix this story, keep authentic to the original and yet make it my own.

Many thanks to elaine451 for letting me come over and play in her playground.

Many thanks also to my beta readers The Night Was Moist and Atana71. It was a big ask for them to read such a long piece. Much of the hotness of the love scene is due to their excellent input. The mistakes are all my own work.

Disclaimer: I own nothing (doubly so in this case) and no disrespect is intended to anyone. I receive nothing but the pleasure of writing.

Part 1

Chapter1

Spock writhed on the transporter pad in agony. His whole body convulsed with waves of pain. He lost consciousness. He surfaced again like a drowning man struggling to the surface in rough seas. He gasped, struggling to breathe. He was vaguely aware of people calling and he felt a hand on his face. Expecting a death blow any minute he slipped below the surface of consciousness again.

When he regained consciousness the second time he counted himself fortunate that no one had put an end to him while he had been vulnerable. He looked around warily. It was obvious he was no longer aboard the ISS Enterprise. He struggled to focus his bleary mind and remember.

It had been the artificial night of the ship. He had dressed in his black uniform undershirt and gym pants as the flashy gold sash and braid of his uniform did not make for easy concealment. He had slipped out of his quarters and gone to inspect the transporter bay. Captain Pike had been apoplectic with rage when three crewmembers that were loyal to him were killed in a malfunction of that unit. Spock had suspected sabotage. He also suspected Lieutenant Kirk was behind the latest "incidents" and that he was making a play for the captaincy.

"Over my dead body!" Pike had shouted when Spock had voiced his theory.

"Indeed," had been Spock's reply. Spock had no ambition to be Captain he had more freedom as the trusted second in command and it was logical for him to ensure Pike maintained his position. He had not pressed the matter further but had resolved then to inspect the transporter bay that night. Kirk would have to be dealt with and quickly if he were correct about the sabotage.

It seems that Kirk had planned his trap well and now succeeded in neutralising Spock. Spock considered Captain Pike now had little chance of maintaining control of the ISS Enterprise. It was unfortunate but right now he had more immediate problems.

The first weeks were surreal. Spock could only think of two explanations for the reality in which he found himself, either this was an elaborate hoax perpetrated for a reason Spock could not discern or he was mad.

He slowly accepted that these people did not intend to kill him. In fact they appeared to be trying to return him to full health. Spock's greatest shock came when Captain Pike visited. The man looked like Pike and sounded like Pike but there the similarity ended. This Pike expressed concern over his injuries and his hope for Spock's speedy recovery. He told Spock not to worry others were taking over his teaching load, but Spock knew he had never taught a day in his life. Then Pike gave Spock a get-well card signed by dozens of students. He briefly touched Spock's hand and Spock could feel Pike's complete sincerity. At that moment Spock concluded the most logical explanation was that he had gone mad.

Eventually Spock had been discharged from hospital and returned to "his" apartment. Now he had access to a computer terminal and after days of intense researching he was forced to concede that there was a third explanation for events. This was a different reality, a parallel universe, and he was marooned. It was logical to conclude that Kirk had unintentionally transported him here using the sabotaged transporter unit. Kirk would not think twice about what had become of Spock except to hope that it was both terminal and exceedingly unpleasant. Even if Captain Pike retained control of the ISS Enterprise there would be no rescue. The Empire would proceed on it bloody destructive course and Spock would be forgotten.

It was also evident that there had been a Spock, his counterpart, in this reality and some sort of exchange had occurred. How or why he did not know. The people here simply assumed he was that other Spock. He realised that he was fortunate that he had been injured as it gave him an excuse for his "memory loss" and other uncharacteristic behaviours. He also knew that he could not use that excuse for long and embarked on an intense course of study of this world and the other Spock.

First he absorbed the history and politics of this world, Vulcan and the Federation. It was a universe vastly different from his own. Here there was no empire subjugating every world in its path. Here Vulcan was not a conquered world and Vulcan's were respected instead of enslaved. Here there the Federation strove for unity, peace and prosperity.

Finally he moved to the other Spock's personal history. He read about that Spock in the news, studied the journals and books he had written and examined his private correspondence and his journals. He listened to his music, read his private collection of books and ate his favoured foods. He realized that he had never hated anyone as deeply as he hated the other Spock.

The other Spock had everything. He was valued, respected and sought after. The other Spock knew his parents and they had raised him themselves, nurturing him, fostering his potential and protecting him. The other Spock had been wanted by both the Vulcan Science Academy and Starfleet and he had been allowed the freedom to choose. He had chosen his own areas of study and his companions. Everything that the other Spock touched had succeeded. He had lived a fortunate life. The other Spock had everything Spock lacked. He knew it was illogical but Spock felt that the other Spock had somehow stolen these things from him.

Spock felt as if he were slipping the other Spock's life on like a coat, wrapping it round him and hiding his real form. Wearing this life smothered him, but it warmed him too.

He continued to study intently, constantly aware of the need to bridge the gap between his education and experiences and the other Spock's. He forced himself to venture out into the campus and then the town. He could never relax. He was always vigilant, both watching for physical danger and the unforseen slips that would inevitably betray him.

One evening Spock's com chimed and when he answered he found he was looking into the face of smiling human woman.

"Sa-fu," she said and tears sprang into her eyes, "forgive my display of emotion but I have been so worried about you."

Spock found he was unable to respond and simply stared. "Sa-fu", "son", she had called him "son". He had never seen his mother or father. Like most children of conquered races he had been removed from his family before his third birthday and placed in the Empires' "nurseries". At the age of eight he had been indentured as a "ships boy", on an Imperial star ship. His childhood had been one dominated by depravation, brutality and relentless work with occasional rare instances of kindness. The only escape was through death or promotion.

The woman paused and then rushed on, "Both your father and I were so worried when we realised we could not feel you anymore." Her lip trembled and he could see her asserting control to regain her composure. "Your father assured me that it is not the same sensation as when someone dies. It is more like static is present instead of a 'signal'." She looked at him questioningly. "I can not feel you but I feel the link is still there. Do you feel this too?"

Spock forced his head to nod. She sighed. "Your father said that the accident must have disrupted the bond in some way."

She continued, "Sa-fu, you look unwell. Are you sleeping? Are you eating well?"

"Yes mother," he replied and the two words burned his throat so he found himself coughing. She looked concerned, "You must see a Vulcan healer as soon as possible."

The one sided conversation continued as she explained about their current travels, why they could not visit, her sadness and concern for him. Spock simply stared, drinking in her face and every nuance of her expression until her parting words, "Goodbye my son, I love you more than you can know." She had reached forward and touched the screen.

Later he replayed the recording of the message over and over and his need to watch it bordered on a compulsion.

This strange world was disorienting. Spock saw Kirk and he saw McCoy and many others he recognised. Each time it was a shock. They were all so like their counterparts and yet so different. People greeted him respectfully and without fear. People he recognised as the other Spock's colleagues in the science and teaching faculties sought him out to express their pleasure at his recovery and to "chat". He found that when he needed to avoid questions he could simply look intently at the questioner or raise an eyebrow and they would back down flustered. It was an advantage being Vulcan.

He never relaxed but he found a way to function in this new world. One day he saw the counterpart of a woman that he had killed with his own hands after she tried to knife him in the back as he slept, she nodded and smiled invitingly as she walked past him and he remembered why he had taken her counterpart to his bed in the first place. It was then he knew that he was beginning to adjust to this new world.

The one face he wanted to see was Uhura's. He knew that in this world she had been the other Spock's assistant but about six months ago she had been transferred overseas. He strongly disliked the thought of the other Spock and Uhura having any kind of relationship. Since Spock had moved into the other Spock's quarters there had been some messages from her. He deleted them unread and disciplined himself not to seek her out because it was logical that those who knew the other Spock well were the greatest threat to him. The messages had stopped coming.

As the weeks passed he slowly began to assert his own personality. He grew a beard because he felt compelled to do something to distinguish himself physically from the other Spock. He requested a reduction in his teaching load, using the excuse of the residual effects of his injury and he avoided contact with students wherever possible. He concentrated on research, switching from subspace communication to weapons systems and counter intelligence devises. He produced impressive results quickly and the change in direction was at first tolerated and then encouraged.

Pike was a constant irritation. He didn't understand his reluctance to teach and insisted on pushing Spock to "connect with life". At least once every two weeks Spock's door would open and Pike would be there requesting, in fact ordering, that Spock accompany him to a meeting, a lecture or social event. At first Spock did everything he could to avoid these outing, and then, when he feared continued avoidance would raise suspicion, he grudgingly began to give in. In time, what had at first been a test of his patience became a part of his routine and eventually Spock found he was waiting for these visits.

TBC