K/S advent: The Solstice of the Young
master fic: http://ariadnechan.livejournal.com/147046.html
The Solstice of The Young
Chapter One
Vulcan Empire. Three years later.
The Red Sol of the beginning of the colder season was high in the sky. It was a good time for war exercises. The influential houses at peace for the past 30 years, they will send their youngest to the training camps. There they will learn to master the ancient arts of war, the ones that come from the time of the beginning.
He was prepared. Before in times of war, he would have been sent to it with only ancient weapons against other youngest and there would be bloodshed and death. Now this was not the case and the chance of death was minimal. He was somewhat excited because he was acknowledged as a young Vulcan, no longer as a mere child of mixed heritage. Even if this fact was known only by the members of his house, the other kids always stigmatized.
He sensed as his father approached him and turned to greet him properly. “Father.”
“Greetings, My Son, as you know after today's solstice festivities you and your peers from all the prestigious houses of Vulcan will be gathered in the camps for the ancient exercises and 'Van-kal'kali-tor' tournaments.” Spock nodded.
“Yes Sa-mekh , I’m anticipating the opportunity to prove myself and bring pride to our house.” At this Spock lips curves slightly upward. Sarek’s lips quirked in return.
“I can see your eagerness my Sa-fu” he said. “It is normal for one of your young age to feel the need to prove yourself in front of others. However I must say to you that you don’t need to prove anything to me. You are my pride, because you are one of the brightest minds of your generation and this brings me a most sufficient source of parental pride and joy. I expect more academic accomplishments and many good things from you in the future and I know you will accomplish them. However, your skills as a warrior are not my most pressing concern. In these times there are more important things to accomplish than war against ourselves. It is for the future of our Empire that I have my eyes and hopes on you, my son.”
Spock felt pride at his father’s words but also keen disappointment. He had thought that when he came back from the camps, he would have his father's favor, but apparently his father required more, more time, more study and more commitment. In ancient times coming back from this little war exercise was enough. Now it wasn’t. Perhaps reading the ancient poetry had not been so useful after all. Sarek was quick to notice his son’s disappointment.
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“I see you are worried about things that are not yet come. The future forges from one step at the time into another. Your first step it is to come back from the camp and the 'Van-kal'kali-tor' tournament. Even though there is not war in the near future, these skills are always necessary when your time and maturity comes. At that time, these skills may make the difference between your life and death.” Sarek closed the gap between them and curves his lips somewhat upward once again, and put a hand in the shoulder of his son.
“My Sa-fu, let us change the topic to a better one. The festivities of today are ready to begin and your grandmother is waiting for us to start the official ceremony. After that, when the banquet will finish, I will have a gift for you.”
Spock was somewhat astonished, his father was not prone to giving him presents adhering more to knowledge and even logic, more than the ancient ways. Never the less Spock found himself curious about why his father will changed his ways and what will be the reason behind him honoring the Solstice celebration properly.
“A gift, Sa-mekh?” Sarek understood that his son was baffled and confused.
“Yes, my son in your journey you will need a token of your status and this is the perfect one for you. After the festivities it will be awaiting for you in your chambers.”
The festivities were uneventful as Spock was accustomed to the over opulence and overindulgence as his family quickly became intoxicated on Romulan ale or an exotic substance called cacao. He obviously sipped some as a courtesy, but he held the same glass all day with only one refill. When he attended the camps of the Tournament tomorrow, he didn’t want it to be with a big headache, even if healers could take it away.
Whilst everyone went to the after parties, he decided it was a good time to make a polite disappearance; he excused himself from T’Pau and his father and headed to his chambers. It was somewhat strange that nobody tried to ask him for his company but he was grateful, because he was not in the mood for company and less that kind of activity at the moment. Not that he wasn’t experienced and enjoyed recreational coitus, but definitely not today.
He was impatient for the future and he thought it was ideal to use the time before sleep in a light meditation to center his telepathic controls. Most Vulcans did not practice ancient ways and had little grasp of his natural abilities but this was not tolerated in the house of the matriarch of the Council of all Vulcan. Spock was grateful for it as meditation gave him satisfaction and centered and he often engaged in it more than the time required for the mind training.
*****
Spock entered his first room and found a note from his father.
“I hope the gift will be to your satisfaction. It was revised already and it is flawless and harmless. Please enjoy it and it is expected that you carry it with you on your journey. Maybe it is an imposition of my part, but it is not appropriate to see a Son of the house of Solkar with nothing less than the best company for his youngest prince. With pride and love in the memory of your mother.”
“ T’Pau and Sarek.”
Spock was really worried now. What thing could it be that his father thought that he would not want to carry with him? So he entered his main chamber and what he found was totally unexpected.
There on his own bed, was a young man, with a strange color hair and the bluest eyes Spock had ever seen. He was reclining on top of the bed, his muscles tight, his body obviously used to exercise and he was assessing Spock with a smirk, as if assessing if Spock was sufficient for him. This was too much.
“Who are you and what are you doing in my bed?” The man continued to stare as a cocky grin appeared on his face then he pushed himself up and off the bed. The man approached Spock, like he didn’t know what personal space was.
“Lord Spock is it not? This is not the greeting I was waiting. I was told that I was expected and I was a gift. Don’t you want to unwrap me?” He asked coyly.
“Your father said you might be a little reluctant but, hey, I’m a keeper. So why not enjoy your gift instead of fighting it? Your Father also said to me I was not returnable because your journey is settled for tomorrow and I have to go with you. I had to suffer several tests these past five days to come here, you know. Three days, of mind poking, fighting instruction, and learning manners and stuff. I even I needed the approval of an old hag, oh forgive my slip, lady matriarch T’Pau, who asks for even more mind poking for compatibility.” At this he moved closer to the stunned Vulcan who continued to stare at him as though he had no idea what to do with him.
“So here I’m am the best of the best, all service, very expensive, one in a million, James Tiberius Kirk, son of George; your very first personal slave, but I prefer assistant, and you can call me Jim. And you, lord Spock son of Sarek, I will call you Spock when there is no one in hearing range, ok?” The human touched his shoulder and caressed his face causing Spock to step back quickly to avoid the touches.
Spock was baffled by the cockiness of this young human. He was certainly very intelligent, very aesthetically pleasing and very proud of both facts, but Spock was now really irritated because he knows he has no alternative than to accept the gift if he didn’t want to aggravate his father and his grandmother. However, it was not a gift at all- an imposition was more like it. However he had to admit that he was intrigued by this man. Spock didn’t know any other humans other than his mother, and this Kirk was really different from any other being he knew, human or not. He noticed that Jim was still watching him expectantly and he sighed.
“Since it seems I have little choice in the matter you can stay but keep out of my bed until I say something differently.” He said carefully steeling his expression.
The human accepted the order quickly and went the section of the cushions for night gatherings every lord’s chambers had. Spock had never used it, however, because when he had a sex companion for a night or two never was it more than one of them at the same time.
Spock retired to another room to meditate and after half a cycle he returned to the main chamber where the human was already situated and taking a syringe from a box.
“What it is that?” Spock asked a little worried about the perfect slave having a drug addiction. Kirk shrugged.
“Oh this, it is my twice a day Tri-OX shot for adjusting my body to your atmosphere and the lack of oxygen and other things I’m accustomed in my planet of origin. My planet has less gravity and more air and it is less hot, if I can add.” He said with a sincere smile. Spock was aware of this fact but he had never seen his mother take any shots.
“And that ‘shot’ was given to you here?” Kirk shook his head.
“No, actually I’m allergic to the normal stuff, so in terra they prepared something just for me. The Orion slavers, who took me in, love me so much, that they provide me with it regularly. It was tested already, you know? The only difference was an unknown substance, but it’s not addictive or poisonous for Vulcans and it's harmless for humans, that were what your scientist and healers said. So I can’t poison you, your highness.” There was that bright cocky smile again.
Spock decided that he needs speak with his father, anyway. His meditation didn’t accomplish any calm, at all, and he was gradually more obfuscated with the human.
“If you excuse me, you can go to sleep now, tomorrow will be exhausting for you. I will take a walk before retiring to sleep.” Spock knows his father will not be in his chamber at this hour yet, but in his study. So he headed that way to speak with him about this ‘gift’.
********
Jim was pleased that he was past the worst part already. He was somewhat frightened that T’Pau or Sarek will pry in his mind personally- maybe their status was too high to enter the mind of a simple slave. The healers where tricky but nothing he could not pass as his barriers where foreign to them, almost invisible. And when someone was too bright, ‘the voice’ was enough.
He remembered how the sisters were amazed that he can master ’the voice’ even if it was not perfect, like a reverend mother. He knew ‘the voice’ will be useless with Sarek or T’Pau but he had a lot of other resources and he was grateful that the mélange was so easy to conceal in his shots. Very few people in this quadrant knew about the substance.
Jim knew also that when Spock could taste him, he would fall for him, not because he was overly confident in his own resources, but in his training the sisters had showed him a lot of tricks to make him a sex weapon. He remembered how he almost fallen for his sister instructor like an adolescent. It was hard to learn the detachment but it was necessary.
He had thought it would be not hard to find the time to meditate, because sure enough there were things Vulcans do alone without their slaves. He liked his assignment. Spock was bright, if a little naive and with a temper, but passionate and clearly he was not a pampered prince.
Ambitious yet most handsome, he was really something all tall and mysterious, with that silky hair and those soulful eyes. Yeah, Jim thought, this will be pleasure.
It was a good thing that even before this mission he was always fascinated by beauty and wits and didn’t care if it was a man or a woman. So some parts of his anatomy were happy already. He smiled to himself, with his arms behind his back, he start meditating and chanting his mantras in his head.
In the early stage between half awake half asleep, he remembered an instructor in the academy who taught him meditation and mantras that were very useful as first steps of the Bene Gesserit instruction. Now thinking in the past, he wondered if his instructor was one brother of the order and why he was selected at early age, and if they know he will go for further training. He decided to rest, with his arms embracing himself he lulled himself into it. Sleep fell over him and he forgot all about these thoughts by the morning.
**********
Notes of Vulcan language
'Van-kal'kali-tor' = Tournament and challenge.
'Sa-fu' = Son.
'Sa-mekh' = Father.