Two Spocks Are Better Than One (Kelvinverse)

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Spock rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet before bending over and touching his toes. It was a ridiculously simple exercise, yet seemed to have the effect of waking him more fully than he had been only a few minutes ago. Safely wrapped in the warmth of his blankets and sheets, a certain level of fatigue hovered around his body. Only by exposing his bare feet to the floor and participating in activity slightly more rigorous than turning over to burrow one's head deeper into the pillow could he chase away some of the fog.

He straightened slowly, feeling his hyperextended back muscles easing slack. Then, after a pause of a few seconds, he repeated the exercise, this time holding the position longer. Significantly better, but still drowsy. Caffeine would be a suitable stimulant. As would breakfast. He checked the time on his clock. 0755 hours. Caffeine will have to suffice by itself.

Padding softly over to the replicator in the corner, he pressed a button. "Coffee, black." The cup appeared with steaming dark liquid in it. He blew lightly on the drink before downing it with one gulp and placing the empty cup back on the machine.

Spock's next stop was the small washroom in his quarters. He opened an almost invisible cupboard to his right and removed a small blue tube and a toothbrush, uncapping the tube and squeezing out a tiny bit of toothpaste. Replacing the tube, he moved towards the sink area, glancing upwards at the small mirror above it.

The toothbrush dropped with a clatter in the sink bowl.

Staring back at him was a familiar face, one he knew very well. Lined with age and wisdom. And perhaps a twinkle of…mirth?

It was his own.

Or at least it would be.

Spock frowned. He touched his face with both hands, feeling the cool smoothness of a young man's cheek. "What has happened? Why-" He watched as the face mimicked his reactions, albeit slightly time-delayed. He leaned in closer to the mirror. "How? I am not-"

"But I am." The wizened face nodded at him, winking.

Spock pulled away, surprise and confusion in his eyes. "I do not understand. Is this a vision?"

"You could say that." Spock Prime leaned forward.

"Then I shall return to bed and continue it there." Spock hurried out of the room, abandoning the toothbrush in his wake.

If he had remained, he would have seen Kirk crowd into the mirror next to the older Vulcan, smirking. "'Yesterday, we replaced Spock's mirror with a display screen. Let's see if he notices the difference.'" Kirk covered his mouth with his hand, then turned to Spock Prime. "Did you see the look on his- I mean, your- face?"

Spock Prime smiled. "It was rather amusing."

Kirk raised his hand and Spock Prime slapped it, lowering his own to complete the high-low fiving. Kirk shook his head. "Who knew you could be such a prankster?"

"One of my less developed talents. When are you going to tell him?"

Kirk smirked. "Eventually."

***

Later that day, they informed him what they'd done. While Spock was more than a little unnerved by the idea of being so easily fooled, he chalked it up to fatigue and grogginess. He also rather effusively apologized for missing half of his shift in the process. Kirk shrugged it off, assuring him that nothing of note had occurred.

In the middle of a stern reprimand directed towards the captain for the potential negative side effects, both psychological and administrative, that would result from such an action, it occurred to him to inquire as to whether anyone else knew of Spock Prime's presence on the ship. The answer given was no. Which set the wheels turning in his and Kirk's heads at approximately the same time.

***

Kirk's job was to reroute the wiring of the lighting in the public restroom on deck 4 in such a way that it couldn't be repaired without manual intervention at that end. Having done so, he signalled the Spocks to be ready in 3 minutes.

The turbolift door at the end of the hall opened, and Scotty exited, a box of tools in one hand and a sigh plastered over his face. "One of me less glamourous jobs," he muttered.

Spock headed down the hall towards him. They met at the door of the affected room. Scotty held up a hand. "Hold on a sec. I was just aboot to go in there and fix the lighting."

Spock put a pained look on his face. "I must use the facilities first."

Scotty scratched his head. "Can ye see in the dark, noo?"

"It does not matter."

Scotty sighed. "All right then. But hurry up." Spock nodded and entered the restroom.

Scotty leaned against the wall, slumping slightly. He set the toolbox down and pulled out his communicator. "Anderson? Have ye got those glitches fixed yet..."

Minutes passed. Scotty alternated between picking at a thread on his sleeve, giving orders via comm, and nodding politely at passing crew.

He had almost dozed off when the door swished open. Scotty pushed against the wall and lifted his toolbox again, turning to head into the room. "Well, it's aboot time ye finally-"

Spock Prime stood before him, wearing a uniform identical to Spock's. Scotty dropped the toolbox, which landed on its side and spilled the contents all over the floor. "ACH! How long have ye been in there?"

"Two minutes. Why?" Spock Prime questioned.

"Well, either I'm losing me mind, or there's some kind of time portal in the loo." Scotty blinked. "There isna, is there?"

A snort came from up above, and Scotty whipped his head upwards towards the access hatch over their heads. Two figures were huddled up in the Jeffries tubes. One was snickering in a rather juvenile way. The other allowed a ghost of a smile to form on his lips.

***

After sputtering for a few minutes, Scotty had to admit that it was pretty funny. "But ye know what's nae funny? That mess you made of the wiring."

"Relax, Scotty, I'll help you fix it."Kirk assured him, his hand on the chief engineer's shoulder.

"You bet your sweet life ye will." Scotty bent over to gather his spilled implements. When he turned around, a strange light had come into his eyes. "Ye can make it up to me in another way, though…"

***

It was rather handy that they were still in orbit of a class-M planet. Handier still that Spock hadn't gone with the original landing party to collect examples of the life present there. Scotty beamed both Vulcans to the surface, only to be called away on "important matters". The younger Spock promptly hid in an underground cavern, after tying in his comm to Spock Prime's.

"Mr. Chekov." Spock's voice revealed nothing. "I have retrieved the biological samples I require. Lock on to the following coordinates." He rattled off a series of numbers.

Chekov peered down at the screen, entering the coordinates and isolating the lone individual on the planet's surface. He pressed a button to confirm. "I haff a lock on your location, Mr. Spock. Stay still." He engaged the transporter and watched as the Vulcan rematerialized on the pad.

"It is good to be back, Mr. Chekov." Spock Prime delivered his line stoically, one hand on the bag at his side, still dressed identical to his younger self.

Chekov's mouth dropped open. He stared down at the screen, then looked back up again. Sure enough, the elderly Vulcan was still there. He blinked, shaking his head. "Oh…no. Vhat happened to you, Spock? How could…" He grabbed Spock Prime by the arms. "I must be imagining thees! You're…old."

Spock Prime chuckled. "I am quite well, Mr. Chekov."

Chekov hurried over to the transporter console. "Zhere must be sometheeng in the atmosphere. I don't understand eet. How could you possibly-" His brow furrowed as he hunched over the screen, rapidly tapping keys.

The transporter activated itself and a second figure materialized. "It is not impossible-" Chekov's head snapped up as younger Spock moved towards him. "-When one is two."

"Ahhh…" Recognition dawned in Chekov's eyes as Kirk and Scotty emerged from their hiding place out in the hallway.

Kirk slung an arm around the lieutenant's shoulders. "Really had you going there, didn't we?"

Chekov nodded, smiling sheepishly and blushing. "I forgot there were two of heem."

Scotty chuckled. "Well, it's not exactly April 1st, but close enough."

Chekov wiped his brow with one arm. "I guess that makes me the fool, then."

Kirk grinned. "One in a line of many. You're in good company, Mr. Chekov."

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Spock Prime Knows Too Much

"Pre-flight checks are in progress, sir. I've got Radinski taking the lead; he could use the experience." Scotty slid the flap door into place and gave it a thump with his fist. "That should hold. Lad's the youngest of eleven children - can you imagine? - an' was always on the bottom of the pile." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. "He's got a natural instinct for people, though. Good listener, too." He glanced past Kirk towards the conference room door. "An' seein' as how we're in spacedock, I figure I can spare a few moments."

"Doesn't hurt that the coffee's good and hot." Kirk laughed. "I still have nightmares about that swill you fixed me two months ago during command duty training." He grimaced. "If that's what you engineers all run on, you really are miracle workers." Kirk stroked his chin, mouth firm but eyes twinkling. "Does Doctor McCoy know about your reliance on performance-enhancing substances?"

"We have a deal, Leonard and me," Scott replied, pushing away from the wall. "He dinna pester me about me caffeine intake," he whispered, cupping one hand to his mouth, "and I'll nae breathe a word about where he stashes his...beverages." He winked as they entered the room together.

At the opposite end of the room, the rest of the starship's senior staff were clustered together near a large window overlooking one section of Deep Space Station F-3's docking ring. Uhura stood next to Spock, pointing out a small passenger ship that was parked two slots over. She turned to her left as Chekov remarked while gesticulating with one hand. McCoy bent his head over a tablet, tapping out a message to someone, his forehead furrowed. Sulu inspected a red flowering plant in the corner, one finger stroking the underside of a blossom. His brows quirked as he spied the new arrivals out of the corner of his eye. Straightening, he smiled at Kirk and Scotty. "Captain. Mr. Scott. Good thing you got here. The ambassador was just about to tell us about his negotiations with the Moiteelo."

"Ambassador?" Kirk's mouth twitched. "I just checked my messages five minutes ago. According to the latest personnel/passenger transfer list, we're expecting an astrophysicist and his preteen daughter, a weapons control specialist, and three computer technicians. No diplomats." He shrugged. "Gotta love Starfleet bureaucracy."

"Your tone suggests something other than love, Jim," a gravelly voice replied with just a hint of amusement. A familiar Vulcan stepped around Chekov until he was standing between the crowd and the two men who had just entered.

"Wrinkly Spock," Scotty muttered.

Kirk elbowed the engineer in the ribs and hurried over to greet the elder Spock with the Vulcan salute, which was returned. "Welcome, Ambassador. We weren't expecting you."

"Didn't you get the message I sent you?" When Kirk's eyes widened slightly, Spock Prime tapped the right side of his head. "Ah. Next time, I shall use a more reliable form of communication."

"Human brain, remember? So. Passenger or visitor?"

"Visitor." The ambassador looked back over his shoulder at the passenger ship Uhura had indicated previously. A repair drone hovered over a section of hull plating that was dangling from the side of the ship. Several other plates were blackened. "The T'Sola-Kho suffered a malfunction in its shields that caused a feedback loop, leading to the damage you see before you. I am told we will be docked here for four days, at least." He smiled. "I hope my presence here will not cause any problems."

Kirk smiled. "Are you kidding? It's always good to have you aboard," he continued, gesturing toward the table, "but as you can see, we're about to have a staff meeting." At the word "meeting", the senior staff members began to move away from the windows and towards the conference table, still engaged in light conversation while occasionally glancing over at Kirk and Spock Prime.

The captain walked beside Spock Prime in the direction of the door. "Would you mind waiting in my office until we're done here? Or maybe you'd prefer to visit the astronomy lab. We just had a new telescope retrofitted-"

Spock Prime held up a hand. "Actually, if you would permit it, I would like to observe your gathering." He gestured towards a chair at the end of the table. "I have found watching you interact with your crew, including my young counterpart, to be rather pleasant."

"Kind of like going back home, you mean." Kirk pulled out his chair and indicated that Spock Prime should sit as well.

"Back in space and time."

"Or having an out-of-body experience." McCoy took the seat between Kirk and young Spock, eying the latter before shifting his gaze to the ambassador. "It's not like anything we discuss today is going to take you by surprise. Heck, you've probably already attended this same meeting in your own universe."

"Perhaps, with one exception. I distinctly do not recall having had this conversation before, doctor." Spock Prime raised a single brow.

"Duh," McCoy exclaimed, eliciting laughter from the rest of the crew, except for the younger Spock, who exhaled softly.

After calling the meeting to order, Kirk asked Uhura to read the minutes of the previous meeting. From time to time, he would glance down the table to where Spock Prime sat. Emotions flickered in the elderly Vulcan's eyes as the communications officer summarized the discussion they'd participated in a week earlier.

"...resulting vote was unanimously in favor of converting a section on deck eleven into a tactical simulation room." Uhura folded her hands in front of her. "The meeting was adjourned and refreshments were served."

Sulu licked his lips. "I can still taste the maple walnut ice cream." He held up one hand as Chekov opened his mouth. "And so help me, Pavel, if you tell us it was invented in Russia, I'll tear out my hair."

"I vasn't going to say that." Chekov smiled sheepishly, his face the picture of innocence. "But now that you mention it-" He ducked out of the way as Sulu's hand sailed past his head.

"Come now, laddie." Scotty gave a look of mock offence. "Everyone knows that ice cream is an Edinburgh creation. Right, Nyota?"

Uhura held her hands up. "Oh, no, boys. I'm staying out of this one," she laughed, pouring herself a cup of coffee from the carafe.

"Jim, I'd like to know what you plan to do about replacing Dr. Stromberg." McCoy looked up from his tablet, where he'd been doodling a geometric design in the lower right hand corner of the page. "Dentistry isn't my specialty."

Spock folded his hands together. "And bioluminescence is not my forte. Yet I was able to substitute for Ensign Collier for the duration of her leave by consulting her notes prior to the survey mission as well as several texts from the ship's database."

McCoy frowned, his stylus pausing mid-stroke, and pointed at Spock. "Anyone can take samples and perform resonance scans. Performing a complicated dental procedure is another matter." He eyed Kirk. "I also have a suspicion that two members of our crew have been nursing secret toothaches for the last month or so."

"Could you not just order them to report to sickbay, Doctor?" Spock pressed.

"Or drag them?" This from Kirk, who grabbed a handful of his own collar and twisted it, yanking it to one side as his eyes rolled back in his head.

McCoy shook his head. "I'd rather not have to. They've never caused me any trouble before." He moved the tip of his stylus in a circle. "Just promise you'll put a bug in Personnel's ear for me. Preferably before we head out."

"I'll take care of it, Bones," Kirk assured him. He shot a glance over at Spock Prime. The ambassador had been watching their interactions with a fond look in his eyes, even as he appeared to be staring beyond them at another scene from his own past. "Getting back to the agenda, our first order of business is planning our itinerary for the next month."

He folded his hands together. "Barring any unforeseen circumstances, that is. After we depart F-3, Starfleet has asked us to transport a shipment of ghenoride drill bits to Toualt II-"

"Mmmm." Spock Prime's brows dipped in a concerned expression.

"What is it?" Uhura asked, brows quirked.

"I can't tell you," the ambassador replied gruffly.

Kirk paused, then continued. "-to resupply the mining camps there. Mr. Chekov has already plotted the swiftest course through the Semple Gap and past the outer edge of the Iora system."

"Hmm."

"Did you say something, ambassador?" Spock asked. The other officers leaned towards the end of the table, waiting for his answer.

Spock Prime waved a hand dismissively. "Never mind. Please, continue."

Kirk reached for his coffee and took a sip. "Thank you. Unloading the cargo should only take a couple of hours. After that, next stop is the Veu-Masgar Cluster-"

Spock Prime covered his mouth with one hand. "Ah."

"Ah what?" Chekov asked, glancing at Sulu, who shrugged.

Spock Prime opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and clamped his lips shut. "I can't tell you."

Kirk gripped his tablet tightly. "Long range sensors indicate a steady increase in radiation emissions. We'll spend a week studying the cluster's effects." He scrolled down the page. "From there, we'll proceed to Stengalt VI, where we have been invited to participate in a local harvest festival. I'm sure it'll be a welcome break after..." He glanced up. Spock Prime shook his head back and forth, mouthing the word "No."

Kirk sighed. "Moving on...Professor Ambrose Gibson has offered to give us a tour of his new medical laboratory on Mundo XI. As I recall, he taught neurology at your alma mater, Bones, am I right?" At McCoy's nod, he opened his mouth to continue. "I've heard great things about his experiments with neural implants..."

"Oooooh," Spock Prime interrupted, clenching one hand into a fist. He looked at McCoy with pity.

Kirk stood up and leaned forward over the table. "Does any of this sound familiar to you, Ambassador?" The Vulcan did not reply. Running his fingers through his hair, Kirk squeezed his eyes shut. "Look, do me a favor, okay? Either tell me what happened to your Enterprise when they did what we're about to do and why we should stay as far away as possible, or kindly cut out all the "mmm"ing and "ahhhh"ing."

The Vulcan's face flushed green. "Excuse me."

Kirk inhaled and blew the air out of his mouth. "After all, as I recall, it was you who once told us that under no circumstances could you divulge details about our counterparts in your reality. You had to allow events to progress as normally as possible."

A nod of assent. "I did say that, yes."

Scotty tapped his fingers on the table. "Uh, sir? Canna we just ask him about our upcoming military exercises with the Indomitable? I've been having second thoughts about those firing maneuvers..." He leaned forward and stared down the table. Spock Prime's face was a mask of neutrality, aside from a slight downturn of one corner of his mouth.

"Vhat about the first contact with the Sybavians? They've been deweloping varp drive for the last seven years. A successful test is imminent." Chekov's shoulders slumped as Spock Prime looked away. "According to observation reports, their society is quite varlike."

Kirk flopped into his chair. "Bones?"

McCoy leaned on one hand, his expression pensive. "I just keep thinking about Ambrose. He was always an ambitious man...but being out on the frontier alone for years at a time changes you. I wouldn't mind a heads-up."

The younger Spock shook his head. "We must resist the temptation."

"Now wait a minute. You asked him about Khan!" McCoy protested. A chorus of "yeahs" sounded around the table.

Spock waited until the noise died down. "Yes, I did. And he told me nothing revealing. While Ambassador Spock's knowledge would be helpful to us in much the way that military intelligence can aid Starfleet, we cannot consult him on every matter. As we have already seen, certain events have progressed differently in our reality than in his, and as such, his information would be useless, even harmful. Furthermore, if we fail to do something which must be done because of his warnings, lives might be needlessly lost."

Uhura placed her hand on his, squeezing it. "He has a point, guys. We have to live our own lives, not his."

McCoy frowned. "If we do what we already did in the other reality, we are living his life. Making his mistakes all over again. Killing the same people all over again." He let out a soul-deep sigh. "Without him, we just kill different people. Maybe make things worse." One hand rubbed his forehead. "Great. Now I have a headache."

"Are we all agreed then?" Kirk asked. After a moment, everyone reluctantly nodded. Spock Prime pushed his chair back and stood up slowly. "Where are you going, sir?"

"I think," the elderly Vulcan began, heading towards the doorway, "it might be better for everyone if I leave now. I believe I will visit the astronomy lab, after all." He had just exited the room when the wall comm whistled, attracting the attention of the remaining personnel.

"Bridge to Captain Kirk."

"Go ahead, bridge," Kirk replied.

"Sir, we've just received a distress call from an unknown craft. Long range sensors indicate it's coming from the Pi Delta system." Fingers tapped on a screen. "We're the closest ship in the sector, about ten minutes away."

"Set course then. I'll be there shortly." Kirk pushed in his chair and collected his tablet from the table as the rest of the senior staff did likewise, the low hum of their conversations audible.

"Ho, ho, heh, heh, heh." Spock Prime's laughter reverberated down the corridors, interrupting them. "Oh, no."

McCoy shot Kirk and Spock a concerned look. "I don't like the sound of that."

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I made up all these adventures because I didn't have a clear picture at the time of the chronology of TOS episode events. It's perhaps funnier to imagine what old Spock knows than to know.