The Pandora Principle " The Federation faces extinction from an awesome new weapon . " The Pandora Principle is a Pocket TOS novel – # 49 in the numbered series – written by Carolyn Clowes . Published by Pocket Books , it was first released in . Summary . Prologue . While the " Enterprise " is patrolling the edge of the Romulan Neutral Zone , a rogue ship stumbles across from Romulan space . A single survivor – a Vulcan woman named T ' Pren – Mind meld s with Spock shortly before dying , sharing memories of half - Vulcan children left to die on 872 Trianguli V , a failed colony of the Romulan Star Empire known as " Hellguard . " Spock discreetly shares this information with his father and other Vulcan elders , who make a secret trip into the Neutral Zone and land on Hellguard . Their scans confirm their worst expectations : the children are half - Vulcan , linking Hellguard with the mysterious disappearances of the crews of four Vulcan ships lost during the last ten years . The children themselves , with ages ranging from five to fourteen years , are the results of rape . Everyone agrees that the children must be rescued , but Spock stuns the elders there by insisting that they must be returned to their Vulcan families , despite their mixed heritage . Sarek coldly dismisses him from the meeting . While wandering on his own in the Hellguard night , Spock is ambushed and nearly killed by a feral boy , who is himself killed by an equally feral girl , no more than nine or ten years old . Spock tries to communicate with her , but she runs away . The next morning , the team ' s healer , Salok , wryly informs Spock that his suggestion was grudgingly accepted by the elders . Sarek makes an appeal for the children to appear , promising food and shelter , but the girl Spock saw does not appear until the very last moment . Mistrustful , she refuses to come with the others , until Spock convinces her to hand over her knife , giving her his tricorder as a toy in return . Part One . Spock takes a year ' s leave from Starfleet to educate the young Saavik . He has little choice at first – volatile and mistrustful , Saavik refuses to submit to a genetic scan to determine her Vulcan relatives , and will accept no one but Spock in her life . Yet he is surprised to find that he enjoys the experience . Saavik has no need for sympathy or emotional comfort ; the thing she wants more than anything is one thing Spock has in abundance : knowledge . In return , she accepts ( and reveres ) him just as he is , never judging him by the conflicting standards of his two ancestries ( Vulcan and Human ) . After a year , they say their goodbyes , Saavik promising that one day she will follow in his footsteps and enlist in Starfleet . While the " Enterprise " is , again , patrolling the Romulan Neutral Zone , a Bird - of - Prey drifts across the Neutral Zone . Aboard , the " Enterprise " Away team finds a skeleton crew , killed by a Coolant leak , with the ship locked on an automatic course to Starbase 10 . At first it seems foolish for the Romulans to have sent a single ship towards one of the Federation ' s most heavily defended outposts , but Montgomery Scott reports that the ship is equipped with a prototype cloaking device that enables Warp drive and weapons operation while the cloak is in place . Starfleet Command is so alarmed at this discovery that it orders " Enterprise " to tow the ship back to Earth , immediately . In a remote corner of the Empire , Praetor Tahn attends a meeting of " The Ten " , a secret military faction engaged in its own private war against the Federation , and the " cowards " in the Romulan government . One member excitedly reports to their leader , the First , that the Federation has taken the bait . . . As the " Enterprise " approaches Earth , James T . Kirk is infuriated to receive a " friendly " lunch invitation from Admiral Nogura , which Kirk sees as a scheme to make Kirk finally give up command of the " Enterprise " and take his seat at Starfleet Headquarters , as befits his rank . On the Romulan ship , the away team found a series of simple glass cubes , with a colorful light display inside . No one can guess what the cubes are for ; Leonard McCoy jokingly suggests that they might be artworks , if one could expect to find such things aboard a Romulan military vessel . When they reach Earth , Spock decides to send one for analysis at Headquarters . Despite the seriousness of their mission , many of the " Enterprise " crew are overjoyed to return home , while Saavik feels a very un - Vulcan excitement at finally visiting her mentor ' s ship , about which he has told her so many enthralling stories . But while the rest of the crew are enjoying leave , Kirk slips into " The Vault , " a Cold War - era bomb shelter underneath San Francisco , converted into a last - resort command center in case of war . This is the only place where Kirk can access , and delete , Nogura ' s orders assigning him to Headquarters duties , which he plans to do and be back aboard the " Enterprise " and shipping out within twenty - four hours . Disaster strikes : under a simple scanning device in Headquarters , the glass box ruptures , releasing a bioweapon into the air that kills everyone in the building in a manner of seconds . Only sheer luck allows the security system to seal the building and prevent the weapon from escaping into Earth ' s atmosphere . Kirk finds himself sealed into the Vault beneath headquarters , unharmed but trapped . After their tour of the ship , Spock and Saavik retire to his quarters . When she glimpses an image of the box on his computer terminal , she staggers backward in horror . She thought it was a dream , but now she knows it was not ; she has seen those boxes before , in a cave on Hellguard – and they numbered in the thousands . Memorable quotes . " " Mr . Spock , I would like to ask a question . . . " " " " So you are not afraid . Then come with me and you shall have your stars . " " " " To you humans will seem irrational , frivolous , full of contradictions and continually exasperating - - all of which is true . They are also inventive , capable of greatness , and worthy of study . " " " " . . . and I would appreciate further discussion of the word ' fun , ' which seems to be the underlying basis of Human behavior . On that subject , I have a number of questions . . . " " " " Look , Spock ! Rabbit s ! " " < br > " " Yes . Introduced for the predators after the drought . Terran , " Oryctolagus cuniculus " ; family Leporidae , order Lagomorpha , class Mammalia , subphylum - " " < br > " " What are they doing ? " " < br > " " . . . mating , Saavik . Subphylum Vertebrata , phylum - " " < br > " " To make " more " rabbits ? But they have too many already ! " " " " Why are there too many rabbit s , but not too many Vulcan s ? " " < br > " " Rabbits mate as often as every six weeks , whereas Vulcans must mate only once every seven years . " " < br > " Must " ? " " I am glad you did not die , Spock . You or your captain . " " < br > " " I too , Saavikam . " " < br > " " She was a bitch ! " " < br > " " That is , among other things , inaccurate . The term refers - " " < br > " " Oh , I know what it refers – and that ' s what she was ! " " " " I wouldn ' t have missed this for anything . That kid ' s not giving Spock a minute ' s peace – and he ' s as happy as a clam . " " " " Computer , stick that back up the Admiral ' s . . . database . " " " " I also suggested that he contact T ' Pau on Vulcan , but for some reason he seemed disinclined to do that . " " < br > " " No doubt . " " " " That is the subject of our discussion , except for the question of my exact age . Since I . . . am not certain , he asked who spoke for me in matters of consent . Why ? " " < br > " " A Human technicality . It is of no consequence , except to them . What did you answer ? " " < br > " " That I speak for myself ! And if that was insufficient , you would speak for me . " " " How in the hell does he do that , change expressions without moving a muscle in his face ? " " " " Wait a minute , Spoock ! Her blood scan shows that she ' s half - Romulan . Does she know that ? And does it have something to do with how she got these injuries ? " " < br > " " Of course she knows , Doctor . And it has everything to do with it . " " < br > " " That son of a . . . " now " he tells me ! " " " " It ' s just all this " waiting " ! But that ' s what they say , isn ' t it , sir - - that the waiting ' s always the worst . ' " " < br > " " Then they ' re " wrong " , Michaels . The waiting is " not " the worst . " " " " Do you find this interesting ? " " < br > " " Fascinating ! " "