Disclaimer:
This story is based in the "Star Trek" universe.
The use of anything related to "Star Trek" in this series
is not intended to infringe upon the rights of Paramount
Pictures. The
author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or
producers of any media franchise.
All other content or
otherwise are works of my own imagination. All events are fictitious
in nature.
Any
similarities to persons living, dead, or otherwise are purely
coincidental.
This story contains strong themes of homosexual
content, if this offends you in any way, please refrain from reading
further. If you are not of legal age to read this, please leave
now.
A/N:
I'd like to thank TalonRider for editing this chapter. His
unparalleled brilliance and tireless effort applied to my work is
greatly appreciated. Thank you.
A Vulcan’s
Love
-By Emulated
Chapter 21: Family
I
watched Alex curiously as he sat there, chewing on a small pain au
chocolat. Most of the time he kept his eyes on the food, but he’d
occasionally look up and steal a glance at Trey, before he looked
back down again, blushing. In itself it would have been cute, but
with Trey doing the same thing to Alex, it was nothing short of
adorable. The subtle looks that they’d give each other, the
small smiles which they shared, it reminded me of when T’Luk
and I first started dating. Of course, I was the one doing all the
smiling, but it didn’t matter. It was all love.
“So
where are you guys off to?” I asked, causing them to look
across the table at me.
“Huh?” They asked in
unison, causing them both to blush.
I giggled, “I asked
where are you two going, for shore leave? I hear Risa is nice this
time of the year.”
T’Luk turned to me, “The
climate on Risa is the same throughout the year.” He paused,
looking at me, “You were being sarcastic.”
I
nodded and grinned at him, “Well, I can’t be serious all
the time.”
“Erm, we were kinda thinking about
going to Betazed.” Replied Alex, glancing at Trey again.
I
raised my eyebrows, “Really? I’ve been there a few times,
it’s a lovely place.”
He nodded, “I’ve
never been, but I’m sure it will be great.”
I
glanced at Trey and then back to Alex, “I’m sure you’ll
have a great time.”
Alex nodded and looked at us, “I’m
going to get another drink, you guys want anything?” He
asked.
“No, thanks. I’m fine.” I replied, as
the other two shook their heads.
I watched as Alex stood up
and walked over to the replicator. Trey tried to be subtle, but I
noticed as his eyes shot over to Alex and roamed his body. It wasn’t
a sexual stare, but more of a romantic, caring type. There was no
denying that there was love brewing between the Human and Betazoid.
Hell, I could feel
it.
Trey looked at me, noticing my smile, “…what?”
He asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You two. You’re so
cute!”
“Shut up…” He replied,
blushing.
“It’s true!” I said, smiling, “It
was quite a surprise, you know, on the bridge.” I paused, “I
never knew you liked Alex in a romantic way.”
He smiled
again and shook his head, “Neither did I…” He
looked at me, “But yesterday, when everything was happening,
with the ship being hit and stuff…” He glanced over at
Alex, “All I could think about was Alex. I kept hoping that he
was alright.” He turned to me, “I could sense him, feel
his stress, his fear, but I just…I wanted to make him feel
better.”
I nodded, “And you did.”
“Yeah,
when I saw him on the bridge, everything seemed to make sense.
Nothing else mattered. Only Alex.”
I grinned, “I’m
sure you were the only thing on his mind too.”
He seemed
to drift into a daze, before Alex sat down.
I looked over at
him as he settled in his seat, “So Betazed, huh? Trey was just
telling me about how he plans to take you to Lake Oliah.” I
said, keeping a straight face, but causing Trey to blush and
cough.
“I didn’t say that!” He cried,
looking at Alex, “Honest!”
Alex frowned, “What’s
Lake Oliah?”
I glanced at Trey, “Well, are you
going to answer him?”
Trey blushed again, “It’s…erm…a
lake, and it has one of the longest beaches on
Betazed.”
“And…”
“It’s
really warm, and the water is nice and cle-“
“It’s
a nudist beach.” I finished.
Alex’s eyes widened
slightly, “Nudist beach?”
I nodded and took a sip
of my drink.
“I didn’t say that we were going
there.” Said Trey quickly, “I won’t take you
there…I mean, I will, if you want to go…but I won’t
if you don’t want to.” He stammered, causing Alex to
giggle.
“You’re cute when you’re
flustered.”
Trey shook his head, “Talking is so
overrated.” He said, as he focused in on Alex, communicating
with him telepathically.
I turned to T’Luk, “I bet
you’re ‘hacking’ into their conversation.” I
whispered.
He raised an eyebrow, “I cannot ‘hack’
into a private telepathic exchange.” He paused and gripped my
hand. I felt a warm rush before I found myself standing next to T’Luk
in that cloud-like place. “No more than Trey can ‘hack’
into this.” He finished.
I looked at him, “How did
you do that?” I asked.
He glanced down at our joined
hands, “I have been studying some Vulcan texts and have found
that it is possible to invoke the bond by touch.”
“Cool.”
I replied.
“Indeed.” He said, looking at me
closely, “I love you, Kai.”
“I love you
too.” I replied, before I glanced about, “I really like
this.”
“The bond?”
I nodded, “It’s
like our own little paradise that’s just for us. It’s
perfect.”
“Yes. It does also have a certain
spiritual quality.”
I beamed at him. While the Vulcan
species never ceased to amaze me, I must admit that it was their
beliefs towards spirituality that really intrigued me. From the bond
to the commonly known mind meld, it was all special, and all
something that I was now part of, thanks to T’Luk.
“Would
you like to disconnect from the bond?” He asked.
I
nodded, “Yeah, we have to leave in under an hour, so we better
not hide away in here.” I said, grinning at him.
I could
feel myself ‘returning’ to my body before I heard someone
clear their throat, “Ahem.”
I looked up to see
H’Jan standing there, arms folded, “H’Jan!” I
called out.
“Oh, so you guys are alive.” He
remarked, looking at me.
I glanced at Alex and Trey to notice
that they too had ‘emerged’ from their telepathic state.
I smiled to myself, seemingly we must have appeared to all be sitting
there, not moving and in complete silence. It must have been a
confusing sight, “Sorry, H’Jan. It’s just that…”
I looked at him, “Talking is so overrated.”
He
smiled and sat down, “Sure, whatever you say, Kai.”
“So
how you doing?” I asked.
“Not bad myself. How are
you guys?” He asked.
“Yeah, we’re all ok.”
I replied, “Have you heard from Laura and Casey yet?” I
asked.
He nodded his head towards the replicator, “Laura
came in with me, and Casey’s on his way. He said he needed a
lie in. Laura kept him busy in the sickbay yesterday.”
I
glanced over at the replicator, noting that Laura was replicating
something, before I looked back at H’Jan, “Have we heard
anything from sickbay, I mean on casualties?”
“Fortunately
we haven’t lost anyone else. There were a few critical, but
they’re recovering nicely, last time I heard.” He paused,
“The Titan’s pretty much abandoned now, along with the
Intrepid. Only people on those ships are damage control teams, the
Captains and some of the senior staff.”
“So you’re
not itching to get back over there?”
He shook his head,
“Not at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I’d go over
there at any moment, but in the state that she’s in, she needs
a dry dock. They both do.”
“Hey guys.”
Called out Laura as she pulled up a seat next to me, “It’s
good to see that you’re up and about.”
“Unlike
a certain someone, right?” Asked H’Jan, implying
Casey.
She nodded, “I did put him and those muscles to
good work yesterday. He’d make a pretty fine nurse if he ever
gave up security.” She said, as she drank some of her
coffee.
“So how are you doing?” I asked, “H’Jan
was saying that it was hectic yesterday for you lot in
sickbay.”
“I’m fine, and yeah, it was quite
bad for us. We had over thirty people in at one point, that’s
why we called for a security team to come down and help. Most of them
have basic – advanced medical training.”
“Yeah,
you’re lucky that you had the extra people-“ I began,
before I was interrupted.
“Bridge
to Ensign Suder of the Titan, you have an incoming hail from
Betazed.” Came
a male voice out of the comm system.
Trey turned to Alex,
“Must be Mom and Dad.” He said, before he reached up to
tap on his combadge, only to realise that he weren't wearing one. He
glanced about at us, but seeing as none of us were dressed in
uniform, or on duty, we weren't wearing any combadges either. With
that in mind, he stood up and walked towards a panel on the wall. He
tapped on the comm and spoke, “Ensign Suder here, I will take
the hail in my guest quarters.” He said, before he looked over
at us, “I’ll be back in a bit.”
Alex nodded
and watched as Trey walked towards the doors. His eyes drifted down
Trey’s body, before he quickly faced forward and blushed
deeply. Seemingly Trey caught him, telepathically. I laughed at the
exchange.
“I bet that never gets old.”
He
cocked his head at me, “What?”
“Trey, being
a telepath.”
He blushed again, “Yeah…well…”
He said softly, as he took a sip of his drink.
I looked at
him, “But you two together? Who would have thought?”
He
shook his head, “I still can’t believe it.”
H’Jan
and Laura looked at me, “What?”
Alex turned to
them, “Trey and I…we’re kinda together
now.”
H’Jan reached over and shook his hand, “Hey,
congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Replied Alex,
grinning madly.
“Awww, I’m so happy for you.”
Called out Laura, before she leaned over and gave Alex a hug. She
pulled back and looked at him, “I thought there was something
going on between you two, from the way that you were looking at each
other a while ago.”
Alex blushed, causing Laura to
giggle.
“No wonder Trey likes you,” She said,
“You’re just too cute.”
He blushed again,
“Oh jeez…”
We all laughed at his expense,
save for T’Luk, but we quietened down.
I looked at Alex,
“He certainly surprised me yesterday, on the bridge.”
He
nodded quickly, “I know! I was shaking like mad from the attack
and stuff, and then Trey comes over, pulls me up and…”
He blushed, “I thought I died…” He finished
softly.
I smiled at him, “Yeah, it’s always the
first kiss.” I said, as I squeezed T’Luk’s
hand.
“Yeah…” He said trailing off, his
mind somewhere else.
“Wait! He kissed you, on the
bridge?” Asked H’Jan.
Alex nodded and grinned,
“Yeah.”
I was about to say something, but then the
doors slid open, revealing a very familiar Gorn walking in. I cleared
my throat and looked over, “Here he is, the real hero himself.
Raylis of the Gorana!” I called out loudly, before I stood up
and clapped.
The other guys quickly joined me, along with the
entire Enterprise
mess.
“Here! Here!” Called out someone from behind
us.
Raylis smiled at everyone, bowing his head and thanking us
for our kindness, “Thank you.” He called out, “Thank
you very much.” He said, as he headed over towards us.
I
reached out and shook his claws as he reached us, “It’s
great to see you again, Raylis.” I said, as the clapping died
down.
“Like wise, Kai. Thank you for welcoming me
aboard.”
Alex looked at him, “You’re the
hero. People will be talking about the illustrious Raylis for years
to come.” He said, as he shook his claws.
“Indeed,
your intervention yesterday was very much appreciated. Thank you.”
Said T’Luk.
They shook hands, “Anytime for you
guys.” He said, before he sat down, “So how are you guys?
I didn’t see you much yesterday, after everything that
happened.”
H’Jan nodded, “Yeah, we’re
all fine. Things became a little hectic yesterday, I mean, while the
Romulans were gone, we still had a failing ship on our hands, so we
all had to get busy patching her up.” He glanced over at Laura,
“Raylis, allow me to introduce you to Laura. Laura, this is the
famous Raylis.”
She reached out, “It’s good
to meet you Raylis, Casey’s spoken about you quite a lot.”
He
shook her hand, while I explained who she was, “She’s
Casey’s girlfriend.”
He nodded, “I see. It’s
nice to meet you.” He said, before he looked over at H’Jan,
“I bet you’re not happy with what those warbirds done to
your ship.”
H’Jan shook his head and gave a small
smile, “I have a few words I’d like to say…”
Raylis
smiled, “Yes, the damage is very extensive. It will take many
weeks to repair.” He paused, “If it was any other ship
it’d be unsalvageable, but the Federation doesn’t cut
corners on these wonders.” He said, glancing about.
“No,
they certainly build them to last.” Replied H’Jan, “So
what about you? The last we heard you were spending time with the
family, but that was many weeks ago.”
“Yes, once I
left the Titan, I went to the Gorn home world, Gorana, to see my
family.”
“I thought your ship was called Gorana.”
Said Alex.
“Yes, the ship was named after the
planet.”
T’Luk nodded, “It is quite an
impressive class of vessel. Our computers did not recognise
it.”
“They are of a new class. They were designed
with the idea of stealth and firepower in mind.” He paused,
“After the Dominion war, it was decided that if were to defend
our space, we would need new ships.”
“With
cloaking devices.” I added.
He nodded, “Unlike the
Federation, we did not sign a treaty to prohibit use of cloaking
devices on our ships.”
“So how did you get to
serve onboard one of those ships?” Asked Laura.
He
turned to her, “A long time ago I wanted to join the Goran
Space Fleet, but before you can join, you need to have experience
with space travel. That was why I was serving aboard the cargo ship,
to gain experience.”
“So once you returned home,
you applied?”
He shook his head, “They approached
me. They said that they were impressed with my service record on the
Slar, along with the fact that I had spent time onboard a Federation
starship.”
“So we invite you as a guest, and then
you’re off revealing our secrets?” Said H’Jan,
grinning at him, “I’m a broken man.”
Alex
and I laughed, while Raylis smiled, “Of course not. I signed a
Non-disclosure agreement with your government, one that I haven’t
broken.” He paused, “My superiors did ask, but they
didn’t press the issue once I told them about the
agreement.”
I sat back in my chair, “So you landed
yourself a place as an engineer aboard the Gorana?”
“Not
quite. I’m working in Tactical now.”
T’Luk
raised an eyebrow, “That is quite a different field of study.
What changed your mind?”
“I had been thinking
about transferring over for several months, but it was when the
warbirds attacked the Slar did I really make my decision.” He
replied.
“What about your rank?” Asked H’Jan,
looking at Raylis’ uniform.
He pointed to two white
stripes on his uniform near to his neck, “I am still a Second
Lieutenant, which is equivalent to Ensign.” He said, as Casey
finally entered through the double doors, followed closely by
Trey.
“Hey, Raylis my man, how’s it going?”
Asked Casey, as he approached Raylis.
“I am very well,
how are you?”
Casey smiled, “Not bad, not bad.”
He said, before he sat down next to Laura
“Hi, Raylis.”
Called out Trey, as he shook his claws, “I hope these guys are
treating you well.”
Raylis smiled, “Yes, very
well.” He said, as Trey sat next to Alex.
Casey looked
up at us, “How are you guys? All doing well?”
T’Luk
turned to him, “We are all satisfactory. How are you?”
He
nodded, “Oh, I’m fine. Still a little tired though.”
He glanced at Laura, “It’s being off duty, I get tired
and restless.”
She looked at him, grinning, “Oh,
you poor thing.” She said, causing him to laugh at her.
“Have
you seen Captain Riker yet?” I asked, looking at Raylis.
He
smiled, “Yes, I’ve spoken to Captain Riker. He was
pleased to see me. In fact, I have just come from a meeting with him
and Captain Picard.”
“Really? Just you?” I
asked.
He shook his head, “It was my Captain and myself.
Riker asked for me personally.”
“Yeah, what did he
say?” Asked Alex.
“They both expressed their
gratitude in the matter, and also informed us that Starfleet will not
overlook the generosity and bravery of the Gorn Hegemony.” He
said proudly, but then he paused, “Before I left the meeting, I
asked the Captain for a certain request.”
H’Jan
leaned forward, “A request?”
“Yes.” He
looked at us, “I’m going to enlist. In Starfleet.”
That
silenced us for a second.
“Really?” Asked Alex and
Trey together.
He nodded.
It all became a bit chaotic
after that, with each of us trying to congratulate him and shake his
claws. Casey sat back and was clapping and whistling loudly, while
T’Luk sat there quietly, awaiting his moment to congratulate
him. After we had all gotten over the initial ‘shock’ of
Raylis telling us that he was going to enlist in Starfleet, Alex
turned to him.
“But I thought you just got accepted into
the Gorn Space Fleet.” Said Alex.
“Yes, I did, but
ever since I returned to Gorana, I had been thinking about Captain
Riker’s offer from before. I’ve spoken to my family and
they’re all supportive.” He replied, but paused, “I
just think that Starfleet can offer me so much more than our own
Space Fleet can. Not that I’m belittling them, but it is a
simple fact.”
“So what happens now? I mean, in
terms of going to the Academy.” I asked.
“Captain
Riker told me that he’d get me into the academy within a month,
providing that I pass the entrance exam.”
H’Jan
nodded, “So you’ll be starting late in the term?”
He
nodded, “I would miss the first semester, but I can make that
up.”
“Yeah, it was mostly about code of conduct…”
I glanced at T’Luk, “And interspecies relations.”
Casey
grinned, “Yeah, that stuff ain’t so hard.”
Raylis
opened his mouth to reply, but a chirp emanated from a small unit
around his waist. He tapped on the device.
“Gorana
to all crew, we are making preparations to depart in ten minutes.
Gorana out.”
Came a female voice.
“This is Second Lieutenant Raylis,
message received.” He replied, before he tapped the device
again. He glanced at us, “I guess that’s my
call.”
“Already?” Asked Trey, “Well
it’s been great seeing you again.”
Raylis stood
up, “Likewise, it has been a pleasure to see all of you again.”
He said, standing up.
We all stood up and walked over to say
goodbye, while I turned to T’Luk, “Do you know what the
time is?”
He shook his head, “I am not sure.”
I
looked over and stole a glance at H’Jan’s PADD,
12:37.
“It’s
twelve thirty-seven. We had better leave too.”
“Indeed,
the USS Archer is due to depart at thirteen hundred.” He
replied.
Everyone else had finished saying goodbye to Raylis,
leaving T’Luk and I, “Well, it looks like we’ll be
escorting you to the transporter, as we need to get our stuff ready
to go.”
“When you gotta leave?” Asked
Casey.
“The ship leaves in about twenty minutes, so we
gotta get going now.” I replied, causing the guys to stand up
again to say goodbye to us.
H’Jan reached out with his
hand, “Hey, take care of yourself.” He said.
I
nodded, “I will, anyway, where are you off to? Please tell me
you aren’t sticking with the Titan.”
He shook his
head, “I’m not that crazy! Yeah, I’m going to home
to Trill, at least for a few of the weeks.”
“Yeah,”
I glanced at the others, “Hey, why don’t we all meet up
or something, before we get back to Titan?”
The others
nodded, “Yeah, that’d be good.” Called out Laura,
she looked at Raylis, “Try to come along too, if we have it on
Earth, then you can sneak away from the Academy for a few hours.”
“I
would like that.” He said, grinning.
Alex came up to me,
“See ya, Kai.” He said. While he was happy to be with
Trey, I’m sure he wasn’t so happy about having us all
branching off in different directions. And to be honest I couldn’t
blame him. I felt a slight uneasiness too.
I reached out and
hugged him, “See you, Alex.” I said, before I moved my
mouth close to his ear, “I know he’s your new toy and
all, but try not to break Trey.”
He pulled back and
blushed, “Hehehe, I won’t.”
Trey came
forward and hugged me too, “Bye, Kai.”
“Yeah,
see you Trey. And take care of Alex.”
He pulled back and
gave me a smile, “You know I will.”
I quickly
shook hands with Casey and Laura, “So where you guys headed?”
I asked.
Casey stood behind Laura and had his hands on her
shoulders, “Well, I wanna take this prize home, show the ‘rents
what I discovered out here.” He said, before Laura slapped him
lightly.
“Oh, behave Lieutenant!”
“Yes,
Nurse.” He replied, feigning sadness.
I laughed at them,
“I’ll see you guys later.” I said, before I turned
to T’Luk and Raylis, “You guys ready?”
They
both nodded, so we began to file out of the mess.
“See
you guys!” Called out Casey.
I turned around, “Bye!”
I called out, before we stepped through the double doors and out onto
a corridor, “That was fun! All of us together like
that.”
“Indeed. We are quite a diverse…group.”
I
nodded, “Four Humans, one Vulcan, one Gorn, one Betazoid, and
one Trill. We’re Starfleet at its finest.”
Raylis
smiled, “Yes. It will certainly be interesting to be
Starfleet’s first Gorn.”
“I’m sure it
will, and who knows, perhaps more Gorns will choose to enlist,
following in your footsteps.”
He nodded, thinking for a
moment, “And if I’m very lucky, perhaps I’ll even
get to serve on the Titan, with you guys.”
“There’s
no question.” I said, as we approached the transporter room, “I
don’t think Captain Riker would have you anywhere else.”
“I
agree, you would be a great asset to the Titan crew.” Said
T’Luk, as we entered the room.
“Thank you guys. I
really mean it.” Smiled Raylis, as he reached out and shook my
hand.
“No, thank you for being our hero. You and the
rest of the Goran fleet. We owe you our lives.” I
replied.
“Yes, thank you for your valuable assistance.”
Added T’Luk, as he shook his claws.
“You are very
kind.” Said, Raylis, before he walked up onto the transporter
pad, and looked across to the crewman standing behind the console,
“One to beam to the Goran ship Gorana.” He said, as he
looked at us, “See you later guys.”
“Bye.”
“Goodbye.”
Raylis
nodded and looked at the crewman, “Energise.”
*
USS Archer
I walked around our
assigned guest quarters aboard the USS Archer, marvelling at
the extra space. The USS Archer itself was a relatively new
ship. It had only been in service for around two years, so everything
was practically new. It was an Akira class ship, which meant
that its interior was very similar to that of the Sovereign class
(like the Titan), as they were designed in the same period.
But one thing that it didn’t share with the Sovereign class,
was it’s size, the Archer was around 440 metres long,
but they still managed to cram a lot into this smaller space. Either
way, I wasn’t expecting to be treated like royalty, but given
the generous size of our quarters, we certainly were treated to some
luxuries.
T’Luk said that the larger quarters were
because we were travelling together, so they put us in a larger room.
I agreed with him, but still, it was nice to have the extra space. I
mean it wasn’t like my quarters on the Titan were small or
anything, but on the Archer, we had a living area, which was
separated from the bedroom by a door. But the best feature, one that
both T’Luk and I were particularly fond of, was the window.
Yep, we had a window! And it was quite a big one at that. We were on
the outside of the fleet, so we couldn’t see many of the other
ships, only a few that I didn’t know.
After a short
discussion with T’Luk, I managed to persuade him that I would
unpack our suitcases, while he relaxed. There wasn’t even that
much to unpack, as anything could be replicated, but I figured that a
few pictures, and a change of clothes might make our short stay feel
a little more ‘homely’. Once I finished unpacking I
walked back into the lounge area and noticed T’Luk standing
next to the window. I walked up behind him and snaked my arms around
his waist, before I kissed him gently on the neck, “Hey,
babes.”
He turned to me, “Hello, Kai.” He
replied, before he looked out of the window again.
I glanced
out too. It only took me a few seconds before I started to pick out
the individual stars, and trying to mentally map our position. T’Luk
pointed against the window, “Can you see that Red Giant?”
I
nodded, “I think it’s Alpha Tauri.” I said,
recalling some star charts that I had looked at earlier in the
week.
“Yes, now below that, can you see that dwarf
star?” He asked.
I noticed it, “What is
it?”
“Forty Eridani A. The Vulcan Sun.”
“Really?”
I asked as I inspected the astral object.
He nodded, “Yes.
However, what is fascinating, is the star that it almost
obscures.”
I looked closer, I could make something out,
but it was very close to the Vulcan Sun to properly distinguish it,
“What is it?”
He turned to me, “Sol.
Earth’s sun.”
I glanced back out the window, “They
look so close together from here.”
“Indeed.”
I
looked at him and smiled, “Like partners.”
He
looked at me closely, before he reached out and held my hand gently.
“Yes, like partners.” He said, as he leaned in closer for
a kiss. I inched forward and pressed my lips against his, relishing
their softness. I pulled back and looked at his face. I wasn’t
sure if I was imagining it, but he seemed calmer somehow. More
relaxed. Perhaps he was simply basking in the fact that we had so
much shore leave. Of course, we were travelling to Vulcan, so that
might have added to his ‘happiness’.
After a few minutes of standing there, we watched as the ship came about, and entered warp, heading towards Vulcan. According to the computer, we had a journey time of around two days and twenty-two hours. Long enough for us to settle in, but short enough for us not to become too irritable.
T’Luk and I walked
over to the sofa and sat down, with me lying my head on T’Luk’s
chest. “I really like Vulcans.” I said, looking at T’Luk,
“They’ve always fascinated me, but before I met you, I’d
never really taken the time to get to know any on a personal
level.”
He thought for a moment, “Many Vulcans
prefer to remain in solitude. But as a species, we do value long-term
friendships.”
I smiled, “Do you think of me as a
friend?”
He nodded, “I think of you as a friend,
and as a partner.”
A warm surge flowed through me, as I
rested my head against him, “What do you think about when you
think of me?”
“Your personality.”
I
shook my head, “No, I mean is there one part of me that you
really like?” I asked.
“Your smile.” He
replied, after a few seconds.
I turned around and smiled at
him, “My smile? You like my smile?”
He traced his
thumb lightly over my grinning lips, “Indeed. It is a clear
indication that you are ‘happy’.”
I smiled
again.
He cocked his head, “What do you think about when
you think of me, Kai?” He asked.
I opened my mouth to
reply immediately, but he cut me off.
“Aside from my
ears.” He stated.
I giggled, “Aww, but I do like
them a lot.” I paused, “Ok, then it’d have to
be…your eyes.”
He raised an eyebrow,
“Intriguing.”
“Why?” I asked, “You
have lovely eyes.” I said, leaning closer, “A nice dark
brown.”
“Yours are darker.”
I giggled
again, “My eyes are practically Betazoid. No, yours are nicer,
you can actually see them.” I commented, as I stared into his
eyes.
I watched them closely, before I saw a light film flick
down from behind his eyelid, and back up again.
“Whoa!”
I jumped back, startled.
He sat up, “What? Is something
wrong?”
I looked at him timidly, “I…erm.”
I paused, “I’ve never seen you do that before.”
“Do
what?” He inquired.
“Your inner eyelid. You’ve
never…blinked with it before.”
He leaned closer,
“I did not mean to frighten you, Kai.”
I smiled
sheepishly, “I know, it just…surprised me.” I
looked at him, “I know Vulcans and some other species have
inner eyelids, but I’ve never been close enough to actually see
it.”
He nodded, “From a distance it is hard to
notice.” He reached out and stroked my arm, “I am
sorry.”
I smiled again, “Don’t be.” I
said, leaning closer, “I was just surprised.” I repeated,
looking into his eyes again.
We stared at each other for
several seconds, and I was half expecting him to blink again, but he
only blinked ‘normally’. Seemingly he didn’t want
to alarm me.
“Do it again. But keep them closed.”
I said.
I watched intently as the thin, almost transparent
film came over his eyes. I looked at them closely, before I moved
back for a moment. He was right, you could only really tell when you
were up close. Even then, if you hadn’t seen them close, you
probably wouldn’t have known.
“Can you see me
clearly?” I asked.
He nodded, “Yes. However it
does appear to be a lot darker in here.”
“They
work like sunglasses, right?”
“Indeed. In bright
environments they help to shield my eyes from the sun.” He
said, before he ‘opened’ them up again, “However
they can also help when swimming.”
I smiled, “That’s
so cool!” I exclaimed, before I grabbed his hand, “So
what other super cool ‘features’ do you have?” I
asked, looking at his wrist, “Where does the web come out
of?”
“I am not a superhero, Kai.” He stated,
almost humorously.
I giggled, “But you do have super
strength, a second pair of eyelids, and the ability to stay up for a
long time. I think you’re a superhero.”
“Perhaps
I should replicate myself some red underwear and a cloak.” He
replied.
I laughed aloud, “That’d be awesome.”
He
watched me as I calmed down.
“You’re so funny
sometimes.” I said, as I laid my head on his chest.
He
reached down and ran a hand through my hair, “I only follow
your example.”
I smiled at that and buried my face
closer against him. Relaxing against his body and enjoying the
closeness of my Vulcan beauty.
*
Earth, San Francisco
"I don't want those
warbirds in our space." Demanded Admiral Hayes, "And
definitely not in orbit of Vulcan.
Admiral Brooks nodded,
"Starfleet Tactical is in full agreement. The Tal Shiar needs to
recall them now."
"I am in agreement with both of
you." Said Ive, "And I was just about to hail Kozarr
momentarily." He paused, "You may remain here if you
wish."
The two Admirals shook their heads, "That
will not be necessary, Ive. I just wanted to voice my concerns."
Replied Hayes.
“Very well.” Said Ive, as he
watched the two men.
They took the hint and walked out of his
office. While they were all of equal rank, they knew that trying to
make small talk with Ive was out of the question, so while he
couldn’t dismiss them, they left on their own accord.
Ive
pressed a button on his computer console, “Computer open a
channel to Chairman Kozarr.”
The computer chirped a
response and relayed the necessary commands.
Ive glanced at
Becker, "Take a seat if you wish, Admiral.”
Becker
nodded and sat down. ‘This will be interesting…’
He thought to himself.
*
USS Archer- Two days and twenty-two hours later
I
glanced down at the PADD, “Ten seconds.”
T’Luk
nodded and continued to stare out of the window. We were in the USS
Archer’s
mess, standing next to some forward facing windows. Seeing as this
would be the first time that I would see Vulcan with my eyes, I
wanted to watch as we came into orbit. T’Luk didn’t mind,
if anything he found the idea ‘fun’ as well.
I
looked closely out of the window and watched the stars fall back into
place as we dropped out of warp. We had arrived relatively close to
the system, with the Vulcan sun being about the size of a golf ball
if you held it out at arms length, but akin to Starfleet procedure,
we would do the rest of the journey at impulse. But even at this
distance, the light would have been quite blinding, but we were
protected from the harmful rays by the glass and its polarising
properties.
Vulcan wasn’t noticeable at this distance,
yet I could already feel some excitement brewing inside me. I was
there. Finally, after what had seemed years of being with T’Luk,
I could at last visit his planet of origin. The planet where his
species evolved. His home. Vulcan.
About three minutes passed
before a small pin-prick of red could be seen across the system. A
cool rush flowed through me, tickling my nerves. It was Vulcan. As we
approached closer, at quite a speed I must add, I could begin to make
out the various continents, and the oceans. It was amazing. No book,
or computer image could prepare me for the sight before me. Sure it
had the orangey/red tones, but it was there, it was real, and it was
stunning.
“Do you like it?” Asked T’Luk,
looking at my smile.
I glanced up at him, “I think it’s
beautiful.”
We remained near to the window until we
entered a low orbit, when we quickly hurried back to our guest
quarters and picked up our suitcases. I walked out of the door and
headed towards the left, but T’Luk stopped me.
“This
way, Kai.” He said, as he gestured to the other direction.
I
faced him and shook my head, “No, the transporter is this
way.”
“We are not going on the transporter.”
He said, as he tugged on my arm.
“Where are we going
then? We have everything with us.” I replied, as I followed him
down the corridor.
“We are taking a shuttle.”
I
hope you enjoyed reading this chapter of A Vulcan's Love.
Any
comments and constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated.
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Again!
Emulated