A Vulcan's Love 3
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 Vulcan’s Love
-By EmulatedLove
Chapter Three: Who calls it love?
"Computer activate sonic shower."
The computer chirped it's response as I stepped up onto the platform in my bathroom. I turned and leaned against the wall as the machine began to lightly hum, sending invisible sonic waves to cascade over my body; removing dirt and sweat accumulated over the past day. As I stood there my mind began to flash over last nights events, namely the moment I shared with T'Luk. I can still remember the feeling of his lips against mine, the way his arms snaked their way around my body; drawing me closer. The whole experience left me with a tingling sensation which stayed with me until I fell asleep. I wanted to feel it again. I wanted to be with T'Luk.
"Shower complete." Came the computers voice.
I stepped out and walked over to my bedroom and picked up my uniform. I placed the clothing in the replicator, along with my shoes.
"Clean and fold this clothing, computer." The pile of clothes disappeared and then reappeared clean and neatly folded. I got dressed and made my way over to the mirror. I was looking over myself, pleased with my appearance, when a feeling of uneasiness swept over me. My mind was on the kiss again, but instead of thinking about how good it felt, I was thinking about how easy it was. Don’t get me wrong I didn’t plan to end up kissing him, it just happened, and sure I would have been happy with that but it wasn’t the kiss that bothered me; it was who it was with; A Vulcan. I have never known any Vulcan to portray any irrational behaviour regarding relationships, but kissing someone after having known them for a whopping 24 hours; that sets some alarm bells ringing. Surely it would have been illogical to kiss me so soon. Unless, maybe it had something to do with the Pon Farr, (not that I knew much about the Pon Farr at that point, but my mind was thinking about all possibilities). Perhaps he was just exploring human sexuality and I happened to be the recipient, but he *did* say he loved me and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have said that if he was attempting one of the ideas I had thought up. Instead of speculating further, I decided to go see T’Luk to find out what he had to say about last night. I picked up my combadge and walked toward the door, which opened automatically as I stepped up to it; revealing T’Luk standing on the other side. He regarded my expression curiously he spoke,
“Are you alright, Kai?”
“Yeah,” I answered quickly, before adding in a softer tone, “Could you come in here for a minute?”
The Vulcan nodded and stepped in, with the door closing behind him. I stood in the middle of the room, my back toward him. I waited for a couple of seconds before I turned faced him,
“Why did you let me kiss you yesterday?” I asked.
He raised an eyebrow, “Should have I stopped you?”
“No, but you’re Vulcan,” I said. “Wasn’t it illogical?”
“Why would kissing you be illogical?” he answered, seemingly confused with my question.
I sighed, “Because we only met like a day before.”
“You didn’t show any signs of apprehension, why would I be any different?” He asked.
This made me stop for a moment, “Umm, I just didn’t expect a Vulcan to be so, in the moment.” I said.
He nodded, “Then there are many things that you need to learn about Vulcans.” He replied.
I smiled back at him, but hesitated for a moment, “Did you mean it when you said ‘me to’?”
He paused before answering me, “Vulcan’s cannot experience love, but we do feel a sense of completeness, which is comparable to love.” He took a step towards me, “Yesterday when we were, kissing, I felt a completeness that I had never felt before.”
I stood in front of him and looked up into his eyes, “I feel completeness with you too.” I leaned in and kissed him. It wasn’t as long or as sexual as the one we shared last night, but it allowed us to show our feelings for each other in a way we could both understand.
*
The rest of the morning went like a breeze, now that everything was out in the open, T’Luk and I seemed to be getting closer with every passing moment, and I was enjoying every second. He was right, there were many things that I didn’t understand about Vulcans, and although our species made first contact over 300 years ago; I guess some things are still “foreign” to both sides. But whatever the case, I’m sure given time that we will both learn a great deal about our different ways and customs which we weren’t taught about at Starfleet Academy.
We actually didn’t have a lot to do on the work front; the probe was on a longer flight plan so it would take another two hours before it was in communications range of the Titan. So instead of sitting around waiting for it, we began to implement some sensor improvements that Starfleet had sent us. The improvements were not for the Titan, but for the Interceptor. The Interceptor was a Danube class vessel which is faster and more equipped than a shuttlecraft, but less than double the size. The Titan is fortunate to have one of the newest variants which include: enhanced shielding, more efficient phasers and most impressive a cruise speed of warp 6. The Interceptor was docked inside the main shuttle bay, up on deck 8, so T’Luk and I took a little trip up there to perform the improvements.
The doors to the shuttle bay opened and we stepped inside, I quickly looked around the large room. Directly in front of me about 30 metres ahead was the large shutters which are closed unless a shuttle is leaving or returning, to the left there were two class 9 shuttlecraft parked side by side, and on the right on its own was the Interceptor. It was a thing of beauty, its hull lightly reflected the overhead lighting, creating a white sheen that is exclusive to brand new vessels, which to H’Jan’s dismay, quickly dissipates over use. As we walked toward it, our reflections could be seen in the large front windows, another sign of its young age. Instead of moving toward the entry hatch, I decided to do a quick circle around it, inspecting every part of its outer structure. I looked over at T’Luk who also seemed to be somewhat interested in the ship, “Its lovely isn’t it?” I remarked.
He turned to me, “Its design is very impressive.”
I smiled at his choice of words, “You can say it looks cool T’Luk, I won’t tell anyone.” I said while walking toward its hatch.
T’Luk raised an eyebrow, but chose not to reply and instead followed me toward it. I walked up to the hatch and removed the covering for the keypad which opens the hatch and is part of a new security system unique to this variant. I looked at the PADD in my left hand and keyed in the entry code, the computer then asked me for my authorisation code. “Taylor 5 Alpha 10 Lambda.”
The hatch unlocked and began to open, “Code accepted.”
Once the hatch opened fully I stepped back and ushered T’Luk to go in first, he led the way and I followed him inside. Only the basic systems and lighting had turned on since our entry, but that was all we needed as we wouldn’t be doing any flying today or using any of the other advanced systems. I took a quick glance around the forward section before venturing into the aft and doing the same. The interior of this ship were the same as the older variants; in fact the only difference I could notice was that the seats had a more streamlined look and that the computer systems were running the latest software. I walked back into the forward section and sat down in one of the front two seats, with T’Luk sitting in the one next to me. The update which we had to perform was relatively simple. All we had to do was download the new data into the runabout’s computer and then recalibrate the sensors, about an hours worth of work. We worked out a plan which would enable both of us to work at the same time and should speed things up, my job was to remove the old data while T’Luk updated it from Starfleet, and then we were going to calibrate the sensors together. I started to tap away on the console, “When we’re finished here, do you want to go off on a romantic flight?” I asked.
I didn’t expect T’Luk to take me seriously, but instead he played along, “Where would you like to go?”
“What about Romulus? I hear it’s quite nice this time of the year.” I answered.
“Perhaps you should ask Captain Riker for permission.” He replied.
“So you would come with me?” I grinned.
He turned to look at me, “If Captain Riker gave you permission to take this vessel on a romantic flight to Romulus, then yes, I would accompany you.”
I laughed at his reply, “Well it wouldn’t be very romantic on my own.”
“Indeed.”
We continued with this off topic chitchat for a good part of an hour, it was usually me asking T’Luk about how he would react to certain metaphorical events. Most of the time he would reply with something that I would expect from a Vulcan, but sometimes he would make something up for my benefit. For example, I asked him what he would do if I started to kiss him on the bridge in front of the Captain; his response was that he wouldn’t stop me and would continue until security took us away, or they beamed us down to our quarters. That one had me laughing for ages, and I’m sure that if he could, he’d be laughing too. That led me onto my next question,
“Have you ever laughed T’Luk?”
“I am unable to laugh.” He replied.
“I mean when you were younger, before you mastered your emotions?”
He paused for a moment, “I had achieved basic control over my emotions at a young age, so I cannot remember. But before then I can assume that I did.”
I stopped working and looked over at him, “Have you always had control of your emotions? I mean, have you ever once just stopped?” I asked.
He was still tapping away, “Yes I have always had control, and no I have never stopped, to do so would be illogical.”
“Could you stop, I mean do you have to constantly be suppressing your emotions, or is it a subconscious ability?” I asked.
“It has now become a subconscious level of control, so I do not know if I could stop it, sometimes it requires some conscious control, but most of the time I need not intervene.” He replied.
“So like if something gets you distracted, you need to concentrate harder?”
“Yes, however even at that stage, the emotions are still suppressed enough for me not to exhibit them.”
“Do I distract you?”
“Sometimes.”
I smiled, “Yeah? What do I do?”
He glanced at me, “You kiss me.”
I blushed, “I hope its not too much trouble,” I giggled.
“It is not.” He replied before quickly adding, “I am able to control the emotions elicited.”
“Good. I wouldn’t want you to get too dominant, I like you being submissive.”
“I am not submissive.” He replied.
“But you’re not dominant, unlike me.” I said while deepening my words.
Instead of replying he gave me this look that sarcastically said ‘sure’.
“Hey!” I called out, “Don’t give me that look.” I smiled.
“What look?” He replied.
I shook my head, “I’m almost done here, how are you doing?”
“I have nearly finished uploading the last data packet.” He replied.
We finished the update and began to calibrate the sensors, the computer did most of the work, but we had to specify targets or objects at different distances in order to get accurate readings. We picked one of the shuttle craft in the shuttle bay, the USS Venture, a Galaxy class starship that was part of the Federation task force and the planet Remus. All we had to do now was wait for the results.
After replicating two glasses of Bolian tonic, I swivelled my char around and faced T’Luk, who had done the same. Seeing him sit there calmly made me think back to yesterday and the kiss. I smiled at the thought and then remembered something I wanted to question T’Luk on. “You lied pretty easily yesterday for a Vulcan.”
He raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”
“Yesterday in the holodeck, you told the other guys that we had to take turns in the shower, that’s why we took so long.” I explained.
“Indeed, however it was unsuccessful as it was evident from their body language that they had known what happened.”
That surprised me, “What?”
“They were trying not to smile and kept looking at each other.” He responded.
I let out a breath, “That doesn’t mean they know what happened.”
“The structure of the changing rooms seemed to suggest that only ours were connected.” He paused, “When they inquired about our delay you blushed and didn’t answer them.”
Now I remember the blushing part, but I didn’t notice the changing rooms; I just assumed they were all like that. I haven’t seen any of them this morning, even at breakfast so I’m not sure if they knew. Mind you even if they did somehow know it isn’t exactly a bad thing as they all know that I fancied him and I didn’t deny that. But it did bring up a bigger question, are we dating? I’m pretty sure we are, but do Vulcans date? All the other Vulcans I know all have prearranged marriages, most of which haven’t seen much of their other half at all, let alone date them. When I thought about the prearranged marriages, I almost slapped myself on the head. Damn. I still don’t even know if T’Luk has an arranged marriage. I remember Alex bringing it up yesterday and I remember T’Luk not saying much, but after the kiss I just assumed that he didn’t have a one planned for him.
I started to feel uneasy again, but managed to calm myself somewhat to ask T’Luk before I got worked up, “T’Luk, do you remember the conversation we had with Alex yesterday, the one about Vulcan marriage?” I asked quietly.
T’Luk nodded and I continued, “Well you said not all Vulcans have arranged marriages.”
“Yes, some do not.” He replied.
“Why wouldn’t they have one?” I asked.
“There are many reasons.”
This was going to take all day at this rate so I decided to gamble it and make a guess, “Why don’t you have one T’Luk?”
“Why would you assume that?” He asked calmly.
“I’m right though aren’t I?” I insisted.
He was quiet for a while before answering me, “Yes, you are.”
Alright that’s one down, one to go. I took in a breath, “Is it because you’re gay?”
He looked at me again, “Yes.”
Now that I knew that he didn’t have a wife waiting around for him I could at least breathe a little easier now. A lot easier actually. I also know that he’s gay; not that I didn’t already know that but I can now rule out him being Bi, curious or anything in between.
I looked at him, “Don’t gay Vulcans have arranged marriages?”
“They can, however most arranged marriages are arranged when the person is young, but they cannot be sure of their sexuality until a later age, at which time there are fewer people available to be married to. So the parents leave the decision to the child.”
“But you decided to choose a partner for yourself?”
He nodded, “I thought it would be best for me to choose a partner rather than my parents.”
“How old were you when you told your parents?”
“I was 13 years of age when I told my parents that I no longer required an arranged marriage.”
“Yeah? I was the same age when I told my parents.” I replied, before continuing, “Did you ever meet the woman who you were paired with?”
“I did, she is the daughter of one of my mother’s friends. We have remained friends since we met as she has also chosen science as a career path; however she works on Vulcan, rather than in Starfleet.”
“That’s good. But what happens to her? Does she get another partner?”
“Her parents found her a suitable partner after they were informed.”
I nodded and took a sip of my drink.
“Do Vulcans date?” I asked after a minute of silence.
“Vulcans who do not have arranged marriages do perform something similar to dating.” He replied.
I looked over at him, “What would you say if I asked you to share a meal with me in my quarters this evening?”
“I would say that I’d like that.” He replied.
“Then it’s a date?”
“It’s a date.”
For the next 10 minutes or so, I asked him about various human foods and what he thought of them, trying to find a dish that he hadn’t tried but might like for this evening. I was just about to question him on desserts when the computer inside the shuttle started to chirp loudly and erratically. I quickly turned toward the console to find out what was wrong. Apparently the sensors had finished recalibrating some 5 minutes ago and were simply remaining idle until an explosion was detected and had alerted us.
“The sensors are reading an explosion, I’m trying to localise it.” I said to T’Luk. “It is the USS Venture, an explosion has occurred on the lateral side on its saucer sec-.”
T’Luk interrupted me, “Kai.”
I turned to T’Luk who had acquired an image of the Venture using the Titans optical array and was displaying it on a panel between us. The Venture was located to the aft of us and slightly below which meant that the explosion was within our view. T’Luk zoomed in toward the affected area; there was a hull breach, about half the size of its bridge and just above the main phaser array. I turned to the console in front of me, and tapped away, sensors detected two bodies in space which appeared to have been jettisoned from the hull breach. I would have made a transporter lock, but there wasn’t much left of them after the explosion. I looked back at the panel between us and noticed that there was a planet in the background, behind the Venture. Romulus. I quickly froze up in that instant when I remembered where we were. It was also in that second when the lighting of the shuttle bay dimmed slightly and the voice of Lt Commander Clark came through our combadges,
“The ship is at yellow alert, all personnel report to yellow alert stations.”
T’Luk stood up but looked back to me still sitting there, “Kai, we have to go.”
I looked up at him and stood up on my shaky legs, “Ok.”
I followed him out of the Interceptor and the shuttle bay and into the corridor, heading toward the turbolifts. Fortunately there was one half full when we got there and we rode down the four decks to astrometrics. It was during this time that I noticed that nothing had happened. The ship wasn’t shaking from side to side or jumping about which meant that we wasn’t under fire from anyone. Yet. We arrived in astrometrics and found five people in there working on the consoles; I noticed that a Lieutenant was issuing orders to everyone so we walked over to him.
“Do we know what caused the explosion Lieutenant?” I asked, with T’Luk next to me.
He nodded, “From what we can ascertain, the explosion was an accident, a power conduit leading to the phaser relays exploded. We’re not sure why yet, but it’s not a vital system so I think its safe to assume that the Romulans aren’t behind this.”
An Ensign to the left of us called out, “Sir, I’m receiving a hail from the surface. It’s Captain Riker.”
“Route it to the bridge priority one.” He ordered and looked at me and T’Luk, “I want you two to scan the Titan’s main systems for any signs of neglect or sabotage. I’m sure security are working on it, but you two know the systems better than they do. Report directly to the bridge if you find anything.”
*
We completed a comprehensive sweep of the Titan’s systems but didn’t find anything, in fact no ships in the task force found anything questionable following similar searches. An independent investigation onboard the Venture revealed that the explosion was in fact an accident caused by an incompatible subsystem that had been in place since the Dominion war. With that in mind, any built up tension that the crew and I were feeling was put to ease, as we were no longer in a direct link to danger. It was confirmed that two people lost their lives; I knew neither of them but found out that they were both my age and both human. A service was going to be held at midday tomorrow in the mess aboard each ship. The time was 20:00 and I was going to my quarters to change out of my uniform and put something casual on. Both me and T’Luk decided that we would postpone our date this evening, given the recent events that happened, and would make arrangements at a later date once things had settled down a bit. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, but I would rather spend the evening together on a day with a happier tone than one like today. We also didn’t have enough time to analyse the latest data the probe sent us, so we let it stay outside the rift until we downloaded the data tomorrow. I turned down the corridor and was about 10 metres from my door when I noticed that Alex was waiting outside, I walked up to him,
“Hey Alex,”
He turned around, “Hey Kai, do you have a minute?” I could tell from the expression on his face that something was affecting him.
I opened the door and ushered him inside, “Sure, come in.”
He walked over to the sofa and sat down. The doors slid shut as I walked over to the replicator, “Would you like something?” I asked him.
He looked up, “No thanks.”
I decided fancy anything so I walked over to the sofa and sat down next to him, “So, what’s wrong Alex?”
He remained quiet for a minute before answering, “I knew one of the people killed in the explosion.”
I immediately wrapped my arm around him, “I’m so sorry Alex.”
He looked at the floor, “I hardly knew her actually.”
“Who was she?” I asked.
He looked at me, “Her name was Shannon, I used to date her ex boyfriend.”
This was new; I had always assumed that Alex was straight, “Oh. I didn’t know you were interested in guys.”
He nodded, “Yeah, I’m bisexual.”
I smiled, “Cool. Was her boyfriend also bisexual?” I asked.
“No, I think he was just curious or something, because I was the only guy he dated.” He replied, “After me he went out with Shannon.”
I pulled him closer, “I’m sorry.”
He smiled, “It’s ok. It’s just that I know her in a weird way, that’s all.”
“I can imagine,” I replied.
“Brad, the guy I dated really liked her. But they didn’t stay together for that long. Perhaps I’ll write him a letter or something to let him know what happened.” He said.
“I’m sure he’ll be grateful for that.”
After a minute of silence, Alex leaned his head against my shoulder, “So what’s going on with you and the tall, handsome one?”
I grinned, “Well we’re officially dating now.”
Alex smiled again, “I’m glad, it’s clear that you really like him.”
“I do and I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.” I replied.
“I guess love at first sight does exist out there sometimes.” He said.
I smiled to myself. Indeed it does, Human and Vulcan alike.
Thank you for reading the third chapter of A Vulcan’s Love.
Any comments and constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated, even if it is just to say, “I want chapter 4!”
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Thanks Again!
EmulatedLove