AN: Thanks to everyone who has been very dedicated in reading this fic, especially you mykardia! I hope you guys enjoy! Please let me know if you do. Oh and who bought Star Trek on DVD last tuesday? I DID! LOL. Awesome movie, you go JJ Abrams!

What The Moon Does To You

Chapter 4

It was now Saturday, yet another sunny and vibrant day. Nyota was standing all the way in the back of a competition hall watching Gaila, talk away with a male competitor. It was yet another funny conversation, Gaila's competitor was obviously trying to stay focused on the competition but was slowly losing that battle, paying more attention to Gaila's striking beauty and fetching personality.

Gaila had told Nyota to meet her here at the hall and then right after the competition they would spend the rest of the day together. The conversation ended, and the competitor's percentages were in the seventies and eighties, not as impressive as Nyota's percentages, but still quite well.

"Uhura!" Gaila brightly greeted. "How are you today?"

Nyota laughed softly at the beaming beauty. "I'm good. Great competition today, although I think you had more advantage with this one. And I don't mean you being a native."

Gaila giggled mischievously. "He actually did better than I thought he would, I was laying on the pheromones a bit strong. I really should stop distracting competitors. But I thought about it and realized that if any of these people are actually serious about conversing with Orions in their native tongue, specifically if they were to go on a field mission then they would have to deal with us in our natural state and manage to stay focused."

Nyota cocked her head in interest. "I didn't know you could actually control your pheromones. I knew Orions had an abundance in pheromone levels, but definitely didn't know about the control."

Gaila nodded. "Yeah, we can. If my pheromone levels were at their natural high, I would drive most human males into insanity." Gaila answered a bit…casually.

Nyota's eyes widened slightly. "Oh."

"So tell me, where we're going?" Gaila quickly snatched Nyota's arm and started to walk towards the exit.

"I want to take you to the Nairobi Sun Shopping Center." Nyota answered.

"Sun Shopping Center? Why do they call it that?" Gaila asked eagerly.

Nyota smiled. "You'll see."

X X X

Beams of light illuminated the intricate shopping center that had reflective glass walls and a massive open skylight ceiling. The shopping center gave the illusion of being outside without actually being outside, and resembled the cafeteria Nyota and Spock ate at days ago. It had a bright and open feeling, which was why this shopping center was Nyota's favorite in Nairobi.

"Oh wow this place is beautiful!" Gaila's eyes darted around. She was so excited to finally go shopping, that she didn't know where to go to first.

"I thought you would like it here," Nyota stared at Gaila's frantically excited expression. "You look a little overwhelmed."

Gaila nodded vigorously, which made Nyota laugh. " I am, I don't know where to shop first."

"Well let's keep it simple for now," Nyota said. "You did say you have to go swimsuit shopping and I know a great place here."

"Oh yeah that's right. Lead the way then." Gaila wrapped her arm around Nyota's arm, a habit Nyota noticed was developing quickly for Gaila, not that she minded.

Their original destination was to the swimsuit boutique, but Gaila's eyes kept getting captured by different stores. She pulled Nyota to a costume jewelry store where Gaila ended up buying several necklaces, earrings, and her personal favorite anklets. Then Gaila dragged Nyota to a video store where Gaila expressed her interest in Earth cinema, specifically that of the romance/adventure genre, to which Nyota suggested several titles and Gaila bought without a second thought.

And then Gaila scooted Nyota into a paper-page bookstore where she purchased several romance novels and she stated, "I want to see how Earth erotica sizes up to Orion erotica. If you guys compare anywhere close to Orion literature then Humans are more uninhibitedly warped than I thought." Nyota burst into laughter at the statement, as did Gaila at her own craziness.

Although they kept getting sidetracked Nyota didn't mind at all, Gaila was loads of fun and Nyota felt completely relaxed with her as if she had known her for years. Finally they made it to the swimsuit boutique.

"So what kind of style were you thinking of, Gaila?" Nyota asked.

Gaila was rummaging around in different racks. "Um… I don't really have any particular style in mind, just anything that looks good," Gaila turned towards Nyota. "Although I admit, I have this thing for animal prints."

"Looking at you I can tell that would be your kind of style." Nyota said looking for different animal prints, for Gaila.

"Yeah I've always liked animal prints, even on my planet. Earth animal prints are really appealing to me too, the patterns are so simple yet stylish," Gaila picked up a sexy leopard print bikini with velvet trimming at the edges. "Ooo! Uhura isn't this one cute?"

"Yeah, you should go try it on. While you're in there try this one on too." Nyota passed her a slick zebra print monokini with royal blue trimming.

Gaila happily took the swimwear and headed off to the dressing room, where Nyota waited in front of her door.

"You know," Gaila began, from behind the dressing room door. "You have great taste. I'm gonna have to keep you around forever."

Nyota laughed softly. "Um, thank you?"

"I hope you don't find me to be too weird, Uhura."

"Not at all, you're a real delight, honestly."

"See that's what I like about a lot humans, you guys can be so polite by default."

"That's only some of us Gaila. Unfortunately."

Gaila peaked her head out from the top of the dressing room door to look at Nyota. "Trust me, Human rudeness is nothing compared to Orion beguilement." Gaila's voice was near a whisper.

Nyota looked up at Gaila's almost solemn expression, thinking, What drove her from her home?

Gaila quickly ducked her head back and became cheery again, opening the door presenting the first swimsuit. "This one's cute, and it's comfortable."

Nyota smiled. "Yeah it is. I think you'll prefer my choice though, go on, try the other one on."

As Gaila went back in, curiosity and genuine interest got the better of Nyota. "Hey Gaila?" she called.

"Yeah?"

"Not to be a complete Xeno-nerd but do you mind telling me more about you and your culture? I find it interesting."

"What do you want to know?"

"Uh… I guess, why don't you tell me a little about yourself and your life on Orion?"

There was a pause and Nyota thought that maybe Gaila didn't hear her. "Gaila?"

"Yeah, I heard you," Gaila began from behind the door. "I'm just thinking of how to begin."

"Oh, well how about you start with telling me what your occupation was on Orion?"

"I was a sex slave." Gaila answered straightforward.

"What?" Nyota was staring at the dressing room as if she could see Gaila through it.

As if reading her mind Gaila popped her redhead again above the door to look at Nyota. "Yeah, I was a sex slave living in a harem. It's part of Orion culture to sell the females, we're first sold once we've reached sexual maturity."

Nyota was keeping her surprise at bay, as to not offend Gaila. "So Orions actually sell their own kind?" Nyota said it more as a statement rather than a question.

"Yes, even to other species. But most of the trafficking is among The Syndicate."

"The Syndicate?" Nyota asked confused.

Gaila slapped her hand on her forehead. "Sorry I forget that most Humans don't know about them. The Syndicate is what Humans would call a …Mafia, I believe. They have interstellar operations which consist of smuggling, piracy, and slave trading among other things."

Nyota nodded taking it all in. "I guess there's much male dominance on your planet, huh?"

"It would seem that way to an outsider of Orion. But actually the females of my planet have much dominance over our males because of our sexual prowess. And it's the women who train us as slaves and assist in the selling of slaves and interstellar operations. I suppose it's a lot like the culture of the ancient geishas of Japan that I read about."

"I see the comparison." Nyota said.

"But make no mistake, Orion males are extremely dominant and are much bulkier and taller than most Human males," Gaila sighed. "I was just so tired of that life… I had to leave the place that I had known as my home."

Nyota nodded again, understanding. Gaila had said that they're first sold when they reach sexual maturity, Nyota knew what that meant, that meant when they first experienced their menstrual cycle. And on Earth the menstrual cycle can occur in very early ages, so that left Nyota with one more question.

"How…" Nyota trailed off momentarily. "How old were you, when you were first sold?"

Gaila's eyes were steady on Nyota's. "Eleven."

"Oh." Nyota lowered her eyes.

Gaila slightly cocked her head and a warm smile came across her face. "You sympathize for me, please don't. It's alright, it's just the way of Orion."

A smile that equaled Gaila's now came across Nyota face. "Of course."

Before this conversation with Gaila, Nyota knew the basics about Orions: High pheromones, heighten sexuality, animal like dominance, and a general carefree and luxurious lifestyle. But she only knew so little because references provided so little. This was what space exploration was all about, to get intimate views of other life forms and learn from each other.

More and more with every new encounter Nyota knew this is what she wanted to do with her life, and she was grateful so far to have met such great people like Gaila a vivacious Orion… and also Spock a fascinating Vulcan.

X X X

"You're right I prefer your choice the most, but why choose among all the choices when I can just buy them all." Gaila said aloofly as she petted and bottle-fed a young gazelle.

The mall center had a large, yet intimately serene petting zoo to which Gaila basically begged for Nyota to take her to.

"Sure Gaila, and a girl always needs variety in her apparel." Nyota said, as she cuddled a fennec fox in her arms and played with its oversized pointed ears, which reminded her of a particular Vulcan.

"I'm growing fond of this creature, this land has wonderful wildlife." Gaila said, nuzzling the baby gazelle's nose.

"I'm happy your having fun…" Nyota trailed off as a figure caught her eye.

It was Spock on a far side in isolated area where it seemed that he was bottle-feeding a young zebra. Nyota's eyes were so fixed on Spock that Gaila noticed and turned to see what Nyota was looking at.

"Oh, Mr. Spock is here." Gaila said.

Nyota looked at Gaila now. "You know him from the academy, right?"

"Yeah, he's actually one of my academic consolers. Which was a smart move on the academy's part."

Nyota didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"Mr. Spock's a Vulcan which makes him immune to my pheromones, and though it's slightly annoying because I admit I like affecting men, it really does help me to stay focused on why I'm in Starfleet."

Nyota smiled and glanced back at Spock. "He sounds like a great teacher."

"Yeah, I would say he is. After all he is Vulcan, why wouldn't he be good teacher. I'm surprised he can put up with me, I think I use him as my therapist sometimes."

Nyota laughed. "What?"

"Well, I'm not all that disciplined when it comes to academics. And the only person who can actually manage to put me in my place as far academics is concerned is Mr. Spock. Which is also annoying because I'm not use to it. I get stubborn and start to rant, but he just stays there calm and stoic as any depiction of a Vulcan," Gaila shrugged her shoulders slightly. "And after I'm done ranting he asks me few questions, I answer him, and the next thing I know I'm back in the computer labs doing my work as calm as ever," Gaila zoned out for a moment as if recalling those moments then shook her head. "It's weird… I guess it's some strange affect Vulcans have on people." Gaila waved her hand in dismissal.

Nyota just shook her head and smiled. "I'm going to go over there and say hello. Going to come with me?"

"Nah, I'll stay here with this cutie. Just tell him I said, hi."

Nyota nodded and began to walk over to Spock.

X X X

Despite what most people assumed, Spock was very fond of wildlife. Most people thought that Vulcans were too christine to interact with nature or animals, even domestic ones. Little did they know that all Vulcan children had to go through a ritual in which they are left completely alone in the wild for several days as a sort of initiation to being self-sufficient individuals. Within that time, Spock had learned many layers of himself and what kind of person he might be, or could become.

Coming to Africa, Spock had every intention of exploring the nature and the creatures of this land, primarily because Africa was one of the few places on Earth that had a vast land space of wildlife and people who lived among them.

With nearly all of his free time, Spock had been visiting various gardens and zoos to become more familiar with Africa's nature before considering going off into the wild himself to get an even more first-hand view.

He had heard of the intimate petting zoo here in this sun mall, where he was now being attentive to a baby zebra. He made an immediate connection with the creature and firmly but softly massaged the young creature's scalp, to which it responded in kind by licking at Spock's fingers tentatively.

Spock gazed at the intricate patterns of the black and white stripes of the zebra. And could not help but compare the detailed patterns to how he sometimes felt about himself. Being a person of two completely different worlds yet all that coming together within him. None ever saw it, but Spock constantly struggled with the identity of both, even though to all he was simply, Vulcan. But it was not that simple, not for him.

Spock began to hum unconsciously to the striped infant. A low but deep soothing sound that made the zebra lowly nay in comfort and nuzzle Spock's stomach.

Nyota was quietly approaching. As she drew closer she could hear a soft sound, a humming of some sort. She realized that Spock was the one who was humming to the zebra. She stopped momentarily to stare at the sight. Spock was so tender to the young creature, feeding and touching it almost… lovingly. The more she studied Spock and his simple yet complex ways, the more her view of Vulcans changed.

She continued her tread towards Spock, then his eyes slowly turned to look at her as if he had already heard her coming. "Nyota." He greeted calmly. But his eyes held a slight surprise, to her presence.

"Spock." Nyota greeted back, just as calm. "I saw you across from where I was and I wanted say, hello."

Spock nodded. "I heard of this particular petting zoo being quite intimate, so I decided to venture here today."

"Oh." Nyota nodded. "I came here today with Gaila, she says 'hi'." Nyota moved slightly to the side so that Spock could see Gaila.

From the distance Spock saw Gaila, who waved vigorously at him, and he bowed his head in turn. "Hi, Mr. Spock!" Gaila yelled, which made the little gazelle next to her jump slightly at the shriek. Nyota couldn't help but laugh, because she even saw Spock flinch slightly at Gaila's shriek.

"You are becoming acquainted with Cadet Gaila," Spock said. "That is well, she needs more company congeal to her personality."

"So she has been telling me." Nyota smiled. It never stopped surprising Nyota just how handsome Spock was. Especially now with him wearing semi-casual clothes, a black cotton long-sleeved shirt and navy jeans, with Starfleet issued boots.

"I wish not, to keep you from your outing with Cadet Gaila," Spock began. "It was fortunate to have encountered you here today."

Nyota lowered her head a little, she was only suppose to say hello, not want to now spend the rest of her time with Spock. "Of course. Have a good rest of the day, Spock."

"And you as well." Spock said, watching Nyota's lithe form walk away into the distance.

As Nyota walked back to Gaila, Gaila felt or rather smelled something different in the air. Nyota's pheromones had reached an interesting high, that Gaila had noticed as soon as Nyota spotted Spock, but was not quite sure she smelled correctly. But now there was no denying it.

Gaila didn't think that Spock felt the same way, he was after all Vulcan and held himself to a certain restraint, but in the distance Gaila had noticed a softness in Spock's eyes that she noticed he shared rarely, so he must at least be fond Nyota.

If there ever were a person who could probably wholly understand Spock, perhaps it would be Uhura, thought.