A/N: Okay, we're getting to some good stuff! First off, I just want to thank everyone who's been reviewing, it's like sunshine and rainbows and puppies every time I get a new one, so keep it up. More reviews= I write faster, and that's always a good thing right? Sorry this chapter is a little shorter, but we've got something hapening finally so I hope that makes up for it! BTW, the point of view shifts every few paragraphs in this chapter because that was the only way to do it justice, please bear with me on this...


Engulfment

Ella's destination was on the nightside when the transporter's golden light deposited her on the planet's dusty surface. Fragile-looking lanterns lit the area that she had beamed into, and below the plateau that she stood on, the lights of a dwelling shone brightly. Ella looked around her. The stars twinkled through the atmosphere, seeming to wink at her playfully. She could just pick out Sol, shining at her like a beaming parent watching their child leave on their first solo adventure.

The planet's barren landscape provided a starkly beautiful picture in the light cast by Vulcan's sister planet, T'Khut. Formations of ruddy rock speared up into the sky, and in the distance she saw the outline of mountains against the stars. To her left, the dull lights of Shi'Kahr City were reflected against a bank of cloud that flowed lazily across the sky. A soft, warm wind ruffled Ella's long, wildly curling hair (oh, what she wouldn't give to have it behave as it had the day of prom!), and for a moment she closed her eyes, revelling in the sensation of its soft caress. She had finally arrived, after all her years of staring at this distant star through her telescope and fervently studying the culture and language of the planet. Everything about them fascinated her. A smile touched her lips, and she felt a strange sense of homecoming.

Spock kept his eyes on the trail as he climbed up from the house to meet their homestay student. He was irked by his lateness; she had been due to arrive one minute, seventeen seconds ago, and he had not been there to greet her. His mother had illogically ordered him to clean his room before the arrival of their guest, despite the obvious fact that she would not be spending any amount of time therein. Spock was also irked about his lack of information on the student. Behaving as strangely as usual, his mother had refused to give him any details on the student past the fact that she was, in fact, female. He did not know her age, her interests, her career focus or even what she looked like. The only thing he knew was that she was a human female. Amanda Grayson had been adamant that it be "a surprise". Spock disliked surprises, but accepted his mother as incurably illogical, and therefore understood that her decisions could not possibly follow the patterns of conventional logic.

As he neared the top of the path, Spock glanced up and saw her, and warmth bloomed in his chest at the sight. Her eyes were closed and a gentle smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. A breeze tugged at her hair, and the same wind seemed to gently nudge the small of Spock's back, pushing him along. He did not need its encouragement. He felt a pull in his chest, guiding him towards her. It puzzled him, as did his curiously emotional reaction to the sight of her. She was beauty, perfection and sunlight embodied.

Although he couldn't make out the finer details of her facial structure in the dim, flickering light of the lanterns, she struck him as incomparably beautiful. This was illogical; physical beauty was something that humans appreciated, not Vulcans. And yet, he realized as he approached her, by human standards, she was not a conventional beauty. Her cheekbones were slightly too sharp, her chin too pointed, and her face was faintly asymmetrical. But with the light of the lanterns behind her refracting off the dust particles that swirled around her in the breeze, she looked like an angel from human mythology to him.

The crunch of feet on gravel made Ella start, and she spun around in search of its origin. A slim, tall young man was coming up the path to the plateau. She watched in silence as he entered the sphere of light cast by the lanterns. He was undoubtedly Vulcan; she had not expected anything else. However, she had not expected him to be so… gorgeous. He had the characteristic greenish pallor, pointed ears and upswept brows of his race, and his keen, dark eyes regarded her with barely-concealed curiosity. His face was a study of angles, from the sharp cheekbones to his square jaw and the fringe of dark, straight hair that gleamed in the soft light. Their eyes locked, and she found herself unable to look away. He approached her slowly.

Ella remembered her manners.

"Live long and prosper," she said in Vulcan, raising her hand in the appropriate gesture.

Spock was surprised. From what he had heard of previous Terran exchange students, they rarely had a grasp of the Vulcan language. Few humans undertook the challenge of learning Vulcan, as it was very difficult for an individual who had grown up speaking Basic to make the switch to Vulcan. Basic, by comparison, was dreadfully easy. It had taken Spock no more than two months to master its nuances.

He realized he was being rude, not responding. He began to raise his hand to form the correct response, but then remembered something his mother had told him that afternoon.

"This isn't just a cultural experience for her, Spock," she had said. "It's also an opportunity for you to learn about humanity's culture and customs."

Spock had restrained himself from pointing out that living with a human mother was all the exposure to humanity any Vulcan could ever want.

"Now, what do humans do upon greeting each other?" his mother had asked, looking at him expectantly. He chose to apply her lesson in his greeting of his homestay student.

Spock lowered his hand and offered it to the girl.

"It is… nice to meet you," he replied in Basic, cringing inwardly at the words. They felt strange on his tongue.

Ella's eyebrows shot up. This was the farthest from what she had expected yet again, but in the interest of politeness, she stepped forward and clasped his warm hand in her own.

For a split second, Spock wondered how he could have forgotten the emotional transference that resulted from another being's touch. He was then swept up in the maelstrom of the girl's emotions, the hand that was icy compared to his own providing a conduit for her emotions, memories and thoughts. The intensity of it shocked him; he had never felt a connection this fierce and immediate, not even with…

They both stared at their joined hands for a long moment, then back at each other. Spock fought for control of Ella's undisciplined emotion, and Ella wondered how she could have been so stupid to forget that Vulcans disliked physical contact. She hastily tried to pull away, but found she couldn't. Although she had never experienced a mind-meld, she imagined that this was what it must feel like. Unwittingly, her mind opened to his.

Instantaneously, it was as though they had never been two individuals. They were one, the same, no separation between the personalities, memories and emotions. The wild, strong but quelled Vulcan emotions pervaded the bond and mingled with the milder but unrestrained human emotions, but there was no loss of control. Their minds were intertwined, knotted, locked together. The utter togetherness of it threatened to overload both of their consciousnesses, so unprepared for the depth of the power behind a simple touch.

He saw the stars through her eyes for the first time, and they were the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

She saw his bonding ceremony as he had: detached, numb, and frankly uninterested.

He saw a golden-haired boy beating up another adolescent because he'd called the blonde's best friend, the girl now in front of him, a "Klingon's whore".

She saw the other children, sitting in a tight circle at lunch break. She knew they were intentionally leaving no room for him. She watched as he sat down alone at a long, empty table and quietly ate his lunch…

It was too much for Ella. She was unprepared to deal with the sort of mental turmoil that came with such an instantaneous and explosive meld. Her hand jerked back, breaking the link. Her mind automatically categorized the incident as a danger to her well-being, due to the sheer immensity of what she had felt. It blocked the memories safely away in her subconscious. All that remained were the physical effects; dizziness, heightened heart rate, quicker breathing and slight confusion.

Spock, similarly, had never linked minds to a human before, besides his mother, whose mind was well trained. His mental faculties identified a threat to his carefully maintained control, and banished it to the furthest reaches of his subconscious mind. He was left with much the same effects as Ella. All this had occurred in less than ten seconds and neither of them had any memory of it.

Unable to think of anything else to say in the situation, Spock said, "Welcome to Vulcan."


EEE I have discovered the horizontal line option!! PLEASE review, let me know how you're feeling about it all!!