Chapter 5 " Lead Me Home"
Tuvok
Control and Vulcans have been synonymous since my people followed Surak's teachings. We needed control to temper our extreme impassioned natures. I abhorred the feeling of being not in charge, and with Aurora, I felt like I was spiraling downwards.
"I must get back to Voyager soon," I chided myself as I sat up in the large bed, rubbing my eyes.
After taking the pain-alleviating medicine, I fell asleep and dreamt of my actions with Aurora last night. The intimate physical activity was tumultuous and like I had never experienced. Although I detected an overall new blissful serenity, I decided that I would no longer allow my thoughts to entertain such balderdash.
The digital timepiece on Aurora's nightstand flashed the time in enormous red lettering. It was twelve hours and seventeen minutes. It was dark as night, and the pain relievers I took earlier removed all of my sufferings. Suddenly, a loud crack of thunder caused Aurora to stir a little, and I observed her longingly for ten-point nine seconds. I felt her toss and turn to find a comfortable spot for a while as I watched the rain flowing down on Earth through the window blinds. A shiver of cold in the air made me consider rejoining the human female in bed since it was a chilly, wet planet.
Aurora reached her petite hand out for my arm to hold on to for solace, and I felt my heart melt a bit. Her touch felt steamy on my skin, but I purposely moved away from her. My thoughts must be under my control to avoid becoming emotionally or sexually triggered. Still, I felt a pang of guilt for doing so. Consequently, I whispered, with my back turned to her, "Go back to sleep, Aurora. You are safe despite the thunderstorm."
Observing the affection in my voice, I unhappily withdrew myself from the bed. I searched for my clothing on the floor.
"I must control my emotions before they control me," I determinedly thought.
Miraculously, I recalled that Aurora hadn't seen my phaser or tricorder last night while we were physically engaged. Before becoming too intoxicated, I cautiously hid the items in the bathroom.
After dressing, I went into Aurora's living room to meditate on the brown carpeted floor. The clothes provided the much-needed warmth I lacked on my body due to my low weight and being a Vulcan susceptible to cold. Also, I spied a burnt orange blanket that the cat peacefully slept on but didn't want to move it. Then I crossed my legs and began meditating.
One hour and twenty-seven points one minute later, I ended my session feeling clear, purposeful, and myself, except that I was hungry. Last night, I ate cheese pizza with Aurora while watching some ridiculous "tv" show on Netflix. The food was greasy, but it tasted OK.
When I opened the refrigerator, I discovered a plastic container with a chicken salad, blue cheese, pecans, almonds, and fruit. Next, I removed the meat first and found a container to store it in the cold appliance. There were bottles of water, and I pulled one for my meal.
"Somehow, I would repay Aurora for her kindness and her hospitality, " I determinedly thought.
My thoughts returned to the titillating human woman in her bedroom and the Terran actions I would like to take with her for nineteen-point six seconds before shutting them down. My desire for Aurora was different from Pon Farr; whereas the latter was a need, the former was a want, a powerful one. In all truthfulness, I wanted to possess Aurora physically to be responsible for her reaching orgasm and for her to yell my name while she was in the throes of passion. Desperately, I wanted to lose myself in her.
"These thoughts are not beneficial," I scolded myself and halted all thinking about Aurora.
Next, I sat down in a wooden chair at the round table with a laptop computer perched on it. I felt peculiar about using my host's laptop, but I researched solutions. As a result, I turned it on and let it load, and its lack of speed irked me.
"How was I going to make it home in the twenty-fourth century with this limited technology?" I mumbled in between bites of food. The nourishment strengthened me as I found "google chrome" on her laptop using a mouse I had never used and only read about. Everything was voice-activated in 2371.
"Google chrome, a cross-platform web browser developed by Google, established in 2008," my mind rambled as I clicked on the icon.
While I researched, I struggled to find much information about time travel or its causes. The United States Space Program, NASA, was still in its infancy, and the technology wasn't advanced yet.
"I must have traveled through a wormhole," I muttered, placing my hands on my solar plexus in a triangular formation.
At that time, I decided that I first needed to fix my communication device to reach Voyager. Another issue was money, as I did not have any. Thirdly, I needed to go back to the school building to study abnormalities.
Even though I wanted to remove Aurora from the equation as much as possible, I found that I needed her help. It was against the prime directive, but I didn't have much choice. Closing all of the applications on the laptop, I turned it off. I finished eating my meal and threw the trash away.
While I contemplated solutions, a robust vibe disrupted me fifteen-point seven minutes later, which was difficult to ignore.
"Aurora," I softly murmured.
I did not understand my attraction to this mysteriously alluring earthwoman. Moreover, the tenderness in Aurora's caresses and kisses were all foreign but highly desirable.
"'Afternoon, Tuvok. Are you well?" a melodious voice rang from in front of me.
"Yes, thank you," I hesitantly replied, bringing myself out of my reflective nature and back into the present. I gazed at her smiling face, examining that Aurora wore her clothes last night before our nocturnal activities. However, her hair was still untidy, giving her both a wild look and a provocative one. Involuntarily, I licked my lips at the sight of my host.
Aurora padded into the kitchen as I rearranged my thoughts into more appropriate ones.
"I thought you would have gone home by now," she casually remarked later as she lowered herself in a chair at the kitchen table with a slice of cold pizza in her right hand.
"A bizarre comment, considering I can't go home," I scornfully muttered.
"Why not?"
Aurora nibbled on her slice of pizza, but I didn't respond, calculating the correct thing to say without giving too much away.
"It appears that I am trapped here," I plainly informed her. She did not respond to the information I gave her, which baffled me. Rather, Aurora rose from her seat and went to the kitchen. Quizzically, I watched her remove pills from the same pain reliever bottle that I did earlier today. She then took medicine with some water that she retrieved from the refrigerator.
Commander Chakotay once described human females as "unpredictable," "temperamental," and "flighty". Aurora's actions were in alignment with his assessment at the time.
"Did she not hear me say that I am trapped here?" I warily pondered.
"First, I want to point out that I am not a frequent or big drinker, so my head is raging with a horrific hangover. Second, I don't think I remember everything from last night..."
"Aurora, I-.." I interrupted, holding my hand out to stop her as she stood in front of me.
"Please let me finish, Tuvok. I know things transpired between us, physically. Still, it's important that you know that I am not a slut," she earnestly stated, disregarding my attempts to halt her flow of thought.
Observing Aurora, I noticed that her green eyes were widened and that her breathing rate had increased by a rate of ten -point-three until I thought about her choice of words.
"A slut? I'm afraid I do not understand the term", I repeated. Confusion was written all over my face as I said it.
"Someone easy," Aurora exasperatedly stated and rolled her bright eyes upward.
"Easy? Opposed to difficult ?" My puzzlement increased exponentially with her terminology.
"No," she stated, discouraged, in a louder voice, "sexually. A slut is someone who sleeps around with many different partners."
"Aurora, you do not need to raise your voice to make your point known, but your fears are unfounded. I do not think that you are a... 'slut'," I confirmed, raising an eyebrow, but I didn't understand the reason for her need for my approval. However, I deduced that it was essential to Aurora.
The way I stumbled over the word "slut" as if I was unsure I used it correctly generated a giggle from Aurora. Her chuckle gave me a warm feeling in my chest, and I felt the corners of my mouth twitch upwards for a second.
"Last evening, I remember you, out of the blue, appeared in my classroom when I was working. I thought one of my friends sent you as a set up for a date, but I was wrong. We came here, ate and drank then...you know," my host recalled, emphasizing the phrase "you know" with a severe glance at me.
"Indeed. A precise summary, Aurora," I sassily returned, and she gave me a wearied glare.
"Although by the term 'you know,' I think you meant to insinuate that we engaged in sexual congress, though we did not," I drily stated.
"Did anyone tell you that you are most annoying," Aurora boisterously demanded, her hands now on her hips.
"How was it that she reprimanded me, but I still find it appealing," I thought, narrowing my eyes at her.
"I believe that is one adjective that a crewmember has used to describe me," I cynically remarked, raising an eyebrow. There was silence.
"Crew member? Are you in the military," Aurora questioned, raising her eyebrow.
To her irritation, I did not answer. Aurora next pushed her lower lip out in a pout for forty-five point six seconds to persuade me to explain, and she batted her eyelashes at me. Even though it did not work, I thought she looked beautiful. Fortunately, she gave up before I gave in.
"Needless to say, I don't remember what you told me, " the human female shyly acknowledged with a half-grin and a blush on her cheeks.
"Was she listening to me?" I wondered, scrutinizing her drink from her water bottle.
The gray feline rubbed my pant leg and then innocently peered up to me. She wanted to sit on my lap.
"Seems like you made a friend," my host pointed out as the cat unexpectedly jumped on my lap.
"Her name is Oreo," she stated as the little cat took a moment to settle herself into a bit of a ball. Oreo purred loudly from below as I gently patted her head with my fingertips, and I felt Aurora's warm smile.
"Oreo?"
" After my favorite cookie," she proudly answered, viewing me.
Distractedly, I nodded as I pet the cat named Oreo, muttering, "Most anomalous."
"What were you trying to tell me?" Aurora flashed her green eyes on me, and I felt discombobulated for ten point-one seconds.
"It appears I need your assistance to return home. I am from far away," I announced.
"Care to clarify," she questioned, seeming suddenly interested.
"Not at this time," I gravely responded, not willing to give more information.
"How can I help?"
"Some of my devices are not working, and I need to fix them," I remarked.
"Ok, there is an electronics store fifteen minutes away from here. We can go in about ten minutes if you allow me to prepare," Aurora inquired.
Thanking her, I felt hopeful that this would be a step in the right direction to returning home, and I felt myself giving her a slight smile. Aurora disappeared into her bathroom for eight-point nine minutes and then reappeared, urging, "OK, Let's go."