Ch 6: It's a Date!
The hotel and the beach had only been a small taste of Ninolgog City's beauty. The cobblestone streets were lined with tall tropical trees that showered flower petals on the pedestrians. Ninolgog City had the sleek, modern look of a technologically advanced metropolis, but had the quaint charm and familiarity of a small village. The sun shined high in the deep blue sky, occasionally blocked out by a passing white cloud. Many of the Enterprise's crew had to remind themselves that they were on a far away planet and not on Earth.
People lining the streets stopped in their tracks as they saw Kirk and Spock walking by. They marveled at the handsome young captain, clad in a gray and black vertically striped shirt, black belted slacks, and shiny black dress shoes, but more captivating was the sight of the Vulcan next to him. His outfit was less stylish than his companion, but given the fact that Vulcans typically didn't wear long sleeved sky blue shirts, khaki pants, and dark brown dress shoes.
The tips of Spock's ears turned green from the many bystanders that gawked at him. In a low voice, he said, "It is rather unnerving to have so many people looking at me."
Kirk laughed and placed a hand on Spock's shoulder. "They're looking at you because of how sexy you look! Vulcans spend so much time in those frumpy looking robes that no one ever gets to see what your body actually looks like." Speaking through their mind link, he added: I'm probably the only one lucky enough to have seen how beautiful your body is when you're not wearing anything…
The green tint spread from the tips of Spock's ears down to the bottom of his ears and across his face. Kirk leaned over and gave Spock a peck on the cheek as they walked, making the rest of Spock's face turn bright green. If they had been on Earth, someone might have mistaken his face for a traffic light. He placed the tips of his index and middle fingers against Spock's hand and let his love and adoration flow through their touch. The reciprocating flow he received from Spock made his own cheeks turn a light pink color.
Spock looked down at the bracelet on his wrist and said, "We are approximately 200 meters away from the concert hall with thirty-nine minutes to spare before the concert begins. We are making good time."
Just as he said this, Kirk's stomach grumbled. They stopped walking and looked at each other. Kirk's face now a bright pink. Chuckling awkwardly, he said, "I guess I shouldn't have skipped out on lunch…"
Sighing, Spock looked at his bracelet and looked up what restaurants were nearby that they could quickly get something to eat and then leave again. "There is a café 47 degrees and 30 meters away from where we are currently located. They serve something similar to the French originated Earth food 'crepes'. Average serving time for two people is four point eight minutes. If you desire, we can-"
Before Spock could finish his evaluation of the restaurant, Kirk was pulling him by his arm toward it. As long as the food didn't have something moving or vaguely insect like inside of it, he was willing to try it. The door to the restaurant slid open as they approached the entrance. The smell of fresh fruit and cream welcomed them before the Sirian woman behind the counter had even opened her mouth. She smiled at the dreamy look on their face and said, "Greetings and welcome customers! Have you come to try our delicious pastries?"
"Indeed we have," Spock said, looking at the large digital menu behind her. Kirk decided to look down at the golden brown diamond-shaped pastries that sat in the clear display cases. Most of the pastries were filled with fruit and cream, but some were filled with meats and cheeses. Spotting a pastry filled with what looked similar to blueberries, Kirk excitedly pointed and said, "Can I have that one?"
"Of course you can sir!" The woman knelt down and slid open the display case door. Grabbing a sheet of thin, crinkly paper, she picked the pastry up and wrapped it up. She stood and handed the warm pastry to Kirk, saying, "There you are sir!" Turning to Spock, who was still examining the menu, she asked, "Is there anything you would like sir?"
After thinking for a moment longer, Spock said, "I would like a 'Sirian Fruit' pastry, one of the smaller ones please." Giving a happy nod, the woman took another sheet of paper and grabbed a small pastry with golden fruit inside. Standing back up and handing the pastry over to Spock, she said, "Will that be all?"
"Yes," Kirk said. Kirk pulled out the key card to their room from his pocket. The key card doubled as a sort of debit card that recorded expenses accrued from the various attractions in the city and deduced them from a preset amount allocated by Starfleet for shore leaves. Starfleet tended to allocate a greater amount when officers visited Kalthoria since it was the most popular of all the pleasure planets, so there was very little worry that anyone would come close to their limit, let alone go over it.
After entering Kirk's and Spock's order onto the screen before her, the woman took the card and swiped it. A beep accompanied a green light at the top of the screen and the woman handed the card back to Kirk. "There you go sir!" she said, the smile ever present on her face. "Do enjoy the rest of your day! We hope to see you both again!"
Nodding and waving goodbye, they took their pastries and left the café. Kirk took a bite of his pastry first, anxious to try it. Though the fruit inside of it looked like blueberries, they tasted more like blackberries. He was slightly disappointed that the flavor wasn't what he expected, but still thoroughly enjoyed the taste of the flaky pastry. Kirk cut an eye at Spock to see how he was enjoying his pastry only to find that Spock had stopped walking several paces ago. He stared down at his pastry with wide eyes and slightly opened mouth.
Kirk rushed to his side, afraid that perhaps Spock may unexpectedly be having an allergic reaction to the fruit. With his free hand, he grabbed Spock's shoulder and shook gently, craning his neck to get a better look at his face. "Spock!" he said, speaking loudly but not quite yelling. "Spock, are you okay?"
Jolted by the sound of Kirk's voice, Spock raised his head and stared with wide eyes. "I am sorry," he said, snapping out of his daze. "I was just completely taken aback by the flavor of this pastry. Its flavor is creating a sensation on my tongue that I am having trouble comprehending."
Intrigued, Kirk took a bite of Spock's pastry. His eyes doubled in size; there wasn't a single thing he could compare the flavor to. It was sweet, but intensely or overwhelmingly sweet, just tangy enough to excite his taste buds, and had a spicy undertone reminiscent of cinnamon. A million different flavors sprang to mind as he chewed the mind blowing pastry, but none seemed accurate enough to fully compare it to.
A breathless "Wow," was all Kirk could manage to say about the pastry. Spock nodded in agreement. "Now you see why I paused. It is a most intriguing fruit, this Sirian Fruit. It is unfortunate that it does not have a more unique name to compliment its flavor."
"Yeah," Kirk said, looking down at his pastry. He was suddenly rather unimpressed with his choice of pastry, but took another bite anyway. To his amazement, the flavor of the pastry had intensified, becoming sweeter and more complex than it was before. Spock noticed the look on Kirk's face and inquired, "Is there something wrong with your pastry Jim?"
"No," Kirk said, "not at all. If anything, it's…amazing. When I first took a bit of it, it tasted alright, but it was nothing spectacular. When I took a bite just now though, the flavor improved exponentially. Here, take a bite and see for yourself."
Spock took a tentative bite of the pastry Kirk held in his hand. His eyebrows shot upward as the flavor danced on his tongue. "Fascinating," he said. "It seems that the Sirian Fruit has an ability to bring out the latent flavors within this fruit. Did you see the name of this pastry?"
"Yeah, it was called the 'Enig berry' pastry." Kirk pointed to the bracelet on Spock's wrist and said, "Maybe you should ask Ceridian about Sirian Fruit and Enig berries."
Responding to the sound of her name, Ceridian's face appeared on the bracelet's panel. "You are inquiring about the Sirian Fruit and the Enig berry?"
"Yes," said Spock, looking down at his wrist. "What can you tell us?"
Ceridian closed her eyes as she processed the request then opened again when she had her answer. "The Sirian Fruit is oblong golden colored fruit that was grown here when the Sirians first colonized this planet. The Enig berry is an indigenous berry that grows on most shrubs. It is a very common berry with an equally common flavor of average sweetness. The Sirian Fruit in comparison has a far more interesting flavor, but when the two fruits are eaten together, the chemical composition of the Enig berry is altered in such a way that its natural flavors are intensified by almost an immeasurable magnitude. Though the two fruits come from two different worlds and under normal circumstances, they compliment each other, one bringing out the others full potential."
Kirk and Spock looked at each other and shared a smile. "Well," Kirk said, "looks like we couldn't have picked a better combination of pastries if we had tried."
Spock opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Ceridian, who said, "The concert begins in twenty-five minutes. It is advised that you both head to the concert hall immediately to ensure that you are able to be seated and wait comfortably without being rushed."
"She is right," Spock added. "We should continue making our way to the concert hall."
Smiling, Kirk nodded. "Yeah, we should get going. We can enjoy our pastries on the way there."
The walk to the concert hall from the café took only ten minutes, leaving another fifteen minutes for them to be seated and enjoy the cool air conditioning of the concert hall. The Sirian at the box office scanned their card and handed them their tickets. They threw away the wrappers of their now devoured pastries before meeting another Sirian at the door and being led to their seats.
The seats descended downward and met the stage, which sat in the very center of the concert hall. A long black curtain reached from the ceiling all the way down to the stage, hiding the performers from the audience's view. Because most of the seats were already filled, Kirk and Spock had to step past people to reach their seats. Settling into the soft crimson chairs, they waited patiently for the concert to begin.
The lights above them all turned off, save a few blue lights that set the mood. A bright light shone behind the black curtain that slowly rose to reveal the Milanato Orchestral Group sitting three rows deep in a circle along the edge of the stage. The source of the light was a tall tube in the center of the stage that had a red ball hovering in the center of it.
When the curtain had risen all the way up to the ceiling, a wall of sound came from the stage. The red ball in the center bounced up and down, providing the performers with a reference for the song's tempo. The tempo was fast and intense, causing Kirk to actually grip onto his seat. What happened next however made him release the arm rests and lean forward in wonder.
The light from within the tube changed from a solid white to varying colors of the rainbow. Instead of shining upward in a beam, it began to take form and stretched out into the audience. Colorful ribbons of light swooped downward and floated over and around the audience, occasionally interacting with the denizens as they watched in awe.
Kirk looked over at Spock to see how he was reacting to the spectacle before them and was surprised to see that he was already looking back at him, a smug smile on his face. Spock didn't need to say anything, not verbally or through their mind link; his face said it all. Spock had known exactly what kind of performance to expect from the Milanato Orchestral Group, which was why he had so enthusiastically chosen to see the concert. Kirk smirked back at him and reached out for Spock's hand. Their fingers intertwined and remained so for the duration of the concert.
Two hours passed by faster than they ever had in Kirk's life. Every minute of the concert had been a thrill ride that never got boring, not even once. It wasn't just the light show that had kept Kirk interested either; the music had moved him in a way that classical music typically didn't. At one point in the concert, a sad song had shaken him emotional to the point of tears. He didn't try to stop the tears either, not to save face or to keep from looking weak. He let the tears flow freely and didn't wipe a single one away. For the first time in his life, he was unashamed to cry openly in public. When he looked at Spock, he saw tears falling from his face as well. Whether they fell because they shared feelings through their link or because Spock was also moved by the music didn't matter; it was a touching moment that they happily shared.
When they left the concert hall, the sun had sunk surprisingly low in the sky, even though it was only three in the afternoon. Eye brow raised in curiosity, Spock looked at his bracelet and asked, "Ceridian, what is the reason for the sun to be setting so early in the day?"
Ceridian's raven face appeared once more on Spock's bracelet. Smiling, she said, "During this time on the planet Kalithoria, the sun begins setting very early and takes hours to fully set. The current time is 15:03 hours Starfleet Regulated Time; nighttime will fall around 20:00 hours. Thus, you have five hours to enjoy the setting sun. This time of the year is considered to be the 'summer' of planet Kalthoria. During the winter, there is only three hours of actual day time and seven hours of nighttime; the rest of the time the sun is either rising or setting."
Spock looked at Kirk, sharing a look of amazement with him. Ceridian continued, "With the completion of your concert, you now have the option of dining at a restaurant, finding another attraction, or returning to your hotel room. What would you like to do?"
"I'll be picking this one," Kirk said. "No offense Spock, but this is supposed to be my surprise for you. You did a great job of picking something we both liked, why not give me a chance to do that too?"
Nodding, Spock leaned closer so that Kirk could look closer at the panel on his bracelet. "Ceridian," he asked, "is there any restaurants nearby that mix fun with food?" Ceridian took a moment to process his request and said, "There is a restaurant named 'Labyrinth' 127 meters due north of your current location. It is known to test one's logic while providing a fun experience; it is also one of the highest ranking restaurants in Ninolgog City."
"Send the directions!" Kirk said excitedly. Ceridian's face disappeared and revealed a miniature map of their current location in the city, a blue line leading to the restaurant. Smiling, Kirk hooked Spock's arm with his and began walking in the direction of the restaurant.
After walking for a short time, they spotted a wall of tall green hedges to their right across the street. People walked in and out of a large black iron gate, a black sign reading "The Labyrinth" in elegant white letters confirming that was where Kirk and Spock needed to go. They crossed the street and walked through the opening in the hedges, admiring the high arching opening of the gate.
"Wow," Kirk said, placing his free hand on Spock's arm. "This has gotta be one hell of a restaurant."
No sooner than he said that did he disappear into thin air, a thin wisp of smoke the only indicator that he had been there at all. Spock whirled around, wondering where he had went. "JIM!" he shouted, his calm demeanor now frantic and scared. "JIM! Where are you?!?"
He heard a sound behind him and spun around to see if Kirk was there, but instead saw a crouching, fur covered figure. When it raised its head, he saw yellow green cat eyes staring at him. The creature was similar in structure to the Sirians, but seemed to have evolved from felines rather than from canines. When it stood, he saw that the creature's body was slender and curved, indicating that it was a female. She wore a sleeveless blue halter shirt that was cut in such a way that her sides were bare and her stomach was barely covered in a V-shape. A yellow sash with red tassels was wrapped around her waist, less like a belt and more of a decoration for the matching blue mini skirt she wore. Her feet were clad in thigh high black leather boots that shined in the setting sun. Her fur was a reddish brown with dark brown stripes; her dark brown hair cascaded down her back in a tight french braid.
The creature smiled, showing white sharp teeth, and said, "You have lost your companion, yes?" Her sultry voice made Spock's ears twitch. At a loss for words, Spock merely nodded. The creature took a step forward and bowed deeply. "My name is Ma'Tique."
Swallowing, Spock replied, "My name is Spock. May I ask, has your race evolved from felines much like the Sirians evolved from canines?"
Standing up straight, Ma'Tique smiled again. "You are astute; this should be interesting. You are correct. I am a Felisian, born on the planet Felisia, which orbits around the Felis star. The Sirians are not the only ones who desire to make a living on this planet. We too have made our way to Kalthoria to provide services to tourists, though of a different type."
"As much as I'd like to give you the history of my people, I am not here for that purpose. I shall be your guide through the Labyrinth, but before we proceed, you must answer this riddle. 'What is everything to someone, but nothing to everyone else?' Choose your answer wisely, as you will only get one chance."
It didn't take long for Spock to answer the riddle. "The mind."
"Very good," Ma'Tique said. "I knew that a Vulcan would be quick to answer that riddle, but it seemed like a fitting warm up. Follow me."
The Felisian woman sauntered forward, but Spock didn't move forward. He was leery about this labyrinth, but it didn't seem like there was anything else he could do now that Kirk was gone. Ma'Tique turned around and beckoned Spock to follow. Taking a deep breath and sighing, Spock began what he hoped would be a quick journey to the center of the labyrinth.