Meruka

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2279.340, 1212 hours. It was just him and Selas in the Mess that Saturday, Mama and Sa-mekh both busy ferrying a group of ambassadors around the ship. He remembered Mama saying they'd be staying on-board for the next week or so, but he couldn't remember who they were or where the Enterprise was supposed to be taking them. Oh well, no biggie, he thought, if you've seen one group of diplomats you've seen them all.

He tried to sneak his fork over to his brother's plate again but this time Selas was ready for him and had a tight grip on his wrist. "You will discontinue all efforts to steal my tater tots or I will make you stop."

Se'tak chuckled. "Oh?" He ruffled his brother's hair. "Is that a threat, pi'sa-kai?"

"That is a promise."

"'But I'm a growing boy!'" he said in imitation of their mother.

"As am I," Selas coolly retorted. He let go of his wrist.

Se'tak smirked and made a last quick jab at one of the tots, quickly stuffing it in his mouth. "Touché."

His brother frowned. "Mama says it is not nice to take my food, that I need all the nutrition…" More was said but he didn't hear anything after that as the Mess Hall doors opened to reveal not one, not two, but SIX Orions (four women and two men) following Mama and Sa-mekh. All were, to his eye at least, in various states of regal undress.

His jaw dropped to the table and he almost started panting like a dog in heat.

"Se'tak?" Selas' hand waved before his face. "Se'tak? What is going on? Who has entered the room?"

"Uh…nobody."

"That is not true. I can sense Sa-mekh and Mama's presence but there seem to be others with them. Also, the scent in the air has changed."

He quickly realized he wasn't the only one who was staring—all eyes in the room seemed to be on their six guests—but Se'tak didn't care. He'd only ever seen Orion men and women in passing, he'd never had a chance to really look at any before, and these were some of the most beautiful he'd ever seen. Their skin was so green it reminded him of the Redwood Forest trees in California and the women's curly, jet-black hair looked so much like silk he just wanted to reach out and touch it…

Suddenly his vision went dark and after a split-second's panic he felt Selas' touch. He slapped his brother's offending hand away. "Cut that out!"

"I apologize; however, I wished to discover the source of your distraction. As you would not tell me yourself I was forced to, quite literally, take matters into my own hands."

"Yeah, well, just for that I'm gonna…" but before he could make good on his threat Se'tak noticed more movement around the Orion delegation. There was a seventh member who'd gone unnoticed; she'd been standing in the back but was now next to Mama, smiling shyly and gesturing at their table. She had a head full of flame-colored hair and the best part of all? She looked to be about his age.

Mama nodded and smiled and after speaking with the rest of the party brought the entire group over to their table. He elbowed Selas in the ribs. "Act cool."

"I do not understand…"

"Ambassador Nissa, Ambassador Konis, these are our sons, Se'tak and Selas; our daughter, T'Alora, is currently away at school. Boys, I'd like to introduce you to the Ambassadors from Orion and their entourage. They'll be staying aboard for the next week until we reach their quadrant of space. Hopefully you'll all get to know each other better in the meantime."

Ambassador Nissa seemed positively delighted at the prospect and for a moment looked like she wanted to swallow them both whole. Meanwhile Ambassador Konis—Ambassador Nissa's husband maybe? Whatever the case he was a big, scary looking guy, easily three times Sa-mekh's size—nodded politely then drifted away towards the replicators, gesturing for the rest to follow. Se'tak thought his chance to talk with the red-head was lost.

And then the girl touched Ambassador Nissa lightly on the arm and spoke quietly under her breath in their native tongue. The woman looked back at him and then to the girl, smiling broadly and nodding, before moving off with the rest of their party. Se'tak didn't care where they went; his eyes were locked on the girl in that tight navy-blue dress with the midriff cut outs that she wore like a second skin, and he couldn't hear anything save for the pounding of his heart in his ears. Without a word she pulled out the chair next to him, sat down and smiled. "Hello."

"Hi."

She rested her elbows on the table and twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "Which one are you?"

"Uh…" Now that she was so close to him he found he couldn't speak; he couldn't even think. It was like his head was stuck off in a big, fluffy, orange-red cloud somewhere…

"I am Selas. He is Se'tak. We are pleased to make your acquaintance…"

"Meruka." Just then her leg brushed against his and he nearly jumped out of his chair.

The sensation was heavenly.

While he was still in his stupor Selas picked the conversation back up. "We are pleased to make your acquaintance, Meruka. Are you enjoying your tour of the ship so far?"

"Oh yes, your parents are wonderful guides, and the ship is so…" here she searched for the right word, "…different from anything I've ever traveled on before."

His brother cocked his head at that. "Different? How so?"

Meruka stuck the end of hair in her mouth and sucked on it a moment—he thought the way her lips pouted was absolutely adorable—before answering. "Well I guess the Enterprise is just a little colder then what I'm used to. Don't get me wrong, it's still nice, but Orion ships are built for comfort and pleasure and, well, our quarters are pleasing enough but the rest of your ship seems a bit…what's the word you use? Sterile."

Selas nodded. "I understand; however, as the Enterprise is a scientific and exploratory vessel the design is well-suited for our needs."

She grinned. "You sound just like your dad, you know that?" Meruka winked at him then leaned over across the table, stage-whispering to Selas, "I think your brother is tongue-tied."

"Indeed he is. This is a rather remarkable feat as he is usually quite talkative."

"Ahh, just like your mom then." She sat back down and asked him, "Is it true, Se'tak? Did you inherit her talented tongue?"

His eyes nearly bugged out of his head as she gazed over at him dreamily. "I…I…"

"Meruka!" one of the Orion party called out, "Come."

She sighed and frowned as she pushed back from the table and Se'tak found himself standing as well. "Oh well, duty calls. See you guys around?"

"I will not 'see you' but I will listen for you."

If he weren't so caught up in watching her, Se'tak would've rolled his eyes at his brother's self-deprecating quip. "Aren't you just too cute!" She gave Selas a quick peck on the cheek before giving him one as well and then rushing to meet up with the rest of the delegation. "Bye!"

It wasn't until the doors shut behind them and they were long gone that he finally returned to earth. As he looked over at Selas he saw his brother looking quite pleased with himself; Se'tak also noted that his own tater tot pile had decreased significantly while he was in his stupor.

"This is a most refreshing change from your usual verbosity," Selas remarked as he popped another tot in his mouth, "I find I most enjoy it."

Se'tak swiped the last tater tot on his brother's plate just out of spite. "Shut up."

1847 hours. Sa-mekh was sitting in the living room in his dress uniform reading from a PADD when he tried to slip past to go find Mama. Of course, as with everything else today, Se'tak had no such luck. The people he wanted to talk to he couldn't and the one he hoped to avoid put himself right in his path.

"Se'tak." Sa-mekh set the PADD aside. "I would have a few words with you before your mother and I depart." He bit back the sigh and waited. With an upward flick of the eyebrow and appraising search of his person Sa-mekh began, "I noticed that you and Selas have made the acquaintance of the young woman in the Orion party. While I will not discourage any such friendship I will ask that you exercise caution in your dealings with her, especially if you find yourself in private company."

"What?!" he balked. "Why?"

"Because she is an Orion female entering puberty and serving in the Orion delegation. Certain expectations are placed upon someone in her position and…"

"This is crazy! We spoke for like what, five minutes? We're barely even friends!"

Sa-mekh continued on despite his outburst. "...as you are only one-quarter Vulcan you will not possess the same degree of innate immunity from hormonal manipulation as a full Vulcan would should she try and employ her wiles on you. Se'tak, I only serve to put you on your guard as I do not…"

"This is ridiculous! Sa-mekh, you're being paranoid!" And with that he stalked off back down the hall toward his bedroom, slamming his hand hard against the door as he passed.

Nyota had just exited the bedroom and heard the tail-end of the father/son flare-up and sighed. As she entered the room Spock stood and straightened his jacket, looking for all the world as if he were indifferent, but she knew him too well to be fooled; and while she did not harbor the same misgivings about Meruka as Spock did she also knew that he only wanted what was best for their son. Standing toe-to-toe with him she needlessly smoothed out the lapels on his shoulders and stared deep into his eyes.

"I do not wish to see him get hurt."

Her smile was tight and she nodded, then slowly leaned in to his embrace. "I know, Ashayam. I know."

1922 hours. Se'tak was stalking the corridors trying to blow off steam. He was just so pissed with Sa-mekh that he could punch a hole in the wall. It was all just insane! He had plenty of friends who were girls so why should Meruka be any different? Sure she was pretty, and new, and bubbly, and green, and when she smiled he thought he might just die of happiness, but he wasn't in any danger.

Why can't he ever just leave me alone!?

As he was fuming over it all Se'tak rounded the corner and ran smack dab into a person coming from the opposite direction, sending them both sprawling to the floor. "Sorry! I didn't see you."

He reached out a hand to help the person up and was surprised to see Meruka grinning and blowing the hair out of her eyes. "To be fair, I didn't see you either, but I'm glad I ran into you." His face flushed with heat as she reached for his outstretched hand. Her touch proved her fascination with him (and attraction to him—oh joy!) and nearly bowled him over before the recollection that he was a touch telepath made her jerk her hand back. "SORRY!"

"It's o-okay."

"I haven't hurt you, have I?" He shook his head no as Meruka batted her eyes. "I see you've got your voice back," she teased.

"Yep." They stood at the corner awkwardly, trying to gauge one another's moods, and he realized it was his turn to speak. "I um, I thought you'd b-be with your parents at the dinner."

She furrowed her brow. "My parents?"

"The ambassadors…?"

"Oh, they're not my parents!"

Again, Se'tak found himself tripping over his words. "Oh. I thought…"

"No, my mother is Ambassador Konis' mistress—well, one of them, anyway. I'm Ambassador Nissa's new junior handmaiden. They're at that big fancy dinner with your parents and the Captain and everybody… Anyway they told me I wasn't needed so I thought I'd just take a walk around the ship." She stated this all so matter-of-factly that Se'tak was momentarily stunned and she laughed in the face of his shock. "I forgot, your people are all about monogamy and mating for life. If it makes you feel any better you don't have to worry, Ambassador Nissa knows about my mother and the other women and she even has more then a few side dishes of her own," she said with a wink.

He was still so tongue-tied around her, especially in the face of her directness, that he continued to splutter incoherently. Meruka's face fell. "Annnd it looks like I've embarrassed you. Sorry, I'll just…"

"Wait!" She stopped and looked down to the tight hold he had on her wrist. Se'tak instantly let go. "I'm not embarrassed."

"Really?"

"Really. Um…"

"Hey, do you know how to get to the Mess hall from here?"

Now her non-sequitur had him confused. "Yeah, of course. Why?"

"Because I'm hungry, silly, that's why." Tentatively, Meruka reached for his wrist and began leading him away. "Do your replicators make banana sundaes? I've heard they're delicious."

Se'tak grinned stupidly and let her lead him halfway down the hall before realizing they were going in the wrong direction. This time taking her by the hand, he turned her around and led her down the right path. "Our Mess makes some of the best banana sundaes around."

2145 hours. They sat at a table in the corner, largely out of view of the few stragglers still coming in for meals. Meruka insisted he share her sundae and who was he to say no? She even special ordered the hot fudge off to the side and for the first time in his life he cursed his genetic intolerance when he watched the chocolate sauce dribble down her chin.

While they ate they talked and when they were through eating they talked some more. She asked him all about his friends and family, what it was like growing up on a starship, where he'd travel to if he could, what he liked to do for fun, what he wanted to be when he grew up. Ok, so it was more like he talked but that was only because Meruka was asking all the right questions and, to be fair, she was a very good listener. In fact she was as good-looking as she was fun to be around and he didn't want the night to end but he was coming up on curfew.

Se'tak was ushering her back to the ambassadorial suites when he remarked, "You know, it's really not fair."

"Oh? What's not fair?"

"You know all about me but I hardly know anything about you."

She winked and smiled. "What's there to know? I'm Orion."

"So?"

"So I sing, I dance, I make lo—…"

He stopped her short. "Ok, yeah, you're Orion but there's more to you then that. I've only known you for a few hours and even I know that."

Meruka smiled coyly at him but for once he saw he finally had her flustered. "I…well yeah, I guess, but…"

"Then that's it, tomorrow I want to hear more about you—unless of course you're busy with your duties and stuff."

Meruka paused beside her door. "I'm sure I can get away."

"Ok then, it's a date." He peered down into her violet eyes as she grinned away at him and he felt an almost magnetic pull to her lips…"Uh, g-good night. Sweet dreams." Se'tak stopped, backed up, and almost ran to the turbolift, muttering under his breath the whole way.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid! What a coward! I can't even kiss a girl…!"

It wasn't until he was almost home that he realized he had his first official date—and with an Orion lady to boot.

YES!