When Home is Gone

Part Seven - The Unusual Passengers

Spock's Point of View - USS Enterprise

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It had been approximately 2.385 hours since the crew of the Enterprise and it's guests had left Archer IV. Spock had yet to question the twins, but he could still feel Luna in his mind. He was sitting at his science station when Kirk had walked up behind him.

"Spock, I think you should go question the twins. Luna seemed to have a liking for you." Kirk chuckled to himself and Spock turned to face him.

"Captain, Luna does not experience emotion. Therefore, she cannot, as you say, have 'a liking for me'." Spock raised an eyebrow and stood. Kirk laughed as he walked past him to the turbolift.

"Oh, and Spock?" Spock stopped and faced his Captain.

"Let me know if anything goes wrong." Spock nodded and continued walking.

The turbolift doors slid open as he approached and slid closed after he entered. Spock became lost in thought after he told the computer where he wished to go. Who were Luna and Ray? Where did they come from? How did they end up at Archer IV?

He walked down the hall and thought over every possibility, every variable, until he got to the Guest Room. The door was unlocked, but he pressed the buzzer anyway to alert them he was here. The door slid open and Luna looked up at him with the same blank expression he wore.

"Hello." She stepped aside and motioned for Spock to enter. He stepped through the doorway and was hit by a wall of heat, similar to the heat on Vulcan in the mid afternoon, just after the sun had reached it's highest point.

"I apologize for the heat. Ray is still stressed about what has happened to me. When we experience intense emotion, the temperature of our light changes dramatically. For him, he grows hotter, I however, grow colder." Luna looked at him, puzzled. "You are not affected by the heat like the others. How is that so?"

"I am of the planet Vulcan. The temperature on Vulcan is a lot hotter than the temperature humans are used to. Because of that, my body has adapted. Since we are on the topic of home planets, I have come to ask you a few questions. If I may?" Luna and Spock sat at the desk and Spock asked Luna a series of questions.

"Well, let us see." Luna thought for a moment on where to begin. She explained her life on the distant planet, of how she and her brother were taken away from their home and separated, of what had happened all those years she was tied to that table. Spock sat there silently and listened to the incredible story of Luna's life.

"And then you showed up and rescued us." Luna concluded her story and waited for Spock to respond.

"Fascinating" Was all Spock said.

"Can I ask you some questions too, Mr Spock? I have never seen a Vulcan before and am quite interested in your origins as well." Luna's curiosity grew from that one question.

"I have one more question first." Luna motioned for him to continue. "Why is it that you still block your emotions? I am aware of the strategical advantage, but you are no longer in danger."

This hit Luna hard as she thought of a suitable answer.

"I believe my answer would be... that I have forgotten how."

They both sat in stunned silence. After a few moments, Spock could see that the heat was getting to Luna. Despite her attempts to decrease her lights temperature to cool herself, a thin layer of sweat covered her exposed body. Spock stood and walked to the door, but stopped before it opened.

"Follow me." He thought, still aware that she was connected to his mind. She looked at him and followed.

They wondered the ships halls as Spock explained what everything was and how its role influenced the flow of the ship. He had introduced her to Scotty and McCoy. Both men greeted her and explained their roles. Luna appeared fascinated by McCoy's role of chief medical officer.

"Do you have any patients at the moment, Doctor?"

"There's one who's suffering from Thelusian Flu. It's been treated but it will take a while before the drugs kick in."

"May I see him?" McCoy hesitated, but led Luna to Sickbay. A man was seated on a bench. Luna walked over to him and examined him. She gave a hum of curiosity. Then she lifted her arm and lightly touched the centre of the man's forehead. He flinched at her touch but recovered quickly.

"You should scan him now, Doctor. I believe I have eradicated the virus and removed the drugs from his system." Luna looked over at McCoy and smirked at his stunned face, but he rushed over with what Spock had described to her to be a tricorder.

"I believe that you are learning to feel again, Luna." Spock thought. He didn't want to interrupt McCoys scans. "Come." He led the way out of sickbay and turned to face Luna.

"I believe my theory was correct in thinking that the more time you spend among emotional beings, the quicker you will remember how to feel." Spock looked down at her and she smiled. From their mental connection, Spock could tell that Luna enjoyed the idea.