The air was fitting for a midsummer evening, warm but not hot, with a slight cool breeze. There was some humidity but not enough to cause moisture to collect on his skin so he was fine with it. The park before him was mostly clear, rolling land with some trees around the fringe. Occasionally there was a shrub or tree on the plain before him but it was more of an exception than the rule. Paved paths wound all around the park turning to dirt where they entered the wooded surrounds. Benches were scattered along the paths offering a few moments rest for people walking or jogging the trails. He was mostly alone in the park now, a majority of the people gravitating back toward the city for the lively night life it offered. He could almost fool himself into thinking he was back on Earth.

Almost. The background din of unfamiliar insects and the occasional call of an unrecognized bird reminded Pavel Chekov that he was far away from his home planet. But it was shore leave, he was off the ship and breathing fresh, un-recycled air. The grass and trees were underneath a real sky, not the artificial one of the starship's arboretum. He could walk for miles in one direction and never encounter a containing wall. So this wasn't Earth, but it was close enough for now.

A momentary pulse of yellow light caught his attention. As he leaned forward a bit trying to pin point exactly where it came from he realized there were a fair number of them flashing on and off all around him. He wasn't sure if he was seeing what he thought he was seeing until a voice behind him confirmed his suspicions.

"Yeah, they're fireflies."

Chekov turned to glance at Sulu, who had come up behind him. "Fireflies? I thought they were only found on Earth."

"Earth and SecondHome Planet," Sulu corrected. SecondHome Planet was an Earth colony whose ecosystem was similar in many ways to that of the colonists' home.

Chekov frowned over this new piece of information for a minute while Sulu came around and sat down next to his friend.

"You mean to say they evolved the same here as they did on Earth?" Chekov asked. While the ecosystems were similar, they were not the same. Different insects and animals had evolved on SecondHome making it seem very much like a surreal Earth.

"No, I mean they were brought here from Earth," Sulu answered leaning back on the park bench and taking in the surroundings quickly being obscured by darkness as the last of the sun's rays dipped below the horizon.

"But there are strict rules prohibiting such a thing." The Federation rules were very specific on matters such as introducing alien plant and animal life to a planet, even if the planet was devoid of intelligent life. Earth colonists had always had a tough time with this law, many of them wanting their colony to appear just like Earth even though introducing alien species was harmful to the pre-existing conditions of the planet.

"Yeah they do, but on occasion people slip things under the Federation's nose. You of all people should realize that people don't always play by the rules," Sulu remarked.

"I suppose, but why would you do something like that? Why would you risk such harm to a planet for a stupid little bug?"

Sulu smiled, amused at his friend's tendency to see things in black and white. "I don't know, some people think it's worth the risk."

"I just don't get it," Chekov stated. He crossed his arms over his chest, a move Sulu thought made him look like a frustrated five year old.

"In this case it was an act of love," Sulu said, carefully watching his companion out of the corner of his eye.

"An act of love?" Chekov asked disbelieving. "How can destroying an ecosystem be an act of love?"

"First of all, they didn't destroy the ecosystem per-say, just caused a dent in it." This was for the most part true. At first the bugs had caused quite a stir. Having no natural enemies on the planet their population grew, finding the local plant life close enough to their natural diet to suit their needs. Eventually, with some urging by concerned members of the colony, the native birds realized the bugs were a tasty treat, keeping the population in check.

Chekov snorted. "Whatever, so they were lucky."

"Do you want to hear the story or not, Pavel?" Sulu asked, only slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, sorry. Go on," Chekov conceded.

"Well, in the early days of the colony, there was this couple that came here from the Great Plains region of North America. No one is really sure why they decided to come, they were older and lived quite comfortably back on Earth. Some people speculate that the adventure of leaving Earth and settling on another planet had always been a dream of the old man's and that it had merely taken him all those years of marriage to convince his wife to go along with him. Whatever the reason, it was apparent that she was not very happy on SecondHome and missed Earth greatly.

"The man had chosen SecondHome because of its similarities to Earth, hoping that it would make the transition a little easier for her. He built her a nice house and they settled quite comfortably on this planet, but she still complained about missing her home-world. The old man had fallen in love with SecondHome the first moment he set foot on it. He wanted so badly to stay here and he tried everything possible to make his wife happy too. Finally he realized she would never be content and that they were going to have to pack up and go back to Earth.

"Now the wife saw how much her husband loved the planet and realized her homesickness was the only thing standing in the way of his true happiness. She tried hard to think of something that would put her at ease, something that would help her accept this new planet as her home.

"Finally when the man came to his wife to tell her he was willing to return to Earth with her, she met him with a proposition. If he could find her fireflies like the ones she had grown up catching on the plains of her home-world, like the ones she had watched every summer night from the front porch of their old home, then she would truly feel at home on this new world." Sulu paused to take a breath.

"Sounds stupid, why would a bug make you feel at home?" Leave it to Chekov to ruin the mood.

Sulu sighed heavily.

Realizing his mistake Chekov apologized. "I'm sorry Sulu, go on."

Sulu looked at him hard before continuing. "Well, the man looked all over and couldn't find a similar bug on their new planet. So he did the only other thing he could think of, he hopped on the next supply ship heading to Earth. He returned a few months later with a whole load of fireflies and firefly eggs. No one knows how he smuggled them past all the inspectors and such, but he did. He risked stiff penalties just make happy the one he loved," Sulu finished, staring out across the park thoughtfully.

"Well?" Chekov prompted.

"Well what?"

"What happened to the couple?"

Sulu smiled. "They lived happily ever after of course!"

"Oh." Chekov sat quietly for a few moments, considering what he had just heard. "You expect me to believe that's how these bugs got here?"

"Yes."

"I bet there were just bug eggs or something in one of the food shipments. Or one accidentally got locked in the ship. Stuff like that happens all the time with low level trading ships," he rationalized.

Sulu rolled his eyes. "Don't you have a romantic bone in your body Pavel Chekov?"

"Romantic?" Chekov asked puzzled. "That story was romantic?"

"Yes! Don't you think it would be romantic if someone loved you enough to travel across the galaxy just to bring you little glowing bugs from home?" Sulu was getting exasperated.

"No."

This time Sulu's sign was almost more of a growl. How could Chekov miss the point so completely? "You're right, it was a stupid story. Come on, let's go find Uhura and the others in the city." He stood up abruptly and started to walk off.

Chekov remained sitting for a few moments, watching his friend retreat before he jumped up to follow.