Something about the bluntness of the question was achingly familiar, but also comforting. Elnor returned the faint smile. "I am not Vulcan." He grinned brightly. "I am the first of my species in Starfleet. I could say that I am one of the Rigellian Vulcanoid species... but that would be a lie. It would, however, be closer to the truth than it is not."
That would be because the Rigellian Vulcanoids were an offshoot of the Romulan exodus. But he could not say that part of it. The scans, however, confirmed that: at least, neurologically. They could not yet account for the other physiological differences. Otherwise, however, he seemed to be in perfect health. Abnormally perfect health.
Still, his excitement about this, his joy at his own truth, overrode some of the fear that threatened to overwhelm his heart. In the moment, that meant that joy was all that he had there: joy, beauty, the delight of discovery, at the entire universe of things. It chased away the shadows as if they had never existed. The scans showed that too--a decrease in stress chemicals, neurons lighting up in different patterns.
"... What you said before, about mycelium? It makes sense." His smile faded. "I wish more of my species thought that way: to share the universe. I-- I shouldn't... say more, but... I want to?"
He looked at Paul searchingly. This was why he had joined Starfleet after all: to explore, to meet new species, to share his own culture with them, to find those similarities and differences, to help people. Paul seemed to share that, he thought, if only a little. He came alive when they spoke of time, or fungi, and now about his species.
"It's why I joined Starfleet. That, and to aid my friends. To learn and explore. You feel that way, I... think. Why aren't you happy here?"
It was probably too prying, to candid, but he decided he did not care. This officer was the opposite of what he had been warned about when he started at the Academy. He didn't treat him differently, didn't seem to be taken aback by earnest curiosity. That was comforting, as well.
Maybe, if this man had a place in Starfleet, Elnor could have one too.