FAGE 007
Title: Adamantine
Written for: Falling Stars/TheDarkestFallingStar
Written By: Grace French/Bubski McBoo
Rating: T
Summary/Prompt used: /blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/198625.1020.
A freak meteor storm threatens to destroy a species, along with their chance of achieving warp capability. Meanwhile, Spock can no longer deny where his centre of gravity lies. Now Kirk has to find his.
I do not own Star Trek, or related characters/creations/gimmicks/stuff which may be related to Star Trek. Enjoy!
"Zarza. Zarza!"
Koltan's hair stood on end as he roared desperately for his eldest child. He dashed through their homestead, until his paws came in contact with the handle of the front door.
His daughter was moving towards him, leading her brothers and sisters home from school. She was still a mile away. Too far? Too long?
Koltan mewled deeply in his throat, his sharp, worried eyes looking to the skies. There were spots there that were not meant to be there.
He looked again at his daughter. She was not aware. She was walking.
"ZARZA!" His roar vibrated in the back of his throat, echoing loudly over the yellow plains.
Her head is up. Good.
"PAWS DOWN!"
Her response was immediate. She threw her hands down to the ground, and she ran to him on all fours, her brothers and sisters following closely behind her.
"Nyalla!"
He turned back into the house as his mate flew up the stairs. Her voice was a hiss, reflecting her stress and concern.
"Koltan, what is the matter?"
"As soon as the children arrive, I will put up the shields. You must get in them in the tunnel. There is another meteor shower. It is coming from a different direction. Its is stronger. Faster. Bigger."
Nyalla hesitated, her tail curling around her waist in worry.
"What about the ship?"
"To fires with the ship," he hissed, tapping buttons on a relay.
"Father!"
Zarza, and the rest of his children, crashed through the front door.
"In the tunnel, all of you! Zarza, you're in charge of them. Stay underground until the shower passes."
Zarza flicked her tail - something she does whenever she dared to question him.
"Father - why must we go underground this time?"
"Do not ask questions, there is not time! Go! Now!"
His last command was interrupted as the deafening, high pitched whistle of incoming meteorites began to invade their sensitive ears.
Zarza lead her large rabble of siblings into the tunnel without further need for instruction.
"Nyalla, you to - get inside, and I will seal the doors."
"What about you, my love?"
"Go! Now!"
His voice was drowned out by the noise which was now a din in their ears. He heard an explosion nearby. He pushed his wife into the tunnel, and pushed a button, causing thick metal doors to slide into place with a distinctive clang.
With a few presses of buttons, the household's shields activated all around the house. He ran as fast as he could outside, around the house, but not far enough to collide with the shields.
He ran to a large hole in the middle of his large back garden. Inside was hat looked like a rocket ship. His children were milling around the ship from their entrance via the tunnel.
"Get away from that thing!" he yelled. "Zarza, seal the roof, and put up the force field between you and the shi-"
He was cut off, as a meteorite shot from the sky, pierced through their shields, and hit him squarely in the head. He fell backwards, out of sight of his wife and children.
His family's screams were drowned out by the meteorites, now making impact everywhere around them.
Only Zarza was quiet. She did as he father asked of her. She sealed the roof, shielding the family from anymore devastation.
"First Officer's log. Stardate 2260.82. We have taken a detour to stop at a young planetary system after I detected an unfamiliar warp signature from the surface of the system's only inhabited planet. We have deduced that it is possible the planet may be close to achieving warp capability. If that is the case, then making first contact as soon as they have done so is, of course, imperative."
The ship was buzzing with excited chatter at being part of something as historical as a planet's warp capability and possibly providing their foothold into interstellar life.
Spock ended the recording with the push of a button on his console, before swiveling smoothly out of his chair, making quick note of the empty Captain's chair as he passed.
He was confused, but didn't let it show. He hadn't heard Kirk take his leave. Perhaps he'd been too absorbed in his work to hear him.
"Mr. Sulu, you have the bridge."
"Aye sir."
He hadn't stopped on the way to the turbolift as he spoke, and with practiced ease he weaved through smiling officers and ensigns as they passed him.
"Engineering."
The only telltale sign of the lift moving was the faintest of humming noises, which Spock was sure couldn't be heard by humans.
The turbolift stopped too early, and Spock looked up to see his Captain, who had walked in with his nose in a padd, his brow furrowed. Spock felt himself relax a little.
He looked up at Spock, and his look of confusion - or perhaps it was concentration, they were similar expressions when it came to Kirk - changed to a smile. He lowered his padd, apparently grateful of the distraction.
"Hey Spock. Engineering." the turbolift continued on course.
Spock allowed the corners of his mouth to lift slightly. He and his Captain often had symbiotic thoughts. Despite their personalities being, in many ways, polar opposites, they made a harmonious duo, perfect for the command of a Starship.
"Do you also intend to consult with Lieutenant Scott, Captain?"
"Yeah," said Kirk, and he also held up the padd, giving it an annoyed shake, "I also need to talk to you about the rules with making first contact. When to do it, what to say, what to do - there are so many rules, Spock. I'm not good with rules."
"Of course Captain, though I thought you had studied this subject at the academy."
"My memory at the academy served me well enough to pass my exams," said Kirk, "But when it comes to the finer details of making first contact with a newly warp-capable race..." Kirk looked at Spock, and Spock could tell, as he followed him off the turbolift, that his captain was nervous.
"I will, of course, help you to refresh your memory, Captain," said Spock dutifully, and he was rewarded with a grateful smile thrown his way as they arrived in Engineering.
"Scotty!" Kirk called, and eventually located his Chief Engineer by the feet sticking out from underneath a particularly hard to reach plasma conduit. There was a thump and muffled swearing followed by the clinking of tools on the deck plates and eventually Mr Scott emerged rubbing his forehead.
"How long will it take to determine how warp capable this planet is, Mr Scott?"
"It could be a couple o' days, Cap'n," Scott replied, and reached up to pull down a 3D schematic of the warp core of the Phoenix.
"When we're close enough, the warp signature'll gie me the magnatomic E-M interference - that'll tell me what type of rapid warp array they're using. If it's a simple Auxiliary warp continuum I can just monitor the fluctuations..." It was at this point that Spock realized that the Captain's eyes had glazed over.
"17 hours then, I believe, Mr Scott?"
Scotty nodded,
"Aye, probably."
"Okay," said the Captain reflectively, "We can hang out a good distance away, behind a moon or something so that they can't detect us. Since we won't be doing much we can operate on half shifts - give the crew some recuperation time."
Scotty was nodding slowly, his face the epitome of appreciation.
Kirk looked pointedly at Spock, who inclined his head to show his understanding.
"I will alter the crew's shift schedule accordingly, Captain."
"Thank you, Mr. Spock. Mr. Scott." with that, the Captain took his leave, Spock right beside him, they made their way back to the turbolift.
"Bridge."
They stood in companionable silence for a while.
Their arms were almost touching, and Spock allowed a small smile to play on his lips.
The turbolift opened and Uhura appeared, apparently from her quarters, judging by the deck they were on. Spock immediately straightened his face and back with a slight clearing of his throat.
When they were back on the bridge. Kirk made a sweep of the room, collecting reports.
Spock stayed with him to listen to the reports too, although he was a little closer than usual - Kirk could actually feel the Vulcan's body heat. It was a little off-putting. Being a Vulcan, shouldn't Spock be acutely aware of personal space?
"Uhura, how is the language coming?" Uhura was translating the language from noise intercepted from the planet's satellite system.
"Good, Captain. Their turn of phrase is easy to translate - it's similar to English sentence structures. The next step is devising a vocabulary."
"Excellent work, Uhura. See if you can intercept any communication about their warp ship."
"Yes, Captain."
They made their way around to Carol Marcus, who had, for the time being, taken over Spock's usual job of overseeing the finding and analyzing of any and all spatial anomalies as they passed by.
Kirk's walk had slowed to a slight strut as they approached her, and the Vulcan behind him drew in a long, harsh breath through his nose. His mouth was not even slightly lifted at the corners.
"Dr. Marcus," said Kirk, his tone sickly sweet, in Spock's opinion. He noted Dr. Marcus' cheeks increase in coloration from blood flow changes, which he found he didn't like.
He looked down at his hands instead. They were shaking. That was odd. Spock looked at them confusedly, clenching them in an effort to stop them. It worked, but only a little.
Blood started to hiss in Spock's ears as he watched the byplay. The slight changes of hormone and pheromone levels in the two humans seemed to increase exponentially, and while he usually didn't notice the scent, right now it was cloying, heavy in his nostrils.
Kirk had just asked Dr. Marcus to contact him should anything 'come up' to which Dr Marcus was about to reply in kind, while almost simpering, when Spock, ignoring his shaking hands for the time being, interrupted them with a hand on the Captain's shoulder.
"Ow!" said Jim indignantly, turning to look at his first officer.
He looked at the hand on Jim's shoulder as if it wasn't him who had put it there. He didn't touch people. Vulcans generally didn't.
"My apologies captain."
He quickly withdrew it and clasped both hands firmly behind his back.
"When do you wish to go over protocol, Captain?"
Jim, thankfully not aware of Spock's odd behavior, puffed out his breath noisily between closed lips. Spock raised an eyebrow.
"Argh, lets do it now," he whined in a very un-captain like manner, "That is, if you're not busy?"
"Not at all, Captain. This should take priority, given the current circumstances."
Spock nodded at Dr. Marcus, and was much too satisfied to see her looking more than a little put out.
Sulu gave the Captain back his chair and Spock took his place next to him to discuss Starfleet's extensive list of protocols surrounding newly warp capable societies.
"Captain, we have dropped out of warp," reported Mr Sulu.
"Excellent. Maneuver us so the moon is between them and us."
"Already done Captain, I just need to park her properly."
"Excellent work, Mr Sulu," said the Captain with a fond smile.
A poignant beeping sound came from the science officer's console.
"Commander, I'm getting a reading I don't understand," reported Carol Marcus vaguely.
As Spock went to investigate, Kirk gratefully put down the padd he'd been studying all day and yawned unreservedly, stretching his back out for good measure.
"ALL HANDS TAKE COVER!" Spock's voice echoed all around the ship. Jim felt a heavy weight throw him forwards. He didn't have time to take notice of the wind being knocked out of him or the pain of his chin smashing against the floor before the ship jolted violently and his head was filled with a loud and tremulous rumble, before he heard nothing but a ringing in his ears.
The ship violently jolted around erratically. He tried to move, he had to do something, but the weight - which was a person, no doubt about it - was far too heavy.
"Get off of me!" he shouted. He couldn't hear himself. The weight on top of his back seemed to only get heavier.
Finally, the vibrations under his stomach and the persistent jolting of the ship seemed to lessen, then stop completely. He felt the weight lift off him, and Kirk rolled onto his back, breathing in all of the breaths he didn't know he'd missed.
From his vantage point from the floor, Kirk could see that it had been Spock who had pinned him down. He was on his feet again, barking orders this way and that - or at least - lips were moving, but Kirk was unable to hear what he was saying.
Judging by the movement of his chest as he spoke, and how exaggerated his mouth's movements were, Spock was shouting. That was a little unusual.
Kirk sat up and his heart sank, a painful weight in his gut.
His chair had been blown apart, and so had some of the consoles behind it. Sparks were flying everywhere. If Spock hadn't...
Kirk shot onto his feet, wobbling a bit, his heart pounding painfully against his chest.
"Report!" he shouted, and groaned at himself as he realized he couldn't hear anything, "Ah shit," he slurred, "belay that, I need my hearing back first!"
He turned to the view screen as if all of the answers to his questions were there. Instead he was greeted with a very broken window. The view screen was, understandably, offline.
He saw the fuzzy sparks of a force-field covering several holes the size of golf balls.
He felt a harsh, and rather hot hand on his shoulder and he turned to be faced with a haggard looking Spock. His dark eyes were looking only at him. He was breathing very heavily, his face was tinged green all over.
"Spock, are you..?"
Spock didn't say anything, he just poked a few spots on his neck harshly. It didn't hurt, but they started to ache oddly after a minute or so. As they did, Kirk noticed the ringing in his ears receding, and the cacophony of the ship's red alert alarm, the chatter of people communicating with other areas of the ship, and the crackling sound of damaged electronics invading them instead.
"Report!" Kirk shouted at anyone who would listen, grateful he could hear himself again.
"We were caught in a meteor shower," said Sulu, his fingers going crazy over buttons, "Shields are down, thrusters are offline and warp core is offline."
"Hull damage on all decks," said Uhura, who was doing her best to work around what was left of her console, "All decks report major and minor injuries, one potentially fatal in engineering - Dr. McCoy is treating him - main power is offline - we're on emergency power, life support systems are failing - we have engineering teams stabilizing them now."
"Alright, I need shields back up pronto, and I need to know why the ship's sensors didn't pick up the meteor shower earlier. " said Kirk, rubbing the back of his head as he felt a headache coming on.
There was a sudden crashing sound, making everyone jump.
Spock had kicked his chair out of the way of his console, wrenching it out of its fixture and sending it flying harshly into a titanium wall, where it seemed to embed itself there.
As if nothing unusual had happened, Spock punched various buttons and read his view screen, before making some sweeping movements over a 3D image of what Kirk assumed was one of the meteorites.
"There are two factors, Captain. The first is that these meteorites are traveling almost as fast as a ship at warp. The second is that these meteorites seem to carry sensor scrambling technology which made them undetectable. We were lucky to have sensed them at all, but it appears the technology is a little outdated when compared to our advanced sensor array."
"Ceptain," said Chekov from the helm, "Ze meteorites cut srew our shields like butter, sir. Ewen if we hed our shields back, we cennot risk anuzer heet like zat.
"Duly noted Mr. Chekov, thank you," said the captain, "Stand down from red alert - turn that damn alarm off!"
He turned back to Spock, his ears grateful as the blaring in his ears stopped.
"Spock, re-calibrate the sensors and see if there are any more meteors headed our way."
"Yes Captain," replied Spock, hitting buttons on the console much too harshly - despite only his fingers coming in contact with the glass, he was causing cracks to form wherever he pushed.
Kirk watched him carefully. He saw Uhura, and catching her eye, they exchanged the same concerned look.
"There are another two waves headed our way, several light years apart. The next wave will hit in approximately 48 hours. Captain, these meteors are much bigger than the last. I estimate they are about a meter in diameter minimum."
"So... About here?" the Captain said playfully. He measured a "meter" with his hands, only bringing them about shoulder width apart. A sloppy attempt to ease some of the tension on the bridge.
Kirk didn't hear Spock move, so it was a surprise when he was suddenly right in his face.
"No Jim," he growled angrily, causing a bewildered Kirk to back away, but was stopped by Spock's hands grasping his wrists painfully, and wrenching them further apart, "Here!" he gave the Captain's wrists a harsh shake as if to punctuate his point.
Spock wasn't going to let go, and Kirk could feel his hands go dead from the lack of circulation.
"Spock..?" he said carefully, somehow not able to look away from the Vulcan's eyes.
"Take this seriously, Jim!" he hissed, his grip increased, and Kirk bit back a yelp of pain.
"Spock..." Uhura was there, a gentle hand on Spock's shoulder. The gesture only made Spock's grip tighter, and Kirk really did yell this time.
The entire bridge fell quiet, the chatter suddenly gone.
"Spock, you're hurting me," Kirk gasped, petrified. He could have kicked Spock away, but Spock wasn't being himself, and that stopped him. Something was wrong.
There was a noise like steel knives rubbing together, and Kirk winced at the familiar sound as Spock's grip went limp, and he fell to the floor. Dr. Marcus was standing there, holding a hypospray.
Everyone was still, looking anxiously between their Captain and their now unconscious First Officer.
"Uhhh..." the Captain looked at Spock confusedly, unsure whether he should be sending Spock to sickbay or the brig.
"Security, take Spock to his quarters and make sure he stays there. When Bones is free, tell him what happened." Four Redshirts took an arm or a leg each and swept Spock out of the Bridge.
Kirk flashed Carol a smile, and indicated the hypo still in her hand.
"Thanks for that."
"No problem. Should I..."
"Yeah, have a look at the meteors, see what we're dealing with, why they have scrambling technology. Maybe see if they have anything that affects Vulcan behavior?"
He moved to intercept Uhura, who looked torn between staying and following her boyfriend.
"Uhura, find out how the planet is dealing with this. It would suck if their warp ship was destroyed."
"Yes sir," said Uhura, her lips tight.
"I need you here," said Kirk softly, squeezing her shoulder.
"I know," she said firmly.
"Thank you, lieutenant," said Kirk, letting go. She moved swiftly to her station and her hands flew over the buttons that did not have meteorite shaped holes through them.
"Sulu," continued the captain, "I want the ship moving again as soon as humanely possible. Shields are secondary at this point."
"Yes Captain."
For the next hour he paced the bridge, filtering out the chatter and supplying orders as everyone worked to get the ship working again.
"Captain," said Dr. Marcus from the Science Officer's station, "There is nothing to indicate that the meteors have anything to do with Commander Spock's behavior. Furthermore, no other Vulcans on board have been affected."
Kirk rubbed his eyes, wanting so badly to sit down, but reminding himself he couldn't.
"McCoy to Bridge," McCoy's voice piped up on the intercom. Kirk moved to his decimated chair and hit the reply button.
"Kirk here."
"Jim, I can't diagnose Spock in his quarters. I would like to bring him to sickbay for some tests, with your leave."
Kirk frowned worriedly at the arm of his chair.
"Do what you need to do, but take the security team there with you."
"Yessir."
Kirk sat down on his chair heavily. There was a sickening crunching sound and it gave out underneath him.
"Dammit!"
"I assure you Doctor, there is no need for these tests. I am perfectly fine."
McCoy came over to Spock's sitting position on a biobed holding a pen-like instrument that he proceeded to light up over Spock's head; it made a tinkling sound as he moved it.
"How do you explain your hissy fit on the bridge just now then, huh Spock?"
Spock didn't answer right away.
"I had... a momentary lapse of control," he said with difficulty, "Our Captain, once again, almost died. If I hadn't pushed him down... If you recall, I had a similar lapse when..."
He didn't have to finish his sentence.
"Yeah," said McCoy solemnly, putting down his instrument, "Alright, I guess. You're clear to return to duty. But I want you back here if you feel any more 'lapses,' d'you hear?"
"Yes Doctor," Spock countered behind him, already out of the door.
Once safely in the turbolift, he swallowed some deep breaths. His hands immediately started to shake violently.
He rubbed a hand over his face in distress.
"It can't be," he said to himself, "Please, no..."
As the lift approached his destination, he regained control of his faculties and straightened up, his Spock mask firmly back in place.
When he stepped onto the bridge the first thing he saw was Kirk and a number of red and yellow shirts fussing about the captain's chair, which looked in even worse shape that it was when the meteorite had hit it.
Spock swallowed a lump in his throat.
"Spock..?" Uhura walked up to him, a sweet smile hiding the concern in her eyes. She didn't show physical affection when in company for Spock's benefit. He was grateful.
"I'm fine, Nyota," he breathed.
Uhura gave him a harsh look.
"No you're not," she hissed quietly, so as not to attract any attention, "Don't insult my intelligence. You might have fooled the Doctor, but you don't fool me."
"I need to speak with Jim," he whispered.
Spock avoided her eyes, and moved around her to report to the Captain. He would gladly take another hit from the meteorites than suffer at the hands of an angry Nyota.
"Captain," he said to Kirk's back, as he was overseeing the fixing of his chair.
The Captain turned around sheepishly.
"Don't judge me, Spock - a ship isn't a ship without the captain's chair!"
Spock raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"I wasn't going to say anything, Captain." he saw the Captain's brow knit together as he spoke. "Something wrong, Captain?"
"What is with you, Spock? You're not... What's going on?"
Spock mentally cursed himself for underestimating his friend's perceptiveness.
"Captain, I'm fine. I just need..." he cut himself short when he realized how emotional he sounded. The Captain noticed.
"My ready-room. Come on."
Spock gratefully followed the captain into the rarely used room adjacent to the bridge.
"Right, now will you tell me what's wrong?"
"I can't."
"That! Right there! You never say that!" Jim was pointing a finger in between his eyes, and Spock looked at it, making him go cross-eyed.
"I never say what?"
"Y'know, like 'can't' or 'I'm' or 'you're'. It's always 'cannot' or 'you are' with you!"
Spock absently covered his mouth with a hand. He hadn't even noticed...
"And you're all... Handsy," said Kirk eloquently, gesturing at Spock's hand, "You're showing emotion. It's almost like you're turning human!"
"Please Jim, there is no need to insult me," Spock snapped, "Yes, I'm all of these things. I'm sorry. They are symptoms of my condition. I cannot tell you what it is. I just need some time," Spock took a deep breath at the admittance of his next request. "With Nyota."
Kirk's mouth twitched slightly. Spock felt his cheeks heat up.
Kirk paced the room jauntily, turning away from Spock - no doubt to hide the mirth from his eyes, thought Spock icily.
"So... Do all Vulcans go through this?"
Spock let loose an irritated breath, rounding on the captain,
"Jim," he growled, causing Jim to put his hands up in surrender. He still had that irritating smirk. How he would love to rip that smirk off his face...
"Alright, Spock - I'm sorry, don't break my wrists."
Spock looked, for a second, like a tribble caught in phaserlight, before he snorted and laughed through a wide, open grin.
Kirk was so surprised and touched by Spock's rare show of emotion that he found himself laughing with him.
"How long are you going to need, Spock?"
Spock stopped laughing and seemed to think for a second.
"12 hours, I believe."
Jim's eyebrows shot up.
"Wow, uhhh..." he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Alright then, Spock. You and Uhura have leave for the rest of the day. I expect you back on the bridge this time tomorrow."
"Thank you sir," said Spock.
Kirk followed him out of the ready room and back onto the bridge. He watched with a cheeky smile as Spock approached Uhura and they conversed in hushed voices.
Uhura flicked her head to look at Kirk, and he couldn't help himself - he winked at her and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Her eyes went wide and she blushed furiously.
Spock pulled her into the turbolift, and Kirk wiped the grin from his face almost immediately.
When was the last time he got some action? Let alone 12 hours in one session?
Yeah, that must be what was bothering him. Of course it was.
"Our only option is moving around to the other side of the moon," Dr Marcus was saying, "There is no way we can move out of range in time."
The Captain groaned, massaging his aching temples irritably.
"If anyone has another suggestion which doesn't involve exposing ourselves to the planet, I will promote them."
The bridge was silent. The captain groaned again.
They had established that the unusually large moon they were using to hide from the planet was what kept the planet shielded from the meteors, however the planet was still largely vulnerable. They had special shields over every home, designed to withstand meteor showers for that reason.
Thanks to Uhura's work filling in the language databanks, they were able to intercept and translate all of their media coverage on both the meteor showers and their warp ship, which was also quite central to their current events.
This meteor shower was stronger, and much more devastating to this planet than they were used to.
They had also found out that the meteor shower spanned as wide as 5 light years on all sides. There was no way they could move out of the way in time of it hitting.
"Alright, we're just gonna have to move around to the other side of the moon and hope that we just overestimated their signal strength."
Just then, Uhura came out of the turbolift.
"Oh, Lieutenant," said Kirk happily, "It's good you're back, I need..."
He faltered when he saw Uhura's face. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks tear-stained. She had been crying. Kirk shot out of his patched up seat and pulled her aside.
"What the hell? What happened?"
"Can we talk in private, Captain?" Uhura's voice was choked.
"Yeah." He lead her to his ready room.
When the door shut, Uhura began speaking immediately, and with urgency.
"Kirk, Spock is..." she hesitated, "Vulcan's don't talk about it with outsiders, but I know you and Spock are friends. I trust that you will keep this a secret. You will, won't you?"
"Of course."
"Spock's going through the Pon Farr - you know what that is, don't you?"
"Yeah," Kirk said with a reminiscent smile, "God bless Pon Farr. Vulcans... I just... There is no comparison."
"That's nice," said Uhura irritably, "But this is serious, Kirk. Vulcans can generally mate with whoever they like, whenever they like. But they absolutely have to when they're hit with Pon Farr."
Her face screwed up as she said the next bit, and she had to rub her eyes to stop tears falling.
"Some Vulcans find a mate. It's not common, but its not unheard of. If that happens, then the only way they can resolve their Pon Farr is with their mate."
"And Spock..?"
"He's found his mate, yeah. Its not me."
Kirk crossed his arms, his brows knitting together.
"Shit Uhura, I'm sorry."
Uhura waved her arms around madly, dismissing his commiserations.
"Look, I'm fine, its okay. It doesn't matter. He won't tell me who it is, and if he doesn't... If he can't... Then he's going to die, Kirk!"
The meteor shower was due to hit any time soon. Kirk oversaw the movement of the ship around to the other side of the moon, but he was off the bridge as soon as that was done.
He marched down the corridor to Spock's quarters, and punched the bell. Immediately, an unrecognizable growl sounded from the other side of the door.
"Go Away!"
Kirk recoiled a bit at the tone of voice coming from Spock. It was downright frightening. He shakily approached the door again.
"Spock, it's me. It's Jim."
A pause, then - "Why are you here?"
The voice was softer, but still rather gravelly.
"Why?!" Kirk growled, Because I'm worried about you, Spock! I've come to make sure that you're okay."
There was more silence.
"I'm fine."
"Don't give me that, Spock," Kirk nearly shouted, "Please let me in. Talk to me."
Kirk waited patiently. After a while, he began to hear strange noises, like coughing, occasionally punctuated with a sharp, wheezy intake of breath.
Spock was crying.
"Spock..." Kirk said his name softly but firmly, "You know I can open this door myself if I want to."
The sound of sobbing ebbed gradually, and a choked voice finally sounded on the other side of the closed door.
"Enter."
The word triggered the lock and the doors swished open. Kirk walked in and they closed swiftly shut behind him.
The first thing Kirk noticed upon entering was the heat in the room, and a distinctive musky smell hung in the air. Kirk had to brace his hand on the wall nearby as an odd sensation came over him, as if he was suddenly rather drunk.
Through his suddenly hazy vision, he saw Spock on his bed, his back firmly pressed against the wall, his knees tightly held against his chest.
The only light came from a Vulcan oil lamp, which rested in the middle of the room on a low square table.
From where Kirk stood, Spock's face was in shadow, but he could clearly see that he wasn't wearing anything other than a pair of Starfleet issue black shorts.
Spock was trembling erratically. Kirk had a feeling that this was not due to cold.
Seeing the state his friend was in helped Kirk to snap out of his sudden drunken daze, though his head still felt oddly spongy.
He righted himself and stepped towards Spock.
"Stop." Spock held an arm out and cowered against the wall. His voice was panicked, and about as shaky as his body was. "Don't come too close."
Kirk's stomach did a nervous flip and he spoke to him in a desperately concerned whisper.
"Talk to me, Spock. What's happening to you?"
The silence that occurred now was no longer all that silent. Spock's erratic and shaky breathing was very loud, and the room's stuffy atmosphere seemed to pulsate along with his breathing.
Kirk very much wanted to sit down.
"I thought that I could ignore it, that Nyota..."
He groaned out loud suddenly, interrupting his own explanation.
"This... Is... I admit... Very humiliating. I am unable to overcome this. Some Vulcans find that meditation works. For me, it seems, it does not."
His speech is cut short by sudden sobbing.
Kirk's brain was working at warp speed. He took note of Spock's condition, the musky smell in the room.
"Uhura..."
Spock shook his head slowly from behind the shadow. Kirk could hear sobbing again.
"Not her. It's not her."
Kirk felt a heavy weight in his chest as he watched his normally so reserved first officer break down.
"Yeah, she told me. Why did you..?"
"I made a mistake. I thought that as a part-human, my physiology would not... Work the same as it does for Vulcans. My mind... Chose someone sometime after I had established a relationship with Nyota. I was... Angry. I decided to ignore it. It was... most illogical of me."
"Who is it?"
Spock shook his head again.
"Sufficed to say that my cruel and possibly unbalanced mind has picked for me an impossible mate. I have already accepted my fate."
"What fate?"
"That I am going to die."
Unlike anything else Spock had said up until this point, this last sentence was spoken with Spock's normal precise clarity.
Kirk could not stop himself from moving towards Spock, who recoiled as Kirk grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently.
"Who is your mate?!" Kirk demanded, "I don't care who it is, I'll order them to your bed, if I have to!"
"Captain, I..."
"Tell me!"
"No, I can't."
"Spock!"
"Captain, don't."
"I order you to tell me!"
"It won't change anything!" Spock pushed him away. "I could not subject them to a Vulcan marriage. Their exploits up until this point have proven time and again that a committed relationship of any kind would be beyond them. Not only that, but... The person is... Male. Vulcans think... Mating is for reproduction. Homosexuality is not logical."
Kirk felt a vice clench over his heart and it was all he could do not to punch and shake Spock into action.
"Fuck them, Spock. Vulcans are stupid."
Spock made an odd noise between a laugh and a growl.
"I have slept with my fair share of Vulcans Spock, and I haven't had to be committed..."
"Sex with one's mate is not the same thing," Spock said through a long sigh.
"Ah, okay," said Kirk, pretending to understand, "Well... I dunno, maybe he'll surprise you. Have you even asked him?"
"Jim, I can't. I won't."
"I will convince you at gunpoint if I have to."
"Just kill me and be done with it, Jim."
"Spock!"
Spock lunged forwards. Kirk caught a glimpse of Spock's face as it hit the light. His eyes were puffy and green, his cheeks inflamed green, and his normally brown eyes were now inky black. Those eyes were the last thing he saw before he felt fingers on his face, and his vision went black.
An influx of foreign emotion surged through Jim, and after recovering from the onslaught of frustration, lovesickness, heartbreak, sadness, loneliness and harshly repressed but still very persistent sexual arousal, somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that these must be Spock's feelings.
Noises were garbled and distorted for a second as if being heard through water, but then as more voices and sounds reached his ears, the sound became as discernible as if he were actually there.
"Should we, I dunno, fire back?"
"No."
"Course not."
A console was the focus of his vision. He was noting down the performance of a cadet's Kobayashi Maru.
He looked up with a raised eyebrow at hearing the cadet's blatant lack of professionalism, and turned away from the console to turn his attention to the cadet in question.
Somewhere, in the back of Kirk's mind, he knew he was looking at himself.
Suddenly, static seemed to flare at every pore on his body, just as panic, nervousness, but also a feeling of completeness, flared up in his heart.
Albeit coupled with a level of animosity and resentment.
The other most obvious feeling, other than that of static, was one of a kind of magnetic energy, and it was pulling him towards the man taking his test.
It was like an invisible embrace. He had to physically stop himself from going to this stranger and giving him a real embrace.
"How the hell did that kid beat your test?"
Spock was somehow able to flick his eyes momentarily to the man who spoke before they found the "kid" in question again, who was looking up towards them, an irritating smirk playing on his face.
"I do not know."
Spock's fingers seemed magnetized to his face, and when Spock pulled them away, Kirk felt himself fall backwards, and, unable to stop himself, he ended up doing an odd backward roll off the bed.
He couldn't do much of anything. His body was jelly and his mind was ablaze with all of the emotions which was not his own.
"Jim! Are you okay? I'm sorry, I..."
"Numph," said Jim, trying to be reassuring, but failing to gain control of the muscles required to speak.
"Gimmmeamint."
Spock had not actually moved from the bed. He did not trust himself to touch Jim again.
Jim grunted as he pulled himself up with the help of a nearby Starfleet issue chair, which he then sat in.
His blue eyes were wide and shining as they seemed to properly look at Spock for the first time.
Spock felt like he was being x-rayed.
"Well, shit..." whispered Jim, resting his chin in his hands.
It was silent for a while. The only sound was Spock's harsh breathing.
"Alright," said Kirk eventually, "What do I have to do?"
Spock did an odd half leap from his position on the bed, before taking a rattling breath and anchoring himself as best he could to it by grasping the headboard, which splintered under his fist.
He groaned in a way that was un-Spock like.
Jim didn't know whether he was scared or excited by Spock's reaction.
"You do not have to do anything Captain!"
"I will do whatever it takes, Spock. I can't lose you."
Spock was shaking his head, tears now falling freely, as he made no effort to hold them back.
"Jim, no."
"Don't make me order you again, Spock."
With a rattling sigh, Spock sat up properly, and took some deep, controlled breaths before speaking.
"There are two options. Either... Either we mate - which, Jim, you must understand, is a very serious thing for us. I would be unable to mate with anyone else and I would kill anyone who tried to mate with you. We would also be, essentially, married. You would be part of my family and I yours. Also, we would be bonded - linked together, mind and body. The effects are permanent."
Jim sighed, deliberately not saying everything he was thinking. He just wanted Spock to live. He focused on that.
"I understand. What is the other option?"
"Kal-if-fee. I either fight you or a champion selected by you. It is a fight to the death."
Jim massaged his head as he considered these options.
"How long do you have before... Y'know?"
"I am close to Plak-tow. The blood fever. Once I have reached that state I will be unable to speak, or be reasonable. I will not be able to stop myself from seeking you out, or stop myself from killing whomever would try to stop me. Even if you yourself were trying to stop me. And Jim - I can kill very efficiently. If, in the unlikely case that I am unable to either kill my challenger or bond with you for too long a time, the emotional strain will kill me."
Jim sighed again. He knew that there was nobody on board the ship who would be able to take on Spock in a fight. Spock had almost killed him before.
He stood up and took a deep breath. He felt something akin to stage fright as he accepted what had to be done.
He tried to find the right words.
"Okay, Spock. Do... Do what you need to do. We... Can talk later."
Spock stared at him.
"Captain, I must..."
"It's okay, Spock."
Spock stood slowly.
"Jim..."
"Spock," Jim breathed, getting frustrated. "I ORDER you to use me however you need to in order to stay alive."
Spock started walking slowly towards him, but he spoke quickly.
"I declare koon-ut-so'lik. That is... I desire to be your mate. Do you accept?"
"I..." Jim smirked to himself at the significance of what he was about to say.
"I do."
Kirk saw something change in Spock's eyes, and his expression became downright primal.
"I am sorry, Jim."
Jim moved towards Spock until they were almost nose-to-nose.
"I'm not."
Spock raised his hand, two fingers extended. Jim looked at them then to Spock questioningly.
"Vulcans kiss with their fingers," said Spock, his voice a husky whisper. Jim felt his breathing quicken.
Nervously, he raised his own hand - his right hand, and copied the positioning of Spock's fingers.
Spock, remarkably patient despite his condition, gently stroked Jim's fingers.
Jim felt static where their fingers touched, and felt it tangle with his nerves, traveling upwards and downwards all over his body, before settling in his chest and somewhere around his navel and groin. A moan escaped his lips.
"Jim," said Spock breathlessly, "I would advise you not to make those kind of noises if you wish me to keep my sanity."
Jim huffed a breath, but nodded all the same.
The sensation from where their fingers were touching intensified, and Jim had to use every ounce of self control he had not to cry out.
Suddenly, he felt a sensation like a vice around his navel, and he felt a rush of new emotions pouring into him. From the mind-meld earlier, he easily identified these as Spock's.
Their fingers were locked together like magnets, and Jim couldn't work out whether he was unable to let go or unwilling to let go.
"Jim..." Spock was looking at him as if he had suddenly de-cloaked in front of him like a Klingon Warbird.
Jim moved before he new he'd done it. With his free hand, he pulled Spock to him and settled their lips together.
Pleasant didn't even begin to describe how the feeling of their lips together felt.
It felt to Kirk - like he was home.
Suddenly, an onset of panic settled between them, and Kirk pulled away to look at Spock to find out what was wrong.
"It's starting. I don't want to hurt you."
Kirk gently pushed Spock towards the bed.
"You can't hurt me. You won't."
Jim kissed him again, this time more insistent. Spock opened his mouth to him and Jim groaned when he felt their tongues touch. His free hand ran down Spock's back, who shivered suddenly when Kirk's hand found his first officer's lower back.
Unknown to them, white flashes flew past Spock's portholes as the meteor shower passed by them.
With a growl, Spock ripped off all of the material covering Kirk's body.
"The technology inside the meteorites are fragments of a lost underground society," finished Carol Marcus enthusiastically.
"Can you find out where it's coming from?" said Sulu.
"No," said Dr. Marcus, "The initial... explosion or whatever it was which caused these meteor showers would have happened thousands of years ago, and very far away. I estimate deep within the Delta Quadrant."
"Well, it's something to report to the Captain, at least. Does anyone know where he is?"
As he spoke, Uhura arrived, looking rather tired and forlorn.
"The captain is... Helping Spock. They'll be about 12 hours."
Without warning, she punched a hole through a view screen.
Kirk was woken up to the sound of his communicator from the floor.
He willed his aching muscles into action, wincing as he agitated the many bruises covering his body.
When he sat up, he yelped as pain shot up through his rear and tore through his entire body.
"I told you I'd hurt you," said a glum Spock quietly next to him.
"Ah, shuddup Spock," hissed the Captain, standing up and doing an odd penguin-like walk over to his uniform, which was now in tatters, and fishing out his communicator out of a pocket.
"Ouch!" he said into his communicator, just as pain flashed through his wrist. Apparently he had sprained it as some point.
"Captain?" said the voice of Sulu on the other end.
"Sorry, I'm a bit..." he stopped himself. "What's up, Sulu?"
"I have relieved Uhura from duty for the time being. I have someone else taking over her work."
"Why..?"
"Sir, she... She went crazy and destroyed a view screen and what was left of her console interface. If it were anyone else, I would have sent them to the brig."
Kirk let out a long groan. Everything was so... Messed up.
"You did the right thing, Sulu. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Anything else?"
"We have some new information about the meteor shower. We don't have clear data on the next wave, but estimates it won't be on us for another five days."
"Thank you Sulu. I will be back on duty in five..."
"Seven," interrupted Spock.
"Seven hours."
A pause, then, "Yes, captain." was he giggling?
Kirk shut his communicator and looked over at Spock lying stark naked on the bed.
"Not finished with me?"
Spock raised an eyebrow, before getting up and retrieving a fresh uniform from a chest of drawers.
"I was, as you put it, 'finished with you,' after the first..." he wavered a little, before straightening up with a clearing of his throat. "You require medical attention. Get back in bed. I will retrieve the doctor."
"What?" said the Captain indignantly, "You mean to tell me that I've been here eleven hours longer than I needed to be? Spock!"
He moved around the room collecting his discarded uniform, his injuries causing him to move around like a penguin. He groaned when he held up his yellow over shirt and black undershirt. They were both in tatters.
"I will retrieve you a fresh uniform," added Spock, pulling a blue shirt over his head and leaving.
Kirk rubbed his eyes, and waddled back to the bed, where he did an odd belly-flop to avoid agitating his rear.
The next time Kirk woke up, he was in sick bay, with Bones standing over him.
"What the hell?"
"Sorry Jim, I had to move you. You had a cracked spine, among other injuries. I had to treat it before you made it worse."
"Ahh, right. Thanks. Listen, about..."
Bones held up a hand.
"No need to explain, Jim. I figured it all out for myself. Well, not all of it, but Spock was kind enough to fill in the blanks. I didn't know Vulcans even believed in soul mates, let alone be hard-wired to... Whatever."
He pressed some buttons on a console.
"I would say though, Jim... Next time, make sure you catch him before he goes too crazy, because next time, I might not be there to stop you from breaking your back."
Jim sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah, next time... Jesus."
He sighed, feeling like ants were crawling over his legs.
His communicator beeped from the table next to his biobed.
"Kirk here."
"Captain," came Spock's voice from the other end, causing a stabbing sensation in Kirk's gut, followed by the odd feeling of blood boiling in his head. "We are being hailed from the planet's surface. They have requested to speak with you."
Kirk groaned and hopped of the bed. He decided not to think about how he now happened to be fully clothed.
"I was afraid of this. I'm on my way."
The man on the view screen was a cat.
"He's a cat," he whispered to Spock out of the corner of his mouth.
He does, indeed, possess uncanny likeness to an Earth feline.
Kirk jumped as Spock's voice echoed in his head, but he quickly shook it off in favor of doing his job.
"I am Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise."
Uhura was pushing buttons at a superhuman speed, having been summoned out of her quarters by Spock to translate communications between themselves and the planet. Two burly redshirts stood nearby, watching her with impressed expressions.
"I am Ka'shir Ottoa of the planet Adriato. You come to us during a time of great suffering, stranger."
The cat-like man spoke languidly, and with a purr. It was very pleasant to listen to.
Kirk nodded in understanding.
"This is because of the meteor shower, isn't it?"
Ottoa nodded solemnly.
"We have many fallen today. We have awaited a long time for otherworld strangers to visit us - that it should come at a time like this, is disappointing."
"We took a detour to visit your planet. We detected a warp signature."
"Warp? I do not know this thing..."
Another cat-like figure appeared, whispering something in Ottoa's ear, which flickered at the sudden close contact. Dr Marcus let out an undignified squeak.
Ottoa nodded,
"Is this thing... Warp... This makes ships move at the speed of light?"
Kirk nodded.
"Yes, to put it simply."
"We had a man... Koltan. Eccentric hobbyist, we thought. But he is also Ka'shir. He was working on this - trying to make an old rocket do this... Warp. He perished during the meteor storm. His experimental ship was also damaged. It is unlikely it will fly now. His daughter, Zarza - she tries. I suspect her determination is fuelled by the loss of her father."
Kirk deliberated for a time, before nodding sadly.
"My sympathies for your people, Ka'shir Ottoa. Do we have permission to remain here until the meteors pass?"
"Of course, my friend. It would not reflect well on my people to deny this to you. May your paws find soft path."
The transmission cut out.
"Sir," piped up Sulu, "We can help them. We can repair their warp ship, offer supplies..."
"Out of the question, Mr Sulu," said Kirk tiredly, sitting in his chair, "We have already broken regulation by communicating with them."
"Captain," spoke up Uhura suddenly, "We are being hailed again."
"Onscreen."
A much younger, and distinctly more female face appeared.
"Captain Kirk. I apologize, I was listening to the conversation. I had to so I could trace the frequency..."
"To whom am I speaking?" asked Kirk.
"I am Ka' Zarza. Ka'shir Koltan was my father - he was the man Ka'shir Ottoa told of you."
Kirk was impressed.
"Ka' Zarza, you have my attention. What can I do for you?"
"You have a warp ship. You can help us finish my father's work. It is now our only hope, Captain. The next meteor will devastate us, unless we can stop it."
"Devastate you?"
"Yes, indeed Captain. This next meteor proves to be the size of our moon. It is headed right for us."
With a few words from Kirk, the ship was on full alert. They had sent down supplies, medical and engineering teams to help alleviate some of the damage the other meteor showers had caused.
Uhura had taken over communication and was programming universal translators to make liaisons all over the planet go as smooth as possible.
Of course there were a few mistakes here and there - there was an awkward incident involving food being served in panties instead of on plates. Uhura pointed out that she was only human.
Not to mention she's just had her heart broken, thought Kirk to himself as he walked through the various corridors to the mess hall. He waved at the chef, who bustled over with an already made up tray, just as Kirk sat down.
"Steak today, Captain. Medium rare, just how you like it."
"Thank you."
Just as he was almost done eating, he felt more than he saw Spock take the seat opposite him.
"Spock," said Kirk politely.
"We will need to talk..." began Spock, before Kirk interrupted him.
"No need Spock. It was necessary. That is... All there is to it. We have all the time in the world to talk about... I dunno." Kirk laid down his knife and fork, "Setting a date, or whatever."
"You sound angry."
Kirk looked up suddenly. On reflection, he was getting rather short, and his tone of voice was harsher than usual.
"Sorry," he mumbled, "I guess I am. I had assumed that I would be allowed to choose whom I would spend the rest of my life - y'know, eventually, once I'd settled down... Turns out... I didn't get to choose."
"You did, Captian. You had a choice."
"That was not a choice, Spock. There was no way I was going to let you die, no matter what the cost."
There was a long pause.
"You are a good friend, Jim." with that, Spock stood and left. The word "friend" echoed in Kirk's head painfully, as if Spock had shouted it.
Spock had been working diligently with sensor engineers from the planet - their scanners were far more advanced than Starfleet. With their help, he was able to track the incoming meteor and confirm Zarza's prediction. The Meteor seemed to be a fragment of an entire planet, just like the rest of the meteors.
"This confirms Dr Marcus' belief that the meteors carry remnants of an old technological society. The planet must have been caught in a cataclysmic event. The explosion must have been... Indescribable, if it has sent the fragments traveling as fast as warp speed."
Kirk sighed.
"That is fascinating. Really. But I can't afford to think about that. We just have to stop it. The whole, "staying alive" agenda."
Spock inclined his head, his face even more expressionless these days than Kirk was used to. It only served to make his own mood worse.
Scotty came in from the turbolift.
"Captain! Ka' Zarza has a plan! You need to come and see for yourself."
Kirk and Spock exchanged looks. Scotty had never sounded this excited about anything. He looked like an overexcited puppy.
"Very well. Uhura, Spock - you're both with me. Lead the way, Scotty."
When they beamed down, they were surrounded on all sides by very yellow, but very soft grass. There was a pleasantly warm wind, making the wide, open grassy plains ripple like water.
Scotty was already walking towards a modest looking house, which marked the end of a very long looking dirt track. The others hurried to keep up with him.
"Welcome, Captain Kirk," said a female adriatian as soon as they crossed the threshold.
"Thank you," said Kirk, eyeing her tail with cautious interest as it swished with the movement of her hips. He cringed as he heard Spock growl quietly behind him.
The woman stopped, her ears flickering back.
"Forgive my... Lack of subtlety, but I smell the tension here. Humans are unusual - they make this so obvious. Why do you not hide it?"
There was a loaded silence.
"We... Um..." said Uhura tentatively. "Our senses are not as... I mean - we don't notice it. Or else, we have learned over time to ignore it."
The adriatian laughed - a sound very similar to that of a snigger, made through fangs and tongues.
"Forgive me. My name is Nyalla. I am Koltan's widow. Zarza is my daughter. I do hope you can help her."
"Where is she?"
"In the tunnel, with the ship. I will take you."
She lead them through a round trap door, just out of the way of the main corridor.
In stark contrast to the house, which was made up mostly of wood, the tunnel they were now standing in was made up entirely of metal, broken up on occasion with a very dim recessed light.
Nyalla led them further down the corridor until it opened out to a very large room, equipped to look like a docking bay. The roof was about thirty feet above them. They were standing on a platform made up of metal mesh, and looking down they could see the bottom of the room was about another thirty feet below them.
"Zarza!" called Nyalla.
Zarza's head appeared at the small opening of the ship which appeared to be the only way to exit and enter the ship.
"Oh!" she said excitedly, jumping down and moving to greet them.
"Greetings Captain. Thank you, Scotty, for bringing him. I have a proposition."
"Lets hear it," said Kirk with a smile.
"I want to send this ship to crash into the meteor with some explosives. If we can give it enough impact, we can blow the meteor apart into smaller chunks, and slow it down enough to make the impact more bearable."
Kirk frowned.
"It sounds like a great plan, but how do you expect to drive the ship into the meteor without... You know... Dying?"
Zarza made a dismissive gesture.
"I am fitting a remote piloting mechanism to the ship now. I can drive the ship from down here."
"Color me impressed," said Kirk, turning to Scotty.
"Use whatever resources you need from the ship to get this thing done."
"You bet your arse, Captain," said Scotty seriously.
"Kirk! Open this door right now! Kirk!"
Uhura was banging furiously on Kirk's door, waking him up from what felt like five minutes of sleep. He rolled out of bed clumsily and moved at a slalom to his door, pushing the button to release the lock, making the door swish open.
"What can I do for you Uhura?"
"You can talk to Spock! He told me you haven't spoken to him since he was cured!"
Kirk sighed and motioned for her to come in, inviting her to sit down. She didn't.
"I will, I will. I have to concentrate on the meteorite not killing us and the thousands of cat-people on this almost warp-capable planet."
Uhura crossed her arms, her eyes accusing.
"I'm sorry, Uhura - I can't deal with both at the same time!"
"Sounds like an excuse to me. There's a possibility you might die... Personally I'd want to spend it with the one I love."
"What's your point?" said Kirk tiredly.
Uhura looked like he'd just suggested killing a puppy.
"You do love him, don't you?"
"I... What? No, I just... I let this happen so that he would live. That's all. This is so messed up."
"He loves you."
Kirk stared at her.
"What he feels is just about that... Vulcan voo-doo. He has no choice but to love me."
"Nobody knows why we love. Nobody has the choice - it happens the same way for everyone. We often find that we resent our feelings, which is what had happened to Spock. Maybe a bit less, as he got to know you better. But it was that day when I knew. When you died. Spock... I have never seen him so broken, not even since Vulcan was destroyed. I knew then - that he would never love anyone like he loved you."
She didn't wait for Kirk to reply. She left, the doors swishing shut behind her, leaving Kirk looking gormlessly at the closed doors.
The door to the adjoining bathroom opened, and out walked Spock.
Kirk sighed.
"You heard all of that?"
"I did. I am sorry."
"No," said Jim, moving over to him, "I'm sorry. I haven't... I'm... I'm really not good at this-"
Spock pulled him in for a hug, cutting off his eloquent speech.
"Nyota is right. I do love you. I am sorry that you had to find out like this. I am sorry that you are trapped in a relationship you did not choose. You are not obligated to return my feelings. I will be forever grateful of the sacrifice you made to save my life. That is all I need."
It was all Kirk could do just to pull Spock closer. He would have to get used to the close contact, after all. Besides, it wasn't all that bad.
Kirk's communicator beeped.
"For goodness..." he retrieved the offending instrument from his bedside table, flipping it open.
"Kirk here."
"Captain, there was an explosion at the warp ship site. Uhura and Scotty are down there. There is no response from their coms."
With an exchanged look, Spock and Kirk were immediately on the move.
"Spock and I are on our way to the transporter room now. Beam us directly to the docking bay."
"Captain," Came Dr Marcus' voice, "The meteor is getting too close. We need to get that ship in the air now, or we're all toast."
"Understood Dr Marcus."
They arrived at the transporter room. When they were beamed down, they were surrounded on all sides by fire and smoke.
Through the haze of grey smoke, a figure was pulling a semi-unconscious Zarza across the metal platform.
"Remote pilot not work... Cannot let meteor... Must drive... No... Put me back..."
"The remote piloting system isn't working?" shouted Kirk over the roaring flames and the fire alarm.
"Jim, I will drive the ship," said Spock beside him.
"You will not! Are you crazy?!" Jim yelled in his first officer's face, feeling like a hand had reached inside him and started squeezing his heart and throat.
"I will not be able to stand losing you Jim. It is logical that I..."
"Fuck off! No! You can't!"
Spock merely pushed him away, but Kirk clung onto him desperately.
His eyes, head and heart burned, and he did the only thing he felt was right.
He pulled Spock's hand over his face, desperately making Spock understand.
He blacked out, and the roaring of the flames and the blaring fire alarm stopped.
The all to familiar smell and sight of the sick bay invaded his senses when Kirk woke up.
A very grave looking Bones stood over him.
"Bones... No. Don't have that look. No."
"Jim," Bones' attempt at comforting him was in vain as it came out as a tearful, guttural choke.
"No! He didn't do it! He isn't that STUPID!"
Kirk threw himself off the biobed and ran to the turbolift, calling for the bridge. As he got nearer, his eyes began to leak tears. By the time he had reached the bridge, he could barely stand as the sobs began to take over his body.
"Captain on the bridge," called Dr Marcus.
Through the captain's wobbly vision, he made out the shape of his chair, and... Was that a blue shirt?
Spock stood from his place on the captain's chair, turning to face him.
"Spock!" shouted Kirk, tripping over his feet, only to be caught by Spock. Kirk began beating his chest, his tears still free-flowing, "Spock, you scared the shit out of me!"
"Nyota did it," said Spock, "She drove the ship. She saved us all."
They were, of course, unable to retrieve a body. They held a memorial service and released an empty coffin in her honor.
Kirk stood and addressed the crew. His speech was broadcasted ship wide.
"Uhura could be scary at times. The things she could do, and her impenetrable courage, were superhuman. Let us never forget Uhura's selflessness. Her sacrifice is proof that her fierce loyalty to the crew of the Enterprise, and to Starfleet, was beyond imagining. Uhura, may you rest in peace among the stars."
The whistle sounded, and the coffin was released.
Kirk found his place next to Spock. Their hands found each other, their fingers wrapped together.
Thank you, Uhura, they thought.
Zarza had just been given leave to walk around the ship. She had been kept in sick bay to treat burns and smoke poisoning. Her fur was matted and patchy, but she no longer had any angry pink scars to speak of.
Kirk and Spock were escorting her to the cargo bay, where they had transported a fragment of the meteor for closer inspection.
"I have this part of the database translated," Scotty was saying, just as Zarza froze in front of the meteor, looking with wide, terrified eyes at one of the pieces of technology they were trying in vain to analyze.
"It says, 'We are the Borg. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile."
Kirk scoffed.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"