Rating: R
Pairing: Spock/Kirk
Spoilers/Warnings: AU, male/male pairing, blood play, violence
Word Count: ~1730
Disclaimer: Star Trek TOS and all its characters, belong to Paramount and its affiliates. This was written for my own enjoyment and no money is being made from it.
Summary: On the planet Renatus lives a creature that is known throughout the galaxy. This creature has the power over life and death and it is this planet that a landing party from the Enterprise is forced to land on.

•••

Captain's Log Stardate 2287:

The meteor debris in this sector of the quadrant I had been informed on more than one occasion was not meant to come anywhere near us for at least three more solar days at which time we would be well out of range of receiving any damage and would then be able to collect data. Yet we found ourselves in the midst of the worst of it, the ship sustaining heavy damage that not even my Chief Engineer Mr. Scott is capable of fixing completely. We only have impulse power at our command and have been able to limp our way to the planet Renatus where we have found vast amounts of dilithium crystals and drioxit which we need in order to make our way to the nearest Star Base which is almost four solar days away. In order to get to the planet's surface we will use the Galileo since our transporters are not in working condition and the ship does not have the necessary power to run them.

The landing party will consist of myself, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Mr. Chekov and a contingent of security personnel.

Jim was walking into the hangar bay as were all the others who were assigned to go down to the planet's surface. Spock was waiting for him off to the side of the entrance with arms clasped behind his back, his figure straightening as he saw Jim enter.

He matched the captain's pace as he began to tell him of the planet. "Captain, Renatus is a class M planet in all respects including an atmosphere composition that is safe for normal respiratory functions to continue. There are some fauna that should be catalogued for the Starfleet data banks and there are some inhabitants of the planet that appear to be humanoid."

The two entered the shuttle, followed closely by the others. Spock quickly crossed to where the controls were, taking the helm as he started flipping switches to bring the engine to life. Jim took the seat opposite of him as he too began to prepare the shuttle for launch.

The Enterprise was as close to the planet as she possibly could be in her current condition, the risk of obtaining an orbit tricky to say the least. If she had been able to obtain any kind of orbit in her current condition, she would be hard pressed to break such an orbit when the time came with only impulse engines at her disposal.

The bay doors opened to show the inky black of space with its stars that twinkled and shone from various points throughout the galaxy. Jim remembered always longing to fly among these stars ever since he was a child, to explore what was hidden among them.

The Galileo took off from the bay floor, the engines pushing it out into that infinite black. The planet showed itself not soon after they left the confines of the Enterprise, a giant form of rock and life that broke through the black to show itself in all the colors it possessed.

Within a short span of time, Spock and Jim expertly piloted the Galileo onto the planet's surface, landing the shuttle in an open copse of trees near where the scanners detected the presence of the dilithium and the drioxit they were in desperate need of.

Before they exited the Galileo, they completed a sweep of the area to make sure there was nothing awaiting them outside when they opened the door.

"Scan complete, Keptin," Chekov announced. "Area is dewoid of any liwing beings."

"Except for us," McCoy muttered under his breath though everyone heard it.

Jim could only smile at his statement. "You have a point, Doctor. Now gentlemen, lets not waste any more time."

•••

An hour passed in which time they remained relatively close to the shuttle, still running scans of the planet and collecting as much data as they could before they left.

Jim often times looked into the trees, which were becoming harder to make out as the sun of the planet began to weaken as its hold on the planet was over taken by night. The setting of the sun was more the sun winking out, one moment the world was bathed in its glow and the next night was upon them.

Jim heard something or someone rushing towards the group. He could feel the smile spread on his face as he pictured one of the younger security personnel moving closer to the rest of them because the dark was much more intimidating here than on Earth.

Jim could not expect what happened next. The creature seemed to come from nowhere as Jim barely blinked and it was upon them. The light that was now emanating from within the Galileo cast shadows everywhere as the creature flew from one to another, always coming closer and closer.

It reached the first of Jim's security men within seconds, its hand closing around his neck as its mouth came crashing down to draw blood. The man's mouth was open in a silent scream though no sound came from him as the creature crushed his windpipe in its effort to get all the blood from his body.

The corpse fell to the ground as the creature surveyed the on lookers, all of them frozen in the places they had been standing. In a whir of movement the creature was drinking from another of Jim's men. This one was able to scream, the sound gurgling as he chocked on his own blood.

His corpse joined the other on the ground as Jim finally yelled out, "Back to the ship!"

His words roused his men into moving, the ship welcoming them as Jim shut the doors behind them once he made sure all of them were in. The cabin was full of men who were panting even though their flight was only sustained for a short distance.

Jim was bent over, his hands supporting his upper body on bent knees as he drew in great lung fulls of air in an attempt to calm himself. His mind relentlessly played what he had just witnessed over and over, his stomach turning at the carnage. He was used to death since it was something that was a part of his career. Losing men was never easy but he could not recall a time when he had lost a man in such a violent way.

Jim could see McCoy was having a similar reaction as the doctor heavily dropped into one of the Galileo's seats, his eyes distant as he became lost in his mind. Spock was the only one who seemed unaffected though Jim could tell he was just as rattled as the rest of them were.

Jim straightened up, smoothing his uniform down in the areas it had risen up. "Report," he commanded. His voice sounded weak even to himself.

"Two men dead, Captain," Spock replied instantly.

"Did anyone get a clear look at what that creature was?"

"Negative, Captain. Even for me the creature moved too fast to see with any real clarity. When it was otherwise engaged it hid its facial features."

"At least we know it is an intelligent life form we are dealing with then…"

"A wise assumption, Captain."

"I'm more interested in knowing what it is!" McCoy grouched. "I'd like to know what might be sucking me dry next time I go outside of the ship."

Jim's eyes slightly widened as a thought crossed his mind. He tried to hide it from the crew though he was sure that Spock had seen it as he was still regarding Jim to make sure he was not under the effects of shock.

Jim's mind raced as he put what little they had on this creature together. There were always stories being told, even books and films of such creatures that fed on the blood of the living. The stories were terrifying yet erotic, but they were on the written page or on the screen, there was no credit to them.

How could something like those creatures of old be real? Something like that could not possibly exist could it?

Jim was trying to assuage his fears that an entity such as that could exist in any part of the galaxy let alone the planet they had been forced to land on.

He turned to Spock, McCoy now standing as he saw Jim withdraw into himself and his thoughts. McCoy's mind was beginning to come to the same conclusions Jim's were though he was desperately trying to find another line of reasoning.

"Vampire," Jim whispered.

McCoy nervously laughed as Jim said the one thing he had hoped he would not, "Lot of superstition… no truth in vampires…"

"On the contrary doctor, it is very probable that such a being exists in the universe. There are all sorts of life forms we have not yet discovered, this being one such example."

"Spock, you mean to tell me you believe in vampires?"

"No, but I do believe in what my eyes perceive and they have perceived an entity that is not unlike a vampire."

McCoy could not help but roll his eyes, Jim simply stared at the floor trying to think of what to do.

"We need to get those materials we came down here for," he said to everyone at large; this whole conversation had the remaining crew fidgeting, their beliefs all thrown to the wind at hearing that something like a vampire could exist. Even Chekov was suddenly speechless.

"Well if this is a vampire," McCoy started, "then it follows that it can't be exposed to sun light."

"Doctor, I said it was not unlike a vampire, not that it was in fact a vampire."

"I saw what I saw, Spock, and that was a vampire," McCoy retorted.

Spock did not respond as he waited for Jim to say something, anything that would make the situation better. He could feel the waves of tension and worry rolling off of Jim, Spock sending him the reassurance Jim needed so he could get them through this situation like he always did.

"For now we will assume that sun light can harm this thing, therefore we will wait until mid afternoon, when the sun is highest in the sky and we will work quickly to get what we need."