Spock was distraught. He was also Vulcan and the only person who might have discerned the turmoil in his heart was the woman whose broken body he now held in his arms.
They had beamed down to the planet approximately forty-eight hours previously. They were on a three day survey mission. The Enterprise had warped out of orbit almost immediately and would not be back for another twenty-seven hours. She had to live for those twenty-seven hours.
Initially things had gone well. It was an uncharted planet. The ship's sensors had picked up evidence of sentient civilisations throughout its three continents and myriad islands. There had been nothing to suggest that these people had any inkling of peoples from other worlds so they, and another four survey teams, had been beamed down to selected uninhabited areas. Each team had consisted of two people and Spock had been gratified when the ship's No.1 had chosen him to be the second on her team. He had correctly viewed it as a commendation.
He was also human enough to be glad of the time alone together. She was the one unexpected, wondrous gift that the universe had bestowed upon him. He still marvelled at this presence in his life. He hadn't realised there had been emptiness until it was filled and now his only fear was that one day she would be taken from him. Neither death nor disgrace came close to this one fear, that the emptiness would return and that now he would know it for what it was and be lonely.
They shared above all else a belief that logic and reason provided the only path to enlightenment for a rational mind. Consequently they worked well and efficiently together. Other members of the crew beamed down in similar circumstances may have wasted time walking together, talking together, loving together, but they did not. There was work to do. They understood this and each other and nothing more was necessary.
Theirs was to be a preliminary report, depending on its recommendations there might follow a full survey. The Enterprise might even be asked to conduct it, but for now all that was required were the usual basic answers. Was the water safe, was the flora safe, the fauna safe? Microbial analysis, soil analysis, atmospheric analysis. There was no reason for the ship to remain in orbit. Captain Pike's judgement that the rest of the crew would benefit from some leave on the nearest starbase had been sound. This should not have happened. And haunting him now was the growing apprehension that it need not have happened, if it had not been for him.