The planet was lush and dark. Within minutes of beaming down, Bones was covered in a film of sweat. "It's hot as hell." He mumbled, rolling up his sleeves.
"I do not understand that particular human phrase due to the fact that-"
"Yeah, yeah." Bones said, waving away Spock's comment. It was too hot to deal with his smart ass remarks. The heat didn't seem to bother Spock in the slightest. McCoy started walking into the dense foliage.
"Doctor, we must remain in the same vicinity until we determine if there is any danger."
The only danger you have to worry about is getting on my nerves. McCoy thought to himself. He huffed and stopped a few feet in, still in Spock's eyesight. He grabbed the tricorder from his side and began to scan the vegetation.
He heard a soft gurgling noise. He looked around on the ground but saw nothing. The noise stopped.
He continued working. The noise began again, this time more loudly. He looked on the ground and saw nothing but the thick dark plants and a tan rock. He couldn't recall seeing the rock before. He crouched down next to it and scanned the fist sized object. The surface of it shivered as the gurgling noise issued from it. McCoy pulled the tricorder away. The thing became still and silent once again.
He stared at it intently. A full thirty seconds passed before a small oval section of the tan surface came up, revealing two black insectile eyes. They stared cautiously at the Doctor.
"Hey there little fella." McCoy said with a smile.
The thing flinched and gurgled lightly at the noise but it's eyes stayed on him.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." He said, bringing the tricorder closer.
The gurgling suddenly became fast and frantic. The creature rose on legs that had been tucked underneath it. It's body seemed to convulse, and from it's underside small needles shot at McCoy. He yelped as he felt the small hot points burying into his shoulders and chest. He fell back into the foliage as the creature scurried away into the forest.
Spock was at his side in an instant, picking him up nimbly and bringing him to the clearing.
"What has happened, Doctor?"
"Some creature just shot something at me." He said gruffly, trying not to panic. They were on an alien world, never before explored. He had never seen a creature like that. If these things were poisonous, he could be in a lot of trouble.
Spock sat him down, looking at his chest and shoulders. The needles, thin but long, were spread across his blue uniform front. Small dark circles were quickly growing around the bases.
"How deep do you think they are?" McCoy asked, clenching his teeth together to stop from making pathetic noises.
"I do not know." Spock said distractedly, looking carefully at the protrusions.
Spock flipped open his communicator and attempted to contact the ship. His attempts were met with silence. He shut it and tossed it to the side. "I must remove these needles, Doctor."
McCoy nodded, motioning weakly to his medical kit. Spock took out an anesthetic hypospray and quickly gave it to McCoy. He made the Doctor lay down on the grass. Spock quickly got to work, carefully extracting each needle, twelve in all. The dark spots on McCoy's shirt were spreading. Spock cut the shirt away and began dressing the wounds.
McCoy's head felt heavy. He began drifting asleep. A sharp slap across the face brought the world back into focus.
"I apologize, Doctor, but you must remain conscious."
McCoy blinked a few times and willed himself to stay awake. Spock was scanning him now, his face inscrutable.
"What's the diagnosis, Doc?" McCoy said hazily.
"It appears an unknown toxin has entered your bloodstream."
It took McCoy a few seconds to ask his next question, mainly because he didn't want the answer.
"Am I gonna die?"
"That is uncertain."
Uhura continued trying channels, as Kirk sat in his chair, his fingers tapping an impatient rhythm on the armrest.
"Still nothing?" He asked again.
Uhura shook her head, a touch of worry on her face.
"Just keep trying." Kirk said, keeping his voice level.
Chekov turned to face him. "Keptin, the planet's magnetic field is draining ze ship's power. We cannot maintain orbit much longer."
"Do we have enough power to beam someone else down?"
Chekov's hands flew over the screen nimbly. "Ze magnetic field is also disrupting our transporters. I would not risk it, keptin."
Kirk nodded slowly. It was amazing at how quickly such a simple mission could turn into trouble. The planet's readings had been absolutely fine when Spock and Bones had beamed down, but right after they had disappeared from the ship, a strong magnetic energy began radiating from the planet, causing communications, sensors, everything, to stop working. The situation was certainly tense. Kirk sighed. He could only imagine what was happening to Spock and Bones.
It had been an hour. Spock had bundled The tatters of McCoy's shirt and placed it under his head. The flesh around the small holes were an angry red. The skin was tight and swollen. McCoy's bare chest glistened with sweat. He fought to keep his eyes open. Spock was crouched beside him, observing all of his reactions.
"Damnit Spock, a little sympathy would be nice." McCoy breathed weakly.
Spock hesitated before patting the Doctor's forearm. "There, there." He said stiffly. "I feel sorrow for your situation, Doctor."
McCoy couldn't help but give a small smile. At least Spock made an effort.
Spock went and tried his communicator again. Still nothing.
McCoy had a headache that made every heartbeat an agony. It seemed to ricochet through his skull, sending waves of pain through every inch of his body.
Spock returned shortly. "Do you feel any different, Doctor?"He checked McCoy's pupils.
"As in do I still feel like my skull is gonna crack open any second? Then yes, I still feel the same."
Spock took the Doctor's pulse. It was accelerated and fainter than it should be. Spock kept his face neutral, though he felt anything but calm.
He left to try the communicator again. McCoy hated when Spock left. It seemed like he was left alone for hours, though that couldn't be right, could it? It was only minutes. It had to be. He could feel his grasp on simple things like time and even coherent thoughts slowly slipping away. He conjured a picture of the crew. Of Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, little Pavel, and of course, Jim. He would bring a mental picture of each of them forward, saying their full name, their rank, their position. A simple exercise that helped to keep him anchored.
As soon as Kirk finished giving the details of the situation, Kirk asked if transporting were still possible.
"Too risky." Scotty replied. "There's too much interference to guarantee a successful transport."
Kirk frowned lightly as his mind quickly worked through different scenarios. His eyes perked up. "Would it be possible to channel the energy from the warp core into the transporter?"
"But we wouldn't be able to get a clean lock on them."
"If you used full power capabilities, would you be able to?"
Scotty paused. "Well, yes, but it would be extremely dangerous. the ship's draining every second we stay in orbit."
Kirk gave a faint smile. "Then I guess we better hurry."
He felt as is he were drowning in his own sweat. He was so hot. It felt as if he would simply melt, being absorbed greedily by the ground beneath him. The thought went wildly through his mind, repeating over and over. It seemed as if he had been laying there for years. Had he ever not been laying here? This is where he was born, where he would die. There had never been anything else but this.
But then...
Weak memories floated through his mind. Faces he knew, but couldn't put names to. Places he had loved, things he had done. How much was real? He clenched his eyes shut and tried to focus. Gaila was leaning over him. He smiled at her and tried to say something, but found he was incapable of doing so. Her light green skin seemed to be shifting under her red curls. He tried to reach up and touch it. When his shaking fingertips met her cheek it blew away like a wisp of smoke. Soon Gaila was a green and red vapor that swirled around him. Her laugh permeated the air. He saw Sulu now. He had a pleased look on his face. "Something funny?" McCoy tried to ask, but before Sulu could answer, he shifted into Jim. His blue eyes swam before him, so cool, so clear. McCoy wished he could just jump right into the bright clean pools of his eyes. Kirk began to break up.
The mist began to clear. Spock was there. He seemed solid. His mouth was moving, but McCoy couldn't understand anything he was saying. Spock smacked him across the face, causing his head to erupt in pain. He gasped, making the swollen wounds on his chest stretch and burn. Things seemed to focus briefly.
"Doctor, you have to stay with me. I am begging you." There was an evident panic in Spock's voice.
This helped clear McCoy's mind a little further. "I'm not going anywhere." He said, the words coming out sounding small and broken.
"You stopped breathing." Spock replied, pain wracking his features.
McCoy closed his eyes. He just wanted to sleep. Was that too much to ask?
Another slap across the face made him hazily open his eyes.
"Doctor, please do not die."
"Why do you care?" McCoy thought sluggishly. But Spock answered. He must have said it out loud.
"Because you are my friend."
Friend. Well, that was something. Spock considered him his friend. The doctor kept his eyes open, trying to fight off the sleep that threatened to take him. The man with the blue eyes. The man that could bring him relief, comfort. Where was he? What was his name? Something sweet, like the whisper of wind in an overgrown field.
He fought to hang on, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could.
Scotty worked hard, adjusting, checking, adjusting again. Finally, wiping his brow with his red sleeve, he nodded.
Kirk commed the bridge. "Chekov, see if you can get a lock on Bones and Spock."
"Aye sir."
A few tense seconds passed. "I've got them!" Chekov exclaimed.
Scotty clasped his hands together, smiling brightly.
"Scotty, prepare to bring them on board." Kirk said, his heart hammering.
He was falling. He didn't know what was up or down. Somewhere, he could hear a voice talking steadily to him, a soft thrum that was soothing but completely indiscernible. He was so cold. He wished he had something to cover himself. He sat up and looked around. A blanket was nearby. Soft and plush. He felt like he had forgotten something. Something important. But what? Nothing came to him, but he didn't really mind. He was warm. Wasn't that all he had ever wanted? Warmth. The word swam around, seeming to be the only thing that mattered, that had ever mattered.
He was warm.
Two bodies slowly appeared on the platform. One laying, one crouched down. They soon came into full focus.
Spock was over McCoy. Tears ran down his cheeks, his fingers gently pressed into the man's temple. McCoy's eyes were closed, his face shining with perspiration.
Kirk saw the small wounds that covered his chest. His heart dropped.
No one in the Transporter room moved.
Spock slowly removed his hand. Jim took a shaky step forward but couldn't seem to bring himrself to move any closer.
The Doctor was gone.