Not My Style
"Not that I don't love getting off of that tin can of death, but-" McCoy grumbled as he followed Kirk through the dense forest of yet another unknown planet.
"Don't call my ship a tin can," Kirk added sharply, pushing back a large, pink branch from his path.
"But," McCoy continued, annoyed by the interruption. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind."
"Doctor McCoy, I do not understand your discontentment with categorizing native flora." Spock said from behind McCoy, his eyes trained on his tri-corder.
"Yeah, I bet you wouldn't." McCoy rolled his eyes at the Vulcan.
"It is illogical to-"
"Would you two stop bickering?" Kirk sighed, watching his feet carefully as he navigated through the jungle.
"What's got you all twisted up?" McCoy asked, tempted to run his tri-corder over the Captain. He wouldn't even know.
"Something doesn't feel quite right," Kirk admitted, stepping over a large root. "Watch your feet," He warned, already knowing that Spock would avoid the root skillfully, while McCoy would stumble over it.
"Jim, what's wrong?" McCoy pulled up his tri-corder immediately, already setting it to scan Kirk.
"Put that thing away Bones, jeez." Kirk scoffed, reaching back to push the tri-corder down. "I just mean that I've got a feeling that something's going to go wrong."
"That's probably because something always does," McCoy shrugged, trying to hide his concern for Kirk's sake.
"Ain't that the truth," Kirk shook his head and trekked forward, leading the two men to a clearing in the jungle.
Tall, twisting, pink trees the size of skyscrapers contrasted against the pale green glow of the sky. Wound tightly around the trees were vines as blue as the depths of the ocean, twisting and turning in every direction, curling and twirling to the sky. The vines added to the density of the jungle, making it impregnable to the human eye. In the distance, the faint rush of the planet's equivalent to a waterfall could be heard. It was a scene straight from a fairy tale.
"I take it back," McCoy said, breathlessly taking in the beauty of his ambiance. Even Spock looked up from his tri-corder to take in the scene.
"We've still got work to do," Kirk shook off the awe and refocused on the mission. "Spock, how close are we to defining the necessary plant-life?"
"We have approximately twenty plant species yet to classify, Captain." Spock replied, returning his attention back to the blinking tri-corder.
McCoy rolled his eyes. How do these two focus on work? They need to stop and smell the roses every once in a while. McCoy thought, wandering off to finding the waterfall. All work and no play makes Spock a very dull boy, McCoy laughed to himself as he continued across the rocky clearing. He took another step forward and felt the ground shift underneath his boots. Uh-oh.
"Bones!" Jim cried out as he watched the ground swallow his friend whole. He sprung into action, diving into the crevice that stole his best friend. He reached out in desperation and caught McCoy's hand tightly. He stretched out his other arm, desperately clawing at the crevice's side, trying to gain a hand-hold as the two men free-fell. His hand caught onto a sharp rock, tearing the skin of his palm and wrenching his arm out of it's socket as it took on the weight of the two full-grown men. He screamed in pain, but refused to surrender his grip. "Bones," He managed to say, gritting his teeth in anguish. "Are you okay?"
"Just peachy," McCoy said, words dripping with sarcasm. Jim could hear the pain edging his voice.
Spock's head peeked out from the top of the crevice, his eyes wide with concern.
"Jim!" Spock called out, extending a hand down the crevice. "Grab my hand!" Kirk shut his eyes tightly and attempted to pull himself and McCoy up enough so that he could reach Spock, but he was quickly discouraged by the overwhelming pain in his shoulder.
"Can't," He replied between labored breaths. "Bones, you have to try and reach his hand!" Jim willed every ounce of energy that he had into his arm holding up McCoy, pulling him up to meet Spock's hand. McCoy grasped at the air around Spock's hand, desperately trying to establish contact. Jim screamed with the strained effort as he lifted McCoy up to close the gap between his and Spock's hand. Spock grabbed hold of McCoy's hand tightly and tugged him out of the crevice effortlessly.
"Jim, take my hand!" Spock stretched down as far as he could to try and reach the Captain. Jim took a deep breath to restore his energy and threw his free hand up to meet Spock's. His fingers closed tightly over the Vulcan's wrist and Spock whisked him out of the dark crevice. "Jim, are you alright?" Spock asked as he helped Jim to lay out on the ground, Jim's eyes still shut tightly.
"Yeah, I'm good. Bones?" Jim sat up slowly and opened his eyes to check on McCoy. Spock laid a supportive hand on his back, carefully avoiding his twisted shoulder. Jim's mind raced as he saw his best friend clutching his bloodied leg tightly. A gash ran down the length of McCoy's left leg, soaking his uniform in crimson blood.
"I've been better." McCoy breathed and clamped down on his leg, trying to stop the bleeding. Jim scrambled to his knees before the doctor, snatching the medkit from his side and opening it at lightning speed.
"Captain," Spock warned, pulling the medkit from Jim's fingers and gently guiding him back to a seated position. He pulled several bandages from the kit and handed the tri-corder off to Jim wordlessly and began applying the bandages. Jim rested the machine on his lap and began fidgeting with it with his undamaged hand. The tri-corder beeped to life and Jim hurriedly scanned it over the doctor's leg.
"No signs of extensive damage," Jim interpreted from the scrolling numbers and words on the screen. "It's just deep enough that we run the risk of you losing a lot of blood."
"D*mnit, I know! I'm a doctor!" McCoy cursed as Spock laced the bandages around his leg.
"Elevate it, Spock." Jim instructed and the Vulcan nodded. He carefully lifted McCoy's leg off the ground and raised it above his heart before pushing a boulder underneath to hold the position. "We need to get him back to the Enterprise." Jim began to stand up, but Spock laid a gentle hand on his leg.
"I do not recommend that you move, either." Spock said sternly.
"I'm fine, Spock." Kirk scoffed.
"Bull." McCoy muttered. Kirk shot him a glare, but McCoy merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Spock to Enterprise." Spock spoke into his communicator, but got no response but static. "Spock to Enterprise." Spock repeated, growing increasingly concerned. "It seems that we are experiencing some sort of interference." Spock said attempting to mask his panic.
"Typical." McCoy grumbled. "Can't catch a break."
"I'll head back to the beam-up point and see if I can get a clearer signal." Jim made another attempt to stand up, but this time it was McCoy who cut him off.
"You're not going anywhere until I see a full scan of your condition." McCoy said sternly.
"I don't know if you've lost your mind, but you're the one that needs medical help here." Kirk retorted.
"If you think so, let Spock scan you." McCoy said and Jim stiffened. "What, you still think you're just fine and dandy?" McCoy said coldly and Jim shifted uncomfortably.
"Captain, I do believe that it is in your best interest to allow me to assess your condition." Spock encouraged.
"And? If you don't like what you see? Then what?" Kirk asked, bringing out his 'I'm the Captain and I dare you to disobey me' voice. "This is the only option. We either send Spock, or me. And if anything happens to you, Spock's going to be able to do a h*ll of a lot more to help you." Kirk finished and the other two men fell silent.
"I concur with the Captain." Spock said, after a long silence. "It is only logical that I stay here and assist you in any way that I can, Doctor."
"Worst comes to worst, Spock can haul your butt to the beam-up point, but I don't want to risk moving you now. I sure as h*ll can't do that if I need to." Kirk slowly stood up under the watchful eyes of Spock and McCoy. He reached for his communicator, but instead came up with a handful of communicator guts. He sighed in frustration and threw the pieces to the ground. "And I'm also going to need to borrow one of your communicators."
"Be careful, Captain." Spock pleaded in the most Vulcan way possible.
"Have you known me to be anything else?" Kirk smirked slightly and saw McCoy roll his eyes. "You be good for Spock now, Bones."
"I can't believe that you're leaving me here with this green-blooded son of a b*tch." McCoy grumbled and Kirk headed back into the depths of the jungle.
Kirk marched through the jungle alone, cradling his dislocated arm. Every slight movement jarred it, sending new waves of pain through his shoulder. He trudged ahead, focusing on everything but his injury.
Bones is going to be okay, He thought, not sure if it was better to dwell on his pain, or the fact that his best friend was running out of time, and there was very little that he could do about it. He quickly shook off his thoughts of McCoy and brought himself back to watching his own footsteps. He couldn't afford to waste any time. Besides, despite the events of the day up to this point, Jim still couldn't shake the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Jim froze. Not far from him, something in the trees rustled. Too big to be a squirrel, Jim gulped. Besides, he wasn't even sure that squirrels had existed on this planet, anyway. Spock's preliminary report of the planet had deemed it to be habitable, however, he had admitted that it was unlikely that any life forms inhabited it. They would've shown up on the scan reports.
Jim took a deep breath. It was possible that he was only imagining the rustling. There was nothing after him, or Spock, or Bones. He was paranoid. That was all.
As he continued forward, he heard the leaves shaking again, only this time it was much closer. It's just your imagination, He reassured himself, shaking his head. Nothing's out there.
As he took another half-step forward, he heard a deafening scream coming from the jungle. His mind jumped into action, his muscles tightening and on high alert.
"Bones?" He called, praying that it wasn't his friend emitting the horrible scream. "Bones!" He repeated frantically, but got no reply. His stomach twisted in knots. He was faced with an unthinkable decision. Should he continue forward and get help, or should he go back for McCoy and do what he could?
He breathed a heavy sigh and took another step forward. He couldn't do anything for McCoy if he went back now. The only thing that he could do is get help. As he took another step forward, something pounced on his back, enormous claws ripping through his flesh, knocking him to the ground and miserably jarring his dislocated arm. He let out a small squeak of pain before springing into action. He snatched the phaser from his belt and rolled over, readying the weapon with his good arm. He came face to face with the creature now, his eyes widening with fear. Above him stood a large panther-like creature, glowing gold eyes staring into his soul and it's claws the size of swords dripping with Kirk's blood. The creature curled back its lips to reveal it's green, dagger-like teeth and screamed the awful scream that Kirk had heard earlier. He winced at the sound, but his mind eased slightly, now knowing that it wasn't McCoy that was in danger. Well, at least not right now.
Kirk squeezed the trigger on his phaser, but the creature swiped it out of his hand and slashed his chest with it's claws. Kirk cried out, hoping that Spock could hear him. The creature seemed puzzled by the noise, staring at him and holding its claws just above his chest.
"What, you don't like me returning the favor?" Jim snapped and the creature drew back its paw and launched him into the air, his back smacking painfully into a nearby tree. He fell flat on his chest, his breath leaving his body. He gritted his teeth in anguish and forced himself to stay conscious, despite the pain searing through his entire body. The jungle cat faced him now, lowering its upper body, ready to pounce again.
"Didn't your parents ever teach you not to play with your food?" Jim spat blood at the beast. He looked around desperately for a way out. He couldn't outrun it. Chances are he couldn't hide either. Just as he was about to give up hope, his eyes caught on something shiny. Not more than five meters away from him, his phaser lay on the vines. Jim took a deep breath and eased himself to his feet as the creature watched curiously. He slowly side-stepped to his right, carefully maneuvering around the vines, holding his hand out in an attempt to calm the beast. The creature hissed quietly, still readying itself to pounce. Jim threw himself at the fallen phaser, rolling onto his good shoulder and grabbing it hurriedly. He aimed it at the beast, which was now in the air, about to land on him once again. He squeezed the trigger and the phaser blasted the creature in its shoulder. The creature screamed in pain, then faced Jim and snarled. Jim hit it again with a phaser blast and the creature retreated back into the depths of the jungle.
Jim attempted in vain to stabilize his shaking breaths. He dropped the phaser back into his belt and stood up very slowly, bracing himself on a nearby tree. He could feel blood oozing from the gashes on his back and chest. Every muscle ached with the effort of staying vertical. He took a half step forward and nearly toppled over onto the twisting blue vines.
I'm too far from the beam-up point. There's no way that I can make it. He let out a frustrated sigh. But Bones could die if I don't try. He admitted to himself and willed himself to take another step forward. I'm going to get help. He took another step forward, then another. Memories of McCoy clutching his bloodied leg flashed through his head, keeping him going. He couldn't stop now.
In the distance, he heard the bloodcurdling scream from the beast once again. In a split second, his mind kicked into high gear. The scream came again, but was growing more distant. Bones and Spock. Jim remembered and cursed to himself. He turned on his heel and started pumping his legs back and forth, running as fast as they would take him. He ducked under branches and dodged the vines cluttering the ground. Every step he took, more and more adrenaline pulsed through his veins.
"Spock!" He yelled as he pushed his way into the clearing. The large cat was standing over Spock and McCoy, ready to rip its claws through their skin. Jim grabbed his phaser from his belt and hit the creature with a pulse of energy. The creature screamed in pain and turned to face Kirk. He hit him with another blast, but it sprinted forward unperturbed by the singing heat of the phaser blast. Jim staggered backwards, continually firing on the fast-approaching beast. He hit it over and over again, the beast seemingly slowing after every blast. The creature pounced, baring its horrendous teeth at Jim. He closed his eyes tightly and pulled the trigger once more, hitting the beast directly in the mouth. The creature screamed, but was cut short by the blast tearing through its body. The creature slammed into Kirk, knocking them both to the ground. Much to Jim's surprise, the creature didn't lash its claws through his body. He opened his eyes to see the dead beast's golden eyes staring blankly back at him.
"Jim!" Spock and McCoy yelled in unison. Kirk groaned with effort as he tried to roll the creature's body off of himself. Spock raced to his Captain's side and pushed the beast's body off of Jim with his Vulcan strength.
"Jim, are you quite alright?" Spock asked, staring in horror at the gashes across Jim's chest.
"I'm...fine..." Jim huffed, reaching an arm up to Spock. Spock reluctantly took his hand and helped him to his feet.
"Jim, I would advise you to-"
"Save it, Spock. I already know." Jim walked forward slowly towards McCoy. "We need to get out of here. Grab Bones." He instructed.
"Jim, you need to lie down!" McCoy yelled furiously, seeing Jim's wounds.
"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of being a sitting duck," Jim scoffed and Spock moved to pick up McCoy.
"Don't even think about it you half-computerized-" McCoy protested as Spock scooped him up and draped him over his shoulder.
"Let's get a move-on." Kirk started forward as Spock and McCoy watched him hesitantly.
"Jim, it might be in your best interest to allow me to treat your wounds before we depart." Spock pleaded but Kirk merely shook his head.
"Who knows how many other creatures are out there, out for blood?" Kirk said between pants.
"Perhaps the Captain is correct-" Spock started.
"The h*ll he is!" McCoy yelled, squirming under Spock's arm. "You need to let me look at him!" Jim looked at Spock and shook his head, pleading for his First Officer to understand. Spock nodded slightly and the two men continued forward, back into the jungle. "At least tell me what hurts," McCoy pleaded, but was met with silence. "Come on, Jim." McCoy grumbled.
"You keep watch behind us, Bones." Jim instructed and McCoy crossed his arms across Spock's arms.
"So, you do know that I'm here." McCoy scoffed. "Tell me this, Jim. How come you couldn't just go and get help without making the situation twenty times worse than it already was?"
"That's not my style," Jim shrugged and McCoy rolled his eyes.
They continued forward through the thick vegetation, the energy sapping from Jim's body quickly. Spock watched him warily, just waiting for the Captain to collapse. Jim pushed ahead, ignoring the pain pulsing through his body with every step that he took.
"How are you holding up, Jim?" McCoy asked after a long silence.
"I'm fine." Jim lied through his teeth, the last of his adrenaline wearing off.
"The captain is performing optimally." Spock said and Kirk looked back at him in disbelief.
"And here I thought Vulcans didn't lie." McCoy shook his head.
"It is not a lie, Doctor. Though the Captain's physical condition is not favorable, his mental functions are indeed functioning at a most favorable level." Spock said plainly and Kirk turned back around, satisfied with the response.
"We're almost there, anyway." Jim said, recognizing the foliage before the clearing where the beam-up point was. He pushed through the last of the branches and they reached the small clearing of the beam-up point. He sighed in relief and pulled out Spock's communicator.
"Kirk to Enterprise." Jim breathed into the communicator, feeling the last of his energy draining.
"Enterprise here, Captain." Uhura's voice came over the communicator. Spock gently laid McCoy down on the ground.
"Three to beam up, Uhura. Please have a med team on standby." Kirk continued as Spock placed a hand on his shoulder, gently guiding him to the ground.
"Captain-having-reading" The communicator fizzled into static and Jim cursed quietly to himself as he messed with the dial on the communicator.
"Uhura, do you copy?" He spoke desperately into the communicator. He only got a response of static. "D*mnit." Jim mumbled, furiously adjusting the dial. Spock quietly ran the tri-corder over the injured Captain as McCoy watched him in anticipation.
"Captain, please lie down." Spock pleaded and Kirk looked up at him in disbelief.
"Do as the Vulcan says," McCoy warned and Kirk shot him a disapproving glare.
"We have to keep moving and find a better signal," Kirk protested, trying to get back to his feet. Spock laid a hand on his shoulder, keeping him grounded.
"I do not believe that is in your best interest, Jim." Spock took the communicator from Jim's hands as Jim looked down in defeat.
"I just don't understand," Kirk said quietly. "There was signal here before, how could it have changed?"
"It is possible that the magnetic fields of the planet have shifted, though unlikely, or that there is something else causing interference." Spock said plainly, spinning the dials on the communicator.
"The creature." Kirk breathed in realization.
"What was that, Jim?" McCoy asked, shifting so that he could get closer to his friend.
"The creature!" Jim repeated and scrambled to get to his feet. "It's putting out interference!" Spock turned quickly to push the Captain back down, but Jim swatted at his hand.
"It is very unlikely that that is the case, in fact, the probability is-"
"And what is the probability that there were no inhabitants on this planet?" Jim interrupted curtly.
"...less than fourteen point twelve percent." Spock replied, watching as Jim swayed on his feet.
"Exactly my point. So, this creature obviously has some sort of ability to interfere with our scanners, including communication." Jim continued. "That's why there was no interference when we first arrived. There was no creature."
"As sound as that logic is, Captain, it is still flawed. You have terminated the creature. How is it still interfering with our communications?" Spock queried and Jim's eyes went wide.
"That's because it's not the only one." Jim's heart stopped as he watched another large cat-like creature stalking them from the woods, its pale orange fur blending against the trees. He would never have noticed if it wasn't for the slight movement. He pulled his phaser from his belt with lightning speed as the creature leapt from the tree-line, its focus singled in on Spock.
"Spock get down!" Jim cried as the creature pounced and Spock obediently ducked to the ground. The creature hissed in response, baring its gleaming green teeth. Jim fired at the creature, annoying it more than harming it. His mind sprung into action and he dashed for the treeline.
"Jim!" McCoy cried, desperately trying to stand up. "Get back here!"
"I've got a plan!" Jim yelled, watching over his shoulder as the creature bounded after him. Spock readied his phaser, fixated on the creature. "Spock, don't!" He called out and Spock hesitantly lowered his weapon.
Jim reached the treeline, the creature hot on his heels. This had better work, He thought, aiming his phaser at the high branches of the trees. He fire three quick shots, cracking one of the branches and sending it tumbling down towards the surface. The creature was nearly on top of Jim now, and he closed his eyes, praying that his plan would work. Just as the creature was about to plunge its claws into his chest, the large pink branch slammed on top of the beast. It let out a ghastly howl and Jim fired his phaser directly into its mouth. He watched the life drain from its eyes and he heaved a sigh of relief.
"Enterprise!" Spock called into the communicator.
"Enterprise, here." Uhura said.
"Three to beam up." Spock said, attempting to regain his composure. Kirk stumbled back towards his friends, barely maintaining his balance.
"Aye, Commander." Uhura replied and the three men felt the familiar tingling of the transporter.
They re-materialized inside of the Enterprise and Kirk felt relief wash over him. His knees buckled beneath him and Spock rushed to catch him.
"Jim, please attempt to remain conscious." Spock pleaded and Jim nodded slightly, fighting against the weight of his eyelids.
"Listen to the half-breed!" McCoy said gruffly, attempting to stand.
"Doctor McCoy, you stay down!" Nurse Chapel scolded, rushing into the transporter room with a med team. Spock slowly lowered Jim onto a stretcher, his eyes wide with concern.
"Captain, can you hear me?" Nurse Chapel asked, but Jim was battling against the familiar tug of unconsciousness. "Captain, you need to stay awake." Chapel warned, but Kirk let his eyelids droop and close. Bones and Spock are safe. He thought to himself comfortingly before submitting himself to the oblivion of unconsciousness.
"You know, you never make things easy." Jim could hear McCoy distantly grumble. His blue eyes slowly flickered open, revealing to him the all-to-familiar scene of Sickbay. The stench of chemicals burned his nose and the beeps of the biobed readings filled his ears. He turned his head slowly to see McCoy in an adjacent biobed, heavy bandages wrapped around his leg.
"Bones," Jim whispered, his voice scratchy and broken.
"I'm alright, Jim. Chapel's just a real stickler with full recovery." McCoy smiled slightly to his friend. Jim attempted to sit up, but became suddenly aware of the aches flowing throughout his entire body. "Yeah, I wouldn't try and do that just yet." McCoy sighed and Jim saw the thick bandages across his chest. "You've suffered several severe lacerations to your chest and back, thanks to that overgrown house cat." Jim nodded in understanding.
"Captain," Spock called from the doorway of Sickbay, hands clasped neatly behind his back. "I am glad that you are recovering so nicely."
"Well, it would be a lot nicer if I wasn't in Sickbay." Jim grumbled, again vainly attempting to sit up.
"If you wouldn't have gone out playing hero, you wouldn't have to." McCoy added and Jim smirked.
"Well, Bones. You know that's not my style."
Author's Note
Thanks for reading! As always, any constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated. All grammatical and spelling errors are mine, since I did not have a proof reader. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!
-buckminsterbarnes