Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Star Trek universe.
Summary: An injured Kirk returns to his ship after a dangerous and potentially deadly mission, and is surprised at the care he receives from his First Officer. Rated M Spock/Kirk
Currently being re-written.
Star Trek: Subtext- Chapter One
Captain James Tiberius Kirk was, temporarily at least, stranded on a barren and arid planet in a solar system far on the opposite end of the Milky Way galaxy. Never had he ever felt so far from home as he did thinking of the great blue-green sphere of Earth and how very far away it was; it was utterly out of reach to him, there, as was anything save the vague hope that he might survive this ordeal.
He could feel the dryness of the planet's atmosphere like a second skin; it sucked away any moisture it could grab on to, leaving him with a parched throat and dry, cracked lips. That was the least of his worries, though. He was alone, and he would make a tasty meal for the indigenous predators of the planet.
The 'alone' part of the equation, at least, was something he could blame someone for: himself; t was his order that had sent everyone else to beam back aboard the ship. They had initially beamed down for a simple enough task; they were to gather data on a previously unexplored planet, rock types, plant species, and the like, and send a full report back to Starfleet. Upon arriving to the planet, he'd broken the landing party off into separate groups and everyone had gone off in their appointed direction.
He'd chosen an ensign to tag along with him because he liked to get to know the younger, more inexperienced members of the crew and give them chances to prove themselves. This particular young man exemplified everything that Starfleet looked for in one of its own: strength, stamina, charisma, intelligence. Kirk was certain that one day that boy would be a captain.
The two of them headed down into the cave system that seemed to span the entire planet, and the deeper they went the colder and more damp their surroundings became. There was a point, not far from the tunnel entrance, that would have been a comfortably livable environment for animal life; they were pretty sure, however, that no such life existed down there.
It had been established, even before their ship was chosen for the mission, that the chances of there being any sort of multi-cellular animal life on the planet was slim to none. That assumption held out even under Mr. Spock's scrutiny; therefore, the landing party had beamed down expecting no trouble from anything native. But, you know what they say about when you assume...
Kirk and the ensign stopped momentarily to gather samples of a bioluminescent fungus they stumbled across in the darkness of the cave system and beam samples of it back to the Enterprise for further study, when suddenly there was some sort of noise from deeper in the cave. They looked at one another momentarily before silently getting to their feet and going to investigate; that's what they were there for after all. What they found was something similar to what Earth scientists thought the sabretooth tiger must have looked like: a large, feline creature with massive fangs that extended down past the lower jaw.
The creature saw them at the same time that they saw it, and dropped into a menacing crouch, clearly seeing them as prey, with its long, feline tail swishing behind it angrily. Looking at it, Jim Kirk had a rather Spok-like moment of clarity: the creature was built a bit like a revered hyena, with its back legs far more developed and powerful that the front, and if it were to land on one of them, it would take them down with little effort. The captain's hand dropped to his phaser reflexively, ready to fire at the creature if it attacked, when the cat let out a fierce, hungry yowl. What was more menacing were the answering cries from the surrounding caves.
The only thing that Jim Kirk's mind seemed to want to focus on was: I will not lose another ensign! Not here! He shoved the young man toward the entrance to the cave system, back in the only direction they knew was safe, and gave him his orders.
"Go! Get everyone back aboard the ship while I distract them!"
Of course, the last thing the ensign wanted to do was leave his captain there to fight off the alien creatures alone, but he couldn't very well disobey a direct order, so he took of running, praying that the captain would somehow make it through. As soon as he got out into the open, where he was relatively safe and the communicator signal wouldn't be blocked by the thick stone, he radioed Captain Kirk's orders to the rest of the landing party.
As soon as everyone was safely back aboard the Enterprise, Kirk's orders having been carried out, the officers gathered in the meeting room to debate whether or not a search party should be sent down to locate their captain. His orders had been to get everyone back aboard the ship, so sending more of the crew down wouldn't likely please him too much, but they also couldn't just abandon their captain on some barre wasteland of a planet. Eventually they came to an agreement: they would wait, but if Jim didn't contact them in twelve hours, they would send down a search party to find him.
Meanwhile, back on the planet, Jim had managed to kill two of the massive tiger that were chasing after him with some well-aimed phaser shots. The others had stopped to eat the dead. That's a little bit disgusting, he thought, but at least they've stopped chasing me. Now I just need to find a way out of this mess.
After a few exhausting hours of wandering aimlessly the tunnels, he finally spotted a glimmer of daylight off in the distance. Despite blinding him temporarily with the abrupt change in light, it was a welcome change. So relieved was he to have finally found his way out of that labyrinthine hell, he forgot all caution and ran towards the light. He was nearly out of the cave when there was sudden movement behind him, accompanied by a deep growl.
Jim was startled, but not so much so that he would do something as stupid as stop to look behind him; he just threw a quick glance over his shoulder, and his eyes locked onto another tiger, this one at least twice the size of the ones that were chasing him before. Fear gave him a boost of adrenaline, accompanied by a boost of speed as his fight-or-flight reflex kicked in, and he was out of the cave before he knew it, the massive tiger still hot on his trail.
His eyes scanned his surroundings as he ran, looking for anything, anything at all that would offer him some sort of protection for at least as long as it would take to call Scotty to beam him back aboard the Enterprise. The only chance that he could see was a large hill made up of what looked to be layer upon layer of slate rock.
Let's just hope these tings can't climb very well, he thought, skidding dangerously as he quickly changed direction to run full-force towards the relative safety the hill offered. He knew that his hopes were likely in vain, as felines were notoriously good climbers; he could only hope that their awkward build was not made for going uphill.
He practically launched himself up the steep slope of the hill, grabbing onto anything that looked like it would offer him a handhold. He could feel the sharp bits of slate digging into the palms of his hands, but he knew that it didn't hurt nearly as bad as that creatures claws would if it got ahold of him. He didn't even bother looking behind him to see where it was; he could hear it's claws scrabbling on the slate as it tried to climb up after him.
Finally reaching the crest of the hill, he was met with a dizzying sight. Where there should have been a slope leading back to ground level, there was instead a sheer cliff with jagged bits of broken slate jutting out of the side like so many broken teeth. Or, perhaps, broken bones. He was frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do even with his sharp, inventive mind; it seemed hos only options were to turn and face the tiger behind him or jump and be dashed on the razor sharp rocks so far below. A quick glance behind him made up his mind in a hurry. The tiger was almost to the top, too. He took off running down the edge of the cliff, praying to any higher power that would listen that he wouldn't get eaten by this thing.
With a loud "Rowr!" the tiger launched itself at him. He threw himself to the ground, hoping it would simply sail right over his head so he could take off in the opposite direction. No such luck. As he hit the ground, the slate underneath him shifted and slid, sending him tumbling right over the edge of the cliff.
He grabbed at any jutting piece of stone he could get his hands on, trying to lessen his momentum so that he wouldn't be killed when he hit the bottom. At the same time, he was bracing himself for the impact.
When he did finally hit the ground, after what seemed like forever, there was a nasty "crunch!" But, luckily, it was the slate underneath him that cracked, and not his spine. The force of him impact caused him to go into a roll, which landed him right on top of one of the sharp rocks he'd been so lucky to avoid in his initial landing. It went in deep, and Jim could only hope that it didn't puncture any vital organs.
Despite the pain, he knew he couldn't afford to lie there moaning over his injuries, not with that tiger above him, still looking to make him its next meal. With a grimace he yanked the piece of slate free of the wound, hoping to God that he hadn't contracted some kind of horrible infection, and pressed himself close against the side of the cliff, hiding in the thin shadows. He knew the creature could likely smell him, especially with the blood pouring out of his side, but he was going to do everything in his power to make himself even a little bit harder to find.
Jim pulled his communicator out of his pocket and was relieved to find that it had survived the impact. "Kirk to Enterprise. Come in Enterprise."
He was worried for a moment that he wasn't going to get an answer, that they'd assumed he was dead and left without him. His fears were assuaged, however, when he heard Mr. Scott's voice. "Aye, Captain. You ready for me to beam you up?"
"That would be wonderful, Scotty."