Dr. Leonard McCoy was an old fashioned man at heart, never one to enjoy having his 'molecules scrambled' by a transporter.--nonetheless on this occasion it was completely necessary. James Kirk, an old friend from the doctor's academy days had requested him for Chief Medical Officer aboard the starship Enterprise his new command.

Jim's had his eye on a starship command for a while now. He must be ecstatic. Dr. McCoy thought a wry grin playing on his face now I'll have to deal with him for the next five years--worse he outranks me!

The new CMO stepped onto the transporter platform his grin immediately turning to a sour expression "Let's get this over with damn it" he ordered the poor ensign at the control panel. Without further hesitation the ensign energized the transporter and rid himself of the irritable doctor.

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Aboard the U.S.S Enterprise Captain James T. Kirk was sitting on the bridge mentally preparing himself--not for the daunting five year journey they were about to begin upon, not for the pressure of having four hundred lives under his command, not even for spending the next few years dealing with a stoic half-Vulcan first officer, but for the arrival of Dr. McCoy or 'Bones' as he had been dubbed in their years at the Starfleet Academy.

Bones had always been a bit hard to deal with, but while on a training mission James Kirk had discovered that his friend harbored a deep hatred for space travel still there's no one better for the job he thought. Swiveling around in his captains chair he glanced around the bridge his bridge now and grinned with pride.

Suddenly something caused the grin to slip much like Dr. McCoy's. The lights on the bridge flickered and went out. "Bridge to Engineering, this is Captain Kirk. What's going on?"

"This is Mr. Scott, Captain the power circuit for the lights badly needs replacin' I'm gonna hafta re-do the whole mess, 'might take another couple a' hours" The chief engineer's thick brogue caused Kirk to pause a moment before replying

"Will it delay our departure?" Kirk asked.

"Ya don't need lights to depart Capt'n" The accented voice replied, Kirk rolled his eyes but didn't comment. It wouldn't be the exit he had planned, but it would be an exit.

"Mr. Spock" Kirk called his first officer.

"Yes Captain?" Came a voice from the Science Officer's station.

"Rendezvous with Dr. McCoy in the transporter room, show him to sickbay and his quarters--and welcome him to the ship, I'm going to see what's happening down on engineering"

"Yes Captain" the tall alien rose, the multicolored lights from the various monitors and buttons on his station casting an eerie light upon the half-alien's greenish complexion.

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The aforementioned doctor was just arriving in the transporter room when the lights went out.

"Damn it! I'm a doctor not a cat! I can't see in the dark" he stumbled around looking for some sort of light switch as he heard the swish of doors and footsteps that told him that whoever had been manning the transporter has rushed from the room probably to engineering the doctor thought irritated that he hadn't even been acknowledged. "Damn I don't even know were the door is! How am I supposed to find sickbay?!"

"With my guidance Doctor." a deep voice came from directly behind him-- well, it actually came from behind and above him due to the height difference--McCoy whipped around to see a tall ghostly figure holding a small hand light. Upon closer inspection through the good doctor's suspicious gaze he concluded by the bone structure of the figure that this new presence was not human.

"Who in the stars are you?! And what's it to you sneaking up on me like that?!" the doctor snapped angrily.

"Mr. Spock First Officer of the U.S.S Enterprise" The figure 'Spock" answered "I did not sneak up on you, you were mostly distracted by your mutterings."

"Spock? More like Spook!" McCoy muttered, Spock merely raised an eyebrow the reaction lost in the darkness. "Bring that light up to your face huh? I wanna see who I'm talkin' to" the doctors drawl becoming more apparent. Spock did as he was told. "A Vulcan First Officer? Lovely." Dr. McCoy grumbled. With that Spock lead the way to the door, and so began a lifelong love-hate relationship that would annoy and amuse both them and everyone around them until the end of their lives.