The planet was called Sagittarius XB-34, and as far as Jim could see, the local attractions were ice, ice, trees, and more ice. But Starfleet wanted details, and so here they were.
It was cold, that was one thing that was certain— Jim was beginning to shiver through his 'Fleet-issued coat. Even so, it was a beautiful, if lonely, planet. There didn't seem to be any large animal life, and certainly no sentient life. With Spock busy overseeing his team of researchers and McCoy somewhere out of sight, Jim was left with little to do besides tromp around in the deep snow and stare up at the blue trees that stretched up into the grey sky. These dominated the landscape, spreading curling branches of long blue-green needles. They were unlike anything he'd ever seen before— carnivorous, they snapped out tendrils to grab the unfortunate insects that wandered too close to the lure of the plant's fruit or flowers. There weren't many of these, not surprising in the cold. Snow-blooming plants weren't that unusual in the galaxy, but usually there were a bit more hardy. There were a few dead trees scattered around in the forest, still standing but with bare branches. And this was supposed to be the warm season.
"Wouldn't make very good Christmas trees," he commented to nobody in particular. One of the scientists turned in surprise from where she was cutting scales of thick bark from a tree trunk. She wasn't wearing an extra coat; her species was far more suited to the conditions than the humans of the crew.
"I… suppose not, sir," she said, sounding a little puzzled, before returning to her work.
"I'll stop bothering you." He gave her a smile and headed back towards the second group of scientists, who were doing something that involved taking cores of the vast ice sheet under their feet. Probably measuring climate variations, or mineral deposits, or something like that. Learning the history of this planet, what had happened here long before they arrived, and what would probably continue long after they left. He'd thought about it sometimes, staring out into space in the few quiet moments the captain of a starship had. Every living world had its own history, hell, even those with no life had the evidence of long-ago meteorite strikes.
Huh. Spock's scientific curiosity must be rubbing off on him. Just a few months ago, he wouldn't give a thought to the history of a place like this. But then he had always loved the idea of seeing new worlds.
At least on an unpopulated planet there was no risk of a diplomatic incident. He winced, thinking of last week when some kid from Engineering had gotten drunk and tried to flirt with one of the Seneya President's advisors, and then started a fight with her guards. That had been a mess, and organizing the cultural respect lectures afterwards hadn't been much fun either. At least here, with only trees and bugs around, there probably wasn't anyone to offend.
This region of the galaxy was mostly unexplored by the Federation, but the Zagen—a vaguely reptilian species so uncommonly seen that even Spock didn't know much about them—had colonies in the area and had been willing to supply a guide as part of a recent trade deal. Jim hadn't spoken more than a few words to Rellar, who seemed to prefer staying in his assigned rooms. The handful of Zagen scientists accompanying him never talked to anyone more than they absolutely needed to, but when they did they were always polite. Rellar, on the other hand, was demanding and often rude; for the first few days, he had spent a lot of time in the labs, but his constant criticism of the scientists' methods had caused enough interruption that Spock had eventually told him to be quiet or leave, not in those words precisely, but he got the message across. Despite that tension, Rellar was as knowledgeable on the system as the trade envoy had claimed, and his guidance had cut days off their expedition on the other four planets of their assignment.
His assistance was a little less important on this planet; the last Zagen survey of Sagittarius XB-34 had been a cursory scan several decades ago. The lack of information bothered Rellar more than Jim thought reasonable, and he had been even more secluded and snappish in the recent days. Jim wished their guide wasn't quite so unpleasant, but he had little choice in the matter.
He walked over to Spock, wondering if he had found anything.
"Those carnivorous trees are really something," he began, shuffling his feet in the snow. "I wouldn't want to be one of those bugs."
"They present an interesting study," Spock said, not looking up as he pulled off a glove to type something on a padd.
Well, that wasn't much of a conversation. A few silent moments went by. Jim watched a tree lash out a tendril, probably catching a meal. The snow that had gathered on its surface drifted to the ground. Then something else caught Jim's attention.
"Hey, Spock, you're shivering."
"I am aware," Spock said, probably sharper than he intended. Jim's smile faded.
"Well, it is pretty cold," he tried.
"An acute observation, Captain," was the dry response.
Wow, you're bitchy today. "That bad, huh?" He also wished he'd brought his scarf to give to Spock, mostly because Spock would look pretty silly in it— it was a furry purple thing he had been given as a gift at the last conference with the Andorians.
Spock didn't quite sigh, but it was a near thing. "I apologize for my tone. You did not deserve it."
Jim shrugged. "Hey, you should hear Bones whining. I think he could keep warm through the winter solely by his hatred of everything."
"I heard that!" the doctor growled from a few paces away, rubbing his brightly colored mittens against his arms. He glared at the pair. "Spock shouldn't even be down here on this damn iceball in the first place. You tryin' to make Vulcan icicles, Jim?"
"I am in little danger, Doctor, and I would remind you that I volunteered for the mission, as did you. Although I did not anticipate that the weather conditions would be quite so… uncomfortable."
"Why do I even try to reason with you?" McCoy rolled his eyes and stalked off, probably to yell at some ensigns who had long since finished their tasks and started a snowball fight.
"Hmm, that looks fun," Jim said, watching the game.
"Joining them, however entertaining, would be unprofessional," Spock reminded him, to no response, as Jim was already running towards them with a pile of snow in his hands.
"You know what that boy's like, Spock," McCoy said, returning after evidently deciding protesting the sport would be useless. "There's no stopping him once he gets something in his head."
"It is an… endearing quality."
"I'd have to agree with you on that."
They watched a while, Spock occasionally stepping aside to talk to the scientists emerging from the forest with full sample kits and data recordings.
Eventually, the game wound down, and Jim aimed one last snowball—neatly dodged by his target—before returning to Spock and McCoy.
He waved to get the rest of the team's attention, then cupped his gloved hands abound his mouth and yelled, "Hey guys! Finish up and we go back! Hot chocolate for everyone!" Then he turned to Spock, smirking. "That includes you."
"I would prefer tea."
Jim mock-pouted, then smiled. "Sure."
~o~
Replicated coffee might taste awful when compared to the real thing, but at least it was hot. Jim looked from the chipped Starfleet Academy mug to the familiar, meticulously organized shelves in Spock's office. Plant and rock samples sat on shelves below priceless Vulcan artifacts and Starfleet awards. He stared at these, trying to avoid the temptation to distract Spock from his work. The humming of the microscopic scanner faded in and out as Spock examined the readout screen and marked images of the leaf-tendril. Occasionally he checked the progress of the computer that was compiling a three-dimensional model from the scans uploaded to the servers from the labs.
There was someone at the doorway; Jim looked to see Ariel Kouri, Spock's human deputy science office, with a stack of padds in xir arms.
"I've compiled the data, sir," Kouri said to Spock, after nodding to xir captain. "We've found evidence of a recent mass extinction of avian species—very recent, probably within the last century—and a rapid decrease in the growth rate of the plant life." Xe placed the padds on the desk.
"Have you uncovered signs of any natural phenomena that may have caused this?" Spock asked, taking one of the devices and scrolling through the files.
"Not yet, sir, but we're investigating."
"Thank you. Report back with any further discoveries. I will investigate the current data myself."
"Yes, sir."
"You know," Jim said after the scientist left, "Kouri could do all this. You don't have to do so much extra work."
"I do not doubt xir abilities. It is simply that this is a particularly unexpected discovery. I am… interested to uncover the cause."
Jim smiled. "I know that look. You scientist types. They find something fascinating and then you don't hear from them for days. Just make sure your people actually get some sleep, or Bones is going to yell at me again. You might be able to stay up for days on end, but..."
"I would not ask my staff to risk their health-" Spock said, as if he were surprised Jim had brought up the possibility.
"I know you wouldn't. Doesn't stop them from doing it anyway. I know how dedicated your people are."
"I will ask Kouri to monitor them. Now, if you will allow me to complete this scan?"
"Sure. I've got some reports to read anyway." He pulled out his padd and checked the messages: nothing out of the ordinary there: a few department updates, paperwork, news updates from Federation stations, and a tersely-worded request from Rellar to be given reports from the planet as soon as possible. Jim thought that he could have come down to the planet if he wanted information so quickly, but then he probably would have been bothering the team, so maybe it was best that he'd stayed onboard.
"Though I will admit he is unpleasant company," Spock said, when Jim expressed this sentiment, "the Zagen contributions to our mission have proven invaluable. Their surface scanners rival our own, and access to their databases has provided us with studies that would have taken us years to complete on our own."
Jim made an annoyed sound, but he forwarded the message to the labs anyway. He was typing out a response to Scotty's latest request for upgrades when a message came through on the comm system. It was from the science labs; the researchers had found something and Kouri wanted Spock to come see.
"I'll come with you," Jim said, standing. "I'd like to see what they're up to."
The main lab was loud with activity: the hum of machines, the sound of notes scrawled on padds, scientists trading sample slides and discussing the work. Kouri led them to a monitor displaying a cross-section of a tree trunk with various markers on it denoting chemical makeup. The outer rings of the tree were far thinner than the rest, and according to what Jim could read of the chart, were different chemically as well.
"If you'll look right here…" Kouri began, circling parts of the image on xir padd, the lines copying onto to main screen, "the growth began to slow at the same time the avian extinctions occurred. The older rings also seem to indicate a far warmer climate than the recent growth. We're still running tests, but it appears that the birds were the trees' main source of nutrition up until recently."
"And when they died off, the trees stopped growing," Jim concluded.
"Not stopped, but basically, yes. Our best lead is probably the climate shift. The analysis of the ice cores should give us some information."
"These are interesting discoveries. There was no mention of this in the Zagen reports," Spock said. "Have you consulted with Rellar?"
Kouri scowled. "Not yet. I'll get what we have compiled and send it over. Byul," xe called to a woman working at a microscope, "do you have the cell structures isolated yet?"
"Nearly finished processing!" Ensign Lee replied. "There, it's done." She picked up the padd—somewhat awkwardly, it seemed—and brought it to Kouri.
"Thank you-" xe said, taking the device, then noticed the blisters that stood out on Lee's hands. "What happened to your hands? Is that from the samples?"
"I swear, I was wearing gloves. I have no idea what happened," Lee said, rubbing at the marks and wincing. "Don't worry about it. I can keep working."
"Nonsense. You should have gone to Medical at once. How long has it been like that?"
"I don't know… ten minutes, maybe?"
At this point Spock stepped in. "Ensign Lee, why did you not inform Lt. Kouri or myself as to the severity of the reaction?"
"I really thought I'd be fine. It didn't seem serious…"
"Report to Medical," Spock told her. "You may return to work when you are well."
"But, sir, my report is due tonight…"
"I will accept it with tomorrow's files."
Judging by the ensign's look of surprise, she was a new recruit, unfamiliar with the Enterprise and fed on Academy rumors of Spock as a brutal taskmaster. Rumors that weren't exactly false, but then again were hardly a full picture. It took a nod of reassurance from Kouri, but Lee eventually agreed and left.
"Bet that one didn't think you could be nice," Jim commented, well aware of this impression of his First among those who didn't know him.
"It is only reasonable." The idea of his scientists neglecting their health was disturbing to Spock, and to Kouri as well.
"If there's something dangerous about the samples," xe said, "we have to know. I'll warn everyone to be careful and run a few more composition scans." Xe turned to one of the Zagen scientists, the woman with the green scales and the silver jewelry on her head. "Leyna, could you bring this to Rellar and ask him to come here?" Leyna took the padd and set off to find him.
"You know, you could do with taking your own advice," Jim said to Spock, in what wasn't quite an undertone.
"The injuries I suffered ten days ago have no relevance to this situation."
"Only that you kept on working! If Kouri hadn't insisted…"
"I'll go around and double-check the safety procedures," Kouri said, sparing Spock the need to reply, and at his agreement, turned and nearly walked into another scientist, who had been approaching them with the same painful marks showing on his hands.
"Shit," Kouri swore, then called for the lab's attention and announced, "Anyone working with plant samples, stop. Don't touch them. Anyone who has should be checked out in Medical. Is anybody running a chemical analysis?"
"This shouldn't be happening," Jim said, "these things scanned as safe!"
"Evidently something was overlooked, or there are other variables in play," was Spock's somewhat unhelpful response. He requisitioned a padd and turned his attention to that.
The flurry of activity had begun to calm by the time Rellar strode into the room, Leyna following at his heels. He looked around scornfully at the scientists who had stopped their work with the samples, then at Jim and Spock, apparently with some surprise at finding the two superior officers of the ship in the lab.
"Well? What is this, Captain? I hope you have a good reason for pulling me away from my work."
"Yes, actually, I do," Jim said, putting on his most professional attitude. If this was going to turn into a fight, he was going to win. "Lieutenant Kouri, could you explain?"
Xe was halfway through recounting the events when Rellar interrupted. "That's enough, girl. I see what's going on here." Kouri tensed at the disrespect, and at the assumption of gender, but he went on, talking to Spock rather than xir, "If some of your people are ignoring safety concerns, it's their own fault. You don't have to stop work for that." He waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. "She must be wrong. There is simply no way the irritant could transfer through proper gloves."
"It has, and I decided the safest course of action," Kouri said, stiffly. "And as I am not a girl, I will ask you to refer to me as xe."
Rellar looked at xir a moment, narrowing his eyes, then turned back to Spock, and spoke as if he hadn't heard. "You should discourage such nonsense. It really is unprofessional."
"I wouldn't call proper respect unprofessional," Jim responded, in a dangerous tone that any of his crew would know to take seriously, would know meant they'd overstepped some bounds and should proceed with caution. Evidently Rellar did not recognize it. "I see your problem," he said, "How do you expect to get any work done when the head of your staff is delusional?"
"That's enough," Jim cut in. "I will have my crew treated with respect."
"When she can't even run a lab properly? How can anyone who doesn't work efficiently and obediently expect respect?" The frill of blue scales on his head rises in irritation.
"Sir," Kouri said, strained and flat, "I think I could be more help reviewing the chemical analysis. If I may-"
There was no reason for xir to remain to be insulted. "Report your findings directly to the Medical staff," Spock told xir. In the silence following xir departure, it became apparent some of the scientists had paused in their study to watch the argument. Spock glanced around at them and they returned to work. Jim took the hint and pulled Spock and Rellar into the hallway.
"If you have no contributions to make, I would suggest your return to your own studies," Spock said to Rellar, the order only thinly disguised.
Oblivious, Rellar went on. "On the contrary, you could benefit greatly from my help, especially if your own people are incompetent and overly sensitive."
"It is not for you to determine what an individual finds sufficiently distressing." It was the sort of cold rebuke from Spock that would have silenced most people.
"It's hardly my fault if she's so upset by basic truths."
"I'm not going to listen to any more of this," Jim interrupted, resolute. "If you don't have anything to add, leave. And I'd appreciate you not talking to any more of my people."
"Then you cannot blame me if you fail," Rellar said, and walked away. Jim watched him leave, and when he was out of sight, groaned in annoyance.
"Fuck. We've got to do something, Spock. I don't want him around my crew."
"I agree. He should not be allowed to interact with people whom he may cause harm. Even so," Spock added, "we must avoid offending the Zagen by neglecting their contributions to this mission."
"Offending? Did you hear what he was saying!? I'm not having that bigot hurting people!"
"I share your sentiments. Yet we must consider the effects of such a censure."
Jim would have responded, but his communicator buzzed.
"What's going on, Bones?"
"We've got no idea what this thing is, but there's ten people in here with whatever-it-is. Anyone who touched the leaf samples, even with gloves. And it's getting worse. And I'm guessing you don't know anything either."
"We're working on it. Keep me updated. I'm calling a meeting in an hour and we better have answers."
~o~/~o~
This fic has been a while in the planning, and I hope you enjoy it. Title is a quote from the "You are three men of sin!" speech in The Tempest. And yes, my character naming is intentional. Thanks to my betas: private-fire and benedicthiddleston.