While I have co-written a Star Trek fic with princesspandapui, it is still in a draft phase. Do check out her profile though :)

This my first solo Star Trek fic. I do not own Star Trek or any of the characters.

Enjoy, and please review.

Prologue

Jim Kirk was dead. Captain James Tiberius Kirk was dead. No matter how many times this thought entered Spock's mind, it still surprised him. He could not equate the idea of death with the bright, exuberance of his friend. Jim was dead. It was a fact of the universe now, the same as 299 792 458 m/s was the approximate speed of light. Of course, Jim had been dead before. He had died in front of Spock, reaching out for his friend with dulled eyes. He had saved the ship, and the universe had seen fit to give him another chance in the form of Khan's blood. No matter how he wished it was otherwise, Spock knew that it was highly improbable that Jim would have managed to cheat death again.

The way in which he died would forever seem as an insult to the Captain in Spock's eyes, however illogical it was. Jim did not die bleeding and heroic, he did not die peacefully, he did not die for something that mattered. Spock winced at the memory, and wondered at the fact that his Captain had always been the one person who broke through Spock's careful logic and contained feelings to the human side buried deep beneath. He had cried for him, he had killed for him but in the end there had been nothing he could have done.

It had been a routine mission to an M-class planet. They were to survey the planet for anything of scientific interest and avoid disturbing the eco-system. There were no hostiles on the planet, and even the beasts that lumbered around the sandy dunes were considered to be docile. Yet it was this planet that claimed Jim's life.

They had been unable to beam down to intense magnetic interference from the planets atmosphere. Sulu had predicted that the shuttle's navigational instruments would also succumb to the interference, and so there was only one option left. A shuttle was prepped in the space above, and Spock, Jim and a security team were to parachute down. Jim had suited up gleefully, encouraging the team with slaps on the back and words of bravado. How these methods gave the crew courage, Spock had never truly understood, but nevertheless it had always proved effective. For him, Jim would only smile and there was something in those blue eyes that would speak to the human in Spock's soul without a word ever being said. Spock found that while this was illogical, the strange understanding that he and Kirk had shared since their encounter with Khan was something that could not be expressed by words. In Spock's opinion, even attempting to explain it would cheapen it somehow. This was a very human idea, he knew and yet he could not summon the necessary strength to simply ignore it.

Spock had a bag with the necessary surveying instruments strapped to his back carefully, so it would not interfere with the release of his parachute. As he double-checked the parachute mechanism, Jim moved into position for deployment from the shuttle. He grinned as Spock took his place beside him.

"Ready, Spock?" his eyes were alight with the beginnings of adrenaline. Spock had raised an eyebrow in response.

"I am ready, Captain."

Jim rolled his eyes at Spock's insistence of calling him by his rank, but let it slide. Spock had wished in the days that followed that he had not.

"Okay, we're ready. Kirk, requesting deployment in three seconds."

The seconds ticked past, and then they were thrown out into space. While other members of the team whooped as the adrenaline surged through their veins, the only sounds from Kirk over the comms were his purposely controlled breathing. Spock knew that his Captain hated falling through space - "almost as much as I hate salad." he had said with a cocky grin and a laugh that had not matched his eyes. As they entered the atmosphere, the roar of wind whipping past his ears drowned most other sounds and Spock focused on the HUD of his helmet.

"Pulling 'chute in sixty seconds, Captain." he had to raise his voice to be heard.

"Affirmative, Commander." he could almost hear the smirk in Jim's voice.

The vast desert landscape came closer, red rocks and dust with only a few plants that were a vital part of the planet's ecosystem. Spock found it similar aesthetically to that of the destroyed Vulcan home-world. He was glad that he had meditated the night before, or the sight may have brought up unwanted emotions. He needed to focus on the mission at hand.

"Pulling 'chute." Spock smacked his chest and the parachute spread behind him with a whoomph, jerking his shoulders painfully.

There were identical sounds from all six of the security escort, their red parachutes billowing into the air and slowing their fall. Spock realised that the Captain was not among those who had spoken. It was at that moment that he shot past them, a blur of yellow. Falling.

"Captain!" Spock shouted into the communicator.

"Spock, what's going on? The Captain's gone dark, his suit seems to have reacted with the atmosphere, we can't raise him-" Uhura's voice was frantic.

"Lieutenant-"

There was a red, flashing light on his HUD.

Captain James T. Kirk, status:

Suit power failure

Parachute manual override failure

Emergency power: failed

Respiratory systems: failed

Shields: failed

CONTACT LOST

And that was how Jim Kirk had fallen, and how Spock had not been able to catch him.