Captain Kirk, Doctor McCoy, and Ensigns Stewart and Wagner had beamed down to the planet five hours ago. They had completed their intended mission in one of those hours. No, they had not been apprehended by the natives, and no, there was no transporter malfunction. They had been held up for a more frightening reason.
The good Doctor had found one of his own.
McCoy and his new friend, Hilo'em, were deep in conversation, both engrossed in the wonders of the evolution of the Caitian nictitating membrane and the variance in spinal structure of the Niktrolian peaked lizard.
Kirk had no interest whatsoever, so he wandered away from the highly convoluted conversation between his Chief Medical Officer and the planet's head medicine man, and tried to interest himself in the beauty of the heavily forested area. The tree houses of the natives, forming one huge collective tree-city, were worth noticing and marveling over as well.
Glancing back and seeing no end to the biological mumbo-jumbo emanating from the two seated about three yards away, Kirk flipped open his communicator and hailed Spock back on the ship to give him a report of the situation.
"Kirk to Enterprise, come in."
"Spock here, Captain."
"We may be a little later than anticipated. Doctor McCoy is comparing notes with the doctor down here. I would estimate another—" And he was cut off by a most familiar exclamation.
"Fascinating!"
But the voice did not issue from the communicator in Kirk's slack hand. It had come from behind him. From the completely wrong person.
Kirk turned to blink startled eyes at the speaker. Doctor McCoy had clapped horrified hands over his mouth and was rapidly turning seven different shades of pink, each darker than the last, the colors threatening to overpower the icy blue of his bulging eyes.
The open communicator clattered to the ground. From it, the stone-silent landing party could hear the frantic coughing of a Vulcan who had just choked on his tea.
Second fic is finito! I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of this one. It makes me smile. And yes, there is such a thing as Vulcan tea. I researched it. And Caitians are actual beings from the show (the animated one I think), a nictitating membrane is an extra eyelid, and the other creature I just made up completely. Cheers!
Julie