A/N: Hello! This is the first Fic I've written in about 7 years. This story takes place in the JJ Abrams Star Trek universe. I feel that Bones is one of the most underrated / ignored Characters of Star Trek. So I felt he deserved to have a story all his own!
Title: The Dolphin's Cry (inspired by the song of the same name by Live)
Author: Seirenia (Me)
Fandom: Star Trek: 2009, Star Trek: Into Darkness
Owner(s) of the Fandom: The Estate of Gene Roddenberry, and JJ Abrams
Rating: Mature - Language. Adult Themes, Suggestions, Implied Violence
Pairing: Primary - The Esteemed Doctor Leonard H. McCoy (Bones) and Calla Lilly Shade (OC)
Secondary - James Tiberius Kirk and Spock of Vulcan
Disclaimer: I don't know Bones. I don't know Lilly. I don't own any of the Star Trek Characters. I am borrowing them.. I don't mean to cause harm, confusion or headaches. If any of the characters this story is about would like discuss future works, you know how to get in touch with me. Also, please don't sue me…I don't do well in jail and I have no money. Void where prohibited.
Chapter 1
Stardate 2260.230
The small Science Team working in New Vulcan's northernmost desert stood outside their small research colony. The Greenhouse they worked in, housed samples of plants that were indigenous to Vulcan. Seeds left from a lifetime so long ago. The Team was trying to cultivate several of the Desert Orchids with no luck.
A young Human female lifted her head and spoke from behind her computer monitor. "Lil - you need to come see this. I'm getting some strange readings from the computers. They aren't making any sense. "
Doctor Lilly Shade was the Botanical Pharmacist and Botanist in charge of the cultivation efforts in the Kal'ta Desert. The young girl was most curious. Half-Human, Half-Vulcan, raised by her widower Human father Commander Rory Shade. Her mid-back length mahogany hair was pulled into a tight ponytail that swished effortlessly when she walked. There were delicate wisps of hair poking around her slightly pointed ears. Her eyes were a radiant shade of grey-blue which usually focused into a raptor like gaze. Her otherwise human features were spattered endlessly with tiny, adorable freckles, much to her chagrin.
The young Doctor left a bookmark on her place in the report she was reading. Placing down her PADD, Lilly slowly slid out of her Computer Station chair. She jogged to her friend's station and peered down at the monitor.
"Okay, so what's going on. Are these the results from the Orchids we found?" Lilly's voice was calm and assuring.
"Yeah, but... there's something wrong. These should just be normal Orchids, but they're not giving readings like the others from the same area." Lieutenant Serenity Jones effortlessly pulled screens across her monitor displaying no less than six different results from tests on the display screen.
"See here?" Serenity pointed to the tests on the left side of the screen. "These are the results from the rest of the Orchids. Completely normal Desert Orchid plant about 6 months old. These were from the last Cultivation Team. But this screen here. The ones on the right are the plants we found. Something has poisoned them. I can't figure out what. It's subtle, whatever it is." Serenity's warm voice was filled with a moderate amount of concern.
"Hrm. Send these to my Lab Station. I'll see what I can find. It's probably nothing, just the plants adjusting to the new atmosphere. Thanks for letting me know, Sere." Lilly gave her friend a quick pat on the shoulder and ran down the dome corridor to her personal Lab Station.
As Lilly reached the security door guarding her private sanctuary, she entered her passcode and stepped inside the cool room. Her favorite lab coat was hanging on an antique coat rack her father had given to her when she left for Starfleet. She pulled it on, kicked off her shoes and walked slowly to her cluttered desk.
She logged onto her computer terminal and pulled up the reports that Serenity had sent. On the surface, the plant registered as a typical Vulcan Orchid. The ones in question were a rich magenta with gold tips on the points of the petals.
"Computer, scan Specimen, render scan in 3D."
A few minutes ticked by.
"Scan Complete. 3D image created."
The Orchid now spun slowly on Lilly's monitor. "Computer, isolate stamen area, magnify by 100%. Pull up Specimen 00-125-KD, also magnify by 100%. Compare images side-by-side."
Now the stamen of two Vulcan Orchids adorned her large computer display. On the left, a normal, healthy stamen of a Vulcan Orchid was magnified. The soft reddish-purple stem plunged into a darkening sea of crimson. However, the image on the right gave Lilly alarm. The stamen was grey, mottled, and almost decaying in places.
"Computer, what is the current analysis of Specimen 00-201-KD?"
"Specimen 00-201-KD is diseased. Unknown origins."
Lilly let out a deep sigh. She rolled her neck around her shoulders and sat back in her chair.
"Computer, what is the current temperature outside?"
"40 degrees Celsius. Weather reports indicate a Sandstorm is possible. Winds are travelling at 25 kilometers per hour."
Lilly sighed.
I need more samples. Something is killing this flower, and the others near it.
*Chime* "IT IS NOW 7:15 P.M. NEW VULCAN TIME. NIGHTFALL IS IN 45 MINUTES. LOCKDOWN IS IN 1 HOUR" The Computer System announced the evening protocol to the entire Colony.
45 minutes? That's enough time to take the aircar to the field and get a few more samples and make it back before Lockdown.
Lilly ripped her lab coat off and pulled her discarded shoes back on. She grabbed her worn knapsack and tossed a couple of cold bottles of water in it, as well as a handful of specimen containers and her PADD. She rushed out her door, hearing the auto-lock engage as she ran down the corridor to the bay where the aircars were kept.
Pulling out her tiny keychain, she lamented that the only keys were for her father's house in Georgia, her apartment in San Francisco, and a key for the Aircar her team used for specimen collections, deposits, and travel back to the New Vulcan Colony for supplies or the occasional healer visit. Lilly tossed her knapsack into the passenger seat of the small violet colored Aircar. She swiftly jogged around to the driver's seat and climbed in, jamming the keys in the ignition as she finished buckling up.
Lilly slid the car into drive and took off down the dusty sand dunes towards the patch of orchids planted 4 months ago. The air was sweltering. As Lilly drove over sand dune after sand dune, she finally reached the edges of the orchid field, a mere 20 kilometers from the Colony.
She parked to the side of the field, and grabbed her tricorder, arming herself to collect more samples of the diseased orchids. As soon as she opened the door to the car, sweat formed on her brow. She took a shallow breath, and plunged head first into the blazing inferno of the Kal'ta Desert.
"After we're done here, I would love to go to the Altair System. Take a nice vacation someplace that isn't an oven." Lilly muttered under her breath. She trudged over sand dunes the remaining half-kilometer to the Orchid garden.
Lilly delicately stepped between the lush beds of multi-colored Vulcan Orchids, as she wound her way to the location of the decaying flowers. Upon reaching her destination, she tossed her knapsack down and knelt to the ground, drawing her legs under her gently.
"Well son of a bitch. These are all dead. What the hell happened here?" She muttered under her breath.
This ground was stable, no anomalies, no… nothing and fertile enough to grow Vulcan Orchids. The cliffside out here gave enough cooling shade that the delicate plants wouldn't scorch. There was an underground spring that fed most of this desert with enough water to sustain plant life. Except for an errant Sandstorm, the weather was generally favorable as well. That's why Lilly had picked this location to begin with.
Lilly pulled her Tricorder from her pack and began to scan the deceased flowers. She worked swiftly, trying to ascertain all the damage in the garden. As she documented the destruction of the orchids, she soon became oblivious to her surroundings.
