Note: I do not not own Star Trek. *pouts* No matter how much I wish I did...
Shore Leech
"Come on, Spock. You have to swim!" McCoy chided, grinning smugly. Captain Kirk and the rest of the crew laughed and nodded, staring happily at their fellow crewman. The Vulcan stood rigid, one swept eyebrow raised.
"I do not have to do anything, Doctor. How crewmen spend their shore leave is their own business." Spock replied, humor in his eyes. His gaze swept over the crew as they bounced slightly on their toes, excited to go swimming in the large lake behind them. They stood on a tall cliff which extended partly over the water. Everyone had on plain, black swimming suits, besides the Captain. He had on swimming trunks with bright, colorful patterns that made him stick out like a sore thumb. Spock had shown up at the planet's surface wearing khaki pants along with a white t-shirt. He had no intentions of getting wet.
"Your loss." McCoy said, holding his hands up in defeat. Spock nodded and turned, setting up a chair and beginning to program his tricorder to scan the lake. He didn't see McCoy whisper devilishly into Kirk's ear. They both chuckled and walked to the cliff's ledge, suppressing grins. Suddenly the Doctor shoved the Captain off the ledge, sending him plunging into the water far below. Kirk screamed in terror, flailing his arms wildly, only stopping as he dove gracefully into the lake.
"Jim!" McCoy cried in alarm, tensing and looking all around the water frantically. "Jim, where'd you go?" He looked over at the crew, his eyes wide and shocked.
Spock looked up from his tricorder, alarmed. He stood, striding over to the cliff's ledge and looking over. Down in the water, grinning up at him and waving, was the Captain.
"Ha!" Spock tensed as he was shoved roughly from behind, turning just in time to see McCoy with outstretched hands and a pleased grin on his face. He was already too far over the edge to go back, and he had no choice but to go with it and fall into the water. His hair was blown back as he tumbled uncoordinatedly down, trying to get in a cannonball position. He plummeted into the water face-first, letting a loud cry of shock at how cold the water was. It filled his mouth and he coughed, allowing the water to fill his lungs as well. Thrashing his arms around, he made his way to the surface, sputtering and trying to clear his throat.
"Spock?" Kirk's worried voice came from behind him. Still coughing roughly, Spock turned to his Captain, struggling to stay afloat while he fought for breath. Kirk grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the bottom of the cliff where there was shallower water. Three splashes were heard from behind them as McCoy, Chekov, and Uhura jumped down to see what was wrong.
"Keptin, Spock! Vhat happened?" Chekov scrambled up to the shallow water next to the coughing Vulcan, his worried voice matching his facial expression. The two other officers followed suit, standing over the Captain's shoulder.
"Spock, are you okay?" Kirk grabbed his friend's shoulder, shaking him slightly. Spock managed to clear his throat, and he looked up at the crewmen, his breath shallow and slow.
"I'm… fine." He stammered, his voice harsh and throaty. Kirk quickly pulled out his communicator, flipping it open hastily.
"Kirk to Enterprise. Five to beam up." He turned to McCoy. "I want you to look him over, Bones." They both turned to the soggy Spock, who was still breathing heavily. The high-pitched, whiny transporter hum pulled their attention away as their molecules were scattered and distorted.
As the crew reassembled on the Enterprise platforms, Scotty, manning the transporter console, smiled when he saw the bedraggled, wet Vulcan sitting before him. When he realized no one else was smiling, he frowned and furrowed his brow.
"Cap'n, what'd I miss?" The engineer walked over to help get the Vulcan up, and was surprised when McCoy immediately pulled Spock away and left, the door swishing shut behind him. Scotty looked to the others for an answer, but they all seemed to be confused.
"Bones tried to pull a prank on Spock, and it didn't work." Kirk said frankly, brushing his wet hair back. "I'll be in Sickbay." The Captain left as rapidly as the Doctor, leaving Scotty with his mouth slightly open. He turned to Uhura and Chekov.
"A… Prank?" Uhura and Chekov exchanged a quick glance before Chekov smiled and shrugged.
"The Doctor has a strange sense of humor."
Captain Kirk walked into Sickbay, glancing around the sterile, professional-looking room for his two best friends. On one of the diagnostic beds, Spock was lying on his back and staring blankly up at the ceiling. Hovering above him with a hand-held machine, McCoy looked like he was grumbling to himself. By the looks of it, he was complaining about the 'damn Vulcan physiology'.
"How is he?" Kirk asked, walking up to the two officers. McCoy sighed and turned off the small scanner in his hand, then shut the diagnostic screen off as well.
"He's perfectly healthy besides a sore throat. I don't know what happened." Spock sat up in response, looking as good as ever other than his wet clothes and dripping hair. He raised an eyebrow.
"I believe I told you I was fine. This was un-" He cut off and stiffened, his hand grabbing a spot on his lower back. He seemed to be trying to pull something off, but he wasn't having much luck.
"What is it?" The Captain asked as McCoy lifted the back of Spock's shirt a few inches. There was a black, slimy creature latched onto the Vulcan's skin. It was hardly bigger than a thumb, and when the Doctor prodded it with his finger, it bent under the pressure like it was jell-o.
"I think it's a leech." McCoy muttered, trying to get a grasp on the thing. It slipped under his fingers, refusing to be held on to. The Doctor cussed under his breath and left to retrieve something. He returned holding a pair of silver tweezers. But when he tried to grab the leach with the tweezers, it simply slid out of the grasp.
"That's a stubborn leech." Kirk commented, chuckling when McCoy started to try to scrape the creature off with his fingernails.
"It just won't come off." McCoy shook his head and looked up at the Captain. "I want everyone who was down at that planet to check themselves for these leeches. There's something strange about them."
Kirk sat in the center seat on the Bridge, staring at the planet on the view screen. He longed to go back to the lush planet and take another swim. Although Spock hadn't liked it, Kirk had enjoyed the water. He turned at the sound of the door swishing open. McCoy walked up to stand next to the Captain, looking angered.
"That leech still won't come off." He muttered, looking as if he were almost pouting. "I went ahead and sent Spock to his quarters."
"Did anyone else have the leeches?" Kirk asked, remembering that he had not found any on himself. He had checked everywhere for them, and hadn't seen a single one of the slimy creatures.
"Nope," McCoy said, shaking his head. "The thing seems to be drawn to the traces of copper and nickel in his blood. We need to get it off of him before it drains all of the Vulcan components out of his bloodstream."
Kirk nodded solemnly, imagining his friend being emptied of all of his blood by one little, parasitic beast. The thought didn't ease his worry.
In his quarters, Spock turned the heat up to Vulcan average and started to strip himself of the dirty, wet clothing. As he went to put the clothing away, he felt an odd prickling at his ankle. Looking down, he saw a black, slimy figure latched onto his leg. He reached down to pull it off, but he couldn't get a good grip. He realized with a start that if he had two, he might very well have more.
Spock looked at himself in the mirror and quickly pointed out the leech on his lower back. Higher up on his back, resting on his spine, was another. He found another on the back of his left thigh, and the last one on his shoulder. Whenever he tried to get one off, he had the same result: the slick creature slipping out from under his fingers.
He tried grabbing them in every way he could think of, and he even tried putting different substances on them to see if they might parish. But the leeches seemed to be oblivious to everything he tried. They just continued to drink from his body, unmoved and calm.
Unnerved, Spock walked over to the panel near his door and hit a button. The Captain's face appeared on the screen before him, with McCoy nearby in the background.
"Spock?" Kirk smiled slightly and raised an eyebrow, stifling a chuckle. Spock realized that he hadn't put on any clothes, and the Captain and Doctor could see his bare body down to his stomach. He felt his face flush slightly, but kept his composure.
"Captain, I have found four more of the leeches on my body. I still cannot find a way to remove them." Kirk's smile quickly faded, and his expression became grave.
"Of anybody on this ship, I thought you'd be the one to be able to find a way to remove them." He rubbed his forehead for a moment, then sighed. "Well, we'll have-"
"Captain Kirk! A ship is requesting communication." Spock could see Uhura in the background, her fingers to her ear. She looked urgently at the Captain, and almost seemed alarmed.
"Who is it?" Kirk asked, swiveling his chair to face her.
"Romulans."
Captain Kirk spun back around in his chair to stare at the view screen. He clenched his jaw as a Romulan Bird-of-Prey uncloaked and turned to stare directly at the Enterprise. The ship seemed poised, ready to attack the Federation vessel at any moment.
Remembering his first officer, Kirk cleared his throat. "Forget the leeches for now, Mr. Spock. Get dressed," McCoy snickered from behind the Captain, "and report to the bridge. Kirk out." He punched a button and turned to Uhura, nodding at her to open hailing frequencies.
"Open, sir." She replied, looking up at the view screen like everyone else. The picture of the Bird-of-Prey scattered, giving the Bridge crew a view of a Romulan commander. His swept eyebrows and pointed ears looked menacing with his cruel glare. He stared at Kirk.
"Federation vessel, this is your one and only warning. Take your ship away from this area, and leave the Romulan Empire to its work." The Romulan's voice was calm and collected, almost as if he were a Vulcan. If it weren't for the outfit, Kirk would have sworn it was a Vulcan.
"This is Federation territory, and you have no right being here." Kirk threw back, gripping the edges of his chair. "Why are you here?" He demanded. From behind him, the door swished open and Spock walked in, hardly even giving the view screen and glance as he sat down at his station.
"This planet is uninhabited. We are harming nobody while here." The Romulan raised his hand and flicked it slightly. The transmission ended suddenly, the screen returning to the view of the planet, stars, and Bird-of-Prey.
"Somehow I doubt they're stopping by for a swim." McCoy muttered, leaning against the command chair nonchalantly. He looked down at Kirk. "What're they up to?"
"I don't know, Bones. But whatever it is, when it has Romulans involved it can't be good." He looked at Spock, who was staring quietly at the Doctor and Captain, looking as if he didn't have five leeches on him at the moment. "Spock, scan the planet and see if you can find anything."
Spock turned and started pressing several buttons, staring occasionally at a screen in front of him. Light reflected back at him, lighting his face up bright blue. The small whirring of instruments was the only sound on the Bridge as everyone waited for Spock's results. Suddenly, the Vulcan hit a button and turned to the Captain.
"There seems to be a large amount of metal in one area of the planet's surface. The type of metal suggests that someone is building some sort of shelter. Since the planet is, as the Romulan commander pointed out, uninhabited, the only logical assumption is that the Romulans put it there."
"Why are they building shelters?" Kirk asked, standing up and walking over to the red railing in front of Spock. He leaned heavily on the bar, looking at his science officer seriously.
"If I may make a notion?" Spock raised an eyebrow, and Kirk gestured towards him impatiently.
"By all means, Spock, hypothesize!"
"Yes, sir. This planet is not only quite large and a very well-known planet for shore leave, but on the outskirts of Federation territory. If the Romulans could get a hold of it and take it over, it could be just the start of attaining more territory. Very likely, they'd try to dominate more and more until they controlled all of the Federation. This is, of course, a quick theory, based on little data." Kirk turned around and clasped his hands together, thinking. All eyes followed him as he paced around the deck, saying nothing. A long, silent moment passed as the Captain slowly made his way back to his chair.
"Uhura, open hailing frequencies. I want to speak to them." The communications officer held a metal piece to her ear and pressed a few buttons before turning around to the Captain and shrugging, defeated.
"They won't respond, sir." Kirk sighed and looked at the Bird-of-Prey on the view screen. What're we going to do? Kirk thought, resting his chin on his palm. But more importantly, what're they going to do?
In his quarters, Spock was analyzing information and uses for the type of metal he discovered on the planet. So far the only use he had revealed was, as he had said before, for building shelters and shields.
A monotonous buzzing sounded, indicating someone was at his door.
"Come," Spock said loudly, turning his chair away from his monitor to face the door. Captain Kirk entered the room, gesturing for Spock to sit back down when he stood.
"Sit down, Spock. I just wanted to stop by and make sure you're still alright." He sat in a chair beside his first officer, crossing his arms.
"I assure you, Captain, along with every other officer that is concerned, I am quite fine. The leeches do not seem to be doing any harm."
"So far." Kirk added, still worried about his friend. Behind that strong, Vulcan demeanor, the Captain swore he could see a helplessness, a fear. But, out of respect for his fellow officer, he kept his thoughts to himself. "So what have you been looking at?" He asked, seeing Spock's console filled with information.
"The metal that was on the planet, as I had hypothesized, is used primarily for shelters. I am at rest with my previous impression that they are building some sort of shelter on the planet's surface." Kirk nodded as Spock spoke, looking down at the floor.
"There's something about Romulans that I don't like. They're not like Klingons; they don't give us any hints as to what they're up to. They just keep us guessing." It was Spock's turn to start nodding.
"They are quite intelligent."
"You're just saying that because they're descendants of Vulcans." Kirk grinned, looking for Spock's reaction.
"Really, Captain…" Spock suddenly obtained a distant look in his eyes, and his face drained of all color. Kirk lunged forward to catch him as he toppled over, limp as a rag.
"Spock!" The Captain, after lying Spock down gently on the ground, sprinted to the wall comm. He punched a button unnecessarily hard, and talked urgently into the receiver. "Sickbay: Medical emergency!"
"Well, the leeches have finally got to him. He'll be fine for now, but we need to keep a close eye on him. We don't have enough of his blood type to keep giving it to him whenever he needs it." McCoy put a hand on his worried Captain's shoulder, trying to keep him calm.
"But he completely passed out. Doctor, are you sure he's okay?" From behind the two officers, Spock sat up on his elbows and raised an eyebrow. His first officer looked alright now, Kirk thought, but he still could not get rid of the image of Spock as he rested, unconscious and helpless, on the floor.
"Captain, I am quite fine. Now, if you two will excuse me I shall return to work. I believe my shift has already started." As he moved to stand, both the Doctor and the Captain ran over and held the Vulcan down, not letting him up.
"Spock, you are not to return to duty until those things are off of you. That's an order, and I'm pulling medical rank. Now you sit back down and get some rest." Doctor McCoy stared at Spock firmly until he did as he was told, then gave him once last glare before turning away. He pulled Kirk away and into his office so they could speak privately.
Spock lay his head down on the small pillow and stared up at the diagnostic panel above his head. The slow, rhythmic bleeping kept him occupied until Nurse Chapel entered Sickbay holding a silver tray with a white mug in the center.
"Oh, don't get up, Spock, I just brought something I thought you might enjoy." Spock sat up on the diagnostic bed as the Nurse walked closer.
From his shoulder, Spock felt a large, painful pricking sensation as one of the leeches dug itself deeper into his skin. The bleeping on the diagnostic panel abruptly gave an erratic tone, surprising both Spock and Nurse Chapel. Looking at the screen on the panel, Nurse Chapel lost her footing, falling forward ungracefully. The tray in her hands fell forward as well, spilling the contents of the mug onto Spock's neck and shoulders.
"Mr. Spock, I am so sorry!" Chapel insisted, helping Spock up out of bed. He held back a grunt of pain as the searing liquid dripped down his front side, leaving behind a hot, burning trail.
"What was that?" He asked, watching the Nurse as she retrieved a new pair of clothes.
"Some Vulcan herb tea. It's popular on your planet, so I thought it might make you feel a little better." She helped the disgruntled officer get his shirt off before the liquid could ruin his pants as well.
"Although I fail to see how any type of beverage could affect my outlook on this situation, I thank you in the long run. Observe." Spock pointed to the black leech on his shoulder, which was now covered in the herb tea. It wriggled for a moment before contracting and falling from the Vulcan's skin.
"My God…" Nurse Chapel muttered, poking the small creature on the floor. "I think it's dead."
"Nurse, what are the herbs in that tea?"
"Vulcan mint." Chapel stood, the dead leech in her hand. She turned it over in her fingers, grimacing as she caught a glance at its mouth. With thin, mangled teeth, it looked like a very evil thing.
"That's it." Spock wiped the tea off of the small, bloody mark the leech had left on his shoulder. "Vulcan mint kills it."
Spock stood before Doctor McCoy, wearing nothing but underwear. He looked straight ahead as the Doctor gently poured cupful by cupful of ground Vulcan mint over each leech, waiting long enough to see it shrivel and fall to the ground. The Vulcan kept calm, reminding himself that shame was an emotion, and he should be feeling no such thing. However, standing almost-nude in front of the good doctor was making it difficult to not be embarrassed.
"That's the last of them." Doctor McCoy stood, wiping the herb off of his hands and pants. He picked up the shrunken leeches one by one and put them into a container for further study.
"Thank you, Doctor. Now, with your permission, may I resume my duties aboard this ship?"
"Yeah, sure. Go knock yourself out." McCoy waved his hand in dismissal and headed for his office.
"I have already lost consciousness once today, Doctor. I do not intend to damage myself any further in a way that would cause me to lose consciousness again." McCoy rolled his eyes and left the room, ignoring Spock's ever-so-Vulcan comment.
Spock raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in what only his friends would see as an amused look. "Illogical." He said, then left.
As Spock rode the turbolift to the Bridge, he was jolted to the side by an impact. It was followed by a loud, excruciating groan from the ship, and he could almost see Scotty in the engine room, screaming about whatever was causing his ship (lassy, as he would call her) pain.
The lift doors opened, revealing a chaotic scene. Captain Kirk stood between Sulu and Chekov, pointing to the view screen and demanding more power in the shields and phaser banks. To his right, Uhura was desperately trying to make contact with another vessel, and to his left, an ensign was franticly speaking to Scotty, trying to understand the Scot's quick instructions.
"Captain, I have them!" Uhura shouted over the crazy scene. As Spock made his way to his station, the Captain ordered her to put it on the screen. The entire crew became silent as a familiar, regal Romulan appeared before them, a scowl engulfing his features.
"What is the meaning of this assault?" Kirk screeched, furious that they were so abruptly attacked.
"Federation vessel, the Romulan Empire has given you a fair warning and plenty of time to oblige in our request. You have been warned of the consequences, yet you deliberately ignored us. We have no choice but to take action."
"You will," Kirk shouted, then took a breath and calmed himself. "You will cease this strike against us, and we can negotiate a fair compromise." Suddenly the ship jerked once more with another impact.
"Captain, we will do no such thing." The Romulan smirked and lifted his chin proudly. "We will make no compromise, and we shall take what we have come for." The screen blanked, revealing a beam heading straight for the Enterprise. It impacted, throwing the crew around like rag dolls.
"Cap'n," Scotty's voice ran through the bridge speakers, sounding worried. "The ship canna take much more o' this."
"I know, Scotty, just keep her going until I think of something." Kirk turned away from the view screen, clutching his head and thinking hard of something, anything, for them to do to save themselves. For once, he had nothing, and he felt hopeless. His ship, his crew, were all doomed, and he could do nothing to stop it. The ship shuttered again, and he thought of how many lives would be taken. Ho many families would be devastated. How many lives were in his hands.
"Captain, if I may?" Spock stood from his station, hands behind his back. If the Captain wasn't mistaken, his first officer almost looked… smug!
"What is it?" He asked, running to his second-in-command.
"A very long time ago, on Vulcan, there was a large disagreement among my people. Some Vulcans chose to follow the teachings of Surak, whereas other chose to-"
"Save the history lesson for another time, Spock! Just get on with it!" Kirk grabbed the rail as another hit thrust the ship sideways.
"Romulans are ancient descendants of Vulcans. But not so ancient where their physiological structure would be different than ours." Spock stated, unperturbed by his interruption.
"Where are you going with this, Spock?" Kirk waved his hands, indicating for Spock to speak faster. He was at a loss to where his Vulcan science officer was headed.
"If you will recall the reason why the leeches were attracted to my blood? I have traces of copper and nickel in my bloodstream, along with every other Vulcan. Therefore, along with every Romulan as well. The leeches were, as the Doctor chose to put it several times, a 'pain in the ass'. The Romulan's ship would only have food supplies that were found on Romulus. Vulcan mint cannot be found on Romulus." Spock finished coolly, staring calmly at his amazed Captain. Kirk strode over to his chair, thinking quick. He hit a button on the armrest.
"Bones, do you still have those leeches?"
"Yeah, Jim, why?"
"Send them to the transporter room immediately!" He waited a few seconds for the Doctor to react, and then a few more precious seconds for the leeches to arrive at the transporter room.
"Transporter room," Kirk demanded, and a young ensign replied oddly, confused about the creatures that were now in his possession.
"Ensign, I want you to lock onto and beam as many of those creatures as you can find from the planet's surface straight to the Bird-of-Prey bridge."
"Yes, sir." Kirk was surprised at how casually the ensign had reacted. From the communications, he could hear the hum of the transporter several times as the ensign found more and more of the leeches.
"Captain, we are being hailed." Uhura said, surprised. She put it on the view screen, and the entire bridge crew lit up with amusement as the Romulan Commander, now covered with slimy, black creatures, glared at Captain Kirk.
"What is the meaning of this trickery?" He demanded, trying miserably to remove the leech from his left cheek. In the background, he could see another Romulan flapping his arms and attempting to remove the organisms.
"I believe, Commander, that we gave you a fair warning to cease your attack. In not doing so, your ship and its crew have been punished." He smiled meekly. "If you would ever like to get the leeches off, I suggest you pack up and get out." From the corner of his eye, Kirk could see Spock with an amused glint in his eyes.
"Fine! Just get these blasted creatures off of us!" The Romulan sneered, ordering his men to bring the equipment back onboard and be prepared to leave orbit. Kirk nodded happily and flicked off communications for a moment so he could speak with the transporter room.
"Ensign, could you now beam Vulcan mint aboard there ship wherever you have beamed the leeches? You will be able to take it from the ship's food systems."
"Um, of course, sir." Although he sounded confused, the ensign did as he was told and he beamed over the selected herb.
"Captain, they are hailing us. Vocal only." Uhura pressed a button, and the Romulan Commander's voice boomed around the bridge angrily.
"I don't know what you've done, and I don't care to find out. We are leaving, Captain, but we will be back. This planet shall be ours!" Before the Romulan could cut communications, Kirk laughed and added:
"And we will have more tricks, Commander! We will be prepared!" He watched the view screen as the Bird-of-Prey blasted out of sight, leaving the tranquil planet behind it.
"Well done, ensign. There may be a promotion in your future."
"Thank you, Captain!" The ensign replied, grinning in his private little transporter room. Since nobody could see him, he did a quick fist pump, pulled his shirt down, and formally left the room.
"Now, Spock, I couldn't help but notice you on the bridge today." Captain Kirk mused, sipping at his Saurian Brandy. Spock set down his glass of water beside McCoy's Brandy, and raised an eyebrow at his Captain.
"Sir?" He queried.
"I have known you for a very long time, and in doing so I have become very acquainted with your facial expressions. And today on the bridge, I caught several glimpses of you where you looked extremely pleased with yourself, and quite amused." Spock looked at Kirk, his eyes widening and both his eyebrows disappearing beneath his bangs. McCoy and Kirk grinned at each other knowingly.
"Captain, Doctor," Spock said, standing up and gripping the back of his chair tightly. Calmly, as always, he continued, "You two are the most emotional humans I have ever met in my life. You have no control whatsoever in that aspect of your human behaviors." He turned and walked to the door, which swished open as he came near. Standing in the doorway, he looked back around at his friends. "Good day." And with that, he left with an accomplished gleam in his eyes along with, Kirk swore, more amusement.
"Doctor," Kirk said, looking at McCoy, whose mouth was wide open, "I do believe we have just been insulted."