Chapter 2
Kirk was beyond excited. He got to go on an away exploratory mission to the planet Andlora, a planet reputed to be full of beautiful scenery and enchanting inhabitants. Kirk smiled to himself, thinking that if he had time, he'd try to sneak away and go swimming in Andlora's famous Lake Shastatan, said to have clear, pink water that bubbled pleasantly and was completely devoid of animal life. And McCoy wasn't part of the away party, so Kirk could probably get away with immersing himself in what the doctor would probably refer to as unnatural, alien, possibly dangerous, and certain to be infectious bubblegum-pink water.
Jim heard the doors of the bridge open, and suddenly the doctor was there, fussing over Jim and giving him a hypo to prevent some sort of bug-borne illness.
"Bones!" exclaimed Jim, swatting away McCoy's hands. "That hurt! Is this even necessary? What are the chances that I'll catch anything down there?"
Bones grimaced, saying, "Very unlikely, Jim. In fact, I'm not even bothering to vaccinate the rest of the crew, but with your luck, I figured that I'd help you along in any little way I can."
"I appreciate your tender, loving care, Bones," Jim said testily, "but I've got things to do. Are we ready to beam down, Spock?"
The Vulcan turned from his station. "Yes, Captain. Ensigns Fraser and Miller are already waiting for us in the transporter room. Lieutenant Uhura has already made contact with the head of the Andlorian village we will be visiting and has confirmed our arrival."
"Excellent, Mr. Spock. I'll meet you in the transporter room in two minutes."
"Very good, Captain," said Spock. He paused to lay his hand briefly on Uhura's shoulders and then exited the bridge, headed toward the transporter room.
Bones turned to Jim with a wary look in his eyes. "Are you sure I shouldn't beam down with you, Jim?"
"Why, Bones!" said Jim. "Am I to believe that you've overcome your dislike for leaving the ship?"
Bones scowled. "Of course not, Jim. I'd much rather stay up here in my sickbay helping injured people who need my help…who haven't done it to themselves," Bones said, seeing Jim about to open his mouth.
"I've got a bad feeling about this, Jim. Andlora hasn't been communicating with Starfleet for the past couple of months and all of a sudden they want to welcome the Enterprise with arms wide open. They even asked if you'd let the whole crew take shore leave on planet, something they've been vehemently opposed to before. Why the change, Jim?"
Jim shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't know, Bones. It could be that they've heard about the reputation of the Enterprise. They could be aware of Starfleet's much-improved relationship with Andlora's ally, Nbiri. Either way, it's worth it for Spock and I to go check out. We'll be back in no time, Bones, so don't get all huffy."
"I wasn't getting huffy, Jim. I was trying to make you slow down and consider all of the possibilities before you go risking your life on another hare-brained, ill thought-out, likely-to-end-in-death-or-mortal-injury adventure."
"Relax, Bones," said Jim, clapping Bones on the shoulder. "We'll be fine."
"You better be, Jim."
"And if we're not, you'll have the pleasure of trying out your new dermal regenerator on me, which I'm sure will make you quite happy," said Jim, smiling brightly at the doctor and ducking a smack to the back of the head and heading out the door.
"That damn fool better come back in one piece," grumbled Bones fondly.
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Materializing onto the planet of Andlora, Spock sensed immediately that something was wrong. He glanced over at Jim to see if Jim could feel it too, but the fact that the young captain was already motioning Miller and Fraser to hide behind some bushes confirmed Spock's intuition. Something was very wrong on Andlora.
"Spock," whispered Jim, stooping down to conceal himself behind a blue feathery bush. "Look at the lake, Spock."
Spock turned to the east to look at the famed Lake Shastatan. If he were human, he would've gasped aloud at the sight that greeted his eyes.
Spock had been on Andlora many years before and knew of the reverence with which the Andlorans treated the lake. It was their sacred lake, the place of their gods and the place that the Andlorans believed sustained their word.
Before, Lake Shastatan had been a beautiful place, with sparkling pink waters that looked so fresh and appealing, Spock had wanted to dive into it immediately, even knowing that it would offend his hosts if he were to enter it without their permission. The lake had been surrounded by the most beautiful purple and blue feathered plants that reached toward the sky, forming what seemed to be like the Amazonian canopy on Earth before it was completely destroyed in the late 21st century.
Now the lake was almost dry, only a few feet of pink water remained in what had once been a glistening lake. Indeed, the remaining water looked brown, instead of the beautiful pink it had once been before.
And the canopy was gone. Completely gone. Only a few small bushes, like the ones he, Jim, and Fraser and Miller were hiding behind, remained.
"What has gone on here?" Spock mused.
"Captain," whispered Lieutenant Fraser. "I detect ten life forms in the village. There should've been over three thousand people living there according to Starfleet records from last year."
Jim looked troubled and was about to respond when Lieutenant Miller spoke up. "Look, Captain," she said, pointing at two figures approaching from the direction of the village.
Jim looked at Spock, and they stood up in unison, motioning Miller and Fraser to stay concealed.
"Hello," called Jim. "I am Captain James Kirk from the starship Enterprise. This is Commander Spock."
The two figures did not respond, but continued approaching. Spock could see that they were two young male Andlorans, approximately twenty-five years of age. Yet, the figures walked stiffly, as if they were crippled with age.
"Spock," whispered Kirk. "This doesn't feel right."
The figures came closer and closer, and soon Kirk could see that the Andlorans' clothes were in tatters and their black hair, usually intricately braided, was lying in shambles all about their shoulders.
"Captain," cried Spock urgently. "We mustn't let them touch us. And we mustn't touch or drink any water here. I fear the Denuvian Plague has returned to Andlora."
"The Denuvian Plague?" inquired Kirk, keeping his eyes fixed on the approaching Andlorans.
"Yes, Captain. Over three hundred years ago, a virus spread from the depths of the Andloran forests, tainting the watersupplies and killing all of the Andloran population. The Andlorans that we know of today are ancestors of the Andlorans who were off planet when the Denuvian Plague struck. They returned to fifty years after the Plague, when the water had been purified and was deemed to be safe again. It was said that…"
"I hate to interrupt your history lesson, Spock, but the Andlorans are almost here. What happens if they touch us?"
"We are infected, become mad, and die. Even the skills of Dr. McCoy could not bring cure us."
"Good to know. Greetings, Andlorans," called Kirk. "We come in peace to help you as much as we can."
The Andlorans looked at each other confusedly.
One of them spoke softly. "Our people are dead, Captain. We and a few others are the only ones left. My wife and child are dead. My parents are dead. Only my brother and I remain of our whole family. You must stay here now, Captain."
Kirk spoke firmly, "My crew and I will do as much as we can to help you. What is it that you need?"
The Andlorans looked at each other again. "We need your water, Captain. We need your blood."
And suddenly Kirk could see the madness that lay within the Andlorans' eyes. Was it merely grief, or was it something more, something infectious that now inhabited their brains, driving them to lure others onto the planet, to infect others as they had been infected.
And then the Andlorans were advancing, much more quickly than Kirk would've guessed them capable of.
"Fraser, Miller, fall back," barked Jim, and the landing party retreated toward the lake.
The Andlorans kept on coming, and suddenly more Andlorans appeared from the sparse undergrowth, reaching toward the only living, uninfected beings left on the planet. Their gaunt hands and haunted faces tore at Kirk, but he knew that there was nothing that he could do for them now.
"Might I suggest we beam out now, Captain," inquired Spock calmly, drawing his phaser in the hopes of deterring any approaching Andlorans, but clearly hesitant to use it against these clearly sick and dying people.
"Good idea," said Kirk, hastily grabbing hold of his communicator. "Scotty, beam us up. Now!"
The Andlorans were drawing nearer and nearer. Kirk could not back up more than a few more steps before immersing his feet in what had once been the glorious Lake Shastatan. Now Lake Shastatan meant only death.
Looking around at the haunted, beautiful faces of the surviving Andlorans, Kirk was filled with helplessness and pity, for he knew that they were beyond anyone's help now, but it killed him to leave them on the planet.
"There is nothing we could do, Captain," said Spock softly.
Jim looked up at Spock. "I know, Commander, but I wish there was something we could do."
The mad Andlorans were still advancing, and Kirk was starting to think that this right here was how he was going to die. Should've listened to Bones, Kirk thought, exasperated. He's always right.
And then he could feel the world dissolve around him, and they were safely back aboard the Enterprise.