Domino Effect
Author's Note: one more update today! :D Many thanks to Kaedn and elecktrum for being a constant reviewer of my stories! And to another's guest reviewer for reviewing my previous chapter :)
To elecktrum: Things are about to get much worse...
Disclaimer: Don't own anything!
Chapter 2
"First of all, we need a plan to distract them. Spock, any hypothesis on how they found us?"
"As they tunnel underground, it would be a valid hypothesis that they detect movement either by feeling vibrations on the ground or by hearing our footsteps."
"Right so to distract them, we would need something that hits the ground and catches their attention."
"What, like throwing a damn pebble?" supplied McCoy helpfully.
"That might work, Bones."
"Jim, we're not in a spy movie from the twenty first century!" McCoy huffed, and Jim tried to hide a smile as he saw Bones throw his hands up in the air in desperation, only to accidentally hit an increasingly unamused Spock.
Jim wondered if he should tell Bones one day that his sarcasm is why Kirk wants him on almost every away mission they have to go.
"Well Spock, any ideas apart from throwing rocks?"
"Captain, it would seem our only choice is to get to the beam out point as soon as possible. I will monitor their movements using the tricorder and we would have to stop once I detect any movements."
"In plain English, Spock, you're telling us to make a run for it?"
"That is what I said, Doctor."
"Well, let's go!" exclaimed Kirk.
"What the hell Jim, how is this a plan?!" shouted McCoy. Unfortunately, his protests fell on deaf ears as Jim started packing his things up, wiped away the schematic and prepared to leave. Spock, on the other hand, was adjusting his tricorder and pointing it in different directions.
"Better than throwing stones eh, Bones?"
McCoy rolled his eyes and followed after Kirk and Spock, his hand tightening around the medikit.
On and on they ran, past several hilly terrains and grasslands full of strange, tall, multicoloured grass. It would honestly have made quite a picturesque view, especially with the glittering, glass-like clouds that seemed to be settling in, if not for the fact that some overgrown insect might just appear from the ground and eat them up. It was then that McCoy was brought back to the time when him and Jim were running for their lives in Nirobi: they were once again running through some strange terrain because some alien creatures were chasing them.
And Jim wonders why I hate away missions.
"Jim, stop!" shouted Spock suddenly.
Jim and Leonard didn't need to be told twice, especially since the ground was now literally shaking under their feet. They stood there for about two minutes, not daring to even blink, before the trembling lessened and whatever it was seemed to have tunneled away. Once the tricorder stopped beeping, Kirk and McCoy breathed a sigh of relief.
"Captain, there is a cave approximately 500 meters away from here."
"Good job, Spock. How much time do we have left?"
"One hour before our rendezvous with the ship."
Kirk nodded and entered the cave, with Spock and McCoy following quickly. The 'cave' was even smaller than before such that Spock had to bend slightly so that his head did not hit the ceiling. The air felt stale once all three were in the cave, and a strange, sweet smell reminiscent of spoilt fruit filled the cave.
"I guess I'll take suffocation over being eaten alive," McCoy grumbled under his breath as he settled in.
"Doctor, there is enough air in here to last us for approximately 3 hours, 11 minutes. We will not suffocate."
"Just an expression, Mr Spock," sighed McCoy.
"How far away are we from the beam out point?" asked Kirk before Spock could give any reply.
"I expect another thirty minutes at most, Captain."
Kirk whipped out his communicator and fiddled with the buttons.
"Mr Scott? Come in, Mr Scott."
The communicator gave no reply.
Kirk tried to change frequencies and modify the communicator, before receiving some static.
"Mr Scott?" Kirk tried again, fine tuning the buttons even more.
"S-S-S-ir? C-pt-n?"
"Mr Scott!"
Communications sizzled on the other end, before something came up again.
"Captain Kirk?" came a distinctively Scottish accent.
"Mr Scott, can you hear us?"
"Aye Captain. Are ye at the beam out point?"
"Negative, Mr Scott. Can you get a lock on where we are now?"
A pause; hopes were raised as they heard Scotty manipulating the machine.
"Negative, Captain. Are ye under some cover?"
"Yes, we are in a cave."
"Might be the minerals messin' up the transporter. Move into the open, Captain, an' we'll try again."
Kirk nodded, motioning the others to follow.
"Mr Scott, do you detect us?"
"Negative, Captain."
Kirk gave Spock and McCoy a resigned look.
"Alright, keep this channel open. See you at the beam out point later."
"Aye, Captain."
By the time they reached the beam out point, they saw that things had reverted back to the calm state they had earlier been in before they went near the wall. Kirk motioned Spock and McCoy to a nearby overgrowth, where they started to monitor the conditions of the beam out location.
Nothing.
"What d'you suppose those wall-like things are, Jim?" whispered McCoy.
"No idea. Maybe it's the home of those creatures? Marks their boundaries or something."
"So if we don't step near that area we should be alright?"
"I think so. I'll go first."
"No, we go together," said McCoy defiantly. Kirk turned to stop him, but upon seeing the resolve in both Spock's and McCoy's eyes, he knew whatever he said would be disregarded.
Slowly, the three of them made their way into the middle of the open, careful to avoid anything that looked like traps. Once they reached their agreed positions, Kirk took out his communicator and signalled to the ship.
"Mr Scott, can you beam us up now?"
"I cannae promise anything, Captain. There seems to be some magnetic material that's making us lose our hold. Give me a moment-"
Suddenly, the other side of the wall came alive, and this time, instead of the multi-legged creatures they had encountered earlier, small, red humanoids started appearing at the top of the wall. They look highly alarmed, and it seemed like they took them to be invaders threatening to harm them. At this, Kirk lifted up his hands as a sign of peace, but the natives seemed to take that as an offensive gesture as they started screeching and lifting their weapons to aim at them.
"Mr Scott... now will be a good time!"
"Captain, I- I cannae!"
Suddenly, the whole army stood still. Kirk took this opportunity to step forward and lay down his pistol as a sign of friendship. Despite this, the weapons remained trained at them, and Kirk could see that the arrows in particular were ready to fire. Just as Kirk was about to explain himself, the ground started trembling and hissing sounds could be heard.
Shit.
Before he could react, the leader of the lot blew a sharp whistle and set into motion a trebuchet carrying what appeared to be a spherical object at them. At the same time, an appendage could be seen coming out from the ground, clawing at anything nearby. Jim dodged it narrowly, swiping his pistol from the ground in the process and fired at the appendage. The appendage withdrew, but Kirk's eye caught sight of the spherical object heading straight at them. As it landed, Jim took one look at the object and knew what it was immediately.
"It's a grenade! Everyone, down!"
-To be continued-
Reviews and comments are welcomed!