Leonard had been tending to his patients, along with the two medical staff members who had beamed down to the planet with him. How they got stranded here was the worst. It was cruel and demeaning. Cruel, that is what M'Benga called it. The Vulcans did not age but they experienced Pon Farr and had to mate. It turned out their internal clocks had been slowed down. Producing a baby took ten years. For the baby to age it would take take two years for it to age into a toddler. Ninety years for the toddler to age into a child. But for some reason the humans on the planet were unaffected.
"Do you miss the Enterprise?" Chapel asked.
Leonard looked over in the direction of Chapel with a hard look on his face.
"Which one are you talkin' about?" Leonard asked.
"The one we came from." Chapel said.
"Every second." Leonard said.
"I wish Mr Spock and the Captain were still here." Chapel said.
"They wouldn't be happy about this." Leonard said.
"But being together?" Chapel asked.
Leonard had a pause.
"They would be all too happy about that." Leonard said.
They had talked with what seemed like one hundred Enterprises in their lifetime. The fate that befell them was the same as the first. Being destroyed seemingly without warning by a bird of prey. Leonard eventually discovered it was their choice of words upon being contacted that made the difference. He discovered that twelve years ago and not a ship has come by since.
The sky changed and it felt like the planet was spinning.
When the spinning stopped, most of the make shift buildings had either collapsed or destroyed. Chapel was on the floor beside the lawn chair. Leonard helped the nurse up to her feet. They had a look of realization on their faces. They knew what had happened. It was the same as all the others. The medical center was still standing. The transporter building the roof damaged and two extra abandoned rooms that did not have transporters had caved in. Panic was in the air among the air of hope.
"Go," Chapel said. "We will take care of the injured."
Leonard speeded down the wreckage. This planet was much of a mystery as it was to him as it was to everyone off the planet. He had significant differences from his counterpart who could be different from him. One, he was younger than him physically. His hair hadn't turned gray yet from all the stress of losing Jim and Spock on his watch would have accumulated. Enterprise. Enterprise. Enterprise. Enterprise. The flashes of memories of the Enterprise paint job being white by the inside and the grayness that occupied the metal by the outside. Nyota Uhura, the brilliant Communications officer. Spock, the Vulcan who acted Vulcan more than human. Jim, the reckless man who had optimism and hope and supported woman's rights. Scotty, the man who could beat anyone at a drinking game. Sulu, a man who enjoyed fencing and plants in general. Chekov, the child prodigy who admired Spock's work and declared anything was made in Russia.
Who knew a man would miss all that?
There was no way he could go home.
His reality was unique.
No Enterprise.
In fact, to get home through the Guardian of Forever, he and the occupants would have to been dead while the Enterprise survived.
Leonard skidded into the garage then took off the long fabric that covered the machinery. Machinery gathered to create the off distance planetary communication through starships that did not have the necessary communication line breaking through ion storms, atmospheric conditions, an so on. It was M'Benga's idea after the loss of the Enterprise. There were remains of a great civilization. Theroetically, if there were two people from two different universes occupying the same space then within twenty-four hours one of them or both of them would be dead. Damning knowledge. Damning evidence.
Because once that did happen.
Before being stranded on this planet.
They had enough supplies and technology to last for thousands of years.
Leonard took the buzzing communicator connected to the machine and flipped it open.
"This is James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise," Came a staccato voice. "We have come to help."
Leonard could feel tears coming down his face. Help. Help. Help. This is a different Jim. Different from all the Jim's who had contacted. Eleven of them were Vulcans. Nine of them were Beastazoid. Ten of them were Romulan. Six of them were Klingons. Ten of them James T. Kirk was a immortal. Five of them James T. Kirk was a android. Eleven of them had James T. Kirk as a time lord. And there were countless others. James T. Kirk was a interesting subject in the time continuum. James T. Kirk was not always human. But this sounded human.
"Enterprise?" Leonard repeated.
"Affirmative, this is the Enterprise." Jim said, sounding annoyed.
"Oh my god," Leonard said, rubbing his forehead with a groan. That is how the reply would sound, exactly, every time. BUT NOT THIS TIME. "Not again."
"Excuse us?" Jim said.
Leonard took a sigh closing the communicatior, closing his eyes, then reopened them.
"You can do this," Leonard said. "Let's. . . Let's try what a omnipotent entity would do." With a defiant look on his face full of awareness the doctor flipped open the communicator. "Your full name is James Tiberius Kirk, you were born in Riverside Iowa in 2233 on March 22nd. You are the youngest man to take the captain's chair. You also have a extremely rare psychic connection with Commander Spock, now that I have your attention, I have a series of requests that should be taken seriously and with caution. Also, I don't want any more damn people to die."
"How do you know?" Jim asked.
"Well, Captain who-gets-his-shirt-torn on every mission, I am not tellin' you." The other McCoy said.
"We are responding to a ship distress signal." Jim said.
Leonard closed his eyes, recalling the previous encounter. It was a Jim similar to his Jim who decided to send a beacon along the orbit of the planet to make sure that whatever happened before would not transpire exactly next time. Last time it was an accidental discovery much like the previous encounters. Then the bird-of-prey appeared and shot them out.
Leonard opened his eyes.
". . . That was sent a long, long time ago." Leonard said. "Are we in Federation Space?"
There was a pause as Jim looked over in the direction of Spock.
"Yes." Jim said.
Leonard sighed, in relief.
"Who are you?" Came a voice he knew too well from the previous talks.
This time no danger to the crew of the Enterprise.
"I am you," Leonard said. "I am from a different universe and we have a lot of patients need to be taken to a nearby Vulcan colony. Plenty of Vulcan refugees."
"There is no need for Vulcan Refugees," A familiar voice but older came over. "And it is illogical for that."
"Your voice never changes, Ambaa-Commander. Damn it." Leonard said.
"Who are you?" Jim asked.
"Doctor Leonard Horatio McCoy of the alternate timeline. You have to beam up a lot of Vulcans and send down three phasers. We do not want a quantum problem that kills a few people aboard your ship. M'Benga, Nurse Chapel, and me. I have been waiting' one hundred thirty-three years to find out if we could get these people off of here. This planet is capable of phasin' through the time continuum and agin' is thrown out the window. I saw the ship I was assigned to explode. I just want my misery to be over. Mr Spock, I believe there is a sayin' for this. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
"Or the one." Spock finished.
"I am glad Amanda is alive in this one." Leonard said, with gratitude.
If anyone was listening closely, they would have heard a Vulcan's heart breaking into pieces.
"By the way, when you take them to Vulcan. . ." Leonard said. "Let them cry for petes sake. Give them privacy. Yes, Doctor McCoy, Vulcans are very emotional bein's. They are all liars! McCoy out."
Leonard lowered the device then closed it with joy and hope in his eyes.
Leonard ran out.
"YOU ARE GOIN' HOME!" Leonard shouted. "YOU ARE ALL GOIN' HOME!"
I am comin' home, Jim and Spock.