The Previous Morning:

Leonard sat with his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees, despair evident in his posture. Groggy and still waking up from the brief nap that damn hobgoblin had badgered him into taking. He knows it's only a momentary reprieve from the Vulcan, who has been strangely obsessed with his health lately. He'd promised Spock that he would sleep 5 hours, but he only slept two. Even Jim had been scolding him about it a lot lately. The past few missions had been problematic at best and disastrous at worst. They don't think I can hack it Bones thought.

With the growing militarism in Starfleet Bones has been like a fish out of water. His cynicism and ideals often clashing with the new kinds of missions Starfleet had been demanding of them. There was little love for idealism and morals when war was afoot. He often felt like some kind of unwanted Jiminy cricket arguing and objecting about orders that came from on high. Orders that none of them really had a choice in following. He could sense that the others were burdened by the change in their objectives and the escalating conflicts as well, but they were better at keeping their opinions to themselves. Leonard on the other hand couldn't stop being a stubborn fool and just keep his mouth shut like a proper fleet officer. Even when he did protest and resist it didn't seem to matter as he soon found that his own hands tied as well. Spock probably considered his behavior illogical and lately Leonard himself has been considering the Vulcan might have a point besides his two ears of course.

Granted whether it was logical or illogical, Leonard McCoy was who he was and no one else. He was raised to be a pain in the ass that stuck to his ideals where it mattered. Questioning authority was practically a family tradition. He didn't think he could change even if he wanted to. In the past Leonard had rarely thought of changing this aspect of himself. In fact if he was honest, he might say he took pride in it. Even at his most self hating times he hadn't doubted himself in that regard. Lately, though he'd been given sound to do some self examination and introspection. There were only so many times one could run into a brick wall before being prompted to engage in some second guessing.

Additionally he couldn't even completely fault Starfleet, the Klingons have been acting more aggressive. Their had even been worrying signs from the Romulans as well. It's not like he wanted to be skewered by a bat'leth or end up being forced to speak Romulan. It's just that he didn't believe in sacrificing the very values that one was fighting for in the process.

After the attacks by Nero and Khan Starfleet's personal and ships had been decimated. The Klingons have been emboldened by star fleets perceived weakness and had been launching more excursions into the federation's territory. They had been raiding Starfleet's outposts and Federation colonies on the border relentlessly. He and Spock had been sent by Starfleet to help lead the bolstering of the Janus outpost's defenses since Klingons had been very active in the sector as of late. McCoy's task was to build their medical response. Which included training the new recruits in first aid skills to use on the battlefield and the medics in how their skills worked in battle.

The fact is that Leonard was at the end of his rope. He' s had it with Starfleet and Klingons burning through lives like so much kindling. The higher ups back at fleet headquarters were too immersed in their maps, diagrams, theoretical tactics and war games. They were out of touch with what the reality was like for the officers that were in the thick of it. The Admiral's toys and protractors had little bearing on what the men and women who carried out their orders faced. Their pads of data revealed nothing about the fact that they are worn to the bone, past the point of exhaustion. If they did know than it was evident to Leonard that it was not considered a priority. When came with dealing with commands from on high as of late there had been too many damn catch 22s. They were constantly short supplied, undermined, over stretched beyond limits, expected to do the impossible, time and time again.

Starfleet had sent reinforcements recently, but it was clear to Leonard that the cadet's training had been hasty and poor. These supposed reinforcements had less than the necessary training having been rushed into service because Starfleet was desperately trying to replace the men they had lost. These so called reinforcements had next to no experience. Command expected a few experienced officers to prepare these green cadets for 'that which one could never truly be prepared for'. When Bones looked at these young naive officers all he could see was the reality that to the ones ultimately in control of Starfleet they were little more than fodder. That and in them, Leonard found himself haunted by the ghostly echo his graduating class scattered with the dust of Vulcan.

What had been troubling Bones the most was the changes in his best friends, Jim and Spock. While those who did not really know them could mistake their banter for serious arguments and their pet names for insults. In fact they may take them to be sworn enemies. However those who were familiar with their antics knew the truth. That being that real conflict between them had long ago transformed into an unconventional friendship. As of late their debates about missions had become reverted to being truly contentious again. However the most unsettling thing was the silences paired with downward glances when Leonard would have anticipated the Vulcan should have his back. Though the man would deny it till the cows came home the man was unsettled by something. Granted being upset and unsettled was damn reasonable as of late. The continuous long lists of casualties and times that they had not arrived in time. The times that no matter how hard they tried they arrived to find only the shattered tombs that once had been ships or settlements that had been reduced to smoke, rubble and dead bodies. The weight of those lost weighed heavily on them all but most especially on Jim.

There was also the fact that Bones swore he'd caught worried looks in his direction and shared glances between his two friends. Whatever that was they weren't telling anytime soon and Leonard was taught not to pry. That and he'd seem even more paranoid than normal if he confronted them about it. Worst of all he dreaded the looks of pity, sympathy and the awkwardness that may grow even greater between them. Honestly it was the fact that Jim was keeping secrets from him that stung the worst because in the past they had told each other everything. A nasty inner voice that sounded too much like his ex whispered 'but Len, your Jimmy didn't tell you about his promotion did he? He like everyone you given your heart to, was going to leave you. He was going abandon you leave you alone with only the void for company. That's what you get Len dear for giving your heart away so completely'. He told that notion to get, but though the shade from his past left, the thought remained. Why should it when more and more Leonard felt like a glorified third wheel. It seemed what little free time they were spending together was without him.

As if that wasn't bad enough, there was also his damn peculiar dreams that had returned plague his sleep once again. Leonard had been having these strange dog dreams since he was child every so often. The setting of the dream may differ but generally they followed the same pattern. In his recent dreams he'd found himself alone walking the halls of a silent empty Enterprise. His steps echoed strangely in the deserted corridors. For reasons unknown, Bones felt confused and a bit unsettled but not afraid. There was an ominous feeling, the air seemed to be oddly charged somewhat like it would be in Georgia before a thunderstorm and had the smell of ozone. Going by instinct, he went to the mess hall and got a crappy cup of replicated coffee. Just as he's bringing the cup to his lips he hears a growl like thunder in the distance or the slow grinding of massive millstones. He feels his heart rate climbing, his breath quickening and his terror growing. Even though he knows he shouldn't, 'don't turn around Leo, if you look at it, it will see you for sure' whispers a voice like his younger self. But Leonard has never been great at listening, even to himself and he can't resist the inexorable pull. He turns around.

What he saw when he turned around stole his breath completely and stilled his heart in a instant. Before him was a massive impossibly large black dog that seems to fill the room with it's presence. The beast's fur was dark like the void, it sucked the light itself from the rest of the room and wispy smoke or cumulonimbus clouds. However it was the eyes that were so striking, their glow so hypnotic that Leonard found himself spell unable to move except for his trembling.

Then it spoke with a voice that resonated like a pipe organ in a cathedral and says his name in full then "IT BEGINS"

After receiving this disturbing message, Leonard always woke up abruptly. Like other nights that he had had the nightmare, he had awoken this morning deeply shaken. It always takes a long time to calm himself down and he rarely got any sleep the nights after the nightmare. What worries Leonard is that the monster's message had changed again. Before, during the times he had it at the academy it was "soon." Leonard has started to suspect that he might be one card short of a full deck. Bones carded his hands through his hair roughly, venting some of his frustration on his locks. He yawned and closes his eyes. For a moment he let himself feel his own aching muscles. His body trying to make sleep more tempting, but he knows his restless mind will make it impossible. He ruthlessly pushes it aside and wearily gets to his feet.

Still in an exhausted fog, Leonard goes through the motions. He straightens his sleep ruffled uniform and tries in vain to tame his hair. Leonard uses a cracked sliver of a mirror to roughly shave the scruff from his face. Bones then pulls the tent flap aside and blinks in the evening haze of the cold, wet, misty planet with it's damn green skies. He trudged towards the makeshift hospital with it's impromptu medical facilities that he had helped set up. Once inside, despite being half asleep, he quickly replicated the strongest coffee cup of simulated coffee possible and grabbed a blister pack of the damn stimulants that were the only things keeping most of the officers going. They didn't all have super endurance like the walking computer had. Mind still in still in a haze he went to do a basic inventory. At times like this he really missed his nurses helping hands, their teasing though, that he did not miss. Well, he didn't miss it much.

Illustration:

(For illustrations see this fic on AO3)

As Leonard enters the supply room his exhaustion and his surprise temporarily left him stupefied. There is a strange man in his store room that has no justifiable reason to be there. This could mean nothing but trouble and McCoy's suspicions caused him to be jolted to full alert in seconds. Leonard feels his fury ignite, this may be a crap makeshift medical facility that is poorly supplied but dammit it was his crap medical facility. He had never liked others messing with what he had claimed as his own without permission. Leonard was fixin to jerk a knot in this numbskulls tail and teach him a lesson so hard the asshole would be seeing tomorrow today. He is positive whoever the intruder is he cannot be up to any good. Definitely not with a flashlight in hand while he rummages through the containers in which the powerful medications were stored. Certainly not with bulging pockets full of powerful narcotics and sedatives either.

As if belatedly sensing that he was not longer alone the jackass spun around and to McCoy's irritation, the fool had had the gall to actually point a phaser at him. Bones is disappointed but not overly surprised to find that the intruder was one of the new recruits. Standards had to be relaxed in order to recruit a huge amount of new cadets as fast as possible to fill the gaping vacancies and then even increase the fleet's numbers in preparation for a Klingon attack. Ensign Andrews was tall but wiry and even twitchier than usual. Leonard had thought his demeanor was likely just nerves but the possibility of it being something more serious had entered his mind. All things considered at the time he had had neither the evidence nor the time to pursue his suspicions. Now with a phaser in his in his face Leonard wishes the he had taken action sooner. He is also cursing his terrible luck that has once again reared it's head, no matter what Spock might say of the illogic of such concepts.

"What the hell is wrong with you! You were supposed to be asleep!" Yelled Ensign Andrews.

"Calm down and put the gun on the ground now Andrews" said Bones trying to making his voice as calm as possible.

"Shut Up and give me the cordrazine now!" Screamed Andrews.

"Cordrazine? What could you possibly want with it? It's an extremely dangerous controlled substance!" Replied McCoy using as much as his psych training to try to diffuse the situation even though he was visibly disturbed. Cordrazine is a very powerful pain killer and a substance only safe to use in very small amounts. Overdoses could cause extremely dangerous erratic behavior, serious side effects and even death. In the field he always kept the Cordrazine and the other more dangerous medications in his personal medkit which he always kept on his person.

"They'll have my hide if I don't get it!" yelled the Ensign looking crazed and shaking the gun erratically.

Suddenly their was an extremely loud whistling sound from above. The sound distracted Andrews, causing the man to looked up in search of the sound. Seeing his chance, Leonard took advantage of the situation and drew his own phaser. However Andrews didn't even seem to notice as he took off running out the back. Never one to let sleeping dogs lie, Bones quickly took off after him. Abruptly the world around them was rent asunder as a nearby explosion tore apart the make shift hospital. Bone's world became a haze of heat, noise, and pain; set within a whirlwind of glass, metal and fire. He feels his head and shoulders hit somethings hard and his world went dark.