Spock displayed the image on the conference room view screen. The reaction was immediate.

"Tribbles, Spock? Tribbles?"

"Damnit, Jim! Those lilly-livered, hard-hearted, half-whit hooligans—"

"Vith outside interference of zis scope eet eez our duty to protect zee people of zee tribbles' homevorld, in honor of zee tribbles' memory!"

"I canna believe it! Only a species born in the heart of hell itself could hunt such furry, innocent, cuddly, soothing little creatures…"

Spock took inventory of the officers surrounding him. The Doctor was halfway to standing, a scowl crumpling his eyebrows. Jim was glowering at the picture, rebellion in his eyes. Scotty and Chekov were both in the midst of reminiscing about tribbles, sadness written on their countenance. "Gentlemen, please. Despite any personal feelings you may have on the subject it is imperative that you focus on the task at hand."

"That's right, Mr. Spock," said the Captain. "We're going to tow that ball of Klingon garbage back to Iota Geminorum IV, and on the way we're going to solve their little enzyme problem. Bones?"

"If I may point out-"

"Absolutely, Jim." McCoy glared at the Vulcan. "I'll just get these figures down to Mss. Chapel and we'll be right on it."

Spock finally managed to slip in. "That might be premature."

"I don't care what you say Spock, an atrocity has been committed here. Committed by a warp-capable civilization. The Prime Directive doesn't apply."

"Starfleet may not agree with you, Captain."

"You cold-blooded, heartless…"

"Bones-"

"Doctor, please. There are options that do not violate the Prime Directive, should it apply, and still result in the continuing existence of both the Dronkolos and their home world. It would be illogical not to pursue these options."

The officers exchanged looks. "Let's hear it."

"First, we cannot be certain that all of the tribbles have been exterminated."

"But zee Klingons vere satisfied enough to leave."

"Yes, Mr. Chekov. However, Klingons are not known for thoroughness. I would recommend that we make a full scan of the planet before providing the Dronkolos with a solution to their tri-conin problem."

"Seems logical, Mr. Spock," said Kirk. "We'll go to Iota Geminorum IV directly." He turned to McCoy. "You should still begin looking into synthesizing these enzymes." McCoy nodded.

"And the Dronkolos, Missta Spock?" asked Scotty.

"As I've mentioned, they are highly intelligent and resourceful. It's possible they may be able to repair the ship themselves."

McCoy cocked his head. "They wouldn't have put out a distress call if they weren't in trouble."

"Indeed," Spock said. "They previously faced the problem of repairing a broken ship with no reference as to how a functional ship should operate." He raised an eyebrow at the Captain. "May I remind you that the Bird of Prey's sensors are operational?"

Kirk grinned at Spock. "Violating the Prime Directive by allowing ourselves to be scanned? Surely not!"

With his most emotionless voice, Spock said, "their weapons systems have been dismantled. It would be a waste of power to raise our shields."

Bones assumed his most serious face, "it's only logical," he said, elbowing the Captain.

Kirk was unable to hide his grin. "Agreed." With a final glance toward the diagram of a tribble's digestive track, he ended the meeting. "Anything else? Alright. Dismissed."

The turbolift doors swished open. Kirk and Spock walked toward their stations.

"Uhura, get me Miss Scolash,"

"Channel open sir," Uhura said.

"Captain," Antara's voice sounded slightly garbled over the transmission. "Has Spock made his report?"

"He has. The first thing I'm going to do is take the Enterprise to your home planet and scan carefully for tribbles- or, sorry, er… montomo."

"I'm afraid the possibility of finding one alive is slim- the Klingons must have done such a scan before departing."

"True, but we are probably more patient than the Klingons. Hopefully, this will allow us to find a montomo where the Klingons missed one, despite the fact that their sensors are equal to ours. Why," Kirk continued, throwing an amused look at Spock, "the sensors on your ship could provide your crew with as much useful information as our sensors can provide to mine."

Kirk could practically hear Scolash thinking in the pause that followed. "We will look into the possibility, Captian."

"A wonderful idea!" Kirk said cheerfully. "The Enterprise will be around for another hour or so. Kirk out."

Kirk perched on his chair. "Mr. Sulu, lower shields."

"Lowering shields."

"Mr. Spock, will our own scans interfere with theirs?"

"I will keep ours to a minimum, Captain."

Kirk sat back in this chair. He picked up his PADD. They still had fifty-nine minutes. He opened a new document and stared at the blank screen. The report for this incident would need to be very carefully worded; he'd better get started while Spock's reasoning was fresh in his mind. On the other hand… if the scans weren't enough, writing the report now would be a waste. He frowned. Fifty-eight minutes.

"Have they scanned us yet?"

"They have not."

Kirk drummed his fingers on the PADD.

"Have they powered sensors?"

"I will keep you apprised of their actions, Captain."

Kirk finally decided to read through the database entry on tribbles. He was halfway through a good anecdote about an andorian ambassador and a shipping container full of tibbles when-

"They've powered sensors."

Kirk nodded and glanced at the time. Forty-eight minutes left. He went back to reading.

"They're scanning us." Forty-four minutes. "Somewhat low-intensity. And now again, more properly focused."

As Spock narrated the Bird of Prey's scans, Kirk tried to decide if it would be enough. They took a full scan of the ship, and then more detailed scans of the EPS grid. With one minute left of the time Kirk had given them, the last scan finished, and the Bird of Prey went silent.

"Well, seems like they got everything." Kirk said, standing. "Mr. Sulu, take us to Iota Geminorum IV."

"Aye sir. E.T.A. twelve minutes."

Iota Geminorum IV was a harsh planet- that much was clear even from orbit. The bright orange sphere stood out in sharp contrast against the darkness of space behind it. There was not an ice cap, not an ocean, not even a weather system to break its continuous surface of dry, dusty desert. As unvaried as the planet seemed, it took only a scan for traces of radioactivity to reveal the chaos the Klingons had caused.

Spock was frowning into his scanner as the Enterprise entered standard orbit around Dronkolo.

"Something worrying you, Mr. Spock?"

"It is not in my nature to 'worry,' Captain," Spock said. "Beginning scans. They will be complete in fourteen hours."

Kirk waited for the scan of the first oasis to complete and decided to check in with the Doctor. He jabbed the appropriate button. "Bones! How are those enzymes coming along?"

"Not good." McCoy replied, his subdued voice all Kirk needed to understand the extent of the problem. "I've started some simulations; it's all in my log. But for all our technology, we're no more capable of synthesizing these compounds than the Dronkolos. I'm sorry Jim."

"Keep me apprised."

Two oasis had been scanned and no tribble yet. Krik waited, watching the results slowly scroll up the screen. For once, he didn't even fidget.