Locked Gates – Part 2

"Get up, you L'ktar." Another man in a deep red robe spat out the last word, leaving Kirk to believe it to be an insult. Jim's hands were shaking slightly and were difficult to will to stop, because the cold was so harsh and he had little more than his simple yellow tunic and undershirt and pants.

The man's face seemed younger, angrier, and holding emotion. "I am required," he hissed, "To report to you on the progress of your miserable species." Kirk's face lit up considerably, even if the information was coming from this angry form.

"The crew is slightly panicked, if not thoroughly shaken, yet still operational. The significant crewmembers we have decided to survey are also scared, but not acting as such. Although they are, more than others, considerably anxious as to your disappearance."

The man began to walk away.

"Wait!" Kirk cried, reaching out through the bars. The man turned with a grimace. "Who are the significant crewmembers?"

"I do not know if I am to tell you such information, and since I lack this knowledge, I refuse to tell." He growled before turning around.

"Wait!" Kirk yelled once more, earning a full on scowl from the maroon robed man.

"What do you require now, L'ktar?"

"Do you have a blanket?" he asked sheepishly. The man in the red robe approached his cage, stared him squarely in the eye – And spat onto his tunic. Well, it was worth a try.

Spock woke up in his bed, and found the covers on the floor, his head and shoulders in a chilly sweat. His mind had subconciously been running half wild to his shame. It was looked down upon heavily for those who could not control their dreams, and to those without enough mental discipline to have them.

Jim's disappearance had been difficult not to concentrate on. Truth to be told, he worried a great deal about the well being of his captain and friend, and without him there…

Fantasies of what danger he might be in or torture he may endure ran across his mind, set free of any mental firewalls. He became angry at himself for allowing this.

As he got dressed, he forced his head into a different mindset as he put a thin cotton, blue starfleet code tunic over a black T-shirt.

Today they would find the Captain. Everything would go back to normal, just as it always was. This is what he told himself, for once fighting the logic that told him otherwise.

Exhaling deeply, McCoy shook his head slightly, trying to rid his head of the nasty nightmares he was having. He wasn't sure how early it was, but his alarm hadn't gone off – or so he hoped – so instead he went in to the private bathroom in his quarters and splashed some water on his face. It was colder than expected.

He half stumbled back, grabbing for a towel, which he rubbed on his face with releif. It was too early to be clumsy.

His dreams had been scary, remembering the whole episode with Gem. The pain both he and Kirk had endured, and, like he had thought earlier that day, about Triskelion. Jim hadn't stopped himself before giving grusomely descriptive details about that incedent, painting vivid pictures of the scenes and people.

He had drempt he, along with Kirk and Spock, had been on triskelion also, but the Vians, Gem's captors, were the ringleaders.

Shoving the thoughts violently out of his head, he decided to stop dwelling in his night visions and put on a determinded face for what was to come today.

As he stepped out of his quarters and into his domain, he stopped and turned around to head for the bridge.

Upon arrival, he found Spock in the chair along with a couple other bridge members who had also gotten up early.

"Spock?" he piped up, coming around, down the couple stairs to Spock's side.

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Is…there anything I can do?"

Spock paused a minute to think.

"At this moment I do not believe there is anything that your knowledge is fit to do involving the search. We do not require your services, unless someone has an injury. Please return to sickbay." Spock turned his head down as he said the final line, coming off as very rude. McCoy sighed agitatedly and pursed his lips.

"Now you listen here. Jim is my friend too, as well as yours. I'm not going to damn stay in sickbay and pace the floors, and I sure hope that isn't what you expect me to do."

"Doctor, your services are not required, and it would be best if you did not interfere."

"Interfere?" McCoy exploded. "You think that me being up here is going to jeopordize getting Jim back here?" He narrowed his eyes. "Listen, Spock. I'm staying right here whether you like it or not."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "There is no reason for you to be here and more emotional outburts so as this one could spread an image of fear throughout the crew. The senior officers on this ship agree to project an image of composedness. You're clearly disturbed presence does not help this directive, Doctor."

Bones gritted his teeth. "You pointy eared…" he decided Spock was right on some level, that they had to be examples…but he was staying on this bridge. "Spock," he began. "If there's nothing I'm needed for, I will still be up here. I won't be a burden, but…Jim means a lot to me too. I need to be up here…" he eyes were half pleading, half stubborn. Even if Spock said no, he was still staying up here. He'd just like to have his friend's approval as well.

Spock looked at the baby blue eyes of the CMO, and thought about how, as close as Jim and he were, also a trio. And that the absent captain would allow –by all means – for McCoy to be up here. If he wasn't a vulcan, he would've sighed.

"If you do project your emotions in a negative manner, you will be ordered off the bridge."

"Whatever, you hobgoblin." He smiled thankfully back at his Vulcan friend and laughed a little bit, eyes grateful. "How's the search coming?"

"Little data. He simply vanished and we do not know where we are to search. We will search in the areas around this portion of the galaxy."

"And if he's not there?"

"We will continue." Spock said firmly.

As much as McCoy felt right now, anger, fear, sadness, anxiety, worry – he could not have chosen a better person to invest those emotions in right now because he knew that Spock would pull them through.

He always did.

He had to.

If there was one thing that James Kirk hated was the absence of people.

As a Captain he was always surrounded. Everywhere, everyone and he loved it.

Now he sat, alone in a dreadful isolation. It was chilling both mentally and physcially.

As he staired up at the night stars, he wanted their light to comfort him. Bring him some warmth, bring him someone. Bring him something to hold on to.

And then he saw a shooting star.

His eyes became teary as a seemingly endlesss list of wishes filled his head.

He wished his friends were safe.

He wished his his ship was okay.

But most of all he wished that they would find him and wished that that wish would come true. Things like this had happened before and they always found him. They'd have to find him.

They always did…

A/N: How was that chapter? Sorry, a little rusty, haven't written this story in a while. Ideas and thoughts for next chapters and how these things should work out. Thanks for reading! Once again, I apologize for the OOC in one of the previous chapters for McCoy. I'll try to update that ASAP.