CHAPTER 4:

Scotty was left with the conn and Jim couldn't have trusted his chair to a better man. The shuttlecraft carrying Spock, Sulu, and Chekov had departed for Ceti Alpha VI only moments ago, and the Enterprise had just been put into synchronized orbit over the coordinates of the colony on Ceti Alpha V. So far, everything was going smoothly in this mission juggling act that Captain Kirk was attempting.

He waited in the transporter room for McCoy, maintaining his patience by double checking his utility belt. It had every regulation item for an away team, save for one thing: a phaser. There was an obvious danger in beaming down without any weapons, but he was determined to make his peaceful intentions known. It was his own decision to go unarmed, but he still felt uncomfortably exposed without the weight of the phaser on his hip. Climate readings showed some cooler weather and to prepare for it Kirk was pulling a standard issue jacket over his shoulders.

Finally the good doctor came sauntering into the transporter room, a look of disgruntled defeat on his face. He cut it as close to the departure time as possible, but he was ready to go with a medical tricorder slung over his shoulder and (as ordered) no phaser.

Jim tossed him another jacket. "Bundle up, it's gonna be chilly."

There was no argument from McCoy when he ungracefully caught it and began shimmying into it. "Let's get goin' before I change my mind," he mumbled as he walked onto the platform.

"You can change your mind all you like, you're still coming," Jim said tersely as he hopped up the steps onto the platform. Standing on one of the lighted nodes, he nodded to the transporter controller. "The beaming coordinates laid in are just outside of the edge of the colony, correct, Mr. Kyle?"

"Yes, sir," the Englishman nodded from behind the console. "Eight hundred and three meters to be exact."

"Energize."

The pad dimmed, the energy sweeping around them and disassembling their molecules until everything faded. As they materialized again, new scenery greeted them. The open sky, though patched with clouds, was a sharp contrast to the confined walls of the transporter room. The sights before them were visible before they were reconstructed enough to feel the biting wind cut across their skin. It was cold alright, the wind carrying a chill of autumn that the sun didn't seem to acknowledge. In comparison to Earth, and other Earth-like planets, Ceti Alpha V seemed to be between seasons. Winter was on its way.

They could see the blue mountains in the distance, whose tops were tipped with fresh snow, the greenery at the foot of it patched with stark colors of yellow, red, and orange. Were the shapes of the plant life not so foreign, one would think this actually was Earth. They had to turn completely around to see what they had come for.

About half a mile away was the fortified walls of the colony. The structures were sturdy, full buildings erected out of wood and stone, appearing to be expertly constructed cabins. Close by were the metal walls of the cargo crates that Kirk had left them with, converted to what looked like watch towers. Trailing upward from nearly every structure was a thin line of gray smoke, suggesting stoves or hearths.

Stretching outward into the open fields were various crops. Some consisted of tall stalks, nearly fifteen feet high, others in rows of low-lying plant life. There was even a small orchard, the trees still quite small but thriving even though their branches were becoming bare in the transitioning weather.

Swarming around the edges of the community were small figures—children. Their laughter occasionally carried far enough to be heard, their movements quick and energetic. The entire scene before them was so serene and welcoming that for a brief moment Jim forgot about the potential dangers here.

Kirk took up his communicator. "Enterprise, Kirk here. We made it safe and sound. We'll report in two hours."

"Message received and acknowledged, captain." Uhura's transmission was loud and clear.

"Kirk out…." He distractedly put his communicator away as he looked to the colony in front of them with wonder. "Six years and they look like they've lived here for thirty."

"Any colony's bound to grow fast when it's run by super humans," McCoy commented. "It's rather impressive, actually."

"Might as well start walking. Hopefully if they see us coming they won't be caught so off guard."

The doctor didn't grumble or complain and followed when Kirk led the way. As much as he liked to criticize Spock's science or Jim's sense of adventure, Bones was just as guilty in getting thrills out of studying new cultures. Particularly where it concerned a new race of humans.

They walked in silence, and the nearer they came to the colony, the more they could see. Atop the watchtowers, Jim could finally distinguish the guards. They looked bored, but alert. The moment that Kirk could see the guard, however, the guard could see him too. The person immediately sprang into action, shouting an undecipherable alarm down towards the ground. More shouts could be heard and a handful of adults came charging out from the edge of the community—all of them armed.

Kirk's hand flattened on McCoy's chest to stop him, though it was unnecessary, since the doctor halted the instant the alarm was raised. The approaching augments shouted commands out at them, and though Kirk couldn't make out the words just yet, he went with his best guess and raised his hands.

They were finally near enough that the leading augment's words were clear.

"Don't move!"

He was armed with a crossbow, raised to his eye line when he stopped a matter of feet away. He was particularly large and athletic, even for an augment, his ethnicity perhaps South Pacific. He had charged across half a mile in moments and was hardly winded.

"Do not move!" He repeated the command, even if it was redundant.

"Wouldn't dream of it," McCoy sounded calm, but his eyes were bulging from his face, his hands raised.

"We're unarmed," Kirk felt compelled to point out as eight men and women formed a circle around them. Three of them had crossbows, the others armed with frighteningly well-crafted spears. "I'm Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise."

"We know who you are, captain," the man snapped. "And you're not welcome here." He looked to a young woman beside him. "Olga, go find Lord Khan."

She hesitated, but didn't lower her spear. "But he's leading the hunting party…"

"Get him!" the man roared at her.

She complied without another word and took off at an impressive sprint towards the forest in the distance.

"Bind their hands," he ordered the others.

Kirk's hands were jerked behind him and he could feel a wire coil tightly around his wrists. He had to wonder if they always carried twine with their spears.

"Look, we're cooperating," Kirk said in a level tone, though his heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest. "We've come to talk, that's all."

The leader's face scrunched more and more with each word that Kirk uttered. "You'll be doing a lot of talking to be sure, captain. From the bottom of the Pit." He motioned his comrades with a jerk of his head. "Take them there. Then Khan will decide what to do with them."

The shuttlecraft was on course for the sixth planet in the system with Sulu at the helm. Spock was in the co-pilot's seat, his deft hands working tirelessly on the computer to begin amassing the sensor readings. Chekov, meanwhile was seated at a smaller science console in the aft partition of the vessel.

"On full impulse power, we should arrive at the planet in three and a half hours," Sulu informed their three-man crew.

All it took was one glance at the helm before Spock was looking back at his sensor readings. "Three hours and thirty-two minutes, Mr. Sulu."

Spock heard a conspicuous cough from Chekov, as well as a huff from Sulu. Had Spock been human, he would have been just as demonstrative in his annoyance at their constant inefficient approximations.

"The Class K planet's atmosphere readings are consistent with those previously gathered by the Vulcan Science Academy…" he droned on. "However, detailed geographic readings will be impossible until we can penetrate the magnetic field beneath its crust."

"I'm getting an unusual reading, sir," Chekov announced, his voice tinted with perplexity. "Eet's coming from—Oh, eet's gone."

"What kind of reading, Mr. Chekov?" Spock looked to his own console in an attempt to locate it as well.

"Some sort of disturbance on ze surface…"

"Volcanic?"

"I… can't be sure… There don't seem to be any indications of seismic actiwity…"

"What kind of a reading was it, lieutenant?" Spock's forced monotone almost betrayed his impatience.

"Some form of radiation," Chekov finally clarified. "But I vas sure I saw a surge of something else…"

"Continue scanning, Mr. Chekov, until you have more viable readings."

"Aye, commander…" Chekov sighed solemnly.

The air was then filled with the melodic sounds of the computers, the readings beeping and whirring as they came in and registered on each of the consoles, or the occasional blip with each correction in the course. Spock was content with nothing more than the computers, it directed him away from more disturbing thoughts of speculating what was happening on Ceti Alpha V. Along with his own well-hidden worry, he could sense the growing tension between his crewmates. Therefore, he was not surprised when Sulu finally broke the silence.

"Am I the only one who's got a bad feeling about all this?"

"Bad feeling, Mr. Sulu?" Spock didn't bother to mask his condescension as he studied the readings on his console.

"You mean ze feeling zat something can go wery bad at any moment?" Chekov added with a scoff. "Not in ze least!"

Spock contained a sigh at the young Russian's sarcasm. "The circumstances in which we are employed are surrounded by mysteries and ambiguities. Uneasiness is a common reaction in the face of the unknown."

"Then you've got a bad feeling too?"

"Now I'm even more worried," Sulu mumbled.

"I have made no such statement," Spock said dryly. "By illustrating to you gentlemen how commonplace your feelings are in this particular scenario, it will be easier for you to recognize it and endeavor to prevent it from affecting your performance. The captain expects as much."

"Meester Spock…" Chekov's curly head poked through into the cockpit, a hand gripping the metal beam overhead with a stylus woven in his fingers. "Vhat vould you do if you vere keptin?"

"I am not the captain. However, I am still your superior officer, and as such it is my place to remind you of yours."

The humans exchanged startled glances before looking sheepishly back to Spock.

"We meant no disrespect, sir," Sulu spoke for them both. "We trust Captain Kirk and don't question his orders. It's just that—"

"Then kindly attend to your duties and keep your speculative—and need I say unnecessary—comments to yourself." Spock threw a sharp glance to them both before swiveling in his chair to face his computer and lead by example.

There were whispers of acknowledgment and Chekov disappeared back to his own station. Spock was gnawed by embarrassment. He did not intend to sound so defensive or angry, nor did he wish to hurt the uncontrolled feelings of his crewmates. But their persistence in discussing how wrong everything felt was only contributing to Spock's own troublesome concern.

A brief silence passed, then Spock hit the ship's communication. "Shuttlecraft One to Enterprise."

"Enterprise here."

The sound of Nyota's voice was surprisingly calming, but he remained professional. "Lieutenant, has the captain beamed down to the planet yet?"

"Both the captain and Dr. McCoy have safely beamed down. The next check in time is two hours from now."

"Please inform me the moment the landing party has checked in."

"Of course, commander."

"Spock out."