Note: Science was never my best subject, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. If my metric and cubic centimeter conversions are comepletely off…don't hang me for it. I tried. I even looked up the density for hydrogen and helium! ~ramfish

Chapter 4

"Wow," said Doctor McCoy, peering into the viewfinder of his microscope. "They keep getting more complicated the further in we go." The Doctor stood straight. "You should take a look at this, Jim."

Jim Kirk nodded and skirted the lab table to look in the microscope himself. The Captain looked briefly, then glanced back up at his chief medical and science officers. "It certainly does make a pretty picture, but I'm not sure exactly what you're getting at."

Spock coughed, to get the Kirk's attention, ready to explain the phenomenon to his Captain. He had spent the better part of the day analyzing the samples the last probe had brought in with Doctor McCoy and they were certain they were on the verge of a major scientific discovery. "What we are finding, Captain, is that the deeper we collect debris samples from the Nebula, the more complex chemical strains we are finding." He demonstrated the point by showing him a series of slides from the furthest edges to as deep as they were able to take the probe. "We suspect that the nebula may be a birthplace for a number of new simple-celled organisms."

Kirk's eyebrows rose, clearly intrigued. "How is it organisms can survive in space? There's no atmosphere."

"Well that's what we're stuck on, Jim," chimed in the Doctor. "We're not sure what these things live off of. We have no idea how they breathe, or generate energy…we're not even sure what they eat or how they breed."

"Can't you observe that here in the lab?"

Spock clasped his hands behind his back, tilting his head as he answered, "The samples, while alive in space, die once they are brought into our atmosphere. We could attempt to create a space environment in the lab, but all of our current samples are no longer alive."

"So we need more samples," Kirk said, not asking. The Captain sounded a little frustrated, he did not like how the probes were failing to get them all the information they needed without getting lost or damaged in the Nebula. The officers waited while the Captain thought, knowing he would have orders for them shortly. Kirk put a hand on the viewfinder, his mouth twisted with indecision. "Spock," he started, "is there a way we can boost the shields on one of our shuttlecrafts to go out and collect samples manually?"

The Vulcan pursed his lips, considering the option. "Engineer Scott and I may be able to find a way to alter the shields to minimize electric damage."

"How long do you think that would take?"

"Two, maybe three hours."

"Let's get that done, Commander. I don't like the way this cloud pulses on a whim and keeping the ship this close to the thing doesn't feel like a good idea," he said, meeting Spock in the eye. "As soon as you're done with those modifications I want you and a helmsman… McKinney… to go out and bring back some live samples. Once you're safe on board we'll take the Enterprise back out to max sensor range until we're sure what we're looking at here." The Captain patted the microscope as if to drive the point home. "Let's get to work, Gentlemen."

~*~*~*~*~*~

The combined skills of Spock and Mr. Scott did not need as much time as Spock had estimated to make the adjustments to the shuttlecraft's shields. A fortunate happenstance; because the Nebula was beginning to generate a large electrical storm.

"Are we sure it's safe?" asked Lieutenant jg. McKinney.

Spock nodded, "The size of the storm is merit for concern, but it is forming on the opposite side of the nebula. The current within the Nebula is not fast enough to force it in our direction as long as we leave immediately."

The Lieutenant nodded and headed inside the shuttle for pre-flight procedures. Spock made his way over to the bay control room to notify the Captain they would be on their way shortly.

"Alright, Mr. Spock. We'll be monitoring your progress," said Kirk from the bridge.

Spock turned to Scotty, who was double checking the shield adjustments were sound. He had a bulkhead on the outer hull cracked open and was running tests. "What is your analysis, Mr. Scott?" Spock asked.

"Well ye should be alrigh' but keep her at least a hundred kilometers away from that storm. It'll keep ye protected from electric discharge, maybe some small strikes, but if ye get hit directly with the lightnin' we been seein' out there, you'll be in for a rough ride home."

"Thank you, Mr. Scott. I'll be sure to let Lieutenant McKinney know to keep us at a safe distance." He turned to the loading ramp to see a pair of enlisted men load on the space environment simulator; a large black cube with bulky steel handles jutting out of either side. As they stepped aboard he heard the engines warm up. When he glanced back to Scotty, he had already put the bulkhead back together as was gathering his tools to get off the landing pad.

"All set, then, Commander. Good luck." The engineer gave a sincere nod and started off.

"Mr. Scott," Spock said, stopping him. He stepped up close to the other officer, his voice low, but loud enough for the other to hear over the engines. "If you could do something for me..."

"Yes sir?"

The formal response made making the request all the more awkward. "I would consider this a personal favor," he added. Scotty nodded appreciatively. "I have not had the opportunity to inform Ms. Meyers we are going directly out into the nebula. As soon as you get a moment…" Spock was trying to find the right words to finish his statement without drawing too many questions.

"Ach," said the Scotsman agreeably. "I get ye, sir. I'll let her know."

"Thank you," he said uniformly, and turned to join the pilot on the shuttlecraft. He stepped inside the shuttlecraft, withdrew the airlock, and sealed the door. He tugged on the straps used to secure the environmental simulator in the cargo area, satisfied with its storage. As he settled in next to McKinney at the console, he notified the Lieutenant of the Engineer's warnings.

"No problem, Commander…" the younger man said offhandedly. "I'm all set on my end, is all the equipment ready?"

"Affirmative." The first officer leaned over and switched on the communications panel. "Galileo to Bridge," he called.

"Bridge here," Kirk's muted voice came over the intercom.

"Preparing to leave now, Captain," he announced.

"Glad to hear it Mr. Spock. Establish ongoing communications as soon as you are entering the Nebula," the Captain ordered.

"Acknowledged." Spock deactivated the com-link. "Take us out, Lieutenant."

"Yes sir," McKinney said emphatically. He went to work, operating the console expertly. He charged up the thrusters, giving the shuttle a slow lift off the landing pad. "Galileo to Mr. Scott; we're ready for you to open the shuttle bay doors."

"Already gettin' 'em goin', Lieutenant," said Scotty over the speaker. Sure enough as McKinney swung the shuttle around to point toward the doors, they were already cracked open and were shortly open far enough, the pilot took them out into space.

Spock double checked the navigation systems, saying, "Approximately twenty-nine minutes until we reach the edge of the nebula. Be sure to take us down to impulse before we start into the cloud, Lieutenant."

"Will do sir." Clearly excited for the rare opportunity to take the shuttle on a tour in space, the young man revved up the engines faster than Spock had expected. Both men were pushed back into their seats. The Commander gave the Lieutenant a stern eyebrow raise. "Sorry, Commander."

"Let's not get carried away, Lieutenant. This isn't a joy ride."

McKinney nodded. "Yes sir," he conceded, and made sure any further accelerations or decelerations in the shuttle's speed were seamless from then on.

~*~*~*~*~*~

After Scotty saw the shuttle bay closed and re-pressurized he made sure the engineers he's picked as support for the mission could handle prepping the bay again before he left them to it. Scotty hummed as he asked the computer to locate Ms. Meyers for him. The engineer was flattered that his Vulcan Commander had asked him a personal favor. He saw it as a sort of compliment that an extremely private individual like Mr. Spock though he was trustworthy enough to ask him to relay a personal message. On the surface, it wasn't all that private a message, but it wasn't official business either. And she wasn't just any crew-person, either. Tria was one of the few un-enlisted people on board the Enterprise at that time, the only exception being an old astrophysicist who was riding along on a grant from Starfleet.

He was only vaguely aware of the rumors circulating about them on the upper decks. While it wasn't uncommon for the men in engineering to swap stories, very few of them had a propensity for gossip. All he knew for sure was that Spock and the young lady spent a great deal of time together, but that certainly didn't mean much to him when he considered Vulcan personalities. He's heard a few people who worked in command blow the whole thing out of proportion making wild claims about how certain they were that some sort of tryst was going on between them. Scotty dismissed the gossip, since as far as he was concerned; it was none of anyone's business accept the two Vulcans.

Scotty found Tria lounging in what the crew called "the library", though there were very few actual books in the area. It was mostly made up of computer archives, something that could be accessed anywhere on the ship. The installation of a reading area outside the actual server core was an aesthetic choice. The woman was surrounded by data-pads, spread out around her on a low table as she entered information in the one she held in her hand. Mr. Scott felt vindicated at his assumption that not everything was what you thought it was. He had heard one of the women in medical say she thought the Vulcan woman was only on board to seduce their first officer. Yet here he was, seeing that Tria was, in fact, doing research during her time on board the Enterprise. He smiled at the woman as she looked up at him, surprised.

"Mr. Scott," she said, confused. "Ah, did you need the room for something? No one ever comes in here…so…I just…" she looked around at how she had thoroughly occupied the small area by herself, giving him an apologetic shrug.

"No, lass," he said. "I came ta find ye because the Commander asked me ta."

A whole new look of surprise came over her face. "Oh? Is something the matter?"

"Nope," he said cheerfully. "They're taking the Galeleo out to the Nebula to collect some samples. They had to leave so fast, Mr. Spock said he didn't have time to let you know."

Tria only looked a little relieved. It was obvious to Scotty that she was glad to hear something wasn't wrong now, but new something might go wrong later. Even he had only just grasped the full extent of Spock's request. "Well," she said slowly, "do you know how long the mission will take?"

"Shouldn't be more than two hours," he said.

"I see."

There was a brief moment of silence between the two. Scotty wasn't sure what else to say to the girl. By all rights, his task was done. Still, he felt like there was something else he should do. "You know," he started, having a thought, "when they reach the Nebula they're going to keep open communications with the ship so we can monitor their progress. Would ye like to come down to the shuttle bay to listen in? Then ye can meet them when they get back."

Tria smiled brightly. "Oh, that would be great," she said. "I'll clean up here and come down."

Scotty nodded enthusiastically. "Alright, lass. I'll see you down in the bay, then."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Bring us down to impulse, Lieutenant," Spock ordered, "and keep an eye of those electrical readings." McKinney muttered an affirmative as Spock rose to prep the science equipment. He flipped a sequence of switches that started the simulator's antigravity motor. It sputtered and buzzed as the gears and fuses inside moved into place.

"Mr. McKinney I will need you to read me the environmental conditions. What is the current level of hydrogen surrounding the shuttle?"

McKinney leaned over and scanned the environmental readings. "Uh…ninety-six point three percent."

"In parts per million, please," Spock said, a small tinge of impatience in his voice.

"Oh." Spock heard the computer chirp as he looked for the information. "One-twenty-eight…point six."

"Thank you. And the helium?"

McKinney paused while he called up the information and had the computer do the conversions for him. "Ah, one point six.'

Spock nodded to himself and entered in the conditions. "Are there any other significant materials present?"

"Plasma."

Spock jerked his head around to look at the Lieutenant. "Are you sure? If it is more than point-five percent…"

"It's one-point eight five, sir."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Fascinating." McKinney automatically gave the commander the precise measurement of the plasma in the surrounding nebula. The simulator's control panel blinked green when it had finished re-creating the environment inside.

Finished, Spock stepped back up to the helm, hitting the communications panel as he sat down. "Spock to Enterprise," he said.

"Enterprise here," responded Kirk on the other end.

"Captain, we are approaching the edge of the Nebula and are preparing to enter the outer edge. I have pre-set the environmental simulator so that we can make a quick recovery of samples and leave as soon as possible."

"Very efficient, Mr. Spock. We'll keep open communication while you're inside."

"Yes sir," he said toward the commlink. "Mr. McKinney, take us in, one-quarter impulse."

McKinney started the shuttle on its way; it crept slowly into the cloud, the particles slowly enveloping them at a steady pace. Soon there was little to see in front of them but a haze of orange, yellow, and white. "It looks like a sunset," mused McKinney. Spock simply gave the man a curious look, not prepared to make such creative analogies.

Spock kept his eyes on the computer console rather than the view screen. "Instruments are showing a sixty-percent rise in electro-magnetic activity," he read. "Keep a manual record of our progress inward, in case navigation fails."

"Aye, sir," said McKinney.

Spock had decided that now more than five kilometers into the nebula would be necessary to collect the necessary samples. The probes that had failed to come back lost contact just before ten kilometers into the cloud, but their data began to show variation just over three kilometers in. "We are approaching the destination mark," he announced. "Cut the engines, we will drift the rest of the way."

The pilot complied and let the shuttle use the last bits of its momentum push them the final hundred meters into the cloudy haze.

"Powering up the short-range transporter," Spock said. He slowly slid this fingers up over the pad controlling the mechanism. Outside, in the view screen, they could see a faint sparkle of light as the transporter snatched a bit of the air out of space and brought it into the shuttle, where it deposited it into the environmental simulator. Spock moved swiftly back to the black box and checked the panel's readings. "It appears we have successfully retrieved live protein strains," he declared.

"Good," Kirk said over the intercom. "Bring her back in, gentlemen," he said.

McKinney started the engines back up but froze as he went to turn the ship around. "Um…Commander?"

"What is it, Lieutenant," Spock said from the back.

"Something's happening out there."

Spock rushed back to the front, seeing the mass of dust and gas in front of them was beginning to coagulate. Spock looked at the sensor readings. "There appears to be another storm forming off the bow. Odd, the center of which is where we transported our sample."

"What should we do, sir?"

"Well since our precautions thus far have been to avoid these storms, I suggest we get away from this one as quickly as possible."

McKinney nodded vigorously and turned the ship around. Once he had it back on a firm back-tracking course he pushed the shuttle up to full-impulse. The jolt was unexpected.

"Lieutenant…" Spock started to remind the man, but noted the storm's size grew dramatically as they flew away from it. "Storm is growing at a rapid rate," he said for the benefit of the crew on the Enterprise. "It is already eighty percent bigger than it was sixty-seconds ago…"

Suddenly an arc of electricity formed across the denser cloud's surface, gathered at its' front, and shot straight at the ship. The bolt of direct electricity was so severe; it breached the hull, leaving a hand's width hole in the back of the shuttle.

The shuttle's systems erupted into chaos, sirens wailing and sensors beeping all at once. "We're loosing cabin pressure!" shouted McKinney.

"Put up a force field over the aft!" Spock ordered, the controls on the Lieutenant are half of the helm.

Just as the man was making to activate the force field, another bolt hit the ship, this time in the side. But rather than putting a hole in the hull, it shorted out a number of systems next to McKinney's face. The tiny explosion knocked the man unconscious and momentarily blinded Spock.

"Galeleo! What's going on? Do you read?" shouted Kirk cracked over the still-open com.

Spock was briefly grateful for the open communications, because Kirk's voice helped keeping him from passing out himself as the air became dangerously thin. Breathing heavily, he climbed over the unconscious pilot and punched the force field controls with the pad of his fist. A field shimmered into place, dividing the shuttle in two. Spock found the life-support controls and pumped the air-supply output to full volume. The sensors wailed violently as they detected another arc of electricity building in the storm. Spock pushed the shuttle speed to max, not even concerning himself with what direction it was going, as long as it was away from the building storm. The jolt caused him to fall back and hit the force field, the energy hitting so much of his back that he cried out in pain and collapsed on the floor between the two chairs at the helm, out cold.