Chapter Nine
"So you have no idea what it is?"
"That is essentially what I said, Doctor."
McCoy shook his head. Of all the times for that Vulcan to be uncertain, it had to be now. Any other time, he would have teased Spock mercilessly about this, but due to extenuating circumstances, he couldn't. Extenuating circumstances being Jim going missing on an unknown planet (again) with no one accompanying him except a Security team (again), while Spock and himself were left on ship to worry about what the hell he was doing and whether or not he was going to make it back up here alive (again!)
"Well, why don't we," here McCoy spluttered before continuing, "transport down and see if he's dead?"
Spock raised an eyebrow at this. "The Captain left the conn with me, and he does not intend for that to 'bounce around this room like a ping pong ball'."
"You're using a metaphor?" McCoy asked incredulously. Now this would be something good to use as bait. Metaphors were very illogical things to use in speech.
"No, Doctor, I am simply quoting the Captain's exact words."
Damn. That would have been perfect! Aloud he said: "Well, I'll take my own team and beam down."
"…"
"Spock, I'm a doctor. I do possess a logic centre in my brain. Is it not logical for a doctor to beam down if he suspects someone in the landing party is injured?" McCoy could see the Vulcan was weakening. "Spock," he said gently, "we need to get the Captain back onboard the ship. If I recall this correctly, the last time something like this happened, he found a girl who did some witch voodoo stuff and made Jim forget everything. He thought he was part of their tribe and he married her. She had a child, because of him!"
"That, is true, Doctor."
"So, I'll go down there and you stay here and figure out if that thing is intelligent or not."
"Logical."
"Well, good luck, Spock." Spock looked quizzically at the Doctor.
"Luck?"
"Never mind. Just, figure out what it is and I'll get Jim's ass back here and strapped down in Sickbay." McCoy stepped into the transporter and Spock watched as Mister Scott scrambled the doctor's molecules onto the planet below.
"Good luck, Doctor." He said quietly.
