A round magnet tied to a piece of twine sailed through the air towards the shelf unit and missed by a few feet. Kirk's face fell and he reeled in the rope again. Behind him, the other four sat on a wrench with 3 prongs. Chapel yawned, and M'Ress copied her. Even Spock looked drained.
"Well, that was pretty lousy," McCoy muttered under his breath as he stood up. "If you were pitching for a baseball game, my money'd be on the other team."
Kirk pulled the magnet up the side of the work table. "Maybe you could do better, Bones?" he snapped, holding out the magnet to him.
The doctor held up his hands in a show of surrender. "Heck no. I'm just saying, that was what, your twentieth attempt?"
"Twenty third, but who's counting?" Chapel asked. She covered her mouth as another yawn came. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to call it a night."
M'Ress's tail drooped. "Same here," she purred tiredly.
Kirk rubbed his eyes. "You know what they say; twenty-fourth time's the charm," he laughed half-heartedly.
"Nobody says that," McCoy protested.
Lifting the twine near the magnet, Kirk spun it around his head and let go of the short end. The magnet sailed across the room, this time striking the shelf and sticking there. "Success!"
Spock stood up and secured the other end higher up to the lamp's neck, pulling until it became taut. He and the women crowded around Kirk. The captain picked up a bent nail and hooked it over the twine. With a leap off the table's edge, he slid across the room and landed in the dust on the shelf. He stood and dusted himself off, waving at the others.
Spock picked up another nail and repeated the action. He landed next to Kirk, who helped him down. Chapel and M'Ress followed behind him. Finally, only McCoy remained.
"Doctor. It is your turn now," Spock shouted.
"It's not so bad if you don't look down," Chapel called.
"Too late." McCoy squeezed his eyes shut.
"Yeah. It's just like flying." M'Ress added.
"Come on, Bones. You can do it," Kirk encouraged.
McCoy picked up his nail and looked over the edge of the table, one foot dangling in empty space. He stepped back quickly. "I think I'll just wait here, if that's all right with you, Jim."
Kirk crossed his arms. "Chicken." He turned and reached for the shelf support, climbing up the post.
McCoy looked over his shoulder and saw the stuffed bird. Its glass eye winked at him in the light. "Chicken," he repeated. Shuddering, he whipped around, hooked the nail over the twine and took a flying leap off the table, eyes tightly shut. Just before he reached the shelf, the twine snapped. McCoy dropped the nail and launched himself towards the shelf, falling into a heap of dust. "Achoo!" Spock and Chapel helped him stand up. "Told you I could do it," he said as he reached for Kirk's hand to pull him up to the top shelf.
Kirk smiled. "I never doubted you for a moment, Doctor."