The U.S.S Enterprise

They stood around the board they'd planned many a mission around in their lifetime, an image of the star system on the board with a few highlighted spots here and there. The Starbase that had relayed the message was highlighted in green and the suspected telemetary of the Gemini was in a red dotted line across the board. The coordinates of the planet they had said they were escaping too had proven accurate and the planet was highlighted in blue. Spock had a PADD in his hand and was diligently informing them of all the negatives in this scenario, but Jim hated seeing the worry clouding his friends' faces, hated the feeling of Natalie gripping his hand tighter than she had during child birth. His son, his son was out there. His little girl was back home but had been crying when they told her they had to go. Chris was going to be fine right? They would all pull together as the crew he stood amongst had before them, right?

"Furthermore there are two suns orbiting this planet, creating a climate hotter than the most tropical parts of Earth. There's little water but plenty of shade in the jungle, though scans show various life signs adapted to the planets environment and it is hard to tell if they are friend or foe. There is a sustainable atmosphere however." Spock concluded quietly, placing the PADD down and surprising Jim by giving Nyota a brief but comforting squeeze of her hand.

"Great, so they launched themselves at a hostile hot spot?" Bones drawled. His anxiety for Elizabeth had made his bad mood worse than usual and with a scoff he said, "It so half brained your son had to have come up with that one." Jim shot him a slight glare but Natalie interrupted them before he could argue back,
"He's a Kirk, that means as stupid as his plans are he'll have the luck to pull it off."

The group fell oddly silent as they stared over the information on the board, knowing they should be saying a thousand things but finding the words got lodged in their throats.

"I know this looks back, but they're our kids! They're resourceful, they're smart, they have a goddamn Vulcan so any plan they come up with will be logical and as good as it can get, right? They'll be ready and waiting for us to pick them up so how much longer until we can get to full warp Mr Scott?" Jim asked, hitting the communications button as he neared the end of his speech.

"Another half an hour?" Scotty guessed.

"Give it all you've got." Jim replied before looking back up at his friends. Chekov had paled considerably and swallowed thickly before informing them all of the worst news yet.

"When they sent zer message, assuming they jettisoned straight after...the suns were reaching zer apex, any entry would be incredibly hot, they would hawe passed right by the suns." He told them quietly.

"Oh god." Nyota moaned, burying her face in her hands to take a deep breath while Natalie squeezed his hand tighter. Jim didn't know what to say but found it was Bones that reassured them this time, a strange turn of events that brought with it a faint flicker of amusement, however briefly it lasted.

"I taught my baby girl well, she knows the signs of heat stroke, she'll keep 'em safe." he said fiercely. Jim clasped his shoulder tightly and nodded once, looking back up at the board and glancing at his friends,
"If we find the Gemini, are we willing to do whatever it takes?"

His question was met by stony expressions and they all knew what he was really asking - were they prepared to blow it to kingdom come?

"Yes captain!" their confidence was all he needed.

Back on the Planet

Elizabeth blinked, her eyes bleary and vision hazy even when she opened her eyes. She was sweating in places she didn't know could sweat and her mouth felt horribly dry. She tried looking around for Kaiyo, found her hazy figure not too far away on the floor of the cage they were trapped in. Wait, a cage? Panic bubbled up in her chest and Elizabeth struggled to call her name, get her friend awake. She moved to place a hand to her forehead, check her temperature but found them bound behind her back, pressed against the poles and the wall of the wooden cage. They'd been left out in the sun in a clearing of sorts, surrounded by wooden huts with roofs of huge white leaves and doors made out of rags. Twisting and turning she thrashed weakly in her restraints and felt an oddly cool hand come down on her shoulder. She blinked up through the bright light of the sun to find a familiar pair of warm brown eyes blinking down at her. Her heart leapt.

"Daddy?" she croaked.

"Easy baby girl, don't use up your strength. Dammit Liz how many times have I told ya not to stay out in the heat? Made yourself sick you have." Bones chastised with a roll of his eyes, placing his cool hand against her forehead.

"Heat stroke?" she whispered, her sluggish mind guessing this was a form of hallucination designed to comfort her.

Bones simply nodded once,
"Right again Liz, I ain't really here, but I'm on my way." he promised.

"But da-" her hoarse voice was cut off by the feel of cold liquid rushing down her throat, choking her almost as she struggled to gulp it back and breathe at the same time. She blinked furiously, coughing and sputtering and finding a different figure had replaced her father, a figure looking much scarier and less comforting than Leonard 'Bones' McCoy. It moved to Kaiyo next, dragging her closer by the ankle and preparing to pour the contents of the cup down her throat. Elizabeth thrashed again, her eyes widening in horror.

"No! You'll choke her dammit don't!" she snapped, pulling hard on her restraints. The figure looked afraid and backed away from the shouting blonde who had caused Kaiyo to stir. This…person, seemed afraid of them. It had pale green skin and was mostly naked, minus the tattered attempt at a pair of shorts woven from long grasses it seemed and a sash of some sort of skin holding a quiver of arrows on its back. Its eyes were completely white and the eyelids blinked sideways, like a strange sort of amphibian almost. She was repulsed by the creature and could see Kaiyo struggling to focus on its features, mainly the bulbous nose with the bones spiking through each nostril that twitched when it shrieked, a high-pitched noise in her head that made her brain ache.

"What is that?" Kaiyo groaned hoarsely. Elizabeth cringed against the bars and at her sign of relenting the figure began approaching again, it walked like a chimpanzee she noted despite being as tall as Fistrinn at least. Fistrinn, Max, Anton…Chris…god she hated that pointy eared bastard but she'd be glad to have him here now, all of them.

"Stay down Kaiyo and be prepared for a drink." Elizabeth warned, watching helplessly as the alien nearly drowned the poor girl. She coughed and spluttered and choked as she had done too. "Easy breaths." She advised quietly. She'd never seen an alien before, well not one on another planet anyway, the aliens back home were all more friendly and she'd grown up seeing them, was used to their strange features and customs. This was entirely new and it was terrifying.

"What is it?" Kaiyo whispered. Elizabeth slowly shook her head, eyeing the thing with her usual bitter expression as it pointed to the sun and sank to its knees. Kaiyo frowned as Elizabeth groaned, patience wearing thing.

"What the hell is it doing?" she mumbled to Kaiyo. Kaiyo watched carefully, her affinity for languages and communication kicking in despite how sickly she felt. It kept pointing to them, then the sun, then the ground.

"It knew the sun was making us sick." She realised, "You were trying to help us?" The alien blinked at her, that strange sideways eyelid shocking Kaiyo a moment before she smiled, "Thank you." She said with a nod, clasping her already tied hands and bowing her head towards them, a universal thank you she hoped he'd understand. The figure crawled a little closer, looking almost curious. It had no eyebrows, something they could only see now it was closer despite that fact that it had hair on its head, a wispy patch of white that stuck up like Mohawk in the centre of its skull but not nowhere else. "You can't talk." Kaiyo realised, seeing it also had no mouth.

Elizabeth shuddered,
"Kaiyo don't get so goddamn close!" she hissed with a glare at the alien, who shrank back from her and gravitated towards the less hostile looking girl.

"Elizabeth you're scaring him!" Kaiyo scolded her.

"He put us in a cage!" Elizabeth snapped back.

It was not my intention but the will of our Elders…you must drink more water a strangely smooth and deep voice echoed through their minds and the girls both cried out in shock, staring wide eyed at the alien who pointed to himself and then their heads.

"Oh great, he's telepathic!" Elizabeth groaned.

It is how my people communicate Lizzie he was in her head again and Elizabeth cried out in protest,
"Dammit man don't call me Lizzie!"

Chris had found some comfort in Max's rambling previously, but by now his accent was grating on them all and he could see even Anton, in pain and still looking horribly pale, was clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

"And there was this one time that I had accidentally-"

"Max." Chris cut him off with a strained smile, "Do us a favour and tone it down a bit hey buddy?" Fistrinn let out a slow breath and Chris could see he was seconds from snapping. "We've been walking for hours already, let's take a break huh?" he suggested. Anton groaned in relief and lay back on the dusty floor of the jungle with a sigh.

"Can we hawe lunch now?" he asked, his accent growing heavy again in his state of agony. Chris glanced at Fistrinn and raised an eyebrow, leaving it up to him. Fistrinn had been tight on supplies and Chris thought it best to just let him have his way with the rations to stop anymore arguments breaking out. Fistrinn nodded once and began handing out some packets of dehydrated something or other, pouring a little water into each. Chris grimaced at the bland taste of a rehydrated sandwhich but was grateful for something to line his stomach and some water to cool him down. The sweat was dripping from them, the air heavy with the sweet smelling humidity and the smell of body odour that each boy had jokingly apologised for. Shirt feeling sticky Chris shucked it off and into his backpack, ignoring the raised eyebrows of his friends. It wasn't like they weren't all buddies now right?

"If we meet any life on this planet they mind find your exposure offensive and indecent." Fistrinn remarked, taking a sip of water. The green blood around his cut had clotted and crusted, leaving an ugly and dirty wound that Chris wanted to disinfect but had nothing to do it with. He was hoping no infection would set in as he needed Fistrinn to help him make the plans they needed to survive. The girls had been gone too long for his liking and with no trail as to where they were headed, Fistrinn had climbed the nearest tree like Kaiyo had done before. His findings were less than fruitful and he had reported seeing hardly anything beneath the canopy of blue leaves, claiming the jungle seemed to stretch for miles and there were few places he could spot any source of water or shelter. Chris grimaced, his feet and legs aching even when he stretched them out and rolled his ankles. Where could they be? Who could they have been taken by? If they'd struggled did that mean there was hostile life here? Fistrinn could see the pensive look on his face and sighed, guessing he'd get no answer from Chris anytime soon.

Oceanic blue eyes met his gaze however and he warily eyed Chris's smirk,
"Or maybe they'll be so happy to see someone with abs they'll worship us and take us somewhere nice and cool." He suggested playfully. Fistrinn clamped down on his frustration as Max barked a laugh and the pair slapped what he'd heard referred to as 'high five'. Why it would be a five he didn't know. It required ten fingers did it not? Five for you and five for your fellow fiver. Was that even what you called someone who partook in a high five? He'd lived on Earth for all of his life but still wasn't sure, nobody had ever really wanted to high five with him so how was he supposed to know? He surveyed his friends with a critical eye. He'd kept them all hydrated but sweat had plastered their hair to their foreheads and brought out dark patches on their clothes, legs were dirty again from the dusty floor. Chris ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair, making it stick up in places while he wiped the sweat from his brow, "I'll level with you guys, I have no clue where we're going right now but-"Anton's yelp cut him off and suddenly Chris realised the boy was no longer beside him.

Shooting to their feet they called his name in a panic and grabbed a phaser each from Fistrinn's backpack (the only bag that had really survived the mudflow), standing in a loose circle and eyeing the surrounding area. Chris felt his heart beating furiously in his chest and swallowed thickly, trying to dislodge the sudden lump in his throat.

"Anton!" he bellowed.

"H-elp!" the choked out cry came from above them and in shock they stared up to see Anton being suspended by a…was that a vine? Chris quickly tracked the huge black thing to the floor to see it was a tentacle of a huge bush of some sort, standing in the dirt like an upside-down squid, a large red flower blooming in the centre that was glowing yellow in the middle. The yellow glow pulsated along its tentacles and Anton's cry turned to one of pure agony as the pulsating grew stronger and brighter in colour.

"Open fire on that plant!" Chris ordered. The air was filled with the high-pitched hum of phaser fire and a bright blue shot from their guns. Chris felt the slight thrill of the recoil before he braced his arm and tightened his grip, aiming up and cutting through the tentacle. A terrible screeching sound filled the air as the plant fell back, curling in on itself and disappearing into the ground while Anton thumped to the floor, his broken leg now bleeding when the plant had gripped him and bitten into the skin. The gangly teen lay in a pale heap on the ground as Chris bolted over and knelt beside him, checking for a pulse in a panic, "He's breathing!" he declared, relief saturating his tone as Fistrinn appeared beside him.

"Perhaps, but his splint has been broken and his leg is now damaged worse than before." He observed. Chris groaned quietly, knowing they could only do so much without Elizabeth. Damn where were those girls! Max knelt down and used some of his water ration to begin cleaning the blood, and Chris noted with a slightly disgruntled feeling it was his discarded shirt he was using.

"Anton! Come on buddy wake up!" he called, slapping his face lightly and giving his shoulder a shake. "I don't want to be here if that plant comes back so wake up already!"

"Panicking will not solve anything." Fistrinn said calmly, and Chris shot him an unimpressed look.

"I'm trying to wake him up, have any helpful advice for that?" he asked instead of snapping at him, though he desperately wanted to. Fistrinn remained silent and a vicious stab of satisfaction shot through him.

"I canny put that splint back on, either of yer know how to do that?" Max wondered. Both Chris and Fistrinn shook their heads and Chris sighed, rubbing his face with his grimy hands and taking a deep breath to calm down.

"We need to move though, at least out of this area and away from anymore plants like this." He insisted, "Jesus Christ, it's like that old movie…Journey to the Centre of the Earth right?"

"Oh yeah! And that plant tries to strangle the pretty blonde lass!" Max agreed enthusiastically.

"A journey to the centre of Earth would be impossible due to the high temperatures of the Earth's core." Fistrinn said irritatedly.

Chris sighed and clapped his arm as he picked up Anton effortlessly,
"Fistrinn man, you really got to learn that sometimes logic isn't the answer, sometimes you just need some illogical entertainment." He replied with half a smile, slightly irritated he couldn't just play along. Max could sense the frustration rolling off of the Vulcan boy and wondered if it was wise to have him carrying Anton. What if he got frustrated and threw him? Max shook the thought away and instead focused on not tripping up, because although he wouldn't admit it the heat was starting to mess with his head and he still felt nauseous and off-balance. Whatever poison they'd used had really knocked him for six. He wanted his father if he was being truthful, wanted to be back home in his own bed, feeling well. He wanted to restart this whole thing and actually get to summer camp this time, because as much as he hated the current situation he was grateful to have met these people.

Speaking of people where were the girls? He'd never really thanked Elizabeth for saving his life and was worried he wouldn't get the chance now, and his mother would kill him if she found out because she'd raised a gentleman with manners. The errant thoughts were dizzying in his mind and he took a deep breath to clear them all, wrinkling his nose against the sweet smelling air and wiping some more sweat from his nose with a sigh.

"Next time, can we pick a planet with ice cream?" he thought aloud.

"Blame Anton." Chris said with a chuckle, "Though this was the only Class M planet about to choose."

"We could have stayed on the ship." Fistrinn spoke up, "We would have all been together, Mr Chekov would not have broken his leg and you would not have injured your head." Max could see the conflict on Chris's face but a soon as he caught Max looking it was gone, replaced with a confident and stony gaze he fixed on the Vulcan boy as the Scotsman flinched at the tension rippling between the two.

"I stand by my decision, I'd rather be sweating my ass off down here than being stuck in a slave market elsewhere." He retorted. Max could almost see the fight breaking out there and then, expecting it to come, but both boys held themselves in check as Chris threw on another shirt, "You were right, I don't want to upset any locals." And with that Chris marched on ahead. Glancing back at the Vulcan boy Max took his chance to catch up to Chris.

"Chris, you were right, this is better than a slave market, he's just a little hot is all." He said reassuringly. Chris gave him a sigh in response and nodded once,
"Thanks, but you have to admit he has a point."

Elizabeth stared intently at Shyling, Kaiyo's new alien friend. He'd let them out of the cage, given them enough water to put their sickness behind them and got them into the shade of his home. He was a young man still living with his mother, though there were no obvious biological differences between the male and females of this population as far as she could see. His mother was called Arla and Elizabeth could only tell them apart because her wispy patch of hair was a dark black colour, other than that they were identical. All of their conversations so far had been telepathic and she was getting a headache, too many voices in her head and too many things she wanted to keep private on display. Elizabeth had been given back her medical kit and they'd given them a chance to wash up and clean the mud off of their bodies completely.

The cold water had refreshed them both and Kaiyo was quite happily getting on with the aliens while Elizabeth sat in the corner, her signature glare on her face that the timid Arla and Shyling had stayed away from. Kaiyo cast her a glance every now and then, as if expecting her to have ran away – she was half tempted too but refused to leave Kaiyo behind. Calling her naïve may have been harsh, but Elizabeth didn't share her willingness to trust these aliens for a few simple acts of kindness. Eventually, Shyling and Arla left them be and Kaiyo sat on the floor beside Elizabeth, who continued to stare sourly at the floor.

"You know, they're actually really nice." She said casually. Elizabeth didn't look up. "This planet, it's called Eldirania, these people are the Nia. Simple obviously, technology not as advanced as our own but they've learnt to-"

"I don't really care." Elizabeth interrupted with a small huff, "I woke up in a cage, that's all I need to know." Kaiyo shook her head, eyes narrowing and pure irritation rippling from her in waves.

"How can you be so closed minded? If you're wondering why you don't have any friends it's because you're adept at pushing away anyone showing you a hint of kindness." She snapped, standing and leaving her alone. Elizabeth watched her leave with a scathing glare on her face, outraged she'd dare say it. She knew she was grumpy, she knew she wasn't the kind of person people felt drawn to (more repulsed by if she was honest) but she didn't need that stuck up little…Elizabeth refused to think it and instead leaned her head back against the wall of the hut with a resigned sigh.

"Dammit Liz what the hell's wrong with you?" she grumbled to herself. Where were they on this damn planet anyway? Were the boys trying to find them? Elizabeth didn't think they'd be encouraging Kaiyo to leave anytime soon, and it was nice and cool in this hut. Actually, Elizabeth had chills for the first time since being on this planet. Pushing to her feet she took a deep breath and headed for the door, squinting out into the sunlight and feeling the heat was not quite so intense as the sun began to set. She was shocked to see dozens of those people, those Nia, all standing in the clearing now that they had come out of their homes. Kaiyo was helping them to build a bonfire, the carcass of some sort of ugly three headed animal sitting nearby that was no doubt going to be cooked. Elizabeth felt her stomach turn and quickly looked away, catching one of the aliens loping towards her.

You are the healer? The voice was more feminine this time and Elizabeth frowned slightly, still not quite over the fact her mind was on display like art at a gallery.

"I'm in training, I ain't no qualified Doctor." She answered. Kaiyo was watching carefully as Elizabeth reluctantly spoke to the woman before her, a woman Shyling had introduced as Meyen, his betrothed.

But you are still knowledgeable in the world of medicines the woman was almost accusing her and a flash of irritation shot through Elizabeth. Nothing felt right here, she felt like was on probation, constantly watched.

"Well yeah, if you put it that way I guess." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Sensing the uncomfortable aura Elizabeth was radiating Kaiyo wandered over and greeted the women with a strange sort of handshake involving the bowing of heads and a curtsey. The woman was pointing back towards another hut identical to the one Shyling lived in with a different cloth as her door.

My father is dying, please help him she thought, a hint of desperation clouding her tone as her voice echoed through their heads. Kaiyo was already nodding empathically when Elizabeth's eyes widened, her heart thudding to a stop. Grabbing Kaiyo's arm she dragged her out of the way as nightfall set in and chased away the remaining sun.

"What are you doin'? You can't sign me up for this!" she hissed.

"They saved our lives! We can at least try to save his!" Kaiyo snapped, yanking her arm from her grip, "It's what Doctors do right?"

"Yeah, doctors! I ain't no doctor though! I don't know anythin' about their physiology or what type of illnesses are on this damn planet!" Elizabeth returned.

Kaiyo frowned,
"You at least have to try." She implored, "I don't care if you don't trust them Elizabeth, they're good people, if you can't trust them then at least trust me." Elizabeth scoffed and glared her down, her frustration overtaking her common sense.

"I don't trust people." She answered bluntly, cringing at the way Kaiyo flinched and looked away. The silence between them was heavy and thick and Elizabeth sighed, running a hand through her hair and feeling her heartbeat wildly, "Let me grab my stuff." She grumbled, stalking towards the hut she came from and missing the way Kaiyo smiled slightly after her. Maybe this was what she needed to change her mind and realise the Nia weren't so bad after all? Meyen came to stand beside her and placed a cool hand on her shoulder. Kaiyo's eyes flashed pure white before a serene smile graced her face and she leaned into her touch.