CHAPTER ELEVEN

By the time Kirk and McCoy had arrived in the main lab, a security team had already arrived and was in the process of chasing down creatures running, flying or sliming their way around the deck. It was obvious though that they would appreciate any help offered even that from the Captain and Doctor, since they had managed to corral only two of the little jail breakers.

After two hours of dancing around lab equipment, small 'presents' left by the critters and each other they had managed to recapture all of the little beasts but two. At the moment, everyone in involved were willing to celebrate what they had accomplished and let whatever was still running loose go with their blessings.

"This is why I was against this whole idea of allowing the science team bring any of these…animals onboard my ship for study. I don't care if he is Vulcan, he doesn't' know everything and sure as hell never had to take care of any type of livestock on his own, especially ones that left a pile as high as his eyebrows." Snorted the Captain, leaning against a lab table after activating the last lock on the last cage door. "Remind me to have a little talk with him about discontinuing this whole operation, unless he wants to keep them in his own cabin."

Folding his arms in front o him, McCoy gazed at Kirk with a cynical twitch to his eyebrow. "Bad experience with the family cow back in Iowa?"

"That's beside the point, Bones." Snapped Kirk, as he pushed himself from the wall and tugged the wrinkles out of his gold velour shirt. "And it was a pair of goats."

Biting his lip to keep from grinning, McCoy glanced up at young security man who approached them looking as if he just came off the frontline of the 'Battle of the Bulge'. Covered from head to toe with scratches, bruises and bites with several rips in his thin, inferior made red shirt he looked as if he was on his last legs when he paused in front of the Captain.

"I've already ordered security crew's to search every deck for the two remaining creatures, sir. The cleaning crews should be arriving in a few moments and I'm personally going to check the security locks on the holding areas." He managed in-between gasps of breath, trying not to sag against the table if not crawling on it and collapsing in exhausting.

Kirk slipped back into his captaincy/potentate role while giving the battered man a quick scrutinizing look. "Very good, Lt.. And you would be?"

"Wilson, sir." Answered the battle scarred Lieutenant, casting a quick uncertain look at the Doctor. "Head of security."

"Really?" Kirk glanced over at McCoy, who gave a single nod to the questioning gaze. "I thought Tresger was head of security?"

"He was Jim, right up until he disappeared on Kilindarbi with a half a dozen of his men." Answered McCoy, giving Wilson a wearisome look before rolling his blue eyes toward the ceiling. "Wilson then stepped into the position after we returned."

"Right. I knew that." Acknowledged Kirk, flashing a smile at a steadily worrying Wilson. "Good job, Lieutenant. Contact me the second you find the other two animals and anything else that doesn't appear to belong onboard the ship."

"Aye, sir." Wilson answered, then started to turn back toward his crew that was trying to set things back to normal in the lab, when McCoy stopped him.

"You might send a few of your crew up to sickbay, including yourself, in shifts. Just to get those scratches and bites taken care of. A few of those varmints do have some nasty after effects in their arsenal if not taken care of, Lieutenant."

"Right, Doctor." Wilson said, a halfhearted smile came on the young man's face as he moved back over to his crew.

"Well, this proves someof those old wives tales were true about the 'little people' and their penchant for causing havoc." Sighed McCoy once the Lieutenant was out of earshot. "As well as give us a visual example of why he was hanging from that tree to begin with. Who thought one sawed off hobgoblin could do so much damage?"

"Tell me about it." Grunted Kirk, giving McCoy a slightly indignant look out of the corner of his eye. "It'll take me weeks to get my reputation back in order."

"How about month's?" mcCoy suggested as they started for the lab door. "If you're lucky."

"You could be transferred to a third class garbage scolw, Doctor." Snarled Kirk out the side of his mouth. "If you're lucky."

"what are you going to do? Blame me for everything that's happneded aboard this ship for the last week?" McCoy demanded once they had moved down to the dext door along the corridor.

"Until we manage to straighten this whole thing out, it might be an idea." Murmured Kirk as he activated the access panel, then shot McCoy an evil look.

"That's not exactly fair Jim." Argued McCoy as they stepped into one of the smaller labs. "I mean, who says some of this wouldn't have happened anyway?"

In the process of activating the lights, Kirk gazed over his shoulder at the Doctor as if he was on the verge of becoming a babbling schizophrenic Romulan. However, he refrained from saying a word as he shifted his eyes forward but the skeptical look remained on his face as he started investigating the smaller lab.

"Alright, possibly none of it would've happened." McCoy relented, annoyed by Kirk's expression and more so when he hadn't said a word in response. "but I still can't see why I should be the one blamed for all of this."

On the other side of the lab Kirk turned toward McCoy, the incredulity still reflected in his face at what the doctor had said. "Who else onboard this ship found the burlap bag chained to a tree? And who is onboard this ship was gullible enough to open that bag?"

"fine. So it was me! There I said it out loud. I'd ask if it made you happy, but obviously we know that be impossible." Frothed the Doctor, his blue eyes peering around the room for any sign of the hed-haired imp. "Gullible is a strong word, I think. I was doing what I thought was the right thing by helping someone I thought was in distress. Besides, you're going to stand there and tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing? No. I take that back because we all know that you wouldn't have touched that bag unless it had been a voice of the female persuasion that emanated from that sack."

Mouth nearly gaping open at the accusation, Kirk stared at the Doctor as he slowly started moving back across the room. "Are you insinuating that I only initiate any kind of rescue if the party in question is female? That's a pretty strong allegation to be making bones."

"Yes it is, and pretty easy to prove once Command gets an eyeful of the reports that somehow haven't made it to their desk's in the last few years." McCoy said taking a cautious step backward. "And don't forget as of right now I'm the one who has the 'little luck of the Irish' still in my back pocket. So ask yourself Jim, do ya feel lucky?"

Freezing in his tracks, Kirk stared for a second at McCoy then swiftly threw several glacnes in a number of directions, both hands forming into tight fists when he met the twinkling blue gaze again.

Whipping around on his heels, Kirk went back to his search while grumbling under his breath. "I should've gone with my first instinct and sent him to Tantalus V when I found him talking to himself in the rec room showers."

For the several hours the two searched every crevice, crack and cupboard on level G until returning to sickbay where they found Chapel, four other nurses, two svelte engineer junior officers and a young confused security ensign.

It was a first for Kirk when he found himself confronted by a stampede clamoring for the attention of a man other than himself. Momentarily crushed between of the nurses and the security ensign, Kirk gasped for a breath only seeing a blue of a red shirt before crumbling to the ground in a velour heap.

"Ladies, ladies…and…ensign." McCoy held his hands up to hold the groupies at bay and give the security guard a hard cautious stare. "Please, right now is not the best time,…for whatever ya'll have got in mind. The Captain and I are in the middle of a minor crisis at the moment. We'd both appreciate it if ya'll would vacate the premises for a short amount of time. Later, if you 'ladies' are still so inclined perhaps we could talk over a late dinner. Ensign Carlson, it might be an idea if you reported to Lt. Wilson in the main lab before you get yourself into more trouble, son."

Hearing the clattering of heels and disappointed moans as the herd moved out the door, Kirk squeezed open one eye and saw nothing but a dazzle of lights that gradually dissipated into McCoy's smiling face. Wincing, both at the pain that echoed in his head and realization of what just happened in his presence Kirk laid on the floor for several more seconds, snapping shut the one eye once again.

"Look at it this way, Jim. When we do get this whole thing settled, you probably won't remember any of this." McCoy said, giving his friend a look that halfway read sympathy, while the other half was bold amusement.

"And if you're wrong?" Countered Kirk pushing himself up into a sitting position as he rubbed the back of his head that had struck the floor.

"If I'm wrong then you'll be wallowing in a series of miseries that you'll never be able to explain to anyone rationally. While I on the other hand will have many happy memories to console myself with in my retirement yourears. Enjoying the idea that no one around me will have the slightest clue as to why I smile every hour of the day and night." McCoy answered offering his hand to Kirk to assist in rising from the floor.

"Believe me bones, they willl know and it won't have anything to do with any thought's of what's been happening to you for the last week. Besides, what makes you think your wee good luck charm wont' turn the tables on you once he discovers that we're trying to stop him?" Kirk interjected giving the proffered hand a questioning look before deciding it was safe to grasp.

Bottom lip puckering out at the sudden concept, Bones straightened up jerking his hand away just as Kirk was reaching for it and ran his fingers through his mussed hair. It was obvious the Doctor had not considered that option until it was brought to his attention and was mentally running through the numerous things that could pertain to.

Plopping back down on the floor, Kirk glowered up at McCoy before dusting off the boot prints from his person. "We have to find your 'friend' before something happens that forces up to join the Orion pirate fleet."

Gazing down at Kirk with an uneasy glint, McCoy absently ran a thumb over his protruding lower lips. "How exactly do you propose we do that? Considering we can't even find him, let alone trying to stop him?"

The door to the Doctor's office sprang open only a millisecond after the words had spilled from McCoy's mouth and the rest was a blue for both men.

Later, they would both recount the tornado that had a sound of a wickedly amused laughter, the strong smell of whiskey and the blur of green mixed with gray-black blanket of wool. It was the only story they had and were forced to stick to it whenever someone would bring the matter up over the years.

At the moment when the sickbay door opened again and Spock, with a pair of security guards behind him, neither Kirk nor McCoy could've come up with any words that would have believably explained away what the trio found themselves confronted with on the examination floor.

Hesitating in the doorway, Spock surveyed the scene then cleared his throat and finally raised an eyebrow high enough to be two centimeters from his hairline before speaking.

"Captain, I'm sure I don't have to point out that you have both the Doctor and a Trellixian sheep laying on top of you."

Dagger of the Mind

TBC