"This is going to be a rocky ride." McCoy turned to the security officer sitting next to him and took a swig from his flask of whiskey.
The make-shift crew aboard the prototype ship stared at the planet's purple atmosphere churning and swirling before them, coming closer with every second.
"You all set in there?" Uhura's voice piped up from the ship's communication system.
"Affirmative, Uhura." Spock said firmly, his hands locked tightly on the ship's controls. He sat rigidly, trying to mask his concerns about the situation.
"You are around sixtween hundred kilometers from zhe planet," Chekov's voice came next from the speakers. "You should be experiencing some of zhe effects of zhe planet's grawity." He continued, and as he spoke, the ship rocked slightly. McCoy's fist tightened around the flask.
"Donnae worry, Commander, the ship should be able to handle the changes in the planet's atmospheric decay," Scotty's voice said.
"Should," McCoy scoffed quietly and the security officer next to him looked at him with a horrified expression.
"Be careful down there," Uhura's concerned voice returned. "You don't know what kind of opposition you'll get down there, and we won't be able to help you once you get past that shield," She warned.
"Please alert Mr. Scott to lock on to our communicator's signals once we disable the shields." Spock said as the planet drew closer and the ride became less and less steady.
"Understood," Scotty chimed in.
"Be careful, Spock." Uhura persisted.
"I'll make sure he doesn't make any illogical decisions." McCoy grumbled, taking another swig from the flask.
"And I, in turn, will make sure that Doctor McCoy has no more to drink." Spock said sharply. "We will be back shortly, Nyota."
"You'd better be." Uhura said softly.
"You are now nearing zhe shield," Chekov's small voice said. "Prepare to loose communication."
"Bring back our Captain," Scotty said firmly.
"We shall." Spock nodded his head and the crew braced for impact.
The ship shook violently as they pushed through the thick barrier between the planet's atmosphere and the space surrounding it. It swallowed them like a thick, enveloping jelly. They pushed through to the other side with a pop, sending the ship jolting with the impact, and the effects of the planet's gravity. The lights inside the ship began to blink rapidly and the ship began plummeting to the ground.
"Spock, what the hell's happening?" McCoy asked, his knuckles white as he gripped the seat belt across his shoulders.
"The ship has lost power," Spock's fingers flew across the various buttons and switches on the control consul.
"Temporarily, I hope?" McCoy asked, his breathing speeding up, heart racing.
"Unclear." Spock mumbled quietly as he continued working.
The ship spiraled downwards, the front catching on fire as they plummeted through the swirling clouds.
"Spock, do something!" McCoy cried out through gritted teeth.
Spock flipped one last switch and the ship suddenly jerked upwards, saving them from impending doom.
"Will that suffice, Doctor?" Spock asked smugly.
McCoy held his tongue and simply grumbled in response, his fingers still gripped tightly around his seat belt.
The planet came into view as they lowered from the swirling clouds that tossed them around slightly. The rich purple ground sprouted assorted buildings and small patches of long, twisted lattices and networks of what appeared to be tree-like structures. Spock lowered the ship directly on top of a patch of the twisting trees, which bent underneath of the weight and put the ship down softly onto the ground.
"Now," Spock unbuckled his seat belt quickly and stood up. "We must travel to the main compound and attempt to shut down the planet's shields."
"What about finding Jim?" McCoy asked, fumbling with his seat belt with sore hands.
"We must first disable the shields if we have any hope of tracking him," Spock said firmly.
"What, you think that those idiots just let him keep his communicator?" McCoy stood up shakily, flask in hand.
"The likelihood of that is minimal, however it will be much easier for the Enterprise to lock on to human heat signatures." Spock raised and eyebrow and slowly took the flask from McCoy's hand and set it gently on the dashboard.
"Right," McCoy said after a brief pause. "Then let's get to it."
/
What the fuck? Kirk groggily shifted as he started to come back into consciousness. Where am I? He asked himself as he cracked and eye and saw two blue shape-shifters moving quickly towards him. Ah fuck. He sat up quickly and painfully, raising his hand, vaguely remembering clutching a phaser in earlier. He quickly stunned the two shape-shifters and they fell on the ground in a heap.
Ok, once again, what the fuck? He rubbed his head closing his eyes tightly as his brain pulsed in his head. Oh shit. Memories of the shape-shifters and their palace came flooding back to him. Oh, this is bad. He thought as he slowly stood up, bracing his weight against the wall.
I have to find that satellite, He remembered and slowly took two steps forward, huffing with the effort. Shit, this is not going well. He thought as he continued taking small, painful steps forward. Ok, categorize the injuries, He continued to push forward. Where does it hurt the most? My chest. Why? Probably the broken ribs. Ok, second worst? My legs. They're just tired. He sighed and took three more steps. The two blue aliens lay in front of him, sprawled out on the floor. Just get to them, then you can take a break. He pleaded with himself as he looked towards the end of the hallway.
His muscles screamed with the effort of every step. His vision was fading. Think, Jim. He thought, head pulsing. Why are you doing this? For my crew. They need me. All of Starfleet needs me, actually. He smiled when he thought of it. I just have to keep moving forward, that's all. He reminded himself as he pressed ahead.
Suddenly, alarms began to wail all around him. Red lights flashed, only making the pulsing in his head worse. "Shit." He mumbled under his breath. I've been discovered.
"Attention all personnel," A voice came over the intercom. "We have several intruders from the Starship Enterprise. They have driven a small ship through our planet's shields and are heading towards the town. All personnel to battle stations." The voice blared.
Well I'll be damned, Kirk smiled. Those maniacs actually came down here for me. Now's my chance to get to the satellite room while the guards are distracted. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he pushed himself off the wall and picked up his pace to a hobbling run. A few aliens on speeders whizzed through the crossroads of the hallways. Kirk raised his phaser and trained it on the hallway, waiting for his opportunity. Out of the corner of his eye, a flash of motion caught his attention. He squeezed the trigger and a bolt fired from his gun and struck the alien on the speeder, stopping the speeder dead in the air.
Kirk raced towards the speeder and quickly mounted it, swinging his painfully sore legs over the side and sitting down on top of it. He revved the engine with his right hand and smiled to himself. Now we're talking.
/
Sorry for the short chapter, but I *did* just update twice in one day... Anyway, I'm not very happy with how this chapter turned out, but I still hope you'll stick around for the end. Again, thanks for reading, and feedback is always appreciated!
-buckminsterbarnes