Chekov hit the sides of the panel he was at in frustration. As Kirk turned toward him, the young lieutenant was frustrated enough not to quail underneath Kirk's critical gaze.

"There are too many readings and too many life forms. I cannot tell which ones might be our crew and which might be others like Miss Jaylah."

Before Kirk could respond, Spock moved next to Chekov, speaking thoughtfully.

"What if we were to add in another variable to narrow down the search?"

Chekov nodded enthusiastically.

"That would help immensely, sir, but what variable could we add?"

"Add to the parameters to search for Vokaya. It is a rare, radioactive mineral from Vulcan. It should be distinctive enough and it is highly doubtful that more than one piece of it would be on this planet."

The others exchanged looks, but McCoy was the one that voiced the question.

"How do you know that Vokaya will be with our crew?"

Spock didn't meet any of their eyes as he entered the parameters for a Vokaya search into the equipment.

"I was in possession of a necklace that Sarek had given my mother. I, in turn, gifted it to Nyota."

McCoy stared at him.

"You gave her a radioactive necklace?"

Spock finally looked up, an exasperated expression on his face.

"The amount of radiation produced is lower than that she is routinely exposed to at her work station, but the radioactive signature is quite distinctive and should be able to be tracked by the sensors."

Pausing for a second, McCoy continued.

"You know, that necklace sounds a lot like a special collar my grandfather had made for his favorite hunting dog."

Kirk was about to yell at McCoy when he noticed that Spock didn't get upset at the doctor's comment. Quite to the contrary, the Vulcan was nodding.

"While I had never thought to frame the item in that manner, that does make a great deal of sense. I did observe how other Vulcan men treated their consorts. Sarek treated my mother far more like an exotic pet."

McCoy actually did look abashed and started to apologize, but Spock held up a hand.

"You merely made an observation - and one that I happen to agree with. Of course, had I made that connection sooner, I would not have gifted it to Nyota. She would be unlikely to take this news well."

Moving closer, McCoy gave Spock a light nudge, careful to avoid any skin contact.

"We can explain that to her, Spock. Getting her the hell out of wherever they have her and the others will go a long way with that."

Anything else McCoy might have said was interrupted by a triumphant whoop from Chekov. Kirk managed to stifle a chuckle, but it was amusing when Chekov forgot himself and acted his age.

"It worked! I have found them!"

Scotty noticed that Jaylah was now practically hiding behind the equipment they were working on. It was time to find out what was going on.

"You know something, lass? Now would be the time to share."

Shaking her head violently, Jaylah kept her voice soft to avoid drawing attention.

"I know the area where your people are most likely being held. It is a place of death. I will not return there."

Scotty decided this was not the time to tred softly.

"Your word means so little to you?"

As he expected, that caused her anger to flare.

"My word means everything!"

"Then remember what we promised, lassie - I help you fix your house - you help me get my mates back. Sounds like you're trying to back out on your end."

There was genuine fear in her eyes at the thought of going into Krall's area, but Scotty didn't relent and she finally lowered her head and nodded.

"You are right, Montgomery Scotty. You have been keeping to your word. I will keep to mine even if it gets us all killed."

Scotty put his hand on her shoulder until she looked back up at him.

"Don't be painting such a negative picture, lass. You don't know the Captain like I know the Captain. I would nae bet against him in a fight with this Krall character. Come on - let's go talk to the Captain.

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.395

We were trying to figure out how to pinpoint which group of people on this planet were our crew when Spock told us about a distinctive necklace he had given Uhura. Bones, ever the diplomat, said it sounded like a tracker his grandfather had on one of his hunting dogs.

Spock didn't get angry - merely nodded and said the necklace had been his mother's. While he hadn't thought of it as a pet collar, Spock stated that it made sense as Sarek had treated Amanda more like exotic pet than consort.

Uhura seriously wanted to punch someone. When they returned to add numbers to their plans, they found their fellow captives were far too obsessed with protecting their own necks than with helping out.

It was that moment when some of the things that McCoy had said in the past really resonated with both of them. While they didn't always like or agree with one another, Sulu and Uhura knew that they had each other's backs against any enemy. They couldn't trust anyone else in the pens with them except for possibly Keenser - who was still sneezing out corrosive mucus.

Sulu scowled as he thought, his knife out and his thumb running lightly along the edge. Finally, he looked back to Uhura.

"We need to find which pen is holding McCoy's team. The nurses will back us, I'm sure of it."

Feeling a touch less homicidal at that thought, Uhura nodded.

"I think you're right. Besides, one of the pens is bound to have Shomari and Hediye inside. I doubt Krall and his minions could do much to them."

Sulu brightened at that, not thinking about finding the androids and using them to help.

"That's right - Cho and Tama are bound to be here as well. Unless Krall noticed something odd about them and did something."

"We'll worry about that if we can't find them. This time, we take Keenser. He can open the other pens for us like he did this one."

Keenser was agreeable and the three set out carefully to find the next pen. If each pen held about an equal number of crew, there should be ten or more other pen areas to find. After a brief consultation, they decided to break into every pen whether it held anyone they were interested in or not. It would save time when someone came along whose orders they would obey.