Author's Note: based on the TOS episode 'Galileo Seven'
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Of Tea and Music
Chapter 52: An Act of Desperation
January, 2267
They were en route to Makus III with a cargo of medical supplies. High Commissioner Ferris was on board to oversee the delivery to the medication to the New Paris colonies where the plague was out of control.
Their course lead them past Murasaki 312, a quasar-like formation. Since the Enterprise has orders to investigate all quasars and quasar-like phenomena, the captain ordered Spock to put together a team to investigate. They had 48 hours leeway in their schedule, and that was all they could afford. They would take the shuttle Galileo. The crew of seven would include Spock, Scotty, Bones, Lieutenants Latimer, Gaetano and Boma, and Yeoman Mears.
Uhura sat at her station, monitoring and relaying information. She really wished she didn't feel that this was a dangerous mission. There was Spock, stating that the Galileo was ready to launch. She informed the captain. If only there had been some way to have even a few minutes with him before he left. But they were officers, and she would be entirely professional about this. She passed the message on to Kirk.
***
The Galileo had barely entered the fringes of Murasaki 312 when turbulence knocked the shuttle off course. Electrical interference from Murasaki made the sensors unreliable and communication impossible. Uhura made out only the words "blown off-course". Quickly she informed the captain.
Inside the Galileo, Spock struggled to find safety. With difficulty, he landed the shuttle on Taurus II, a planet at the heart of Murasaki 312. He and Scotty quickly worked to correct the short causing the console to shower sparks into the interior of the shuttle. McCoy checked all the team members for injuries.
Working through the small access hatch in the middle of the shuttle floor, Scotty discovered major fuel loss, and calculated that they need to be 500 pounds lighter in order to reach orbit. Spock says that is the weight of three average crewmen. Spock faces an extremely difficult decision, one that he wishes he did not have to make.
***
On the Enterprise, Uhura moved to the science station to help in the search and discovered the planet. Kirk ordered search parties, sending the Columbus to run search patterns from orbit to look for the Galileo. As they enter the anomaly, both sensors and transporters stop working correctly.
The Columbus returns to the Enterprise without finding anything, and the transporters are still not working. There is so much interference that they cannot make contact with the shuttle crew. Uhura is becoming more and more worried as time passes and there is no way to discover what has happened to them. And High Commissioner Ferris does nothing to ease her mind as her continues to prod Kirk into just leaving them in order to deliver the medical supplies.
***
Spock sends two of the lieutenants out to investigate. Unfortunately, one of them is killed by the inhabitants of the planet, large ape-like savages, throwing heavy spears.
They return to the shuttle and try to find things which can be removed without endangering an attempt to lift off, but they are still 150 pounds over the limit.
Spock continues to try to prevent the other men from killing the primitive beings that are threatening them. Unfortunately, his attempts to scare them off are not very successful. Then he has the idea to electrify the hull of the shuttle, which does drive them away. Scotty is working desperately to drain the batteries of the phasers into the shuttle's energy storage.
***
The Columbus starts another search pattern, wider this time. With the transporters finally working again, search teams are sent to the planet's surface, only to encounter the same primitives that the shuttle team is facing. There are more casualties. Finally Kirk has no time or options left, and he orders the search abandoned. Uhura's heart leaps in her chest. He cannot be dead! Surely she would know! How can he just leave them there? She contacts all the away teams and tells them to beam back aboard. The Columbus reports that it will return from its latest search in twenty-three minutes. The course is laid in for Makus III, ready to implement as soon as the Columbus is aboard.
***
With ten minutes left before Scotty has all the phasers drained, Spock urges Bowman to assist him in the burial. McCoy joins them. They have just finished when the ape-like beings return and start throwing large rocks at them. One pins Spock to the ground and he orders the other men to abandon him, which they refuse to do, running to help lift the rock off and free him. They all run into the shuttle and seal up, preparing to lift off. The ape-men are physically holding onto the shuttle, holding it down so that it cannot take off. In desperation, Scotty fires the boosters to break free.
***
With the Columbus back on board, Kirk has no options left. He orders the Enterprise to head to Makus III, but only at space normal speed. Sulu looks at him in astonishment, but Kirk repeats his order. Uhura sits behind him, refusing to give up hope. At this speed, they will still be in range of the planet for some time. Surely, surely, they will find a way to communicate. She will never give up listening for him.
***
With Spock and Scotty at the controls, the Galileo manages to gain orbit. They realize that there is insufficient fuel to make a soft landing. They will burn up in the atmosphere if they make the attempt. Spock attempts to communicate with the Enterprise, but receives no answer. He sits at the controls, considering all the possibilities. Scotty reminds him that earlier he said that there were always alternatives. Spock reluctantly acknowledges that he may have been mistaken. They can stay in orbit for forty-five minutes, then their orbit will decay, and they will enter the atmosphere and burn up. He looks at the control panel. There is one other option. His hand hesitates for a moment, and then he pushes the button that will jettison all the remaining fuel. Then he ignites it. Scotty is aghast. Everyone wants to know what will happen. Scotty says they have six minutes left before entering the atmosphere. Scotty realizes that Spock has created a flare and calls it a good gamble. Spock says that there is no one there to see it. Enough time has elapsed that the Enterprise must be on its way. The shuttle hull heats up rapidly as it begins to skim the atmosphere. The interior fills with heat and smoke.
It will not be long now. If only he had had a moment to say goodbye before they left. She will be desolate. And there is no way for him to change anything. No way to say what has gone unsaid.
***
On board the Enterprise, the viewscreen is still focused backwards, on the planet. Sulu's eyes catch something, exclaiming. Uhura magnifies the view - there is a bright green streak across the planet's surface, perfectly straight. This cannot be anything natural - it must be the shuttle! Her heart begins to race. They can have only minutes left!
Uhura reports to the captain that the transporters are locked on and Kirk immediately gives the command to activate. On the viewscreen they can see the shuttle explode. And then, over the com, the voice from the transporter deck, reporting five crewmen on board, alive and well. Everyone on the bridge is excited, but Uhura waits, heart in throat, until the identities of those crewmen are announced. He is safe! Alive and well!
***
It is not long before Spock and McCoy enter the bridge. Spock walks directly to Nyota and stops beside her chair. She looks up at him, her eyes bright. He looks down at her, wanting to say something, anything, but Kirk is demanding his attention and he must continue on towards his own station, sitting down at the captain's insistence.
Nyota swivels around in her chair, sitting sideways and leaning against the back, her left arm bent across the top, her eyes never leaving him. Yeoman Mears stands behind her, watching the captain.
Kirk tries to get Spock to admit that the flare was a purely emotional act. Spock replies that the action was a logical decision to act in desperation.
"But wasn't that a purely human emotional act?"
"No, sir."
"You are a stubborn man, Mr. Spock."
"Yes, Sir."
Everybody laughs at that, except Spock, who tries to remain calm. He keeps his eyes on Nyota, who is smiling widely at him. He wishes sincerely that everyone would just leave him alone, so that he could go to her. His patience is wearing thin.
***
After a time that is actually not all that long, but seems interminable, it is shift change, and his relief is here. By the time he can get away from everyone, she has left the bridge. Why did she not wait for him? He goes directly to her quarters, scarcely concealing his intent from passing crew members. He taps the touchplate and enters as soon as the door opens. But she is not there. He checks the bathroom, just to be certain. Then where?
He heads for his own quarters at a fast pace. Thankfully, he does not encounter anyone in the corridor. He taps the touchplate and enters as soon as the door is wide enough, knowing instantly that she is there. He crosses to the sleeping alcove and there she is, in the middle of the bed, skin all bare, waiting for him. With great difficulty, he keeps enough control to pull off his clothing instead of ripping it from his body, and then she is in his arms, surrounding him, and he knows that he is safe.
***
He does not let her leave him that night, keeping her so close to him that she finally places both hands on his face, pulling him down to her, murmuring "I will not leave you. I am here. You are safe, love. Safe." And finally he can relax, trembling a little, still holding her. He can not possibly let her go. Not ever. To return to her, he will even do something illogical.
