So, I finally got around to writing this. I can't believe it took so long! It didn't turn out quite like I had envisioned, but here it is now. Sorry if it isn't quite as exciting as you might have been hoping.
Enjoy, and please let me know what you think!
The felines and the flowers
After two weeks journey, the Enterprise was finally in orbit above the planet Har'chan, where they were supposed to go make friendly with the natives, the Har'chans. According to the information they had been sent, the Har'chans had recently discovered warp-capability, and were now hoping to get to join the Federation. It would be their job to handle that part.
"Prepare the landing team," Jim announced, ready to leave the bridge to beam down to the planet. He was very excited to not only get to stretch his legs for a bit, but also to meet the people of this planet. Reports had told some about their technology and living style, but wasn't very detailed about the people themselves. Pretty much all they knew about them was that they were humanoid, were now warp capable, and wanted to join the Federation as soon as they had heard about them.
"Captain, I will also accompany you to the planet's surface," Spock informed him, getting up from his station and heading in his direction. Jim quietly shook his head, suppressing a smile. Ever since he and Spock had gotten together, the Vulcan wouldn't let him go without him to strange planets, claiming Jim was far too likely to get into trouble if he went alone. It was therefore logical Spock accompanied him there. Logical. Right.
"All right, Mr Spock," he said out loud, nodding to his first officer. "I don't think anything exciting is going to happen, since we're just there for a meet-and-greet, but maybe they have some interesting stuff down there." He turned to the rest of the bridge. "We'll see you in a few hours or so. Sulu, you have the conn." With that, he and Spock exited the bridge.
In the end, it was Jim, Spock, McCoy and two other crewmembers (Nelson and Kurt) who went down to the planet to meet the Har'chans (McCoy was trying to stick Jim with some hypos, grumbling about strange diseases that Jim would definitely get if he wasn't properly vaccinated, because that's just how his luck worked. Jim was trying to hide behind Spock to avoid said hypos. Unsuccessfully, as Spock agreed with the Doctor's assessment.)
The beam down went all fine and good, with no misplaced crewmembers and they even landed in the right place. Three Har'chans were waiting for them right there, as well.
The Har'chans were humanoid felines, looking very much like a mix between a human and a large cat. They had a short muzzle with a cat-like nose and on top of their heads they had pointy cat-ears. They were covered in fur of varying length and colour, with different patterns and looked like it would be very soft. The fur on the top of their heads was longer, almost like hair on humans. Their eyes were sharp and reacted to the light like a cat's. If Jim had to guess, he'd bet they also had sharp, retractable claws in their paws/hands, just like real cats. Even though they walked on two legs, something about their body-structure showed they could just as easily move on all four.
"They look like big cats," McCoy noted quietly. "Maybe we can bribe them with cream and catnip if things don't work out otherwise," he added with a small grin.
"Considering the Har'chans are not, in fact, earth felines, that is rather unlikely, Doctor," Spock said, also whispering so only McCoy and Jim heard him. "And as they're the ones who want to join the federation, it is unlikely things will not work out."
"Shh," Jim shushed them before McCoy had a chance to say anything, not wanting the Har'chan's to hear them and get offended or something.
One of the Har'chans, Jim assumed the leader, stepped forward to greet the landing party. He had short, black fur and his dark green eyes studied them carefully as he looked over them, one at the time. He paused at Spock, taking in his pointed ears, before focusing on Jim.
"Greetings, human," he growled in a deep voice, the words made understandable by the universal translator. "I am Sha'ren. I welcome you to our planet." He motioned to the other two Har'chan standing behind him. "These are Mie'r and T'sei." Mie'r was a female with fluffy white fur with grey stripes and a long tail. T'sei was a young male with short, light auburn fur and a short bobtail. They both nodded in greeting, looking at them with open curiosity and interest.
"Greetings," Jim answered in return, "I'm Captain Kirk," he introduced himself before motioning to the others. "This is my First Officer Spock, and Doctor McCoy. And these are Officers Nelson and Kurt."
"A pleasure," Sha'ren nodded to the four before turning back to Jim. "Shall we take the talking somewhere else?" He gestured behind himself, to the capital city of the planet, where a good majority of the Har'chans lived. "We have reserved time for dinner at the palace, as well as privacy."
Jim, of course, agreed to this. It would be rude to decline, and he was starting to get kind of hungry anyway. So he motioned for the other to follow him as they made their way through the city. Sha'ren took the lead with his two companions at his sides, just a step behind him. He led them through the city, where Jim took the opportunity to study the place and its inhabitants.
The Har'chan's, despite being an evolved enough civilisation in terms of technological advancements, seemed to prefer a more simple life, at least on the outside. The buildings were all made from stone or wood, and several of them seemed to also have fireplaces, judging by the chimneys.
The Har'chans themselves reminded Jim of housecats, the more he observed them. Larger housecats, walking on two legs and wearing clothes. The children in particular. He could see several of them chasing each other on all four, confirming his thought that they could indeed run easily on four legs, as well as playfully wrestling with each other. He spotted a few of them sleeping cuddled together, as well as a few in more seemingly uncomfortable-looking places, like on the top of a chimney or squished into some tiny hole in the ground.
In return, the Har'chans were also openly staring at the Enterprise crew members, studying them with their large feline eyes. They had probably never seen any humans before, or vulcans, for that matter. The children in particular weren't even a little shy about their curiosity. One of the braver ones even ran up to McCoy and asked to touch his ears, which he complied to with a chuckle and a warm smile.
The sight makes Jim smile as well. McCoy has always been good with children.
Once they managed to pry McCoy away from the children, they were once again making their way through the city, following Sha'ren, who had patiently waited for them.
It didn't take them long to reach the palace, where the dinner and talks were supposed to take place. The palace itself was rather large, with white stone walls, tall towers and what appeared to be a large garden in the back. There were several Har'chans at the palace, with clothes that made Jim think they were probably the servants of the palace. They gave them curious looks, but remained a bit distant and didn't stare too much.
The dining room was nice and warm, and smelled of all kinds of amazing foods, making Jim's mouth water before even sitting down at the table. He didn't even have to look at McCoy to know the Doctor was feeling the same.
When they were seated at the table and the food was brought out, however, they noticed nearly everything was composed of primarily meat, eggs, and other animal products. There were only a few sorry-looking dishes that seemed to be different kinds of fruits and vegetables.
"We apologize for the lack of non-meat food items," Sha'ren told them as he sat at the end of the table, seemingly directing his apology mainly to Spock. Apparently, he'd been doing his studying on other species. "We Har'chans are primarily carnivorous, and eat mainly meat, meaning we have very little need for other kinds of food. This will, of course, be amended once we join the federation and more species might visit our planet," he added, before starting to serve himself food, prompting everyone to follow his example.
"Just like cats back home," McCoy whispered to Jim as they were enjoying the food.
"Don't let them hear you say that," Jim whispered back. "They might find it offensive to be compared to common housecats." And making the Har'chans angry was definitely not on the plans today, or ever for that matter. It would be nice to be able to get through a diplomatic discussion without getting into trouble, for once.
Jim and Spock both were of course very quick to assure Sha'ren it was no problem, that they weren't offended or anything, and that the food served was quite good (it really was, Jim had to stop himself from drooling over it)
Dinner itself went just fine. Jim and McCoy enjoyed the food and talks with Sha'ren, as did Spock, who also at least claimed the vegetables and fruit served tasted good.
Nelson and Kurt seemed more occupied with looking around the place with wide eyes, taking in everything, the Har'chans in particular, as if they hadn't seen enough of them while walking here. (Though Jim could also understand them, as this was their first planet side mission in a long time) They even seemed to be making some small-talk with Mie'r and T'sei. Not a bad thing, as it was always good to make friendly with the locals.
The talking and negotiations were going along well, too. It seemed all they would have to do was finish eating and move to Sha'ren's study to sign the paperwork, maybe stay around to chat for a bit, and then they'd be off.
But of course, nothing could be that simple and easy. Not for them.
As soon as they had finished dinner and were approaching the study, they were suddenly ambushed by several Har'chans seemingly out of nowhere. One moment they had been calmly walking through a corridor, admiring some artwork on the walls, the next there were feral Har'chans jumping at them from seemingly out of nowhere, claws extended and fangs bared.
Jim didn't even have time to react before Spock had pushed him to the side and taken some claws to the arm for the effort. Next thing he knew McCoy was pulling him back as he was scrambling for his phaser, only to see Spock take down the assailant with a well-placed nerve pinch.
Jim quickly stunned the next two that were coming at them, while Sha'ren, Mie'r and T'sei were holding their own against four others, only with somewhat more claws, blood and snarling involved. The Har'chans moved lightning fast, and were strong too, making it difficult for even Spock if they got too close, which they frequently did.
Behind him, Nelson was thrown across the corridor and landed in a heap on the floor with a bleeding arm, while Kurt quickly stunned the attacking Har'chan. The fight was over as quickly as it started, with all the aggressive Har'chans laying on the floor, either stunned from phasers or wounded from bleeding gashes.
"What just happened," Jim said out loud to no one in particular, staring down at the attackers. They just appeared, attacking with no warning and without giving any reason as to why they did so.
"It seems," Spock spoke up somewhere behind him, holding his bleeding arm as McCoy was fussing over him, trying to treat the injury, "that there are some kinds of issues going on that we weren't made aware of until now."
Issues, yes. Jim had to take a few moments to think, closing his eyes. Personal or political? Probably had to do with the Har'chans joining the Federation, since the attack happened when and how it did. But was it the work of a small group of some kind, or was it something a larger part of the population had a problem with?
"It seems these attackers are part of the Gerarth-organisation," Sha'ren said after examining the attackers for a moment, before turning to Jim with an apologetic expression. "They are a minority of our people who very strongly oppose us joining the Federation. I should have expected them to try something today. Apologies."
"Don't worry about it," Jim responded automatically, as he took in the injuries of all involved parties. Nothing looked too serious, and the injuries sustained by his crew members at least were nothing McCoy couldn't fix up. Seemed like mostly scratches and bruises, though McCoy would probably want to keep an eye on them all for a day or two, to make sure no-one got any infections or anything. "Doesn't look like anyone was badly injured, and it seems like we managed to get all of the attackers."
"It seems so," Sha'ren agreed, looking around. He had some bleeding gashes on his cheek and forehead, arms, and chest, though none seemed to be bleeding badly, he still got blood running into his eyes. "Though I believe we will have to postpone further negotiations until the injured have been tended to, and these attackers have been locked up." At his, he gave a small, apologetic smile, showing off his sharp fangs, and still managing to look quite sheepish.
Jim agreed to this, as there was no way he would just not let his injured crew members get their injuries treated, and he knew talking care of the attackers to make sure they were out of the way was also important. As was it to let the Har'chans doctor make sure they were all right as well. They were not in a hurry, after all. They agreed that they would keep each other updated and agree to a new meeting time.
Soon after, Jim found himself alone, while everyone else were being taken care of by the doctors. It seemed Sha'ren's doctor was rather similar to McCoy, or maybe all doctors just were like that, but the moment he had seen Sha'ren's injuries, the first thing he did was grumble about how he was always getting himself hurt and never was careful enough. The only other person who hadn't been injured was Mie'r, who was now approaching Jim slowly, carefully.
"Hello, there," she greeted him as she sat down on a chair next to where he had chosen to wait for the medical treatments to finish. "Are you also still waiting for your doctor to finish treating your comrades?"
"Yes," he answered, turning to face her. There were still a few drops of blood on her fur (apparently not her own) and her tail was curled around her protectively. It occurred to him she might seek some company, after the attack they'd just gone through. "I'm sure they'll all be alright soon," he attempted to reassure her, make her feel a bit better.
"I know," she simply replied. "I was wondering if you'd like some company while waiting for them to finish? The palace gardens are very lovely this time of the year."
"I-" Jim was about to refuse, but stopped himself just in time. She looked like she could use the company and honestly, so could he. And making friendly with the locals, especially ones close to their leader, could never be a bad thing. "I think I'd like that," he finally said, with a small smile.
"Great!" Mie'r's face brightened up instantly, her ears twitched with excitement. "Let's go! The garden is right through here." She grabbed his hand with her own, the soft fur tickling his palms as she dragged him along to a nearby door, that opened to what could only be the palace gardens.
The garden was quite beautiful. There was a large grassy area, some trees and large rocks placed strategically around a pond with clear blue water. He could almost imagine the Har'chan's laying on the rocks like large housecats, soaking in the sunlight. Different kinds of flowers Jim had never seen before, in all kinds of colours, were growing everywhere. The whole place seemed very peaceful and relaxing.
"Well, Captain Kirk, what do you think?" Mie'r asked him once he had the chance to take it all in for a bit. She was looking at him with bright eyes and perked up ears, giving him all her attention. It suddenly struck him how young she seemed, barely an adult, surely. Maybe even an older teenager.
"It's beautiful," he told her honestly with a smile of his own. "Must be a nice place to relax. The flowers are all so colourful." He gestured to some large, red flowers with tiny leaves. They looked almost comical, but the colours were too incredible for that, at least for now.
"They are!" Mie'r smiled widely as she skipped over to the flowers, moving quickly and lightly on her paws. "They're called Red Moon Dahlias, and they have a really nice, calming scent to them as well, which is why there are so many of them here."
"That sounds like a nice flower to have in a relaxing garden like this," Jim agreed, joining Mie'r at the red flowers. A bit of relaxing after the sudden attack sounded very welcome right about now. So he leaned toward the flowers and breathed in the sweet smell.
The first think he felt was that of relaxation. He could feel his muscles starting to loosen up and his head also felt different. Then he started to feel a bit dizzy, with rapidly growing black spots taking over his vision, until he couldn't see anything at all.
"Uh, Mie'r?" he called to her, only being able to hope she hadn't decided to go somewhere else while he was smelling the flowers. "I can't see anything, is that-" he was interrupted mid-sentence as his legs seemingly turned to jelly and he sunk to the ground. "This isn't supposed to happen, is it?"
"No, it's not." Mie's voice was filled with panic, and he could feel her hands patting his arms and legs, not knowing what was going on or how to fix it.
He was starting to feel a bit panicky himself, not knowing if the situation was going to get worse or not. What was in those flowers? Would Bones be able to miraculously save him again, as he had so many times before? He felt himself starting to black out, with the last thing he heard being Mie'r yelling "Doctor McCoy!"
"It hurts to blink," Jim complained loudly, rubbing at the bandages covering his eyes.
Despite what had happened, the effect from the flowers had turned out to not be too serious, after all. Well, he did need to get a special type of eyedrops, and he was going to be blind for the next few hours, but his vision would return soon, and he already got most of the feeling in his legs back. The negotiations had ended well too, after receiving what felt like dozens of apologies from Mie'r and Sha'ren, though mainly Mie'r. The Har'chans were part of the Federation as of an hour ago.
Jim felt particularly proud he had been able to negotiate the contract while blinded, something he hadn't done before. Of course, he did have Spock and McCoy by his side, helping him out, but still.
"Then don't blink," McCoy told him as he was passing by. "And don't rub your eyes, it makes it worse. Besides, it's your own damn fault, anyway. What is it with alien planets that make you compelled to shove your face into everything anyway?"
"Shut up, Bones," Jim groaned, but gave up on trying to rub his eyes through the bandages, letting his arms fall to his sides. "It's called having a sense of adventure. Besides, Mie'r said the flowers were harmless, and relaxing."
"I'm calling it you having no sense of self preservation," McCoy grumbled as he kept putting the equipment back in its place. Jim could hear the clinks and clangs from the various things, some of which were put in place with maybe just a little bit more force than necessary. "And the Har'chans eat raw sewer rats. Just because something is harmless to them, that doesn't mean the same applies to humans, dammit!"
"C'mon Bones," Jim tried to protest. "I'll be fine in just a little bit. It's not that big of a deal."
"You're lucky you just got temporary blinded," McCoy continued, ignoring Jim's protest. "You could have lost your eyes permanently, or turned into a frog, or died!" Jim heard the Doctor walk over and startled when the man suddenly poked him in the shoulder. "So don't tell me it's not that big of a deal, you idiot Captain!"
"Spock!" Jim felt around for the Vulcan with his hands, knowing he would be around here somewhere. He wouldn't have just left without a word. "Spock, back me up here! Bones is being mean!"
"While I don't think the flowers would have turned you into a frog," came Spock's calm voice from his left, as the Vulcan put his hand on Jim's arm, "I do agree with Doctor McCoy that you need to take your own well-being more into consideration. You're lucky nothing worse happened."
"Aww, come on!" Jim protested. "You guys are ganging up on me!" He crossed his arms and turned away from both of them (or where he thought they approximately were), totally not pouting or anything.
"That's just because we both want you to stay alive and undamaged," McCoy told him, clapping him on the shoulder. "And you're not always doing a good job of doing it yourself."
"You do seem to have a recurring habit of continuously putting yourself in dangerous or risky situations," Spock agreed with the Doctor, and even though he was still blind, Jim could practically see him nodding his head firmly, exactly once.
"All right, all right," Jim lifted his hands and shook his head. "You guys win. I promise I'll try to be more careful in the future. Okay?"
"Sure, we'll hold you to that," McCoy replied in a voice that suggested he didn't really believe Jim would actually keep his promise. That just made him want to stick to it even more, if only to prove he actually could.
"Now," McCoy continued, in a different tone. Or what Jim liked to refer to as his Doctor voice. "You need to get some rest, so you recover better from this. You might even be back on the bridge by your next shift." Jim nodded, already feeling tired from the experiences on the planet, and almost looking forward to getting some sleep.
"And you," McCoy carried on, apparently talking to Spock now, from what Jim could gather. "Make sure he actually gets some rest and doesn't even try to remove the bandages too early, or he will be permanently blinded."
"Hey, I'm not that dumb!" Jim tried to protest, even though neither of the other two men were actually listening to him.
"Of course, Doctor," Spock replied smoothly as he helped Jim on his feet, where he swayed unsteadily for a few moments. "I will ensure the Captain is sufficiently recovered in time for his next shift."
"Oh, and Spock," McCoy added just as Jim was starting to get more than ready to leave. "No missions for you until that arm has healed up completely."
"Yes, Doctor," Spock replied in a voice that made Jim think he would totally be rolling his eyes if it were anyone else.
Jim didn't even bother trying to say anything at this point, knowing he'd probably just be ignored. So he simply let Spock help him up from the bio-bed. Since he was now temporarily blind, Spock had to lead him to his quarters practically by hand, he had a good reason to lean up against the Vulcan for as much physical contact as he wanted. He might even be able to get Spock to lay down with him while resting, to keep a better eye on him of course, like the good Doctor ordered. They'd just have to be careful with Spock's injured arm, but otherwise it should be just fine.