1Disclaimer: I still don't own Star Trek. The planet's inhabitants are still mine. So is the language. :)
Chapter Two
Spock materialized to find himself among tall trees that looked similar to those of Earth. He inhaled, but almost immediately collapsed, coughing, not panicking but unable to breathe, nonetheless. McCoy had been wrong about it being a piece of cake, to say the least.
It had been a while since his last visit to Vulcan; he'd grown accustomed to the amount of oxygen the humans aboard the Enterprise needed. It would take a while for him to readjust.
Humans would've tried harder, taken deeper breaths, but Spock knew that would be futile. He took slow, regular breaths and gradually rose to his feet.
"Tan Turita!" called a voice in the distance. "Tre labato casuma! Ren trada centana relu!" Spock pulled out his translator, only to find that it was broken; he had fallen on it. Next he tried his communicator, but that was broken, too. Still, he knew better than to try to run. On top of the thin air, McCoy had warned him that the gravity of the planet was greater than that of both Earth and Vulcan. Running, or even walking great distances, would be hard. Outrunning the planet's natives, who were used to both, was out of the question.
Suddenly, an arrow came flying out of nowhere. Normally, Spock could've dodged easily, but due to the unusual conditions, he wasn't nearly as fast as he needed to be. The ground rushed up and everything turned black.
"Where is he?" Kirk asked no one in particular. He'd been pacing the bridge of the Enterprise for ten minutes. Spock hadn't checked in since beaming down, nearly an hour ago.
"Jim, I wouldn't worry," McCoy suggested. "If anyone can handle himself down there, it's Spock."
"I just wish I could beam down to find him."
"It's impossible; you know that."
Kirk stopped pacing. "Bones, can you and Scotty fix up a couple of air tanks, like NASA used in the twentieth century?"
"Well, yes, but we'd look totally out of place. Anyone who went down would be shot on sight; that's why we didn't do it in the first place."
"Get to work. It's only a last resort, but we'll need them ready if the time comes for last resorts."
"How many will we need?"
"Enough for one person. Only one of us needs to take the risk."
"Jim, if it comes to that, I want to do it. If he needs medical attention immediately, I'm best qualified."
Kirk had to think a minute, but McCoy was right. "If it comes to that, Bones," he said at last, "permission granted."
Neral Idazmi–glad you liked it. :)
Lady Chekov–well, McCoy will have more to worry about soon enough. :)