They were floating through space. The Vulcan had rolled himself into an emergency blanket. Escape pods were rather cold by design. Kirk found that he was a bit chilly too. Nevertheless, he tried to lean himself against the pod's wall, as good as he could manage while in a zero-G environment. He closed his eyes and let himself relax.
Three days earlier
Kirk was woken by the screech of the intercom system. He grunted but got up. He pressed the button on the wall. "Yes?", he asked weakly. "McCoy speaking. Jim, you better get down here.", the speaker produced. "Who has been hurt?", Kirk wanted to know. "Nobody. It's just… Well, you gotta see for yourself." Kirk stood there, still in his Starfleet regulation pajamas, somewhat confounded. The speaker sounded again. Kirk pressed the button. "I almost forgot: Bring Spock with you when you come down here, alright?", McCoy added. "I will. Kirk out."
Kirk made himself ready for the day before knocking on the bathroom door leading to Spock's quarters. He entered after he heard Spock say 'Come'. His commander was sitting behind his desk, brewing over some star map. "McCoy wants the two of us to come down to Sickbay." "Reason?", Spock asked with a frown. "He wouldn't tell. But it sounded quite important."
Upon entering through the main Sickbay doors, Kirk stopped short. He was quite glad that he did not have had the chance to eat breakfast. The floor was covered with something looking like green paint. Seconds later, Kirk was overcome with a metallic and foul smell he did not recognize. He began to feel faintly sick to his stomach. Spock had lost some of his color as well, Kirk noted.
McCoy came through some door. He had with him a bucket and a mop. "Ah, here you are.", he remarked. "What's that?", Kirk asked, while trying to cover his nose with his uniform. Bones looked to the Commander. "I believe Spock knows.", he stated. Kirk looked at his First. "It is my blood.", Spock stated gravely. Now Kirk was really nauseous. "I'll step outside for a moment.", he said and left Sickbay.
A few moments later, his friends were with him out in the corridor. Bones chuckled a little. "It's just from blood conserves, don't worry.", he informed him. "Blood conserves?", Kirk asked, still trying to get himself under control. "Yes. After what has happened to my father on our mission to Babel, the Doctor found it wise that I was to donate blood for myself, so it could be given to me in case of an emergency." "Yeah.", Bones agreed. "That was quite a lot of blood, there.", Kirk remarked. "Almost a liter, yes. It seems that the blood bags have been brought to the lobby and ripped open.", Bones retorted. Spock frowned. "Is there any of my blood left?", he wanted to know. Bones shook his head. "That is why I called you. We'll need to replace some of it as soon as possible." "Very well.", Spock returned.
Spock had already reentered Sickbay before Kirk found his words again. "Bones, have you told security about that?", he asked. "First thing I did, actually." The Doctor crossed his arms. "Giotto almost passed out, but now he is recovered and looking through the security footage." Kirk nodded to show his content.
Spock had stayed in Sickbay; therefore, it was only the Captain that left for the mess hall. After getting his coffee, he decided to check up on Scotty. His engineer was, unsurprisingly, somewhere between his engines. Hence, Kirk was informed that he had to wait a few minutes for him to reemerge. He leaned in some corner, sipping his drink.
Some younger engineer came into the main engine room through one of the doors on the balcony and climbed down the stairs. Kirk did not pay much attention until he heard one of the others speak to him. "Millers, what's the matter with you?", his colleague asked. Now, Kirk saw that the ensign was shaking. "You're not going to believe me.", Millers sobbed. Kirk came over to them. "What has happened?", the Captain asked. "It was really nothing, Sir.", the ensign said timidly. He was probably intimidated by the Captain's presence. Kirk hated it when this kind of thing happened. "I will not judge you, ensign.", he tried to soothe the young man. The one spoken too looked at the ground. "I saw a vampire, Sir.", Millers confessed. His colleague laughed, but Kirk silenced him with a sharp glance.
Kirk assured his underling that seeing things that weren't there was a completely normal phenomenon after several months in space and not to think about it too much. He offered the ensign the rest of his coffee and Millers drank it thankfully.
Just then, Scott came to greet the Captain. "How may I help you, Sir?", he asked. "I just wanted to check how thing are doing down here." "We had some minor power outtakes around the ship, but nothing serious." While talking, the two had moved in the direction of the bot lab. "However, I have quite a few maintenance bots that need some tuning.", the engineer confessed. Kirk smiled. "I don't want to hold you back any longer.", he said. He turned to leave, when Scotty gasped. Kirk came back promptly. "What is it?", he asked but could immediately answer for himself. A green puddle had formed on the box that was used as a table. It had the exact smell that had caused him to flee Sickbay earlier that morning.
Kirk knew very well that Spock was not loved by everyone on the crew, mostly due to his strict handling of his department. He could accept that the bloodbath in Sickbay was some form of revenge, however distasteful. But he couldn't understand why somebody would go the length of smuggling some of the green stuff into Engineering, only to empty it onto Scotty's workbench. He was caught by the terrifying notion that the strange incidents that had happened were somehow connected. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what this connection might be.
While he was walking along some empty corridor, he suddenly thought to have seen something moving in the corner of his eye. When he stopped and turned, nothing was there. He sighed and returned to walking. He had the impression that all the shadows in the hallway were becoming bigger and darker. He ignored this illusion and entered the turbolift. "Bridge.", he commanded. The room started to move upwards. Kirk felt something grab his legs. He twitched and looked down, only to see nothing. Almost without thinking, he turned the lift's handle and forced it to stop. The doors opened. "Rec Deck.", the lift's computer announced. That destination was fine with Kirk. He hurried along the corridor and entered the big hall.
Differently than the day before, the Rec Deck was in its usual state of brightness. Several people were currently using the facility. Kirk let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding. As if nothing was amiss, he strolled over to where Tanzer was sorting through a computer terminal.
"Hello, Sir.", Harb greeted. Kirk nodded in return. "I see Mister Scott has replaced the lights.", Kirk commented. "It was very nice of him.", Tanzer told him, smiling a bit unsure, wondering what the Captain wanted now. "I see everything is in good order. I will now leave for the bridge.", Kirk said, but not moving away from where he stood. Harb looked at him critically. Kirk was not the type to make small talk. "Sir?", he asked, "Are you sure you are alright?" Kirk immediately nodded. "Of course. Everything is fine.", he assured Mister Tanzer. Slightly embarrassed, he left.
Instead of the bridge, Kirk decided to rather go to his quarters. Being space sick, as he obviously was, he could not function as Captain. He knew from experience that he usually went into this state after a long time of being inside a ship, in combination with sleep deprivation. He also knew that his symptoms disappeared after sleeping for a while. So, he was going to do exactly this.
When he entered his quarters after an incident-free walk, he found that Bones had sent a message to his terminal. He read it. It said: "Sent Spock to his quarters after taking his blood. He was kinda dizzy so no duty. Check on him at 1600." Kirk set an alarm for sixteen hundred, so he would not forget. That done, he changed back into his pajamas and slipped under his blanket. Even though he had had a coffee not too long ago, he was asleep within minutes.
He woke a few hours later, feeling a lot better already. After short trip to the bathroom and a glance into the mirror however, he decided that his crew shouldn't see him like this. He grabbed the book he had begun reading yesterday and continued doing so. He had no idea how much time had passed when suddenly, his alarm sounded. He was startled only for a few moments before remembering what he had set it for. Reluctantly, he left the warmth of his bed and took the bathroom route to Mister Spock's quarters. He was let inside at once.
Spock was seated on his bed, looking exactly like Kirk felt. He cocked his head at Jim in question. "Bones sent me a message telling me to check on you.", the Captain explained. "Indeed. I am recovering quite well.", the Vulcan informed him. "Please sit.", Spock ordered and indicated a spot on the bed next to him. Kirk sat down, leg dangling over the edge. "Why are you not in uniform, Captain?", Spock asked. "Space happy.", Kirk explained eloquently. "And you have decided to sleep it off, a promising and tried strategy in your case.", Spock deducted. Kirk nodded.
"And what's about you?", he wanted to know. "The first bag was leaking. I did not realize this as I was in a light meditative trance. Nurse Chapel saw it as she passed me." Kirk frowned. "So, you got a new bag to fill.", Kirk concluded. "Indeed. On my insistence. However, I seem to have miscalculated the effect on my physiology. I have spent the last seven point one hours in a healing trance to compensate for the loss of blood." Kirk snickered. "Stubborn Vulcan.", he teased. Spock did nothing to defend himself.
They ended up spending the rest of the day playing chess in Spock's quarters. For dinner, Kirk changed back into his uniform and got Spock and himself food in the mess hall. He was sure he could see Spock's gratitude for being able to stay in the warmth of his rooms as he accepted his meal. None thought of checking in with Lieutenant Giotto.