Captain's Log - Stardate 2261.035

Feels very good to be back aboard the Enterprise. Seems there was a trio that severely underestimated Scotty and Chekov - the three attacked them when they left the Bridge together to check an odd reading in Engineering. Don't need anyone that stupid in my crew anyway.

I'm very proud of Pavel. He took them down without killing any of them. Glad to see that he's learning restraint. That might well be Nurse Layali's influence. I know they've had discussions on the merits of different blade types and fighting techniques.

It was a little over an hour before Kirk heard sound from the sleeping area. Going in, he saw McCoy giving a very confused look at the sleeping girl beside him. Chuckling, Kirk moved over to the small replicator in the room.

"Don't move too fast, Bones. Spock says you're down about a quarter of your blood volume. I'm about to bring you one of the remedies you give me."

Retrieving the fruit juice from the machine, Kirk helped steady McCoy enough to slowly drink the glass, gleefully enforcing the same insistence that the doctor used on him that he had to drink the entire glass. Kirk got a half-hearted glare, but McCoy did manage to get it all down.

"The message from the Enterprise was distorted, so while the crew on their way, we don't know exactly when they'll get here. Tell me what you need."

Licking his lips as he considered, McCoy answered another minute.

"Sleep. And if the Enterprise isn't back in an hour, wake me and feed me another glass of juice. In fact, that will be every hour until we're back onboard."

"Easy enough instructions to follow. Go back to sleep, Bones."

McCoy started to relax, but suddenly tensed again.

"The Vians -"

"Are no longer a concern. At least, not until you start dissecting them."

"Both dead?"

"Both very dead. Sleep. We'll fill in the blanks later."

Kirk went through two more rounds of helping McCoy drink a glass of juice before the welcome sound of an incoming call to his communicator pulled him from his thoughts.

"Kirk here."

"Ready to bring you aboard, Captain. We need to be a bit quick about it. This system's not got much longer to it."

"We're ready now, Scotty. Have a medical team standing by at the Transporter Room. In fact, let Uhura take the chair and handle the beaming yourself. We've got four to beam up, then two alien corpses to take aboard as well."

"Aye, sir. I'll signal you as soon as I'm in position to begin."

As Scott signed off, Kirk called out to Spock.

"Anything here you want to go with us, get it now. We aren't coming back."

"Understood, sir."

Beyond the data, there was nothing of interest to Spock in the research station, so the only items he had to go with him were the data chip with the reading downloads and the Vian control device.

When the signal came from Scotty, Kirk woke McCoy and Gem. McCoy was still unsteady, but able to stand for the teleport. Three of the nurses were present including Chapel and none of them were pleased to see that McCoy was the patient. Gem immediately hid behind McCoy - Kirk and Spock were both glad that McCoy was currently conscious and able to calm the women.

"At ease, ladies. Get me to Sickbay and pump some fluid in me and I'll be back in form in a day or two. Now, wait just a minute. Scotty?"

Scott wasted no time in activating the transporter again to bring up the dead Vians.

"Now, those are the two SOBs responsible for the injuries and for our dead crewmen. Get their sorry carcasses into storage and then we're all going to enjoy a nice long session with what's left of them."

Feeling Gem shiver, McCoy shifted his speech over to Spock.

"Mister Spock, I believe the little lady her is having a little culture shock. Could I impose on you to show her to a nice quiet meditation area where she can acclimatize while I'm being treated?"

Well able to imagine the effects of the effect that the emotions coming off of the nurses might be having on Gem, Spock nodded agreement. Smiling, McCoy touched her and indicated Spock.

"You go with him for now, darlin'. Anybody bothers you while he's around will regret it."

Seeming to get the gist if not the exact meaning in McCoy's words, Gem moved to Spock's side and looked up at him. Spock found it a bit disconcerting that the doctor had been accurate. Where he could not help but view her as a child, he would indeed make sure anyone harming her would not repeat their actions a second time.

Kirk went and stood by the transporter controls as the nurses took McCoy and the Vians to Sickbay and Spock left with Gem. Once the doors had shut and they were alone, Kirk turned to Scott.

"So? What happened?"

"Nothing we could nae handle. Three upstarts tried to ambush myself and Chekov when we went to check an odd reading coming from Engineering. You should be proud of the lad, sir. All three of them still living to answer any questions you might have."

A slow smile formed on Kirk's face.

"I've been trying to get him to see the value of restraint since his first year at the Academy."

"He's at that age where impressing a lass means a bit more than impressing his superiors."

"Ah yes - Nurse Layali, isn't it? I'd almost forgotten that he'd worked up the nerve to ask Bones to talk to her. To be truthful, I'm not sure if he's attracted to her or her knives."

"With that one? Perhaps a bit of both. Speaking of lasses, who was that one hiding behind the doctor?"

Kirk looked toward the doors.

"That, Scotty, is a very long story requiring the splitting of a bottle. And also a story that I think we'll need to wait until Bones is back on his feet properly to tell. Which reminds me - spread the word to anyone you prefer intact. Any uninvited advances toward that little lady will likely cause the offender to become the next anatomical study in Sickbay."

Not bothering to suppress a shudder, Scott nodded.

"Aye, I'll pass that advice along. Did you want to see the three rapscallions now or let them stew in the Brig for now?"

"No rush. Let them stew. How's our girl?"

Scott gave the nearby bulkhead a fond pat.

"We had a smattering of problems, but nothing getting a little distance from the solar flares didn't fix. I'm glad we were able to pull you out when we did. That gas ball is going fast."

"Maybe we'll pull back and watch the show then."