"What's causing this, Spock?" Kirk asked, looking up at the perfectly clear sky. "There's no storm, no reason why we shouldn't be able to communicate with the Enterprise."

"I have no data with which to form a hypothesis, Captain," Spock answered, fiddling with his tricorder. He appeared almost frustrated with the lack of reliable information from his usually cooperative instruments. "I have never experienced a disparity of this magnitude between the readings and our own experiences."

"Could it be some kind of field that's only affecting the instruments?" Kirk asked. "Maybe something in the atmosphere that prevents communication with the ship?"

"In that case, we should have been unable to lock onto the landing coordinates and beam down to the planet's surface," Spock said. "This phenomenon appears to have begun soon after we arrived."

` "Can you try it on a different frequency?" Kirk asked, glancing up at the sky. The suns felt like they had moved closer in the time they had been there, it felt like it was about ten degrees hotter than when they had first arrived.

Spock changed the frequency several times, from the lowest registers to the highest. They received no response on any of them. "I can attempt to modify the communicators to transmit through the interference."

"I thought you didn't know what the interference was?"

Spock opened the communicator and began working on it. "I don't have sufficient data to determine exactly what is causing the disturbance, but the readings are similar to a powerful ion storm. I can make the same adjustments we would in that situation."

Kirk suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him that he was sure was connected to the heat. "That's fine, Mr. Spock, go ahead," he said, trying not to let on how much the heat was affecting him. But he knew he couldn't stay out here exposed to the sun for much longer. As it was, it felt like an eternity before Spock was snapping the back of the communicator shut.

"Spock to Enterprise. Spock to Enterprise."

No response. Kirk and Spock looked at each other for a few seconds, then Kirk tried to shrug it off. "It was worth a try."

Spock raised an eyebrow, meaning that he thought Kirk was being far too cavalier about the whole situation, but said nothing. They'd been in worse situations before and always found their way out, usually thanks to Kirk's determination. Out loud, he said, "I would suggest that we keep moving. The disturbance may be a localized phenomenon. You will not be able to stay exposed to the sun for much longer in any case."

A shadow of a grin appeared on Kirk's face, "You think I can't keep up with you?" But he nodded, "Good idea. We'll stop every five miles and try contacting the ship again. Do you think those mountains are too far away to reach?" There might be some shelter there, if only an overhang where they could get some relief from the sun. In any case, the mountains were the only landmarks to head towards.

Spock looked where Kirk was pointing. "According to the readings we took from the Enterprise, they are eighty two miles from our present position." The mood between them, already serious, grew more somber. They had taken only enough water as was necessary for a one-day expedition. The journey Spock was suggesting would take days. Kirk felt himself sway slightly, and this time Spock looked at him in concern. "However, I do not believe we have any choice."

Kirk nodded, mentally steeling himself for the ordeal, "You're right. We have to reach those mountains if we have any chance of survival."


"It's been three hours, Lieutenant, try and raise the captain," Scotty ordered Uhura. It was an hour after what was supposed to have been their first scheduled check-in and it wasn't like the captain and Mr. Spock not to check in.

"Enterprise to Captain Kirk, Enterprise to Captain Kirk." Uhura waited a few minutes, then tried Spock. "Mr. Scott, I can't raise either of them."

Scotty pondered the viewscreen, an image of the desert planet below plastered across it. Then, turning back to the captain's chair, he called the transporter room. "Transporter room, can you get a lock on the captain and Mr. Spock?"

"No, sir," came the response. "There's no trace of them, sir. I've been trying for the past ten minutes."

"Thank you, laddie. Keep trying," Scotty said. To Chekov, he said, "What are the readings from that planet?"

The young ensign jumped up to Spock's science station, "Sir, according to the readings, there appears to be an…ion storm?" He looked up, confused.

"But there's no ion storm!" Scotty said in disbelief. "That's impossible. We'd feel something up here! Is there something wrong with the instruments?"

Chekov checked the science instruments, then turned back to Scotty, "No, sir. All in working order."

Scotty sat back, assessing the situation. With the instruments thinking there was an ion storm, there'd be no way to contact the captain. Worse, there'd be no way to scan the surface for their life signs. They could try and send a team down in a shuttlecraft, but with the instruments so off, they might be unable to land properly and crash. "Lieutenant Uhura?"

"Yes, sir?"

"See what you can do with the communication array. There's got to be some way of breaking through whatever the instruments are reading in that atmosphere!"

"Aye, sir," Uhura said. She crawled beneath her station, pulling open the panel and getting to work right away. Scotty remained in the captain's chair, watching the planet below, calculating how long Kirk and Spock would be able to survive on the surface. He estimated they had a week at the outside, if they could stretch out their supplies. A week. That was how long he had to find them.