They had beamed down into a settlement, an encampment. It was, as he had looked around, a mix of what was clearly an indication of the living conditions found when a nomadic civilization was establishing a settlement. There were sixty-nine huts all of a similar structure size, five others slightly larger, and a central area slightly covered with a fire at its center, obviously a gathering place.
Two old men walked up to them and he had seen that they were carrying the blue shirt that Baylance would have worn and the gold shirt the Captain would have worn. Both shirts were badly torn and had bloodstains on them.
He had waved his tricorder over each one and seen the confirmation as to them being the shirts of Baylance and the Captain. He looked at the way they were torn as they did not appear to have been torn the way one would expect in a fight.
"Well, Science Officer, are those are are those not the uniforms of the missing personnel?"
"These are Captain Kirk's and Officer Ty Baylance's belongings, according to these blood stains."
"Good, good in that we have physical proof of their having been here. There is no trace of their blood around here?"
There was a wrenching scream from one of the huts.
"What was that?" Halls' was clearly suspicious.
"One of the tribe is dying and his brother sits waiting with him in the medicine hut, there."
Halls had walked over and looked in but not ventured into the hut for smoke had billowed out as soon as he pulled aside the flap that worked as a door. He had coughed a few times, "Too smoky and dim to see but they look like two older men and one is definitely about to die. We have proof they are dead. Time to get back to the ship and back to business."
There was another guttural scream, and he had seen how clearly vexed Halls was and hesitant. "Check it out, Mister Spock. Damned regulations require it."
He had walked into the hut in a half-crouch and looked around. He saw Jim sitting by a very smoky fire looking very dirty and not sounding like himself at all. Jim had smiled and briefly held a small stone between his teeth obviously to explain why his voice was different. He knew Jim had found it difficult to keep chanting but he had while he had gone over to where Ty Baylance lay staked to the ground. Carefully he reached out and touched his face, quickly drawing his hand back. He could not recall ever feeling that much pain in a Human nor that much heat emanating from a Human before. He had often heard McCoy talk about a person burning up with fever, he had not believed it possible until he had felt Baylance.
"Report Mr Spock,"
He had gone back to be with Kirk and crouched next to him, "Just checking the other one, Sir. You are correct. One is near death."
"The other?"
Reassuringly he had squeezed Kirk's hands into his Captain's and closest friend's eyes and whispered, "Be ready for beam out." then said, "He seems to be a some sort of trance, Sir. No doubt caused by the smoke. It is most."
"That's enough. We got what we came for. They say their children found the clothes down by that site we registered a major conflict on four days ago. They said the wild dogs would have eaten anything worth eating. Still, we will go and have a look as then we can tell the crew we did search and they will think better of me when the Enterprise is mine."
He had not wanted to leave Jim but know he had to and when he got out of the hut and stood by Halls he said, "I should advise the ship we are going to that location, Sir."
"Yes, tell them we are going there and will be ready for beam up in two standard hours."
"Enterprise this is First Officer Spock,"
"Enterprise here, Communications Officer Uhura, Sir."
Having been on the Bridge so many times when such a communication came from a planet he knew they would be listening, that Uhura would have it on speaker, "We are now leaving these coordinates and going to approximately twenty kilometres due south of this location. Our group will require beam up shortly, in two, I repeat two, standard hours from that location. Understood?" .
"To clarify, Sir. From your present location two, two hours from the other location, just to the south of your location."
"That is right, Lieutenant. I will notify you if there is any change."
"Understood, Sir, Uhura out."
Kirk thought he had lived through many ordeals but this was one of the worst, he was sitting in a smoke-filled hut, chanting, and having to listen to his officer moaning with a deep pain. He had heard the voices and at first recognized Halls's voice, "Mister Spock, is that the blood of the missing two officers?"
There was the faint whirr of the tricorder then that beloved voice, "These are Captain Kirk's and Ty Baylance's belongings according to these blood stains."
"Good, goodin that we have physical proof of their having been here. There is no trace of their blood around here?"
Ty gave a gut wrenching scream and Kirk had to remember his role, remember what he had to do for everybody's sake.
"What was that?" Halls' was clearly suspicious.
"One of the tribe is dying and his brother sits waiting with him in the medicine hut, there."
Halls had looked in and Kirk kept staring at the fire saying,"Malathoa, malathoa malathoa, malathoa." with a stone in his mouth. He was aware of the man staring at him then looking over at the tethered body before stepping back. "Too smoky and dim to see but they look like two older men and one is definitely about to die. We have proof they are dead. Time to get back to the ship and back to business." Ty again gave a scream, it was guttural and Kirk saw his body twitching and arching in pain then go still.
"Check it out, Mister Spock, damned regulations." Spock walked in in a half-crouch and looked at Kirk. It was difficult to keep chanting when he so wanted to do nothing more than hold his First Officer to him but he sat repeating, "Malathoa, malathoa," and watched while Spock went over to where Ty lay. He saw the Vulcan twice do a mind touch, the second taking longer, then saw the slight nod.
"Report Mr Spock,"
"Just checking the other one, Sir. You are correct. One is near death."
"The other?"
Quickly Spock squeezed his hands as he looked into Kirk's eyes, and whispered, "Be ready for beam out." Then said, "He seems to be a some sort of trance, Sir. No doubt caused by the smoke. It is most."
"That's enough. We got what we came for. They say their children found the clothes down by that site we registered a major conflict on four days ago. They said the wild dogs would have eaten anything worth eating. Still, we will go and have a look as then we can tell the crew we did search and they will think better of me when the Enterprise is mine."
"I should advise the ship we are going to that location, Sir."
"Yes, tell them we are going there and will be ready for beam up in two standard hours."
"Enterprise this is First Officer Spock,"
"Enterprise here, Communications Officer Uhura, Sir.
Even without understanding what they were doing or how they were doing it Kirk knew they were already telling each other things, already planning how to get them back to the ship. "We are now leaving these coordinates and going to approximately ten kilometres due south of this location. Our group will require beam up shortly, in two, I repeat two, standard hours from that location. Understood?" .
"To clarify, Sir. From your present location two, two hours from the other location, just to the south of your location."
"That is right, Lieutenant."
"Understood, Sir, Uhura out."
There was a long wait after they had gone before the elder and the healer came in, both going straight to Ty, slowly unbinding him and gently lifting him over to the fire. Even in the dimness of the hut Kirk could see he was in agony and perspiring. The healer looked at Kirk, "He still fights the poison. What we gave him was to ease the pain as from now until one of them wins we can do no more."
The elder gave him a cloth and hot water to wash himself and he had to admit to himself that it felt good to have clean hair and face. It had taken a second bowl of hot water to finish getting the last of the grease off his face.
Kirk thought he heard the hum of the transporter but knew any sound after seeing Spock would make him think of a transporter.
"What sort of hell-hole is this? What is that smell?"
"Bones!" it had been an almost instinctive reaction.
McCoy had charged into the hut and stopped. Clearly seeing two elderly men sitting next to him as he cradled a shiny nude male's body was not what he had expected to find. "Jim, what the?"
Quickly he seized McCoy's communicator, "Enterprise, this is Kirk, emergency beam up of all at this location."
The elder and the healer were silent when they materialzed in the Transport Room and he had looked at them, "I will return to explain but you have to go back."
"Good God, man," McCoy had Ty on a gurney and they were walking fast behind it. "I don't suppose you want to tell me what happened down there, to both of you?"
"How is he?"
"Once I have done a work-up I'll know. You' don't look in too bad a shape."
"He's been fighting that poison for too long, Bones. He's been in such,"
He felt two hands firmly grip his upper arms and he was turned to face McCoy, "You go get cleaned up and caught up. There is nothing you can do here for him. I have a patient who needs immediate car and you have a crew who needs you. and a ship to command."
It had felt good to have a shower and get back into a clean uniform He had been warmly greeted back onto the bridge. He felt a warm cup being put in his hand and he saw Chekov standing before him, "Sir, I, I apologize. I should have,"
"You have nothing to apologize for, Chekov. Commodore Halls had this all planned."
"He is not even worthy of being called a Cossack! He took command right away. Demanding this and that. Really ordering not asking. No delays. No questioning him. No respect for him."
He had smiled and nodded as Chekov walked to sit at his station. There were times when Chekov could talk and be very precise and there were other times when what he said may not be precise but it was exactly what needed saying. With everything taken care of on the Bridge he went to Sickbay.