Hello again! Hope you're enjoying this little adventure!

If you like some of the ridiculous things I write, check out my other Star Trek story, T'hy'la Tribbles, for some good old Kirk/Spock gallivanting.

Read, Review, Enjoy.


Chapter Three: Many Unsettling Things

"It's a miracle!"

"There are no such things."

"Engineering to Mr. Spock. You'd better get down here."

"Better hurry."

Panic, fear, disbelief. This can't happen, it can't, he can't, no no no NO-

"Open it!"

Pain, anger, agony. Blue eyes glisten weakly, a ghost of a smile.

"Our ship?"

"Out of danger."

"I did what you would have done."

No, this is so much more than anyone should ever do, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few but not the needs of the one because I need you, I can't live without you, why don't you understand that-

"I'm scared Spock."

Of course you are. How do you think I feel? I'm terrified, I don't know what to do, I can't help you-

"Help me not to be. How do you choose not to feel?"

I can't help you, helpless, hopeless, angry, hurt, devastated, too much feeling, too strong, too much-

"I do not know. Right now I am failing."

Failing not to feel, failing control, failing to help you, failing at everything, everything that matters-

"Take care of our ship."

Light fades, promises, burning, rage, sorrow, loss-not again-not this time, never again-

"KAAAHHHHNNNN!"

"Ah!" Spock jolted awake, his sleep shirt clinging to his back in cold sweat, his heart racing. He untangled himself from the blankets, throwing them aside as he stumbled free of their smothering hold. The washroom was too far away, and the cool water he splashed on his face felt frigid to the touch.

What was wrong with him? This amount of terror and sheer emotion from something as simple as a dream? It was downright shameful. No matter his personal friendship and camaraderie for Kirk, he should have long since been capable of putting his feelings of loss behind him. Jim was alive. He needed to remember that.

The communicator on his desk blipped, and he glanced at it accusingly.

"Commander Spock?"

He straightened himself out and retrieved the device, facing the porthole and settling into his rigidly calm position.

"Yes, Lieutenant Uhura?"

"The Captain is requesting your presence. Yes, he knows you're on break right now and he apologizes, but he says it's urgent."

Spock nodded, despite the fact that no one could see. "Acknowledged, Lieutenant. Please inform the Captain that I will be there momentarily."

The communication cut out, and Spock set the device back on the desk. Nyota had been nothing but professional and cool about her interaction with him, and he had to admit the fact that he did not mind this particular development. It felt as though a proverbial weight had been lifted from his shoulders; this was not due to any ill will towards the Lieutenant, but more towards himself. He no longer had any reason to feel concerned about anyone other than himself and those immediately around him. Her presence had already faded back to that of another crewmen.

Spock remade his bed and donned his uniform, smoothing his bed rumpled hair and observing his reflection for a moment in the mirror. He seemed calm and collected of course, but his eyes were dark and heavy. The faintest dark rings rimmed his eyes, a side effect of his poor sleep for the last few weeks. He would have to inquire with Doctor McCoy about something to aid in the action of sleep soon if he could not bring the problem under control himself, which was a thought most displeasing to him.

Three minutes, ten seconds and thirteen milliseconds later, Spock arrived on the bridge to find it in near chaos. Kirk, McCoy, Chekov and Scott were huddled around a monitor, either conversing or arguing (it was honestly quite difficult for Spock to tell the difference sometimes with humans) intently.

Kirk, upon hearing the opening turbolift, glanced up from the conversation, and his eyes lit up with relief and happy familiarity at the sight of his First Officer.

"Spock! Glad you're here," he said, placing a hand on the Vulcan's shoulder and drawing him into the circle.

"Ve hev been able to determine zat a sheep was indeed in orbit around ze planet recently," Chekov explained, bringing him up to speed, and Scott glowed proudly.

"The buggars left an energy signature powerful enough to light Earth's cities for a year," Scotty explained, "But the particular type dinnae resemble anything the Federation, Klingons or any other known spacecraft would use. Ah'd love te get mah hands on that type of technology!"

"Very good Mr. Scott. What does this tell us about the potential culprits?" Spock clarified, and the crew wilted slightly at his realism.

"Well nothing about who did do it, but at least it can tell us who didn't," Bones defended, and Jim laid a hand on his best friend's shoulder to stop a fight before it could begin between the two.

"We've cut down the possible suspects considerably, it's a good place to start. What I need you to do, Spock, is determine what kind of a culture could potentially have this type of technology. Any known race that could be dangerous to the Federation in this or any nearby Galaxy," Kirk directed, and Spock nodded obediently, moving to his station and buckling in for a very intent study.

.

"Bad news, men," Kirk announced several hours later as his bridge crew sat, frustrated and out of ideas, with very little to show for their efforts.

"You mean worse than the giant dead end we've come up against?" Bones snapped, and Jim rested a hand on his Chief Medical Officer's shoulder.

"I know, I'm frustrated too. But an order just came in from Starfleet for us to double time it to Omicron Ceti III. There's a colony there which hasn't checked in for several weeks, and is assumed to be experiencing severe damage from radiation. We won't get there in time to help any of the colonists, but we've got to retrieve anything we can," he explained, and the crew accepted the shift in priority with admirable grace, returning to their stations to make the necessary arrangements.

Spock paused at his station, a sudden pain striking behind his temples, and closed his eyes to fend off the attack. This was most likely a side effect of his lack of sleep and unusually high stress levels, nothing to be concerned about.

"Mr. Spock!" The Vulcan quickly alerted himself and turned to the Captain, who was observing him with something akin to worry in his eyes.

"Would you accompany me to deliver some classified files to Engineering?" he asked, and Spock nodded, although he could not remember any classified orders having been sent. "Mr. Sulu you have the conn," Kirk ordered as he joined his Science Officer in the lift, but when the doors whooshed closed Jim stopped the lift's journey between floors.

"Is something the matter, Captain?" Spock asked, and Jim turned to him with definite concern on his expressive human face.

"Is everything alright, Spock?"

The Vulcan feigned ignorance. The fact that his commanding officer had noticed his physical and mental weakness was unacceptable, and he would have to remedy his shortcomings as soon as possible.

"Of course, Captain. Why would you have cause to believe otherwise?"

Jim's blue eyes softened. "You just seemed a bit pained or distracted is all. Nothing a Captain would have noticed, but it's something a friend would."

This explanation calmed some of Spock's tenseness, and Jim saw confliction in his eyes. There was definitely something wrong, but whether or not his Vulcan crewman would share his troubles was another matter.

"It is a small matter, Captain. Simple sleep apnea caused by stress. It is of no real concern, sir," he assured, and Jim gauged his friend's honesty with his piercing eyes. He clapped Spock's shoulder and accepted this explanation, restarting the turbolift and exiting on C Deck. Spock raised a questioning eyebrow, and Jim grinned.

"Well I had to give the bridge crew some excuse. Shift's more than over by now anyway," he said nonchalantly, but Spock was left with the specific impression that his Captain had planned the whole thing. Jim was like that; he gave off an air of young rash ineptitude, but his eyes glittered with intelligence.

"Captain," Spock called after his friend, and the human turned curiously. His First Officer caught up with him by taking long strides, and offered the slightest of smiles.

"If you were not otherwise detained, I suppose a game of Chess may prove therapeutic to my condition," he suggested, dark eyes alight with the anticipation of competition, and Jim grinned.

"You know we'll never even out the score, right? You're at least one hundred games behind," he pointed out as they walked side by side to his quarters. Spock popped an eyebrow.

"Exactly ninety seven, Captain. I believe I am improving my skills."

Jim laughed, bright and unfettered.

"We'll see, Mr. Spock. I wouldn't hold your breath."

Spock gave him a confused look as they entered the cabin. "Why would I hold my breath, Jim?"

Kirk shook his head, waving the comment away as he retrieved the chess set from its place on the windowsill.

"Human figure of speech, Spock. It means don't get too confident."

Spock sat down across Jim's desk, hands folded and an intense look in his eyes. "I do not believe my confidence is undeserved, Captain."

Jim sat down too, accepting the first move as usual. He watched Spock deliberate his move, dark eyes gliding across the chessboard. Long fingers finally grasped a shiny black pawn and placed it one platform up, facing off with Kirk's pawn.

"New insight about the situation on Alfa-177 has come to my attention, Captain," Spock said suddenly, throwing Jim's concentration enough to send his second pawn rolling across the floor.

"What do you mean, Spock?" He asked as the Vulcan retrieved the piece, and Spock's dark eyes were troubled.

"The creature from the Gamma quadrant. It must have been placed there purposely, but that purpose evaded us. It was seemingly random, unless-"

"Unless it wasn't the only thing they left behind!" Jim leapt from his chair with the excitement of discovery, and Spock nodded.

"Perhaps the intent in leaving such a hostile creature was to protect something which was left on the planet."

Jim was already to the door, and Spock followed with long-legged steps. They practically ran to the turbolift, and Jim punched the button for the communicator.

"Kirk to bridge, tell Sulu to get this boat turned around! We're going back to Alfa-177!" he commanded, and Uhura met this order with momentary stunned silence.

"Shall I alert Starfleet to this change in heading?" she asked; she was reminding Jim that they had current orders, that this action was going directly against those orders and that she would support whatever he decided. He shook his head with a grin.

"Omicron Ceti III will have to wait, Lieutenant. Warp 7 back to the planet, and have Chekov park us in standard orbit," he cut the transmission and blipped Sickbay.

"Bones, we're going back to the planet. Suit up a heavily armed security unit and meet us in the Transporter Room."

"Back to the planet?! Jim, what-"

"Five minutes, Bones."

Jim redirected Spock down yet another hallway, briefing him on the scheme which had been developing the duration of their journey.

"That creature was subterranean. If they specifically chose something to protect underground, then whatever they want must be underground," he postulated, and Spock nodded.

"A logical leap, Captain."

The security detail had already assembled, and Kirk tugged his biosuit over his head as Bones stormed over.

"Jim, this is ridic-"

"Mr. Chekov!" Jim had punched the intercom again, completely ignoring his CMO, and so Bones turned to Spock to take out his anger.

"What's he on about this time?" the Doctor demanded, and Spock shrugged. By now he would have expected Bones to be familiar with the Captain's ways and to be more accepting of them.

"Do a full scan of the planet as deep as two miles. I want to know about any natural caves, tunnels or anything that may not be planet made."

"A-Aye Kepten!"

Spock clipped his helmet into place as the Captain spun, helmet under his arm, to face his crew.

"Now listen men, this is going to be a highly dangerous mission. Some of you nearly lost your lives last time we set foot on this godforsaken planet, and I won't ask any of you to do so again if you don't want to. Anyone who'd like to opt out may do so now."

Spock glanced at the assembled security personnel and waited expectantly for several to leave, but not a single one glanced away from Kirk. Bones smiled slightly, something akin to pride in his hazel blue eyes. These men were strong, brave, and skilled; but above all, they were fiercely loyal to this man who had seen them safely through not one, but two world altering, earth-ending crises.

That was a sentiment the Vulcan understood perfectly. In fact...his personal sentiments towards the Captain were, as of late, of a growingly unusual and somewhat unsettling nature.

"Then let's get down there to find out what exactly is worth protecting."

As the security outfit finished suiting up, the comm whistled from the wall for the Captain's attention.

"Yes Mr. Chekov?"

"Kepten, beneath ze planet surface-it is amazing! Tunnels and tunnels, zey must go on for miles!"

Something dark and victorious gleamed in Kirk's eyes at having his theories validated. But the small triumph wasn't enough, it was never enough for the voracious heart of an explorer.

"They must converge somewhere. Is there any kind of beginning point, or some sort of center?"

"Zere is a massive cawern sewenty meters down, Kepten, roughly elewen miles southeast of current position."

"Good work, Mr. Chekov. Move the ship directly over that location and hold position until further orders. Kirk out."

Scotty seemed decidedly nervous at the realization that the landing party would be beaming down to said cavern, and Kirk gave him a comforting clap on the back.

"I dinnae think the transporter can put you that deep through solid rock, Captain," he warned, and Bones cursed violently as he readjusted Lieutenant Scroggin's oxygen cord and threw his two cents in over his shoulder.

"We'll be rematerialized inside a rock, Jim! I knew man wasn't meant to have his atoms spliced and sent shooting through space!"

"If I may, Captain," Spock interjected into the doctor's growing displeasure, "it may be possible to beam down into a shallower, overlying tunnel and to simply navigate down into the desired cavern."

"That could take hours, days! And we'd have no communication with the ship, no emergency beaming out, nothing!"

"You seem to be approaching hysteria, Doctor, and it may be time for you to sit down until you can bring yourself under control."

"Hysteria my ass! One tiny malfunction and we're boiling in lava, crushed by rocks, eaten by more of those monsters with no way out!"

"Alright, both of you!" Jim broke into his senior officers' bickering, avoiding the comparison to a particularly grumpy old married couple his mind had been making. "We'll follow Spock's plan, but leave a group above ground to link us to the ship. Everyone happy? Good," he finished before Bones could object. Jim glanced around at the assembled team and jerked a thumb at the transporter pad.

"Bones, you go down with the first group. We'll be right behind you." The transporter pad shimmered and the squad dematerialized with a blink.

"Transporter room to landing party, come in," Kirk called, and the reply came through thick static, "Site secured. Send down the second squad."

Spock stepped onto the pad, settling his hands at the small of his back and waiting for his Captain to step aboard. The remaining crew felt the slight tingle that accompanies a transportation before getting the slight shock that came with landing.

"Everyone there in one piece, Captain?" Scotty asked through the interference, and Kirk radioed back an affirmative as Lieutenants Ball and Scroggins set about setting up a defendable basecamp to maintain contact with the ship.

"Alpha Squad ready to beam down to the tunnels," Lieutenant Scroggins reported, and Ball signaled a thumbs up to indicate Beta Squad was in position.

"Hit it, Scotty," the Captain ordered, and Kirk, Spock, Bones, Lieutenant Scroggins and three other security personnel dematerialized, shooting through rock and earth to an unknown fate.

The landing party shimmered into existence and immediately fell into ready stances, phasers set to kill. The tunnel was pitch black, and Scroggins turned on his light, casting a piercing shaft of light through the cave darkness. The others activated the glow-packs in the front of their suits, causing the entire area to glow a soft blue.

"Everyone stay very quiet," Kirk whispered, then gestured for them to follow him ahead. The group crept through the tunnels that had to be twenty feet wide and fifteen feet tall, just the right size for their many-legged friends to fit.

The air was musty and hot, and as they made their way down the slightly sloped tunnel, it began to become very stifling.

"Augh!" Bones flinched and covered his nose as an updraft carried to them a wretched stench. Jim wrinkled his nose and Scroggins coughed, holding his arm over his face.

"Whatever's in the center of these tunnels, we're getting close."

They rounded a sharp turn in the tunnel and were blasted by another reeking blast of hot, humid air. One of the ensigns nearly vomited in his suit, but Bones warned him against it and Scroggins stayed with him until he was able to continue.

A soft rumbling sound caught the attention of Kirk, who was at the front, and he shot an arm out, catching Spock across the chest and warning him to stay back.

"Aaah!" Suddenly the ground disintegrated beneath the Captain's feet, and he went sliding down a chute that had been barely concealed by a layer of earth.

"Jim!"

He flung his arms out, suit catching and whizzing against the walls, and dug in hard with his heels. His feet met empty air and he twisted violently, barely catching himself on the ledge of what he felt was a great precipice.

"Jim!" the panicked voice of Bones echoed down the chute, and Jim grunted as he dragged himself back onto solid ground.

"Captain," Spock's lower and calmer voice called, and Kirk sprawled on the floor panting from the adrenaline and exertion.

"I'm fine. No one move, I'm going to check my surroundings," he replied, pulling his flashlight from his suit. The glow barely reached two feet out into the murky in front of him, and he shined the beam of light out into a massive space where it faded in the onslaught of darkness. He crept forward, aiming it at what he hoped would be the ground, and found himself gazing down a hundred foot drop.

"I am coming down, Captain," Spock decided, and Kirk turned with a start.

"Be careful, Spock! There's a big drop at the end. Don't slip," he warned, and his command was followed by the soft sounds of the Vulcan shimmying down the chimney. Bones must have followed, because there was a momentary scuffle and some muffled curses as he slipped, crashing into Spock and nearly knocking them all down the tunnel.

A hand on Jim's shoulder alerted him to the presence of his senior officers, and a beam of light glancing off the walls determined that Lieutenant Scroggins and the two ensigns were waiting for them at the top.

"This is the main cavern. We're about halfway up the wall," Jim informed his officers, and Bones looked startled.

"We're not actually going in there, are we?" He hissed, and Jim shushed him with a wave.

"I need to get a better look."

Spock offered his own flashlight, and the two beams of light cut through the inky darkness around them. It was practically useless.

"I have a flare, sir," Scroggins called.

"Toss it down, Lieutenant."

The small tube bounced down the shaft and into Kirk's waiting hand, and he turned to the opening before him.

"You sure that's a good idea, Jim?" Bones warned, eyeing the darkness warily, and Jim stared at the flare thoughtfully.

"We need to take a look inside."

He snapped the end of the flare, igniting the spark, and tossed it as high as he could in the confined space. It burst to life at the top of its arc, bathing the chamber in vivid red light, and the three men gave identical breaths of awe. The room was as big as they had imagined, two hundred feet high and twice that wide, and the entire surface seemed pebbled with little growths of round crystals or rocks. The light died out, leaving an impression on their retinas.

"Those things line the walls of the whole chamber," Kirk breathed, and Bones suddenly reeled back in realization.

"They're eggs, Jim! This is the nest! We've just crawled into the middle of a hive of those monsters!" he snapped under his breath, and Spock gave the Vulcan equivalent of a grimace.

"It would appear that the Doctor's theory is correct. I would suggest we leave this place immediately."

"Not yet," Kirk replied, and Bones' eyes flashed furiously. "I'm going to get some of those eggs. We need to take them back to the ship for analysis."

"What?!" both Spock and Kirk shushed Bones' outburst, but his offense remained.

"We came all the way back for this! There's got to be something about these creatures that made it necessary to wipe out the surface of the planet the way it was. We can't leave empty handed."

The two men stared stubbornly at each other for a moment before Spock broke in with his professional opinion.

"It would be an unnecessary risk to you, Captain," he replied, but Jim suddenly clipped the front of his safety cable to the hook on the front of Spock's suit and began to clamber off the ledge.

"Jim!" Spock grabbed both his arms, holding him there forcibly. "You must stop placing yourself in dangerous situations! You are the Captain, the Enterprise cannot function should you die here," he reprimanded, and Jim rapped on the hard material of Spock's helmet with a grin, startling the Vulcan into releasing his hold.

"Then make sure you pull me back up. I'll be back in no time."

He lowered himself onto the edge of the wall and began to repel down, belaying himself several feet before his feet came back into contact with the wall. He came to a cluster of eggs and pulled out his knife, chipping away the gluey substance holding them to the wall. One came free and he tucked it inside a pouch in his suit. He turned to a cluster a few feet down, slightly smaller and varying in color, and popped one of those free as well. One more egg from another lower cluster and he was satisfied, and hit the button to reel himself to the top.

"See? No sweat," he comforted as he emerged over the ledge, and handed two of the eggs to Bones. The doctor made a disgusted face at the slightly slimy things, but put them into his pockets obediently. Jim held out the third egg to Spock when suddenly he was jerked backwards off the ledge with such force that it nearly snapped the cable still attaching him to his First Officer.

"Captain!"

The force which had torn Jim away shrieked, clutching the Captain in its massive mandibles. It chomped down, but it seemed to be having trouble breaking the helmet, the only thing standing between Jim and a violent death. Suddenly it jerked to the side in pain as Bones fired on it.

"Aim for the eyes!" Spock ordered as he clutched the cable with all of his Vulcan strength, refusing to let this savage creature remove James Kirk from his hold.

Another stark blast of phaser fire struck the monster in the head area and it roared, tossing Jim loose with the sound of tearing fabric. The man fell several feet and bounced against the wall, hanging limply at the end of his safety wire.

"Spock, get him up here!" Bones shouted, firing again on the beast, and it reared away, flailing in pain as the Vulcan pulled his Captain up from where he had fallen as quickly as he could. He reached with his entire torso and hauled Jim to safety, launching them both back from the edge with a kick of his legs. Bones was in the process of covering them, swearing vehemently at the monster, and Spock quickly draped Jim's arms over his shoulders, wrapping the cord around his waist and chest before securing it again at the front of his own suit.

"Quickly, Doctor!" he commanded, and Bones laid down a few more shots before they scrambled madly up the tube. The particular beast which was pursuing them was too large for the small tunnel and scrabbled furiously at the entrance for naught.

"Scroggins! Get Ball on the comm and tell Scotty to beam us up! Now!" Bones shouted as they neared the top of the chute, and the Ensign with the communicator blanched.

"We're too deep sir, we have to raise our elevation to communicate!"

Spock crawled out of the hole and lunged to his feet, already making his way up the tunnel. The humans raced after him, sensing the situation was urgent.

"Spock, let me take a look at Jim," Bones demanded, but the Vulcan shook his head.

"He is still breathing, but his oxygen supply is damaged and we must remove him from the harmful atmosphere as soon as possible. You can do nothing for him until we are aboard the Enterprise," he replied quickly and efficiently, and Bones swore violently as he nearly tripped on a rise in the tunnel.

"I have a signal!" Ensign Tyree shouted, and immediately set about arranging to be beamed aboard. The landing party stopped then, and now that the sound of running feet and pounding heartbeats had faded from their ears they realized there was a much more sinister sound to hear.

The skitter and scratch of thousands of legs approached from all sides, and Ensign Tyree paled and told Beta Squad to double time that order.

"Hurry Scotty," Bones pleaded, and just as the first creature appeared in the tunnel the group faded into nothing but atoms and energy, safely shooting through rock and air to the transporter room.

"Clear the pad, Beta Squad is still down there!" Scotty ordered as soon as they rematerialized aboard, and Spock quickly untangled the Captain from the cord which had bound him there.

"Sickbay, prepare a bed for Captain Kirk," he ordered through the comm on the wall, and then he and Bones made a beeline through the halls. Crewmembers stopped in shock and stepped aside as their first officer came rushing by with the Captain in his arms, and as they made their way onto the turbolift Spock took the two precious eggs that had survived the encounter from Bones' pockets. He handed them off to a science ensign standing by with wide eyes.

"Ensign Roach, please take these to the bio labs for analysis. Be gentle with them," he warned, glancing at Jim.

"The Captain may have given his life to get them."


Awwww who does that? Answer; me. Hope the cliffhanger is enough to keep you all onboard! Love you!