Planet Zodura II

After the small landing party beamed down on the planet Zodura II, they discovered for themselves the accuracy of the reports on the planet's habitability. Simply said, the planet's environment was too harsh and unforgiving to be considered fit for habitation. With the sun's rays heating up the atmosphere to a temperature of 59.45 degree Celsius, even Spock appeared to be slightly uncomfortable. And it was not even the peak of summer yet!

If not for the heat protective clothing they wore, each of them would have ended up with a nasty sunburn. Well everyone except Spock, perhaps.

Now, Jim had no problem with the protective clothing per se, despite the fact that he looked kind of ridiculous in it; but he hated the protective headwear with a passion. It was itchy and discomforting. And every time he took it off, either Spock or Bones would be there glaring at him until the headwear was back in its place.

Jim and Spock, by mutual agreement, had decided to beam down near the campsite set up by the scientists. Finding the campsite completely deserted was slightly disheartening, but all of them had been prepared for that possibility.

The campsite was located adjacent to a small water body. Spock theorized that the location must have been chosen by the scientists keeping in mind the area's proximity to the Dilithium mines. The distance between the two could be easily traversed by walking.

The vegetation, as expected, was sparse. Squat, cactus like plants seemed to be the most dominant species but some thorny flowering plants thrived in the vicinity of the water body. The water body itself was the size of a small pond.

Jim and his team meticulously searched the entire area, including each and every individual camp and the neighbouring rock caves, in order to gain some clue regarding the scientists' disappearance.

Unfortunately, they found none very conclusive.

XXXXXXXX

An hour after their arrival on the planet, Jim stood next to the small pond with Bones; both of them listening attentively as Spock reported the search.

"The search has been concluded, Captain. No signs of struggles have been found. This implies either the scientists along with their security team had left the camp voluntarily or…"

"They were incapable of putting up a struggle," Jim completed; sharing a look with Spock.

Ever since they had beamed down upon the planet, Jim had caught Spock staring at him several times with an unreadable expression on his face. He did not know why but he found himself getting flustered each and every time.

Jim started fidgeting when their eyes held each other's for a few seconds longer than was required. The unexplained feeling of shyness took him by surprise, and he quickly looked away; thus missing the way Spock's eyes flared with heat. He also missed the way he way Spock's eyes glinted with hunger and need.

But Bones did not.

xxx

Clenching his teeth, Bones looked heavenwards. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? They had both been hopelessly oblivious for so long that it must have broken more than a few universe records. The other Spock, the older version, was even planning an intervention in their behalf. And now out of the blue, the hobgoblin had an epiphany? Not that he wasn't grateful for it, but did it have to happen in the middle of a freaking mission?

But even as he thought so, his mind flashed back to another mission back in the day when he had been just promoted to the position of CMO because there weren't enough senior doctors alive for that post.

Bloodthirsty Romulans… Destruction of Vulcan… Earth in danger… Death and terror all around.

Jim and Spock striking a tentative new friendship… Victory!

Bones sighed and then smiled ruefully. As always, their timing sucked but he had full faith upon them that somehow or the other, they would see this mission to an end too. They always did. They weren't the best Command team in the Starfleet for nothing.

Still, he found himself curious and wondering about what had changed between them. He shrugged it off for now; confident in his ability to get the answer out of Spock. But until that opportunity arose, no one said he couldn't have a bit of fun at their expense. It was simply too good an opportunity to pass, after all.

Here was Mr. Feelings-are-illogical, finally realizing that he too had become a victim of the proverbial cupid's arrow. And the 'playboy' was blushing like a virgin.

'Oh! How the mighty have fallen,' Bones mentally rubbed his hands together gleefully.

xxx

Jim, meanwhile, couldn't believe that he had got that worked up over a simple look from Spock. What the hell was going on? First he had been lusting after Spock and now… now he was acting like some shy, blushing schoolgirl with her first crush. He needed to get his act together. They were on a mission, dammit!

Jim finally recovered enough of his composure to ask while turning to look at Spock, "What about the electronic devices though? Did you take a look at those?"

He was a bit disappointed to find Spock perfectly composed, as always; and he mentally chastised himself, 'Of course he is perfectly composed! What am I thinking? He has a girlfriend, one whom he loves very much.'

He willfully ignored the pang he felt in his heart at that.

"Affirmative, Captain," Spock answered smoothly. "I have personally checked the electronic devices left behind in the camps and all of them have broken down except for the tricorders which have retained nearly sixty percent of their original functionality. I think it would be safe to surmise that the amount of damage caused by the ionic storm is in direct proportion to the complexity of a device."

"Hmm…," Jim bit his plush lower lip, thinking it over.

"How do you think would the phasers be affected by the storm?" he asked and then nearly gasped when he saw that instead of answering his question, Spock was busy staring at his lips.

It was all it took for his pulse to began racing. The intense heat that quickly followed had nothing to do with the high temperature of the planet but everything with the male standing in front of him. The slow burn of desire dazed him and his own eyes were dragged involuntarily towards Spock's lips. Jim wondered how they would feel against his. Would they be as soft as they looked? Would they allow him to take the lead; or would they claim his instead?

A moan slipped past his lips at that.

It seemed as if Spock was struggling with the exact same desires because next he knew, Spock was leaning towards him and…

"Aaaah! Damn it! What the hell Bones?" Jim yelled; rubbing the spot where Bones had hypoed him.

It took him a few moments to realize what had just nearly happened, during which he glared at Bones' embarrassed face.

'Holy shit! Did I just almost kiss Spock? Or was it Spock who almost kissed me?' – his frantic thoughts raced, trying making some sense of the situation. 'Well, I guess who kissed who does not really matter. What matters is that we… we almost kissed each other!'

At once, he felt an intense blush staining his face. He tried his best to avoid looking at Bones, who after overcoming his embarrassment was grinning evilly; or at Spock, who once again appeared absolutely unruffled.

'That bastard!' Jim thought vehemently. Spock looked so cool and collected even after he had… they had… well!

God dammit! That pointy eared bastard was pissing him off.

Still mimicking a ripened tomato, Jim glared at Spock. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" he muttered irately in a very low voice, knowing very well that the Vulcan with superhuman hearing capabilities would easily hear him.

What he did not know was that though it wasn't apparent, Spock was farthest from being unmoved.

xxx

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" – Spock clearly heard the question posed in the incensed tone of voice. He silently acknowledged that he was not very sure about it himself.

He had been content with Nyota. He had been able to categorize all that he felt for her into neatly organized compartments. Everything had been as expected. But the opposite was true for Jim. With Jim, he never knew what to expect.

Jim never respected his personal boundaries like everyone else, whether in public or in private. He would constantly touch him, invade his personal space, lean against him, tease him, argue with him…

But strangely enough, Jim never breached his boundaries either. It was as if with Jim his boundaries simply ceased to exist. And it was nothing less than astonishing.

When one had been bullied, belittled, and criticized all their life for not being Vulcan enough or for showing too much of emotion; learning how to keep a tight rein upon one's feelings became a necessity.

And so he had always been in control; unshakable and resolute.

But then came Jim… easily stripping him of his control with a few words, with a single look, with a single touch; making him feel too much and too quickly.

Too much anger, irritation, resentment… Too much need to punish. Too much admiration, exasperation, camaraderie… Too much need to protect. Too much hunger, adoration, possession… Too much need to cherish.

They baffled him… the feelings only this one man could invoke in him.

But then his eyes had locked with Jim's for a fleeting moment today, and as always he was struck by the exquisite beauty of those eyes.

Blue as the sky of Earth. The beauty of which could rival any sapphire's.

His entire world had suddenly shifted off its axis and he had felt a curious sensation… like falling into the depths of those lovely eyes. It was like plunging into an abyss from which he could not resurface. Nor did he want to.

It was then that he reached the inevitable conclusion – what he felt for Jim was the most elusive, mysterious and baffling of all emotions…

Love.

Soon after his mother's death his father had told him that he had married his mother because he loved her. Only now could he appreciate the depth of his father's feelings. Because only now he understood what it was to love; beyond race, prestige, and logic.

Now, all that was left was claiming his mate.

Spock allowed himself a slight smirk at his blushing Captain who was definitely going to surrender... and soon. He would only wait for the mission to end before approaching Jim.

Yes, that would be acceptable.

xxx

Jim could swear that it was a smirk which he caught on Spock's face before being replaced by the ever present neutral expression. And although he had posed the question about what the hell had Spock been thinking, judging by the fleeting smirk he had witnessed… he was not entirely sure that he would like the answer.

Moreover, Jim was not willing to entertain the idea that Spock was suddenly interested in him that way.

Absolutely not. He was not stupid enough to touch that minefield.

Although he shared a casual relationship with Carol; Spock and Uhura were completely committed to each other. Vulcans never had flings anyway.

Besides, Spock was even thinking of mating with Uhura. Yeah, Spock had discussed that particular possibility with him.

Jim winced.

Really, what was he thinking? Perhaps that almost kiss between them had just been a figment of his imagination. Perhaps he had finally gone crazy… crazy in love!

Jim gulped.

xxx

So lost was Jim in his thoughts that he completely missed what Spock said next. It wasn't until Bones elbowed him in his gut that he snapped back to attention.

"Huh?" Jim looked from Bones to Spock and back.

Bones took great pleasure in teasing him before informing that according to Spock, chances were that the phasers wouldn't be affected by the storm very much. Though, there was a possibility that they would get stuck in whichever mode they were in: heat, stun, kill or disintegrate.

"What the Doctor means is that there is an 89.52% possibility of the phasers retaining their functionality and 63.85% possibility of them getting arrested in whichever mode they will be at the onset of the ionic storm," Spock corrected.

Bones scoffed, "Whatever. Not everyone is anal about spouting off percentages to two decimal places like you, you green blooded hobgoblin."

Spock quirked his brow at Bones and Jim couldn't help but smile at the endearing habit of Spock's.

But only a little… Jim was still confused and annoyed and he did not want Spock to think that he was off the hook.

"Doctor, I am very much aware that being precise enough to two decimal places is well beyond your meagre capabilities, but perhaps you could take this opportunity to learn."

Bones visibly gritted his teeth and clenched his hands at Spock's jibe and Jim broke into peals of laughter.

The familiarity of Bones and Spock jibing at each other soothed Jim and he let whatever was happening between him and Spock rest for the time being. Spock and Bones were back to insulting each other and it displayed that all was well! He could once again focus on the mission.

"Enough, you two. I swear that sometimes the two of you act like the kid you accuse of me being," Jim told them grinning. "Let's head towards the mines and hope that we have better luck out there."

"Yeah, let's go," Bones grunted out in agreement. "The sooner we can finish this mission and leave this god-damned planet, the better. The heat is making me dizzy, and I'm sweating like a bloody pig." Bones' verbal tirade was accompanied by a withering scowl at everything within his range of sight… which to be honest was not much unless one took into account all the sand and rocks.

In the interim, Spock decided to impart correct information about that particular Terran species to Bones; his only motive was to be helpful, of course.

"Doctor, the Terran swines you are referring to possess only a few sweat glands. Consequently, they are not capable of generating any substantial amount of sweat. To lower their body temperatures they employ the technique of submerging themselves in mud. Your comparison is quite inaccurate," Spock informed, his voice sounding entirely too amused.

Bones, though, was not that impressed. It was evident when he lunged for Spock. Thankfully, Jim managed to grab him before he could land a punch.

xxx

After a while, Jim and his team headed for the mines; each and every one of them alert and ready to face the threat yet to be unveiled.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Spock, did you find anything?"

Spock looked up from the tricorder he had been using to scan the machine resembling a crusher to find that Jim and Bones were back from investigating the makeshift lab the scientists had put up nearby.

It was Jim who had posed the question.

"Captain, unlike the normal crushers used in mining processes, machines like this one have been specifically designed to generate enough power to crush the Dilithium crystals into dust," Spock answered, gesturing towards the machine in discussion. "Apart from huge amount of power these machines can produce, the design is uncomplicated and basic."

"But Spock, this machine looks like it has broken down completely. How can it be if the design is simple? You said it yourself that more the simplicity, less will be the damage," Jim reminded him.

Spock nodded. "Keeping all the facts in mind, I can hypothesize that this machine must have been under operation when the ion storm began. Ionic storms are sometimes known for creating strong electromagnetic fields. The radiant energy trapped in this planet's surface is already too high, and the electromagnetic field created by the ion storm that day must have resulted in an increase in the already high radiant heat of the planet; thus creating the 'piezoelectric effect'. The crystals which were being ground inside the machine converted the radiant heat into mechanical energy. The sudden spike in the mechanical energy must have increased the mechanical stress which caused a complete breakdown of this machine."

Jim, who had an Advanced degree in Astrophysics, did not even bat his eye at the scientific jargon. But for Bones it was different matter altogether.

Bones gave a long suffering sigh and looked over at Jim, "Please explain that. And in English this time, please."

Jim obliged, grinning. "Spock thinks that the crusher was in use when the ion storm struck. And because of the storm, the crystals inside the crusher caused the breakdown of the machine by generating too much of energy which in turn produced too much of stress."

Bones had no difficulty in understanding this time around and nodded thoughtfully. "We too came across a similar scenario in the lab. The test-tubes and chemicals were strewn about as if the scientists working in the lab had to evacuate abruptly."

"Well, this makes perfect sense!" Jim exclaimed. "When the scientists left their camps for the mines in the morning along with their security, it must have been just another day for them. But then the ion storm struck suddenly and they had to leave their work incomplete in order to find shelter from the storm."

Jim began looking around excitedly. "They must have taken shelter somewhere near and somehow got stuck. Want to bet that they are in one of these rock caves?"

xxx

As always, Jim's exuberance was catching and Spock smiled to himself. He had always been helplessly drawn towards that vivacity.

As for the rock caves, there were seven in the vicinity and Spock oversaw the formation of three search parties which would efficiently see the task done in the shortest period of time.

Spock, Jim and Bones were to lead one search party each and two of the security officers would be accompanying each of them. The rest would stay in the mines and keep an eye out for danger.

Everything decided, they began their search.

xxx

The exhausted search parties returned one by one. Spock and his team, who had searched three of the seven caves, returned to find Bones waiting with his team.

Upon their arrival Bones asked eagerly, "Any luck?"

Spock answered the question in negative and Bones sighed in disappointment.

"Jim comm'd to inform that he too didn't find anything worthwhile. He's on his way back." Bones murmured dejectedly.

Spock and Bones settled down to wait for Jim. They would have to rethink their whole strategy now.

xxx

As they were waiting for Jim to return, Spock noticed Bones looking at him from the corner of his eyes. He knew that Bones had been waiting for an opportunity to confront him ever since that almost kiss.

He turned to face Bones and stated in a firm voice, "I understand you have some personal matters to discuss with me."

Bones started grinning like the Cheshire cat and took his sweet time before asking, "So, what was all that about?"

Spock bestowed a cool and impassive look upon him. "I'm afraid you'll have to rephrase your question in a better way. What exactly do you mean by 'all that'?"

The grin on Bones' face did not vanish at all. In fact it grew even more, if that was even possible. "I know what you're trying to do, you hobgoblin. Your underhanded tactics won't work this time. So spill, what was all that about?"

Suppressing a sigh, Spock decided to deal with the Doctor right then. Jim not only considered Bones his best friend, but also regarded him somewhat like a father figure. And though at first Spock had merely tolerated the man because of Jim, over the years he had grown on him and they had sort of bonded... over Jim.

Now, he held nothing but respect for the brash, courageous man and knew that it was reciprocated. But of course, none of them would ever admit to it.

"Jim is my mate and I'll soon be claiming him as mine," Spock stated in a perfectly calm voice but it held an undercurrent of warning Bones couldn't mistake.

Ignoring the warning, Bones rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Yeah, that was pretty clear from the way you were acting. But what I want to know is what made you realize it so suddenly. You've been crazy about him for long enough, after all."

To say that Spock was shocked at Bones' seemingly random statement would have been an understatement. "Were you aware of this?" he asked in a faint voice.

Bones smirked, enjoying this way too much. "Oh yes, I was perfectly aware of your 'feelings'," he replied.

xxx

Truth be told, Bones knew better than most just how deeply Spock's feelings ran; especially when it came to Jim.

After all, he was there when Spock had almost strangled Jim on the bridge of the Enterprise.

He had seen him almost kill Khan with his bare hands.

He had also seen him break a Romulan's hand when the bastard tried groping a drunken Jim.

And he was the one who had to kick Spock out of the operating room when he was fighting to save Jim's life. He was the one who had to make sure Spock left Jim's bedside in order to eat, meditate and bathe. That had been an accomplishment in itself because Spock had taken to sitting beside Jim for hours, just staring at him... as if committing Jim's face to his memory.

Bones scarcely remembered those days as he had been functioning on an autopilot. They had passed almost in a blur. But he remembered the choking terror and brief flashes of sweet hope.

Jim's body had been rejecting Khan's blood. The situation had deteriorated to the point where every breath Jim took could be his last. Bones had himself felt the need to be constantly near Jim; to not let him out of his sight even for a second.

And then finally, Jim's body stopped fighting against what it needed to heal. It was sheer relief which had rushed through him and only then he allowed himself the luxury of breaking down. The man who was his best friend, his brother, his son was going to be fine.

Jim had done the impossible again. And this time he had defeated the undefeatable… death.

All the love and adoration he held for Jim had been apparent on his face. And when he looked up, he had seen his feelings mirrored on Spock's face.

Yes, he knew exactly how much Spock loved Jim.

xxx

As Bones came out of his musings, he heard Spock say, "Nyota dissolved our relationship."

'Finally,' Bones thought, cheering inside. He did feel a bit guilty for being so damn happy about a situation which was sure to make Uhura miserable, but it did not really matter as this would make Jim happy. And Jim was his first priority.

"Why?" Bones asked him softly .

"She told me that she was letting me go because she had finally realized that she never had me all along." Spock stopped for a while before continuing, "I finally realized that too. It was Jim, it always had been."

Bones smiled, genuinely happy for his hobgoblin. But still, he felt the need to caution him for one last time. There would be no going back after this.

"I hope you do realize what you are signing up for. It will be a lifetime of chaos, mischief and mayhem. So if you are looking for something logical..."

"I do realize," Spock replied cutting Bones off, his voice firm and steady. "It will be a lifetime of happiness."

xxx

Jim returned pretty disheartened. The caves had been completely devoid of anything of interest. They hadn't even found a lab coat, much less a live scientist.

As he approached Spock and Bones, he saw them having some sort of a heart to heart session. He wondered what it was about while literally dragging himself towards them. He cursed the fucking unbearable heat of the planet for sucking all the energy out of him.

Groaning in misery, he hoped that Bones and Spock would have some better ideas because, frankly, he had run out of them.

Although… why the hell was Spock glaring at him? Ah great, now Bones was scowling at him too.

He barely reached them when Spock demanded, "Captain, may I know where your headwear is?"

'Huh?' Jim belatedly realized that he had lost his headwear… again. He had really hated the stupid headwear since the very beginning. But he reluctantly admitted to himself that as bad as it had been, it was still better than this sweltering heat.

He glanced sheepishly at Spock and smiled placatingly. "Well, I do remember taking it off in the cover of one these caves... I guess I forgot to put it on."

He stopped himself from squirming under Spock's stony gaze.

"I… umm…," he tried once again but Spock cut him off.

"Both Doctor McCoy and I have explained to you nine times by now that the headwear is necessary to protect you from the sun's rays," Spock chided in a stern voice.

Bones nodded, agreeing whole-heartedly with Spock. "What the hell Jim? Do you want to get a heat stroke?" Bones hissed.

Jim glared at Spock for chastising him in front of Bones and at Bones for agreeing with him. Even after all these years of running a ship together, Jim's health was the only thing they ever agreed upon.

Too tired to deal with this shit, he replied testily, "Thank you for your kind consideration but I can take care of myself perfectly well, Spock. And I am NOT a child, Bones. So back off."

Because sticking his tongue out at them would not really help his case at that point, Jim consoled himself by flipping them the bird.

Bones sighed heavily and looked heavenwards. "Yeah, good going Jim. That was really mature."

He got a snarled 'shut-up' and a stink eye for his efforts.

Spock stared at Jim unblinkingly for a few moments before replying in a voice filled with quiet menace, "As you wish, Captain. It is your call, of course. But if your body temperature reaches 39 degree Celcius and above, according to the Starfleet Regulations you will be unfit to lead this mission. And as the acting captain I'll personally see you escorted back to the Enterprise."

Bones covered his laugh with a cough. The hobgoblin was good, he thought grudgingly; really good. And if looks could kill, the hobgoblin would have died a very painful death by then.

Finally, Jim conceded with a sigh, "I'm sorry, all right? I have no idea where that stupid thing is. Do we have an extra?" He knew that Spock was dead serious and would most definitely carry out his threat.

In fact, he had been noticing this change in Spock ever since the Khan incident. Earlier, because both of them were equally headstrong, they had quickly learnt to make concessions in each other's behalf. Yes, they often butted their heads, but they came to an understanding pretty quickly too. It was one of the reasons why they were such an efficient command team.

Spock had taught Jim to look before leaping. And from Jim, Spock had learnt how to take leaps of faith. They were perfectly balanced together.

Now, they were closer than ever before. But when the matter came to his safety, there was simply no middle ground to be reached with Spock; no compromise to be made. Jim had learnt it the hard way to relinquish a battle or two in order to win his wars.

'Stupid, protective Vulcan,' he thought with fond exasperation.

"There are no extra head wears. You'll wear mine instead," Spock said it so matter-of-factly; as if it was of no consequence that he was putting Jim's well being ahead of his. He took off his headwear and placed it over Jim's head.

Jim, of course, kicked up a fuss over it as he couldn't let Spock suffer in his stead. But all his protests fell on deaf ears.

Spock sighed and cautioned, "Jim, cease your struggles. I am much more adapted to these conditions than you."

"Jesus Spock. Stop ordering me around," Jim snapped angrily; still trying to get the bloody thing off but Spock was thwarting all his moves easily.

"You should not have committed the mistake of losing yours then," Spock countered.

Jim opened his mouth to retort but stopped as Bones loudly cleared his throat.

"I'm sure that both of you are really enjoying all this foreplay, but some of us actually want to find the god-damned scientists so we can get out of this god-damned planet," Bones nearly shouted; exasperated beyond belief.

Jim blushed, once again, and silently vowed to make Bones pay for all this grief. Spock took a step back and folded his hands behind his back.

Bones smirked.

xxx

Jim took a few moments to gather his composure before beginning their discussion.

"Okay, so what do you both think must have happened that day? They must have taken shelter inside one of those caves, even though we could not find any evidence supporting that. My gut says that something must have happened after that."

Jim paused to look at Bones and then at Spock. If his heart had started beating faster than usual, it was only because of some undiagnosed heart disease, dammit. It was certainly not because of some pointy eared bastard who liked to order him around.

Meanwhile, Spock's powerful mind was racing to compute all the possible options one by one. So far, all the evidence they had found supported Jim's hypothesis. But, the main question still remained unanswered – Where were all the scientists and their security team?

The greatest possibility which arose was that they had been captured. But if they had been captured then who were behind it? How were they captured? More importantly... why?

The questions were many and the answers few.

"Abduction seems to be the most plausible scenario," Spock stated, "but no one has contacted Starfleet to negotiate the release of the scientists yet."

"I don't see how they could have been abducted off the planet, Spock. Starfleet is keeping a very strict eye upon this planet," Bones countered.

Spock gave a short nod in agreement. "You are correct, Doctor. I have come to the conclusion that there is a very low probability of the scientists being abducted by terrorists off this planet. Starfleet has been monitoring every spaceship in this planet's orbit and there have been no reports of anything suspicious. It would be most difficult to evade Starfleet's scrutiny. A more probable theory will be that the scientists and their security personnel are being held as hostages in this very planet."

Jim nodded in agreement. "Yeah, if they really have been abducted, then being held somewhere nearby would make much more sense. As for the abductors, they might be group of illegal miners who had discovered the Dilithium reserve before Starfleet."

Boned growled in irritation at all these might be scenarios. Personally, he was of the opinion that the whole thing was pretty damn weird.

"Actually this whole thing smells fishy to me," Jim stated, echoing Bones' thoughts. "The security officers assigned to the scientists were one of the best; so why couldn't they perceive the threat? And how come they did not even put up a struggle during the abduction? We haven't found even a single sign of a scuffle. Even if they were distracted because of the ionic storm, they couldn't have been overpowered so easily."

"Well… they might have been dead," Bones stated ominously.

"Captain, such speculations will lead us nowhere. I recommend a full-scale search of this whole area before we reach any conclusion and…," Spock stopped abruptly when they were interrupted by the Security Chief Lieutenant Hendorff.

Greeting all three of them, he spoke, "Captain, I apologize for the interruption but I was just contacted by the Enterprise. They have found an unusual build up of ions in the stratosphere and there is a strong possibility of an ion storm occurring. They think we should leave this planet as soon as possible because they won't be able to beam us out after the storm begins."

After relaying that vital information, Hendorff a.k.a 'Cupcake' patiently waited for further orders.

Jim bit his lips, thinking about the dilemma. On one hand, he did not want to leave without finding about the whereabouts of the scientists and the security assigned to them. And on the other, he did not want to put his officers at risk by staying on this potentially risky planet during an ion storm.

He turned towards Spock, looking for counsel like always.

And Bones let them do what they were best at… being a command team.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Officer Lara Kent, the Transporter Chief of the Enterprise, waited for confirmation from her Captain before locking on the homing signals of the communicators of all the Officers down on the planet Zodura II.

One of her officers warned her about the ion storm and urged her to hurry. The charged particles which had been gathering in the stratosphere had taken up speed, indicating the onset of the storm.

"Locking on your signals," she informed the landing party in a monotonous voice.

Over the communicator, she heard her Captain's voice giving the order to energize.

"Beaming you up," she muttered.

Everything was fine until all of a sudden, she began to lose three of those signals. She stiffened in alarm and then her fingers started flying over the transporter controls. But all her efforts were proving to be in vain.

"Damn it!" she cursed. "I'm losing them… Shit… I… I've lost them. I lost three of them."

Stunned, she stared at the transporter platform as figures began to materialize on it. Three were missing, of course.

And those missing three were her commanding officers and the CMO.

She gulped.

... to be continued.