Disclaimers: I do not own Star Trek, it's characters, or any references that are made.

A/N: I guess I didn't really describe which trek characters I'm using. I personally am envisioning more of the TOS characters, but tbh they are closer to AOS age. This would probably mean Jim is still at the Academy. Bones, already being a doctor probably got out faster do to testing out, hence why he was already assigned. And Spock is at the Vulcan Academy. I was suppose to write this in the first chapter, but, well, here it is now! Haha. I haven't really leveled out whether or not Jim shows up in this fic, but if you want him to show up (which I feel like people would want him to cuz it's JIM for pete's sake) then I will make the paths for that to happen!

Chapter 2: A Loner's Walk

Spock surveyed the state of his report before continuing once more. He simply needed to write his conclusion, and if he wanted to turn in his assignment early enough in case a submittal problem arose, he estimated he should be finished within two standard hours. As he drafted the last few pages, his sehlat approached him and nudged his elbow, causing him to type incoherent words on his pad. "I-Chaya," Spock admonished, adjusting his sentence structure, "I cannot play with you at this time. I must finish this report within a specific time constraint."

The sehlat, in turn, made a dissatisfied grunt and lightly shoved Spock's arm again. The Vulcan turned his head sharply at the creature, his face hinting at a frown, "What is the meaning of this disobedience, I-Chaya? You do not usually carry on in this manner," he looked at his creature closely, gently raising I-Chaya's chin and turning his face from right to left,, "I have already fed you properly. You should not be showing any signs of aggression."

"Maybe you haven't been giving him enough attention," a stern voice reasoned. Spock turned to his mother, Amanda. "Besides," she continued, "All you are ever doing nowadays is reports. You need to take I-Chaya out and humor him for a while. He misses you! And quite honestly I feel as though he's fed up with being ignored," She looked back and forth between her son and the sehlat, "you both need some fresh air. It won't do to stay in this stuffed house all day."

The Vulcan glanced at his friend, who sat before him, laying his head down sadly, "I must stay on top of my academics-" he began to reason, but his mother held up her hand and interrupted, "What you are doing is extra credit, Spock," she stated blandly, "you are already at the top of your class, so what you're doing is pointless! It's- It's as though…" her brows furrowed, "Are your professors forcing you to do this? No… are your classmates commenting on your genetic make-up again?"

Spock, who still had his eyes on I-Chaya, let out a long sigh he only ever permitted to his mother, "I do not do this work for the satisfaction of them," he laid out carefully, "I simply wish to make the most of my education."

"But are they? Your classmates?" Amanda questioned, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. Spock glanced at his mother, "Mother, that has nothing to do with why I would want to finish my work correctly."

"Then they are!" his mother spouted, face reddening. She knew that if Spock avoided giving a direct answer, it was to hide the truth. She crossed her arms, looking directly into his eyes, "it's not fair Spock. You don't have to work twice as hard for them. You can be just as good- better in fact- and still enjoy time with family."

"I have not avoided you, mother, and father is often out-"

"I am talking about I-Chaya. He has been pestering you all day when all he wants to do is play for thirty minutes. Can't you let him have thirty minutes?"

Spock glanced at his paperwork, "I must complete this work."

I-Chaya whined a little, but then stood up and walked out of the room. Amanda placed her hands on her hips, "when do you expect to play with him? You may feed him, bathe him, and even groom him, but he is family too, Spock. He may not be a cub anymore, but he needs his friend… What about after your report?"

Spock began typing once again in his pad, "I will contemplate setting a schedule for him as I work."

His mother let out a groan, "Honestly, you are being as ridiculous as your father!" she slammed the door as she left, and Spock contained a flinch at the loud noise. He reminded himself that he would rather face the emotional inconsistencies of his mother than to move closer to the Vulcan Academy and be subjected to the 'psychological probes' his peers put him up to. He could not afford to have another emotional outburst such as the one he faced as a child.

There was a fair amount of rations within the shuttle, but McCoy could not phantom how long they would last for him out in the desert. Out of the little he knew about the planet, it consisted mostly of desert lands. He also felt a lot heavier; probably due to the gravitational tug being stronger on this planet. It was funny how he always remembered the dangers of planets more than the overall data. Like where to find water and food. And people.

"Great," he muttered as he pulled off his blue shirt and black shirt, "My cardio instructor at the academy always told me that the best condition to work out would be in a desert. Now I get to walk for miles in the heat with extra weight on my shoulders…"

He wrapped the rations he had in his black shirt and placed the blue shirt back around his neck. Ultraviolet rays would kill him within hours. He would be a puddle of melted mush by the time any help could find him. After looking around aimlessly for a bit, he vaguely wondered if he would be able to pinpoint south, east, west, and north, but at that thought he realized he wasn't entirely sure about the arrangement of this particular solar system. He couldn't rely on his shadow. Heck, North could also mean anything on this planet.

"I do wish I had brushed up on the internal direction lessons…"

He squinted his eyes and made a full circle view of the place. He figured he'd just pick a path and go.

"Uhhhh. I pick… that way," he pointed in no general direction, "better than simply standing here. I don't expect to be found, honestly, and the fact that signal isn't even active doesn't really give me a fighting chance. Might even find some signal elsewhere."

He glanced back at the shuttle. Staying in place was the best form of being found, but he had no idea how long that would take and whether or not his rations would last. Whereas the shuttle could provide decent shade, it would not help him get any signal. He also wasn't a big fan of following procedure. He glanced at one of his water bottles and popped the cap open.

"Drink number one. Let's see how long you last…"

After the two hours had finished, Spock had turned in his assignment without any flaws and had come up with walk schedule for I-Chaya; one that he hoped his friend would be satisfied with following for majority of his studies."I-Chaya," Spock called out throughout the household, "I-Chaya, where are you hiding?"

Amanda popped her head out from the kitchen calling out to Spock cheerfully, "I think he went outside. You may want to check in his hideout in the backyard."

Spock nodded and made his way to the back door.

"I-Chaya!" Spock beckoned, but his pet made no response. In fact, it didn't seem that he was outside at all. He wondered if I-Chaya took a walk on his own. It was not uncommon, but it would always put his mother in a fit of worry. The sehlat would be gone for days on end, and there was no particular pattern to his calendar of absence. Amanda knew of the predators out in the desert planes, and fears one day I-Chaya would try to tackle something instead of avoid it. It was part of the reason she or Spock would walk him. So he wouldn't run toward trouble.

He turned to head inside, and was met with his mother, biting her lip in concern, "He went out on his own again, didn't he?"

Spock nodded, "It appears so."

Amanda shook her head, she switched to bite her knuckle and stepped back inside. Spock followed her inside, touching her shoulder, "He has done this several times, mother. I am sure I-Chaya is well accustomed to taking care of himself by this point. It is as you have said, 'he is no longer a cub'."

The old woman gave a weak smile, "I suppose you are right, Spock, but I can't help but worry he may get hurt."

"It is understandable, mother, but there 92. 56 percent chance that he will be coming home safely."

Amanda frowned, "and what about the other 7.45 percent?"

"It is very unlikely."

"But it's there, Spock," Amanda murmured sadly. Spock never knew what to do when his mother got like this. He usually let the commentary slide, but she seemed a little more agitated. Out of a spontaneous sort of need to appease her, he spoke out confidently, "I will go find him."

Amanda turned in shock, "What? No! Spock it's too dangerous for you to go out there alone!"

Spock rose one brow, "But you are concerned over his well-being, what else is there to do but to take action?"

Amanda looked over the desert horizon, I-Chaya was family; she didn't want to leave it up to faith for him to return. But it would be worse if she lost her son over this as well. Spock, noting her conflict stepped closer to her, "I am no longer a child either, mother. I understand what to avoid in my path. It is I-Chaya, who may seem out of sorts, that would have a chance at danger. The most logical course of action would be for me to find him, appease him, and perhaps finish the walk we both very much need."

Amanda smiled at Spock, approaching the last few steps toward him and pointlessly adjusting his robes. This was a nervous tick his mother always did when she was overwhelmed with feelings. He grew accustomed to the act over the years and allowed her codding, "You're right Spock, I keep thinking that you are much younger than you truly are," she stopped straightening his attire as she lit up with an idea. Spock rose his brow as he awaited her announcement. She swiftly turned around and started toward the kitchen, "I'll go make you some food to take," she declared, "who knows how long you will be out there. You may know where all the water wells are by heart, but you need to keep your energy up out there."

Spock followed her to the kitchen, "Mother, I must insist that I simply head out. As you have stated precisely 45.2 seconds ago and now counting, you have the mindset that I am much younger than-"

"Hold this," Amanda ushered, handing Spock a wrapped box of what could only be his food. Spock took it –it is illogical to decline food that would serve purpose to his trip –and he attempted to reason with her again, "I am capable of handling everything on my own-"

His mother made her way around him and spoke over him, "Do you need a change of clothes? I was doing laundry some hours ago, so I'm sure the clothes have dried already." She reached for a bag made of fabric and began to hum as she stepped outside to retrieve said clothes. The Vulcan stood still attempting to process how he should approach the situation, but if there was something he was completely sure of (99.86 percent, if he was being accurate) was that his mother would not stop once she had her mind set. He supposed it was due to the fact that he had been occupied with his academics and labs back at the Academy that there was not much for her to nurture other than I-Chaya, who simply needed to be fed and walked.

"Okay," Amanda stated as she handed him a bag of clothes, "I have four sets of clothes in there. In case you are gone for more than one day or something spills on you."

Spock looked into the bag and confirmed the quantity. He nodded and shifted his gaze back up to her, "Everything is satisfactory, mother."

His mother beamed at the compliment, but then her face morphed into concern, "take care of yourself, Spock," she whispered.

"I will do everything I can to fulfill that plea," Spock declared sternly. His mother gave a weak smile then gave him a quick hug, "alright Spock, off you go then."

"Affirmative," Spock replied. He began by taking the usual walk route he took with his sehlat. Hopefully I-Chaya wandered off in a habitual trail and he would only need to catch up to him. He was not overly concerned about his sehlat, but he repeated the odds of his sehlat returning several times over in his head as he made the first mile through his search.

A/N: Tell me what you think! I personally can't wait until people start bumping into each other!