Spock's quarters, usually pristine to the point that they could have been used as a textbook example for recruits, were a mess. When he had felt the first stirrings in his blood, Spock had hoped he was wrong about the cause, but quickly packed away anything that he would regret losing in case he was right. It proved to be a good instinct because nearly everything that remained in his room that could be smashed had been by this point.
In his current frame of mind, Spock's first inclination when his door alerted him to a visitor was to tell whoever was at his door to go throw themselves out an airlock before he did it for them. On finding the one requesting entrance was the Captain, he curbed that reaction. He almost changed his mind though when Kirk entered and brought McCoy with him.
Any remaining thoughts that Kirk might have harbored that McCoy was exaggerating disappeared as he looked over his First and saw how tightly the half-Vulcan was holding himself in check. As McCoy remained near the door, Kirk casually ordered the door locked under command protocol, Captain's authority only. The twitch Spock gave at hearing that was quickly suppressed, but not quickly enough to escape Kirk's notice.
Keeping his voice smooth, Kirk approached Spock, but carefully stayed slightly out of arm's reach.
"So, Spock - Doctor McCoy tells me you have had trouble making your appointments for your physical."
A hard cold glare focused on McCoy.
"My apologies that the Doctor has bothered you with this matter, Captain. I thought I had made it abundantly clear to him the repercussions of such an action."
"I went to him, Spock. Do those repercussions apply to me now?"
The fact that what Kirk had gone to McCoy for was to complain about the Admiral was beside the point. Whatever it was eating Spock, Kirk wasn't going to let him take it out on McCoy. Spock stood straighter, shifting his gaze away from McCoy, but not meeting Kirk's eyes.
No, sir. I regret my misinterpretation of the events. Sir - I must ask if my request for leave at the Vulcan colony has your approval."
"You have my approval, but orders have come down from Admiral Komack ordering our ship to attend an inauguration ceremony. After that is over, we'll be able to get you there."
The sharp intake of breath from Spock has Kirk casting a glance toward McCoy. The doctor was still by the door, leaning against the bulkhead with one hand behind his back watching everything with an eagle eye. Catching Kirk's eye, McCoy raised a brow slightly then shifted his focus to Spock.
"Mister Spock, does the term 'pon farr' mean anything to you?"
For a moment, it was as if Spock froze to the point of not even breathing. Then, with no warning, he gave out an animalistic yell and lunged for McCoy. Kirk was too startled to react, but McCoy must have been expecting a violent reaction, The hand that had been behind him held a phaser and he fired it at close range into the Vulcan without hesitation. Even so, Spock almost made it to him before he collapsed to the deck.
Kirk looked from the body on the deck up to McCoy, who was in the process of putting away his phaser and pulling out his tricorder.
"Still think I'm exaggerating, Jim?"
"I stopped thinking you were exaggerating the moment I got a look at this room. Speaking of which, nice shot or you probably would have been added to the wreckage."
"Yeah, I knew I was poking a sore spot. If the mellow version of our Vulcan got bent out of shape over pon farr? That's why I came armed. Now, while he can't argue about being examined, let's see what all we're actually dealing with, shall we?"
Moving closer to Spock, McCoy scanned the unconscious Vulcan, frowned, readjusted his equipment and scanned a second time before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.
"I wish I knew more details from that crazy old Vulcan than just a few random words and images, but I can tell you this. Whatever this pon farr business is? It's apparently killing him. Slowly, but surely."
Kirk was far more curious than concerned.
"Really? How long would you say he has left?"
"Hard to say. His crazy half and half biology is one of a kind, so far as I know. But educated guess? I'd say five to eight days with the mid-range being most likely. Might want to back up a step. I think the damn hobgoblin's already shaking off the stun and I had it at the highest level."
At McCoy's warning, Kirk stepped back, pulling out his phaser as he did so. McCoy looped the strap of his tricorder back over his head and redrew his own phaser as a sound resembling a feral growl came from the recovering First Officer.
"As your Captain, I strongly suggest you not make any sudden movements, Spock. Otherwise you'll put me to the bother of having to find a replacement."
The eyes Spock turned toward Kirk were darker than usual and reminded him of a shark he'd seen once. Dark, shiny and cold like black ice.
"I could hear even though I was down, Captain. Now or eight days from now - what is the difference? Now would be . . . more merciful."
"Can't say that I'm overly know for my merciful side, Spock. Bones? You're the one whose neck was threatened. What do you say?"
"I say that I doubt you'll ever find another First Officer whose best interests mean keeping you in the Captain's chair."
It was very obvious now that Spock's grip on his emotions had slipped as he showed plain astonishment at McCoy's words.
"No need to be so damned shocked. I don't have to like you to admit that we can play off each other's strengths. You're what's best for Jim and this ship. That trumps everything else in my book."
Kirk looked from McCoy to Spock thoughtfully.
"No way in hell can we get him to the other Vulcans in time and follow Komack's orders. Then again, I don't want to follow Komack's orders. Bones? Think the Emperor would buy a medical emergency as a reason for missing the inauguration?"
"Maybe, maybe not. If the Emperor's attention is drawn to what Komack is doing and he didn't approve of it? In all honesty, I think everything would hinge on if Komack is in the Emperor's good graces or not. No way for us to know that, unfortunately."
Humming to himself, Kirk made weighing gestures with both hands.
"If we go along with Komack's orders, we possibly weaken Pike's position in the court and lose our First Officer. We go against orders, we keep our First Officer, but possibly chance the Emperor declaring us as mutinous."
After a moment of silence so deep that Spock's breathing was the loudest thing in the room, Kirk reached over and activated the intercom.
"Kirk to Bridge. Sulu."
"Aye. Captain?"
"Lay in a course for the Vulcan colony."
"At once, sir."
"That is all. Kirk out."
Turning back to McCoy, Kirk's grin was insolence personified.
"Screw Komack."
"Not unless I hose him down with a strong disinfectant first, Jim."
Spock has maneuvered into a seated position on the floor and seemed to be struggling to figure out exactly what was going on. His brows were nearly meeting above his nose when he finally conceded defeat and looked Kirk straight in the eye.
"Why?"
"Why what? Why have I chosen you over Komack? Part of it is curiosity. We're taking you to the colony, so you're going to pay for the trip by filling in the blanks. So - what is this pon farr stuff and why has it put your health in jeopardy?"
For a second, Kirk thought Spock was going to refuse, but only for a second. The Vulcan's shoulders slumped before he spoke softly.
"It is a matter highly guarded among my people even before the loss of our planet. It has long been feared that the Emperor would view it as a weakness and an excuse to commit genocide on the Vulcan race."
McCoy had resettled himself into a leaning position by the door again, still holding his phaser, but not aiming it. After a moment to let Spock's words sink in, he spoke again.
"It's not a social custom, is it? It's something hard-wired into your damn DNA."
Closing his eyes, Spock gave one brief nod.
"Correct, Doctor. Pon farr is a biological throwback in Vulcan evolution."
The image of the woman being fought over came to McCoy again.
"A breeding imperative? Like salmon being forced back to their home streams to spawn?"
Kirk started to snap at McCoy to be serious, but then saw the green flush darkening Spock's skin and his mouth literally dropped open for a moment.
"Seriously? You're compelled by your bodies to go breed or die? No wonder the Vulcans have hidden that from the Empire."
It was a day of surprises for Spock as McCoy spoke again, this time with genuine sympathy in his voice.
"Work with us here, Spock. We could end up executed for disobeying orders to help you, but I think you're worth that risk. Jim?"
"If I didn't think that, I wouldn't have ordered the course set. Reporting the . . . quirk of Vulcan reproduction to the Empire isn't in our best interests."
Of course, when the day came that Kirk was able to take power himself came? That information could come in very handy. Even more so if he had McCoy do some research to look for a way to trigger pon farr artificially. He could talk to his CMO about that after this was over. For now, he gave Spock a speculative look.
"Now that you know we're headed for the Vulcan colony, will you be able to keep yourself under control or do we need to relocate you to the brig for safety until we arrive?"
"While I do not believe the brig is necessary, confinement to my quarters until our arrival would likely be wise. The more time that passes, the more likely my control is to slip."
Kirk smirked.
"Sure. What the hell? You've already broken everything in here. Why tear up a brig cell as well? Once Bones and I leave, I'll relock it under my authority. Try to go around that and I'll fall back to the 'merciful' option and try to make it to the inauguration in time. Are we clear?"
"Quite clear, sir."
"We'll be back for you once we're in orbit over the colony. Oh - and we'll be accompanying you to the surface."
"Captain, I do not want -"
Kirk cut him off with both voice and gesture.
"What you want is beside the point, Spock. I'm putting a lot on the line over this pon farr business. The three of us go or none of us do."
With a sound that sound much like a sigh, Spock lowered his head and conceded the argument to Kirk. Satisfied, Kirk headed for the door - though McCoy noted that he wisely never put his back to the Vulcan. Releasing the lock on the door, the two of them exited before Kirk resealed the outer door under his verbal authority.
"You're coming with me to the Bridge, Bones. After we find out how long we have until we reach the colony, you and I are going to spend that time in the ready room. You're going to tell me everything you can remember from that old Vulcan."