Chapter 21- Discoveries

I continued my lessons with Spock as well as Sulu with McCoy's hesitant blessing. Spock was getting me to think and react faster in our sessions by teaching a meditation technique called mindfulness. On the surface, the two seemed unrelated, but with practice one could put themselves in a state of detached calmness that allowed them to focus entirely on that moment. Like small glimpses of a foreign land, I could occasionally stop trying to figure out what his next move would be and simply observe his stance and see his options of attack as he did. In this way, I could think like he did and it was much easier to defend yourself if you knew your opponent's mind as well as your own.

McCoy came down a few times with Jim after dinner to watch, which I thought was a little odd. McCoy never showed his face in the rec room unless someone dropped weights on their neck or lost an eye fencing. He much preferred to stay to himself and socialize with Amber- or any brown alcohol at hand. I just chalked it up to his desire to see Spock get taken down by a woman no matter how infrequent that may have been, and he certainly did smile wide when I was able to.

His mood soured, however, when one morning Jim paged me in the office to tell me to report to the bridge for my first away excursion. I was giddy with anticipation. After all, what else had I been training so hard for if not the chance to see another world up close and personal? Although the page was for me, McCoy felt it necessary to escort me and I knew why. Even though his opinion was not sought, the particulars of this mission would have to pass muster for him to allow me to go. I was under the distinct impression that if any aspect of this trip did not suit him, he would not hesitate to throw up a red card and declare me medically unfit without feeling a need to further justify his decision. He simply didn't have to, he was the damn CMO and no one ever questioned him except Jim, but even then he usually prevailed with well timed profanities and wilting glares that were every bit as sharp as his surgical tools.

When we arrived, Jim was standing with Sulu at Spock's station. "Bones!" Jim exclaimed, slapping him on the shoulder. "You have a wicked sense of timing. I was just going to call you."

"Why?" McCoy inquired, folding his arms across his chest and squinting at his friend in a distrustful manner.

"On screen, Spock." Jim requested before pointing at an image of a red planet on the huge viewing wall. "This is AR-558. Starfleet wanted us to swing by and check it out. We thought it was uninhabited, but there are signs of infrastructure on the surface." He looked at me and smirked. "I thought this would be a good one for you to start off on. It is essentially a mud ball with some old buildings on it, but we don't want to plop you down into something dangerous."

McCoy's scowl grew deeper as did his voice. "You are going to send her down there when it could be inhabited? God knows what's down there."

"I am not God, Doctor," Spock interjected dryly, "but bio scans did not detect any life forms on the surface, indicating there is in fact nothing down there."

McCoy wanted to throttle him at that moment judging by the way the veins in his neck came to the surface and pulsed slightly, but he chose to direct his attention to Jim who was snickering. "So what the hell does all this have to do with me?" He growled. "There is no reason for me to go down unless you are planning on getting yourself into trouble, which you always somehow manage even on an absolutely barren world covered in nothing but dirt."

Jim chuckled and replied. "I know you love me, Bones. But I know that you love being in command even more." McCoy's face fell and he looked at Spock. "He's going, along with Sulu." Jim pointed out.

"What about Scotty, then?" He asked irritated.

"Scotty is going too because there seems to be some remnants of technology in some of the buildings and we need him to check it out. With Spock, Scotty, and I all off the ship, you are next in the chain of command, so…" He gestured grandly to his seat below Spock's console and smiled grandly. "She's all yours. Don't break her."

He glared at Jim and plopped down with a huff. Unlike Scotty, McCoy looked at home and something like the Emperor minus the wrinkles and cape as he sat fuming. "If I had any goddamn sense I would take off and leave you there for this and every other spiteful thing you have done to me since the day I met you."

"Wow, Bones." Jim observed turning to Spock. "And I thought your memory was long." McCoy turned to Jim in the chair and just stared at him. "Relax. We will be down and back in no time. Chekov and Uhura will keep you company while we are gone." He waived dismissively. McCoy turned back to look fiercely down at Pavel who was sitting at his station trying to ignore the burning sensation of the CMO's glare on the back of his skull. McCoy's memory didn't need to be that long to remember the doctored photograph. Jim leaned over Spock's console to tap him on the shoulder. "Bonsey, would it make you feel better if I brought back a souvenir for you?"

McCoy sighed and looked up at his friend. "The only thing I want you to bring back is yourself, completely intact. I know it is a lot to ask, but why don't you give it a try?"

Jim straightened and smiled. "I will do the best I can. I need to borrow Chekov to run the transporter since Scotty can't. Sit tight and we will be back in a flash." Chekov looked infinitely relieved like a mouse that had been removed from the snake's cage and we made our way to the transporter room where Scotty was waiting for us.

I nervously took my place in a circle on the pad next to Scotty. "Never done this afore, lass?" He asked with a wicked grin when he noticed the tension in my face. "Nothin' to it, really. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath. That's what ah do."

"Energizing." Pavel announced. I did as Scotty suggested and tried not to panic when I felt as though I were melting before becoming light and floating. There was a brief moment when I was not aware of anything before the whole process reversed itself and I found myself solid and whole again. I was shaking a little and the first few steps were difficult, but Sulu placed a supportive hand on my shoulder and said, "It is hard for everyone the first time they do it. You will be fine." His warm smile was comforting and I thanked him.

"Ok." Jim mused squinting out at the vast, barren landscape that stretched out to the horizon in front of us. Wind kicked up dry, red dust and we all squinted to keep it out of our eyes. "According to the scans, the machines seem to be in the buildings to the left. Scotty, Spock, why don't you guys check that out while Sulu, Collins, and I see what is in the main complex."

We broke up and I instinctively stayed close to Sulu as Jim sprang ahead like a kid in a candy store. Sulu shielded his eyes against the bright sun and looked up at the red stone structure that reminded me faintly of Greek temples; massive columns supported flat roofs under the blazing sky. There was no source of shelter for miles in any direction and I wondered who lived here and why they left. I looked back to the horizon and it seemed somehow darker than it did just a minute ago. I casually pointed it out to Sulu who regarded the phenomenon warily.

"Captain!" Sulu yelled inside the empty room. His voice echoed off the walls, but Jim did not respond. "Captain!" He again shouted before muttering, "Dr. McCoy will have my ass if something happened to him this quick. What could he possibly have gotten into?" We looked around, but he was nowhere to be found.

We were both startled by a shuffling and grunting noise coming from a far back wall that was partially obscured by a fallen column. Sulu drew his phaser and slowly approached, motioning for me to stay back. "Sulu!" came Jim's voice. We both rushed forward to see him struggling to wiggle through a crack in the wall that a terrier would have difficulty getting through. He was covered in scrapes and his shirt was torn. Sulu looked dismayed. "There is a whole underground chamber down there." He gasped finally pulling his legs free. He stood and held out an old looking scroll. "Look what I found. I think it might have something to do with what happened here."

Sulu moved back to the entrance for more light and all of us huddled around to see what amounted to cave paintings depicting stick figures of two different types fighting. "I don't know who they are," Jim said pointing to the figures on the right with weapons poised, "but these are obviously women." He shared a sly smile with Sulu when he pointed to the left where all of the figures were equipped with breasts as well as weapons.

"Do you think it was some kind of gender war? I don't see any women on the other side." Sulu asked.

"Maybe it is some kind of mating ritual, I don't know." Jim laughed. "But there is writing on another that was with it. We will see if Uhura can make anything of it."

Outside it was getting very dark. The wind was picking up and sand began swirling in dangerous patterns. We heard Scotty yelling before he and Spock dashed into the door, brushing sand off their uniforms. Spock regarded Jim's rumpled appearance briefly, but didn't appear to think it was anything out of the ordinary. "I believe we have been caught by a sandstorm, Captain." He reported stiffly. "We should return to the ship if it is still possible."

"You are probably right, Spock." He concurred removing a communication device from his belt. "Kirk to Chekov." There was only a garbled response. "Chekov, do you read me?" He asked again. Only static greeted him.

"Shite." Scotty breathed plopping down. "Might as well wait it out, Captain."

We all took seats on the cold floor more or less in a circle. "What did you guys find over there?" Sulu asked making conversation.

"The machinery they had was fair busted up and primitive." Scotty scoffed. "But the last transmission was on a loop. It was a distress signal sayin' they was under attack." Jim showed the two men his find and Scotty immediately burst into laughter while Spock studied it thoughtfully. "A clan of lasses?" He roared. "Och! They can hunt me any day!" Spock stared at him blankly.

The storm continued to rage outside while Jim and Scotty tried to explain to Spock why they found the drawing funny while Spock lectured them on the mythology of matriarchal warrior societies in his trademark dispassionate tone. Sulu and I sat quietly and listened, determined to stay out of the debate no matter how many times we were entreated to join in.

After some time, the storm finally passed and Jim could clearly hear Chekov when he instructed us to move outside quickly before the second half of the storm hit. The strange dissolving feeling came over me when Chekov retrieved us and I was glad to see his face at the controls of the transporter room.

I followed the rest of the group up to the bridge to see McCoy still scowling. Behind him, the planet was still on screen, but what looked like a large hurricane marred it's previously placid face. "Holy shit!" Jim exclaimed pointing at it with a sparkle in his eye. "Is that the storm we just came out of?"

"Yes, Jim." McCoy confirmed in a low voice. "Only you have the ability to conjure up a natural disaster by your sheer presence." He looked his friend up and down, taking stock of his condition. "And I see you failed to keep your promise."

Jim glanced down at himself before turning on the charm. "I didn't promise you nothin'. I said I would try." He smiled. "Guess I didn't try hard enough. But you have to admit, Bones, this is the best I have ever looked coming back from an away mission and you don't even have to check me out. That's something, right?"

"Yes, Jim. You sure are something." He admitted relinquishing the chair and heading to the lift.

"Bonsey!" Jim called after him. "You know you love me!" McCoy huffed and shook his head as the doors closed.