Ch 23: Exploration
Scotty yawned loudly as he stood behind the controls of the teleporter. Just when he had finally gotten to sleep, he had gotten a call summoning him to the transporter room, much to his dismay. Sleepy tears clung to his eyelashes as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He certainly hoped there were some incredible new life forms on this planet that were worth waking him up just to send people down.
The door to the transporter room opened and in walked two security officers. He didn't recognize the first one that walked in, but he immediately recognized Azrael as he walked in. Their eyes met in awkward recognition of each other and they both gave a short nod. Behind Azrael strode Spock, arms clasped behind his back as usual. Behind Spock came Kirk, whose red eyes and bandaged neck caught Scotty's attention. He pondered curiously what was wrong with the captain until he spotted McCoy. The eyes that had been half closed out of exhaustion opened wide when he saw the finger marks around McCoy's neck. Scotty remembered the conversation he heard between McCoy and Chapel and darted his eyes between the doctor and his captain. He put two and two together and created a rather vivid scenario in his head.
He pictured Kirk and McCoy standing face to face in sick bay yelling at each other. They were arguing over whether Kirk should be involved romantically with Spock or not. Kirk in an enraged delirium grabs McCoy by the neck and begins choking him. McCoy desperately tries to pull Kirk's hands off of his neck, but the adrenaline flowing through Kirk's veins has made him stronger than him. A hand gropes out and reaches for something, anything from the medical table behind him. His hand wraps around a scalpel and slashes at Kirk's neck. Immediately Kirk's hands release McCoy's throat and press against the wound on his. Realizing what he's done, McCoy switches back into doctor mode and quickly tends to the wound. They apologize and hug, crying.
"Mr. Scott!"
Scotty shakes the image out of his head and sees the five men standing on the teleporter pads waiting to be beamed down to the planet's surface. All of them had a look varying between irritation and confusion, except for Spock of course, who stared blankly at Scotty. Rapidly blinking his eyes to regain his focus, he apologized. "Sorry 'bout that. Guess mah mind was elsewhere."
"If you're with us now, do you think you could beam us down to the planet?" Kirk said, irritation dripping from his voice.
"Sure, of course," Scotty said, his face turning a soft pink. He made some adjustments on the control pad then initialized the transport. "Beaming ya down now."
Light whirled around the five men, and in seconds they had disappeared from the transporter room. Scotty sighed and lowered himself down into the chair that sat behind him. He put his arms on the teleporter controls and rested his head. It was going to be a while before they came back, so he took the opportunity to get some much needed rest.
The landing party rematerialized on the surface of the planet. There was green as far as the eye could see. Lush plants and trees with beautiful flowers and lush fruit filled the air with an intoxicating fragrance. An orange sun shined high above them, sending beams of orange light peaking through the tree leaves. Kirk was reminded of the rainforests back home that were once threatened to the point of eradication in the late 2000s. Thankfully mankind had caught on to their wasteful ways and made a massive movement to preserve and revive them.
They all pulled out their tricorders and began walking, looking at the beauty around them. Kirk said, "Alright guys, this place is pretty big, so we'll need to split up to cover more ground. Try to record anything out of the ordinary and use your communicators if you run into trouble. Lieutenant Azrael and Ensign Robert, you two form a team. McCoy and Spock, you're with me."
As Azrael and Robert set off into the wilderness, McCoy leaned close to Kirk and whispered in his ear, "Jim, are you mad? After what he did to me, don't you think that he should go with the security team instead of us?" By the time the search party had been announced, McCoy had barely gained enough strength to join it. Though he really could have used about another hour or two of rest, he wasn't comfortable with the idea of sending Chapel down in his place. To be honest, he wasn't comfortable with sending anyone down in his place, so he decided to suck it up and go anyway.
Kirk leaned over and whispered a reply. "If he's with us, we can both keep an eye on him. Besides, if we're both alone, he'll be suspicious. It's better if he's in our group."
"You are aware that I am able to hear you?" Spock asked. The color in Kirk and McCoy's face drained as they stared at the smirking Vulcan. "You two forget, Vulcans have much better hearing than humans do. Even if you whisper to each other, I can hear you as clearly as though you were speaking normally."
McCoy frowned at the Vulcan, but Kirk turned his head away. He couldn't bear to look at Spock at that moment. He secretly would have preferred to put him with the security officers as well, but knew the consequences of being apart from him while he worked with McCoy would only encourage him to do something even more devious than he had already done.
"Come on, let's start looking around," Kirk said, walking off into a random direction. McCoy and Spock shared a dark look with each other then followed.
Azrael swatted at the foliage that constantly dangled in front of his face as he walked. Nature was never his thing, and he was seriously hating every minute of this exploration mission. Meanwhile behind him, Robert seemed to be in heaven. "Wow, would you look at all this?" he said as he stared in awe at the massive plants around him. "This place is amazing! I've never seen so many beautiful flowers and such delicious looking fruit! And look at the size of these plants! They don't grow like this on Earth!"
Sighing heavily, Azrael said, "You know, this isn't a field trip Bob. We didn't come down here so we can 'ooh' and 'aah' at the scenery! We're looking for intelligent life, and just my luck, I didn't get partnered up with any."
He heard a rustle of leaves behind him and then a crunching sound. With cat like reflexes, Azrael grabbed his phaser and spun around, only to find that Robert had pulled a large yellow fruit from a nearby bush and was happily munching on it. He sprang forward and slapped the fruit out of Robert's hand. Robert looked down at the now dirty fruit that lay on the forest floor and said, "Hey man, I was eating that! What's the big idea?"
"What are you, a moron?!?" Azrael exclaimed. "You don't just pick up a random piece of fruit on a foreign planet and start chowing down on it! You're lucky Doctor McCoy wasn't in our group because he would have slapped you instead of the fruit! There's not telling if that fruit is poisonous or not, and you just took a giant bite out of it!"
Dejected, Robert pouted at his friend. "Well sorry! I didn't get to eat any breakfast today so I'm a little hungry! Besides, it looked normal enough so I figured it'd be safe to eat! You have the night shift so you can eat before your shift and be fine, but I got the morning shift and I don't get a chance to eat before I come in!" Azrael rolled his eyes at Robert and turned back around.
"You know, Spock came in this morning looking for you," Robert said as he followed Azrael through the foliage. "He didn't say why he was looking for you, but I'm willing to bet it has something to do with the rumors you've been spreading lately."
Azrael stopped suddenly, causing Robert to slam into his back. "Hey, don't stop so suddenly like that!" Robert said, thoroughly annoyed at having bumped into his companion. Azrael turned around, a look of horror on his face. "Spock was looking for me?!?" he said, his eyes wide and face pale.
"Yeah, like I said, he came in this morning looking for you. He even asked for you by name!" Robert started to get nervous; his friend's face was pure white and it had seemed like he had stopped breathing. "Hey, you alright? You were worrying about me eating a random fruit, but you're the one looking like he's been poisoned!"
Grabbing two fists full of Robert's uniform, Azrael rasped, "He's going to kill me!" Robert looked at him strangely and shook his head. "I don't think he'll go so far as to kill you, but I'm sure you'll wind up in the brig for slandering a commanding officer…"
"NO!" Azrael yelled, shaking his friend violently. "You don't understand! I saw him making out with Captain Kirk in the elevator before my shift ended! If he knows that I eavesdropped on him before, he'll know I've seen him! HE'S! GOING! TO! KILL ME!" Azrael shook his poor friend with each of word of his last sentence. The poor ensign became dizzy from all the shaking and turned a light shade of green.
Satisfied that his friend had gotten the point, Azrael let go of Robert and let him wobble unsteadily on his feet. Panting, he said, "We've got to put as much distance between us and their group as possible. Come on, follow me." He turned back around and tromped through the foliage. Steadying himself, Robert began to follow.
"What's the big deal about seeing Kirk and Spock making out in the elevator?" Robert asked, oblivious to the gravity of the situation. "So they got a thing for each other, so what? They're grown men; they can do whatever they want! Hell, if it keeps us all from getting killed, so much the better right?"
Azrael yelled behind him without turning around to keep himself from bashing his friend's stupid head in. "That's not the point Robert! They weren't just making out in the elevator! You know that bandage on the captain's neck? That's not because of a hickey; Spock bit him and drank his blood!"
It was Robert's turn to stop in his tracks. "Wait, so what, you're trying to say that Spock is a vampire?!?"
Azrael stopped and held his head with his free hand. He wasn't sure how Robert had managed to make it into Starfleet. He probably would've made a better janitor somewhere with his intelligence, but his ability to fight made him somewhat useful as a security officer. Refusing to reply to his dimwitted friend, he continued on through the foliage, leaving Robert to try and catch up.
"Any signs of life?" Kirk asked his companions.
Spock and McCoy both looked down at their tricorders, which beeped and whirring quietly in their hands. McCoy shook his head as Spock spoke, "Negative Captain. It appears that aside from the abundant flora, this planet is completely devoid of life. However, given that it is difficult to explore when we are surrounded by foliage, perhaps if we could get to a high vantage point we could see if there are any villages in the distance."
"Even if there are villages here," McCoy added, "whatever life forms live here would have to live solely on the vegetation. That still doesn't explain the complete lack of fauna on the planet! There should at least be a bug or two crawling around somewhere, but I'm not picking any up! It doesn't make any sense!"
Kirk thought for a moment then spoke up. "Maybe this planet is still in its early stages. Back when Earth was young, life on the surface consisted solely of plant life while all the animal life lived in the water. Perhaps this planet isn't much different."
"It is also possible that intelligent life lives solely in the water and not on the planet's surface," Spock added. He gave an approving look at Kirk and smiled. "An astute conclusion, Captain. I am impressed."
The captain blushed despite himself. As angry as he still was, hearing Spock say he was impressed with him. McCoy rolled his eyes at the two of them and was about to distract himself when his tricorder started going crazy. He looked down at it and said, "Jim! I think I got a life reading! That theory of yours about animal life is about to be put to the test!"
McCoy headed off in the direction of the readings he was picking up, shortly followed by Kirk. Spock, however, did not follow. Instead he waited until they were out of sight and then used his tricorder to track where Azrael and Robert were. Finding their readings, he headed off in their direction. He had a bone to pick with Azrael…
The two security officers continued their tromp through the wilderness, both significantly less enthusiastic about the planet's surface beauty. The sun beat down on them, making their uniforms an uncomfortable death trap. The ground beneath them was riddled with roots and large plants that required them to constantly lift their feet as they walked, wearing them out twice as fast. Robert seemed to be in the worst shape of the two, sweating profusely and panting heavily.
"How…long do we…have to explore…this damned…planet?" he wheezed. Azrael, in hardly much better shape than his companion, replied, "Hell if I know…I guess until we find something…interesting enough to call them back."
Robert's pace began to slow. "I…don't feel…so hot…can…we rest?" Azrael stopped walking and turned back around. Breathing heavily, he said, "Sure, why not? I haven't picked up anything. I doubt walking anymore will help." He walked up to a tree and leaned against it to try and catch his breath. Robert hunched over and placed his hands on his knees, gasping for air. Azrael looked at him and chuckled weakly. "For a security officer, you seem kinda weak."
"Shut…up…" Robert spat. He was fully aware that he wasn't really cut out to be a security officer. In fact, he wasn't really even cut out to be in Starfleet. The only reasons he had joined were to make his family happy and to get chicks. Technically he had managed to make his family happy, but he felt confident he'd get in good enough shape to attract someone. With his current losing streak, it would probably have to be an Orion. They seemed the type to sleep with any male that lived and breathed, which already put him higher on their list than anyone else's.
Rustling came from their southwest. Despite his fatigue, Azrael quickly whipped out his phaser and pointed it at the source. Robert was considerably slower, but reacted fast enough where he could have gotten a shot in before being attacked. From the rustling leaves emerged Commander Spock, which proved to be a bigger fright than anything else they could have imagined at that time. They lowered their weapons and holstered them back in their utility belt as the Vulcan approached him.
"I did not mean to alarm you," Spock said as he reached earshot. "The Captain and Doctor McCoy seem to have found something, so I thought to gather you two up. That is of course unless you have found something as well?"
Nervously, Azrael answered, "No Commander, we've yet to find anything of interest other than the abundance of flora. Ensign Robert decided it would be a good idea to eat a piece of fruit from one of the plants, but beyond that, nothing of mention has happened." He eyed Spock carefully, not wanting to let his guard down for a second. His training as a security officer taught him to be weary even of familiar faces, as you never know what form the enemy would take. Spock may have been an ally, but he had heard about his uncontrolled outburst on the bridge against Kirk. If that rage was ever directed towards him…
"Well, if that is the case then we should make our way to the captain's and the doctor's location," Azrael relaxed a bit when he heard this, but still did not let his guard down. They all began walking in the direction Spock came when Spock spun around faster than Azrael could see and punched him in his face. Before he could counter, the Vulcan had grabbed him and thrown him at the tree he stood against just moments ago.
In his weakened state, Robert was not much help, but he somehow managed to put Spock in a headlock. Gaining a grip on the smaller man, Spock flipped the ensign over him and tossed him straight onto the ground. The moment the ensign hit the ground, the air in his lungs instantly vacated his body. With the annoying young man out of the way, Spock could focus on Azrael, at least until the ensign could recover. He marched over to the man who had just gotten back on his feet and kicked him squarely in the chest. He then clasped his hands together and brought them down on the hunched over lieutenant's back. Azrael dropped to the floor, but did not lose consciousness.
Spock bent down and picked the lieutenant up by his throat. Azrael clenched his jaw and strained to keep his throat open despite the Vulcan's death grip. Spock sneered at Azrael as his face slowly changed color. "Now you see the folly of abusing ones power. Your eyes have seen things they were never meant to see, and instead of doing the smart thing and keeping your trap shut, you babbled like a fool so that those you spied on would find out."
He gave Azrael's neck a squeeze, causing the man to let out a gurgle. Spock laughed and asked, "You believed that spreading word of your illicit voyeurisms would make you popular, but where has your gossiping led you now? You are held in the clutches of one of your own victims, about to have your life snuffed out. How does it feel?"
Just before Spock could crush Azrael's neck, he felt a stabbing pain in his neck, followed immediately with a sudden rush of fatigue and blurred vision. His grip on Azrael loosened and the lieutenant dropped to the ground. Spock tried to turn and see what had assaulted his neck, but found the world around him had already gone black.
Doctor McCoy stood over Spock with the sedative still in his hand. Behind him was a grim faced Kirk who lifted the now unconscious lieutenant from the forest floor. Leaving Spock, who was now completely harmless, he checked on the still body of Robert. Pressing a finger to the young ensign's neck, he froze in horror. Kirk looked at McCoy and asked, "How is he Bones?"
McCoy slowly turned and looked at Kirk. The moment their eyes met, Kirk already knew what he was about to hear. It didn't change the terrible nausea that ensued after he heard the three gravest words he had ever heard from his best friend's lips.
"He's dead, Jim."