No one but Captain James T Kirk could have endured the constant bickering of his First Officer and CMO while trying to find a way out of the current situation.
They had beamed into the caldera of a super volcano with several teams of scientists, and once things started to become dangerous, they had let the others beam up until the only three left were Kirk, his CMO and First officer.
Then, of course, the transporter decided to have a 'temper-tantrum' as McCoy had so elegantly described it.
Scotty had told them to get out of there as fast as possible, but check in so the Enterprise could keep a firm fix on their positions so the instant the transporter was ready they could be pulled away.
The shuttles were (of course) getting upgraded at a nearby starbase. Who would've expected to need them?
Certainly not Kirk, who was beginning to regret the decision to leave them.
They were reaching on edge of the caldera, but the surrounding mountains were going to make the going difficult.
Kirk knew, and likely so did the men behind him, that unless the transporter was fixed in time, they would likely be killed. If not in the initial blast, there would be falling debris, lava, pyroclastic flows, and of course giant cracks in the earth from the tremors.
The situation looked bleak to say the very least.
And yet behind him the Vulcan and Doctor continued to argue. Kirk, by now, knew that was their way of making the most of a dire situation.
"Oh common Spock, you know that back in the early 21st century humans survived the super volcano that erupted at Yellowstone." McCoy suddenly said, making Kirk actually stop and listen to the conversation. How it had gone from a teasing argument to this, Kirk had no idea.
"Yes, but the area with 600 miles of the blast was covered in ash. A radius of 60 miles was stripped of all life – both plants and animals – due to pyroclastic flows. Following that was a period of very cold years that killed many due to lack of heat and food."
"Yes, but the technology at the time warned everyone. The area 200 miles around was completely evacuated." McCoy said.
"Yes, the seismic tremors and ground bulging were warning enough for people to leave. The final warning was a low rumbling." Spock said.
They all grew silent.
"Spock do you hear anything?" McCoy asked timidly, relying on Spock's keen hearing.
"If you are referring to the low rumbling, I do not." Spock said.
"Do let us know Spock the instant you heard it." Kirk said.
Suddenly, the ground shook. They were thrown down, and wisely were on alert for the ground splitting apart.
When the earthquake subsided, they rose and began to move faster.
"The Yellowstone blast did kill over 600,000 people however Doctor."
"Yes, thanks to the ash mostly." McCoy said. "It damages the lungs and also kills many plants that could have been food."
"Gentleman, perhaps a more cheerful conversation?" Kirk suggested.
"What would you recommend Captain?" Spock asked.
"I don't know, but nothing about this giant time bomb we're on." Kirk said.
They fell into silence then, and reached the edge of the caldera in about fifteen minutes.
Kirk looked around at the surrounding mountains.
"Any suggestions?" He asked the others. They had no standard climbing equipment, not that it would make anything any simpler.
"I recommend looking for a valley to follow." Spock said.
McCoy nodded, still looking a little unnerved by this. Studying it was one thing, but by now they should have been on the ship.
"Alright, I'm going to check in." Kirk said, flipping open his communicator. "Kirk to Enterprise."
"Enterprise, Sulu here sir."
"How's it going up there? " Kirk asked. "Any estimate on eruption?"
"Work on the transporter is proceeding rapidly, we estimate only another hour." Sulu replied.
"And the time to eruption?" Kirk asked, not sure he wanted to know.
"Forty minutes captain." Sulu replied, sounding reluctant. "We have contacted the nearest ship to come give us a hand, but I am not sure how quickly they will arrive."
Kirk exchanged a look with Spock and McCoy.
"Thank you Sulu, we'll check in soon. By the way, are there any valley's through the mountains near our location?"
"Two kilometers south Captain." Sulu replied.
"Very good, Kirk out." Kirk flipped the communicator shut.
"Jim, I have a phaser on me." Spock said.
"I see, and what good will that do?" Kirk asked, slightly confused.
"If the transporter is not fixed in time, it may be easier to… end it quickly." Spock said.
"Thank you Mr. Spock. I will let each of you decide that for yourself if the time comes." Kirk said.
McCoy was still looking a bit stunned. Kirk had never seen him quite so horrified in his life.
"You mean to tell me you are suggesting suicide?" McCoy asked the Vulcan.
"Yes Doctor, you know just how painful the other possibilities are." Spock said.
The doctor sighed. "I suppose I do."
They continued to jog towards the valley. Two kilometers took them about twenty minutes. The narrow valley consisted of a small shoreline next to a broad river. The sandy trail made the going difficult and slow.
"Hang on a minute." Kirk said, stopping and breathing hard after their long jog. "I want to contact the ship one – again." He hadn't the heart to say 'one last time' since it seemed like bad luck to say that.
Then again, so did making the others wait for him. "You two can go ahead."
"Nonsense, we're sticking together." McCoy said, stopped to pant heavily. Of the three, he was the most out of shape.
Spock nodded in firm agreement to McCoy's declaration and Kirk had to smile at their loyalty, not that going on any further had much sense now.
"Kirk to Enterprise." He said after flipping the communicator open.
"Uhura here sir."
"Status on transporter repairs?" Kirk asked, trying to sound nonchalant about it.
"Captain, we still need about another twenty minutes." Uhura said.
"And time to the eruption?" Kirk asked.
"I…." The three of them all heard Uhura's sad gasp. Kirk could picture her putting a hand to her lips. The communicator when silent a moment and then there was a new voice.
"Scott here Captain. The eruption may take another ten minutes, give or take." Scott said.
"You did your best Scotty." Kirk said, feeling for the engineer. Usually, Scotty could find a way to overcome any technical dilemma that came their way.
"Captain, I am awful sorry." Scotty said. "It's going as quickly as it can."
"The other ship, is it close?" Kirk asked, trying not to loose hope.
"Haven't heard anything Captain." Scotty said.
"Very well then. Scotty, I want you to collect the data from the explosion and then take the ship back to the Starbase. I leave her in your hands. Sulu, I'd like you to become acting First Officer."
Kirk looked to McCoy and Spock and see if either of them had any final wishes. Both exchanged looks with one another and then solemnly shook their heads.
"Captain, I wish you the best of luck." Scotty said.
"And I captain. It has been an honor to serve with you gentlemen." Sulu's voice came over the communicator.
"Captain, I know you can see us, but we are all saluting." Uhura informed them.
"I appreciate that." Kirk said, putting his hand to his forehead to salute to the sky. McCoy and Spock, behind him, did likewise.
After several seconds, Kirk withdrew his hand smartly and flipped the communicator shut. He fully expected it to be the last time, though he knew his loyal crew would struggle to the last to fix the transporter in time.
They looked at one another.
"Spock, I uh, I was proud to serve with you." McCoy finally said, turning around and offering a hand to the Vulcan.
"It has been a pleasure, Doctor, to be your friend." Spock said, being uncharacteristically 'human' in his words. His face betrayed no emotions however.
"Spock, you have been a wonderful friend, and my strong right hand. I could not have come as far as I have without you." Kirk said, smiling at the Vulcan. Then he turned to McCoy. "And you Bones, have been a listening ear and caring heart when it is most needed."
Kirk went over to shake Spock's hand, but McCoy pulled them both into a hug.
Suddenly, there was a low rumbling.
"Spock, would you… would you shoot me when it's certain?" McCoy asked, backing out of the group hug.
"As you wish Doctor." Spock said, removing his phaser from his belt and setting it to kill.
Just as he did so, a long bang echoed in their ears, but they were shimmering and disappeared from the ground, which quickly became covered by debris.
They reappeared in the transporter room of an unfamiliar ship and Captain Kirk looked around in surprise. The man at the transporter controls was already shouting in the comm. that he had them.
"Well thank God, send them to their own ship then." The voice on the other end ordered.
Kirk was going to thank the captain for his timely rescued, but he was already being pulled away, back to his own ship where he was met with a welcoming reception that never seemed to end. It was hard to explain how tired he was.
He finally retired to his quarters, and Spock and McCoy followed him. They were all exhausted, even if Spock maintained his constant look of total awareness while McCoy fought yawns.
They reached his room and he let them follow him in.
What he had forgotten was that he had set the camera's that had been doing live recordings of the planet from several angles to replay on his own computer. Even now, five boxes out of nine were replaying the destruction on his screen. The other four were either lost or completely darkened by pyroclastic flows.
They were all silent, staring at the screen, and thinking about their very dangerous journey through the caldera.
Yes, I've been watching one too many videos on the Yellowstone super volcano. Still, makes for some good inspiration.