((ADDENDUM: I changed the last name of the CMO of the space station to Rasul. I don't normally do that, never have before, but in this case I had a good enough reason to do it.

Chapter heading is a part of a line of the song Mother of Light by Epica. That in turn is, I think, an allusion to Douglas Adams. I had no idea what the hell I'll name this chapter, I just finished writing it and pondered. This song had started a bit earlier, and suddenly I am presented with this line. That's how I like it. :) ))

The news of Commander Melczuk's suicide had travelled through the space station like a wildfire. The good doctor had proven his presence of mind by taking back the two nara capsules Jim had left with her. They could be used for communication, and it was high time they agreed on another meeting by the lake. For one thing, they had to return to the planet surface for further research. For another, they needed another opportunity to be among themselves. Somehow Spock felt it was not safe to communicate in their rooms.

So Leonard had given one of the capsules to Spock and one to T'Kray during a break. Spock could of course communicate to Jim without words. The message was a short one: 1.00. The code had been passed with the capsule, disguised as a handshake accompanied by a hearty 'Fancy seeing you', which had turned out to be the phrase for opening the capsule.

This time, they had two tricorders with them. An ordinary one, since Spock could now access them without having to ask, and one from the sickbay. 'Not that I'm scared, but just how likely is it that one of us will be plantified?' Spock raised an eyebrow.

'Plantified, Leonard? That is hardly a scientific term.'

'No, but one that describes it well enough. So, any odds?'

'Actually, I do not know.' That fact alone was quite annoying. 'As imprecise an answer as it is, I must say unlikely. At daytime, there are still people working outside, and since the last incident, nothing has happened. Because I do not know what determines the transformation, I cannot give you odds.' He pressed his lips together for a moment. 'I have come to the conclusion that we should not spend an extended period of time here, however. It seems that the scientists that were affected were in the forest for at least five hours. However …' He broke off and took readings of the air around them. 'Interesting. There are even less pollen here at this moment than we had on the station. There are, however, these other single-cell organisms. They are the ovules, as it turns out. The female counterpart.' McCoy frowned at that.

'External fertilisation, Spock? In plants?'

'Rare, but not non-existent. Common in algae but not in higher plants. Doctor, could you set your tricorder to take readings only of the individuals present and exclude the surrounding air?' Leonard beamed at him.

'Why, yes, I can.' He adjusted the settings with a lasting smile. 'You know, I think this was a good idea. To come here. But I must say, I don't feel I need a year.'

'None of us do. Please take readings from all of us. Find if the pollen are in our systems. Then I suggest we go to the dead trees. There is something I would like to know.' Leonard ran the scanners over them all and his expression changed to one of disbelief.

'Well. That's odd. They're present in all of us, a bit in Jim, hardly any in us, and quite a lot in T'Kray, but they're dying.' He looked concerned but kept his mind on their task and set off towards the place where they had found the scientists. 'And they're not in the blood. They're in the brainstem. That can't be good.'

'Interesting. I suggest that you take regular readings off all of us, if possible, every two hours. The development, whatever that is, is fairly rapid. I believe, T'Kray, that to hold on to your control will take more effort soon. Be prepared for that.' The psychologist nodded absently. Leonard took her arm.

'Hey, what's eating you?' She blinked and looked at him.

'How could she kill herself in our sickbay, under our very nose?' Leonard sighed.

'Well, the two guards can contemplate that in the brig. I don't know. Maybe they too got this thing. Maybe they didn't.'

'I requested them because this is what I feared would happen.'

'I know. Thing is, I think Spock's right with something he said earlier. The people in charge here have been promoted to this place because they can't do any damage here. All of them, including Melczuk, have done horribly foolish things before. Instead of a punishment, they were promoted and sent here, into the middle of nowhere. A place where nothing ever goes wrong and they can't hurt anyone. Rasul lost a patient because he didn't double-check the contents of a hypo a younger doctor handed him. He didn't need to check because the other wasn't a houseman, but he should have anyway, I know I would. Melczuk ruined some pretty expensive equipment. And Bligh … Bligh has a passive-aggressive personality disorder that's under control but a horrible risk at another place than this. They don't want to just get rid of the people because they're actually good at what they do, so they put them in a place where they are safe. Only it turns out, here isn't safe for anyone, and so the slips they make are actually very dangerous.'

'What does this have to do with the guards, Len?' There was a hint of impatience in T'Kray's voice, and Leonard cocked his head.

'Well, the guards may have been sent here as some sort of not-quite-punishment, too. Now will you look at that.'

'What?'

'Your pollen are almost all dead.'

'And?'

'And … they're … oh, that's not good.'

'What?'

'As they die, they release a chemical that influences the brainstem into sending an emergency signal to your thyroid, put simply.' Spock raised an eyebrow.

'Fascinating. That explains a part of what is happening.' Jim rubbed the bridge of his nose.

'Spock, might I try another shot in the dark?'

'Certainly.'

'Is it at all possible that this is very lucky? Is there a chance that these pollen in the brainstem attract the female pollen and if they … meet within the same organism the person is turned into a tree?' Spock looked at him for a long time, pondering the implications of that theory.

'This is as worrying as it is plausible, Jim. I believe we should return to the station very soon. There are still things to be found out. Now …' He contemplated the dead tree and braced himself. When he touched it, he felt … nothing. 'T'Kray, would you mind trying?' Exchanging a glance with Spock, she put her palm to the bark as well.

'Nothing. What did you expect?' Spock knew that his disappointment showed, and for once, he did not care.

'Kresar had an idea that made me wonder if there is a chance the people are still alive even if their trees are dead. However, this is not the case. I had feared as much. Nevertheless, it is one hope vanquished.'

ϡ

It seemed almost as if the Commodore had forgotten they were there. They still had their lectures on the planet – and now they heard things they actually needed. Jim had acquired the knowledge he would need by himself, so the lectures were moments he and Spock used for practising shielding. By now, the human could construct a shield without help. What he could not do was maintain a weaker form that needed only a moment's thought to strengthen. He did manage to communicate at times, however. Spock nearly smiled at the thought. This was more difficult by far, but he wanted it so badly he somehow managed it. Most of the time, without consequence. When he tried too hard, it was almost painful, as if he yelled at the top of his lungs directly into Spock's ear. But those lapses were getting rarer, and if he was not too tired, Jim was quite coherent in his transmissions. Like now, where Jim was in engineering and apparently had a moment to himself.

Anything new?

If you find a moment to come here, I can show you, Spock returned. They had indeed found something. Jim's shot in the dark had actually hit the metaphorical bull's eye. Spock had done further research, and not all the conclusions that could be drawn were , theywere nowhere nearer to a solution, something that stopped this from happening in the future, an explanation why it was happening now and never before, and how – if at all – it was possible to get the two men back that were still caught in the trees.

Both Spock and T'Kray had established telepathic contact with the men. There were thoughts. Frantic, scared, and always going in circles. T'Kray had said that was because what they caught were their last thoughts recurring constantly. There was no sign of these thoughts weakening, which was a good thing. However, they did not change either, and they both wondered what that would mean if they could indeed be restored to their human forms. Would their thoughts still be trapped?

The similarity to the state in which Jim had been on the planet Dainam was something both he and T'Kray saw. She had addressed this and had pointed out there was nothing they could do. Jim had been saved with a bacteria that was completely inaccessible. And even if they had it, Spock was less than certain that this would have been an option. For one thing, the scientists were relatively young. After the bacteria-induced rejuvenation, just how young would they be? Toddlers? Unborn foetuses that would die instantly because they were cut off from any potential source of nourishment? Would it simply not work because they were too young? And even if that was not the issue, somehow the side-effect the process had would hit and two people somewhere in the quadrant would come back to life, but only for a spell. They, too would perish because their minds were trapped without any hope of being reconnected. No, this was not an option, and that was actually a good thing.

Of course, these thoughts were moot as long as they had no idea how to undo the physical change in the first place. The door swished open behind Spock, and he shook himself out of his reverie. He did not need to look in order to know who it was. 'You were right, Jim,' he said as the human approached him. 'I had to sacrifice a mouse-like mammal to be certain.' Jim glanced at the very small potted plant on the desk next to the computer screen, and Spock nodded. 'Depending on the size of the animal, the process is very fast or takes several minutes, I assume. I shall not investigate, however. The tricorder did not register pain, but fear of what was happening. And this fear is still there.'

'Can it be undone?'

'Unknown.' Jim sat down next to him, close enough to feel his warmth. 'Do you know how ferns reproduce, Jim?' The human frowned.

'I learned that in school. Something about generations or so. They have different … forms according to their stage of development or so.'

'Close enough, and this is similar. The trees also have a metagenetic cycle, although it must be longersince this is the first occurrence. The trees are diploid anddioecious.' Jim laughed.

'You've lost me, Spock. Can you speak Standard?' The Vulcan obliged.

'This means that the trees have two sets of chromosomes as you and I do and that they have distinct males and females. Many known plants have a mixture of male, female, and bisexual flowers, ours are limited to the sex of the animal or person that was used in the creation of the tree.

'There are many Earth plants that function like this. They need the environment, like birds or insects, to reproduce. Our species here produces pollen and ovules as well, but from there onwards, their reproduction is more similar to that of ferns and mosses: Both their gametes are air- and waterborne and lie dormant for an unknown amount of time. What started their activity I do not know, but they do not just collide in the air to form a new plant, simply speaking. Instead, from these pollen and ovules, a small haploid plant, with only one set of chromosomes, starts to grow. The pollen need to be inside a human or animal organism. For a brief period of time they can be found in a blood sample, but all the tricorders were set to ignore the pollen.'

'Great.'

'Indeed. Once the pollen reach their destination, the brainstem, the development commences. The ovules, in turn, develop into minute flagellates. We saw these as the cloud over the lake.'

'Does that mean if one of us had carried the pollen in their brains we'd be trees now?'

'It does. However, the time frame for that is very short. The male haploid plants start to die very soon. In the small animals that inhabit Mavenow that does not matter. If no ovules reach them in time, they are likely to be aggressive until their immune system has defeated the parasites and the after effect subsides. Many will, however, attract the female plants, or so I believe. Perhaps the sheer amount of them is sufficient without any biochemical attraction. I also assume that the pollen survive longer in a smaller host. All this, however, is still a matter of conjecture.' Spock activated the computer screen. 'This is a graphic that shows the stages of the alternation of generations: The diploid bush with males and females. The pollen that float in the air or the water. The respective haploid multicellular organisms in the brainstem and with the flagellae. And then the next generation of bushes, grown from an unsuspecting host.'

'And how is a person turned into a tree?' Jim asked patiently.

'Kresar is working on that,' Spock replied. The Vulcan allowed himself a sigh. 'If their genetic material is altered, there is no way to return these people to their natural state. If that were the case, however, I doubt we would have found the bone structure with the tricorder, not to mention human thoughts. Before we attempt anything, we must be absolutely certain, however.'

'You're having an idea, aren't you?' Jim leaned closer. 'Come on, spit it out, even if it's just an educated guess.'

'Kresar pointed out that the tree might be blocking our readings. We cannot be certain that the people or animals are not still … in there.' With his mouth slightly open, Jim glanced again at the small plant.

'You mean … stuck inside that thing? Trapped in a suit of bark?'

'It is one of many options. The fact that the tricorder readings were very weak but undeniably present confirms that.'

'Can't you just open one of the small ones and look?' Spock frowned slightly.

'We did that, against my wishes. Of course, it was to no avail. The host lives only as long as the plant. If you destroy the plant, you kill the host.' Spock realised that Jim must feel his concern, and indeed, his bondmate placed a hand on the back of his head and caressed him with his fingertips.

'Spock, you're doing all you can. Do nothing you aren't comfortable with.'

'That is impossible. I have to conduct experiments with the plants, knowing they are animals that feel pain and are afraid.' Jim sighed.

'Any idea how we can prevent this from continuing?'

'The amount of pollen in the air is decreasing rapidly. At first I thought it was a coincidence that each time two men were affected at once. Now, however, I believe the saturation was much higher when the first two men were transformed. At this rate, prevention will no longer be necessary in a few days, at least for the time being. We have to find out what triggered the activity, how to predict the beginning of the next cycle, and then, how to protect our people. Not the animals, however. Their sacrifice is required for the plant to survive.'

((And this, my friends, is what I meant at the outset, about me putting myself into trouble. I knew this from the start, of course. What was happening. I also had a metagenetic cycle in mind, but not in this detail. I bounced this off my pocket-biologist again, as I did with a bit of Air, and got her blessing, which makes me quite proud.))