A/N: Hi, thank you so very much to everyone who reviewed. You are all so kind. I have changed the title of this story, from "Extinguish the Night" to "That Good Night" BACK to "Extinguish the Night," which is what it will remain. Sorry for any confusion! Also, I decided to make the chapters longer, so now I present chapter 3. Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek (CBS does) and I don't own one small line in this story - Leonard Nimoy owns it because he wrote it. A challenge: can you tell me which one it is? Thanks a bunch for reading :)
Dr. S finally got the picture that he had to cut the dramatics in order to potentially get the help he needed from the crew of the Enterprise. The planet, called Eonsul, was truthfully facing a serious problem: a deadly, unknown virus was ravaging through the planet's small population. It all started about six Earth months ago, when a child from a small village fell ill. Paralyzed with fear, the boy's parents had brought him into the planet's main city in order to receive medical care. His symptoms included violent shaking, as if he was experiencing withdrawal, but his medial record clearly indicated that he was never addicted to anything. The doctors tried many treatments, to no avail, and the child's health declined and he finally died within two months. They were desperately trying to find a cure or at least trace the origins of the merciless illness. With sadness in his hard gleaming eyes, Dr. S told the crew of the Enterprise of the thousands more who joined the first host of the pathogen in death. Now, everyone on the planet had moved to the metropolis area, whose population had decimated to fewer than 20,000.
"We sympathize with your planet's devastating loss," began Captain Kirk, "But what I don't understand is why you didn't call for help sooner. Clearly you have the technology to do so."
Dr. S shifted his eyes for a moment, then locked them firmly on Kirk. "Here on Eonsul, we value our isolation. It has always been this way. We do not have the means for space travel. We apologize for taking your ship by force, but we were desperate. Our limited records of humanoid civilizations do not paint a kind portrait of humans. We assumed you were savage, self-serving, warlike creatures. Certainly you understand our actions with this in mind."
Kirk furrowed his brow. He wondered what kind of historical records these people had about humans. Although not directed towards him personally, Kirk felt slightly insulted at these accusations. "I assure you, we have long since evolved past such behavior," he defended.
Meanwhile, Dr. McCoy had been listening patiently with a scowl on his face. "What I'd like know is, how did these scientists get here, and for what purpose? Don't they have a transport you could have used?" As he said this, he glanced over at Spock, who had been unusually silent during the whole conversation. McCoy was sure that Spock would have interjected some logical remark by now. The First Officer wore his typical stone-faced guise and stood in an at-ease position. His lips were the slightest bit parted and his gaze was transfixed on one thing: Leila.
Dr. S jumped to answer the question before any of the five scientists could get a word in. "A short time before the disease surfaced, they were dropped here on a research mission. Their ship planned to return for them after a set time, but when that time came, we warned them to stay away. You see, everyone here is infected; picking up the scientists could have been deadly. It was a saving grace when we saw the Enterprise flying overhead."
Something didn't sit right with Dr. McCoy about this whole operation. He wanted to talk to the other doctors about their findings regarding the disease.
"Dr. McCoy, you and your staff could be particularly helpful to us. We must implore you to stay and help our people. If your race is as benevolent as you say it is, Captain Kirk, show us." Dr. S was a perfect actor, but his melodrama and perfectly chosen language betrayed him. His coy smirk gave off the air of a master chess player who had planned each move of a game, not the distressed leader of a people torn apart by disease.
"Would you all so kindly permit us to return to our ship? I need to tell my crew of the situation and best decide how we can deal with this problem." Captain Kirk matched Dr. S's levelheadedness with some acting of his own.
"Certainly." Again, the doctor's formulated tone was patient, as if he had all the time in the world to wait for their return.
Kirk and McCoy began to move toward the doorway. He decided to refrain from cracking a joke about it, McCoy had to give Spock a little shove to get him moving. Dr. McCoy could have sworn Spock held his breath when he passed by Leila Kalomi.
As requested by Captain Kirk, Lieutenant Uhura sent out a transmission to all decks briefing them on the bare-bones details of the situation. They were stuck on the planet until a cure was found or the Enterprise started to function again. Even if they could get away – would they abandon these people? Kirk could not give them much more information because he hadn't been told much more. Scotty and the engineering staff had been working tirelessly to find out why they had lost control of the Enterprise but had so far come up with nothing. The majestic eagle of a starship had no choice but to rest on solid ground. Uhura had attempted contact with Starfleet but that transmission, too, was blocked.
Kirk, Spock, and McCoy were beamed to a sealed quarantine room inside the Enterprise. It wasn't much – a bare, grey-walled room with no furniture that resembled a briefing room. However, it was enough for Dr. McCoy to check them over with his medical tricorder. He concluded that a new substance was now present in their bodies – their bloodstream to be exact – that wasn't there before. He would need more instruments for further research, but couldn't risk the trip to sickbay.
"Jim, this whole thing doesn't sit right with me. This Dr. S character doesn't let anyone else talk. If everybody has the disease, why don't the scientists seem to have it? They've been here longer than us."
"Yes, Bones, I agree," Jim said. "There's so much we haven't been told. But, since we're the only ones who have been to the surface, and Dr. S doesn't seem to be letting us leave, we may as well try to help."
"Nurse Chapel already expressed her willingness to beam down with us, but I insisted she give us some time. Let me talk to the doctors down there and see what they're doing in the lab. No need to have her put her life on the line yet," said Bones, walking over to Jim and elbowing him in the shoulder. He gestured towards Spock. The Commander's head was bowed, eyes cast down and hands folded in front of him.
Jim nodded in recognition, open-mouthed. "What do you think, Spock?"
Spock spoke up, but only when prompted. He was deep within himself, a very dangerous place to be when the situation could throw another curve ball at any moment. "We must not allow anyone else to visit the surface."
"I was surprised to see that we have encountered one of the scientists before," said Jim, with a sly grin on his face. He deserved to have some amusement in the middle of a trying predicament.
"Indeed," was all Spock had to say. Actually, he had a lot more to say but it would be illogical to vocalize his equally impertinent thoughts about the matter of Leila Kalomi.
Jim remembered their mission to Omicron Ceti III less than a year earlier. To Jim, it had been a successful rescue mission. A difficult and frightening one – especially when all of his crew had abandoned ship – but successful in the end. However, Jim was mindful of his First Officer's opposite experience. Spock had had little to say about that mission, except to tell him he was happy for the first time. After this admission, Spock had been left alone for the rest of the day. Even Bones could read the agony on his face and had the good sense not to mention it further. When the colonists had been dropped off at the nearest spaceport, everything went back to normal and no one mentioned the matter again. Kirk wistfully looked at his friend in sympathy.
"Spock, you just had an ordeal that took a major toll on your body," Bones piped up. "Are you sure you're ready for another physically, mentally, and emotionally draining task?" When he had checked Spock for the virus, he had found that his hormone levels were decreasing, but still very much above average.
Spock looked up. "Doctor, how can my emotions be depleted if they are nonexistent?" It sounded like Spock was posing the question to himself.
Bones rolled his eyes. Spock was certainly back to talking like his old self. "They don't exist, my foot," he muttered, in a low, uncharacteristically gentle voice.
"Bones, I'm afraid Spock doesn't have a choice. We need him. I have full confidence in my First Officer's abilities. Spock, as science officer, he must gather all of the information he can from the scientists on the planet," Kirk said.
The Captain continued, "I'll try and talk to the civilians. Bones, you question the doctors, but protect yourself. We'll report on our findings at 0800. Keep your phasers and communicators with you at all times."
Kirk whipped out his communicator, "Scotty, beam us back to the planet. Same coordinates. Kirk out."
Spock attributed his shortness of breath to the warmth of the planet. Eonsul's weather was completely opposite to the dry, scorching heat of Vulcan. The climate was so humid that it felt like one could drink the air. However, Spock knew that his lungs were in full functioning condition and would not cause labored breathing. He had survived much worse physical strain during his time serving on the Enterprise. As he walked towards his next assignment, he began to perspire, which he never did on the Enterprise. In fact, he often felt cold on the ship's contrived weather conditions that modeled a pleasant Earth climate. At the village, the scientists would be waiting. She would be waiting. Sucking in a slow, deep, silent breath, Spock centered himself. He found it uncomfortable, despite having practiced this most basic form of emotional control since childhood.
A few of them were standing around Dr. S's headquarters. Had they not been introduced as scientists moments ago, he could have mistaken them for locals. Spock wondered why they were not searching for answers to the planet's most pressing problem: the disease. Coming out of the distant forest, he saw a group of people carrying large burlap sacks walking towards the settlement.
Slam! Spock turned towards the noise.The wooden door shut hard behind a figure walking out of the building, and walked over to the group loitering about. They huddled and talked; it was clear that she was their leader. That role suits her, Spock thought.
She turned away from the scientists, saw Spock coming and began walking towards him. She stopped about two feet away from his body. If there was one thing Leila Kalomi was not, it was shy. Spock had learned this from his previous encounters with her. Their meeting was, in fact, inevitable, if Spock was to complete his duty and work with the scientists. But any form of preparedness could not prevent him from feeling his side pulsate at a greatly increased rate.
They locked eyes. He half-expected her to touch his arms, or his chest. He made up his mind not to push her away should she attempt the gesture. But she did no such thing. Instead, her large blue eyes gazed up at him from underneath her thick lashes trying to hide their fatigue.
"Spock, for reasons I cannot understand, we meet again." Leila looked into his eyes for as long as she could stand, and then focused on her hands, clasped firmly in front of her. He noticed she did not use the honorific 'Mr.' when speaking his name, like she always used to. "I am thankful you have come. I know you can help us. Come, we must get away from the city."
Without giving him a chance to respond, she gestured to the other scientists to follow her through the wall of trees, where the others had emerged. As the groups passed each other, Leila said, "The Starship Enterprise and its crew have been brought here to help us. This is Commander Spock, Science Officer. If anyone can find a cure, I am confident he can."
The returning party looked fatigued but managed smiles and one even slapped Spock on the back. A human gesture of well wishes or "good luck," he knew, from being the recipient of Jim and the Doctor's similar behavior.
As Leila's group walked on, Spock asked, "Find a cure? I'm not sure I understand."
Leila kept up a strong, steady walking speed. They were at the entrance of the forest. "This rainforest is largely unexplored. We believe that one of its thousands of plant species may be able to remedy the epidemic. There are only fifteen of us here, as Dr. S explained, our stay here was intended to be short," Leila explained, pulling a burlap sack out of her robe. "So, we go out in shifts, collecting plants with healing properties." She gestured to Spock's hip. "That tricorder could really help us."
"Indeed. It is only one device, but a great improvement over the methods you have been using. Although we have been taken here against our will, it is most logical to offer our help while we are stranded."
Leila giggled. Then she let out a very loud cackle. The other scientists, red-faced from the heat, looked at her and Spock quizzically.
"How can you laugh, Leila, when I can barely talk?," huffed Neil Peterson, a general biologist on the team. He was tall with sandy blonde curly hair, which was quickly turning light brown due to the sweat.
Leila's answer came in her reply to Spock, "You haven't changed. I'm not sure how I feel about that."
The group pressed farther into the rainforest for another solid Earth hour. Spock gathered all of the information he could about the disease from Doctor Suhana Chadha, who was travelling with them. Her long black hair twisted down her back in a thick braid that was turning loose. She told him the properties, symptoms, and duration of the infection. "It seems that the inhabitants of this planet have no immune system at all, so they fall ill and die quickly. We have been able to fight it off for quite a while, but a few of us have progressed to a 'point of no return.' The limbs become numb and soon unworkable, and the eyes stay glued shut.
Spock visualized the sickly image and suddenly became motivated to continue on. He was energized at the prospect of ending this suffering. The rainforest buzzed with life of many microscopic species who would not show themselves. Vibrantly colored flying creatures soared overhead. To many, this place would be considered beautiful. But the team did not have the luxury of stopping to admire its beauty. After they gathered a variety of plant specimens, the unmistakable noise of trickling water began to drift through the air towards them. Their canteens were getting low, and Leila waved them on towards the welcome sound. A few steps through some fern-like bushes revealed a small pile of boulders with a stream of cascading clear liquid. Combined with the light from the sun, the water sparkled with the full spectrum of light. The rainbow of colors suddenly triggered a memory for Spock, a memory from Omicron Ceti III. It was too late to suppress it, and it was not logical to dwell on the past, especially during such grave times. But the scene flooded his mind's eye as rapidly and irreversibly as the waterfall. He was lying on the grass, pointing to a cloud in the sky, naming the shape of the cloud. Suddenly, a rainbow painted the clouds pastel tones, although it hadn't rained. He rested his head on Leila's thigh and didn't tell her about the chemistry of light or clouds or weather. He simply admired the sky's beauty in silence, which wasn't a silence with her, but a moment rich with peace.
Snapping out of his daydream, which he would deny occurred if prompted, Spock saw he had been left behind. The group had run ahead to the stream. They were splashing and smiling, while making sure to fill up their canteens for the journey back. Leila wore a bright, dazzling smile, as she frolicked under the water. She had removed her headband, short-sleeved shirt, and boots, leaving only an undershirt and the uniform pants. Spock looked at her and knew that he was gazing upon the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Immediately, he scolded himself for thinking a purposeless thought such as that.
He walked over and filled up all remaining canteens, and stood, at water's edge, in an at-ease position. "We have replenished our source of hydration, I would recommend heading back and examining the plants we collected!" Spock raised his voice above the rushing water and the happy outbursts. "It is premature to engage in celebration, as we have not uncovered a remedy yet!" He could see that his prompting was useless, but every reasonable bone in his body forced him to keep trying to coax them back on land and back to the city.
"Come on, Spock, come in with us," Leila called, "You really need to cool off." He put a hand to his head - yes, his hair was sweaty and matted, and no doubt unkempt. The headband was rather uncomfortable. Not wishing to drench all of his attire, Spock took off his short-sleeve shirt and boots. He untied his headband and neatly laid it against his shirt. He walked into the water, careful not to step on any pointed objects. But there were none. The rocks were smooth against his bare feet, and sinking down deeper, he once again felt water's calming effect move through him with cold electricity. Not particularly fond of their raucous water fight, Spock maintained a removed distance from the others, while remaining in their line of sight. Perhaps it is logical to rest briefly before returning to the city, if the scientists' bodies require it. Simultaneously, a different inner voice that did not speak very often said: This is almost like paradise.
Suddenly, everyone stopped splashing. Neil looked directly at Spock as if he had seen a ghost. Gaping, he clasped a hand to his mouth, and breathed a sharp knife of surprise. "You're a Vulcan?"