A/N: Well, I'm certainly glad y'all are enjoying this! I'm happy to keep everyone in suspense, though the reveal may come later than I thought. Nevertheless, enjoy this chapter! I don't own Star Trek-throughout this whole story in case I didn't mention it earlier.

McCoy felt better the next morning. He felt more at ease, though he still got ticked off whenever he thought about-

He gritted his teeth. The insolence! No matter, once he gets to work he'll be able to put it out of his mind. They were returning to the planet Shekk today to resume with the distribution of medical supplies.

McCoy strode to the transporter room checking over a PADD. He maneuvered around crates and anti-gravs and stopped at the base of the platform. He looked up.

Kirk and Spock were in beaming positions.

McCoy blinked.

"Hi, Bones!"

"Hiya, Jim," he said cautiously. "They lifted the 'medical personnel only' restriction?"

"Yep."

He nodded slowly. "Okay." He joined them on the transporter pads.

"Energize," Kirk said.

Pentarii was a standard city on the planet. Vilsa was exceptional because dampening fields were the cutting edge of technology on Shekk. When the three men materialized, they beheld buildings and roadways that would have been right at home on Earth.

Had they not been bombed.

Despite the jagged holes and busted windows of the buildings, its inhabitants kept an upbeat mood. Joxap greeted them warmly, shaking hands.

"Dr. McCoy! Good to have you back. And Captain Kirk! Mr. Spock! Lovely that you could come down. I know, it's not much to look at now, but once the front moves on elsewhere we'll get this place back into shape!"

"At least most buildings are still intact," Kirk commented.

"Oh yes, oh yes. Doctor, the hospital wasn't hit if you want to see it."

"Thank you," McCoy said, and then turned his attention to the crates that were beaming down. A few other citizens went to help him and things quickly became busy. Joxap drew Kirk and Spock away.

"I've located Carimend, Captain," he said in a low voice. "In case you still want to talk to him."

"Thank you, Joxap. Mr. Spock? I think we'll make that our first order of business."

Joxap led them through the city to a camp outside its boundaries. They entered a tent and a man turned. He had dark black hair and black mustache.

"Carimend, these are Captain Kirk and Officer Spock," Joxap introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you Captain, Officer," he shook their hands.

"You as well… do you have a rank?"

Carimend smiled. "Yes. I believe it translates to… Admiral, in your system."

Kirk realized that he didn't have much to go on. They used naval terms on the Enterprise, whereas Carimend was obviously in charge of some ground troops. He looked the equivalent of a Colonel, or a Major. Kirk decided not to quibble.

"Very well, Admiral."

Carimend sat back and Joxap excused himself. "Now, you have some questions for me?"

"Yes." Kirk moved a little bit in the tent, gathering his thoughts. "I am aware that you still want this to remain a Shekk conflict, and that you are only accepting medical aid from the Federation. Therefore, I am not going to pump you for information about the layout of Vilsa, or anything like that for war reasons."

"Then what do you intend to ask me?" Carimend said dryly.

Kirk turned on his heel. "We are a bit concerned for one of our officers; the one you found in Vilsa."

"The doctor," he clarified.

"Yes. Do you know if anything may have… happened… while he was there."

Carimend considered. "Have you asked him?"

"It was not fruitful," Spock said.

He nodded slowly. "Nothing I can think of. He wasn't there very long. No Demetrian was with them, they were alone."

"They?"

"The doctor and Shiak. He was part of the Pentarii militia. When we stormed the holding area we opened every cell. They were in isolation; no windows or anything, though there was light. Shiak was chained up to the left wall, he was dead. Shot between the eyes, nothing else seemed to have killed him. McCoy was in the same position, chained against the back wall, but he seemed alright."

"Physically or mentally?" Kirk silently thanked Spock's clarification.

Carimend frowned. "He was a little jumpy when we opened the door. Course, we were barging in with guns and whatnot, that would make anyone nervous. We told him who we were, he told us who he was in return, we sprung him and got the hell out of there."

"Did he seem angry, at all?"

"Not, not at first… seemed a bit shaken. His mood just got darker, though." He leveled his gaze at Kirk. "Look, I understand what it means to be caring, but I also know when a man may just need a little space to work things out in his head. It's very likely Shiak was shot in front of him. There's no cure for that, you've just got to come to terms with it. He may just need time."

"We agree, Admiral," Kirk said. "Unfortunately, McCoy's usual remedy is to stay busy and put such things behind him."

Carimend visibly winced. "Yeah, that's not healthy. A doctor should know that, but they do make the worst patients. I'm afraid I don't know anything else, gentlemen."

"Thank you, Admiral. It may still do some good." The man rose and saluted them. Spock and Kirk returned the gestures. They then exited the tent.

"Well, Spock, we still don't know everything," Kirk mused.

"True, Captain. But we know more than we did."

"Yes." He looked back towards the city. "Well, let's make ourselves useful while we're still here. See what the city needs us to do."

Kirk and Spock mostly found themselves working with the hospital, since aid was mainly restricted to medical. Their main job involved watching post-op and bringing in wounded that were still found among the rubble. Occasionally they would see McCoy buzz from patient to patient, lost in the world of medical readings and surgery.

"My back feels broken," Kirk commented as they took a short break. He stretched with a mighty groan. "Makes me appreciate Sickbay more than ever."

"Agreed, Captain," Spock said, but was overrun by some commotion outside. The disturbance grew louder and they found themselves running outside. McCoy suddenly appeared at their heels as they tore to where several Nekati were speaking animatedly.

"What's going on?" Kirk asked instantly.

A nurse turned to him. "There's a Demetrian delegation outside the city," she said breathlessly. "They say they're under a flag of truce and want to speak with the Starfleet men."

I'm not sure how much of this is going to be adventure and how much of this is going to be H/C. Because of that, the story genres may change when I'm done with this. Just warnin' y'all.

Until next time!