McCoy shared a dumbfounded expression with his captain.
"When we found you," Mr. Spock spoke for them. "Your engine was in a state of complete meltdown. It had taken several days for us to respond to your distress signal. Your shielding seemed to have bounced the radiation back into the ship, causing a superheating effect. Major cracks in the hull showed-"
"Damnit man," McCoy interrupted. "After you hear all that, all you can do is respond with scientific analysis!"
"I am filling your patient in on the condition we found him in, since it is obvious he fell unconscious. Blatant emotionalism does not benefit anyone in times like this. In fact, one could argue at any time."
"Leonard," Cygnus croaked. "Water, please."
Damnit. McCoy chastised himself. After I go threatening my captain and first officer, to go and forget it myself.
Cygnus drank down three glasses, taking long breaks in the middle to gasp and groan.
"I am... sorry. I got carried away."
Uhura put a supporting hand on his arm. "Two weeks without talking, I'm sure I would have been busting at the seams to get that all out too."
"I have explained what I can," Cygnus said, his eyes returning to Kirk.
"And I think that's a good note to end it on, Captain. Commander. If you've got questions, they can wait 'til tomorrow."
"Do you mind if I stay a little while, Leonard?" Uhura asked. "I promise not to talk shop."
"Up to you, Cyg."
"It is... pleasant to have company."
"Fifteen more minutes. And I want Nyota doing the talking. You've exercised your vocal cords enough."
"Yes, Doctor."
McCoy shooed out Jim and Spock. They disrobed in mutual silence. Uhura's gentle timbre soothed away the silence as she explained Mr. Spock's search pattern to him.
"While you're here, take a minute to give a couple pep talks, will ya Jim? Chekov is still in a medical coma while his innards rearrange themselves, but the other's'll appreciate it."
"Of course, Bones. But then I'd like a minute of your time."
"I'll be in my office."
He stayed washing his hands a bit longer than was strictly necessary, reveling in the feel of cool water on his skin. The mental image of burning alive coursing through his mind.
Alive, awake, alert, and attempting to save the ship while his skin burned off of him.
A shiver took him. McCoy clenched his hands under the cold water. Taking one last moment to savor it before turning it off and head for his private stock of bourbon.
He poured two glasses before his liver numbers blinked before his mind's eye. Spock wouldn't take the spare one even if offered. Just a pointless waste of alcohol.
"And here I was craving some Saurian brandy."
"Good ol' Kentucky rye will have to suffice. What'll you have, Spock?"
"Water will be sufficient."
He pulled out a matching glass for the Vulcan.
"I'm tempted to write him up for commendation, even though he's not one of our officers."
McCoy smiled as he put the bottle away. Jim downed his in one long gulp.
"I know I wouldn't have kept my head on my shoulders in that mess," McCoy frowned, predicting the inevitable. "No need for the snide comments, Mr. Spock."
"Actually, I was about to agree with you, Doctor. It is not likely that I would have been able to continue functioning in such circumstances, even taking into account my higher heat and radiation tolerances."
Jim lifted his glass in a silent request for more. McCoy slid his untouched glass across the table. Thankfully, the captain didn't question his sudden sobriety.
"That's going to be some report. Glad Uhura was recording it. On that note, I noticed you assured him that it would be alright to keep his secrets. Anything we should know about, Bones?"
McCoy sighed. "Doctor-patient privilege, Jim. Although I will tell you it's nothing pertinent. Even with all he said about this program of his, I'm aware enough of the situation to know that he was editing along the way."
"My guess," Spock said, after a sip from his own glass. "is that 'interflux' drive. He'd been describing the travel as a 'jump,' rather than our concept of continuous FTL travel. If they had a nuclear reactor powering a warp drive, I would assume that they are just beginning to delve into warp technology. Substitute the inferior nuclear power base with dilithium crystals, and we might see something we are more familiar with. It would be fascinating to study their technical manuals; I have not heard of an instance a nuclear core that act as the sole power source. Perhaps, the inadequate power supply would be the reason behind-"
"Spock, let him have his privacy where he asks for it. He doesn't have much – any – right now." Jim guzzled down this finger of bourbon too.
"I believe I warned you that he was still in the healing process," McCoy chided. "That's the last you're getting, unless you plan on going off duty for at least six hours."
"Our duty shift ended two point seven-"
"Enough, Spock, enough."
"Going back to previous postulation-" McCoy's groan interrupted the science officer for only a moment. "If this nuclear core acted as a sort of battery charge, building up to a specific threshold, and then released in a burst, supplying the warp drive with enough power for a single leap. The core would then have to be given sufficient time to build up another charge before further travel could be attempted. If the inertial dampeners are as inefficient as Cygnus implied, with increased gravity while the warp drive is activated, a journey of any duration would be quite uncomfortable. Furthermore-"
"Spock, does this have a point? It's a bit past dinner time. And breakfast was just the sorry excuse for bagels Scotty brought to the debriefing."
"I was attempting to make it, Captain.
"The unique nature of the Dart's engine, has two fold consequences upon my postulated search pattern. First, it is quite possible I have not plotted a far enough search radius. Cygnus' concept of time would have been distorted due to the stress of the situation, and even if he could compute the maximum speed his engine was designed to travel at, he had diverted more power than was intended. This could have either a positive or negative effect the intended distance of 'one hop.'"
"And the second?"
"Cygnus did not plot his path. It is also quite possible that his bridge crew had been destroyed before a destination could be agreed upon. There is no way he could know where his planet is."
"So, we don't know how far we need to go, or how long it's going to take to get there, is that what you're saying?"
"Precisely."
"And why didn't you just say that in the first place."
"I believe I did. However, with the additional knowledge that this is indeed a warp-capable race, we had the additional consideration of First Contact Protocols."
McCoy blinked over at the first officer. "Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something?"
"Spock brought it to my attention that if Cygnus was a member of a less developed race, that even treating him would be in violation of the Prime Directive, Bones. Of course, no one would stop you from doing whatever needed doing, but..."
"You mean, you were thinking we might not be able to take him home at all."
"Your own people had developed space flight in the mid-twentieth century doctor, and had developed powerful nuclear weapons before that. How do you think your people of that era would react to a warp seven ship? Phaser weapons? Photo torpedos? It is not a simple matter of explaining away superior technology as being a mystical or magical power."
"Point taken." McCoy sighed. "I'm glad I'm just an old country doctor. I don't have it in my head to deal with all that crap."
"And yet, you received higher grades than the Captain in the courses specializing in these issues at the Academy."
"You drive me to drink, I hope you know that."
"Indeed."
"So, what're we going to do? Widen the search net? Scour the entire quadrant, until we find where the Dart came from?"
"I believe we should send a report to Starfleet and await a response. While we have not been given any specific missions in this area of space, it is probable that a continuation in this pattern will take a great deal of time."
"How long would a subspace message take to get there and back?"
"Lieutenant Uhura can give an exact timeframe, but I estimate it would take one week, four days."
"'Estimation,' huh? What? Not down to the hour and minute? Your slacking, Mr. Spock. And what do ya propose we do, while we're sitting on our thumbs waiting for an order?"
"Continue our search. I will compile the necessary starcharts for Cygnus to examine, even if the chance they will be of any use is minimal."
"This region of space is a little to the left of where we're supposed to be exploring, Bones, but I don't think anyone's going to object back home. Especially when we've got the chance for a good First Contact. Nothing like rescuing a person to get the right foot in the door."
"We will have to be cautious, Captain. After all, we be returning without the Dart, and there is still the question of an unknown agent outside their solar system."
"As in, we won't be able to prove we weren't the ones to wreck their first warp ship."
"Indeed."
"Like I said: driven to drink."