Captain's log - Stardate 2261.641
We are standing by for the radiation to fall to levels safe enough to enter the orbit of Minara II. The finalized landing party will consist of First Officer Spock and CMO Leonard McCoy plus Lieutenants Ba Tu Kiyosaki and Andrew Vogel from Security. With luck, the solar flares will stay calm long enough for us to complete our mission.
McCoy looked up from his desk as the door opened, smiling as he saw Spock standing in the doorway with his tea set.
"Come on in, Spock. I was just thinking it was time for a break. So, what has your eyebrows in a knot?"
Spock's head tilted almost imperceptibly as he resisted the urge to touch his eyebrows. Despite his confusion, he moved smoothly across from McCoy.
"I do not believe that my eyebrows are capable of any such action, Doctor."
Scooting his PADD out of the way, McCoy chuckled.
"It's Leonard. And that was a variation of one of my grandmother's old phrases. When someone was upset, she'd say they had their knickers in a knot."
"I . . . see."
Deciding that to pursue that any further would sidetrack the conversation, Spock let it drop there and redirected the conversation.
"While I am not upset, I will admit to being puzzled regarding the Captain's reaction whenever he realizes that you and I converse when not forced to."
One hand moving back to knead the back of his neck, McCoy sighed softly.
"As you know, Jim grew up sort of isolated with no close friends and now he's got the two of us. I get the feeling that in the back of his mind, he worries that you and I will eventually freeze him out. I don't even believe that's a conscious thing, but that subconscious of his can sure work overtime."
Spock remained thoughtfully silent as he poured the tea, not speaking again until he offered a cup to McCoy.
"So, it is not that he disapproves of you and I being friends due to conflicts with the chain of command?"
"Chain of command has nothing to do with it, Spock. So, any word on when the landing party is heading down?"
Settling with his own cup of tea, Spock accepted the new shift in topic.
"We are waiting for the radiation from a solar flare to subside. If no new flares erupt, we should enter orbit and beam down to the surface tomorrow. There will be four beaming down in total. You, myself, and two Security guards."
A frown formed as McCoy lowered his cup.
"Two Security? Jim expecting trouble?"
"Not that I am aware of. However, due to the seismic activity, he felt that we might require assistance in moving overturned equipment or that you may need aid if one or both of the scientists are injured."
"Ah. More for extra hands than protection then. Hang on, we need something to go with our tea. And vegetarian, so no worries"
Turning to the small replicator in his office, McCoy typed in a quick code, pulling out a small plate after a minute. With Scotty's adjustments, the replicator turned out far tastier food than it had before he came to the Enterprise.
Slightly surprised to see that the plate held what appeared to be Vulcan pastries, Spock took one when the plate was offered. He was further surprised to find that, while the texture was not perfect, the taste was familiar. He gave McCoy an inquisitive look.
"Kasa kreila was a favorite of my mother."
A relieved grin was McCoy's first reaction.
"I'm glad you can recognize it. I had no idea what it was supposed to taste like, so I couldn't tell Scotty how to tweak the replicator."
"The texture is not quite correct, but it is not dissimilar enough to be distasteful. The flavor is very close. I am curious as to how you obtained it."
Picking up one of the small pastries himself, McCoy looked at it as he spoke.
"Well, when Scotty started tweaking the replicators, he was asking for input. If you remember, I was there when he asked you and you said something about only being concerned with the nutritional value. Which is a good concern to have, but everybody should be able to get a little taste of home now and then. So while we were at the Vulcan colony, I had a chance to ask about some of your favorites and Scotty started working on programming them in. Then that whole disease thing came up and I plain old forgot all about it until Scotty told me he was done. Once you've tried everything, you can have him tweak them to where they need to be."
Finishing, McCoy took a cautious nibble of the pastry, then a second bite.
"I can see why your mother liked these. The fruit filling has a tart edge like a lemon, but a flavor that reminds me a little of an apricot. Oh, I took the liberty of going ahead and adding everything to your meal card."
Spock was silent for a moment longer before giving a slight nod.
"That was most considerate of you, Leonard."
The rare use of his first name got a smile from McCoy and he gave Spock a small salute with his teacup before changing the subject again.
"I did a little research into our two scientists. Both of them have a pretty impressive resume in the astrophysics field."
Spock gave a nod as he picked up another pastry.
"Indeed. I attended a lecture by Doctor Ozaba during my first year at the Academy. He is regarded as one of the foremost researchers in the field. I intend to request that he give a similar talk to our astrophysics team while we are transporting them to the Starbase. Such opportunities are rare."
"Sounds like a great idea. Any more business or can we just enjoy our tea and snacks now?"
What might have been the shadow of a smile was in Spock's eye for a moment as he answered with a question of his own.
"More tea, Leonard?"
"Why, yes. Thank you, Spock."