Hi guys! I was adamant I wasn't going to clog this story up with author notes (if you've read my other fics you'll know I can be a bit ramble-y) but I just noticed we hit 50+ reviews and I wanted to say thank you to everyone who always leaves me their comments, it's very much appreciated! I always reply to reviews individually as well, but I haven't started a new story in a while so it's always exciting when people leave a review. I did want you guys to let me know if you're enjoying the more traditional Trekkie scenes, with all the adventure and rescue missions etc., or if you would prefer we get back to all the juicy character development stuff soon? I never know what people prefer, I'm more of a character and dialogue person myself but I'm enjoying all the action right now, weirdly enough. Let me know what you think: on with the story!

Sixteen

"Keep breathin'," said McCoy harshly. "I swear to god, kid, if you even think about dyin' on me now I'll shoot you myself. Got it?"

"You're not helping, Bones!" yelled Jim through the communicator. His voice was cracking and he sounded more stressed than his friend had ever heard him before. "Just tell me how to make the damn bleeding stop!"

"You haven't got a medical kit, Jim, how the hell do I do that?" demanded McCoy. "Just keep pressure on it and try to get Williamson to wake up, he'll be able to assess how bad it is. You still with me, kid?"

"Yes, sir," came Ensign Watson's weak voice.

"Good," praised McCoy. "Jim, can you tell me anything else about where you are?"

"It's dark and cramped, Bones, I haven't got much else to go on."

"Is anyone else injured?"

"Nothing too damaging. Williamson should be coming to soon, they're saying he hit his head when the quake hit and they fell in the crater. Maybe then he can stitch up Watson here when he's up."

"Right, and if you stay in one place maybe I can find you," McCoy ran a hand over his face wearily. "Did you find Spock?"

"No," Jim sighed. "Christ, Bones, it took me two hours to even find these guys, and I'm worried we're going to lose Watson."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. Splitting up was the best chance we had," said McCoy. He squinted up at the sky, trying to gauge how far down he had jumped. "I'm gonna say I'm at least sixty feet below right now and we've still got a signal. You went west, if I head east I might cover ground you didn't and find Spock."

"Or you could lose all signal and end up lost in these weird tunnels," retorted Jim. "I don't have a phaser or even a bottle of water, Bones. What the hell am I supposed to do if I lose the connection?"

"I'll check in every hundred feet to make sure you can still hear me," said McCoy, already rifling through his pockets. He found his penlight and flashed it around, noting the opening in the crater on his left that looked steady enough to venture into. "I got more equipment on me than you do, Jim, I gotta keep movin' and see who we can find."

"If you just try calling the ship again maybe we can –"

"Long distance coverage is shattered, you know that. I'll talk to you soon, kid. McCoy out."

!

"Splitting up is a terrible idea!"

"Thank you for your input, Dr. M'Benga," Victoria rolled her eyes. "Anyone except the doctor here worried about getting out of the ship?" nobody spoke. "Good. Hannity, M'Benga, Tom, let's go. The rest of you, monitor the quakes and call us as soon as you think something's about to go down. Clear?"

There were some more nods, and Victoria pushed a few buttons near the door, clutching her PADD tightly as the heavy metal slid back slowly to reveal the planet which had gotten them into this mess. Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside.

"According to the scans, we should be okay going for another few miles," said Tom quietly. He was a polite, disinterested science officer, and Victoria was secretly glad Homer had sent him as their terrain expert. He didn't ask questions, and had no problem taking orders. "I can point out the crater we last had the Captain's signal in when we're closer."

"Sounds good to me. Let's go," ignoring M'Benga's look of horror, Victoria gestured for Tom to lead the way. Wrinkling her nose at the dusty air, Hannity followed and Victoria walked with M'Benga.

"You can stop looking like we're on a Klingon colony, doctor," she said pleasantly. "The planet is uninhabited, and all we need to worry about are earthquakes."

"Earthquakes which suck everything into craters over fifty feet deep!" hissed M'Benga. "What if we lose signal?"

"We won't because the next quake isn't for another six hours and I fully plan to find everyone before then."

"Those are Homer's readings," M'Benga narrowed his eyes. "You think he's an idiot."

"I do not," she shook her head. "I just think I'm smarter. Which is why I told Scotty to make sure to beam anyone he can find up in case the scanners on the ship pick up any volatile activity."

"Ah," M'Benga looked slightly less concerned now. "You had a back-up plan."

"My back-up plans have back-up plans, doctor. This isn't my first rodeo."

"You did a lot of away missions on your last ship?"

Victoria smirked. "I am also not an idiot. Why don't you just ask me what you want to know instead of trying to get me to spill something accidentally?"

M'Benga shrugged. "Would you answer me if I asked you directly?"

"Probably not. Try anyway."

"How do you know the Captain?"

Victoria didn't hesitate before answering. "I grew up with him. Is that all?"

"So he's keeping you on the ship as a favour?"

"No, I am fully authorized to be here."

"As Dr. Woodville, or as whatever your real name is?"

Victoria inclined her head slightly. "Now that is a good question." And one she had no intention of answering.

"We're here," called out Tom. Patting M'Benga on the arm, Victoria sped up and caught up with the others, who were both standing on the edge of a large crater in the surface of the planet. There was no natural light available, so Victoria shone her torch into the chasm. Faintly, she made out the rocky ground in the distance.

"Jim?" she called down. Her voice echoed back to her eerily, but there was no response. She sighed. "Tom, what have we got down there?"

"Seventy five feet drop, rock and something that seems equivalent to Earth granite, and there's two tunnels branching off from it," supplied Tom immediately.

Victoria frowned. "What the hell do you mean, tunnels?"

Tom offered her his PADD, pulling up the scans he had taken of the crater while they had been speaking. Victoria examined the images critically. "It looks like the quakes cause craters to form on the surface, and there are tunnels below ground linking all of them together," said Tom. He pointed to a larger one which seemed to be a few miles away. "This crater has two tunnels, and one of them leads directly to this one. We couldn't see them before because the granite-like substance blocks all long-range waves, sound and radio, which is also why we haven't been able to get a signal from anyone down there."

Victoria frowned. "So essentially, this planet has got an underground labyrinth that is also impenetrable?"

Tom nodded. "We can get better scans because we're closer, but this is just my scan from five minutes ago. This is the scan Homer took before we took off, and there's been an earthquake here since," he swiped the images on the PADD, bringing up a new set of graphs. Over her shoulder, M'Benga whistled lowly. Victoria winced. "You see the problem?" asked Tom.

"That doesn't even look like the same planet," said Hannity hesitantly. "What does that mean?"

"These two craters," Victoria indicated the ones at the furthest end of the planet. "These are brand new."

"How is that possible?" demanded M'Benga.

"The only explanation is that the earthquakes cause craters to both form and close up," said Victoria slowly. "But I don't understand the tunnel structure. Do they collapse or do they stay the same?"

"I think they collapse," offered Tom. "The planet's terrain has its own survival instinct. Collapsing tunnels keep the topography soft enough for the formation of new ones."

"So basically," said M'Benga slowly. "Jim could have been down here and taken a tunnel to the closest crater, but because there's been God knows how many quakes since we last had contact with him, he could be anywhere by now?"

"Pretty much," Victoria sighed. "Tom, what are the chances of getting signals down there?"

"Up to a hundred feet should be fine," said Tom, frowning as he surveyed his readings.

Victoria nodded. "So that means short-range communication is possible, but off-planet isn't happening if we're in the crater."

"Affirmative, Lieutenant."

"What about the tunnels?"

"I can guarantee we won't hear from you if you go down there. Signals won't cut through this surface layer," Tom kicked a loose stone. "You'd need to be in a crater with open access to the sky in order to communicate with anyone."

"Okay," Victoria ran a hand through her hair. "We have about five hours before the next quake. How long would it take me to get from this crater to the closest one?"

Tom was typing on his PADD before she'd even finished speaking. "Two hours," he answered promptly.

"And the furthest one?"

"Four hours."

"Okay, you and Hannity stay with me. Dr. M'Benga, please head back to the ship," Victoria reached into her backpack and began to pull out climbing materials. "You two take the crater two hours away. If you find anyone, comm the shuttle and get them to come and get you all out so Scotty can beam you up."

"And what are you going to do?" demanded M'Benga.

"Make a run for the further crater and hope to God I get there before a quake," Victoria replied easily. "I'll go faster if I'm alone. I'll make sure I get in touch with Scotty and get beamed back up as soon as I reach open air."

"That is stupid and reckless," snapped M'Benga. "You should stay here and we should try communicating with the people in those tunnels."

"Uhura is already working on it, doctor. Besides, I'm worried that Spock is trapped in a collapsed tunnel," Victoria was already uncoiling the length of rope that was attached by a hook to her belt. "We'll cover more ground this way. If you stay by the shuttle you can be on-hand in case we need emergency medical aid."

"This is a bad idea," M'Benga said darkly. "You saying you can run all the way there before a quake strikes?"

"Yes," Victoria took out four trackers from her pocket and offered the doctor one. "Put it on, your PADD should sync up and make sure you can keep track of me and the others when we're in the tunnels."

"And if the tracker fails?" demanded M'Benga.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it. Hannity, Tom, sync your watches with me," the other two officers hurried over, and Victoria adjusted the dials on her device. "We check in every two hours. If all goes well, you two should have gotten to the first crater and back by the time I reach my destination. With any luck, at least one of us should have found someone, and they'll be able to point us in a better direction. Dr. M'Benga, please head back to the shuttle and make sure you alert Lieutenant Uhura in case you lose track of any signals, vitals or locations, of anyone still on this planet. Are we clear?" she received three terse nods. "Then let's go."