Hi all! Thank you for all the lovely reviews last chapter, it was really nice to know so many of you enjoy this story and that you're liking the action-y stuff so far. This is the last chapter BEFORE we actually catch up to the first post of this story, so yes, Tori and Bones are about to meet! Again, I did promise myself I wouldn't clog this one up with ANs but I couldn't resist - we've hit 60 reviews and I'm so happy! Thank you for sticking with me, and stay tuned! xx

Seventeen

If I ever get back to the surface, I'm going to kill Jim Kirk.

The thought, however satisfying it was, did not make Leonard McCoy feel any better. His head was pounding from the faint light he was forcing his eyes to adjust to, and he was sure he had hurt his shoulder. Or maybe that was just the weight of the medical pack he was slugging around these godforsaken tunnels, hoping to find an injured crew-mate.

McCoy didn't think of himself as an unlucky man, but damn it all to hell if the last year of his life hadn't just been doomed from the start. The five-year mission had been draining even to think about, and in action it had basically nudged him closer to an early grave. Added to that, the whole Yorktown fiasco was something they were all still reeling from – the last thing McCoy wanted was to end up trapped in a labyrinth with no apparent way out and only a damned sense of duty forcing him to keep going on.

"If I had a nickel for every time I decided to do the right thing…" he muttered to himself darkly. Speaking out loud was, unfortunately, a mistake. The dust in the air was thick and while he was studiously ignoring it as he breathed through his nose, he inhaled a decent amount via his mouth as he spoke and developed a coughing fit, the sounds of his choking echoing off the walls in the small tunnel.

When his coughing subsided, McCoy allowed himself the luxury of a few sips of water and began to trudge on. His mind wandered back to the events of the previous day, and he couldn't help but wince again. The mission was supposed to be routine. It was what the damn brief had said, what Spock had said, hell, it was the only reason Jim had been able to wheedle him into coming along. He should have known better than to trust an analysis that Lieutenant N. Woodville had come up with. If he ever got a hold of that man –

Woman. The snide voice in his head was quick to correct him. McCoy scowled. How had he forgotten? Lieutenant N. Woodville was not a he, like the good doctor had assumed, but a she. Natira Woodville, it turned out, as Nurse Riley had helpfully told him. She was tall and quiet, with brown eyes and shiny black hair that didn't look real, though McCoy wasn't sure what to make of that since Nurse Riley had made it sound like a compliment. She wore thick-rimmed glasses, usually had on a lab-coat over her uniform because she thought the dresses were too short, didn't talk much, rarely smiled, and kept to herself. She had no friends, though Nurse Riley had seen her chatting to Uhura and sometimes Hannity in-between shifts, and whilst she and Jim had never been seen in public together, McCoy had no doubt that his friend knew exactly who the woman was.

Because even he was more and more convinced that he had seen her somewhere before.

But where? McCoy frowned again. The mystery of Natira Woodville had kept him well- occupied in the week leading up to the mission. He knew he could technically just go up to her and ask her, he was her attending physician after all, but something held him back. Spock's deliberate avoidance of pronouns, Jim's springy step and frequent visits to the science deck, even M'Benga's knowing look after he had done her physical the other day had thrown him off. It was a secret who she was, of that he had no doubt, but why did it feel like it was a secret from him? There wasn't even a picture of her on record – he had tried to find one, but the file was conveniently empty. He had tried to set up a physical to catch a glimpse of her, and when she had come in to get it done by someone else his suspicions had been confirmed. She was avoiding him, but she was also avoiding everyone else on the ship except the few people she seemed to know from before.

It didn't make sense. McCoy couldn't remember the last time a woman had annoyed him so much. In any other circumstance, he knew he would have exploded and punched the information out of Jim, but he kept feeling as though the answer was staring him right in the face. Except he had no idea what it was. She wasn't among his very small list of exes. He had barely dated after Pamela, and a few nights spent with the bartender of a local establishment near the Academy hardly counted. The glance he had caught of her told him she was pretty, at least, but she wasn't breath-taking. Plain, quiet, kept to herself. She was almost invisible in her ordinariness.

And that was what intrigued McCoy the most.

!

"Lieutenant, can you hear me?"

Victoria rolled her eyes and halted in her brisk jog to flip open her communicator. "Yes, Dr. M'Benga. I am alive and well, as you can no doubt see from the tracker I'm sure I'm still wearing."

"I'm just making sure you're still here," the doctor didn't sound bashful at all. "Tom and Hannity checked in yet?"

"If they don't check in within the next few minutes, I give you full permission to send out a search party," said Victoria wryly. "Now, let me run in peace, for god's sake."

M'Benga grumbled something about insubordination but turned off the comm anyway, allowing Victoria to pause and catch her breath. Almost immediately, her comm beeped. Groaning, she picked up. "What now, M'Benga?"

"Lieutenant Woodville?" Hannity's voice was calm.

Victoria straightened up immediately. "Yes, Hannity?"

"We've found Commander Spock," the forced calm in her voice did not reassure Victoria at all. She began to run again, slightly faster.

"Where is he?" she asked, just as calmly.

"A few miles east of the crater. The tunnels were very steep the further we went in, but fortunately he had begun to crawl his way towards the surface, so we didn't have to go far. We managed to carry him back so we could have a signal, and Commander Scott and Ensign Chekov are trying to beam us up now."

"Is he hurt?"

Hannity hesitated. "Let's just say I really wish we'd found Dr. McCoy too."

Victoria bit her lip. "Can I speak to him?"

"Of course," there was a pause, and then a smooth voice greeted Victoria. "Yes, Dr. Woodville?"

"I don't have time for niceties, Spoke," Victoria wasn't even sorry that she sounded completely uncaring as to his health. "Where's Jim?"

"Contact with the surface has reactivated my communicator, and we have managed to get in touch with Captain Kirk, along with three members of the away team," said Spock calmly. Victoria almost tripped with relief. "However, Dr. McCoy is still missing, as is the rest of the away team."

Victoria was horrified. "The rest of the team? You split up?"

"It seemed like the most logical way to cover ground."

"How many people did you have?"

"It was myself, Dr. McCoy, and Captain Kirk, and we were each accompanied by a security official and a geoscientist."

"That's four people still missing, Spock."

"My companions are with the Captain, as is one of the scientists. We lost connection with the other members of our team when the earthquake hit."

Victoria rubbed her forehead. "And where was Dr. McCoy?"

"He led a third group north of my current position."

Victoria did a quick calculation in her head, and swore. "I'll never get there before the next quake."

"Your best option is to keep going in the direction you are in, and beam up with the Captain and his companions before the next earthquake so we may avoid further casualties."

Victoria narrowed her eyes. "I'm not letting the others and Dr. McCoy be casualties, Spock."

"You must be open to the possibility that they already are, Dr. Woodville."

"Nice talking to you, Spock," Victoria hung up without saying goodbye and called M'Benga next. "You still on the shuttle, Dr. M'Benga?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Hannity and Tom are getting Spock out, and apparently he's severely injured. Beam back aboard the ship and see if you can help him. Are Jim and McCoy's signals still active?"

"Trackers, no, but vitals on Jim are reading fine," M'Benga sounded worried now. "McCoy keeps flickering but that's more to do with the signal than him."

"Okay, give me a second," Victoria disconnected the line and hesitated for only a second before making another call. "Woodville to Commander Scott."

"Scott here," the Scotsman sounded stressed. "Don't worry, Woodville, I've got a lock on Spock, now if I can just –"

"Mr. Scott, listen to me very carefully," Victoria took a deep breath. "You need to beam up everyone on this planet back to the Enterprise, but I need you to beam me back to the last known location that Dr. McCoy's tracker was active at."

"What?!" Scotty yelled. "You know beaming across the planet is risky, Woodville, you're the one that pointed it out!"

"Believe me, I know," hissed Victoria. "But we've got injured crew-members and our CMO is currently MIA, I really can't think of anything else to do."

Scotty huffed. "You make a good point, lassie, but even if I did what you're asking you'd never make it back in time! And can someone tell me what the hell do I do about the Captain right now?!"

Victoria's blood ran cold. "What about him? Spock just said he's with the rest of the team in a crater."

"Uhura got in touch with him and when he found out McCoy's missing he went off to look for him, didn't he? I've lost him now!"

Victoria swore. "Please tell me Jim at least knew where he was headed?"

"Aye, we've managed to narrow it down to a thirty-mile radius and there are about six craters there, I can keep a watch but the next quake isn't too far away!"

"I'll take my chances," said Victoria. If there was any doubt in her mind about going to find McCoy, the knowledge that Jim could be in danger cemented her decision. "Get me within the radius and send any data you have to my PADD, put me on a clock and let's hope I make it out on time."

"If you say so, lassie," Scotty sounded doubtful. "Ready when you are."

Victoria took a deep breath. "Energize."