I don't own anything to Star Trek. I don't make money with it. I'm writing fanfictions because I love it. So I ask you not to sue me.

English is not my mother tongue. I don't have a beta reader. Feel free to point out mistakes to me.

X

Incidents without incidents

X

There had been a time when he had enjoyed winter and the snow-covered landscapes. He had enjoyed the cracking of the snow under his feet, had been one of the idiots who held their tongue to a cold iron rod and was always satisfied when he could watch the snowflakes.

But now it wasn't beautiful anymore. It wasn't fun anymore. It felt like a death trap now. No longer could one flee to a warm home and shake off the cold. This was now a constant companion at this time of year. It would always try to steal itself under your clothes, seduce you into a deep sleep and torture you until your body stopped moving.

Anyone who stopped was lost.

Their group had long prepared for this situation, and yet it felt like they had just wasted their time. The tunnels were freezing cold, but still warmer than the surface. But every day they struggled more and more to carry out their daily tasks. Sleep would keep each of them to itself if they weren't forced from someone to wake up.

They had already used a lot of firewood because the biting cold was just too much for humans.

Jim didn't want to know how Spock was doing. Vulcans were used to extremely hot temperatures. Life in such cold weather was just life threatening for them. At least more than for humans, even if things didn't look good for them, too.

Still, Jim didn't want to give up. He wasn't going to let his friends die here and as long as there was a chance they'd make it.

The firewood was running out, so they needed new ones. It was an easy task in his eyes. He dressed as warmly as possible, buckled his backpack on his back and took the axe with him.

There was hardly any life left on the surface, but there was still enough furniture in the skyscrapers to burn. Sure, it would be a hassle to carry everything back and forth, but the effort alone would keep him warm.

Jim even had to admit that for once he didn't want to take Spock with him, but the Vulcan persistently argued about the need for his presence that Jim just nodded in the end.

Well, he was right about one thing. Vulcans were stronger than humans and together they would definitely bring back more than one alone. He just hoped Spock wasn't overexerting himself.

X.

Of course, they took a building near where they were hiding in order to be as short as possible. Neither of them wanted to hike in the cold longer than necessary, not when they could somehow avoid it.

The first planned building was a high-rise with many apartments. A perfect place to organize firewood. It wasn't difficult to get in either. Many of the front doors were open because the Romulans had short-circuited everything back then so they could drive people out of their home with their Romulan dogs.

In the building itself, years later, you could still see these animals' scratches on the walls, and when Jim closed his eyes he could even see the blood on the floor.

He shuddered at the memory. He didn't know anything about the Romulan animals, but these things seemed to have been bred specifically for battle. They went to Jim's chest and had strong jaws that only intimidated you at the sight. These monsters had dragged and thrown these people around as if they were toys.

Jim still heard the screams and saw the fear of death on the victims' faces. These animals made no distinction between men, women, and children. Every bone broke in the same way and the Romulans were ready to enjoy the spectacle.

There had been a time when Jim thought the Klingons were the worst of them all. Now for him it was the Romulans. They had usurped the earth with so much force that Jim wondered how the earth could be of use to the Romulan Empire. In the end, their planet seemed like a simple trophy. A glorious victory from a war.

Cowards! Without Nero, they would never have dared this attack.

Jim felt the anger build up again. These memories didn't help him to think clearly. It didn't help to think of the sound of war dogs growling, breaking the bones of innocent people, tearing the flesh from screaming bodies, and the laughing Romulans ordering their monsters to attack new victims.

These memories didn't help him. They just made him terribly angry. He wouldn't get a chance to get revenge. The Romulans had won and he could only accept that.

He took a deep breath.

They were here for the firewood. That was their job, nothing more.

One last deep breath.

"Do we start at the bottom or at the top?" He asked, turning to Spock.

The Vulcan thought for a moment before answering. "Since we need to replenish our supplies as soon as possible, it is advisable to start below. After that, it may take us a long time to looting the other floors. ""

"Looting?"

Spock looked at him with slightly furrowed eyebrows. "Is my statement wrong?"

"No!" Jim hastily shook his head. "It is only the first time that you simply spoke out the cold truth. Your sentences are usually longer for something like this."

The Vulcan nodded slightly. "It's probably because of the bad company. As humans say, it seems to rub off."

It didn't take Jim long to understand the blow. He poked his partner in the ribs. "I'm great company."

"No doubt you are convinced of it." Jim held up his middle finger. "Even though Doctor McCoy doesn't know, I am perfectly aware of the importance of this gesture."

Jim had to grin this time. "And you owe such cultural knowledge to your bad company."

He laughed at Spock's raised eyebrows, patted his shoulder, and silently indicated that they should finally get to work.

It reassured him to know how easily Spock could distract him from his dark thoughts.

Unfortunately, the first floor was not useful for them. Many of these apartments were completely empty and Spock noticed many small and large splinters of wood on the floor. They could only speculate that there were survivors besides their group who might have the same idea as them. Oddly enough, Jim took no pleasure in knowing that. It only made things more complicated for them.

So they just had to go up one floor.

Hopefully these guys were already gone and wouldn't get in their way.

Jim noticed how he turned to Spock on the stairs just before the second floor and fiddled with his hat.

Were the ears covered? Yes, the ears were covered.

The Vulcan kept silent, even if Jim could see the question clearly in those brown eyes.

"I'm protected from the cold as much as possible, Jim."

He thought that was the problem. Well...

"Believe me, Spock, this is the smallest of our problems."

Because he really hoped there weren't any more survivors here. Not just because everyone was struggling to survive for themselves. Spock was a Vulcan. Get it? Any survivor would only see the pointy ears and ask no further questions. They would try to kill Spock if they didn't even torture him first.

To their chagrin they had already had that experience and it wasn't a memory Jim wanted to keep. He would have lost himself in the past if warm hands hadn't drawn him back into the present.

Spock held Jim's hands in his and looked at him intensely. The Vulcan now understood what he was thinking. He knew what Jim was worried about.

"I'll watch your back and you watch mine," he said in his controlled tone, while he squeezed his hands tight for a brief moment.

Jim smiled. "So everything as always."

"Indeed."

None of them counted who had saved whom and how often. They just did it. It was one of the few things they could still rely on. However, they did not have to repeat some situations, so they were very careful on the second floor.

They walked slowly, listening to every little noise, and most importantly, they did not part. Nobody would be able to surprise them so unexpectedly.

"Nobody seems to be here anymore," Spock whispered to him after they checked all the apartments and climbed the last steps to the third floor.

"You can't hear anyone, can you?"

Jim was clearly relying on his Vulcan hearing here. That had served them well.

"No," he replied weakly.

Jim nodded.

The apartments they had secured looked pretty much untouched. It was hard to believe that the others were really only on the first floor.

"There's a good chance they will do what we do. Maybe they just bring their prey to their hiding place."

"Most likely. The question that remains to be clarified is whether they will be back."

That wouldn't be good.

"Are you suggesting we make sure we look for another building to loot?"

For a brief moment the Vulcan calculated the chances of their possibilities.

"It would be safer for us, but not necessarily more advisable. We have already lost a lot of time."

"No pains - no gains," sighed Jim. He really hoped the boys wouldn't come back. Still, they finally had to get started. They went back to the second floor and took the first apartment they passed. In the bedroom in particular, they found sturdy wooden furniture that would keep their fire alive for a while. Jim and Spock took turns holding the axe while the other was careful that no one would attack them.

The work went on pretty quickly and before Jim knew it they had packed most of the wood in their backpacks and tied them with a piece of rope so they could pull it through the snow. That alone wouldn't be enough, but Jim had expected that they would have to return here a few more times. It was just a good start.

It was also convenient to have a Vulcan with him. It was he who pulled the extra wood through the snow. Jim felt almost guilty. But Spock assured him that it would be absolutely illogical. What else.

Still, it was strange. The alleged survivors did not cross their path. Romulan patrols were nowhere to be seen. There was no sign of anger. That should be positive. Then why was Jim feeling restless?

X

The mission was successful. They had brought back enough firewood and had run into no trouble in any way. Everything went smoothly.

His friends immediately took advantage of the opportunity and stoked the campfire back to its old size. Everyone sat down to enjoy the warmth for a quiet moment.

Jim and Spock did the same.

There was even a certain carelessness for a while where they just sat and talked together. Not even over serious subjects. They told each other old stories. Scotty was talking about his grandfather. Uhura remembered them of old events in the academy. Bones taught them new things again. Keenser ... Okay, Keenser didn't say anything. He just listened, just like Jim. It surprised him more that even Spock wanted to speak. The Vulcan revealed to them which music he liked best on earth and that he had once played with fascinating people. He said they were all very colorfully dressed, spoke openly to everyone and always seemed to talk about love and peace.

Jim couldn't describe how hard he tried not to laugh out loud during this story. It was Bones that informed their friend that he had met a group of hippies.

The group laughed together at the idea of Spock in hippie clothes. The Vulcan informed them that he hadn't changed his clothing at all, but the laughter hadn't let up. It was only when they gasped that they had mercy on him and consoled him by saying that they only wanted to tease him.

It was a rare and precious moment in which for a moment everything was bearable.

But reality quickly caught up with the group when the fire subsided and everyone was warmed up enough to do something productive. It also meant Jim had to go out into the cold again. They needed a lot more wood. It was his daily task before he could even think of resting any longer. He could have asked Spock to calculate how many more times they had to walk back and forth to get an acceptable supply, but he doubted he would like the answer. So he just got ready to go and went back to the surface with Spock.

There was no wind at the moment and the snow was dripping gently onto the ground. Everything was covered with a glittering white. At another time Jim would have found it nice, unfortunately he didn't feel anything about it anymore. His mind revolved around the skyscraper. The fact that they could meet the survivors, how best to move more and more of wood, and whether they would live the next day. Basically it was always the same. The simple question, would they survive?

Spock helped him get as much wood as possible back into their hiding place, and everything went smoothly again.

The third time went smoothly.

The fourth time went smoothly.

Jim felt absolutely uneasy as even the fifth time went smoothly.

He should be happy that there were no complications, but with each success his muscles tensed more and more, not because his muscles were getting tired from carrying the wood, but because he was expecting a catastrophe any second. His body wanted to pump the accumulated adrenaline through his veins, but it remained calm and uneventful. All he heard was the crack of wood that Spock was cutting into pieces. Nothing else. No sound. The silence troubled him.

The day was drawing to an end and Spock suggested that they should stop for the time being. It would be dangerous to continue in the dark. Jim agreed with him. That was logical. In his mind, however, something screamed wildly. That couldn't have been their day?! Something had to go wrong! Something always went wrong!

The next moment it was as if someone had flipped a switch inside him. His mind and body agreed that the silence was unacceptable and before Jim knew it he heard the screams and growls of days gone by. His eyes played old scenes for him. Images of blood and suffering, Romulans fighting and people dying. Jim even smelled the burnt and rotting flesh. His body had waited so long to release the adrenaline and Jim could feel his breathing getting faster and faster. His memories haunted him, taking on a terrible reality. And even though Jim knew he was breathing, he couldn't breathe.

A nerve-racking scream rang out as Pike and Gary's bodies lay in front of him, and when he was grabbed, Jim realized it was him who was screaming.

"Jim! JIM! "Spock shook him back to reality with slight force. "Breathe!"

He breathed! He breathed!

"I can't ..." He couldn't breathe. No matter how often he inhaled, nothing arrived. "I can't ...", he gasped in panic instead.

Spock then dragged him to the balcony, where the cold air immediately enveloped them.

It helped. One small, successful breath and Jim felt his body gradually relax. But his mind was still far from it.

X

Jim didn't know how long they had sat on the balcony floor. But the cold air had gradually calmed him down and Spock hadn't left him alone for a moment. His nose was already very green and that confirmed to Jim that they had been out here too long.

"Let's go inside."

And with that request, Spock helped him to his feet and they withdrew to an enclosed room. Even if it wasn't much warmer inside, it was a little better.

They sat down next to each other and leaned against the wall.

Jim didn't want to risk a long silence and just started talking. "I'm sorry, I don't know where this came from."

"It's been a while since you had a fit like this." The Vulcan looked worried. "What was the trigger?"

"Nothing", answered Jim, depressed, while shaking his head and trying not to collapse again. "Nothing at all. That's the problem! In every spare minute I expect that we will be attacked or that something will turn out to be catastrophic and ..." He didn't say the rest.

The Vulcan did that for him. "And today everything went so well, without incident, that your subconscious was simulating the lack of stress."

Jim dropped his head on Spock's shoulder. "Somehow something like that."

"Most of all, you couldn't stand the silence, I suppose."

"Yes..."

Jim was still trembling, wondering if such an attack could repeat itself. He winced briefly in surprise when Spock laid his head on his.

"If it helps, I can recite some of my lectures from my time as a professor to keep the silence away from you. I can reproduce these word for word."

Jim was grateful for how easily Spock could put a small smile on his face.

"I think I prefer the stress", he teased half-heartedly, but still had to grin.