Spock, Jim, and the Second-Class Security Officer Rob stared in stunned disbelief at the catastrophic scene revealed by the lights of their lamps.

The vast chamber was crisscrossed with rows of gigantic columns. On the smooth stone walls, they could see sculptures reminiscent of those in the entrance hall. On the ground lay dozens of hideous mummified corpse, humanoids similar to Terrans

Their stretched skin bared yellowed teeth in nightmarish expressions. They were entangled with frightening creatures resembling enormous pale ants, their massive mandibles glinting ominously. It seemed as if everyone had frozen mid-battle. Metal weapons embedded in the desiccated insects' exoskeletons. Spears, curved axes, and ornate spikes pierced the monsters from every direction. The dry climate of the planet had preserved the bodies exceptionally well.

Here, a creature had nearly sliced a humanoid in half just as a curved axe had cleaved its head. There, a clawed limb jutted out from the pile of deads with a grinning skull impaled on the end. Further on, a child had been crushed while half of his mother's body still clung to her killer. Severed legs, arms, and heads lay everywhere, strewn about like macabre trophies.

The scale of the horrific carnage here was unimaginable.

Spock raised his tricorder to analyze the corpses before reading the data.

"They are thousands of years old" he announced.

Jim snapped out of his shock upon hearing the Vulcan's voice. He was relieved to find it calm and composed as always. Spock lifted the light of his lamp to examine the ceiling friezes.

"Were they attacked by these insects?" Jim asked, troubled by the atrocity before him.

"It could also be a rebellion," the second officer suggested, pointing his light at a sculpture.

It depicted a humanoid riding an enormous ant like those scattered across the floor.

"It could also be an attack from a rival city," he further speculated.

In short, they would never know, and Jim swallowed hard. He felt as if he had vainly disturbed terrifying ghosts.

"Let's get out of here," he ordered, anxious despite himself.

Spock hurried back to the entrance hall. He raised the tricorder, rotated it 360 degrees, and then studied the data intently. His shoulders slumped. He lowered the device as if it had suddenly become too heavy for him and stared blankly at the void.

"There's nothing here," he said with an expression Jim had never seen before.

2nd Class Rob, certain that Spock was referring to the septic tank, looked at his captain and noticed that he seemed just as desperate as the second officer. In fact, he himself felt about as cheerful as a damp sock. Just the thought of returning to that stinking ship was enough to make him reconsider his career choices—and maybe even his last half-meal.

Suddenly, Spock dropped to his knees. He roared in rage. It sounded like the desperate growl of a wild animal. Jim felt even more uncomfortable than he had in the face of the ghastly tomb. Spock was going completely mad, and frankly, that was far from reassuring. Seven years ago, he had seemed more in control. Of course, he had a fiancée waiting patiently on Vulcan. Now, he was not only searching vainly for his mate but also losing his mind in the recesses of a foul planet littered with dust and corpses.

The tricorder flew into the air and exploded against the nose of an ant sculpture. Rob illuminated the remains of the poor instrument, and as the pieces bounced to the ground in one final journey, he couldn't help but think he was lucky to be human. Clearly, returning to the Enterprise with a Vulcan's nose was an even worse form of torture.

000

Jo followed the workers' path and exited the wooded cave reserved for the masters. As usual, Puf seemed to disapprove of her wanderings and trailed closely behind her, nervously tapping her with her antennae.

Jo felt sorry for her. This poor ant was unlucky to be stuck with a dressed, haired, and wandering Terran. But, if she managed to get out of here, she would be assigned to a less weird humanoid, and that was the least anyone with a shred of compassion could wish for her.

This cave was a damn maze. Filled with tunnels, detours, and workers who paid her no mind. Thanks to Puf, she had some kind of VIP pass to wander wherever she pleased. Like before, it took her no more than fifteen minutes to get hopelessly lost. She didn't worry, knowing from experience that climbing onto her ant's back would get her promptly escorted home.

However, wandering through the tunnels led her to some interesting discoveries.. For example, once she found herself in a large, round space that reeked of shit. She had peeked in, thinking she had found the dump, but instead, she had stumbled upon a nursery for seedlings. The workers used the waste to cultivate all the mushrooms who grow in the caves. They skillfully carried the fungus in their mandibles and put it everywhere it was needed.

Jo had to admit these idiots knew what they were doing. It was indeed the contents of the tank that had ignited their greed. Which means, my dear Watson, that it was the blue bastard who messed up the electrical system and let the tank fill to the brim who was to blame. That's what attracted them. Damn … That would be quite a story to tell at the local tavern. … If she ever saw a tavern again.

She wandered aimlessly for a while and then found herself in front of a dark tunnel poorly lit by purple mushrooms clinging to the walls. She decided to try her luck in that direction but stopped abruptly, struck by lightning.

"Mr. Spock," Jim said as he cautiously approached the Vulcan kneeling on the ground.

He was shaking violently, and as if reacting to his distress, the rhythm of the bond intensified, causing him indescribable pain, pain he had no control over.

Suddenly, as if the power of the Koon-ut-so'lik was smashing through the kidnappers' shield and infiltrating their hideout, he perceived Stone and looked up.

"I know where she is."

Jo screamed in surprise when the Koon-ut-so'lik bond pierced through her body with such overwhelming force that she had to cling to the rock to avoid falling.

She realized the bond had changed. As if the energy thread was being jolted with electric shocks, it pulsed like a drum or a powerful heart. She knew what it was. She had felt it when the commander had done a mental fusion with her. He was in rut. She could even sense that he had only one thing on his mind: to find her and bang her.

But he was far. Really far. Hundreds of kilometers below.

Spock, Kirk, and the second-class security officer Rob materialized on the Enterprise. Without wasting a moment, the Vulcan dashed toward the door and disappeared instantly. Kirk and Rob removed their masks, only to be ambushed by an aroma wave so unpleasant, they slapped them right back on.

The elevator was too slow for him, so Spock climbed the ladder as fast as a gecko. He rushed onto the bridge in front of the astonished crew. Everyone stared at him enviously;The commander had a respirator! They exchanged hopeful glances. Surely the mask distribution was about to start! Spock threw himself at the scope and began scrutinizing the asteroid belt. He grabbed a disk, blocked the viewer, and abruptly inserted the blue disk into the console..

"Transfer to screen."

Jim and McCoy, also comfortably masked, arrived just in time to admire the comet several kilometers wide.

"There, inside the asteroid," Spock said.

Uraha, with a perfumed handkerchief over his nose, turned sharply to the screen.

"He's talking about the septic tank?" whispered Chekov, looking at Sulu.

"Yes. Probably," Sulu replied, needing hope more than anything.

"You mean…" Jim's muffled voice trailed off.

Ignoring him, Spock yanked the disk from its slot and strode purposefully to the elevator. Jim and Leonard barely had time to follow before the doors closed.

Jim sighed heavily, displeased at being so rudely ignored, and Bones patted his shoulder, encouraging him to stay calm. The doors open, and Spock exited at bullet speed. He rushed to the transporter room and shoved the console's technician out of the way. The engineer collided with the wall and fell over.

"Spock, damn it!" McCoy exclaimed as he rushed to check on the poor guy.

Kirk ripped off his respirator, suppressing a grimace of sheer ick.

"SPOCK!" he shouted sternly.

The Vulcan looked up and glared at him with a dark look.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm teleporting in the asteroid."

"Alone?"

"Yes," he said, abruptly inserting the blue disk into the transporter console. "This asteroid is protected by a force field we can't penetrate. The transporter is blind."

"Have you lost your mind?! I won't allow you to sacrifice yourself needlessly!"

"I am not sacrificing myself. I need to find her."

He threw his boot onto the platform and lowered the lever, making it disappear and reappear instantly. Unable to wait any longer, Jim took the opportunity to put his mask back on and breathed a sigh of relief at the clean air. Spock stepped onto the platform, picked up his boot, and examined it with an expert eye. Satisfied, he put it back on. He could teleport.

"In your condition, it's suicide," Jim said. "I'm coming with you."

"We may not be able to return. In that case, it's you who would be sacrificing yourself," Spock said, fixing him with a stare.

"I'd say being sacrificed to the altar of Vulcan biology at every seven years is becoming a tradition. No argument. I won't let you go alone."

"I'm coming too," said the muffled voice of the doctor, who was, of course, part of the seven-year trio. "You'll need me," he added, helping the somewhat dazed operator up.

Spock remained still for a moment. Considering the Enterprise's interests, there was no logic in risking the captain's and chief doctor's lives in addition to the commander's. He had no time to waste convincing them. Finding his mate was all that mattered, and he was losing time. He calculated that the fastest way would be to knock everyone out, allowing him to leave immediately.

"If we can't return with the transporter, we can make an opening in the asteroid and exit that way," Jim suggested. "We just need suits. I'll have them brought right away."

Spock trembled as the bond pulsed fiercely, tearing at his composure. He especially wanted to hit these stupid humans, and this desire for carnage was overwhelming. Fortunately, a remnant of logic still clung to his frenzied mind, and he nodded in agreement. Obviously, planning a retreat was the intelligent thing to do.

"Four space suits. Immediately," Jim ordered.

Kyle resumed his place at the console, rubbing his head with a resentful expression. He pressed the intercom button and issued the orders.

To the Vulcan's eyes, hours seemed to pass, but it took barely a minute. The door opened, and Scotty entered the room, looking sheepish. Seeing his face, Jim had a very bad feeling.

"Where are the suits?" he asked suddenly alarmed.

Scott gave a regretful smile.

"The plan to weld the panels failed and you were gone. I had to decide. I'm sorry, Captain."

Jim recoiled, staring at Scotty with wide, astonished eyes.

"You didn't dare..." he said, refusing to believe it.

"Get four suits immediately," Spock said with a murderous look that made Scott instinctively fear for his life.

But the engineer was Scottish, a people who didn't easily back down. He, too, couldn't stand that nightmarish smell! In these inhumane conditions, he was in such a state of despair that nothing could impress him anymore. At this point, he was ready to lift his kilt and show his manhood to the whole universe!

This trio seemed oblivious to the fact that managing this crisis fell squarely on him. They were at the point where the crew was ready to mutiny! Everyone knew it would take at least fifty hours to reach a place to dump the waste! FIFTY HOURS! And these fools wanted to go wandering in the asteroids!

Moreover, the stench worsened with every minute. In a couple of hours, it would be barely breathable. The crew had masks for only twenty-six hours at most. After that, good luck. They'd be facing hours of pure torment, suffocating in Channel No. 2 without any protection.

And what would that torment look like? In this civilized era, no one had any idea. But already, fifty hours earlier, no one could stand it, so at the very least, one could bet on post-traumatic choc.

And look who was wandering around with a mask on their pretty face?! Watching them waste good oxygen, Scott suddenly had the urge to strangle all three of them. He became so red that everyone felt the discomfort.

"I'm sorry for your little outing, but the suits have been assigned to a more urgent task," Scott said with a murderous look as intense as Spock's.

Spock began to tremble violently, glaring at Scott with an unkind expression, and Jim feared that his chief engineer might be crushed without further ado. Once again, it was the poor Kyle who bore the brunt of the Vulcan's fury. The second leapt onto the console, pushing aside the crewman who once again collided with the polymer coating with a loud clunk. He locked in the target and, without much consideration for the risks of such a poorly executed teleportation, started a three-second countdown. Before anyone could stop him, he jumped onto the transporter, and disappeared.

Everyone stared at the empty platform, stunned, and Scott had to admit that Spock had become so insane that it might indeed be possible that someone was suffering more than he was.