9 Jim and Landing Parties Don't Mix (2)

Jim led their small landing party, looking for any places they could take shelter. With Spock's tricorder inoperable from their dip into the lake, they were stuck using their eyes to map the landscape. Two hours, they walked in their wet clothes, the cool breeze making the journey very uncomfortable. With the flat land, with only a few small hills and very little trees, there was no place to stay out of view for long. It only became worse when the sun began to set. The temperature was rapidly dropping. If the conditions continued, they would be forced to make camp in the open. It was almost a god send when some rock formations came into view. The rocks were large standing 12 feet tall and red in color. The cluster of rocks was close enough to hide them from view yet enough space to easily maneuver between them. Some of the rocks that were tilted toward one another would provide some shelter in addition to blocking the wind.

Uhura and Bones collected dry grasses and wood as they made their final stretch, so they would start a fire the moment they reached their destination. For that, Jim was grateful. It gave him a moment to take inventory of what he had saved from the Galileo. The backpack had been heavy, and it was a relief to set it down. At the moment, he was hoping that he saved at least some of the medical supplies. From the two backpacks, there were two thermo blankets, two working stage one phaser, some rations, six bottles of water, one emergency medical kit, and finally a broken subspace communication device. It wasn't much and for five people, it wouldn't be enough.

He handed McCoy the emergency medical kit and the thermo blanket in attempt to keep the ensign warm. Judging by the series of expressions on Bones' face, the kit was barely adequate. Never the less, the dermal regenerator was pulled out to fix up the minor wounds along with one hypo for the pain.

He felt Spock's approach before even hearing him so he didn't turn around once the Vulcan was behind him. "What do you think, Spock? Think you can fix it?" He raised the broken device.

Spock gingerly took it from his hands, inspecting it with a critical eye. "I am not sure, Captain. I would have to disassemble the device to inspect which components are dysfunctional and which can be repaired. Tools designed for delicate work would also be beneficial."

"I don't know what to tell you Spock. We aren't exactly in a position to request those kinds of tools. You'll have to make do with what we have." Kirk flashed him his famous smirk, picking up an elongated rock with a sharp point. "There you go. Finest tool nature has to offer."

Spock raised an eye brow at him and, surprisingly, took the rock. "I suppose it would become an adequate stone knife with additional preparation."

Jim couldn't help but laugh. "Glad I could help."

"Jim," his first officer crouched beside him, keeping a few inches between them to ensure they wouldn't touch. "I wanted to apologize. I did not mean to offend you before."

"I thought you didn't believe in apologizes. Said something about them being illogical." If Spock didn't know better, it looked like a weight had been lifted from the captain's shoulders the way his eyes brightened and his smile grew.

"I just wanted to clarify that though it is true that I do not see you as a friend, you are . . ."

At the hesitation, Jim raised his hand to stop him right there. "I get it. I'm like a brother to you, right? And admitting it out loud that you feel something like that towards me would be un-Vulcan."

Spock's brow furrowed as he considered his next words carefully. That face was usually reserved for McCoy and himself when trying to figure out an illogicial human saying one of them had used or when reconsidering his strategy to make them see something his way when logical reasoning wasn't working. "I admit I am a bit confused. If you understood what I meant, then why were you angry?"

"I didn't. Not until Bones mentioned it anyway." His smile faded and fatigue showed in the corners of his eyes. "Yeah, I was mad even though a part of me knew that you probably didn't mean it the way you did. I'm human. Sometimes, my emotions influence my actions. But this," he waved his hand to indicate the entire situation they had found themselves in. "This made me remember it was petty. We're a good team, Spock. You make me a good captain even if I don't take all of your suggestions."

"Brother is essentially correct as it is a translation of the Vulcan word," Spock finally said after some time. "And I do not make you a good captain, Jim. You have demonstrated many times that you make a great captain on your talents and merits alone."

"Why Spock, I think that is the sweetest thing anyone's every said to me." Jim laughed, missing the light green flush of his companion's cheeks at his words.

"Seriously though, I'll try not to emotionally compromise you. I know I get under your skin sometimes, but you're my friend. If you're having difficulties, I'll help you out. Even if it means shutting up for a moment or having some time to yourself so you can get back under control, tell me. I enjoy hanging out with you. Bones is great and all, but I can only take so much before he drives me up a wall."

"I too find that I am not adverse to your company, Jim."

"Now that that's all settled," Jim grinned, slapping Spock's shoulder, "let's get back to work, starting with how we should split up the rations."

The discussion went pretty quickly, deciding it was best to save the rations for tomorrow and eat half a pack. Each ration contained 4,000 Calories. Half a pack may not keep them feeling full, but it would supply the energy needed to get through the day.

They both agreed that he and Spock would head for the next settlement in the morning and scout out the situation to see if the conditions were similar to what they had stumbled across upon entering the planet's atmosphere. They would leave one phaser for Bones and Uhura to use to defend themselves, as the trip to the settlement would take a few hours to get there, and they would take the other.

Spock volunteered to take watch for the entire night. When Jim protested, he only received the argument about Vulcan's requiring a significantly less amount of rest than humans. It was an age old argument between them. One Jim could never win. Never the less he put up a fight until the day's events caught up with him. His neck was aching, his back was throbbing, and his body in general was sore and begging for sleep.

Finding a patch of dirt that didn't have too many pebbles in the way, he laid down, staring at the night sky above them. Somewhere up there, the Enterprise was waiting for his return, and he was going to make sure he and his landing party arrived safe and sound.

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Spock and Jim left at sunrise. They had awakened McCoy so he could keep watch over the camp before they had left, each of them consuming their share of rations before doing so. Spock took the phaser, and Jim packed a water bottle and a few hypos.

They walked in a comfortable silence; too busy scouring the area around them looking for possible threats or stray colonists who might have shed light onto the situation. They ran into neither.

As they walked, the flat, open terrain became lusher. Trees appeared more often and bigger in size, the grass tall and healthy, but there were no animal life. The only sounds were the leaves and branches swaying in the wind and the soft crunch of the plant life under their boots.

The silence was killing Jim. It was too unnatural. The urge to talk to Spock and fill the silence was hard to keep under control. It seemed eerily familiar, the situation of walking in a forest with no life, no movement, around him.

He was about to relent to his desire to break the uncanny calm when he saw it. Just a hundred yards in front of him, the beautiful coloring of the forest with all its shades of blue, green, and violet, quickly turned into grey, almost petrified looking, husks of themselves, wilted and crumbling. A white fuzzy substance, its texture quite similar to moss, dusted the outside of the shells.

Jim stopped dead in his tracks at the sight ahead of him. His eyes were wide with fear and disbelief, his body trembling just slightly. His heart racing, and his palms sweating. He had been right. It was all familiar to him. He had seen this all before, and doubt crept into him his mind along with the fear. Doubt that he may not be able to bring his landing party through alive after all.