NIGHT 54: West Wing, North Hall 1-A

[sanguinario]

[From here.]At least if he couldn't soothe anything else, he could soothe the flashlight. While it seemed to rebel by flickering a few more times, the light stayed steady otherwise. So now, on top of attempting to supply himself with blood so he didn't randomly select a new victim and get stabbed between his ribs again or set on fire, he had to

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[dual_worlds]

He noticed the way McCoy looked at him. As far as Spock was concerned, however, he hadn't said anything deceitful or misleading. He had agreed to split up (which implied McCoy's role in this as well), and he'd said as much to Kirk. What he hadn't done was unnecessarily draw extra attention to the fact that it had originally been McCoy's suggestion in the first place. To do so would have looked like he was trying to shift the blame onto their doctor, when in reality it didn't matter whose idea it was.

As the ranking officer, what happened last night ultimately fell on Spock's shoulders, and he'd been prepared to accept responsibility.

Of course, Kirk wasn't eager to issue discipline or punishment to either of them. Indeed, he likely recognized there was more to the situation than what met the eye. If this conversation went at all like his exchange with McCoy this morning, Kirk would soon find that there was a lot about last night that McCoy was unwilling to divulge. While there was also a possibility that they wouldn't get so far in their discussion, Spock intended to speak to Kirk privately about the matter once a better opportunity presented itself.

In the meantime, Kirk's decision to stay together was sound. As long as they were uncertain as to the exact nature of "Project 2911", they needed to remain on guard. Since Kirk had been directly involved in this morning's events, Spock believed their captain might become a target of whatever the Institute planned to unleash onto them tonight. As he fell into step beside McCoy, Spock took care to ensure that they weren't being followed, but also remained aware of Kirk's movements and words in case he noticed something amiss.

[doneinthree]

Okay, Bones was a terrible liar. Or if not a liar, then... actually, Kirk didn't know what that look to Spock entailed, but it took a good deal of patience to keep from just stopping in the middle of the hallway again to demand what the hell was going on between the two of them. If they'd been anywhere else, at any other time... He knew all too well that the nighttime could cut out on them without any warning, and Kirk was determined to at least catch of glimpse of what lay beyond the prison walls.

Besides, it wasn't as if they were being totally uncooperative with him yet. Bones answered his question readily, and in detail. A surprising amount of detail. True, Starfleet officers were trained to be observant and log small details into their memories, given that they were often sent to explore new worlds and deal with unprecendented situations. He would've expected no less of Bones... had he been thinking clearly. Kirk had thought that whatever had happened had seriously messed with the doctor, which was why he'd let it go until now - but unlike during second shift, there was no I think or it's all kind of fuzzy or better ask Spock here. Bones had been the only one to see the creature, anyway.

And if he remembered enough to comment on its attack strategy, then he could answer Kirk's next questions: "So what happened? That is... did it attack you, or was it the residue, or what? What were the effects like?" They'd reached the door, and Kirk pushed it open without a second thought, same as the handful of other times he'd crossed this way. It was unlocked, as usual.

[to here]