Star Trek: We Reach Our Apogee Slowly (Part 10b), eventual Kirk/Spock, Spock/Uhura, R
Title: We Reach Our Apogee Slowly (Part 10b)
Author: kowaiyoukai
Rating: R
Pairing: eventual like whoa Kirk/Spock (STFU), Spock/Uhura (blame JJ, not me)
Warning(s): Angst, meta, language, attempts at witty banter, overly-important tone, intentionally confusing parts, potentially OOC everybody
Spoilers: Star Trek XI (2009) (a.k.a. Star Trek XI, Star Trek 2009, Star Trek Reboot, New Trek, and can we please just pick one name for this fandom people?!)
Word Count: 10,015/?
Disclaimer: Star Trek belongs to Gene Roddenberry, mostly, but also a lot of other people/groups like Paramount, J.J. Abrams, and the various writers/directors. I'm not one of those people, sadly, because if I was I'd be filthy rich.
Beta Acknowledgment: None! I know there are errors, so please let me know if you see any! Thanks!
Summary: Jim quickly realized he was going to have to break the rules if he wanted to survive on the Enterprise.
A/N: I HOPE THE FANGIRLISH PARTS MAKE UP FOR THE WAIT. Mission chapters suck. This was an accident--and I mean that. This wasn't supposed to go down this way at all. Clearly arguing with myself only causes hassle for us all. Also, the next part is only partly written. Sorry. I blame many people for how long this took me to get out, but mostly the following: mariole for her reminder that shuttlecrafts existed and could be used to rescue them (which made me have to brainstorm with siriuslyyellow interesting ways of taking the shuttlecrafts out of the picture), rdallyn for getting me to promise her K/S cuddling for warmth (yeah, I knew I was going to put it in anyway, but then I just had to make it REALLY good and not horribly stereotypical), and the LJ user WHOSE SCREENNAME I'VE FORGOTTEN (so please remind me if it's you) for her awesome comments on my original novel (which caused me to work/think about that for a while--especially the autistic!K thing--WHAT'S YOUR SCREENNAME I FORGOT IT FROM FAIL), and the creative teams doing SPN, SGA, and Farscape (which fueled my non-ST fandom interests--NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!) EDIT: I just realized this part was over 10,000 words long. WHY DO I DO THESE THINGS TO MYSELF?! *headdesk*
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Othersides 1 | Part 6a | Part 6b | Part 6c | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10a
Walking to the mountains was more or less disastrous. Spock had only slipped three times thanks to his superior Vulcan reflexes, but the other three men were all well into the double-digits, which included both slight missteps and the increasingly frequent stumbles which ended with one or more of them sprawled on the ground. They were traveling slowly in an effort to prevent these falls, but it didn't seem to matter how slowly they walked. The environment was taking a heavy toll on them regardless. Spock hoped the transporter would be fixed soon. Otherwise they would be stuck walking all the way to the mountains. Then Spock realized they had an alternate way of escaping, and he felt so idiotic for not thinking of it sooner that he almost didn't say anything. One glance over at Jim's shivering form was enough to convince him any embarrassment he'd feel for his mistake would be worth it if they could get off this planet in the next half hour or less.
"Captain," Spock said, placing his hand on Jim's sleeve to get his attention. When Jim looked over, Spock quickly continued, "It would be wise to contact the crew on the Enterprise and order them to send a shuttlecraft to the surface of this planet to facilitate our rescue."
Jim's face lit up. "Spock, you're a genius," he said, teeth chattering a little as he flipped open his communicator. "Kirk to Enterprise."
"Uhura here, sir."
Spock watched as Jim's hands closed around the communicator and brought it closer to his mouth. The wind was beginning to pick up again. Jim probably didn't want his voice to get carried away by it.
"Uhura, hey, patch me through to Scotty, would you?" Jim's voice was loud, but the wind was louder, and Spock was glad that his superior Vulcan hearing allowed him to hear their conversation. Sulu and Chekov were probably wondering what was going on. Spock spared a look behind him, but the two officers were simply huddling together for warmth, which was probably the smartest move since they were stopped. The lack of movement could be dangerous, if they stayed still for too long, but Spock was confident that Jim wouldn't take more than a minute or so before he had ordered them to send a shuttlecraft-which they should have done in the first place, but there would be time for self-recriminations later.
"Uh, I can do that, sir, but I think you should know we've got problems up here," Uhura said, speaking quickly but with obvious unhappiness.
Spock and Jim both stared at the communicator in surprise. "What kind of problems?" Jim asked.
"The transporter wasn't the only system those rocks messed with," Uhura said. "All of the monitors only show static, so we don't have any visuals available. All of the audio and communicators are still working, though."
"Oh, that's all?" Jim asked, relieved.
"No," Uhura replied. Jim's face fell. "None of the doors will open."
Jim blinked. "What do you mean?" Spock understood his confusion, but really, when Uhura had stated that none of the doors would open, she most likely meant that none of the doors would open. Humans had this ridiculous need to ask redundant and useless questions. There were times when it was cute or mildly entertaining, and then there were instances when it was only a waste of the limited time they had available.
"No door on the entire ship will open," Uhura repeated. "Everyone is stuck wherever they were when the energy burst happened. Most people are at their stations, but a lot of officers are in the hallways, rec rooms, mess hall, their quarters, and I think somebody's stuck in the lift, but I can't be sure."
Jim closed his eyes briefly. "Those fucking rocks," he muttered. Spock couldn't have agreed more. "Okay, is anyone hurt?"
"No, sir."
"Is anyone in danger of getting hurt?" Jim asked. Spock approved of the distinction.
"Not that I've heard. There are a few officers who haven't reported in, but everyone's assumption is that they're stuck without communicators someplace," Uhura said. Spock momentarily sympathized with her situation. As the main communications officer, she was currently handling all of the inter-ship discussion that normally could take place simply by traveling from one room to another. "Sir, there's something else."
"Oh, God, what?" Jim's voice was a mixture of incredulousness and fear.
"Scotty's stuck in the transporter room. He's talking the officers in engineering through how to fix the transporter, but last I heard he's not sure exactly what the rocks did to it. And since he has to rely on the description other people are giving him for what's wrong, he thinks it may take a while to fix." Uhura was clearly stressed out, and Spock wanted to reassure her that they would all be fine, but he couldn't be sure that was true and, perhaps more importantly, he had other problems at the moment.
"When were you going to tell me all this?" Jim asked, slightly ticked off. "I should've known as soon as this happened."
"I'm sorry, sir, but Scotty thought it would be best not to trouble you with this until we had some good news, and I agreed with him," Uhura explained. "You guys have other problems right now, if I'm not mistaken."
Jim sighed. "Fine. We're making our way to the mountains."
"I know. We're still tracking you guys," Uhura said. There was a moment's pause when Spock realized she had more bad news to give, but Jim was unprepared. "Sir. There's one more thing."
"Oh, you've got to be shitting me," Jim almost shouted. "What is it?!"
"Doctor McCoy is one of the people we haven't been able to contact," Uhura said. "I think he's stuck in the lift."
Jim sucked in a breath, so quickly it must have hurt. "Which lift? Where? What floor's he on?"
"I'm… not sure," Uhura said, voice filled with anxiety and frustration. "But he's not in any of the rooms or corridors, and no one saw him near his room all day. The only thing we can figure is that he must have been taking the lift somewhere when it stopped."
"But you're not sure," Jim stated.
"No," Uhura answered. "And life support is working fine right now, so even if he is stuck in the lift, it should be fine."
"Yeah. Okay." Jim cleared his throat. "Just keep me up to date about what's going on. Kirk out."
Jim closed his communicator and shoved it back into his pocket. Again Spock was hit with the thought that he wanted to reassure someone, only this time it was Jim who needed the support. He reached out, tentatively, and laid his hand on Jim's shoulder. Jim looked at Spock so quickly he thought something must be wrong, but then he realized this might be the first time he had ever touched Jim, or at least the first time when they weren't in some kind of life-threatening situation. Although, technically speaking they were in a life-threatening situation and Spock didn't know why Jim had to act so surprised. Jim touched him all the time. It wasn't a big deal. Jim shouldn't have looked so shocked.
Spock pulled his hand away, confused about what had just happened but knowing he had Jim's attention, which was the point. "I am confident that no harm will come to Doctor McCoy." Spock expected that to be enough, but Jim was still staring at him so after an awkward few seconds he continued, "He will be as… helpfully insightful as always when we return to the Enterprise."
Jim grinned widely, face lighting up with amusement. "Now you're just being bitchy." Spock's eyebrows rose, but before he could respond Jim's grin softened. "But thanks."
Spock nodded and, feeling uncomfortable and like he should be doing something productive as opposed to standing around trying to figure Jim out, decided to continue walking. He motioned to Sulu and Chekov to follow him, and of course Jim ended up beside him once again. Spock assumed Jim wanted to take the lead, but the wind and his constant slipping meant he was forced to stay with the group. Spock was grateful for it. He had no desire to have to go save Jim from a disaster of his own creation, and anyway they were safer when they stayed together. The mountain was getting closer every minute. They had to keep going.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
By the time they were close enough to the mountain to scan it for caves, Jim was freezing. They had been on the surface for three hours, and almost two and a half hours of that time had been spent walking. Nothing much had happened while they were walking, except his teeth were chattering so much his jaw ached and he kept on slipping on the ice. Sulu and Chekov were doing about the same, but he couldn't tell how Spock was. He knew Spock was cold, but Jim wasn't sure how serious it was considering Spock's higher body temperature and annoying habit of not saying anything when he was uncomfortable or in pain. The plan was to keep an eye on everybody, but Jim knew he was going to have problems just looking after himself if they didn't find some shelter soon.
"Ch-chek-ko-kov," Jim stuttered, his teeth chattering so badly he sounded like one of those ancient techno songs. "T-t-t-" Jim stopped short, shoulders slumping. He gestured at the tricorder slung around Chekov's arm and motioned to the mountain, which was now less than a mile away. "C-c-cave?"
Chekov nodded and turned on the tricorder, scanning for any nearby caves. At least, Jim hoped that was what he was doing. He hopped in place three times to keep warm, but of course then he slipped and Spock's hand darted out, grabbing his forearm before he fell. Jim steadied himself and nodded at Spock, who let go of Jim's arm and started looking around the area. Jim didn't know what he was hoping to see. It had been all ice, all the time the entire way there. If anything suddenly popped out at them, Jim was equally likely to shoot it as he was to welcome it. Okay, so that was a lie. Jim had enough experience with ice planets to know he should always shoot first, especially if it looked like it wanted to eat him. But there had been nothing-no signs of life at all, no footprints or broken ice-and Jim figured Spock was just trying to keep doing his job. Good for him. His review was going to be full of glowing praise, no matter what Pike had been trying to say.
When Chekov gestured with a shaking finger for them to continue moving ahead and to the right, Jim began walking and wondered what was going on with his crew. They hadn't heard from the Enterprise since they'd found out the rocks had caused all sorts of electrical problems throughout the ship. Jim knew the crew was trained for all types of emergencies, but they were inexperienced and no one really expected their own ship to turn against them. Jim hoped they had found some way of opening the doors, because otherwise everyone was relying on whoever happened to be wandering the hallways when the rocks were beamed aboard. He trusted his crew, but Jim wasn't willing to risk the lives of the landing party, his own included, on chance. He'd need to contact the ship and see what was going on once they got someplace warmer. It would be useless to try and talk to anyone now.
After another forty-five minutes of dismal conditions, Jim finally saw the outline of what was probably a cave. He headed towards it, intent on getting there as fast as possible. It was maybe fifty yards away when he heard a very loud, rumbling sort of growl. Jim's eyes widened. Really, he should have seen it coming.
A creature that was about five times as tall as Jim slouched out of the cave, walking on the three legs it had with an unusual gait, moving each one individually. It was covered in white fur and the only other thing Jim noticed right away was that it had a very wide mouth filled with jagged teeth, which he figured he should also have seen coming. Why was it that all of these kinds of monsters or animals or whatever they were had to have scary-looking teeth? He never ran into a monster that had a friendly-looking mouth filled with even and clean teeth. He might write an essay on it.
Then it got worse because the thing's mouth opened wider, the jaw bones somehow disconnecting from each other so that its mouth dropped almost to the ground. Jim took a step back, holding a hand out behind him to stop everyone else from moving. Yeah, they had phasers, but what good were phasers against something like that?
The animal moved towards them, but it moved slowly, hampered by its odd three-legged body structure. Clearly, this was not something used to eating anything that moved. Jim took out his phaser and motioned for Chekov and Spock to go the left while he and Sulu went to the right. He used the silent military hand motions they all had learned to let them know his hopefully quick but effective plan. They would surround it and stun it from all sides. Any one person trying to stop that thing would be suicide. They'd have to work together.
Jim moved to the right, walking slowly, circling around the animal, giving it a wide berth to stay on the safe side. Sulu followed him discreetly, a few feet behind. When they were at an angle Jim thought could work, he held up a fist to get Sulu to stop. Jim saw Chekov and Spock stopped on the other side of the monster, and he gave them a thumbs up. Chekov nodded, and Jim aimed his phaser and counted to three before he fired.
At first it seemed like it was working. The animal wobbled unsteadily and let out a more high-pitched growl. Jim waved his hand in the air to stop them all from firing. He didn't really want to kill it. He only wanted to get it to run away. But as soon as they stopped firing, the animal roared and looked directly at Jim, who lowered his hand too late. The monster started walking his way, and they fired again, but this time the animal only moved faster. Jim started running as best he could away from the thing, but it followed him and he realized he'd never be able to outrun it while he was slipping on the damn ice.
Jim waved Sulu away, but Sulu hesitated. "G-g-g-go!" Jim shouted. Sulu half-ran half-slid away, moving towards where Chekov and Spock were. Jim fired his phaser again, but the animal was close enough now that Jim thought he was going to get hit, hard, and there was nothing he could do about it.
From out of the corner of his eye, Jim saw Spock coming, running towards him with an unintentional innate grace no human could achieve in these conditions. Jim looked over just as Spock pushed him away, both hands hitting into Jim with the combined force of his speed and strength. Spock was stronger than he had any right to be even during normal circumstances, and that push sent Jim half-flying half-falling, first through the air and then speeding along on the ice and he couldn't seem to find any way to stop. He laid his hands flat along the ice and tried digging his fingers in, but that just left him with raw, near-bloody fingertips. He couldn't see exactly what was happening. The damn ice had been slippery enough just walking on it, but now it was like he was on a slide that stretched on endlessly for miles in every direction. He was slowing down, but not enough and far too late, and his officers and the monster had disappeared in his confusion.
Jim hoped he wouldn't regret it and shoved his phaser down into the ice, cracking it open. He still slid a few more feet, dragging the phaser with him, but his body jarred with the force of his stop when the phaser finally got caught in the ground. Jim dragged himself to his knees and then to his feet, taking a minute to pull his phaser up. It had dug fairly deep into the ice, but he wasn't willing to leave it behind, especially since he could very well need it in the near future. Jim planted both his feet on either side of the phaser and pulled it, hard, jiggling it around to get it loose. When he managed to release it, he only had it in his hand for a second before he heard a crack. Jim looked down, at the long line the phaser had made, to see clear water underneath it. There was only a second for him to think he was completely fucked before the ice broke, dropping him directly down into the freezing water.
He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, he was shivering and surrounded on all sides by a weird mixture of white and blue. Jim looked up to see only water, and he couldn't tell if that was because he was upside down or because he was so far down that was all he could see. Fear swept over him, but he pushed it aside. There'd be time to freak out later, when he was alive and telling Spock all about this. Oh, God, Spock, that monster had been right there, Spock had gotten hit, there was no way he could've managed to get out of that one. And what about Sulu and Chekov, were they okay, had the monster gone after them too?
Jim's head felt weird-slow, fuzzy, like he couldn't think properly. His eyes burned, his chest hurt, his arms and legs felt heavy and unresponsive. He was floating, sideways maybe, and he couldn't tell where he was supposed to go or what he was supposed to be doing. Something hard and solid banged into his side, and while part of him didn't care and just wanted to sleep, another part was quite sure it was important. The Captain in him wasn't able to let it go, no matter how small a thing it might be, so Jim looked down and saw he still held the phaser in his hand.
Seeing his weapon brought his mind back to the present. He didn't know how long he'd been under for. It couldn't have been too long because he was still alive, but clearly he wasn't thinking properly. He needed to see McCoy. But to see McCoy he needed to get back to the Enterprise, and right now that was impossible because the transporter was broken, and besides all the doors wouldn't open and McCoy might be stuck in the lift so even if he did get back-
No. No. He had to focus, keep his mind clear. Jim grasped the phaser, but in doing so he accidentally pulled the trigger. The beam shot uselessly out into the water, but then Jim realized that might be his only salvation. He pulled the trigger and started aiming in a slow circle around him, eventually hearing what sounded like something dropping through a tunnel. The sound had come from his left, which was weird. He hadn't expected the surface to be to his left. But he went towards the sound anyway, struggling to swim as his limbs felt weighed down. After a few seconds he hit into a solid wall, and a moment of utter and complete confusion occurred. What the fuck was a wall doing in the middle of the ocean, or lake, or whatever this was? And anyway, walls shouldn't be invisible. There was just no need for that kind of thing.
Then Jim lifted the phaser to his left, pointed it directly at the wall, and fired. A hole blast through the wall, and Jim remembered it was the surface and he had to get through it before he couldn't think or breathe at all. His body ached as he pulled himself through the hole, finding nothing but ice to grab onto above ground. His fingernails scrabbled for some kind of purchase and he lifted his head up out of the water, gasping for breath and feeling immediately dizzy and violently ill. Jim managed to claw and pull his way out of the water, even as the ice was re-forming around him. He ended up panting on the ground, lying face up and staring at the sky as his lungs burned and his limbs felt numb.
After two or three minutes, during which time he couldn't think at all, Jim realized he couldn't feel anything and that was probably incredibly bad. He rolled over, struggling to move, and looked up, hoping to see the mountain. It wasn't even on the horizon, so he turned around with his arms and legs still feeling like they weren't even there. When he looked up again, he saw the mountain, but it was farther away than he'd thought it would be. He'd slid too far, and he couldn't even tell where Spock, Chekov, or Sulu were or if any of them were alive or dead.
Jim groaned. This was going to suck. He half-pushed himself to his feet, relying on gravity to take over when he didn't feel strong enough. When he made it up, he began walking towards the mountain, sliding more than he had before because he couldn't feel his legs at all. His clothes felt heavy and they clung to him oddly. Besides that, the water was starting to freeze on his skin, which left him with an odd tingly sensation that sometimes burned. Jim wasn't sure exactly what was wrong with him, but he suspected hypothermia or at least some fancy word that meant 'needs to be warm and far away from ice planets right now'. Maybe instathermotransiceterraia? Regardless, there was only one smart thing to do.
His communicator had gotten soaked in the water, like everything else on him, but it still worked. Jim had heard stories of old machines that actually broke down if they got doused with water. Score one for the twenty-third century. He flipped it open and said, "S-sp-sp-spock-ock, Ch-ch-cheko-kov, S-s-sulu-lu, c-ca-nuh y-you g-g-guysss heeear m-m-m-m-me?" Jim licked his lower lip, hoping to stop his teeth from chattering. It had gotten even worse-his lips and tongue were barely doing what he wanted them to, and he was stumbling over every little sound. Not a surprise, considering, but it was still really not helping.
After a worrying minute of silence, during which Jim attempted to repeat himself four times, Sulu said, "Yes, Captain, we're here."
Jim closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. Sulu's voice was steady, which meant he must be warmer than he had been. "G-g-g-goo-duh," he said. "Ev-ev-every-ry on-nuh-suh oook-k-kay-y?"
"Chekov and I are in the cave. Spock went to look for you and ordered us to stay put. We turned on one of the blankets, sir, hope you don't mind," Sulu said, sounding ready to be chastised.
"F-f-f-fi-nuh," Jim said. He growled into the communicator out of frustration and hoped Sulu wouldn't take it the wrong way. "M-m-mon-nuh-s-s-st-stuuuh?"
"We killed it," Sulu said. "Set phasers on their highest power level to finish it off. Spock got hit, but he said he was fine. I offered to go out to look for you instead of him, but he said he'd do it."
"He was really adamant about it," Chekov interrupted. "Said it was his job to look for you. Sir."
Jim groaned. Now he had images in his head of Spock bleeding and half-dead running around looking for him. Great. "T-t-t-t-t-t-t-" Jim accidentally bit his tongue and cried out, leaving his mouth slightly open.
"Spock's tracking your movement and body heat with a tricorder," Sulu said. "He checked in with us about five minutes ago and said he was getting close."
"K-k-k-k," Jim said. He hoped they'd understand he meant he was hanging up. It was pointless to continue that conversation right now, he figured as he flipped the communicator shut. It would have to wait until he could at least form words without stuttering so much.
So Spock was coming to save him and Jim couldn't even savor it how he wanted to because he was unable to think past how cold he was. This was a new level of cold. This was cold unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. It was so cold parts of him felt numb or warm, which he knew must be a really bad sign. But he knew all he could do was keep walking and hope Spock got to him soon. So he kept going in the direction of the mountains, sliding along and hoping Spock would get there before his fingers fell off.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Spock had never been more worried in his life. Sure, there had been other times when something horrible happened and it was up to him to save whoever was involved, most notably the incident with his family and the Vulcan council members, yet it had never been this type of long, drawn-out situation that felt like every second was another second he couldn't afford to lose. Once Sulu had contacted him and told him that Jim sounded "not good," Spock began imagining all sorts of wild scenarios about what had happened. What it came down to, though, was that he had pushed Jim too hard, and the stupid ice had added to his original force and Jim had only gained momentum from there. If it had been any other type of ground, Jim would have stopped where he landed, but of course they had enough trouble staying upright when they were simply walking slowly. Spock could only imagine how Jim had been able to stop. This was an example of the laws of nature at their cruelest and most unforgiving.
Spock's worry ended up being so enormous he felt as though he'd need a month's worth of vacation time once they were back on the Enterprise. He'd spend all of it with Jim, playing chess and listening to Jim make bad jokes about inappropriate topics, and at the end of it they'd both be warm and he'd be sure Jim was safe. Then he'd make sure Jim stayed far away from ice planets for the rest of their lives.
After twenty-eight minutes of flat-out running, using the slippery ground to help him gain speed but slowing down when he thought he might get too out of control, Spock noticed Jim on the horizon. Jim was wobbling unsteadily and seemed to be stumbling as opposed to walking. Surprisingly, the sight of Jim did little to relieve Spock's tension, and he increased his pace until he was only just under fifty feet away from Jim. Then he slowed down, allowing his momentum to carry him until he stopped. It wouldn't do anyone any good for Spock to topple Jim to the ground in his condition.
"Where are you injured?" Spock asked, immediately scanning Jim for any obvious signs of discomfort. Unfortunately, he found far too many with one simple glance and Jim's attempt at stuttering out an answer was only going to waste time. Jim gestured with a shaky hand to the ice, then brought his other hand down hard on top of his already outstretched hand. Spock couldn't determine exactly what the gesture was meant to indicate, but based on the frozen water covering Jim's clothes and his discolored skin, Spock could only assume Jim had somehow broken through the ice which covered one of the small lakes they had crossed over and fallen into it.
"C-c-c-c-c," Jim started, but Spock saw how he was wobbling and obviously unable to function normally. There was no sense wasting any more time here, and Jim clearly wasn't in any position to argue, so Spock quickly wrapped one arm around Jim's back, the other under his knees, and lifted him up off the ground.
Jim's eyes widened and he started trying to speak, but Spock interrupted, "Do not argue." Jim blinked at him and then Spock turned around and began walking the way he had come, back towards the cave.
Carrying Jim was not really a problem. At first Jim struggled against Spock's hold, pushing on his arms in an attempt to force Spock to let him walk on his own. Of course Spock ignored that request without even a word of explanation-Jim was in no position to make demands and seemed to be suffering from mild hypothermia. The only real issue was getting Jim back to the cave and waiting to be rescued there. Spock had been concerned that the added weight might make crossing the ice more difficult, but of course he was strong enough that carrying another person made little difference to his overall balance and agility. If Jim had been heavier it might have caused some concern, but as it was Spock found no reason not to return to running after a full minute of testing the ground.
Spock concentrated on running, knowing his speed would have a direct influence on how Jim's recovery went. He had not brought a blanket with him because he had assumed Jim would be in about the same physical condition as before, although in hindsight the extra blanket would have been very useful. Still, if the situation turned even worse they might need the warmth later. It was a difficult decision to make, and it was made worse from knowing that the Enterprise was having troubles of its own. With Jim temporarily out of commission, more or less, it would be Spock's decision how to proceed from this point on.
"Sp-sp-spock," Jim said after almost ten minutes had passed. Spock noticed his shivering was slowing and a bit of warmth was returning to his body. It still wasn't nearly enough, but it was a start.
"Yes, sir?" Spock asked, mentally calculating how much longer it would take them to reach the relative safety of the cave.
"P-put m-m-me d-down," Jim said. He moved uncomfortably in Spock's arms, twisting around fruitlessly.
"You are suffering from severe exposure to the cold," Spock said. "I recommend you relax until we are able to beam back aboard the Enterprise."
"N-no," Jim protested. He lifted a hand and pushed at Spock's shoulder. "L-let m-me g-g-go."
"I cannot," Spock replied. Jim was acting very strangely. Spock worried that he had become somewhat delusional in the cold. There was no real reason why Jim would be so adamant on getting in the way of his own treatment. Maybe explaining the situation to him would make things clear? "Allowing you to walk would be illogical. It is much faster for me to carry you to the cave than for you to walk there. I apologize for any perceived inconvenience or discomfort this may cause you. However the speed of your recovery will lengthen in accordance with the length of time you spend in this frigid temperature."
"Th-that's an ord-der," Jim said.
Spock didn't even slow down. "I will report to the brig once we return to the ship."
"Y-y-your l-leg," Jim said, pointing to it. "It's bl-bleed-ding."
Spock looked down, surprised he had forgotten. A long gash ran along the outside of his right leg from just under his knee to an inch above his ankle. The wound was clearly visible through his torn pants, and blood was steadily seeping through the material. The stress of running didn't help the healing process, but cuts were healed far more easily than some of the possible consequences of hypothermia were. "Yes. I will tend to it later."
It made sense now why Jim had requested to be released, but Spock wasn't going to just allow his condition to get even worse. The fact they were both injured meant basically nothing to him. After all, Vulcans were able to distance themselves from their physical bodies when they needed to. Even they couldn't, Jim was much worse off. His concern for Spock's leg, while appreciated, was so misplaced right now that Spock could only shake his head at the absurdity of it all.
Within another seven minutes, the cave finally came into view on the horizon. It was a welcome sight. Once Jim had pointed out his injury, Spock felt the cut in his leg much more clearly. Once he could sit down and concentrate he'd be able to control the pain, but currently it was a steady throb that gave him a nasty jolt every time that foot hit the ground.
Another minute had them at the entrance, and Spock went inside without pausing. Inside the cave it was still cold, but the wind wasn't hitting them anymore and they weren't slipping on ice. It would have been better if the temperature inside the cave was warmer because at least then they wouldn't be in danger of freezing to death, but Spock was willing to take whatever small mercy fell their way. Chekov and Sulu were still sitting together, huddled under one blanket, and as soon as Spock ran in they looked up.
"Captain?" Chekov asked, frowning. "What happened?"
"Captain Kirk is injured," Spock replied, stopping next to Sulu and dropping to his knees. "Open the blanket." Sulu and Chekov moved closer and rearranged themselves briefly to allow the single blanket to wrap around all four of them.
"We have a second blanket," Chekov stated.
Spock raised an eyebrow at the unnecessary reminder. "We may well need that if it takes Mr. Scott longer than expected to fix the transporter."
"We've already used over an hour on this one," Sulu said. "It's better that we're careful."
Chekov glanced at Jim. "It might be better to give him one anyway?"
"There is no need," Spock replied. "The heat is sufficient. Captain Kirk should be under Doctor McCoy's care, but for now this is all we can offer him."
"I c-can h-hear you," Jim said, frowning. His teeth were chattering less than they had been, and Spock could already feel warmth flowing through his body. Jim moved to sit away from Spock, but their close confines made that move an incredibly unwise one. Jim ended up with one hand against Chekov's shoulder and a knee in Sulu's lap.
"Ow," Sulu said, wincing. "Captain, maybe you should just… sit there?"
"Th-there's n-no room," Jim said.
"The blanket's made for things like this," Chekov said. "There's room."
Jim was acting odd. He had never shown a problem being close to his crew before, and now was really not the time to develop the proper feelings of distance and authority that some people might argue he should have had all along. Spock could analyze his behavior later. Right now he only moved to sit more comfortably, arranging his legs around Jim. Spock knew his body heat would help Jim recover, so he leaned Jim against his chest, despite Jim's slight struggle. Jim's back felt cold against his body. It startled Spock, even though he expected it. "I want you to stay as close to me as you can," Spock instructed, fear making his heart rate speed up. If Jim had stayed under for too long, there could be serious damage, even considering the warmth he was receiving now. He needed to see McCoy as soon as possible.
Jim laughed, high-pitched and half-delirious. "You t-talked m-me into-to it."
Chekov smiled a little and Sulu sighed. Jim leaned back into Spock, tilting his head away so that it rested on Spock's shoulder. Spock was focused solely on how cold Jim felt. He hadn't made a habit of touching Jim, even though Jim was always reaching out to make physical contact with him. Jim seemed to have a habit of touching people he cared about. Spock understood that was a very human trait, one that Vulcans were thankfully spared. Touching another being was considered an intimate act by most Vulcans-mainly due to their telepathy. Humans were unaware of this, yet still most people didn't touch Spock. Jim was the only one who went out of his way to consistently do so, and now Spock was reminded of how warm Jim's hand usually felt-at least compared to the freezing plane of his back, neck, and shoulders. Jim's head was a weight on his shoulder, and Spock realized part of the cold and the weight was the clothes Jim had on. They were covered in icicles and most likely would thaw out to be drenched as Jim's body temperature rose. It wasn't an ideal situation. He needed dry clothes, but they had none to give him.
"I would prefer for you to be out of those clothes," Spock said.
Several seconds passed.
"Oh G-god," Jim said. "I'm d-dead. I'm d-dead and I'm hallu-lucinati-ting."
Chekov laughed and Sulu rolled his eyes. Spock raised an eyebrow, unsure exactly what they were thinking but knowing it must be some human thing he hadn't yet encountered. There would be time to decipher it later.
"Your clothes are covered in ice," Spock continued. "Dry clothes would be preferable."
"Oka-kay," Jim said. A shiver ran through his body and Spock, without thinking, wrapped his arms around Jim-one circling his shoulders and the other covering his waist. Jim stiffened briefly but then relaxed again. Spock hoped he'd be able to stay that way and not worry about anything until they were home. He had no desire to have to force Jim to stay put the entire time they were stuck there. Moving around might be a good idea sometime after he was warmer, but right now Spock was worried Jim had suffered some unknown physical damage in the water. Movement would most likely cause any injury to get even worse.
A few minutes of silence passed. Spock had never been this close to other people before, and certainly not three of them at the same time. Jim was closer than anyone had ever been-even Uhura had never had so much body contact at once. There were clothes separating them, but Spock could still feel Jim through the layers of clothing, an ice cold presence that reminded him how much they needed to return to the Enterprise. Sulu and Chekov were on either side of him, their folded legs and arms brushing against his own whenever any of them moved. It was uncomfortable, but somehow not awkward. Spock was able to maintain his mental barriers so that he didn't accidentally learn anything from their minds-which would be an invasion of their privacy. He couldn't block out their emotions, though. Touch telepathy had its flaws, and blocking emotions was only possible for the Vulcans who trained most diligently in that one specialty. Spock had focused his own skill on the sciences, which earned him high regard in both his cultures but did little to prepare him for the confusion of connecting with three different emotional reactions simultaneously. Usually he had physical contact with a maximum of one person at a time, and then only very briefly, so this had never before been a problem for him. He was finding it disconcerting, to say the least.
Sulu was worried, but not overly so. Confidence and trust emanated from him, which led Spock to believe that Sulu was fairly sure they would be rescued before any other disaster occurred. Chekov, on the other hand, was worried and resigned and miserable but also, oddly, almost happy or excited. Clearly, the man was suffering from the over-emotional displays most humans felt compelled to display, but he was able to control that in a dire situation. Spock could give him credit for that, even though the whirlwind of emotions was giving him a migraine. Jim's emotions were the strongest due to the amount of physical contact they had, but Spock was at a loss to explain them. There was a sense of urgency mixed with hope and despair, which made sense given the current situations both aboard their ship and in the cave. Yet there was also this deeper undercurrent of something Spock couldn't quite place, that seemed too mixed up in a huge tangle of confusion and nervousness to even try to make sense of. Spock could only assume Jim had stayed underwater too long and his mind wasn't as astute as it usually was. After all, if Jim felt like this normally, he would barely be able to function. There were too many conflicting emotions warring for dominance within him. Spock understood what that was like-he felt like he was at war with himself every day. But Jim had never given off that impression before. If it wasn't illness or injury, then the only conclusion would be that was his usual state, and Spock didn't want to even start thinking that way. The idea of Jim suffering through anything similar to the constant irritation, hopelessness, embarrassment, and resolution that Spock couldn't admit to feeling caused Spock to feel sick and heavy. Jim presented himself as being happy and carefree. Spock knew that was only a façade, but how much of it was real and how much faked? More importantly, how could Spock even bring up such a topic in conversation? While you were unconscious I accidentally invaded your mind, read your emotions, and noticed you were confused, and although it might be due to the trauma of falling into freezing cold water and the delusional state of mind that could cause in any living being, I was wondering if you had any long-standing emotional problems you would like to confide to me, as opposed to Doctor McCoy, your closest friend who you have known for years, who also happens to be the obvious choice for any conversation about emotions, especially when the other option is a notoriously unemotional half-Vulcan First Officer who you have only known for two and a half months? Even in his head it sounded like he was going to get punched in the face.
"Maybe we should do something?" Chekov asked.
His question brought Spock out of his thoughts, and he realized eleven minutes and thirty-one seconds had passed. It wasn't nearly enough time. Contacting the ship too often would only mean they would have to wait even longer for repairs to be made. It was best to leave the crew alone to allow them to work. Spock had no other ideas about what Chekov could mean, though, and before Spock could reply, Sulu voiced a similar thought.
"Like what?" Sulu replied. "You want to contact the ship again?"
Chekov paused. "Well, that's a good idea too."
"What were you thinking?" Sulu asked.
"I don't know. Maybe a game or something to keep us occupied?" Chekov shrugged.
There was no real point in playing a game, or doing anything else, to keep busy. Spock knew that, but he wasn't entirely against the idea anyway. Jim was struggling to stay awake. Anything to keep him aware would be a good idea at this point. Besides, Spock should focus on something other than the emotions that the others were projecting.
"Something to pass the time would be appreciated," Spock said.
"Do you know a good game we could play like this?" Sulu asked, looking at Chekov skeptically.
Chekov thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Theoretically Possible." Spock had little knowledge of human games, but Sulu's reaction made it clear that he had never heard of it either. "Oh, come on," Chekov continued, frowning. "It was popular at the Academy."
"Is it a drinking game?" Sulu asked, dubiously. "I hate drinking games."
"No, it's not," Chekov stated. "It's a game where each person says something that is theoretically possible, and everyone builds on it, going around and around until someone says something that is either so ridiculous that a new round has to be called or that is obviously impossible." He paused. "Or until someone forgets what was said before or gets it wrong."
"I do not grasp the idea behind this game," Spock said. "Everything is theoretically possible."
"D-don't b-be like tha-that," Jim said. Spock felt Jim's head move as he spoke, turning against his own shoulder. It was an odd sensation. "It's f-fun. Let's play."
"Who begins this game?" Spock asked.
"I'll start," Chekov said. "Since I brought it up." He waited a beat and then titled his head to the side. "Okay. Okay. It is theoretically possible that a spaceship could land right outside our cave."
Sulu sighed. "It's theoretically possible that a Klingon spaceship could land right outside our cave." Sulu looked at Jim. "Why don't you go next, Captain?"
"Yeah," Jim said. He pursed his lips and then said, "It's the-theoreti-tically p-possible that a Kli-klingon spa-spaceship pilote-ted by Scotty c-could land ri-right outside our c-cave."
Spock raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Scott is not a pilot."
"That's n-not the p-point, Spock," Jim said. "Just s-say somethi-thing."
Spock thought for an addition that would make some kind of sense. "It is theoretically possible, although statistically highly improbable, that a Klingon warship piloted by Mr. Scott and manned by a crew of hand-picked specialists from the Enterprise could land on the surface of this planet directly outside of our cave."
Jim laughed while Sulu shook his head. Chekov blinked. "Okay. It's theoretically possible that a Klingon warship piloted by Scotty and run by a hand-picked crew of specialists from the Enterprise could land right outside our cave, but be too heavy and fall through the ice."
Sulu thought for a minute. "It is theoretically possible that a Klingon warship piloted by Scotty with a crew of hand-picked specialists from the Enterprise could land outside our cave, be too heavy and fall through the ice, and then sink to the bottom and be stuck there."
Jim rubbed his hands together. Spock noticed he was getting warmer. Maybe in another ten minutes he'd be back to his normal body temperature. "It's th-theoretically possible th-that a Klingon warsh-ship piloted b-by Scotty and m-manned by hand-pi-picked specialists fr-from the Enterpr-prise could l-land outside the c-cave, be t-too heavy, fall thro-through the ice, s-sink to the b-bottom, g-get stuck there, and h-have a mechan-chanical malfunction th-that forced everyone t-to evac-vacuate."
Spock frowned. "The theoretical possibility of this incident occurring is incredibly slim. Perhaps infinitesimal would be a more appropriate description." Sulu and Chekov looked at him. Jim elbowed him in the side. "Fine," Spock said, shoulders slumping. "It is minutely theoretically possible that a Klingon warship piloted by Mr. Scott and manned by a crew of hand-picked specialists from the Enterprise could land next to this cave on the surface of this planet, fall through the ice because it would obviously be too heavy to be supported, sink to the bottom of the assumed body of water the warship has fallen into, become unable to move, have an unspecific mechanical malfunction which forces all personnel to evacuate the ship, thus causing the personnel to use all of the existing shuttlecrafts to escape."
The game continued for longer than Spock would have liked it to. He always enjoyed thinking in theoretical terms, yet this game was obviously intended for entertainment, as most games were, and not for any type of serious consideration of possible theoretical situations they could find themselves in. Usually he would have found an excuse to be somewhere else, but due to the extenuating circumstances he decided it would be best to just play along. Besides, Jim seemed to be enjoying it. His responses were getting faster the more he played, and his speech was slowly becoming clearer. After fifteen minutes, Jim's body temperature was only a few degrees lower than it normally was. There were no obvious lingering side effects, but Spock wasn't willing to take any chances.
After a somewhat grueling twenty-eight minutes, the game ended when Sulu said, "Wait a minute. Just so we're clear. We're saying it's theoretically possible that a neon pink Klingon warship named Spock the Second piloted by Scotty, who's wearing a tuxedo with a tiara and a blinking sign that says 'Needs Repairs', and manned by a crew of deaf-mute communications specialists hand-picked by Pike from the other universe, who came from the Enterprise via transdimensional beaming, could land on the planet's surface using old-fashioned wheels and a map to direct them to right outside of our cave, which we've dubbed 'Cavealicious'-" Sulu paused to breathe and shake his head at Jim, who grinned and cracked up like he had every time he had gotten them to say cavealicious for the past nineteen minutes. "-And have now lived in for two hundred and twelve years, which we've decorated with couches and nasty-teeth-monster fur rugs and pleasant heated stones to placate Spock when he's annoyed with us, and then the ice can't support Spock the Second's weight so it crashes through it, destroying our front yard and we get angry at the deaf-mute communications officers but it doesn't matter because they can't hear us anyway, not only because they're deaf but also because they're in the ship and either one would be reason enough but both are fine together too, and the ship sinks to the bottom of the sea we're magically floating on top of because ice planets are evil and magic is the only thing that would make them worthwhile, and then the ship gets stuck because it's a Klingon ship and we don't like the Klingons so it can break, and the mechanical malfunction is caused by all the water flowing suddenly through the engines in the ship, which causes the electrical wiring to short-circuit some of the ship's main systems, which normally wouldn't be a problem because Scotty's there to fix it but not only is he already doing something else important by flying the ship but he's also clearly in need of repairs as the sign says, so there's nobody there to fix it and the deaf-mute communications officers are unable to coordinate their evacuation efforts in time so half of them drown and half of who's left get electrocuted and half of who's left after that have random heart attacks and drop dead in a medical mystery that has Bones confused because he's been there the whole time, but instead of being able to figure out exactly what it is, he has to escape with the remaining crew which is annoying because they can't hear him shouting at them about being careful not to have heart attacks on his watch, so he leaves to go find an empty shuttlecraft but there are no empty shuttlecrafts because they're obviously all being used so instead he finds one shuttlecraft that is neon pink like Spock the Second and has extra room in it for him, but he ends up deciding to swim his way to the top because that's more fun, so he leaves the extra room alone even though it's logically impossible that a medical doctor would attempt to swim from the bottom of a frigid ocean but he does it anyway because he can, and Bones wears his special super-warm swimsuit that is guaranteed to get him out alive, so he dives out of a hole in the ship that he happens to be passing by and swims up, banging into two shuttlecraft, an octopus, the nasty-tooth-monster, and his own body along the way, and before he makes it to the surface all the shuttlecraft get there, including the neon pink one, so he thinks he was stupid to miss them but it doesn't matter because it's too late now, and when the shuttlecraft reach the surface we yell at the deaf-mute specialists some more about destroying our front yard but they look awful and we feel bad so we offer them to have a seat on the nice ice, and they do so, and then we talk for several hours while Bones swims his way up, and when he finally gets to the surface he gasps for breath, flips his hair back like a stereotypical action movie hero, and shouts, 'I'm a doctor, not a deep-sea diver slash a witty phrase slash Klingon warship repairman slash stereotypical action movie hero!'" Sulu exhaled slowly.
"You didn't add anything," Jim accused, narrowing his eyes.
"Well, I don't know, I think we've got to call it," Sulu said. "It's gotten to be really… well, not theoretically possible."
"Oh, come on," Jim said. "We just got to the good part!"
"This situation has been highly improbable since we began," Spock stated.
"We could start a new one," Chekov suggested. "It's getting harder to remember the order of everything."
"You may do as you please," Spock said. "However, I will no longer be participating in this exercise of lunacy."
"Hey," Jim said, mockingly offended. "Don't call us lunatics."
"All right, let's do another," Sulu said. "I'll start this one."
Spock sighed and closed his eyes, wishing there was another way to spend the time. But they were all having fun, so he allowed himself to simply sit there and meditate. He had never attempted any form of meditation in such close quarters with other people before, but he certainly couldn't be expected to do much else. Jim, although warmer, was still pressed against his chest and shoulder. Spock hadn't removed his arms from their original position and Jim had made no indication that he would rather move. In case Jim was injured but they weren't able to tell, Spock's extra body heat might make a difference. He wouldn't be sure until they were rescued, but in the meantime he was willing to do what he could to keep Jim comfortable, safe, and happy.
The meditation worked, which Spock knew only because two hours passed with him taking little notice of them. Jim, Sulu, and Chekov continued their game and left him relatively alone, although Jim occasionally shifted against Spock, which caused him a great deal of discomfort. Jim wriggling against him was highly unnerving, mainly because it was incredibly comfortable and Jim seemed to fit fairly well there. His meditation proved to be useful as both a distraction and relaxation technique. What got him out of that state was not Jim's movement, but rather a muffled call on the communicator.
Chekov stopped in the middle of his description of whatever it was they were inventing. Jim immediately reached down, fingers brushing over Spock's thigh before reaching the communicator on the floor next to them. He lifted it up and looked around, asking, "Did you guys hear that, too?"
Sulu nodded and the communicator went off again. "Captain Kirk, this is Uhura. Do you copy?"
"Uhura, this is Kirk," Jim said, quickly. "What's going on?"
"I'm transferring you to Scotty," Uhura said. "One second."
Jim waited few seconds until Scotty said, "Captain, are you there?"
"Scotty, Jim. What's up?" He was speaking faster than normal, and Spock could only assume that was from excitement over the prospect of actually leaving.
"Good news, bad news," Scotty said.
"Bad," Jim replied.
"We can only beam aboard one person every four hours right now," Scotty said.
Jim groaned. "What? Why?"
"It's to do with the power that the transporter requires to run properly," Scotty explained. "Look, all I'm saying is, if we don't have enough power, we're going to leave parts of people behind."
"But why once every four hours?" Jim asked. "What's the problem?"
"The damn rocks," Scotty said. "They're sucking power out of everything, and we can't risk beaming them down right now because we don't know what'll happen. We know for sure we can store up enough energy to get one person aboard every four hours. We're working on it, and we might be able to do better than that, but that's it for now."
Jim sighed. "All right, fine. What's the good news?"
"We can get one person back right now," Scotty said. "Just tell me who and have him stand outside the cave. We've got you on the sensors already."
"Okay." Jim paused. "It's Chekov."
Spock, Sulu, and Chekov all looked at Jim with varying levels of surprise. Spock didn't know what Jim was trying to do, but he wasn't having any of it. Jim was injured. He needed to go back first.
"Captain," Spock said. "You should return first."
Jim raised a hand to silence him. "Take your gear, but leave anything warm. That's an order."
"Yes, sir," Chekov said. He gathered some of the equipment he had brought with him and saluted Jim and Spock before leaving to stand outside the cave.
"Jim, I must protest. It should be you who-"
"Beam him up, Scotty," Jim said, interrupting Spock. Chekov disappeared moments later. "Let me know when he's back safely."
"A few more seconds," Scotty replied. Jim exhaled slowly. "All right, he's here. In one piece. No applause necessary."
"Start saving up more energy," Jim said. "And how's that door situation coming?"
"We've been able to pry open a few of the doors that were necessary." Scotty sighed. "But I'd say ninety percent of the crew is still stuck wherever they were before."
"And Bones?" Jim asked. "You guys find him yet?"
"Well, I heard that someone heard banging from the lift, and we're all assuming that's him," Scotty said. "But powering up the lift is going to take up some of the energy that we're storing, and since he's fine and you guys are freezing to death…"
Jim ran a hand over his eyes. "Okay, yeah. Just keep doing what you're doing. Let us know when the next person can get beamed back."
"Yes, sir."
"Kirk out." Jim closed the communicator and looked at Sulu briefly before turning his head to look at Spock. "I'm going back last. We can argue about it after Sulu's gone, if you like."
"Captain, I believe that is an extremely unwise-" Spock started, but Jim slapped a hand over Spock's mouth.
"If anyone's injured here, it's you. You're lucky I'm letting you be all noble and self-sacrificing at all." Jim let his hand drop. "Sulu, then you, then me. We've got, what? Maybe an hour left on this blanket? At least we've got a second one."
Spock had plenty of issues with the math involved there, but also with the obvious problem that whoever was left behind would be alone for four hours in the cold. The next four hours would be divided between one hour on this blanket and three on the next. The four hours after that would be spent with two on the next blanket and two without the extra heat. So the last person remaining would actually have to spend six hours with just their clothes and the normal warmth of the blankets as protection from the weather-two with the second-to-last person and then two alone. Jim was more delusional than Spock had originally thought he was if Jim was even entertaining the idea that Spock would let him stay here alone. Well, they'd have to cross that bridge when they came to it, as the ridiculous human phrase went. It made no sense, logically, because the bridge might be unstable or worn down or even broken from years of use, and then what? It was always better to have alternate routes in mind. When dealing with Jim, though, Spock was starting to understand that, if he ever wanted to get his way, he would need to be incredibly creative. He had four hours to think of how to convince Jim that allowing Spock to stay alone on this ice planet was a better idea than Jim doing it himself. He'd need every second.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
tbc
Feedback is love. <3
Author: kowaiyoukai
Rating: R
Pairing: eventual like whoa Kirk/Spock (STFU), Spock/Uhura (blame JJ, not me)
Warning(s): Angst, meta, language, attempts at witty banter, overly-important tone, intentionally confusing parts, potentially OOC everybody
Spoilers: Star Trek XI (2009) (a.k.a. Star Trek XI, Star Trek 2009, Star Trek Reboot, New Trek, and can we please just pick one name for this fandom people?!)
Word Count: 10,015/?
Disclaimer: Star Trek belongs to Gene Roddenberry, mostly, but also a lot of other people/groups like Paramount, J.J. Abrams, and the various writers/directors. I'm not one of those people, sadly, because if I was I'd be filthy rich.
Beta Acknowledgment: None! I know there are errors, so please let me know if you see any! Thanks!
Summary: Jim quickly realized he was going to have to break the rules if he wanted to survive on the Enterprise.
A/N: I HOPE THE FANGIRLISH PARTS MAKE UP FOR THE WAIT. Mission chapters suck. This was an accident--and I mean that. This wasn't supposed to go down this way at all. Clearly arguing with myself only causes hassle for us all. Also, the next part is only partly written. Sorry. I blame many people for how long this took me to get out, but mostly the following: mariole for her reminder that shuttlecrafts existed and could be used to rescue them (which made me have to brainstorm with siriuslyyellow interesting ways of taking the shuttlecrafts out of the picture), rdallyn for getting me to promise her K/S cuddling for warmth (yeah, I knew I was going to put it in anyway, but then I just had to make it REALLY good and not horribly stereotypical), and the LJ user WHOSE SCREENNAME I'VE FORGOTTEN (so please remind me if it's you) for her awesome comments on my original novel (which caused me to work/think about that for a while--especially the autistic!K thing--WHAT'S YOUR SCREENNAME I FORGOT IT FROM FAIL), and the creative teams doing SPN, SGA, and Farscape (which fueled my non-ST fandom interests--NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!) EDIT: I just realized this part was over 10,000 words long. WHY DO I DO THESE THINGS TO MYSELF?! *headdesk*
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Othersides 1 | Part 6a | Part 6b | Part 6c | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10a
Walking to the mountains was more or less disastrous. Spock had only slipped three times thanks to his superior Vulcan reflexes, but the other three men were all well into the double-digits, which included both slight missteps and the increasingly frequent stumbles which ended with one or more of them sprawled on the ground. They were traveling slowly in an effort to prevent these falls, but it didn't seem to matter how slowly they walked. The environment was taking a heavy toll on them regardless. Spock hoped the transporter would be fixed soon. Otherwise they would be stuck walking all the way to the mountains. Then Spock realized they had an alternate way of escaping, and he felt so idiotic for not thinking of it sooner that he almost didn't say anything. One glance over at Jim's shivering form was enough to convince him any embarrassment he'd feel for his mistake would be worth it if they could get off this planet in the next half hour or less.
"Captain," Spock said, placing his hand on Jim's sleeve to get his attention. When Jim looked over, Spock quickly continued, "It would be wise to contact the crew on the Enterprise and order them to send a shuttlecraft to the surface of this planet to facilitate our rescue."
Jim's face lit up. "Spock, you're a genius," he said, teeth chattering a little as he flipped open his communicator. "Kirk to Enterprise."
"Uhura here, sir."
Spock watched as Jim's hands closed around the communicator and brought it closer to his mouth. The wind was beginning to pick up again. Jim probably didn't want his voice to get carried away by it.
"Uhura, hey, patch me through to Scotty, would you?" Jim's voice was loud, but the wind was louder, and Spock was glad that his superior Vulcan hearing allowed him to hear their conversation. Sulu and Chekov were probably wondering what was going on. Spock spared a look behind him, but the two officers were simply huddling together for warmth, which was probably the smartest move since they were stopped. The lack of movement could be dangerous, if they stayed still for too long, but Spock was confident that Jim wouldn't take more than a minute or so before he had ordered them to send a shuttlecraft-which they should have done in the first place, but there would be time for self-recriminations later.
"Uh, I can do that, sir, but I think you should know we've got problems up here," Uhura said, speaking quickly but with obvious unhappiness.
Spock and Jim both stared at the communicator in surprise. "What kind of problems?" Jim asked.
"The transporter wasn't the only system those rocks messed with," Uhura said. "All of the monitors only show static, so we don't have any visuals available. All of the audio and communicators are still working, though."
"Oh, that's all?" Jim asked, relieved.
"No," Uhura replied. Jim's face fell. "None of the doors will open."
Jim blinked. "What do you mean?" Spock understood his confusion, but really, when Uhura had stated that none of the doors would open, she most likely meant that none of the doors would open. Humans had this ridiculous need to ask redundant and useless questions. There were times when it was cute or mildly entertaining, and then there were instances when it was only a waste of the limited time they had available.
"No door on the entire ship will open," Uhura repeated. "Everyone is stuck wherever they were when the energy burst happened. Most people are at their stations, but a lot of officers are in the hallways, rec rooms, mess hall, their quarters, and I think somebody's stuck in the lift, but I can't be sure."
Jim closed his eyes briefly. "Those fucking rocks," he muttered. Spock couldn't have agreed more. "Okay, is anyone hurt?"
"No, sir."
"Is anyone in danger of getting hurt?" Jim asked. Spock approved of the distinction.
"Not that I've heard. There are a few officers who haven't reported in, but everyone's assumption is that they're stuck without communicators someplace," Uhura said. Spock momentarily sympathized with her situation. As the main communications officer, she was currently handling all of the inter-ship discussion that normally could take place simply by traveling from one room to another. "Sir, there's something else."
"Oh, God, what?" Jim's voice was a mixture of incredulousness and fear.
"Scotty's stuck in the transporter room. He's talking the officers in engineering through how to fix the transporter, but last I heard he's not sure exactly what the rocks did to it. And since he has to rely on the description other people are giving him for what's wrong, he thinks it may take a while to fix." Uhura was clearly stressed out, and Spock wanted to reassure her that they would all be fine, but he couldn't be sure that was true and, perhaps more importantly, he had other problems at the moment.
"When were you going to tell me all this?" Jim asked, slightly ticked off. "I should've known as soon as this happened."
"I'm sorry, sir, but Scotty thought it would be best not to trouble you with this until we had some good news, and I agreed with him," Uhura explained. "You guys have other problems right now, if I'm not mistaken."
Jim sighed. "Fine. We're making our way to the mountains."
"I know. We're still tracking you guys," Uhura said. There was a moment's pause when Spock realized she had more bad news to give, but Jim was unprepared. "Sir. There's one more thing."
"Oh, you've got to be shitting me," Jim almost shouted. "What is it?!"
"Doctor McCoy is one of the people we haven't been able to contact," Uhura said. "I think he's stuck in the lift."
Jim sucked in a breath, so quickly it must have hurt. "Which lift? Where? What floor's he on?"
"I'm… not sure," Uhura said, voice filled with anxiety and frustration. "But he's not in any of the rooms or corridors, and no one saw him near his room all day. The only thing we can figure is that he must have been taking the lift somewhere when it stopped."
"But you're not sure," Jim stated.
"No," Uhura answered. "And life support is working fine right now, so even if he is stuck in the lift, it should be fine."
"Yeah. Okay." Jim cleared his throat. "Just keep me up to date about what's going on. Kirk out."
Jim closed his communicator and shoved it back into his pocket. Again Spock was hit with the thought that he wanted to reassure someone, only this time it was Jim who needed the support. He reached out, tentatively, and laid his hand on Jim's shoulder. Jim looked at Spock so quickly he thought something must be wrong, but then he realized this might be the first time he had ever touched Jim, or at least the first time when they weren't in some kind of life-threatening situation. Although, technically speaking they were in a life-threatening situation and Spock didn't know why Jim had to act so surprised. Jim touched him all the time. It wasn't a big deal. Jim shouldn't have looked so shocked.
Spock pulled his hand away, confused about what had just happened but knowing he had Jim's attention, which was the point. "I am confident that no harm will come to Doctor McCoy." Spock expected that to be enough, but Jim was still staring at him so after an awkward few seconds he continued, "He will be as… helpfully insightful as always when we return to the Enterprise."
Jim grinned widely, face lighting up with amusement. "Now you're just being bitchy." Spock's eyebrows rose, but before he could respond Jim's grin softened. "But thanks."
Spock nodded and, feeling uncomfortable and like he should be doing something productive as opposed to standing around trying to figure Jim out, decided to continue walking. He motioned to Sulu and Chekov to follow him, and of course Jim ended up beside him once again. Spock assumed Jim wanted to take the lead, but the wind and his constant slipping meant he was forced to stay with the group. Spock was grateful for it. He had no desire to have to go save Jim from a disaster of his own creation, and anyway they were safer when they stayed together. The mountain was getting closer every minute. They had to keep going.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
By the time they were close enough to the mountain to scan it for caves, Jim was freezing. They had been on the surface for three hours, and almost two and a half hours of that time had been spent walking. Nothing much had happened while they were walking, except his teeth were chattering so much his jaw ached and he kept on slipping on the ice. Sulu and Chekov were doing about the same, but he couldn't tell how Spock was. He knew Spock was cold, but Jim wasn't sure how serious it was considering Spock's higher body temperature and annoying habit of not saying anything when he was uncomfortable or in pain. The plan was to keep an eye on everybody, but Jim knew he was going to have problems just looking after himself if they didn't find some shelter soon.
"Ch-chek-ko-kov," Jim stuttered, his teeth chattering so badly he sounded like one of those ancient techno songs. "T-t-t-" Jim stopped short, shoulders slumping. He gestured at the tricorder slung around Chekov's arm and motioned to the mountain, which was now less than a mile away. "C-c-cave?"
Chekov nodded and turned on the tricorder, scanning for any nearby caves. At least, Jim hoped that was what he was doing. He hopped in place three times to keep warm, but of course then he slipped and Spock's hand darted out, grabbing his forearm before he fell. Jim steadied himself and nodded at Spock, who let go of Jim's arm and started looking around the area. Jim didn't know what he was hoping to see. It had been all ice, all the time the entire way there. If anything suddenly popped out at them, Jim was equally likely to shoot it as he was to welcome it. Okay, so that was a lie. Jim had enough experience with ice planets to know he should always shoot first, especially if it looked like it wanted to eat him. But there had been nothing-no signs of life at all, no footprints or broken ice-and Jim figured Spock was just trying to keep doing his job. Good for him. His review was going to be full of glowing praise, no matter what Pike had been trying to say.
When Chekov gestured with a shaking finger for them to continue moving ahead and to the right, Jim began walking and wondered what was going on with his crew. They hadn't heard from the Enterprise since they'd found out the rocks had caused all sorts of electrical problems throughout the ship. Jim knew the crew was trained for all types of emergencies, but they were inexperienced and no one really expected their own ship to turn against them. Jim hoped they had found some way of opening the doors, because otherwise everyone was relying on whoever happened to be wandering the hallways when the rocks were beamed aboard. He trusted his crew, but Jim wasn't willing to risk the lives of the landing party, his own included, on chance. He'd need to contact the ship and see what was going on once they got someplace warmer. It would be useless to try and talk to anyone now.
After another forty-five minutes of dismal conditions, Jim finally saw the outline of what was probably a cave. He headed towards it, intent on getting there as fast as possible. It was maybe fifty yards away when he heard a very loud, rumbling sort of growl. Jim's eyes widened. Really, he should have seen it coming.
A creature that was about five times as tall as Jim slouched out of the cave, walking on the three legs it had with an unusual gait, moving each one individually. It was covered in white fur and the only other thing Jim noticed right away was that it had a very wide mouth filled with jagged teeth, which he figured he should also have seen coming. Why was it that all of these kinds of monsters or animals or whatever they were had to have scary-looking teeth? He never ran into a monster that had a friendly-looking mouth filled with even and clean teeth. He might write an essay on it.
Then it got worse because the thing's mouth opened wider, the jaw bones somehow disconnecting from each other so that its mouth dropped almost to the ground. Jim took a step back, holding a hand out behind him to stop everyone else from moving. Yeah, they had phasers, but what good were phasers against something like that?
The animal moved towards them, but it moved slowly, hampered by its odd three-legged body structure. Clearly, this was not something used to eating anything that moved. Jim took out his phaser and motioned for Chekov and Spock to go the left while he and Sulu went to the right. He used the silent military hand motions they all had learned to let them know his hopefully quick but effective plan. They would surround it and stun it from all sides. Any one person trying to stop that thing would be suicide. They'd have to work together.
Jim moved to the right, walking slowly, circling around the animal, giving it a wide berth to stay on the safe side. Sulu followed him discreetly, a few feet behind. When they were at an angle Jim thought could work, he held up a fist to get Sulu to stop. Jim saw Chekov and Spock stopped on the other side of the monster, and he gave them a thumbs up. Chekov nodded, and Jim aimed his phaser and counted to three before he fired.
At first it seemed like it was working. The animal wobbled unsteadily and let out a more high-pitched growl. Jim waved his hand in the air to stop them all from firing. He didn't really want to kill it. He only wanted to get it to run away. But as soon as they stopped firing, the animal roared and looked directly at Jim, who lowered his hand too late. The monster started walking his way, and they fired again, but this time the animal only moved faster. Jim started running as best he could away from the thing, but it followed him and he realized he'd never be able to outrun it while he was slipping on the damn ice.
Jim waved Sulu away, but Sulu hesitated. "G-g-g-go!" Jim shouted. Sulu half-ran half-slid away, moving towards where Chekov and Spock were. Jim fired his phaser again, but the animal was close enough now that Jim thought he was going to get hit, hard, and there was nothing he could do about it.
From out of the corner of his eye, Jim saw Spock coming, running towards him with an unintentional innate grace no human could achieve in these conditions. Jim looked over just as Spock pushed him away, both hands hitting into Jim with the combined force of his speed and strength. Spock was stronger than he had any right to be even during normal circumstances, and that push sent Jim half-flying half-falling, first through the air and then speeding along on the ice and he couldn't seem to find any way to stop. He laid his hands flat along the ice and tried digging his fingers in, but that just left him with raw, near-bloody fingertips. He couldn't see exactly what was happening. The damn ice had been slippery enough just walking on it, but now it was like he was on a slide that stretched on endlessly for miles in every direction. He was slowing down, but not enough and far too late, and his officers and the monster had disappeared in his confusion.
Jim hoped he wouldn't regret it and shoved his phaser down into the ice, cracking it open. He still slid a few more feet, dragging the phaser with him, but his body jarred with the force of his stop when the phaser finally got caught in the ground. Jim dragged himself to his knees and then to his feet, taking a minute to pull his phaser up. It had dug fairly deep into the ice, but he wasn't willing to leave it behind, especially since he could very well need it in the near future. Jim planted both his feet on either side of the phaser and pulled it, hard, jiggling it around to get it loose. When he managed to release it, he only had it in his hand for a second before he heard a crack. Jim looked down, at the long line the phaser had made, to see clear water underneath it. There was only a second for him to think he was completely fucked before the ice broke, dropping him directly down into the freezing water.
He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, he was shivering and surrounded on all sides by a weird mixture of white and blue. Jim looked up to see only water, and he couldn't tell if that was because he was upside down or because he was so far down that was all he could see. Fear swept over him, but he pushed it aside. There'd be time to freak out later, when he was alive and telling Spock all about this. Oh, God, Spock, that monster had been right there, Spock had gotten hit, there was no way he could've managed to get out of that one. And what about Sulu and Chekov, were they okay, had the monster gone after them too?
Jim's head felt weird-slow, fuzzy, like he couldn't think properly. His eyes burned, his chest hurt, his arms and legs felt heavy and unresponsive. He was floating, sideways maybe, and he couldn't tell where he was supposed to go or what he was supposed to be doing. Something hard and solid banged into his side, and while part of him didn't care and just wanted to sleep, another part was quite sure it was important. The Captain in him wasn't able to let it go, no matter how small a thing it might be, so Jim looked down and saw he still held the phaser in his hand.
Seeing his weapon brought his mind back to the present. He didn't know how long he'd been under for. It couldn't have been too long because he was still alive, but clearly he wasn't thinking properly. He needed to see McCoy. But to see McCoy he needed to get back to the Enterprise, and right now that was impossible because the transporter was broken, and besides all the doors wouldn't open and McCoy might be stuck in the lift so even if he did get back-
No. No. He had to focus, keep his mind clear. Jim grasped the phaser, but in doing so he accidentally pulled the trigger. The beam shot uselessly out into the water, but then Jim realized that might be his only salvation. He pulled the trigger and started aiming in a slow circle around him, eventually hearing what sounded like something dropping through a tunnel. The sound had come from his left, which was weird. He hadn't expected the surface to be to his left. But he went towards the sound anyway, struggling to swim as his limbs felt weighed down. After a few seconds he hit into a solid wall, and a moment of utter and complete confusion occurred. What the fuck was a wall doing in the middle of the ocean, or lake, or whatever this was? And anyway, walls shouldn't be invisible. There was just no need for that kind of thing.
Then Jim lifted the phaser to his left, pointed it directly at the wall, and fired. A hole blast through the wall, and Jim remembered it was the surface and he had to get through it before he couldn't think or breathe at all. His body ached as he pulled himself through the hole, finding nothing but ice to grab onto above ground. His fingernails scrabbled for some kind of purchase and he lifted his head up out of the water, gasping for breath and feeling immediately dizzy and violently ill. Jim managed to claw and pull his way out of the water, even as the ice was re-forming around him. He ended up panting on the ground, lying face up and staring at the sky as his lungs burned and his limbs felt numb.
After two or three minutes, during which time he couldn't think at all, Jim realized he couldn't feel anything and that was probably incredibly bad. He rolled over, struggling to move, and looked up, hoping to see the mountain. It wasn't even on the horizon, so he turned around with his arms and legs still feeling like they weren't even there. When he looked up again, he saw the mountain, but it was farther away than he'd thought it would be. He'd slid too far, and he couldn't even tell where Spock, Chekov, or Sulu were or if any of them were alive or dead.
Jim groaned. This was going to suck. He half-pushed himself to his feet, relying on gravity to take over when he didn't feel strong enough. When he made it up, he began walking towards the mountain, sliding more than he had before because he couldn't feel his legs at all. His clothes felt heavy and they clung to him oddly. Besides that, the water was starting to freeze on his skin, which left him with an odd tingly sensation that sometimes burned. Jim wasn't sure exactly what was wrong with him, but he suspected hypothermia or at least some fancy word that meant 'needs to be warm and far away from ice planets right now'. Maybe instathermotransiceterraia? Regardless, there was only one smart thing to do.
His communicator had gotten soaked in the water, like everything else on him, but it still worked. Jim had heard stories of old machines that actually broke down if they got doused with water. Score one for the twenty-third century. He flipped it open and said, "S-sp-sp-spock-ock, Ch-ch-cheko-kov, S-s-sulu-lu, c-ca-nuh y-you g-g-guysss heeear m-m-m-m-me?" Jim licked his lower lip, hoping to stop his teeth from chattering. It had gotten even worse-his lips and tongue were barely doing what he wanted them to, and he was stumbling over every little sound. Not a surprise, considering, but it was still really not helping.
After a worrying minute of silence, during which Jim attempted to repeat himself four times, Sulu said, "Yes, Captain, we're here."
Jim closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. Sulu's voice was steady, which meant he must be warmer than he had been. "G-g-g-goo-duh," he said. "Ev-ev-every-ry on-nuh-suh oook-k-kay-y?"
"Chekov and I are in the cave. Spock went to look for you and ordered us to stay put. We turned on one of the blankets, sir, hope you don't mind," Sulu said, sounding ready to be chastised.
"F-f-f-fi-nuh," Jim said. He growled into the communicator out of frustration and hoped Sulu wouldn't take it the wrong way. "M-m-mon-nuh-s-s-st-stuuuh?"
"We killed it," Sulu said. "Set phasers on their highest power level to finish it off. Spock got hit, but he said he was fine. I offered to go out to look for you instead of him, but he said he'd do it."
"He was really adamant about it," Chekov interrupted. "Said it was his job to look for you. Sir."
Jim groaned. Now he had images in his head of Spock bleeding and half-dead running around looking for him. Great. "T-t-t-t-t-t-t-" Jim accidentally bit his tongue and cried out, leaving his mouth slightly open.
"Spock's tracking your movement and body heat with a tricorder," Sulu said. "He checked in with us about five minutes ago and said he was getting close."
"K-k-k-k," Jim said. He hoped they'd understand he meant he was hanging up. It was pointless to continue that conversation right now, he figured as he flipped the communicator shut. It would have to wait until he could at least form words without stuttering so much.
So Spock was coming to save him and Jim couldn't even savor it how he wanted to because he was unable to think past how cold he was. This was a new level of cold. This was cold unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. It was so cold parts of him felt numb or warm, which he knew must be a really bad sign. But he knew all he could do was keep walking and hope Spock got to him soon. So he kept going in the direction of the mountains, sliding along and hoping Spock would get there before his fingers fell off.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Spock had never been more worried in his life. Sure, there had been other times when something horrible happened and it was up to him to save whoever was involved, most notably the incident with his family and the Vulcan council members, yet it had never been this type of long, drawn-out situation that felt like every second was another second he couldn't afford to lose. Once Sulu had contacted him and told him that Jim sounded "not good," Spock began imagining all sorts of wild scenarios about what had happened. What it came down to, though, was that he had pushed Jim too hard, and the stupid ice had added to his original force and Jim had only gained momentum from there. If it had been any other type of ground, Jim would have stopped where he landed, but of course they had enough trouble staying upright when they were simply walking slowly. Spock could only imagine how Jim had been able to stop. This was an example of the laws of nature at their cruelest and most unforgiving.
Spock's worry ended up being so enormous he felt as though he'd need a month's worth of vacation time once they were back on the Enterprise. He'd spend all of it with Jim, playing chess and listening to Jim make bad jokes about inappropriate topics, and at the end of it they'd both be warm and he'd be sure Jim was safe. Then he'd make sure Jim stayed far away from ice planets for the rest of their lives.
After twenty-eight minutes of flat-out running, using the slippery ground to help him gain speed but slowing down when he thought he might get too out of control, Spock noticed Jim on the horizon. Jim was wobbling unsteadily and seemed to be stumbling as opposed to walking. Surprisingly, the sight of Jim did little to relieve Spock's tension, and he increased his pace until he was only just under fifty feet away from Jim. Then he slowed down, allowing his momentum to carry him until he stopped. It wouldn't do anyone any good for Spock to topple Jim to the ground in his condition.
"Where are you injured?" Spock asked, immediately scanning Jim for any obvious signs of discomfort. Unfortunately, he found far too many with one simple glance and Jim's attempt at stuttering out an answer was only going to waste time. Jim gestured with a shaky hand to the ice, then brought his other hand down hard on top of his already outstretched hand. Spock couldn't determine exactly what the gesture was meant to indicate, but based on the frozen water covering Jim's clothes and his discolored skin, Spock could only assume Jim had somehow broken through the ice which covered one of the small lakes they had crossed over and fallen into it.
"C-c-c-c-c," Jim started, but Spock saw how he was wobbling and obviously unable to function normally. There was no sense wasting any more time here, and Jim clearly wasn't in any position to argue, so Spock quickly wrapped one arm around Jim's back, the other under his knees, and lifted him up off the ground.
Jim's eyes widened and he started trying to speak, but Spock interrupted, "Do not argue." Jim blinked at him and then Spock turned around and began walking the way he had come, back towards the cave.
Carrying Jim was not really a problem. At first Jim struggled against Spock's hold, pushing on his arms in an attempt to force Spock to let him walk on his own. Of course Spock ignored that request without even a word of explanation-Jim was in no position to make demands and seemed to be suffering from mild hypothermia. The only real issue was getting Jim back to the cave and waiting to be rescued there. Spock had been concerned that the added weight might make crossing the ice more difficult, but of course he was strong enough that carrying another person made little difference to his overall balance and agility. If Jim had been heavier it might have caused some concern, but as it was Spock found no reason not to return to running after a full minute of testing the ground.
Spock concentrated on running, knowing his speed would have a direct influence on how Jim's recovery went. He had not brought a blanket with him because he had assumed Jim would be in about the same physical condition as before, although in hindsight the extra blanket would have been very useful. Still, if the situation turned even worse they might need the warmth later. It was a difficult decision to make, and it was made worse from knowing that the Enterprise was having troubles of its own. With Jim temporarily out of commission, more or less, it would be Spock's decision how to proceed from this point on.
"Sp-sp-spock," Jim said after almost ten minutes had passed. Spock noticed his shivering was slowing and a bit of warmth was returning to his body. It still wasn't nearly enough, but it was a start.
"Yes, sir?" Spock asked, mentally calculating how much longer it would take them to reach the relative safety of the cave.
"P-put m-m-me d-down," Jim said. He moved uncomfortably in Spock's arms, twisting around fruitlessly.
"You are suffering from severe exposure to the cold," Spock said. "I recommend you relax until we are able to beam back aboard the Enterprise."
"N-no," Jim protested. He lifted a hand and pushed at Spock's shoulder. "L-let m-me g-g-go."
"I cannot," Spock replied. Jim was acting very strangely. Spock worried that he had become somewhat delusional in the cold. There was no real reason why Jim would be so adamant on getting in the way of his own treatment. Maybe explaining the situation to him would make things clear? "Allowing you to walk would be illogical. It is much faster for me to carry you to the cave than for you to walk there. I apologize for any perceived inconvenience or discomfort this may cause you. However the speed of your recovery will lengthen in accordance with the length of time you spend in this frigid temperature."
"Th-that's an ord-der," Jim said.
Spock didn't even slow down. "I will report to the brig once we return to the ship."
"Y-y-your l-leg," Jim said, pointing to it. "It's bl-bleed-ding."
Spock looked down, surprised he had forgotten. A long gash ran along the outside of his right leg from just under his knee to an inch above his ankle. The wound was clearly visible through his torn pants, and blood was steadily seeping through the material. The stress of running didn't help the healing process, but cuts were healed far more easily than some of the possible consequences of hypothermia were. "Yes. I will tend to it later."
It made sense now why Jim had requested to be released, but Spock wasn't going to just allow his condition to get even worse. The fact they were both injured meant basically nothing to him. After all, Vulcans were able to distance themselves from their physical bodies when they needed to. Even they couldn't, Jim was much worse off. His concern for Spock's leg, while appreciated, was so misplaced right now that Spock could only shake his head at the absurdity of it all.
Within another seven minutes, the cave finally came into view on the horizon. It was a welcome sight. Once Jim had pointed out his injury, Spock felt the cut in his leg much more clearly. Once he could sit down and concentrate he'd be able to control the pain, but currently it was a steady throb that gave him a nasty jolt every time that foot hit the ground.
Another minute had them at the entrance, and Spock went inside without pausing. Inside the cave it was still cold, but the wind wasn't hitting them anymore and they weren't slipping on ice. It would have been better if the temperature inside the cave was warmer because at least then they wouldn't be in danger of freezing to death, but Spock was willing to take whatever small mercy fell their way. Chekov and Sulu were still sitting together, huddled under one blanket, and as soon as Spock ran in they looked up.
"Captain?" Chekov asked, frowning. "What happened?"
"Captain Kirk is injured," Spock replied, stopping next to Sulu and dropping to his knees. "Open the blanket." Sulu and Chekov moved closer and rearranged themselves briefly to allow the single blanket to wrap around all four of them.
"We have a second blanket," Chekov stated.
Spock raised an eyebrow at the unnecessary reminder. "We may well need that if it takes Mr. Scott longer than expected to fix the transporter."
"We've already used over an hour on this one," Sulu said. "It's better that we're careful."
Chekov glanced at Jim. "It might be better to give him one anyway?"
"There is no need," Spock replied. "The heat is sufficient. Captain Kirk should be under Doctor McCoy's care, but for now this is all we can offer him."
"I c-can h-hear you," Jim said, frowning. His teeth were chattering less than they had been, and Spock could already feel warmth flowing through his body. Jim moved to sit away from Spock, but their close confines made that move an incredibly unwise one. Jim ended up with one hand against Chekov's shoulder and a knee in Sulu's lap.
"Ow," Sulu said, wincing. "Captain, maybe you should just… sit there?"
"Th-there's n-no room," Jim said.
"The blanket's made for things like this," Chekov said. "There's room."
Jim was acting odd. He had never shown a problem being close to his crew before, and now was really not the time to develop the proper feelings of distance and authority that some people might argue he should have had all along. Spock could analyze his behavior later. Right now he only moved to sit more comfortably, arranging his legs around Jim. Spock knew his body heat would help Jim recover, so he leaned Jim against his chest, despite Jim's slight struggle. Jim's back felt cold against his body. It startled Spock, even though he expected it. "I want you to stay as close to me as you can," Spock instructed, fear making his heart rate speed up. If Jim had stayed under for too long, there could be serious damage, even considering the warmth he was receiving now. He needed to see McCoy as soon as possible.
Jim laughed, high-pitched and half-delirious. "You t-talked m-me into-to it."
Chekov smiled a little and Sulu sighed. Jim leaned back into Spock, tilting his head away so that it rested on Spock's shoulder. Spock was focused solely on how cold Jim felt. He hadn't made a habit of touching Jim, even though Jim was always reaching out to make physical contact with him. Jim seemed to have a habit of touching people he cared about. Spock understood that was a very human trait, one that Vulcans were thankfully spared. Touching another being was considered an intimate act by most Vulcans-mainly due to their telepathy. Humans were unaware of this, yet still most people didn't touch Spock. Jim was the only one who went out of his way to consistently do so, and now Spock was reminded of how warm Jim's hand usually felt-at least compared to the freezing plane of his back, neck, and shoulders. Jim's head was a weight on his shoulder, and Spock realized part of the cold and the weight was the clothes Jim had on. They were covered in icicles and most likely would thaw out to be drenched as Jim's body temperature rose. It wasn't an ideal situation. He needed dry clothes, but they had none to give him.
"I would prefer for you to be out of those clothes," Spock said.
Several seconds passed.
"Oh G-god," Jim said. "I'm d-dead. I'm d-dead and I'm hallu-lucinati-ting."
Chekov laughed and Sulu rolled his eyes. Spock raised an eyebrow, unsure exactly what they were thinking but knowing it must be some human thing he hadn't yet encountered. There would be time to decipher it later.
"Your clothes are covered in ice," Spock continued. "Dry clothes would be preferable."
"Oka-kay," Jim said. A shiver ran through his body and Spock, without thinking, wrapped his arms around Jim-one circling his shoulders and the other covering his waist. Jim stiffened briefly but then relaxed again. Spock hoped he'd be able to stay that way and not worry about anything until they were home. He had no desire to have to force Jim to stay put the entire time they were stuck there. Moving around might be a good idea sometime after he was warmer, but right now Spock was worried Jim had suffered some unknown physical damage in the water. Movement would most likely cause any injury to get even worse.
A few minutes of silence passed. Spock had never been this close to other people before, and certainly not three of them at the same time. Jim was closer than anyone had ever been-even Uhura had never had so much body contact at once. There were clothes separating them, but Spock could still feel Jim through the layers of clothing, an ice cold presence that reminded him how much they needed to return to the Enterprise. Sulu and Chekov were on either side of him, their folded legs and arms brushing against his own whenever any of them moved. It was uncomfortable, but somehow not awkward. Spock was able to maintain his mental barriers so that he didn't accidentally learn anything from their minds-which would be an invasion of their privacy. He couldn't block out their emotions, though. Touch telepathy had its flaws, and blocking emotions was only possible for the Vulcans who trained most diligently in that one specialty. Spock had focused his own skill on the sciences, which earned him high regard in both his cultures but did little to prepare him for the confusion of connecting with three different emotional reactions simultaneously. Usually he had physical contact with a maximum of one person at a time, and then only very briefly, so this had never before been a problem for him. He was finding it disconcerting, to say the least.
Sulu was worried, but not overly so. Confidence and trust emanated from him, which led Spock to believe that Sulu was fairly sure they would be rescued before any other disaster occurred. Chekov, on the other hand, was worried and resigned and miserable but also, oddly, almost happy or excited. Clearly, the man was suffering from the over-emotional displays most humans felt compelled to display, but he was able to control that in a dire situation. Spock could give him credit for that, even though the whirlwind of emotions was giving him a migraine. Jim's emotions were the strongest due to the amount of physical contact they had, but Spock was at a loss to explain them. There was a sense of urgency mixed with hope and despair, which made sense given the current situations both aboard their ship and in the cave. Yet there was also this deeper undercurrent of something Spock couldn't quite place, that seemed too mixed up in a huge tangle of confusion and nervousness to even try to make sense of. Spock could only assume Jim had stayed underwater too long and his mind wasn't as astute as it usually was. After all, if Jim felt like this normally, he would barely be able to function. There were too many conflicting emotions warring for dominance within him. Spock understood what that was like-he felt like he was at war with himself every day. But Jim had never given off that impression before. If it wasn't illness or injury, then the only conclusion would be that was his usual state, and Spock didn't want to even start thinking that way. The idea of Jim suffering through anything similar to the constant irritation, hopelessness, embarrassment, and resolution that Spock couldn't admit to feeling caused Spock to feel sick and heavy. Jim presented himself as being happy and carefree. Spock knew that was only a façade, but how much of it was real and how much faked? More importantly, how could Spock even bring up such a topic in conversation? While you were unconscious I accidentally invaded your mind, read your emotions, and noticed you were confused, and although it might be due to the trauma of falling into freezing cold water and the delusional state of mind that could cause in any living being, I was wondering if you had any long-standing emotional problems you would like to confide to me, as opposed to Doctor McCoy, your closest friend who you have known for years, who also happens to be the obvious choice for any conversation about emotions, especially when the other option is a notoriously unemotional half-Vulcan First Officer who you have only known for two and a half months? Even in his head it sounded like he was going to get punched in the face.
"Maybe we should do something?" Chekov asked.
His question brought Spock out of his thoughts, and he realized eleven minutes and thirty-one seconds had passed. It wasn't nearly enough time. Contacting the ship too often would only mean they would have to wait even longer for repairs to be made. It was best to leave the crew alone to allow them to work. Spock had no other ideas about what Chekov could mean, though, and before Spock could reply, Sulu voiced a similar thought.
"Like what?" Sulu replied. "You want to contact the ship again?"
Chekov paused. "Well, that's a good idea too."
"What were you thinking?" Sulu asked.
"I don't know. Maybe a game or something to keep us occupied?" Chekov shrugged.
There was no real point in playing a game, or doing anything else, to keep busy. Spock knew that, but he wasn't entirely against the idea anyway. Jim was struggling to stay awake. Anything to keep him aware would be a good idea at this point. Besides, Spock should focus on something other than the emotions that the others were projecting.
"Something to pass the time would be appreciated," Spock said.
"Do you know a good game we could play like this?" Sulu asked, looking at Chekov skeptically.
Chekov thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Theoretically Possible." Spock had little knowledge of human games, but Sulu's reaction made it clear that he had never heard of it either. "Oh, come on," Chekov continued, frowning. "It was popular at the Academy."
"Is it a drinking game?" Sulu asked, dubiously. "I hate drinking games."
"No, it's not," Chekov stated. "It's a game where each person says something that is theoretically possible, and everyone builds on it, going around and around until someone says something that is either so ridiculous that a new round has to be called or that is obviously impossible." He paused. "Or until someone forgets what was said before or gets it wrong."
"I do not grasp the idea behind this game," Spock said. "Everything is theoretically possible."
"D-don't b-be like tha-that," Jim said. Spock felt Jim's head move as he spoke, turning against his own shoulder. It was an odd sensation. "It's f-fun. Let's play."
"Who begins this game?" Spock asked.
"I'll start," Chekov said. "Since I brought it up." He waited a beat and then titled his head to the side. "Okay. Okay. It is theoretically possible that a spaceship could land right outside our cave."
Sulu sighed. "It's theoretically possible that a Klingon spaceship could land right outside our cave." Sulu looked at Jim. "Why don't you go next, Captain?"
"Yeah," Jim said. He pursed his lips and then said, "It's the-theoreti-tically p-possible that a Kli-klingon spa-spaceship pilote-ted by Scotty c-could land ri-right outside our c-cave."
Spock raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Scott is not a pilot."
"That's n-not the p-point, Spock," Jim said. "Just s-say somethi-thing."
Spock thought for an addition that would make some kind of sense. "It is theoretically possible, although statistically highly improbable, that a Klingon warship piloted by Mr. Scott and manned by a crew of hand-picked specialists from the Enterprise could land on the surface of this planet directly outside of our cave."
Jim laughed while Sulu shook his head. Chekov blinked. "Okay. It's theoretically possible that a Klingon warship piloted by Scotty and run by a hand-picked crew of specialists from the Enterprise could land right outside our cave, but be too heavy and fall through the ice."
Sulu thought for a minute. "It is theoretically possible that a Klingon warship piloted by Scotty with a crew of hand-picked specialists from the Enterprise could land outside our cave, be too heavy and fall through the ice, and then sink to the bottom and be stuck there."
Jim rubbed his hands together. Spock noticed he was getting warmer. Maybe in another ten minutes he'd be back to his normal body temperature. "It's th-theoretically possible th-that a Klingon warsh-ship piloted b-by Scotty and m-manned by hand-pi-picked specialists fr-from the Enterpr-prise could l-land outside the c-cave, be t-too heavy, fall thro-through the ice, s-sink to the b-bottom, g-get stuck there, and h-have a mechan-chanical malfunction th-that forced everyone t-to evac-vacuate."
Spock frowned. "The theoretical possibility of this incident occurring is incredibly slim. Perhaps infinitesimal would be a more appropriate description." Sulu and Chekov looked at him. Jim elbowed him in the side. "Fine," Spock said, shoulders slumping. "It is minutely theoretically possible that a Klingon warship piloted by Mr. Scott and manned by a crew of hand-picked specialists from the Enterprise could land next to this cave on the surface of this planet, fall through the ice because it would obviously be too heavy to be supported, sink to the bottom of the assumed body of water the warship has fallen into, become unable to move, have an unspecific mechanical malfunction which forces all personnel to evacuate the ship, thus causing the personnel to use all of the existing shuttlecrafts to escape."
The game continued for longer than Spock would have liked it to. He always enjoyed thinking in theoretical terms, yet this game was obviously intended for entertainment, as most games were, and not for any type of serious consideration of possible theoretical situations they could find themselves in. Usually he would have found an excuse to be somewhere else, but due to the extenuating circumstances he decided it would be best to just play along. Besides, Jim seemed to be enjoying it. His responses were getting faster the more he played, and his speech was slowly becoming clearer. After fifteen minutes, Jim's body temperature was only a few degrees lower than it normally was. There were no obvious lingering side effects, but Spock wasn't willing to take any chances.
After a somewhat grueling twenty-eight minutes, the game ended when Sulu said, "Wait a minute. Just so we're clear. We're saying it's theoretically possible that a neon pink Klingon warship named Spock the Second piloted by Scotty, who's wearing a tuxedo with a tiara and a blinking sign that says 'Needs Repairs', and manned by a crew of deaf-mute communications specialists hand-picked by Pike from the other universe, who came from the Enterprise via transdimensional beaming, could land on the planet's surface using old-fashioned wheels and a map to direct them to right outside of our cave, which we've dubbed 'Cavealicious'-" Sulu paused to breathe and shake his head at Jim, who grinned and cracked up like he had every time he had gotten them to say cavealicious for the past nineteen minutes. "-And have now lived in for two hundred and twelve years, which we've decorated with couches and nasty-teeth-monster fur rugs and pleasant heated stones to placate Spock when he's annoyed with us, and then the ice can't support Spock the Second's weight so it crashes through it, destroying our front yard and we get angry at the deaf-mute communications officers but it doesn't matter because they can't hear us anyway, not only because they're deaf but also because they're in the ship and either one would be reason enough but both are fine together too, and the ship sinks to the bottom of the sea we're magically floating on top of because ice planets are evil and magic is the only thing that would make them worthwhile, and then the ship gets stuck because it's a Klingon ship and we don't like the Klingons so it can break, and the mechanical malfunction is caused by all the water flowing suddenly through the engines in the ship, which causes the electrical wiring to short-circuit some of the ship's main systems, which normally wouldn't be a problem because Scotty's there to fix it but not only is he already doing something else important by flying the ship but he's also clearly in need of repairs as the sign says, so there's nobody there to fix it and the deaf-mute communications officers are unable to coordinate their evacuation efforts in time so half of them drown and half of who's left get electrocuted and half of who's left after that have random heart attacks and drop dead in a medical mystery that has Bones confused because he's been there the whole time, but instead of being able to figure out exactly what it is, he has to escape with the remaining crew which is annoying because they can't hear him shouting at them about being careful not to have heart attacks on his watch, so he leaves to go find an empty shuttlecraft but there are no empty shuttlecrafts because they're obviously all being used so instead he finds one shuttlecraft that is neon pink like Spock the Second and has extra room in it for him, but he ends up deciding to swim his way to the top because that's more fun, so he leaves the extra room alone even though it's logically impossible that a medical doctor would attempt to swim from the bottom of a frigid ocean but he does it anyway because he can, and Bones wears his special super-warm swimsuit that is guaranteed to get him out alive, so he dives out of a hole in the ship that he happens to be passing by and swims up, banging into two shuttlecraft, an octopus, the nasty-tooth-monster, and his own body along the way, and before he makes it to the surface all the shuttlecraft get there, including the neon pink one, so he thinks he was stupid to miss them but it doesn't matter because it's too late now, and when the shuttlecraft reach the surface we yell at the deaf-mute specialists some more about destroying our front yard but they look awful and we feel bad so we offer them to have a seat on the nice ice, and they do so, and then we talk for several hours while Bones swims his way up, and when he finally gets to the surface he gasps for breath, flips his hair back like a stereotypical action movie hero, and shouts, 'I'm a doctor, not a deep-sea diver slash a witty phrase slash Klingon warship repairman slash stereotypical action movie hero!'" Sulu exhaled slowly.
"You didn't add anything," Jim accused, narrowing his eyes.
"Well, I don't know, I think we've got to call it," Sulu said. "It's gotten to be really… well, not theoretically possible."
"Oh, come on," Jim said. "We just got to the good part!"
"This situation has been highly improbable since we began," Spock stated.
"We could start a new one," Chekov suggested. "It's getting harder to remember the order of everything."
"You may do as you please," Spock said. "However, I will no longer be participating in this exercise of lunacy."
"Hey," Jim said, mockingly offended. "Don't call us lunatics."
"All right, let's do another," Sulu said. "I'll start this one."
Spock sighed and closed his eyes, wishing there was another way to spend the time. But they were all having fun, so he allowed himself to simply sit there and meditate. He had never attempted any form of meditation in such close quarters with other people before, but he certainly couldn't be expected to do much else. Jim, although warmer, was still pressed against his chest and shoulder. Spock hadn't removed his arms from their original position and Jim had made no indication that he would rather move. In case Jim was injured but they weren't able to tell, Spock's extra body heat might make a difference. He wouldn't be sure until they were rescued, but in the meantime he was willing to do what he could to keep Jim comfortable, safe, and happy.
The meditation worked, which Spock knew only because two hours passed with him taking little notice of them. Jim, Sulu, and Chekov continued their game and left him relatively alone, although Jim occasionally shifted against Spock, which caused him a great deal of discomfort. Jim wriggling against him was highly unnerving, mainly because it was incredibly comfortable and Jim seemed to fit fairly well there. His meditation proved to be useful as both a distraction and relaxation technique. What got him out of that state was not Jim's movement, but rather a muffled call on the communicator.
Chekov stopped in the middle of his description of whatever it was they were inventing. Jim immediately reached down, fingers brushing over Spock's thigh before reaching the communicator on the floor next to them. He lifted it up and looked around, asking, "Did you guys hear that, too?"
Sulu nodded and the communicator went off again. "Captain Kirk, this is Uhura. Do you copy?"
"Uhura, this is Kirk," Jim said, quickly. "What's going on?"
"I'm transferring you to Scotty," Uhura said. "One second."
Jim waited few seconds until Scotty said, "Captain, are you there?"
"Scotty, Jim. What's up?" He was speaking faster than normal, and Spock could only assume that was from excitement over the prospect of actually leaving.
"Good news, bad news," Scotty said.
"Bad," Jim replied.
"We can only beam aboard one person every four hours right now," Scotty said.
Jim groaned. "What? Why?"
"It's to do with the power that the transporter requires to run properly," Scotty explained. "Look, all I'm saying is, if we don't have enough power, we're going to leave parts of people behind."
"But why once every four hours?" Jim asked. "What's the problem?"
"The damn rocks," Scotty said. "They're sucking power out of everything, and we can't risk beaming them down right now because we don't know what'll happen. We know for sure we can store up enough energy to get one person aboard every four hours. We're working on it, and we might be able to do better than that, but that's it for now."
Jim sighed. "All right, fine. What's the good news?"
"We can get one person back right now," Scotty said. "Just tell me who and have him stand outside the cave. We've got you on the sensors already."
"Okay." Jim paused. "It's Chekov."
Spock, Sulu, and Chekov all looked at Jim with varying levels of surprise. Spock didn't know what Jim was trying to do, but he wasn't having any of it. Jim was injured. He needed to go back first.
"Captain," Spock said. "You should return first."
Jim raised a hand to silence him. "Take your gear, but leave anything warm. That's an order."
"Yes, sir," Chekov said. He gathered some of the equipment he had brought with him and saluted Jim and Spock before leaving to stand outside the cave.
"Jim, I must protest. It should be you who-"
"Beam him up, Scotty," Jim said, interrupting Spock. Chekov disappeared moments later. "Let me know when he's back safely."
"A few more seconds," Scotty replied. Jim exhaled slowly. "All right, he's here. In one piece. No applause necessary."
"Start saving up more energy," Jim said. "And how's that door situation coming?"
"We've been able to pry open a few of the doors that were necessary." Scotty sighed. "But I'd say ninety percent of the crew is still stuck wherever they were before."
"And Bones?" Jim asked. "You guys find him yet?"
"Well, I heard that someone heard banging from the lift, and we're all assuming that's him," Scotty said. "But powering up the lift is going to take up some of the energy that we're storing, and since he's fine and you guys are freezing to death…"
Jim ran a hand over his eyes. "Okay, yeah. Just keep doing what you're doing. Let us know when the next person can get beamed back."
"Yes, sir."
"Kirk out." Jim closed the communicator and looked at Sulu briefly before turning his head to look at Spock. "I'm going back last. We can argue about it after Sulu's gone, if you like."
"Captain, I believe that is an extremely unwise-" Spock started, but Jim slapped a hand over Spock's mouth.
"If anyone's injured here, it's you. You're lucky I'm letting you be all noble and self-sacrificing at all." Jim let his hand drop. "Sulu, then you, then me. We've got, what? Maybe an hour left on this blanket? At least we've got a second one."
Spock had plenty of issues with the math involved there, but also with the obvious problem that whoever was left behind would be alone for four hours in the cold. The next four hours would be divided between one hour on this blanket and three on the next. The four hours after that would be spent with two on the next blanket and two without the extra heat. So the last person remaining would actually have to spend six hours with just their clothes and the normal warmth of the blankets as protection from the weather-two with the second-to-last person and then two alone. Jim was more delusional than Spock had originally thought he was if Jim was even entertaining the idea that Spock would let him stay here alone. Well, they'd have to cross that bridge when they came to it, as the ridiculous human phrase went. It made no sense, logically, because the bridge might be unstable or worn down or even broken from years of use, and then what? It was always better to have alternate routes in mind. When dealing with Jim, though, Spock was starting to understand that, if he ever wanted to get his way, he would need to be incredibly creative. He had four hours to think of how to convince Jim that allowing Spock to stay alone on this ice planet was a better idea than Jim doing it himself. He'd need every second.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
tbc
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