Chapter Text
**You can kiss and say goodbye to your family and friends by putting miles between you, but they are still with you in your heart, your thoughts and your guts. For you not only live in a world but a world lives in you.**
(Frederick Buechner).
OoO
Jim Kirk had been stabbed with a sharp flint knife in the chest. With one trembling hand he was trying to stop the bleeding, while using the other to strike his opponent's body with a large branch. As he dodged a punch from his opponent, a light stream of bubbling blood gushed from the open wound. The unexpected ambush had barely left them time to react. The first group that had attacked them consisted of humans, who emitted guttural screams. Their bodies were covered with a reddish tint and their hair was long and untidy. As if out of nowhere, a few minutes later, several Vulcan-looking humanoids joined the first group, leaping from the tops of the tall palm trees that surrounded them, their distinctive pointed ears standing out among their long black manes.
The captain and his companions struggled, defending themselves as best they could and avoiding being killed. Kirk turned, slamming his fist into the face of one of the humans, who had tried to bite him in the neck.
McCoy ducked, barely dodging an arrow, which crashed into the trunk of a nearby tree. He tried to put his hands on his own phaser,instinctively to defend himself,though he knew it wouldn't work.A large rock was thrown against his left shoulder,but with the adrenaline rush coursing through his veins,he felt no pain at the time. Seeing Jim injured, he decided to approach him, but was intercepted by another furry one, who kicked him and rolled him across the ground until he landed at Spock's feet. The Vulcan was struggling with one of those vulcan humanoids, who had superhuman strength, and outnumbered them. A high-pitched scream brought him out of his shock. A stone axe had wounded the first officer in the arm, while his blood stained his regulation shirt.
The doctor stood up, like a spring, throwing himself against the chest of the being with long black hair, while swearing, screaming like a man possessed. The hairy being struck him with its strong arms, which sent the doctor flying several meters into the void, and falling down the steep slope they had on one side. The doctor rolled on the slippery surface without being able to stop himself, hitting himself with the stones and sticks he encountered in his fall, while everything spun chaotically around him. Instinctively, he covered his head with his arms to protect it. Finally, his fall was arrested by a mountain of sand and decaying plants in which, his body was partially buried. A growl erupted from his throat as he spat out the dirt that had entered his mouth. A breath of clean air flooded his needy lungs. Meanwhile, an intense pain coming from his left shoulder almost managed to keep his consciousness awake, but a few seconds later, he passed out.
¬¬¬¬¬
Slowly he tried to open his eyes. His eyelashes, long and black, were stuck together, so Len rubbed his eyes with a shaky, dirty hand. Apparently, some stupid guy was having fun, hitting him over the head with a hammer. It looked like his brain was going crazy. "God!... What a pain!" He was going to file a protest with Starfleet. Doctors were to be banned from receiving injuries at landing parties. He was getting too old for that.
He remembered when Jim gave him a friendly pat, a couple of days earlier, on the back and invited him along on the adventure, in a lighthearted way. "Yeah, it'll be fun, Bones. We have a biological reconnaissance mission on a newly discovered planet. It's all going to be nice and easy." He could no longer remember any mission that wasn't full of unexpected events. Kirk was a magnet for trouble, and if it didn't exist, he managed to find it with terrifying ease!
He sat up, escaping from the mass of sand that had served as his makeshift bed. His shoulder ached, and he found that the bone was not where it should be. He could not move the joint. "Dislocated shoulder," he said to himself and passed out again.
Soon after, sunlight penetrated the horizon, falling softly on his body. The warmth finally made him wake up. He must have been unconscious for several hours, between bouts of lucidity and fainting, because it was already early morning. He had almost lost track of time.
A snapping sound of dry, dead branches breaking told him that someone was approaching. A Vulcan, dust-stained,walking laboriously, collapsed beside him.
"Spock!" His joy was genuine. At least,he looked like he was in one piece.
"I couldn't help it. They took the captain away. They hit me over the head and I blacked out. When I came to,I tried to trace their tracks but lost them after a while."
James Kirk missing and alone was synonymous with one of the surgeon's worst nightmares. McCoy's nervousness shot up in his stomach. "This has been a stupid mission, with stupid flowers to study, full of stupid pollen, and my stupid sense of smell didn't realize that everything couldn't be free of danger." The doctor's voice had lost strength, gradually, as he grunted and finished the sentence.
Spock turned his attention to his friend. It was clear that the doctor was hurt. His pale face and dry lips indicated suffering.
"Some of the group that attacked us looked like primitive Vulcans from your home planet!. I would just like to know where we are."
"Fascinating! I was perfectly aware of the mix of humans and Vulcans in the group that attacked us. I told you to be careful. No human is a match for an enraged Vulcan." Spock narrowed his dark eyes. "I have no data to know the reason why we are not on the surface of the planet we have been tasked to study".
McCoy was in need of answers. "Spock, give me a break! I know what I have to do. Bullshit!. Goddamn landing party!"
"Wrong and illogical. It does little good to get upset and use some of your colorful metaphors."
After a loud snort McCoy realized he was being rude. "I'm sorry. I apologize. I am very concerned about Jim!" Dr. McCoy felt a mixture of irritation and guilt. He shook his head from side to side. It was not the most propitious time for debate.
"I suppose you believe me if I tell you that I am also extremely concerned about the captain."
"Are you expressing to me that you feel an emotion?"
Spock raised his eyebrow, ignoring the comment, continuing his talk.
"I am as intrigued too. The Vulcan attackers seemed to come from a dark time in our history. Primitive and savage, with no apparent logic or control of their emotions. Besides..." He paused as his sense of smell permeated strongly with the scent around them. "It reminds me so much of my native home. Its atmosphere is just as warm and limited in oxygen."
Leonard thought he perceived a note of nostalgia in his voice. Somehow, he had realized during that five-year mission, that his partner didn't allow himself to belong anywhere or be anyone's property. But the Vulcan's brown eyes sparkled with delight as he spoke. It was clear that Spock loved his home planet much more than he would be able to admit.
The scanner beeped again and again. The first officer's hand held it, as he checked the doctor's body.
"Tricorder readings remain inconsistent and faulty. It is not possible for me to bypass the disruptive geological configuration of this planet. The data makes no sense and offers nothing new from the previous scan. I'm sorry, doctor."
Their orders had been to study and scan a planet, which was orbiting alone, around a yellow dwarf star, with characteristics similar to the Sun. It was an M-class planet, with an Earth-like atmosphere and climate. It was almost at the edge of known space. It had been provisionally named KOI-172.02.
When the three companions reached the surface, they found that they had not arrived where they were supposed to. This was a planet with a climate more like Vulcan, desert-like and hot. They had come to the conclusion that some malfunction in the transporter room had sent them to an unknown location.
Communication with Enterprise was not possible, nor were the phasers working. Apparently, that lost planet in space was surrounded by a natural shield that prevented any radio frequencies or photon beams from leaving its dense protective atmosphere. No rescue shuttle had been able to reach them. They assumed that Enterprise still existed somewhere, up there. They were isolated, with no news and no communication. In addition, the three security redshirts, Lieutenant and biologist Sanders and geologist Garcia who had accompanied them on the mission had not materialized with them, mysteriously disappearing.
It was a mousetrap from which they still did not know how to escape. They were captives.
During the hours prior to the confrontation with the bellicose villagers, Jim had taken it upon himself to encourage his friends. Somehow, they would end up being rescued. They had to keep moving and maintain their confidence. Spock led the way, looking for a sheltered place to spend the night. They had stopped for a while, to rest, at the beginning of a palm forest.