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Trips to Starfleet Headquarters always held some degree of fascination for Spock, and more so now that Kirk and McCoy were his partners. They enjoyed taking him to “see the sights”, and to explore things which he had neglected when on Earth alone.
Today, Kirk’s endless appetite for hiking in rocky, inhospitable areas had taken them outside the city. McCoy took the opportunity to complain about the likelihood of twisted ankles on such terrain. Spock took the opportunity to study the local animal life, with which he had little acquaintance.
A number of small birds caught his attention, and he stopped. They were reminiscent of pears, bowling pins, or certain varieties of gourd. One of the grey creatures bobbed closer, a small curved tuft of dark feathers swaying atop a russet spot on its head.
“Fascinating,” Spock said. “What is this bird, Jim?”
Kirk turned away from the rocks which he seemed to be considering climbing, and a smile tugged at his lips. “Oh! You mean the quail?”
“If that is what that is, then yes.” Spock gestured to the bird, which was still wandering over to investigate them. “It is most interesting.”
“He is most interesting,” McCoy corrected with a grin. “That’s a boy. See the reddish head and black mask? The females are mostly grey.”
Spock regarded the bird. The bird cocked his head, studying Spock with similar attention.
Other quail wandered over. Spock gave McCoy a look. “The females are not entirely grey. They appear to also feature white and brown.”
“I didn’t say entirely grey, Spock. I said mostly grey.”
Two male quail made a number of indignant squeaking noises at each other, and Kirk chuckled. “They bicker as much as you two do.”
Spock ignored this, watching the quail instead. They were, indeed, quite fascinating.