From: g92n3258@giraffe.ru.ac.za (MR RL NICOL)
Subject: A Matter of Difference
Organization: Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
Distribution: World
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 17:44:25 GMT

The following is a story I wrote a few years back, and which has been 
collecting dust for some time.  I've brought it out from the drawer and I 
hope you enjoy it.

It's focus is the Spock/ McCoy relationship, and how it changed dramatically 
from one of antagonism (Up until "Court Martial") to one of friendly 
bantering ("Shore Leave" onwards).  It reads more like a 1970 fan story than 
anything written today, not that that's bad, but I hope that you enjoy it.

Comments and flames invited,
Ryan.

A MATTER OF DIFFERENCES:		By Ryan Nicol


		Historians' note: This voyage takes
		place between the television episodes
		"The Menagerie" and "Shoreleave".


The Priority One distress call reached the Enterprise five days before the 
ship's scheduled rendezvous with the USS Potemkin. Kirk found himself faced 
with a tricky decision - ignore the distress call and rendezvous with the 
Potemkin safely on time or answer the distress call and risk being late.  
The cargo to betransferred to the Potemkin was of extreme importance.  
It consisted of food supplies that were desperately needed on the famine-
ravaged planet orbitting Kaplan's star, where it was reported that 
approximately three hundred inhabitants were dying daily while the rest were 
praying that it would be their turn next.  Kirk had never known starvation 
and he hoped that he never would.  How Starfleet and the Federation could 
have let the situation get that critical, was beyond him.

Nevertheless, he decided to risk being late for the rendezvous and ordered 
Mr Riley to plot a new course that would take the Enterprise to the origin 
of the distress call.  Even McCoy, whomKirk had thought would protest 
against such an action, saw the logic in the diversion from their previous 
course.  With luck, they would be able to investigate the distress call and 
stillreach the designated point for the rendezvous on time.

Spock swivelled around in his chair to face his captain, who had been 
waiting patiently by the railing near the science station.

"Sensor readings confirmed, Captain.  The distress call is comingfrom Reneva 
III, a dilithium mining colony that is on the edge ofFederation space."

"Any data on Reneva III that could account for the distress call,Mr Spock?"

Spock turned back to his library computer, "Negative, captain. However, 
Reneva III is situated very near to the border between the Federation and 
the Raagziin Hegemony."

"And that's nothing to worry about."  Kirk said, dubiously.

Spock considered the captain's words for a moment.  Though he had only known 
Jim Kirk for a relatively short time, he had hadenough exposure to humans 
in general to know when a particular remark was meant to be taken at face 
value and when not.  It was the times when they were meaning the opposite of 
what they hadsaid that caused Spock much confusion.

Illogical, but consistent, Spock thought, then spoke: "The Raagziin 
Hegemony, though having been discovered several yearsago, have remained in 
isolation for most of their longspace-faring history.  To break off that 
policy when there is no threat to them or their culture would not seem 
likely, norlogical."

"Has it ever crossed your Vulcan mind that just perhaps not everycreature 
in this universe is logical, Mr Spock?" McCoy queried from where he stood 
behind the captain's chair. "Perhaps you should lower your estimation of 
certain intelligent beings."

"I have been aware of that for some time, Doctor."  Spock answered 
pointedly. "However, my estimation of you has and always will remain sound."

Kirk grinned, then continued: "But, Spock, if I remember correctly, as the 
Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour, they were in the middle of negotiations 
with the United States of America."

"Quite true, Captain.  But from what I have read about the Raagziin, they 
are an extremely honourable race.  I don't believe that it would be in their 
nature to take such a course of action.  However, my knowledge as to their 
culture and beliefs is quite limited."

"You mean that you may be wrong."  McCoy allowed a ghost of a smile to form 
on his face as he moved to Kirk's side.

"No one, not even myself, Doctor, is incapable of error." Spock replied, 
defensively.

"Yes.  Well, Jim is more of a history buff than I am, so correct me if I'm 
wrong, but as I recall, the Japanese were an extremely honourable race 
themselves."

"They still are, Doctor."  Sulu said from his position at thehelm.

"I wasn't trying to suggest otherwise, Lieutenant."  McCoy spoke. "I'm 
merely saying that there will always be a black sheep in a flock.  The 
Raagziin may be honourable as a people, butindividually...."

"You raise a salient point, doctor." Spock conceded, then added after seeing 
McCoy's grinning face: "There is, however, alwaysroom for improvement."


Two hours later, Kirk assembled his senior officers in theBriefing Room.

"Right, ladies and gentlemen," he began, "We have roughly twenty hours 
before we arrive at Reneva III.  You have all beendebriefed as to the 
situation as we know it.  So let's get down to the reason why we're here.  
Mr Spock?"

Spock looked up to survey the faces of the officers around the Briefing 
Table.  Finally, he said: "The captain asked me to collect all relevant data 
concerning the Raagziin so that if we do find ourselves opposing them in the 
Reneva star-system, we will know what to expect."  He paused for a second, 
then continued: "As I have already informed the captain, their existance was 
discovered several years ago by an independent scout ship.  Since then, 
numerous other contacts have been made and an Ambassador of the Federation 
has been sent to their home-world in order to maintain ties with the 
Raagziin.  They are a very secretive people and prefer to be left alone.  It 
is only recently that they sent an ambassador to us.  As to their 
appearance, they look strikingly human, which has caused people in certain 
scientific circles to believe that they are an off-shoot of the human race.  
They are unique in the way that they find their own form so disgusting that 
they take great care in hiding their features.  To reveal what you look like 
to anyone is considered as an act of submission.  It's regarded as saying 
that you are one of a lower breed, no better than an animal.  Those wealthy 
enough sometimes spend vast sums of their form of currency in order to be 
disfigured."

Spock noted Kirk's shocked look and added: "I believe, Captain, that the 
Raagziin are not the only ones to behave in such a manner and not accept the 
way they are.  Am I not correct in stating that humans used to care a great 
deal about how they looked, to go so far as to get face-lifts and hair 
transplants?"

"Yes.  I'll grant you that, Mr Spock.  But not to the point that we got 
ourselves disfigured or to consider oneself a lowly animal." McCoy objected.

"I believe that at one stage to inhale noxious fumes, thereby risking lung 
cancer, was considered the correct thing to do.  And those who did not do it 
were not considered as one of worth."

McCoy was about to respond to that statement, but was halted by Kirk: "
Gentlemen, we're not here to fight amongst ourselves.  Spock, please 
continue."

Spock nodded: "They will also not be taken captive easily, but instead will 
fight until killed, for it is against their custom to give up when they 
still have the strength to fight."

"They sound formidable." Scott said.

"They most certainly are." Spock agreed.


It was eighteen hours later that the Enterprise went into orbit around 
Reneva III.  Kirk had put her on yellow alert, not wanting to risk a 
confrontation with a Raagziin combat vessel unprepared.  But from the moment 
they entered the solar system, it was quite clear that there was no other 
ship in the vicinity.

Reneva III was an ice world.  It's blue-white surface filled the bridge's 
view screen as the Enterprise went into orbit around her.  Kirk's orders 
were swift: Spock was to take a sensor sweep of the whole surrounding area 
of space and of the planet'ssurface; Uhura was to hail the colony and get 
whoever was in charge to tell them what the exact problem was.He was 
determined to make that rendezvous on time, and didn't want to wastthe 
precious three days that they had when something important antime-consuming 
might have to be dealt with.

"Report, Mr Spock.  Anything unusual down there?"

Spock looked up from his viewing hood, "I'm afraid that our sensors will be 
of little use for scanning the surface, captain.The atmosphere is in the 
throws of a magnetic storm, which will probably continue for quite some time.
I will neverthelesscontinue to attempt scanning."

Kirk cursed silently to himself, then turned to Uhura.

"Chief Engineer Crawford on line, captain."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Patch him through." Kirk turned to face the 
viewscreen, where the grubby face of an elderly, heavily built man replaced 
the familiar stars and the planet.  The moment Kirk saw him, he knew 
something was definitely wrong.  There were beads of sweat on Crawford's 
forehead and his eyes seemed fixed on some distant horror that existed only 
for him.

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise." Kirk pushed his 
thoughts aside. "You issued a Priority One Distress call, Chief Crawford. 
What seems to be the problem?"

"Enterprise." A weak smile cracked the corners of the Chief Engineer's 
mouth, and Kirk thought that the man was going to cry.

His thoughts became reality, as Crawford's dirt-smudged face suddenley 
became wet with tears.  The Chief Engineer gave a half-cry, half-laugh, and 
his smile broadened.  His voice kept breaking, but he managed a "Thank you".

"Captain," Spock's voice had an unusually urgent tone in it, "The Mining 
Colony has been attacked."

Kirk stared at Spock for a second, then once more turned to face the 
viewscreen: "Chief Crawford, if you would be so kind as to give us your co-
ordinates, we'll beam down a rescue party immediately."

Crawford seemed to fumble with some peice of equipment that was out of 
sight, then looked up again, his face now showing a more calm and 
authorative look.

"I've just done that, Captain.  But we've got a smaller mining village a few 
hundred kilometers away that was also attacked...."

"We'll handle one thing at a time, Chief." Kirk broke in. "Just hang in 
there.  We'll be with you in a few minutes."

Crawford's face disappeared from the viewscreen and the stars returned.  
Kirk got up and moved over to the science station.

"Co-ordinates received and stored, captain." Spock announced.

"Then let's get moving." Kirk turned to Uhura, and said: "Lieutenant, tell 
McCoy to get a couple of medics together with him and that they are all to 
be equipped for a medical emergency. Tell him to meet Spock and me in 
Transporter Room 2."

Kirk walked to the turbo-lift, then said to his Science Officer: "Mr Spock, 
feed those co-ordinates into the transporter."

"Already done so, captain." Spock answered as he moved towards Kirk.

Grinning, Kirk stepped into the turbo-lift. "Mr Spock, what would I do 
without you?"

"Appoint another science officer, I should think." Spock replied as the 
doors to the turbo-lift closed behind them.


The six figures shimmered into existance on the barren world of Reneva III.  
Barren, except for one or two tiny settlements, each containing a few dozen 
colonists.  The one Kirk, Spock and McCoy found themselves in was almost 
wholly rubble.  Spock took his tricorder out and began scanning the area as 
four more figures materialized a few metres away from him.

"There are faint life signs in this direction, captain." He said, pointing 
to a huge heap of rubble and one or two fairly undamagedbuildings.

Kirk, McCoy and the seven medics followed him, taking in thedismall 
surroundings as they approached the two buildings.  Hugeiced peaks rose 
hundreds of meters above them in all directions,and Kirk couldn't make out a 
single area on the surface thatwasn't white with ice or snow.

McCoy shivered, "It's damn freezing down here."

Spock nodded as he headed for the larger of the twoalmost-undamaged 
buildings, saying: "For once I must concur withyou, Doctor.  If one were to 
stay outside without protection forany reasonable length of time, one would 
most probably die fromthe cold."

"What a hellish planet to live on." McCoy grumbled, staring up at he faint 
light in the misty white sky that was the sun.

"It takes special people to decide to live out here." Kirkagreed.

The landing party entered the building cautiously.  An eerietwilight cast a 
shallow glow in the room they entered.It was fairly large and arrayed with 
various computers and terminals.

"This must be the Communications and Central Control Building." Kirk mused,
mving towards the nearest terminal.

"Jim, I suggest we find those injured people first before we..."

Kirk nodded at McCoy, then turned to Spock:"Stay here andtry and find their 
sensor equipment.  They probably would work better downhere thanours up 
there.  Locate that other town Crawford was talkingabout and any otherlife 
forms in the vicinity."

Spock moved over to the computer terminals as Kirk, McCoy and 
thevariousmedics made their way towards the faintsigns oflife indicated on 
the Doctor's medical tricorder.

Tenminutes later the unconscious form of Chief Engineer Crawford was found 
slumped over a computer console in the Communications Room.


"Captain's Log, Stardate 3485.3.  The majority of the miners of Reneva III 
have been transported aboard the Enterprise and arebeing cared for in 
Sickbay.  Doctor McCoy reports their conditions as varying from satisfactory 
to a cause for concern.  However, he assures me that none are in any 
immediate danger ofdying.  There are still roughly fifteen colonists 
unaccounted for, and I have authorised the use of shuttlecraft tohelp 
inthese arch for these missing miners.  There is a riskthat themagnetic 
storm could affect some of the circuitry but I believethat this is the only 
way that we canbe sure of completing thisrescue mission and still making it 
to the rendezvous on time.  Besides,with the magneticstorm increasing in 
strength, our sensors have become next to useless and the colony'sone, 
whichhas aided us in recovering most of the miners, is almost as bad.Only 
thesensors of theshuttlecraft in the nearby region of the missing people can 
now be of any use.  With two ofour threedays gone, that's all that we've got 
to get the remainder of the colonists.Meanwhile, I remain at our base of 
operations on the planet's surface - the Communications andCentral 
ControlBuilding."

Kirk stared out to the jagged white landscape and noticedfor thefirst time 
that it was snowing.  Soft flakes of white drifteddown to theground, 
creating a soft sheet on top of the hard,icey surface.

Crawford had confirmed his suspicions that it was the Raagziin who had 
attacked the colony.  They had apparently robbed theminers of roughly sixty 
four thousand tons of dilithium crystals,before destroying the two towns 
with phaser-fire from their ship.Though the Enterprise's sensors still 
revealed no othership inthe area, he had ordered Scott to maintain battle 
readiness.Ifthe Raagziin returned, the Enterprise would not only have to
defend herself, but also the five shuttlecrafts beingused tosearch for the 
missing colonists.And Spock and McCoy were onone of those shuttlecrafts, he 
thought.

Turning to the Lieutenant who was stationed atthe CommunicationsConsole that 
kept him in contact with the leadshuttlecraft thatcontained Spock and McCoy 
and which was co-ordinating the search, he asked"Any more colonists 
recovered?"

Leslielooked up at himand shook his head.  "Not since those last six, sir.  
There are still ten colonists out there."

And our shuttlecraft, Kirk thought.  Why he had allowed McCoy to join the 
search, he did not know.  Allowing Spock wasunderstandable.  Owing to the 
magnetic storm, the shuttlecraft'ssensors could only pick up the faintest 
echo of a life form.If one wasn't watching every scanning instrument every 
second, itwas extremely easy to miss a life form reading.  Spock, in thelead 
shuttlecraft, had his equipment tuned to all the othershuttle's sensors. And 
the chances of Spock missing somethingwere infintismally small. But 
McCoy... The only reason he was out there was because he had been so 
adamant.  He had stated that his officerswere experienced enough tohandle 
thingsin sickbayand that he wanted to help in a more direct manner, 
especiallywith the last sixteen. And he, Jim Kirk, had relented.  Itwasn't 
a bad idea, actually.  If theydiscovered a miner whoneeded immediate 
treatment, McCoy was the best person to bethere.But that didn't mean he 
would worry any less.

Turning to Leslie once again, he said: "I'm beamingback to theEnterprise, 
Lieutenant.  If anything happens, let me knowimmediately."

Seconds after informing Scott of his decision, hefelt thefamiliar tingle of 
the de-materialization process taking effect.The interior of the Renevan 
building changed to the familiarsurroundings ofthe transporter room and a 
smiling Scott.

"Mr Scott," Kirk grinned, "Why the special treatment?Surely youcould have 
got one of your technicians to perform the miracle."

"Why?" Scott put on an offended look. "I findpleasure inperformin' th' 
little miracles myself."

"Make sure you don't forget about the big ones." Kirk jokedashe left the 
transporter room and headed for Sickbay.


WhenKirk enteredSickbay, Crawford was lying back on top of the bed in which 
he had been placed when he had first arrived. Hisreading viewer was on and 
he seemed to be enjoying the first bitof relaxed readingthat he had had in a 
long time.

"Chief Crawford," Kirk said as he strode over to Crawford's bed,"If you don'
t mind my doing so, there are still afew questionsthat I would like to ask 
you concerning the attack on thecolony."

"By all means, Captain." Crawford said with his loud, authorativevoice.  He 
switched the reading viewer off and looked up at Kirk."It's the least I 
could do for you after all that you have donefor us." He continued, 
gesturing around at the sickbay ingeneral.

He was certainly looking in better form than when they had firstfound him, 
Kirk thought.

"According to your own report, the Raagziin came andstole aboutsixty four 
thousand tons of dilithium before destroying the twotowns." He said.

"That is correct." Crawford nodded.

"Our records state that the Raagziin are an honourable race andthat such an 
actwould becontradictory to their customs and beliefs.  Did they say whether 
they were acting on behalf oftheir government or whythey were stealing the 
dilithium?"

"They told us nothing regarding whose orders they were acting on or why they 
were stealing our dilithium, captain."  Crawford answered"But it is 
generally known that the Raagziin's home-world isn't a very wealthy one. 
Prhaps they found thatthey had to sacrificesome of their ideals in order to 
maintaintheir dignity as a space-faring race."

Kirk flicked on the viewer before Crawford and called up an inventory of the 
number of crystals reportedly mined on Reneva III.   the information he 
requested appeared on the screen,Kirk looked upat the Chief Engineer and 
said: "That still leavesninety three tons of dilithium missing, Chief." 

Crawford nodded and looked up at Kirk, answering Kirk's unspoken question: "
We hid it in various caves across the planet's surface.Our sensors told us 
of the approaching Raagzin vessel s it entered our solar system. That was 
when we sent out thedistress call and hid the dilithium.I don't think they
suspected that there was more.They left just before you enteredthe solar 
system."

"And the magnetic storm hid the dilithium from their and our sensorsweeps."
Kirk said, thoughtfully.

Crawford nodded.

"Well, our cargo holds are fill at the moment.I'm afraidthey'll have to 
remain in their present hiding places for thetime being." Kirk told him.

The Chief Engineer smiled: "They're more than safe where theyare,and whose 
likely to come looking for them anyway?  There'sno hurry to move them."

"I certainly hope not."


His Quarters offered him the privacy he needed to lie down on his bed and 
succumb to the tiredness he had felt creeping up on him.The last two days 
had been hectic - organizing and co-ordinatingsearches,worrying overthe 
Raagziin threat and the added straindue to thelimited time they had to 
search for the missingminers.He hoped that they would find those ten people.

He was shaken from his reverie by the loud beeping noise of theintercom.  
Slowly, he managed to push himself from his bunk andswing around onto his 
feet.

Switching on the intercom, he said: "Kirk here.  What is it?"

"Emergency message from the surface, sir." Uhura replied.

"Patch it in."Uhura's image was replaced by static, then thevaguely 
recognizable features of Lieutenant Leslie.

"Report." He tried to keep his voice steady and calm.

"Captain, sir...." Leslie answered in a quavering voice.Hegathered himself 
together, then spoke, "I was in contact with thelead shuttle, sir.Mr Spock 
reported some malfunction with theioniser, then all I got was static."

There was a moment of deadly silence.If the shuttlecraft'sioniser had 
gone....  Kirk did not want to contemplate that.

"Have you got their last reported co-ordinates?"Remain calm, hetold 
himself.  Don't panic.  He's looking to you for guidance.

"Yes, captain."

"Send them to all shuttlecraft.Tell the two closest to thoseco-ordinates 
to converge on that point.The rest are to continueon their pre-arranged 
flight-plans." Kirk hesitated.Had hegiven the right orders?  He added: "I'
ll be down there in twominutes."


"Captain's Log, Stardate 3491.2.  I am... concerned. Sincehaving reported 
that they were having trouble with their ioniser,the lead shuttle, with my 
First Officer, Chief Medical Officerand one of our pilots aboard, has gone 
missing.  Ship's sensorsare being used in order to try and locate the 
missingcraft, butowing to the magnetic storm, as of yet, all efforts have 
provedfruitless.  Neither are the other shuttles having much luck,though it 
is consoling to know that threeof themissing tenminers have since been 
discovered.We now have seven hours inwhich to find the other seven and our 
missingshuttlecraft beforewe haveto leave Reneva III in order to reach the 
designatedpoint for the rendezvous on time.But my main concern is whether
they can stay alive long enough to be found."

Kirk sat silently in his command chair and stared out at thedistant stars. 
H couldn't think of a life without Spock orMcCoy.

"What would I do without you?"  He had said.

"Get another science officer."  He had replied.

Damnnit, Spock!  Kirk thought.You're more than a first officerto me.  You'
re a friend.  And friends can't be replaced.

And Bones..!  Why the hell did I allow you to go?  If I hadonly....  He 
stopped there.

I'm not one to dwell on the past, he thought. Do somethinguseful. You've 
got your friends into this mess, now bail themout.

Turning tothe ensignwho was manning Spock's science station, hesaid: "
Ensign.... ahh...."

Hell of a time to forget a name.But then again, the Ensign hadjust been 
assigned.  He had come on board a few weeks ago when they had stopped off at 
Starbase 6 in order to answer a call thathad supposedlybeen sentby the 
Enterprise's former Captain,Christopher Pike.Only later was it discovered 
that Spock hadsent the distress call......  Spock.

"Pavel Checov, sir." The ensign's voice brokeKirk's thinking,his Russian 
accent being easily distinguishable.

"Mr Checov.Have sensors anything to report?"  He had asked thatquestion 
minutes ago to the person Checov had just replaced.Butwhat else could he do?

"Interference is still too strong for any accurate readings, sir." Checov 
replied, then returned to his previous position overthe hooded viewer.

Just relax, Kirk thought as his gaze returned to the screen.They're probably 
all right.  They've got to be....


McCoy felt the coldness of snow against his face and shivered.His body was 
numb, though he could feel the warmness of bloodflowing down his right leg.  He tried to sit up, but found thismovement too painfull.  So he decided to just lie still for awhile until he could find out exactly how much damage he hadsustained.

After a few seconds of lying still in the coldness, he opened hiseyes.The 
first thing that caught his gaze was the litter ofglistening metal lying in 
the newly-fallen snow. The big bulk ofthe shuttlecraft lay not too far away 
atthe base of a mountainand half embedded in the snow as it had ploughed 
its way into theplanet's surface.  And Spock?

The Vulcan'sbody lay five or sixmeters away in a crumpled heap,and from 
where McCoy was, he could make out a long green stain onSpock's forehead.

"Spock!"  McCoy yelled at the top of his voice.

There was no answer.

"Spock!"

The Vulcan stirred, but did not look up.

McCoy looked aroundfor his medikit, which he always kept on himwhen off-
ship, but couldn't locate it.However, he could makeout his medical 
tricorder lying two metres away.Proppinghimself up on one elbow, he faught 
offa wave of dizziness, thenslowly maneuvered himself towards the tricorder 
by pulling himself along with the arm he was leaning on.As he crawled, he
looked around at the bleak surroundings.It was just ice, snowand a hilly 
terrain.

And the shuttle's whiteness wouldmake it almostimpossible tospot, McCoy 
thought bitterly.

After what seemed like an eternity to McCoy, hefinally reachedthe 
tricorder , then turned over to face Spock, andactivated theinstrument to 
scan the First Officer.

Spock was bleeding profusely from both his head and from internalwounds.His 
heartbeat was fluctuating and McCoy didn't like thelook ofthe other readings 
that sped across the viewing screen ofhis medical tricorder either.

At least he's alive, McCoy thought,then turnedthe tricorder onhimself and 
studied the results.

He had fractured three ribs, was bleeding excessively on hisright legand 
internally in the abdominal region and had one hellof a headache.

Not a very good diagnosis,McCoy thought,but thanked the snowfor having 
ensured that it had not been worse.

Very slowly, McCoy crawled over to Spock and gently turned himover.

"Spock!  Are you all right?"

Spock's voice was as soft as a whisper, but his tonewas dry:"That is an 
illogical question, Doctor.  Having already taken theliberty ofscanning me, 
you are naturally aware of the answeralready."

McCoy pretended to ignore the remark and insteadran histricorder over Spock'
s body for a more thorough reading.

Finally, he put the tricorder away, and said:"Spock, you are inno condition 
to travel; neither of us are."

"If we stay here much longer, Doctor, neither of us willbe inany condition 
to live." Spock replied. "Give me a few momentsalone.So long, check on the 
condition of the pilot and see ifthe shuttle's communicatoris still 
functioning."

McCoy hesitated, then tried to get up very slowly.After twominutes of 
combating both the dizziness and the pain, McCoy wason his feet.He turned 
in the direction of the crashed shuttleand slowly moved forwards,taking 
each step as if it were hisfirst.  He was damned if he was going to fall.

Probably wouldn't be able to get up again, he thought to himself.

It took him a surprisingly short time to reach the batteredremains of what 
had been a shuttlecraft and stared at the hugerip in its side.Half of the 
shuttle's roof was also missing,lost whenit had careened into the base of 
the mountain.

Spock and I were damn lucky we were thrown clear,he sighed,thenwondered 
whether the pilot had had the samefortune, thoughhaving been in the cockpit 
at the time of the crash, that wasprobably unlikely.

His thoughts were answered as he found the limp body of the pilotslumped 
over the controls in front of him. The console on whichhis head was resting 
was smeared with red blood that dribbleddown theside and ontothe floor of 
the shuttle.McCoy didn'tneed his medical tricorder to know that the pilot's 
neck wasbroken.It was obvious from the angle of his head in relation tothe 
rest of his body.

McCoy moved over to the front left-hand corner of theshuttlecraft andfound 
the communications console.  After a fewminutes of futile attempts, McCoy 
gave up.  The magnetic stormwas obviously affecting communications.Either 
that or theequipment had been damaged during the crash-landing.Moving to
the back of the shuttlecraft, McCoy searchedfor thethermo-blanketsand the 
emergency ration packs that were aprerequisite on any shuttle flight.He 
found them in the smallholding area that was built into the floor 
andremoved onethermo-blanket for Spock and one for himself.He took as many
ration packs as he could carry and moved outside to whereSpockwasstill 
lying in the snow.

The Vulcan's eyes wereclosed and one look at his tricorder toldhim that 
Spock's body-functions were deteriorating rapidly.

"Spock!" McCoy yelled into the Vulcan's ear. "Snap out of it!"

The Vulcan did not move.

"Spock!"

Once more, Spock stirred, and looked up.Without a single word,he pushed 
himself up into a sitting position.Then after a fewseconds with an 
expression of deep concentration on his face,Spock stood up.

McCoy was ready to protest: "Spock, you are in no condition totravel.Now I 
am the doctor and you do as I..."

"How is Mr Shepherd?"Spock asked, his voicecontrolled, the painpushed to 
the dark recesses of his mind.

McCoy hesitated, then answered: "He's dead, Spock.And so willyou be if you 
don't rest."

"I am ready to travel, Doctor McCoy,"Spock replied,his voicetinged with a 
trace of irritation, "Unlike you humans, I am ableto control the pain....."

"That doesn't meanyou cancontrol the amount of green bloodyou're losing 
every minute." McCoy argued.

"With your medicalexpertise and a certainamount of luck, I amsure you will 
be able to solve that minor problem."Spock said,not without a look of 
amusement written on his face.

"Even so, we're in the middle of nowhere.Where do you proposewe travel to?"

Spock looked up at the faint sun and said:"From what I canremember prior to 
the crash, we are approximately twentykilometers South of that other mining 
village that Chief EngineerCrawford mentioned.With these thermo-blankets 
and ration packswe should be able to make it."

"Why not stay here?"McCoy queried."We can find shelter in theshuttlecraft 
and this is the general area in which they'd besearching for us."

"Doctor,"Spock sighed,"The shuttlecraft has sustained enoughdamage so as 
to make it as good a place of shelter as where I amstanding now.  Secondly, 
the magnetic storms are disruptingsensors, so the chances of finding us are 
similiar to theproverbial needle in a haystack.Thirdly, and lastly, the
Enterprise is due to leave thisplanet in roughlyfive hourstime, in which 
case staying here will do us no good.The onlylogical course is to find 
shelter and a place with a strongercommunications beacon so that we have a 
better chance ofsurvival."

"Well, I still think that you're in no conditon to travel. Andneither am 
I." McCoy said, stubbornly.

"Then I will have no choice but to carry you."


CaptainJames T. Kirk flicked off the intercom switch, afterhaving asked 
Checov for yet another sensor report.  He feltutterly helpless, a feeling 
that he hadn't experienced for a longtime. With a starship to back him up, 
hehad always been able todo something. But now that the sensors were 
useless and he hadless than five hours in which to find hisfriends,that
unfamiliarfeeling had enveloped him. All the miners had beenrecovered, 
which meant thatall the other fourshuttlecraft thatwere down on the planet 
were able to help in the search for theirmissing sister-vessel.And yet 
still nothing had turned up.

Getting up from behind his desk,Kirk headed forthe door when afamiliar buzz 
sounded.

"Come." He said, trying to sound calm and controlled.

The door openedwith a hissand Lieutenant Kevin Riley steppedhesitantly into 
Kirk's Quarters.

"Captain," He said, nervously, "May I have a word with you?"

"By all means."Kirk said,motioning him to a chair, then onceagain seating 
himself behind his desk.

Riley remained standing.

"Captain. I have been thinking about this for sometime, sir,and I am here 
to ask you to accept my transfer."

Riley looked down and didn't meet the captain's gaze.

Damn, Kirk thought.  First Janice and now Riley!  Is it me.....?

The incident involving Kodos the Executioner had occured threemonths ago.
Surely it couldn't be because of what had happenedthen.

Kirk decided to take another approach:"To whatship would youlike to 
transfer, Mr Riley?"

Riley hesitated,then said:"I don't want to transfer to anothership, sir.  I 
wish to transfer to the Academy."

Kirk was visibly stunned.He did not know what kind of an idiotRiley was 
trying to make himself out to be, but the Academy...!

Kirk swallowed,looked down at his desk and echoed:"TheAcademy."

Therewas a longsilence in which Riley tried to figure outexactly what his 
question had done to the captain he had admiredfor so long.

"I know this isn't the best time I could have chosen..."

"The Academy!"Kirk repeated,then got up and looked Rileysquarely in the 
eyes. "Have you left your senses, Mr Riley?"

Riley didn't answer.He shifted slightly from one foot to theother.

"You have the potential to become a fine officer.You're a damnfine 
Lieutenant.What the hell gave you the idea that you wouldwant to settle 
for the Academy?"

Riley didn't answer.

"I've got two missing officers down there, Mr Riley.I don'twant to lose 
them, but I might.And I don't want to lose you anymore than I want to lose 
them."

At the look on Riley's face,Kirk suddenlywondered if theNavigator had 
known about the missing shuttlecraft.The news hadbeen kept quiet and as 
far as Kirk knew, only a few officers hadbeen told of the fact.Perhaps 
Riley hadn't realized that histiming had been off - extremely off.He 
paused for a moment,then moved toward the Irish Lieutenant.

"What position did they offer you?"

"Navigations Instructor, sir."Riley answered,his voice not ableto hide his 
hurt as well as his face did.

An idea suddenly occurred to Kirk.He asked: "Lieutenant, doesthis have 
anything to do with Lana Shemry?"

Riley didn't answer.Instead, he looked down at the floor andkept silent.

Kirk's tone softened as he said: "Mr Riley, I want you to thinkabout it.I 
mean really think about it.  I'm not going to acceptyour transfer, not yet 
at least.If you still feel the same wayat a later date, I may consider it 
then.  But as of now, yourrequest for a transfer is denied."

Riley didn't argue.  He simply turned and left.

He'll snap out of it, Kirk thought to himself.The guy's toosmart to let 
one mistake ruin an excellent career.He'd lostpeople under his command 
before.  It was always hard the firsttime.  But he pulled through.

And Riley also would.


Sickbaywas litteredwith injured miners, most suffering fromfrostbite and 
from the severe cold, some having caught pneumonia. But even with the worst 
cases, Nurse Christine Chapel had nodoubt that they would pull through.The 
medical staff on theEnterprise was the most professional groupof people 
with whomshe had ever worked. The miners and their families were in good
hands.

Shemoved out of the largest of the medical wards and enteredDoctor McCoy's 
office, checking the various incoming reports onthe conditions of the 
latest group of people recovered from thesurface of Reneva III.All were in 
fair to satisfactoryconditions.

But Mr Spock and Doctor McCoy were still out there. And fromwhat she had 
heard about the surface of theplanet, unlesstheywere discovered soon, 
Chapel didn't rate their chances veryhighly.

Doctor McCoy had been like a father to her.She knew it soundedridiculous, 
but he had always seemed to be there for her.  AndSpock.....

Shehad felt only half-alive after the tragic episode on Exo-III,in which 
the Enterprise had discovered her fianc, Doctor RogerKorby, alive in an 
android's body.  He had killed himself oncehis chilling plan to replace 
humans with androids had failed.  Apart of her had died with him and she 
had hid from her pain bysuppressing those emotions that threatened to 
overwhelm her. Shesaw that as the only way in which she could carry on with 
anydegree of competency at her work and in her life. But, like thefather 
that he was to her, Leonard McCoy had shown herthat bysupressing her 
emotions,she wasn't solving the problem, onlybuilding a new one. He had 
told her something very personal.When he was young, he too had supressed his 
own emotions.Andthat was part of the reason why his marriage had fallen 
apart.He had then taken Spock as an example.  Spock was someone whorejected 
a part of what he was,and to do that would never leadto inner peace and 
happiness.  He had spoken vehemently, butnever harshly,and she realized that 
he was right.

But she also found that she now understood Spock in a way thatLeonard McCoy 
did not.  She had felt the kind of things sheimagined Spock experienced - 
the loneliness, the privacy that wasneeded and the fact that there were 
feelings, no matter howdeeply they were buried.She had had a crush on 
Spock, thoughshe had never truly known why.Now she felt that she was 
fallingin love with him, and she knew the reason.She understood how hefelt 
and knew of the loneliness.Now, without both Leonard andSpock, she felt 
that same loneliness that she had felt when shesaw Roger die.Perhaps more.

Christinesuddenley realizedthat her face was wet and hurriedlyturned to a 
mirror to make herself look presentable.

But the thoughtof Spockstayed with her as she left the officeto help care 
for the miners and their loved ones.


"Captain's Log, Stardate 3534.7.Our time is almost up.  Withinone hour, 
the Enterprise will be forced to abandon its search forthe missing 
shuttlecraft with its three passengers and head forthe transfer point.Sulu 
and I will remain behind with the fourshuttlecraftthat arestill searching 
the planet's surface and MrScott will take command and seethat the cargo is 
handed over tothe USS Potemkin."

"But, Cap'n...." Scott began, but was cut short by Kirk.

"I don't want any protests, Scotty.  You have your orders."

Scott looked dubiously at his commanding officer:"Cap'n, you'llbe alone on 
that planet for two days and if the Raagziinreturn..."

"They've got what they came for.I doubt they'll be back." Kirksaid, then 
joined Sulu and the two security officers on thetransporter platform.

"And what if one of th' othershuttlecraft gomissing while theycontinue 
searchin'?" Scott asked.

"The Magnetic Storm is clearing, Mr Scott.They should be fine. Anyhow, I've 
made up my mind and I'm sticking to my decision."

"Aye," Scott grumbled as hemaneuvered a lever onthe transporterconsole, "
Nothin' much ever changes.  Good luck, Cap'n."

"Thank you, Scotty.  Engergize."

A spatteringof sparkles surroundedthe four figures on thetransporter pad as 
they de-materialized.


Kirk, Sulu andthe twosecurity gaurds found themselves atroughly the same 
point where Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the medicshad beamed down previously.
Kirk immediately made his waytowards the Communications and CentralControl 
Building,in whichLieutenant Karen Palmer, the relief communications 
officer, wasmaintaining contact with the other four shuttlecraft.

"How is everything, Lieutenant?" Kirk asked, his concern clearlyevident.

"Not much luck so far,Captain."She didn't have to say sorry; itwas written 
across her face.

Kirk nodded reassuringly,then turned to Sulu and the Securitygaurds:"The 
Enterprise won't be back for two days, so we'll bedown here for some time.
Make yourselves at home."

The two security gaurdsnodded andwalked towards the array ofcomputer 
consoles.Sulu moved closer to Kirk, then looked at hiscaptain with a look 
of concern.

"Captain, what are thechances ofMr Spock and Doctor McCoy stillbeing alive?"

That was something Kirk didn't want to think about.

"You'd need Mr Spock to answerthat question for you,Lieutenant." He said, 
then moved away.

"Appoint anotherscience officer, I should think." Spock's wordsreturned to 
haunt him.


McCoy pulledthe thermo-blanket ever so tightly around his bodyand head,and 
peered out into the hazy whiteness before him.Hehad long since lost 
direction as to where they had come from andto where they were going.

If Spock's wrong...he began to think to himself, but pushed thethought 
aside, not wanting to think of the consequences.

Ahead of him,he could see the hunched figure of the Vulcan,moving ever so 
slowly.McCoy had managed to stop the externalbleeding and minimize the 
internal letting of blood,but he knewthat Spock was in pain, whether the 
Vulcan cared to admit it ornot.But Spock had kept moving without saying a 
word for thelast three hours.

At the beginning of the journey,McCoy's leg had caused him muchpain, but 
Spock had willingly performed a mindmeld,allowingMcCoy's pain to ease, and 
finally almost to diminish.  McCoy wasgrateful that the Vulcan had been 
preparedto take on his painalong with his own and now felt slightly ashamed 
for the way hehad badgered Spock in the past. Though Spock explained his
reason for performing the mindmeldas so thatthey would not behindered by 
McCoy's slow pace,the doctorhad a strange feelingthat Spock wanted to help 
him with his pain,so that ifhe wereto die in this harsh wilderness, he 
would go peacefullyand ascomfortably as was possible considering the 
circumstances.Ithad brought an unusual sense of warmth into McCoy's heart, 
thoughhe would not have admitted it.

For the third time in thirty minutes,McCoy asked Spockwhetherthey could 
stop to rest for a moment.

"Negative,Doctor,"Spock answered, keeping his gaze locked towhat was ahead 
of them, "To do so could prove fatal.Once onestops, one is often tempted to 
remain where one is.Besides, thesooner we reach that town, the sooner we 
will be safe."

"Butaccording to yourown calculations, the Enterprise shouldhave been long 
gone by now." McCoy argued.

"That is true.However, we have more chance of survival at thattown than 
over here."

McCoy was silent for a while.When he next spoke, his tone wascasual, almost 
relaxed: "Spock, we seem to have some time on ourhands.So why don't you 
tell me a bit about yourself."

"Such as what, Doctor?" Spock said, emotionlessly.

"Such as what is the real reason you refuse to accept your humanhalf."

"We've been through this before, Doctor.Countless of times, asI recall." 
Spock's tone now carried a slight trace of irritation.

"Indulge me, Spock."

Under his thermo-blanket, Spock cocked an eyebrow, but said nomore.


The two walked in silence for an hour,though therewere a fewbreaks of the 
stillness when McCoy once more brought up thesubject of rest.Spock finally 
relented,more so that McCoywould shut up than to allow their tired legs to 
rest.

Opening one of the five remainingration packs,Spock offeredsome of the 
contents to McCoy.

"You'd think they couldpack something a little more enjoyable inthese 
things." McCoy muttered, helping himself to some of thecontents.

"Ifthey did that,people would not leave them for emergencies."Spock stated, 
leaving McCoy to wonder whether the Vulcan hadtried to make a joke or not.

"You didn't answer my question back there."McCoy told him,pointing in the 
direction from which they had just been walking.

"I did not want to." Spock said.

"Why not?"

"Becauseit wouldhave inevitably led to the same conclusion thathas resulted 
at the end of allthe other arguments you and I havehad based on that very 
question."

"Well,perhaps thistime you could be truthful when we discussthat very 
subject." McCoy said.

"I have been truthful in the past."

"Do you admit to having emotions?"McCoy asked.

Spock was silent for a moment.When he spoke, his voice wasquiet: "Doctor, I 
am a Vulcan."

"You're half-human, Mr Spock.That's a fact that you seem tokeep forgetting, 
or don't wish to accept."

McCoy allowed himself a mischevious grin,then said with acertain amount of 
satisfaction at having been able to re-open anold argumentthat Jim Kirk had 
originally put a stop to:"Perhaps, Spock, you aren't so different from the 
Raagziin afterall. You aren't willing to accept what you are.  And with 
thatin mind,you are obviously quite human, since, according to you,we also 
retain that illogical trait of non-acceptance."

"I may have had a mother of human heritage,but I wasraised onVulcan and am 
therefore a Vulcan.  I accept myself as such, for Iam thus."Spock said, 
defensively.

"But even Vulcans have emotions." McCoy pointed out.

Spock decided to tackle the subject from another angle.

"What do you have against logic, Doctor?  You rarely seem topractise it."


McCoy hadmanaged to dodgethat question by suggesting that theycontinue on 
their long journey.He had offered a pain-killer toSpock, but it had been 
rejected.

"Vulcans can control their pain without the need to use drugs,thank you,
Doctor."  Spock had said and had carried on walking.

But McCoy had continued to worry about theFirst Officer'sdeteriorating 
condition.  They had both lost a lot of blood, frominternal as well as 
external wounds. McCoy was feeling faint andwalked mindlessly behind the 
Vulcan.But he knew that Spock hadlost more blood than he had, and that 
knowledge wasn't verycomforting.He tried to put his concern down as the 
naturalworry he would feel as Chief Medical Officer overany injuredcrew 
member of the USS Enterprise, but he knew this was somethingdeeper.

Ahead of him, Spock suddenly stopped, almost causing McCoy towalk into him.

Scanningthe area in front of them with his tricorder, Spocklooked behind him 
at the doctor:"A crevasse, Doctor.  I suggestyou follow me step for step."

They both moved around the ice-covered chasm,being careful tomaintain a 
distinct distance away from it.A few minutes later,they had passed it and 
carried on their journey.

"Do you really think Jimwould have left by now,Spock?" McCoyasked, wanting 
to hear a "No", but knowing the answer Spock wouldgive.

"The Enterprise has a mission to complete.The captainunderstands that 
thousands of lives depend on that cargo reachingKaplan's Planet.As much as 
he would like to stay, I am surethat he wouldsee that the needs of the many 
outweigh the needsof the few." Spock replied.

They both walked on in silence.Twenty metres later, McCoycollapsed head-
first into the snow.

Spock picked him up and continued walking, but not before makingsure the 
doctor was well-covered with his thermo-blanket.


Jim Kirk woke to the sound of phaser blasts.In seconds he wason his feet 
and with two quick strides he had crossed the tinyroom in which he had been 
sleeping and had reached the door thatexited into the corridor.  Phaser in 
hand,he pushed himselfagainst the wall of the room and stole a look over 
his shoulderand down the passage from where he had heard the sound of 
thephaser blasts.At the end of the corridor, the door to the MainRoom, 
where KarenPalmer andthe sensor and communicationsequipment were located, 
was closed.The deathly stillnessunnerved him and he gathered his thoughts 
about what he was to doand considered what he might be facing.

Had the Raagziin returned after all?  Where were Sulu, Gallowayand Nguni?

Slowly,he moved into the corridor,being careful to keep hiseyes locked on 
the door to the Main Room and to have his phaserat the ready.He was less 
than ten metres from the door when itslid open and two figures clad in long 
peices of material burstthrough the doorway, weapons in hand. Kirk managed 
to dodge thebeam of energy from one of their weapons by performing aside-
ways roll that brought him into a crouch against thecorridor wall.With his 
phaser aimed at one of the strangelyclad humanoid before him, Kirk fired. 
The beam lanced out of hisweapon and hit the being in the centre of 
itschest, causing itto fall silently to the corridor's floor.But the other 
humanoidwas too fast for him.No sooner had he fired at the first alien,had 
the other aimed its weapon at him and had fired.Kirkcrumpled into a heap at 
the edge of the corridor.














 into three differentelevators, 
blind to where he was going and what was going onaround him.  He didn't try 
to struggle, as he knew that it wouldhave been useless.  The Raagzin had a tight hold on him, and evenif he did manage to break free, where could he go?  Besides, hedidn't want to get this particular Raagzin angry.  At least notuntil he could meet the
They finally came to a halt, and Kirk once more heard the hiss ofan opening door.  The Raagzin pushed him forward into thedarkness that had surrounded him ever since he had left theQuarters in which he had been placed.

"Rhul," came a strong, commanding voice from a few metres infront of him, "Take that scheylark off his head.  Let the animallive as it pleases.  It only dishonours itself."

The voice sounded smug and cruel.  Yet there was a certainintelligence in it.  An intelligence that couldn't be discernedin Rhul, Kirk thought to himself.

The large peice of material was quickly removed from Kirk's head,and he took in a deep breath of air.  What he had been breathingfor the last ten minutes had been nothing but stale air and hefought to remain steady as the dizziness threatened to overwhelmhim.

"Welcome to my humble abode, human." He heard the smug-soundingvoice say, then looked up to locate its source.

He was surprised to see an uncloaked figure approaching him fromthe dimness of a corner of the Quarters in which he had beenpushed - the Commanders Quarters, he assumed.

"I am Commander Sakal." The Raagzin introduced himself.  Onlyonce the alien had moved into the centre of the room, which waslighted, could Kirk see why the being did not wear a so-calledscheylark.  The Commander had been so horribly and grotesquelydisfigured, that for a moment Kirk had to fight against a feelingof nausea.  Massive cuts were evident all over the Raagzin'sface, and it seemed as if huge chunks of skin and flesh had beenremoved from his face, which had then been left unaided in itsatte
mpts to heal itself.  But it wasn't the fact that the facewas disfigured that shocked Kirk, but the neatness and precisionwith which the disfigurement had been done.  He had been preparedfor this since Spock's debriefing on the Raagziin race, butconfronting it was an entirely different matter from merelydiscussing what was to Kirk nothing short of mutilation.

"Sit down, Captain." Sakal said, motioning Kirk to a seat beforethe desk which the Raagzin Commander had been sitting behind whenKirk had come in.

Kirk didn't move.  Instead, he remained standing, staringdefiantly at Sakal, who had moved back to his previous positionbehind his desk.

"I believe the human term is please."  The voice spoke,threateningly.  It had not been a request.

"Why have you taken me prisoner?  What have you done with mypersonnel who were with me on the surface?" Kirk asked, notmoving.

Sakal didn't answer.  He glanced over his captive's shoulder atRhul, who immediately wrapped a beefy, scarred hand round Kirk'sneck and tightened his grip until a cry of pain was forced fromKirk's contorted body.  Rhul didn't ease his grip, but moved Kirkover to the chair in front of the desk and dropped him in it.

"You will answer my questions, Captain.  Not I yours." Sakalsaid, simply. "What were you looking for on the planet?  Andwhere is your ship?"

Kirk did not answer.

"You are little less than a worthless animal on this ship,Captain." Sakal said, slowly. "So if you refuse to co-operate, Iwill simply put you to sleep.  Permanently."

"What is it that you want with me?" Kirk managed to ask throughclenched teeth as he gently rubbed his neck.

Sakal looked down at his desk, trying to remain calm.  Finally,he looked up at Kirk, his eyes filled with anger.  Yet he managedto retain the unemotional tone in his voice.  "You do not askquestions, Captain.  I talk and you listen.  I tell you what Iwish to tell you and nothing more."

The tension seemed to ease from his muscles, and he leaned backin his chair, inspecting Kirk's smooth, unscarred face.

"You humans are a strange people, Captain.  You are willing tosee yourselves as the best that you are.  There's no need toimprove.  No higher standard." Sakal smiled, then continued, aslightly mocking tone entering his voice. "And that's why you areanimals, Captain.  You've reached your peak.  And look atyourselves.  Ugly and docile with a skin of a baby."

Kirk risked an attack from Rhul, saying: "We strive for higherstandards, Sakal.  But we do not concern ourselves with ourappearances as much as with what is within us.  True beauty lieswithin, Commander, and it is this that we try to improve."

Sakal didn't seem to take offense at Kirk's rebuttal.  Instead heseemed to enjoy it, and answered Kirk as if he were speaking tosomething with little, if any, intelligence: "You're as weak asyou look, Captain.  Whether from inside or out.  You are ananimal."  He paused for a moment, then a slow grin began tospread across his scar-ridden face.

"Perhaps you would like to become more civilised." He said as hishand gently glided over the ridges from the surgical wounds onhis lips and chin.


Sulu stared out of the small enclosure in which he , Karen Palmerand the two security gaurds had been placed.  Through theshimmering of the force field before him, he could make out thebulky figure of a Raagzin Security Gaurd.

So far, no one had bothered to pay them a visit or much less careto come and inspect them.  All he could remember was the frontdoor to the building in which they were staying being blastedopen and four cloaked figures bursting in, stunning first the twosecurity gaurds and then Karen and himself.  He had been toldthat the four other shuttlecraft that had been involved in thesearch had been grounded by Raagziin fighter shuttles.  TheEnterprise's crafts had been involved in an aid and recoverymission 
and were therefore carrying no weapons or defenses.  Theyhad been helpless against the Raagziin attack.  The survivors ofthe ground vessels had been brought aboard the Raagziin starshipwith him and the others, but where they were being kept wasbeyond him.  Nor did he know what had happened to the Captain.

His thoughts were broken by the sliding door in the room outsidethe enclosure opening, and another cloaked figure entering.  TheRaagzin approached the gaurd and spoke a few unintelligablewords, which were muffled by the grid he was wearing over hismouth, then stared at Sulu.  The gaurd nodded, then turned andmoved towards the enclosure.  The other Raagzin took out afamiliar weapon, identical to the one which had stunned Sulu onReneva III, and held it in a steady, gigantic hand, ready to useit if an
y of the captives tried to escape.

The gaurd turned a switch on the wall outside the enclosure, andthe force field disappeared.  By this time, the two securitygaurds and Lieutenant Palmer had joined Sulu at the front of theenclosure, all staring defiantly at the two Raagziin.

The gaurd stepped forward, grasped Palmer by the wrist and pulledher out of the cell, his grip so tight that the Enterprise'srelief communications officer let out a sharp cry of pain. Without lessening his grip, the gaurd turned to the control panelset into the wall and once more turned the force field on.  Theshimmer returned and Sulu and the two security gaurds were oncemore helplessly confined in the detension cell.


"Let me introduce you to Naguml, our Chief Mutilator." Sakalsaid, then let out a laugh at his own joke.

The Raagzin Surgeon looked up at Kirk and Sakal with a smile.  Atfirst Kirk thought that the Raagzin was merely grotesquelydeformed through some genetic blunder.  It suddenly occurred tohim that the Surgeon's face had been surgically altered for thevery appearance that Kirk was seeing, and he found himself havingto once more fight off a wave of nausea.

Nagaml's face appeared to have a variety of growths on it.  Theone side of his forehead jutted out as if his skull had refusedto stop growing.  The same could be said for his chin.  As withthe Raagzin Commander, the Surgeon's face was scarred and cut. But that was not all.  The Raagzin's left ear had been cut away.

"An induced form of Paget's Disease?" Kirk inquired.

Sakal nodded as he moved over to Nagaml, who added: "Butcontrolled."

The Raagzin Commander grinned as he spoke: "And you, dearCaptain, are about to experience it."


"The USS Potemkin is signalling us, Mr Scott.  They're ready toreceive the cargo." Uhura said, turning from her station to facethe centre of the bridge.

Scott swivelled around in the command chair to look at the Ensignwho was manning the Science station.

Probably has plans to take over that position, Scott thought tohimself, but said: "Ensign Checov, have you received theco-ordinates for the Potemkin's Cargo Hold."

"Coming in now, sir." Checov replied.

"Very well, Ensign.  Feed them into the Transporters so they canbeam th' stuff over as soon as possible."

Scott turned to face the star-filled view screen once more.  Hecould see the starship Potemkin in the distance, seemingly tinyagainst the vastness of space that lay behind it.

He wondered about Spock and McCoy.....


The beam of energy cut into Kirk's face, causing him to let out ascream of pain.  Slowly it worked down the right side of hisface, from the far corner of his right eye to the corner of hismouth.  It left behind a thick red scar that swelled up as theflesh underneath was scorched by the heat.

It was over within seconds, but what it had left was painfullyobvious.  Sakal grabbed Kirk by the jaw as the surgical laserturned itself off.

"I know how much you Earthers cherish your ugly features, butthat's going to change for you." He snarled. "Are you going totell me what I want to know?"

Kirk remained silent.  He simply stared at the angry Raagzin,unable to defend himself, as his arms and legs were strapped downto the table on which he had been placed.

"Are you going to answer me?" Sakal repeated.


The few buildings that made up the small town that Crawford hadspoken of were all covered with snow.  It would have almostlooked beautiful, but, to Spock, all it meant was survival. Since the time that Doctor McCoy had collapsed in the snow,leaving Spock with no choice but to carry him, the Vulcan hadn'ttaken the time to stop to check the doctor's pulse.  He hadcarried on walking for the rest of the journey without a break torest or to eat.  At moments, the pain that he had so carefullyhid threaten
ed to erupt inside of him.  He had squashed it downmercilessly.  The bitter cold affected him more than it wouldhave a human, as he was used to a much higher temperature. However, he had managed to control the chill that his body feltbetter than a human could have, and it was this that had allowedhim to keep moving.

But now the long journey was over.  He realized that there wouldbe nobody to help him, as the Enterprise had long since rescuedthe miners and their families from this town, leaving itdeserted.  But at least there was shelter from the elements.  Atleast they would have a better chance at survival.

The town was set out in a similiar manner to that of the othertown in which they had found Crawford.  Though the buildings didnot look exactly the same as the buildings in the other town, itdidn't take Spock very long to find the Communications andCentral Control building in this village.  It was the secondlargest building and, as far as he could see, the tallest in thetown - three stories high.

The large front door was locked and Spock had to get in bycutting the door open with his phaser.  It took seconds, andbefore long, he and McCoy were inside.  After a brief search fora bed, he managed to find one on the second floor.  He removedMcCoy's boots, then placed him in the bed, covering him with theblankets, including the Doctor's thermo-blanket that had beentaken from the shuttlecraft.

Medical attention would have to come later, he thought, thenheaded down to the first floor, where the communicationsinstruments were located.


Kirk touched the long, deep scar on the side of his face, thenimmediately pulled his hand away.  The wound stung when touched.

It stung even when untouched, Kirk thought grimly.

Sakal noticed his pain, and moved to him while the RaagzinSurgeon worked on the surgical laser.

"Normally the person undergoing the operation is sedated,Captain.  We're not squeamish, believe me.  But if there is noneed for pain, then there is no reason to endure it."  Sakallooked over his shoulder to Nagaml, and asked: "Is it ready forFhulbargn?"


"Leyt tasth k'neish."


ease.  And, as with you, without sedation."






on't even cost her a pethm."

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