Unexpected Delays - Part 3

Chapter 3
King? Compassion. You? Compassion no.

"Incoming transmition Commander. It's from Starfleet."

"Put it on the screen Lieutenant."

The screen buzzed to life, and the Bridge crew was welcomed by the face of Admiral Christopher Pike. Said man was smiling, before a frown fell upon his slightly wrinkled features. "Where is Kirk?"

The Vulcan who was sitting as he replacement didn't bat an eyelash. "He is at the Medical Bay for his yearly check up." The whole Bridge crew knew that was a lie however, because only twenty minutes earlier, Jim had barfed up blood again and fallen unconscious. The scene involved a lot of blood, and said blood had gotten everywhere. Spock had to go change his entire uniform because of it.

"I see." Pike said with soft nod. "I have a mission for the Enterprise from Starfleet. Are you willing to listen while Kirk is away Commander Spock?"

The Vulcan gave him a tight nod as an answer. "I am quite willing sir."

"Well then." Pike said softly, before turning away and pulling a hidden object forward while putting on some reading glasses. "You've been assigned an actual mission Commander." He said with a smirk, and Spock heard Chekov give a little snicker.

"You are expected to go to Alpha Quadrant fourteen, and find the planet Unos. Once there you have to form a treaty with the leader." Pike said, before setting down the object and taking off his glasses. "We've sent another Star Ship over there, but we cannot communicate with them. We figure the natives has taken them hostage. We hope you do a better job."

"It sounds to me, Admiral, that you wish us to risk our safety for others." Spock said slow and with a cool tone. "I understand this is a big step for a ship as young as ours in the age group of our crew, but we are very capable of other missions."

"This is an honor Commander." Pike said in his – I'm not joking around no more – voice. "It would be silly for you to pass this up."

Spock noted how Uhura found  it was the perfect time to turn in her chair. He also watched as both Sulu and Chekov looked over their shoulders. He figured they probably though he was insane now.

He was silence in a thoughtful cloud at this moment. "I am sure Captain Kirk would 'spring' on a mission like this. We accept."

"Very well Commander Spock." Pike said without an uplift in his serious tone. "I will send your navigator the directions to Unos. I wish you well, and safe voyage though space."

The line was severed, and the Bridge's tense atmosphere didn't lift at all.

"Ensign Chekov, program the course into the ship's computer, and Lieutenant Sulu, follow said course until further instruction." Spock then stood up and when he saw Uhura turn and give him a worried look, he simply dipped his head and headed for the Turbolift.

--

"You have to tell him he's fine!"

"He is not fine!"

"I've told Spock a million times, he doesn't listen to me! Something is going on here. I can smell it."

"And here I thought you just had an awesome tongue."

Uhura gave the older doctor an eye roll before huffing and leaning her hands on her hips. "I eventually had to have Sulu take over the Conn because Spock didn't come back!" she said in a huff, before casting a glance over at a group of nurses giggling to each other. "You're his best friend. You know how his mind works."

"Jim may be a complete man whore and a man slut, and crawl into everybody pants at least once, but I'm telling you Uhura, Jim and the hobgoblin? Nothing more than friends."

Uhura quickly shook her head, her tight pony-tail swishing from side to side even after she stopped. "They haven't talked more than necessary in weeks."

"That's a good thing." McCoy said convinced, taking a paDD Chapel gave him and shifting so he could visit a patient. "Apparently to you it is. Give the damn guy some credit, he may flirt, but he hasn't fucked in months. I'm surprised he hasn't jumped you."

"Like I'd let him." Uhura growled, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's got the hots for Spock. Call me crazy, but it's just not normal for Spock to be all… blank after just being drunk once. I can't put the pieces together. I'm missing something. I'm missing a lot aren't I?"

"I know as much as you." McCoy offered, smiling softly before pulling at his tricorder and scanning the man before him. "Now I convinced Scotty to watch over Jim today because he's been vomiting blood a bit too much. I advise that you stay on the Bridge where the pointy-eared bastard might need you."

"You learn anything, you have to tell me." Uhura said with a soft smile gracing her vibrant lips. "Or tell Scotty. He'll tell me."

"It's not nice to flirt with him for news about Jim and Spock." McCoy said with a playful tone and a shake of the head. "He'll be caught up in it soon, and you'll have one annoying Engineer on your hands."

"I've already got a sex-crazed blond making moves on my stoic Vulcan boyfriend. I think I can handle it." She said with a smirk before turning and walking towards the exit. As she walked out the door McCoy shot her a: 'I didn't say you couldn't!' before she was gone and McCoy was left with a huge ball of guilt eating away at his nerves. He couldn't keep lying for Jim's ass to be safe.

He let out a soft sigh as he rubbed his forehead. He told the man he was fine, just a sore throat, he told him bed rest without working for a couple of days, before he let him go. Chapel came skittering up to him afterwards. "I got news that Spock won't leave the corridor."

"I've seen him pass by a couple of times, I know." McCoy said in a growl before poking at his tricorder a bit before sighing and looking over at the nurse before him. "I would ask you to get him the hell away from here, but I know that you'll only encourage him to come in."

"Not on purpose of course Doctor." Chapel said with a bright pink blush. "I can't help it. I can understand how the Captain has the hots for him."

"He doesn't." McCoy said sharply before a certain Vulcan came into his peripheral vision. He watched as Spock's form was shown passing by the glass Medical Bay entrance doors again, his head turned to look inside. "I don't understand how anyone can love that green-blooded monster. I think he tries to make my life a living hell."

Chapel gave a small sympathetic smile before taking the paDD away from McCoy's other hand. "It's how he shows love Doctor. You're a lucky man." She said before ducking her head and walking off to the next innocent guy with a cough.

Before he knew it, McCoy was standing in the middle of the hallway just outside the Medical Bay doors. Only a little bit later, he was met with Spock skidding to a stop before him. The Vulcan didn't so much bat and eyelash at him. The first words out of his mouth were: 'May I see the Captain?'

McCoy shook his head, for probably the fourth time in that past hour. "I've told you before, and my answer hasn't changed." He said, slowly crossing his arms over his chest. He saw the Vulcan's chest heave with a large sigh, and he was sure he could plow him over in a heartbeat. "Once Scotty is done with that broken pipe, he's coming up here, and watching over Jim in his quarters. I'll be putting a Doctor's code on it just so you don't go barging in too."

"I need to see him Doctor—" Spock started, but as a lady in a red uniform passed he silenced himself. Once she was out of eyesight, he continued, "—it is not of personal reasons. We have a new mission and I wish to explain to him in detail what Starfleet expects of us."

"Then I'll go tell him myself."

"You do not understand." Spock said in a soft voice, and McCoy watched as those pale hands curled themselves into fists. "I do wish to speak to him about personal issues we both share, for I am not comfortable with what we have spoken about on earlier mentions."

"In English, you're saying you want to talk to him, and the whole mission thing is just a ploy to get in there." McCoy said with a tight frown and a slight nod. "Uh-huh, yeah, nice try moron. Will you just go up to the Bridge and do your damn job? Jim is out of commission right now, and as the fucking First Officer, it's your job to keep this ship running!"

"Mr. Scott's job actually consists of—"

"Bridge. I am commanding you now, because right now, you are seriously messed up in the head, and talking to Jim isn't gonna help ya." McCoy pointed down the hall leading towards the main turbolift. "Go on. See you never."

And finally, for the first time in forever, McCoy watched in pure joy as Spock nodded, and turned to leave. With a cocky grin, fist pump, and a little happy dance, McCoy strode back into his domain with a cocky grin on his face.

--

When Starfleet can't reach a Starship, that's a bad sign. It's always a bad sign when they can't reach someone. Instead of Jim being in charge in this situation and worrying about everything, Spock had to be in his place. You could figure out how well that went. Spock being the ever so stoic Vulcan he has always been clearly didn't worry about it. At least he didn't show it.

A million problems seemed to be cascading against the door of his mind, and he couldn't handle another one. On top of avoiding Jim at all costs (while stalking him while he was at Med bay, very contradicting problems that had no solution), he had this whole Jim barfing every three seconds thus making him Captain for a while. Plus, the universe was have a very fun time making his girlfriend VERY clingy, and McCoy extra unforgiving and bitchy. However if that wasn't enough, he was in charge of this mission of which he could be killed in because the residents of Unos were apparently very demented and have fun stealing people and torturing them until death.

So yeah, Spock was having a bad week.

It also didn't help that over half the crew was talking about him and Jim. Not in the very helpful 'Oh their so awesome and sexy and such' way, but the more 'Holy shit what's wrong with them?' kind of way. That really helped Spock get through the day. Not.

As he approached the Bridge, he felt a soft burst of anguish shoot though his spine. And guilt. What if he somehow got a sexual disease and gave it to Jim through intercourse? He could have just killed his newest and best friend because of a fault of one single night. He told himself it wasn't plausible however. He was a virgin, he could have no sexual diseases. Whatever this was that was possibly killing his captain, he had nothing to do with it. Thankfully.

"Incoming transmition from the planet Unos Commander, shall I transmit it?"

"Indeed. Show it on screen."

An image of a woman with a soft pink glow for her skin tone came on. She had a long head, along with a very long neck – approximately as long as two human ones put together – and slightly pointed ears. Said ears harbored long earrings with spikes at the end, and small spikes all down the middle strand. The earrings brushed against her slim shoulders, and it looked almost as if that if she fell a certain way, she would stab herself in the neck. If that wasn't enough, she had dark lilac hair, that was curling upwards on itself. It only reached her shoulders, staying behind and not in front of her chest. She had a small pair of what seemed to be goat horns from her head, and a small nose much like a cats. It was also pink, only a darker shade. Her eyes were long like her face, and the small slivers that were her eyes were a simple black. Her lips curled into a small frown. "Disgusting."

"This is the USS Enterprise from Starfleet." Spock started, twitching an eyebrow at the woman's choice of words. "What have you done to the USS Voyage?"

"Dismiss." She said simply, her long eyes blinking. Her eyelids were vertical however, so when she blinked, they came from the sides of her eyes. "Unos dismiss. We silver the pests."

"Lieutenant Uhura, translate that into English."

"The computer doesn't compute. It figures this is English, just really bad English."

"Decode it yourself."

The woman's eyelids squinted together and she seemed to be analyzing the crew. "Pointed Ears. Deem you worthy."

Spock turned his head away from Uhura's station to the woman on the screen. Her lips were curled into a stressed looking smile. Or maybe it was just forced. "Pointed Ears deem you worthy." Spock was about to explode at Uhura to translate.

"She wants you to tell her why you have the right to talk to her like that."

Spock turned back to the screen, before nodding his head softly. "I am the leading First Officer of this ship. I am high in authority."

"Queen is I. Officer first do not deem worthy to Queen. Disgusting." The woman shook her head which made her earrings swing back and forth, and it seemed to freak Chekov out. "King of ship. King missing. Find King, I speak him."

"She wants to talk to Kirk."

"I understand that Uhura." Spock said sharply, and he watched as Sulu turned around slowly and gave him a look that mean 'cool off dude'. Spock looked back up to the woman with a blank face, except for the furrow of his brow. "The captain of our ship is unavailable right now. You must speak to me."

"Disappointment. Queen do not talk. Voyage missing. We take. You talk, we give."

"She'll give us the missing crew and the USS Voyage back if we get her Kirk."

"I understand Nyota. The doctor is keeping a keen eye on the captain at this moment, and I am sure he would not wish to be disturbed by a pointless argument."

"It's what she wants Spock." Sulu said as he turned around in his chair to face the alien.

"As acting captain, I order all of you to silence yourselves. I shall speak to the Queen of Unos alone." Spock said in a soft growl, turning to Uhura and nodding his head. "All of you shall leave the Bridge at this moment."

After a pregnant pause, Chekov stood, and skittered towards the Turbolift. Sulu followed, and Uhura was last after everybody else. Once Spock was alone, he let out a sigh before looking back up at the queen who seemed to be smirking.

"Trouble you have. Queen understand. I shall talk. Talk you must."

"Where have you taken the crew of the USS Voyage?"

"They yell at family. At family and species. Queen does not accept. Disgusting. Guns they have, we have control. No guns to us, only plastic. Torture people."

"The crew of this ship has been assigned a mission to save those people." Spock said with a frown. "We also must create a treaty between your people and ours."

"Different is you." She said with a tilt of the head. Her spiked earring slid against her neck and she didn't seem to notice. "Pointed ears and no face. No friend, no family, no."

Spock was taken back by that. From talking about what was necessary, what was about the mission and such, this woman alien creature had gone to talk about him. The tension of the Christmas party and Jim's health issues was pressing against his mind, but he silenced the screaming part of his mind with force. "I do not understand."

"No woman to love. No man to love. No children. Work. Work is you. You work and work and work. Workworkwork." She said in a monotone voice, that nearly mirrored Spock's. Her eyes tightened slightly before she nodded. "You not King. Why I understand."

Now because all he did was work he wasn't fit to be captain? "What do you mean?"

"King have compassion. No compassion in you." She said simply, nodding again before humming a bit. "King love. King share. King help. King take charge, but compassion must need. You? Compassion no. Worker. Good, but King? No."

"You are deeming a person you do not know unworthy to rule?" Spock said in a tight voice. "You do not know me. Nor what has happened to me in my lifetime."

"King friend. Friend have you." She said with a twitch of the lips. "Together work, very nice. Problem with King bothered pointy eared."

With a soft sigh passing his lips, Spock felt his hands curl up into fists. Somehow this species of alien must be able to communicate through their mind. There was no other way she could be correctly guessing all of these. Telepathics that might be horribly strong otherwise. He knew this was going to be a challenging mission, but he didn't know the dangers that were brought with it. He sat up a bit straighter, a bit taller.

"I shall arrange a landing party so I may speak with you face to face."

"King feel better, bring. Not, no."

"Understood."

"Coordinates send. I do. Queen Zephyr is I. Welcome you I do Unos." She showed a soft smile on her dark pink lips, before bowing her head softly and the signal was severed.

Now Spock knew he was fucked. Completely utterly fucked.