Star Trek: The Predicament About Demons

19

It was towards the end of Jim's shipwide speech that Leonard arrived onto the bridge. He stood by Benny, and his eyebrows were once again knitted in worry and concern (mostly for Jim). He wished he could order him to sleep for a couple of hours, as both his doctor and boyfriend. Obviously, though, there was no time for that now--they would arrive in less than seven hours, and now was the time to prepare for battle.

They were sure there would be more hellhounds, so they assigned two teams, one each with an expert: Chekov, Sulu and Uhura would be beamed down to lead a group of security officers to secure the safety of the scientists down at SSSIS Headquarters; Benny, Leonard, Jim and Spock would take another team to find Joanna. The remaining crew (with Scotty as acting captain) stayed aboard the ship to watch the monitors. Checking in every few minutes--after each team reaches their objectives--the scientists and Joanna would be sent up to the ship's Medbay while both teams joined and go off to search for Le Valliant. (Temporarily the sensors began to malfunction, making it difficult to get an on-point lock on any life signatures.) And if all goes to plan, well, they'll have the upper hand in defeating the bastard.

'I am the upper hand,' Leonard thought as his stomach knotted in fear. When everyone had silently agreed on their plan, he gulped down the lump in his throat. "Let's do this then."

The sky is stained a dark gray as ashes fall to the ground. Streets are empty, yet strewn with dead bodies like the ones back on the ship hours before. Fire has been casted onto some of the corpses along with a few buildings and plant-life--nothing alive could be seen, save for the few trees still standing in the park across the street. The stench of smoke and decay was strong, and it especially stung Leonard's nose due to his heightened senses. A look of remorse crossed over his features as his eyes swept his surroundings, hoping that his daughter was still alive. 'She just has to be.'

Sulu and Chekov's team was already long gone in search of SSSIS Headquarters, meanwhile his team left for the opposite direction down the road of apartment buildings. One by one they searched through the buildings--four, five, six--nothing. It was hard to tell whether it was day or night; either way, it was too dark and cloudy to see through. Fifteen minutes of no luck passed until they reached building number thirteen–it seemed to have once been a brightly colored house, white with yellow accents. With their phasers held up high, Leonard, Spock and Jim all entered with caution.

Like all other buildings, it was empty and without peace, as all was either torn to shreds or casted aside--as if someone else had been searching there before. They checked all possible hiding spots that they could find before gathering in the main living area. "Nothing to report, Captain." Spock said in a hushed tone. Leonard sadly shook his head when Jim turned his eyes on him.

"We'll find her." Jim cupped the back of Leonard's neck reassuringly, looking up into his eyes like he always does. Everyone knew that their captain was doing the best he could in difficult situations like these. They all fed on the love and care he gave to his crew, and he from them. Even though it might not be as much help to the situation at hand, it still came relevant to the receiver's mood and well-being. Does that make sense?

With a nod and a sigh, Leonard gently squeezed Jim's shoulder before taking a step toward the exit. The others moved with him to leave when suddenly Spock tumbled to the floor with a loud thump, and startled the other two men. Jim and Leonard rushed to his side. "You alright, Spock?"

He nodded. "Yes, but it seems as though I stumbled upon a secret trapdoor." And with the woosh of a carpet, it was evident that Spock had indeed tripped over the bulky handle of a trapdoor. The triumvirate exchanged looks with one another, and Leonard, leaning down, opened the door wide and open. Below was a flight of stairs leading down into a mostly darkened room. No sound was made except for the creak of the steps as the three descended (surprisingly they were made of wood, a material that hadn't been used for a long while in construction).