Star Trek: Uncharted Territories

Chapter Six

Bones came to collect me after the shuttle was ready for departure. He handed me two phasers, one set to stun and the other set to kill. I put them on my belt and pulled the secure backpack on my back, nice and snug. I was a lot more nervous than I let on, and met the others in shuttlebay. Kirk was having a deep conversation with Sulu while Spock and Uhura were loading the USS Cyrus, the large shuttle that we were taking. I strapped in and went through my supplies, giving everyone on board vaccinations with Bones for the diseases on the empty planet below that may infect us. The trip down to the planet was short, but it felt long to me. I was afraid of what I may find. Leonard's hand grazed my own as he was doing inventory on the things we had packed, and I longed for him to just take it so I could calm my nerves somehow.

Spock, sitting next to me, was meditating. I knew this because we shared a mind many months ago, and I saw how he relaxed and what he did when he did so. Mind-melding with him was the best way one could understand a Vulcan. I closed my eyes like he did and imagined what it felt like to be relaxing in the ocean waves, how they gently rocked you backwards and forwards and sometimes you had to swim back out and start over. I knew he was thinking about his destroyed planet, and what it used to be.

"Alright, you two have officially freaked me out." Bones said from across from me.

Both our eyes opened at the same time. "It was not my intention to frighten you, Dr. McCoy." Spock spoke.

I met Bones's eyes and tried to not laugh. McCoy opened his mouth to explain but thought better of it, his eyes sparkling with the same laughter mine held.

"What's the month and day today?" I asked, not caring for the year. I didn't want to know the years.

"On Earth it's the 5th of December." Uhura said back to me.

I smiled to myself, "Thank you."

The shuttle landed in the red trees of the planet, and the doors opened. Loaded with phasers and supplies, we departed quickly. Kirk had a communicator out, and was leading us towards the east. I stayed close to Leonard, and it felt like he was trying to stay close to me too.

The planet was deserted, the oxygen was easy to breathe. It felt almost too easy to breathe, but I didn't think too hard on it. Bones and I were walking in the back, holding all of the heaviest supplies from the sick bay. The planet was beautiful, I had to admit, just like the one we were trapped on. I couldn't help but think of Astrid as we made our way towards a seemingly abandoned building near us. It wasn't fair that she wasn't seeing this.

"It's a Brig?" Kirk asked, seeing the bars.

"That is what it appears to be." Spock confirmed, opening the broken doors.

Cold air washed out, almost like stepping into a freezer. A putrid smell reached my nose that made me shiver more than the cold would. Death.

"They're preserved!" Uhura gasped in horror, following in suit right after the Captain.

Leonard grabbed my upper arm, "You don't have to go in, Hadley." He murmured quietly, "We can handle this."

I shook my head to him, trying to keep the sour look off of my face.

"Kirk to Enterprise, we're going to need a rescue ship here ASAP. Tell them we found human prisoners in a giant freezer. We're going to need a bigger shuttle, and-" Kirk was talking to the communicator, and I was trying to hold up the bile I felt in my throat. They were all just kids. Dead children. Some were holding hands, some were cuddling, and some looked like they died crying. I was sick to my stomach, and even angrier at what had happened than I had ever been before. Is this something June and Astrid kept from me? Why would they keep something as horribly driving as this? Is this what they found in the facility all of those years ago that they decided to not go on big group trips to it?