Spock Kirk

The Stormy Ground Below 1

What's this, a chapter that seems twice as long as the rest!?! Madness! Dont play the song just yet! Oh, still no real smut, sorry!!! ;)

It was odd for Spock to be distracted. More than odd, it was next to impossible. He focused on what needed to be done like some sort of machine.
"Mr. Spock?" Once more I received no reply. Spock stared blankly at the chess pieces in front of him, looking at the piece I had just moved. Finally, he looked me in the eyes.
"You play this game the same way you command this ship." I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult. Knowing him, it could be both. Or neither.
"Thank you, Spock. Do you say that because I always best my opponent?" Proving my point I put him in check mate. He stared at the piece I moved once more. It seemed like he was disappointed. But not because he lost. Why then, I wonder, is he so displeased? He seemed perfectly content the second I began to win. Could it be he was simply bored now that the game was over?
"Shall we play once more?" This was already our third game. I've won all of them.
"We'll play again tomorrow, Spock. It's a promise. For now, I'm going to bed." That seemed to make him less anxious.
"I'm going to bed as well, then. Goodnight, Captain." He announced. With that he stood up and walked with me until we parted ways. Just as I was about to enter my room I realized that I had left my communicator somewhere. After contemplating a quick search I dismissed the thought and decided I'd just look for it when I woke up.

Exhausting. That's what this all was. For weeks now I'd been keeping the Captain company until he returned to his room to sleep. Of course, spending time with him was fine, it was just the constant looks he got. It kept me up for hours at night thinking about his admirers. There were many, and I felt oddly compelled to stand between him and them. Why? Was this some human emotion? Or did I simply dislike the thought of my captain becoming intimate with one of the crew? Based on the feelings that notion stirred inside me, I very much disliked the thought. In fact, I despised it. For now, that was all I knew. Despite my emotionally rampant thoughts, I turned my lights off and layed down to sleep.

"Alright, everyone ready?" I asked, grabbing a spare communicator. Rather than seeing if it worked, I put it on my belt. I doubt I'd need it for an emergency.
"All set, Captain." Spock replied, looking to the two red shirts as they placed the box of supplies down. This was just a routine drop off for a research camp that had been set up on the planet below us. I nodded stepping onto the platform.
"Energize."

0:00 Hours
A gust of hot air hit me the second we were beamed down, making me shield my face. Spock was unfazed by the heat, however, and looked around at our eviroment.
"There's the research camp, Captain." I nodded, dropping my arm and turning to the two carrying the crate. They lifted it carefully and followed us to the main observatory. I opened the door, not at all surprised to see the bustling workers and researchers as they worked on their studies. Overseeing the whole thing was a scientist standing by a control module. His name; Randal Midall.
"Dr. Midall!" I called, stepping forward as I did so. He looked up, searching the room before his eyes fell on us.
"Oh, good. Our shipment is here." I stepped out of the way as a few scientists came to gather the crate.
"How's your research going, Doc?" He sighed, showing us one of the screens before him.
"Our efforts to study this planet geologically have been slowed do to the atmospheric interference, but rest assured we've made great progress. This planet is rich in minerals, albeit a little too hot during the day and a little too cold at night, and the air is great for those with respiratory issues. Until the dust storms kick in, that is." While Spock seemed unfazed by that, it made me freeze in anticipation. "We've made a few small geological finds, but this planet has treasures we haven't even discovered yet."
"That's very fascinating, doc, but did you say dust storms?" I asked, already knowing this planet was bad news.
"Yes, Captain. They come from seemingly nowhere and can last days, weeks sometimes. We've been unable to track there patterns, so sending out teams to study the rock and soil has become quite dangerous." With a small nod I turned and directed Spock out the door, looking around for the two red shirts.
"In that case, we shouldn't stick around too long. The transmitter doesn't work well in storms." Spock nodded, just as prepared to leave as I was until the man stopped us.
"Wait! Captain Kirk?" As I turned back to him Spock looked outside, both of us ready to leave this planet.
"Yes, Dr. Midall?" He anxiously shifted from one foot to another, and then back again.
"There is actually currently a storm rolling in right now. From the looks of our readings, it's gonna be a big one."
"Well we better be on our way then." I turned and pulled Spock along with me, joined by our two men once more. I flipped open my communicator as we stood directly under the blaring sun. Just a few hundred yards away, there seemed to be dust already gathering and moving in like an enormous tidal wave.
"Captain Kirk to Enterprise."
"Scotty here."
"Beam us up, Scotty. There's a dust storm coming in and I really don't wanna get stuck down here."
"Right away, Sir." Hot air was already blowing past us, sweeping dust up around our feet. Me and Spock turned as our two red shirts were energized behind us. Spock turned to look at me with a quizzically raised eyebrow as I pulled my communicator back out.
"What's the hold up, Scotty?" My communicator fizzed, making me look down at it. I flipped it around in my hands, trying to find out what it was doing. "Scotty?"
"Captain... krrrrt... the storm is krrrrrtt..." I sighed, putting the communicator back on my belt.
"Spock, try yours." I said, wondering if the one I had was just faulty. He complied, taking his out and flipping it open.
"Spock to Enterprise." There was a moment of silence as we waited in anticipation. Spock was indifferent to the sudden blast of heat that hit us amd made me shield my eyes.
"Spock? The storm is interfering with our controls. We can't seem to lock onto you or the captain." My stomach dropped. Spock looked to me as I stared at the dust coming at us in swirls of hot air. "You're going to have to wait it out down here."
"Understood." Spock said, putting it away and walking back inside. I grimaced but followed suit. The scientist from before was pacing around, going back to his module every few seconds. When he seen us come back in he seemed relieved.
"Captain! One of our teams was out studying nearby rock formstions. They haven't reported back yet!" There it is. Always seems to be something going on or happening on these little planets.
"All right Mr. Spock, stay here. I'll go see if I can't find them." He stopped me with a quick grab of my shoulder.
"Captain, you don't know this terrain, nor are you dressed for facing a dust storm of this magnitude." Taking a moment to think, I closed my eyes.
"If I hurry, I may find them before the storm gets here. It it does hit before I find them... I'll come back." The look of blatant uncertainty on his face did little to calm my nerves.
"I'm coming with, then." I nodded, accepting his demand. We turned to look back out at the nearing storm.
"Let's go then." The scientist gave us both sets of goggles and one large flask of water. As soon as we set out into the sandy, rocky terrain I could feel my skin peeling under the heat.