Chapter Text
Three's a Crowd
The descent was so rapid that Chekov thought he would faint. When it started, a short scream had escaped his lips. But as they disappeared into the darkness below, he didn't have the energy to strain his lungs just a second longer despite the strong urge to give in to his panic. He felt paralysed.
Chekov had experienced a similar feeling once before when he had been stuck on a malfunctioning turbo-lift on the Federation space-dock in Earth's orbit. Shaking, he leaned his back against the metallic wall behind him and gave in to the dizziness that clouded his mind.
When the descent had started, McCoy had had the presence of mind to get hold of Spock. The moment he had felt movement under his feet, he grabbed the thin shoulders of the Vulcan and pulled him inside the cavity, that had turned into some kind of ‘elevator’ in the blink of an eye. There were walls around the small space they were in on three sides, but behind Spock the space was open and Bones could feel cold air brush his face.
They descended below the planet's surface at great speed, reminding McCoy of the incredible fast turbo-lifts aboard the Enterprise. This movement felt smooth but much faster. A distant, mechanical sound accompanied it. The sudden darkness around them added to McCoy's sense of disorientation. He lifted his head to see the square of light above become smaller and smaller until it was completely gone and total darkness engulfed them. It was then that the descent suddenly stopped as abruptly as it had begun and their bones were rattled by the sudden halt. The ‘lift’ that had transported them here, seemed to merge with another construct behind them as they heard a loud ‘click’. Chekov slumped towards Bones and he knew instantly that the Russian had fainted.
"Chekov!", McCoy padded his cheeks with some force and after a few moments the ensign came to.
"I'm OK, Doctor. I tink", Chekov answered with a shaky voice. McCoy put his arm around the young man's shoulders to steady him.
"I gather you haven't sustained any injuries either, Doctor?"
"I'm fine, Spock. And you?"
The soft beep of a tricoder being switched on was the only sound detectable apart from their breathing. The dim light of Spock's tricoder lit up his face just enough to give the Vulcan a ghostly appearance in the total darkness. He was studying the readings.
"Thank you, Doctor, I'm also in good health. It appears we have descended into an open space below the surface of this planetoid. The elevator-like object we are in has connected with a construct of large proportions. I suggest you don’t move as there is a sharp drop just behind me, to a depth of 152.3 meters. I don't want to distract you with my estimates of the dimensions of the overall precinct we’re in, but it roughly equals the size of your Terran moon."
Spock's tone was a calm as usual, only the speed of his words hinted at his amazement. If there had been more light, Spock would have seen two wide-open mouths. Chekov and McCoy moved as far back inside the ‘elevator’ space they were in to allow Spock to move closer and further away from the edge. He only gained 50 cm, but the Vulcan concluded this was a sufficiently safe distance.
When McCoy finally found his voice again, he didn't make an effort to hide the concern in his tone.
"Good God, what the hell is this, Spock? And more importantly, how we're gonna get back up? Our rucksacks are up there! Without them we won't last long."
"Doctor, I don't need to tell you how long humans can survive without nutrition or water."
Spock could have elaborated about Vulcan superiority when it came to survival, but he deemed it wise to refrain from referring to it at this point.
"But I agree that the loss of our instruments and supplies is unfortunate. May I enquire as to what equipment each of you is carrying?"
"Only my tricoder and phaser, Mr Spock. Both appear to be functional", Chekov still sounded shaken, but at least his voice was back to its normal volume again.
"Emergency medi-kit, tricoder, bio-scanner and phaser. All intact as far as I can see", McCoy was checking his equipment with the help of Chekov's tricoder light.
"I carry a tricoder, phaser and the long-distance communicator. Apart from the latter, my equipment appears to be fully functional", Spock completed their assessment.
Only now, after the initial excitement, Bones noticed how cold it was down here. The complete darkness that surrounded them wasn't only scary it was also icy. He could hear how Chekov’s teeth started to chatter. McCoy already regretted not having their rucksacks at hand. He knew it had been a good idea to pack those emergency blankets. But of what use were they now? His bio-scanner indicated a temperature of 3 degree above Celsius. Due to the confined space they were in, they hadn't noticed straight away how cold their new environment was. He also noted that while his and Chekov's body temperatures were still normal, Spock's metabolism was already working at a higher rate than usual. The first officer's body was adapting quicker to its new environment as it was more sensitive, but also because the cold was more harmful to Vulcans than it was to Humans. That's where the superiority ends, McCoy thought grimly. He sincerely hoped they wouldn't have to spend too much time in this dark and freezing space.
"My readings indicate a very large construct in our vicinity of which the object we’re now located on, is a part. However, I’m only getting incomplete readings as, regrettably, my tricorder seems to not function at full capacity after all. But from what I can gather, this construct bears similarities to a clockwork. Of colossal proportions. Fascinating," the Vulcan didn't seem faced by the harsh circumstances they were finding themselves confronted with.
"Un-be-li-va-ble", Chekov pronounced each syllable; if it was due to the cold, the young man's amazement or both, McCoy wasn't too sure.
Baffled by Spock's findings, the CMO raised an eyebrow and nodded, but realised Spock couldn't see him.
"Spock, that's great, but...”
McCoy pondered how he should phrase what he needed to say without immediately provoking the Vulcan's stubborn defence mechanisms.
"I hate to point out what's obvious. It's very cold in here", McCoy ended his sentence.
"It's freeeezing, Doctor. I feel like I'm back in Siberia", Chekov blurted out as he continued with breathing warm air onto his clutched hands.
The darkness prevented McCoy to give Spock a stern look so instead he turned his head towards the Vulcan and raised his voice.
"Even our Russian here is feeling it. At that temperature it won't be long until your body will shut down into survival mode."
"3.34 hours to be exact at the present temperature. However, my body will not 'shut down', Doctor. Instead, I would initiate a deep meditation to stabilise my temperature and body functions. I'm not going to burden you with the Vulcan terminology but in the colloquial sense you could call this kind of meditation a hibernation trance", Spock explained with a calm and even voice.
"I don't care how you describe that Vulcan hocus-pocus of yours, you will fall into a coma, Spock!"
Despite the cold, Bones felt the blood boil in his temples. The Vulcan's unwillingness to accept his own vulnerability was one of his most annoying traits. Unfortunately, Spock shared this attitude with Jim Kirk who also believed to be indestructible. It was no wonder that Bones was irritated most of the time, those two were constantly giving him reasons to be concerned about their health. He was their CMO, that was his job. But he still felt that despite claims of the exact opposite, they didn't seem to be concerned about his well-being at all, the well-being of his nerves to be exact.
A small sigh escaped Spock's lips, "In humanoid medical terms your description would be accurate, Doctor, but compared with Vulcan physiology…"
"Mr Spock, Doctor!", Chekov cried out as suddenly the construct they had found themselves on, started to move horizontally towards the right. Instantly, McCoy reached out for Spock’s shoulders again to make sure he wouldn’t fall backwards but thankfully, he found the Vulcan to be steadfast on his feet. The movement was accompanied by a fairly loud, mechanical sound from far below, like the humming of a gigantic machine. It was similar to the sound that had accompanied their descent. Spock noted privately that if the sound corresponded to the mechanism that operated this movement, it wasn't loud at all if put into context to the colossal size and mass of the construct.
"Fascinating", the FO's eyes were fixed on his tricoder display.
"What is it, Spock?"
"We're turning towards a construct to our right that is also turning towards another construct on its right, with a few dozen similar objects in this row undergoing a simultaneous movement. They are all moving towards a larger construct opposite, apparently to connect with it."
As his sharp Vulcan eyes had now adopted to the dark and combined with the dim light of their tricoder displays, Spock could see the puzzled looks on McCoy and Chekov's faces.
"As stated previously, this whole, gigantic mechanism bears similarity to a clockwork that was used in your ancient Terran clocks", Spock offered to help his companions to understand the process.
Chekov nodded but the word clockwork somehow made him feel uncomfortable.
Suddenly, McCoy felt extremely agitated. Since they had arrived on this strange world he hadn't felt that scared. Bones had listened intently to Spock's analyses and as he pictured the Vulcan's descriptions in his mind he had come to an unsettling conclusion.
"A clockwork needs cogwheels, Spock", the CMO animatedly padded the wall behind him, "Don't tell me, the construct opposite we're moving towards to is the wheel and we're going to encounter its cogs?"
"I'm afraid this seems to be an appropriate assessment. We are moving towards a gigantic round construct. The wall behind us appears to be a spatial link to lock with this object", Spock admitted with a barely suppressed sigh.
"We have to get out of here!", Chekov cried out. He was annoyed as soon as he had said it. How could he allow himself to be so scared? He had to maintain composure. He was a Starfleet Officer on a rescue mission. Mr Scott and his men relied on him to remain calm. Pavel took a deep breath and tried his best to breath evenly. McCoy's reassuring grip of his shoulder was helping as well.
"Spock, how long?", McCoy was surprised how calm and collected he managed to sound. There had to be a way out of this mess. Panic wouldn't get them anywhere.
"Approximately 7 minutes. I'm afraid I can't give an exact time as I haven't been able to calculate the exact distance yet. My tricorder seems to be experiencing some kind of interference."
Spock's tricoder was flickering and only now did McCoy notice that his own instruments had switched themselves off into standby mode.
"I have detected a colossal energy source approximately 1000 meters below us which seems to interfere with our instruments’ readings and functionalities."
The Vulcan switched his tricoder off and on. A small, relieved sigh escaped him as the steady, dim light of the instrument once again lit his face.
"Ok, any suggestions how we get out of here before becoming mash?"
"Yes, Doctor", Spock replied and Chekov released and audible sigh of relief, "My environmental scan indicates that in approximately 5 minutes we will pass a large, solid and flat platform. The passing will last about 60 seconds. The platform will be approximately 2 meters away from where were are right now."
"Are you saying, we have to jump?", McCoy hated the idea, but not as much as being pressed to a pulp inside a colossal clockwork.
"Affirmative. I also suggest, as the space in here is too confined to take a sufficient run up, that I will assist both of you by pushing you towards the plateau."
Confronted with deafening silence Spock felt the need to add, "Vulcans are significantly stronger than Humans."
"And what about you, Spock? Who will give you a push?", McCoy tried hard to control his anger at the FO’s implied self-sacrifice but he knew he was failing at it.
"As I just said, Doctor, I'm much stronger than you and the Ensign are. Therefore, I will be able to jump much further without much of a run up. It is therefore logical, that I go last."
McCoy grunted. If they had the time, he would give Spock his piece of mind regarding how sick he was of his Vulcan arrogance. But they hadn't.
"I suggest you will go first, Doctor, then Mr Chekov. You might be able to catch his hands and pull him onto the platform in case the Ensign doesn't succeed to cover the distance completely."
Chekov thought that Mr Spock had a great talent for describing uncomfortable circumstances rather practically.
"What is below ze platform, Mr Spock? I mean, how far would we fall?", Chekov asked quietly.
A short pause from his superior indicated his answer wouldn't be pleasant.
"At that point, it will be approximately 255.2 meters to the surface below us, Ensign."
"Oh", was all Chekov could say to that. He tried to remember how he had done at school in ancient Olympic athletic disciplines. They had practised long-jump but he couldn't remember if he had been any good at it. What did it matter anyway? He had to be good at it now!
"You're giving us a lot of approximates, Spock. Should we worry about that?", McCoy asked. The question was nagging at his mind ever since the Vulcan had informed them that their instruments were being interfered by that unknown energy source. It wasn't promising that his question was followed by another relatively long pause before Spock replied.
"I'm afraid it would take more than the time we have left to calculate the exact distances with the current interference our instruments suffer and due to the time it takes the tricoder to precisely measure all surrounding areas and objects. Approximates will have to suffice. It also means, that you have to jump as far as you can, Doctor."
"Figures", McCoy mumbled. He suddenly felt a weird feeling in his stomach. The thought of jumping towards a platform he couldn't see, across an abyss he couldn't see, wasn't exactly pleasant. But it was their only chance.
"Doctor, I suggest you hand me your equipment. You as well, Ensign. I'm better prepared to jump with baggage", Spock said calmly and held out his hands towards them.
McCoy couldn't even smile at the fact that he had just caught the Vulcan making an illogical suggestion.
"Spock... I don't like sayin' this, but in case...in case you shouldn't make it, neither will our instruments then."
If there would have been more light, Bones would have seen Spock's raised eyebrow.
"Of course", Spock replied quietly and withdrew his hands.
What followed were a few, quiet moments where the frightening darkness and the horrible cold were tormenting their alert senses. Then Spock raised his voice, sounding calm and confident.
"60 seconds until we start passing the platform. I suggest you get ready to jump, Doctor."