Chapter Text
Ghosts
“Doctor McCoy!... Doctor McCoy, please wake up!”
Bones suddenly awoke from a deep sleep. He had rested peacefully, no nightmares had disturbed him, no memories of recent events had clouded his mind. He felt at home in this most pleasant state, just floating gently, existing without fears for the future or regrets of the past. If he could, he would stay here as long as possible, in this safe haven that was sleep. But a scared voice, a young voice, that sounded too familiar to ignore, urged him to wake up and he was compelled to open his eyes again.
As he only had awoken a few moments ago as well, a big long yawn escaped Chekov as he gently shook McCoy's shoulders. The doctor sat up slowly and reluctantly. After having spent hours without water in freezing conditions, he had to clear his throat before he was able to speak.
“What is it, Chekov?”, he asked quietly, still drowsy from the deep sleep that had mercifully engulfed him until a few moments ago.
“Look!”, Chekov exclaimed, excitedly moving his right arm around to make his companion aware of their surroundings.
“What in the name of …”
As McCoy finally came fully to his senses, the realisation hit him like a bucket of ice-water. They were in a completely different place than before and he had no idea how they’d got here.
They were lying on the floor of a large room with white walls, comparable to the Enterprise’s engine room in size. The space was dimly lit and didn't feature any furniture or anything else for that matter. The most striking feature however was the temperature. Bones estimated the climate of their new environment to be around 10 degrees Celsius, which felt amazing, and most welcome, after the freezing cold they had endured until now. Instinctively, Bones reached for his tricorder which he assumed must still be flung around his shoulder but his hand only reached into thin air. With dismay, he realised that his tricorder, and his medi-kit, had gone. As he was looking around on the floor, with faint hope that his belongings might be laying nearby after all, he met Chekov’s eyes. He was relieved to see that the ensign looked relatively calm, with some healthy colour having returned to his face, however worry was still clearly detectable in his eyes. The doctor responded with an encouraging smile as he continued looking for his belongings.
“I zink whoever took us here must have taken our instruments, Doctor. Mine are gone as well”, Chekov sighed.
McCoy abruptly halted his search. Suddenly, the memories of what had happened flooded back into his mind.
They were sheltering in the dark space, Spock must have been gone for four hours or so. Bones had just assured Chekov that his haemorrhage had been sufficiently healed by the brain-stabiliser and that he should be able now to get up again and take a few steps. Keen to walk around for a bit just to attempt to warm himself up, Chekov then readied himself to slowly get up. With a long sigh of relief he had thanked the doctor for his great efforts. Bones assisted him with standing up and had just wanted to reply that there was nothing to thank him for, that this was his job, ‘cause after all he was a doctor even though for some reason unbeknownst to him he had to keep reminding folk of this, when suddenly an overbearing, bright light was filling the area they were sheltering in. They had covered their eyes with their arms and had turned away from the light, to shield themselves as best as they could and be protected from the glowing energy the unknown source was emitting. The heat and brightness soon became unbearable and after a few moments that seemed like an eternity, Chekov fainted. Before Bones was able to help him, a powerful dizziness overcame him as well and he remembered how his body just slumped to the floor. And then his mind had turned black.
And now they had awoken here, in this strange, sterile room, with their instruments gone. But where in blazes was 'here' ? And who or what had taken them here? And why? And most importantly - where were Brown, Monet, Scotty and Spock?
Bones’ mind was racing now. He frowned and shook his head, as if to shake off all the troublesome questions to which answers seemed so far out of reach. He noticed that Chekov still looked at him with a worried expression, as if he was hoping for an explanation of some kind from his superior, but he just didn’t have any answers for the boy. This rescue mission not just hadn’t gone to plan - this excursion had reached a whole new level of not going to plan! Since they had arrived on the surface of this weird planet and were involuntarily marooned in its even weirder world beneath, answers had been in frustratingly short supply. Finding themselves in yet another strange and unexpected environment, to his great annoyance Bones only had more questions on top of those they already had had, when they set off from the Enterprise.
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It had arrived just in time to catch one of the Humans before he would fall from the staircase into the abyss. How inconvenient that these disruptors had appeared in the range, where their work was conducted overseeing the Egnaro. A place unsuited for any other life forms but themselves, let alone humanoids. Now, it was its task to pick all of the disruptors up and put them into the transport vessel so that they wouldn’t cause anymore interferences within the Egnaro with their electronic devises.
Usually, it was just seamlessly, and skilfully, floating between the spaces of the range, but the unwelcome visitors made a facilitation of appropriate transport necessary and the material transportation device came in handy for this purpose.
Now, in order not burn the man alive it had just caught, a reduction in its energy levels was necessary. It dimed its bright aura as far as it was possible to maintain its presence. It would still be of an intensity unpleasant to those that had come to disrupt, but it wouldn’t damage them.
Scott was carried by the light-being without any effort whatsoever. Silently, it moved forward, a beam of bright energy, although slightly dimmer than when it had just appeared, seemingly flowing through space. It carried the man into the lift-like object it had appeared in seconds earlier. Scott was gently lowered onto the ground inside before the being turned towards the two remaining disruptors on the other side of the separated staircase. It was aware that both of them were unconscious as well, the other Human from shock from being confronted with its overpowering energy and the other male, who it deemed to be of Vulcan origin, from severe hypothermia. It carefully lifted both of them up one by one and also carried them into the elevator-like vehicle. Inside, it removed all of the electronic devices the men were carrying and put them into a small container that looked like a steal cube. Then the vehicle’s doors closed and descended as quickly below into the abyss as it had appeared.
The two parts of the staircase moved back towards one another and locked again, not leaving even a trace of a crack behind.
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“Ahhh, you're blinding me! Don't blind me, please”, Del Brown cried out, his voice fearful.
The cry from his young assistant awoke Scotty from his unconsciousness. Lying on thunse ground, he turned his head to his right from where the noise was coming from, but due to the bright light that engulfed them, he couldn't see anything. He shut his eyes tightly and held his arms up to protect himself from the piercing energy around them. The only thing Scotty was sure of at this stage was that he and Brown were confined in a space alongside the light-being. Although it appeared not as unforgivingly bright as on first sight, the alien form still hurt their eyes with its perfect white presence. Furthermore, the strong heat it was emitting, although welcome at first after the freezing conditions on the platform, was equally unpleasant as he noticed how he started to sweat under his uniform.
The Scotsman also realised how thirsty he was. It must have been hours now since he last took a sip from his flask, when they were still on the planet’s surface and just after he had sent a message back to the Enterprise via the Hoffmann 7 probe. When they had suddenly descended below the surface and fell onto the platform, rather than protecting his flask, he had instinctively put his hands around the probe which was attached to his belt. When he had come to later, he noticed that the flask must have come loose from his belt, but thankfully the probe was still there. He had then tried but failed to send another message because the bloody thing decided to thank him for protecting it by going all short circuit on him!
Scotty reached for his belt, certain to feel the probe, but to his great annoyance it wasn’t there anymore. And neither was the tricorder and small toolkit he had carried. He wondered if their captor had something to do with his missing belongings. What was certain though was that they were moving downwards at a rapid pace – the sensation was all too familiar and reminded Scott of the turbo lifts on the Enterprise. What wasn’t certain though was their destination. And yet far more troubling to the CEO was the question as to what had happened to Mr Spock.
“Spock!”
No answer.
“Mr Spock, are ya with us?”
“Ahhh, my eyes. It hurts so much.”
The only sound apart from his own breathing, were the continuous moans from Del just next to him, Scott realised with dismay as his calls for their First Officer remained unanswered.
“Ya need to calm yarself, laddie. Protect yarself as good as ya can from this light, son!”
“I am, Sir. If I could close my eyes any tighter I would. It still hurts. And it’s so unbearably hot in here”, Brown exclaimed, sounding a bit too stroppy for his own and his superior’s liking, “I just want it to stop, please!”
Scotty wasn’t pleased in the slightest to hear a hint of panic in Del’s voice now. But could he blame the lad? The dizziness he had experienced on the staircase before seemed to take hold of his body and mind again as well and he wasn’t pleased about it one bit. What if he would fall unconscious again, not knowing where Spock was and unable to help fend off his young assistant’s oncoming panic attack? The fear of losing his bearings again only made Scotty feel more panicked himself now. He realised he was in danger of losing control of the situation if he wouldn’t snap himself out of it rapidly.
And yet… what where they panicking about? Yes, he didn’t know where Spock was, what the alien wanted from them, where they were going and if they’d ever find Dr McCoy and Chekov - but wasn’t it true to say that apart from the discomfort the bright light and heat was causing them, they were unharmed and what’s more, they were still alive! If this energy thingie would want them dead, surly they would be dead already?
Scotty had to smile to himself as he realised that their First Officer’s logical approach to predicaments at all times had seemingly rubbed off on him as well - although, of course, being a hands-on engineer made him fairly rational to begin with by nature. But it was the memory of Spock’s infallible ability of logical thinking and decision making, even during the most challenging of challenges, that now served as a welcome reminder for Scott to remain focused and rational. And yet there was something else entirely, the Scotsman realised in this moment, something he could feel deep inside his bones, something Mr Spock would for sure discard as irrational if he’d ever had the chance to tell him about it – his intuition told Scotty that although he didn’t know what this light-being was, if it was alive at all or just some kind of robot or machine, he felt that it wasn’t malignant. But as it always is the case with human intuition, Scotty couldn't be certain of it.
He noticed that Del had moved right to the edge of the lift-like construct they were in, no doubt to face the entirely black exterior outside, in order to get some respite from the bright light inside the vehicle. This seemed to have had the hoped for result since the lad had seemingly calmed down now and Scotty could only hear his assistant’s heavy breathing.
Suddenly, the movement stopped as they seemed to have reached wherever it was they had been moving towards to. The vehicle’s doors opened and a wide, black plateau opened up in front of them, not too dissimilar to the one they had been stranded on when Spock had encountered them. How big this plateau was in reality, Scott was unable to ascertain as the light their alien companion emitted only lit approximately a radius of 50 meters around them.
Relieved to have some dark space ahead of them that would offer them some relief from the alien’s bright, burning aura, both Scott and Brown stumbled out of the vehicle onto the platform with a couple of eager strides, their arms still in front of their tightly shut eyes.
Scotty didn’t dare to turn around again and face the being’s blinding whiteness which engulfed them now from behind as it was following them onto the platform. Instead, he made sure he spoke as loud and calmly as he could. This thing had talked to them before in Standard, when it had called them ‘Disruptors’, so he assumed it would be able to understand him.
“There was a third man. Ar friend, where is he?”
There was no reply but Scotty felt some movement to his left side. He dared a brief glimpse downwards past his arm and realised that the being had lowered Mr Spock on the ground next to him. So the Vulcan must have been with them in the transport vehicle all along!
Scotty knelled down next to the FO who was still unconscious but his closed eyes told him that he was most likely alive… or at least that was the assumption he preferred to make at this point.
“Thank you”, Scotty said loudly, not far off from shouting. He wanted to make sure their captor understood his gratefulness not just for bringing Spock with them, but well, just in general for not having decided to kill them yet and fry them like a haggis on Burns night.
Del joined his boss’ side, kneeling down next to Spock as well.
“Is he alive?”
Scott could detect relief and concern in equal measure in Brown’s voice, who clearly was as glad as him for not having been separated from their superior after all. He didn’t know how to respond, but he didn’t need to anyway.
“Yes”, came the reply from a loud, deep, calm voice behind them, “Vulcan still alive”.
Still… Scotty’s heart sank but before he could get despondent again, he was distracted by his surprise that despite the volume and low frequency, he didn't deem the being’s voice to be threatening. If anything, it reminded him of his great-uncle Donny he had visited once or twice as a young child in Aberdeen. All Scotty could remember of those visits was that his uncle had a long, white beard and claimed to be 135 years old. And his voice. Despite his frailty, great-uncle Donny still possessed a strong, deep and calm voice. The kind of voice Scotty thought he would never hear again in his life. Until now.
“It would be extremely kind of yas, if ya could turn down those lights of yas. If ya wouldn't mind. They're a wee bit too strong for us. We need to have a good look at ar friend”, Scotty exclaimed in the politest tone he could muster while he was searching for Spock’s wrist in order to measure his pulse. How he wished Dr McCoy was here with them now.
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They were disruptors. Yet their sole purpose so far seemed to be to display concern for one another. Just like the other two. So it was conceivable that disruption wasn’t their purpose. But before their intent could be clarified for certain, the injured amongst them had to recover. Until then, their true agenda couldn’t be ascertained with certainty as all but one were Humans, driven by emotion and not by true necessity and therefore unreliable in action and judgement.
The Human with the brain injury was nearly fully recovered now despite the primitive, and interfering, instruments that the older Human had used on him. The Vulcan was another matter entirely though. He had already departed with some distance between them now, and yet it was him they wanted to communicate with most, in order to achieve full, unclouded, clarity about the true reason for their visit. But the Strah-leus’ dictate was to exist for one, sole purpose and therefore, even if they’d be in possession of the knowledge of Vulcan healing, they could not help the one that had begun departing. The disruptors had to be reunited.
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To his great relief, and somewhat surprise, Scotty noticed that even though their captor didn’t answer him, its energy emissions dimmed down significantly. So much so, that he and Brown were now able to, for the first time, to really see its actual size and shape.
The light-being was about 2.5 meters tall and had a ghostlike appearance, without any detectable limps and no facial features. It was wearing what looked like, and for the lack of a better description, a white robe which reminded Scotty of an ancient Terran children’s book he had been given for his 5th birthday. The book told the story of a white, little ghost that haunted a Scottish castle in the Scottish Highlands. This being could have been the little ghost’s taller brother. Similar to the feelings he had as a child when reading the story - intrigue on the one hand, on the other suspicion due to the mystery that surrounded the ghost’s origin and motivations, Scotty couldn’t claim that he felt threatened by this creature, but at the same time he was far from feeling comfortable in its presence.
Before he was able to examine Spock more closely at this now bearable level of light, the ghostly figure picked up the First Officer and carried him with its white robe like a child might carry apples in her apron.
“Follow!”
Scotty and Brown exchanged a surprised look and quickly followed the alien who floated further ahead onto the wide plateau. After covering 100 meters or so in a straight line, they reached a wall and entered a long corridor of sorts whose bright, shiny walls appeared to be made of a white metal.
While they followed their strange companion down the corridor, Scott tried to communicate again, asking who it was, where it was taking them and what had happened to their instruments and the probe. But it was to no avail. Their captor seemed to be a ghost of few words and appeared to only communicate what it deemed to be absolutely necessary. Therefore, Scotty decided that, for now, he would have to ignore his curiosity regarding what the alien had meant when it stated that they were ‘disrupting their work.’
At the end of the corridor they turned left and reached a large, baren room in which the alie put Spock down near the entrance. It then left immediately and floated quickly back down the corridor and around a corner before Scotty could make another attempt to communicate.
Thankfully the room was not as bright as the corridors, but rather dimly lit. Also, Scotty and Brown were very relieved to notice that this space wasn’t as cold compared to the freezing temperatures they had encountered in this strange world up to now. It was still cold in here, but bearable. Scotty concluded privately that it was likely that they would have frozen to death by now if they hadn’t been in the presence of their glowing host. The fact that it had led them to this more hospitable space, told him that their captor must have come to the same conclusion. Didn’t this confirm the assumption he had made earlier that the creature didn’t appear to mean them harm? Scott didn’t bask in this rare moment of hope for long as his attention had to be on his FO now.
Both Scott and Brown kneeled down next to Spock to see if his status remained unchanged.
Both engineers were so focused on their commanding officer that they didn’t realise they were sharing this space with someone else until a loud, excited voice made them both jump and turn around instantly.
“Doctor… it’s Mr Scott!”
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McCoy had to look twice. It was as if he wasn't trusting his own eyes anymore as in the matter of only a few hours they had been strained by pitch-black darkness first and then by the piercing light that had engulfed them before they fell unconscious.
The bright light had returned at the entrance on the other side of the room, although it was much dimmer now than when they had encountered it for the first time. With amazement Bones realised that the figure resembled what on Earth people of a certain persuasion might call a ghost. He exchanged a quick look with Chekov whose face reflected his own bafflement.
The being had returned with what looked to be three men, one of which it laid down on the ground swiftly but gently. And with that the ghostly form had disappeared again.
Bones rubbed his eyes and told himself he was hallucinating. The three men were about 30 meters away and McCoy couldn’t make out their faces in the dimly lit space but could it really be… did he detect the glimmer of red shirts on two of them, and blue on the one on the ground? God, he didn’t even know if he was awake or asleep anymore. He must be dreaming for sure. He just didn't dare to hope that the Enterprise's two landing parties had finally found one another. But then he heard Chekov next to him shout out in joy, the ensign’s younger and sharper eyes confirming his own hopeful vision to be really true.
In an instant, McCoy was on his feet and ran over to the men. Chekov followed him swiftly, stumbling the first few steps as he was still wobbly on his feet, but, powered by the exhilaration that flooded his body, quickly finding his balance.
“By God…Scotty!”, Bones shouted out while he was still a good few meters away from the men while a very surprised Chief Engineer slowly got up on his feet to face him with a puzzled look of shock.
“Crivvens, I cannae believe it!”
For a moment, Scotty seemed to be doubting his senses again but he hadn’t had long to be doubtful as the doctor embraced him with a swift, hearty hug. Here, right in front of him was the good Dr McCoy – and ensign Chekov! What a sight for his tired eyes!
Bones only gave himself a moment to rejoice as he took a step back to examine Scotty’s still surprised but now also beaming face.
“Lenny… it’s really you!”, was all his usually glib friend managed to say.
McCoy now turned his gaze over to Lieutenant Brown who had joined Scott’s side to greet him and Chekov with a relieved smile. The doctor was happy to note that his young crewmate seemed to be in good health just like Scotty, but a frown appeared on Bones’ forehead nearly instantly. He turned back towards the CEO.
“Monet?”, Bones asked with dread.
Scotty just shook his head with a heart wrenching expression in his eyes.
The look told McCoy and Chekov everything they needed to know. Bones sighed heavily. One man they couldn't rescue anymore. Why was there always one man they lost? It seemed to be an unwritten law of landing party duty.
“Louie fell to his death. Broke his neck”, Brown explained with a tired expression. He sat down again next to Spock who was lying on his back, seemingly unconscious and with a peaceful expression on his face.
Chekov squatted down next to Brown and touched his shoulder as a way to express his sympathies for the loss of his colleague. The ensign seemed lost for words, but McCoy was certain that such a caring gesture was expressing more to the Lieutenant than any comment could have done.
Bones didn't allow himself to dwell on his grief about Monet. Now, he had to turn his full attention to Spock.
“Mr Spock fell unconscious soon after he found us. He did some of this Vulcan Hocus Pocus on Del because the lad had bumped his head when we arrived down here. And then he suddenly dropped on the floor like a sack of spuds! With no warning! He dinnae say a word that he wae weel either!”, Scotty explained, with a hint of annoyance. McCoy only managed a small sigh at this. Yes, this sounded like Spock all right, even causing irritation when falling unconscious. As the doctor took his superior’s hand to feel for his pulse, he was concerned about how cold it was.
As Bones started to examine Spock, the Chief Engineer continued his account and explained that soon after having materialised on the planet, they had suddenly found themselves ascending below the surface at great speed. In the process, they fell onto a platform from some considerable height which killed Monet. All this had happened thankfully after Scotty had been able to send the messages through the Hoffmann 7 probe and secure the small machine on his belt. But unfortunately their strange captor appeared to have taken all their instruments from them, including the probe. Chekov responded that his and the doctor’s instruments had disappeared as well.
McCoy could hear his crewmates speak but he didn’t pay much attention. In his mind, he was cursing that giant light-bulp for having taken his instruments and medi-kit away. He was forced to examine Spock with his hands which was completely insufficient considering the state the Vulcan was in. While he checked for the FO’s pulse, Chekov filled in Scott and Brown about their own adventure so far.
Spock's pulse was far too faint for McCoy’s liking. He cursed their captor again, but what difference did it really make? Their instruments had been malfunctioning anyway for the most part since they had arrived in this godforsaken place.
Bones ordered Chekov, Brown and Scotty to sit down around Spock, who they had just moved away from the entrance. The men sat in a circle around the Vulcan so that he could benefit from their body warmth.
Chekov now reached the point in his account where Spock and McCoy had to decide what to do next after he had bumped his head and fallen unconscious. The young Russian’s account reflected the ‘edited’ version Bones had told him later: That Spock hadn’t heeded the doctor’s advice to venture out into the cold alone but that he did so anyway. Bones was more than grateful that the ensign hadn’t been awake to witness their massive argument and therefore couldn’t give a full account of it. Not that he needed reminding of it in any case.
Although they now were in a somewhat warmer environment than before, he estimated Spock's body temperature to be at around 26 degrees Celsius or less. He was highly doubtful that his temperature would rise again as he estimated the temperature in the room to be around 5 degrees, which for a Vulcan was still relatively cold. The First Officer’s metabolism had slowed down significantly and Bones was certain that he was in a coma now because of his slow and very light breathing. He assumed that the Vulcan hadn't managed to begin his hibernation trance, because if he had, his body temperature and breathing patterns would be much closer to normal. Sadly, there was nothing he could do for Spock without his tricorder and medi-kit. At least the temperature was more favourable now, but Bones feared that it was too late for Spock to benefit from their new and more hospitable environment.
Wasn't this just typical? Just as they all were reunited, they were about to lose another man. If they would ever make it back to the ship, how on earth would he be able to explain Spock's absence to Jim.
Bones shook his head and rubbed his chin. It was his responsibility that the Vulcan survived. If Spock couldn't return to the Enterprise, he also had no right to come back.
Suddenly the guilt about what he had said to Spock when they saw each other the last time washed over him. McCoy just stared at the floor. He would make sure not to allow himself to shed a single tear. Who would he be crying for anyway? Spock? Or for his own guilt-ridden self? He should have stopped the Vulcan from wandering into the freezing darkness when he had the chance… and yet, then they might have never encountered Scotty and Brown again, especially since Spock seemed to have aided Delroy’s recovery from his concussion with a mind-meld, even though he himself was in mortal danger. The boy probably wouldn’t have survived otherwise, in the freezing cold and with no medical attention. That was also just typical… typical Spock! Well, it looked like the Vulcan’s tendency to consider himself invincible would not have to trouble him for much longer.
The doctor felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. He quickly wiped his hand over his face and looked up. Scotty looked at him with compassion. They exchanged a grave look.
“Isn't there anything ya can do for the poor devil, Doctor?”
Bones slowly shook his head and stared at the still form of their commanding office, surrounded protectively by his subordinates.
“I wish I could, Scotty. But I can't do anything without my instruments and my medi-kit. That goddamn ghost thing!”
As if on que, the door opened and the being re-appeared in the entrance. The figure floated there for a few moments without moving or speaking. Bones had the impression it was watching them, maybe unsure as to what it should do next. He decided he wouldn’t wait for it to make the first move.
McCoy jumped to his feet and approached the alien, stopping only a few meters in front of it.
“Our friend is dying! Give me back my instruments and my medical kit so that I can help him!”
No reply. Bones didn’t have the patience to wait for one to come.
“It'll be your fault if he dies! Please let me help him!”, he shouted out, not making an attempt to hide his exasperation.
The being, who, like when they had seen it last, had been emitting light at a bearable level, was suddenly pulsating and then started to radiate more light. But it still had no reply for McCoy who stepped even closer now, despite the heat getting stronger, waving his hands in front of the ghost-like figure.
“Goddam it! Do I have to get down on my knees and beg you, you stupid, mutated light-bulb!”, McCoy spitted out, his voice razor-sharp and hoarse with anger.
Despite the desperation they all were feeling, Scotty couldn’t help but smile at the doctor’s impulsiveness. When nothing seemed to make their captor talk to them, what harm could it do to become a little impatient. He knew the feeling. Although he was well aware that the Enterprise’s engines would never speak back to him, he still liked to give them a good shouting to whenever they weren’t performing to his liking.
“Who gives you the right to decide over this man’s fate? Who are you? Answer me, goddamit!”
The light intensified and it quickly became evident to all of the men that their host was turning up its radiation close to the painful degree it was emitting when they had first encountered it, if not more. The doctor for all his good intentions, seemed to have provoked some kind of reaction from the alien, by directing his uncontrolled anger at it. The being seemingly responded to McCoy’s outburst by intensifying the energy levels it was emitting.
The men put their arms in front of their eyes and Bones took a few steps back towards the others, as the pulsating figure of light was raising the room temperature by at least 40 degrees, glowing much hotter now than they had ever experienced it before.
“Please help... our friend”, was all the CMO managed to mutter as he was confronted by the heavy heat that filled the whole room now and he was forced to withdraw back towards his friends.
But then the light-being just turned away and disappeared again down the corridor, leaving a very hot room behind, its white walls glowing with heat.
McCoy dropped to his knees next to Scotty, exhausted. Sweaty and with red blisters on their skin like if they had suffered from a strong sun-burn, the men were taking quick and sharp breaths.
“I don't think ghost laddie has understood ya special brand of diplomacy, Doctor”, Scotty managed to say after a few moments when he had finally regained his breath, hoping to lift the mood a little. Before Bones could reply, Chekov's panicked voice interrupted them.
“Doctor McCoy!”, Chekov pointed at Spock, the young man's eyes darkened with worry. While they’d been distracted with protecting themselves from the overpowering glowing alien, their attentions had momentarily been diverted from the Vulcan who still lay motionless next to them.
Bones quickly turned back towards Spock. The sight made him nearly tremble despite the heat.
Only a few minutes ago, the Vulcan’s face still had been of slightly greenish skin colour. But now...
Spock was as white as snow. Like he had turned into a ghost himself, Bones thought as his heart sank. If anything, shouldn’t the sauna like conditions the creature had left them in, be to the Vulcan’s advantage? And revive his bodily functions? Or was he being unreasonably hopeful, hadn’t he already concluded that Spock was dangerously close to passing the point where he could ever be revived?
Bones got hold of Spock's hands to measure his pulse and leaned over his mouth to feel if any air was still escaping his lungs.
Chekov, Brown and Scotty just stared at their CMO and held their breaths. The unnatural whiteness of Mr Spock’s face was a shocking sight. The silence was deafening.
After a few moments that seemed to last an eternity, Bones finally looked up, his desperate eyes wildly searching something to focus on. Scotty leaned forward and put his hands on his friend’s shoulders, to help him focus on his face.
When McCoy’s eyes finally met his, Scotty was confronted with the gravest expression he had ever seen on another man’s face.
“Dead. Spock's dead.”