Chapter Text
It was supposed to be a normal mission.
Then again, it was always supposed to be a normal mission, and we all know how that usually goes.
Spock and Kirk beamed down to the planet at 1400 hours. Their mission was simple, or so it seemed- explore the surface and look for signs of life. This particular world was on an unavoidable collision course with the sun it orbited- not an immediate issue, enough so that if there was some form of life, it should be evacuated. They had taken initial scans, but they had been inconclusive.
Upon beaming down to the planet’s surface, nothing immediately appeared to be amiss. It was an earthlike planet- approximately 18 degrees Celsius, Earth-like atmosphere, some vegetation. Nothing seemed amiss, but you can’t always tell from first glance. Spock checked the tricorder. All readings normal.
Kirk flipped open his communicator. “Alright, Scotty, beam down the landing party.”
There was a long pause. Nothing but static came through. “Scotty, acknowledge,” Kirk said, his worry starting to show on his face. Spock raised one eyebrow, concerned.
“Spock, is there anything on this planet that could cause interference?” Kirk asked, turning towards him. Spock felt his heart skip a beat at his captain’s sudden attention. This is not an appropriate time, he thought to himself.
“Not that I know of, captain. But it’s entirely possible that whatever is interfering with the communicator could also be interfering with the tricorder,” Spock said aloud. The captain bit his lower lip, thinking, and Spock had to remind himself several times that he was in control of his emotions.
“Are there any naturally occurring materials that could cause this kind of interference?” the captain asked.
“Several. But most of them do not cause problems unless there are large deposits nearby. We can eliminate a few possibilities- as per protocol, we scanned for radioactive signatures before beaming down, and all came back negative. Those scans were likely reliable. Many others, such as granite and other high-density materials, usually only have effects if underground, which we are not. There are still several possibilities, however, that we can neither rule out nor confirm,” Spock stated, careful not to ramble on for too long about the rather fascinating topic. While Kirk was usually quite predisposed to listen to, and even seemingly enjoy, his lectures on scientific topics, he highly suspected that the captain currently had other things on his mind.
Kirk nodded thoughtfully. “Is it likely that if there was a deposit, and we moved away from it, the interference would cease?”
“Yes, captain, unless the planet is largely composed of one of these elements, which I find incredibly unlikely,” Spock replied, internally chastising himself for how much of his attention was on the captain’s lower lip, which he was still biting just slightly.
The captain turned and grinned at Spock and he forgot all about how illogical he was being. “I suppose we should start walking, then,” he said. “Anything in our initial survey that suggested an ideal direction?”
“No, sir, the scan of this area did not highlight any major environmental hazards in this area,” Spock answered.
“Well then, I suppose we should just pick a direction and start walking.” Kirk started off at 37.8 degrees north, and Spock followed. It was as good a direction as any, he supposed.