Spock tried, too

Reinvigorate

The small starship jetted out away from the hiding place from the planet orbit. McCoy was sitting in the seat pressing buttons. Mallard looked over in the direction of the doctor noticing a unique calmness about him that was not business as usual for him. Hearing silence on the bridge after that quick get away made a twisted, sickening feeling in his stomach. Or maybe it was his paranoia of not feeling anything, psychically, from the doctor. McCoy picked up a cup of sweet tea and took a sip. Normally he would be feeling about something about the doctor such as doubt heavily weighing in his mind. The humans feelings often betrayed the man when he was speaking to Mallard as it had to any human speaking with the young man.

"Are you okay, doc?" Mallard asked.

McCoy's baby blue eyes looked over in the direction of the Andorian/human hybrid with a smile.

"I am fine," McCoy said. "I feel better than I had, earlier."

"That is nice to hear," Mallard said. "So your problem got fixed."

"Yes," McCoy said.

"Doctor," Mallard said. "I sense. . . this is unusual coming from you."

"Of course it is," McCoy said. "unusual for me to be this . . . content."

"Like it is final," Mallard said.

"It could be that way," McCoy said.

"I like to think that is not the case for someone like you," Mallard said. He paused as realization started to hit him. "What kind of mission are we on?" Mallard leaned to his side toward the doctor. "You didn't give me the full story before you left."

"Hellgaurd," McCoy said. Mallard's stomach twisted. "We are goin' to do somethin' about that Romulan colony."

"But it is abandoned," Mallard said. McCoy shook his head, amused. "It is!"

The doctor looked over in the direction of Mallard.

"Then why are there Romulans if no one is there?" McCoy inquired.

Mallard paused.

"Because the colonists who lived there have abandoned it and it is not being well kept," Mallard said. "And it is a perfect hide out," He gestured toward the older man. "The definition of abandoned."

McCoy took a sip of his sweet tea.

"So this is why you have been asking me repeatedly if I want to leave," Mallard said.

McCoy swallowed what bit he had drink.

"Yes," McCoy said. "Do you still want to go?"

"You need a assistant to work with the survivors," Mallard said.

"What if I told you that it won't be easy to get them out?" McCoy asked.

"Doctor," Mallard said. "nothing is easy."

"Well, without Jim and Spock," McCoy said. "this will be a piece of cake."

Mallard raised his eyebrow.

"All the missions you had on the Enterprise is nothing like this," Mallard said.

McCoy nodded.

"Exactly," McCoy said.

"Oh," Mallard said.

"I don't have the danger magnet with me," McCoy said.

"I see," Mallard said. "so the missions you had with Mr Spock mean that he is a danger magnet?"

"Yes," McCoy said, then he took another sip. "that he is," He looked over toward the younger man with a softened expression on his face. "except for me." He took another ship from the delicate tea cup.

To see McCoy at peace with himself was a rare thing. Let alone for Mallard. Nothing was bothering the doctor or his mind. So it felt unnatural to see McCoy at peace sitting in the same room. Like Mallard was intruding on a off duty star fleet officer who was in his natural surroundings. McCoy was not stressed. The source of his stress had been removed long ago. As had the source of the doubt. There was no fear radiating from the man's mind. All there was radiating from the doctor was "I can do it!". It was as though he was certain what he was going to do would save lives even at the cost of others.

"Why is it that they attracted danger and not you?" Mallard asked.

"I don't know," McCoy said. "I am a doctor."

"I mean," Mallard said. "You are a doctor who is currently risking his life to save someone in afield where other physicians deal with that kind of danger," Mallard noted. "and yet, you don't have a chance of getting threatened."

"I learned to fire a phaser durin' my days at the academy," McCoy said. "I rather not take another life when I save them."

McCoy stopped, wincing, at the memory of the ship being attacked by a pseudo alien named Krall, actually, Captain Balthazar Edison. Picking up a phaser and shooting down what seemed to be humanoid insects while protecting a minor injured Geoffrey M'Benga and Lieutenant Romaine. Seeing crew members littering the hall against the wall. The ship sending out loud blaring music to stop the attack. The main aggressor of the attack heading down toward Altamid. Sending down survivors to Altamid and relaying a distress signal. A skeleton crew commanding the starship. Krall being killed by Sulu in order to protect his crew. Meeting a woman named Jaylah, a farmer by his standards with her luxerious garden hidden by ferns and large branches, who showed Sulu and McCoy the buried USS Franklin. There were other survivors of attacks that they had discovered. It was only later that he learned what he had shot down was a drone not a real organic being.

It had him fooled.

"Doctor?" Mallard asked. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine," McCoy said. "I was just thinkin' of Altamid."

"Oh. . ." Mallard said.

"What were ya sayin'?" McCoy asked.

"Just that I had sympathy," Mallard said. "And how the Enterprise is going to be out of refit in a few days."

"I knew that," McCoy said. "My colleagues are goin' to be a travelin' family. At least until . . ." He stopped. "Ah, they plan to come back when it is her rite of passage," He shook his small hand, lightly. "Can't exactly keep them on Vulcan. A planet side federation colony, sure, but on Vulcan?" He swayed the drink to the side. "No," He shook his index finger. "they want to serve Star Fleet," He leaned back into the chair. "and nothin' is going to stop them from that."

Mallard briefly smiled.

"So," Mallard said. "how are we going to get into the colony?"

"First," McCoy said, leaning froward with his arm on the side of the console. "We turn off communication frequencies."

The small starship flew into orbit of a planet followed by Romulan Bird of Prey.

"We give them a leg fire with the back end phasers."

The phaser cannon rotated firing at the Romulan bird of prey.

"Leg fire? I understand many things. But not that."

We overhear McCoy's laughter as the wings were struck.

"Catchin' someones leg on fire will immobilize them, temporally."

The lower section of the ship were struck leaving a superficial scar.

"Ooooh."

The two birds of preys were going on impulse.

"But they go slower."

The starship turned around and fired at them.

"Slower? How does that matter?"

The phaser blasts struck the middle bird of prey.

"We have to take lives in exchange to save some."

The small starship vanished into the cloud of smoke.

"And then, we have to engage the lower upper half off from the bridge."

The birds of prey turned around then waited to fire as the smoke slowly cleared.

"Then what?"

A shuttle craft size part fell. It was destroyed by the romulans.

"We wait."

A large quantity of metal flew in space as the two romulan bird of preys slowly made their way to the planet.

"Why?"

"To make make our entrance."

The starship swooped around the moon out of the radar darting toward the planet.

"And how do we get out?"

The starship vanished from the line of sight.

"I am not sayin' it, but one of us may not come back from that trip when it comes to escaping."