"I believe we have reached another deck," Spock informed you, shifting aside on the ladder so that you could reach the mechanisms ahead.
"Fifth time's the charm, eh?" you grumbled, fumbling over cables in the darkness. You had already failed to open the doors to four other decks you had come across. Whether that was due to failed mechanisms or just to you being unable to work the emergency controls in complete blackness, you didn't know.
You tapped what was hopefully the correct button, and a buzzer went off somewhere.
"Damn," you swore. "This deck is inaccessible too. I swear, if the next one doesn't open, my arms and legs are all going to fall off."
"Illogical," Spock said, beginning to climb upwards again. As you followed suit, he added in an undertone, "However, I am beginning to share the sentiment."
If you hadn't needed what little wind you had remaining in order to climb, you would have laughed. A few seconds passed, and you ventured to ask, "How long have we been crawling up and down these godforsaken tunnels? An hour?"
"Precisely, it has been thirty-four minutes," he replied, and you detected a hint of weariness in his own voice now. Well, after all, even Vulcans got tired, didn't they?
You swore again. "That's still one hell of a long time to be climbing a ladder."
"(Y/N), I am in complete agreement." He paused, then stopped, and your hand connected with his boot, nearly pushing it off the metal rung for the billionth time in half an hour.
"Sorry," you said automatically.
"You need not apologize each time, (Y/N). The single apology in advance was more than sufficient."
You considered saying sorry again just to see where it would get you, but decided against it. Now probably wasn't the best time for jokes. "Have we reached another deck?" you asked instead.
"Yes."
You sighed. "Move over, then."
He obeyed, and you moved closer to the wall, groping about the cables and projections. By accident, you brushed an unintentional button, and the emergency ladder gave an alarming shift underneath you.
"Oops," you muttered. "Sorry, Spock. My hand slipped. Here, this one should do it."
You pressed the correct button this time, and to your immense relief, a door slid open only a little above you. It didn't open as wide as you would have really preferred, but it was wide enough for both of you to squeeze through. Spock went first, then offered you his hand, which you accepted, using it to help pull yourself onto the newly-reached deck. For a moment, you just leaned against the wall, catching your breath and silently condemning the existence of every ladder in the universe.
"Where are we?" you asked after a few minutes.
"I am not entirely certain," Spock admitted. "I confess that I lost track of our location while we were in the Jefferies tubes."
"No matter," you sighed, looking around. This corridor was in considerably better shape than the last one you had been in; the emergency lights were the only ones activated, but there was no rubble, meaning that it was either an inner section of the ship or that it simply hadn't been squashed as badly as the other one. "What the hell happened?"
"I know nothing more than you do, (Y/N)."
