Spock and McCoy || Told You So
Spock noticed McCoy twirling his gun in his peripheral vision while he studied his tricorder. He barely managed to keep from rolling his eyes. “If you are quite finished, doctor, perhaps you could appreciate the gravity of the situation we are in and assist me in locating a possible form of shelter,” he said without looking up.
Having to admit to McCoy that he was mistaken once was irritating enough; he didn’t want to have to admit the doctor was right a second time about his tricorder being completely useless, but it appeared he was correct. They would be traveling blind.
Spock looked over to where the doctor was standing over the alien. Humans and their bizarre need to poke at dead or unconscious things. “I advise that you step away from the creature. It could have any number of automatic biological defense mechanisms that we do not —” He was interrupted by the sound of a black, tar-like substance being squirted at McCoy from some sort of orifice on the alien’s neck. He stiffened for a moment, unsure of the effects of the substance would have on human skin — but he soon realized from McCoy’s reaction that it did not immediately appear to have a malignant effect. If he had been human, he would have been doubled over in laughter. Instead his amusement was expressed by a dry flick of an eyebrow. “I am in agreement. We should leave immediately.” He slung his tricorder strap across his shoulder and broke into a trot in the direction of the canyon. He estimated they would reach the canyon in about 20 minutes — provided they were able to maintain this pace. He glanced back at McCoy to see if he was keeping stride with him. They had been out in the desert sun for at least two hours. His Vulcan physiology was well adapted for such conditions, but he was fully aware of the limitations of human physiology when it came to prolonged exposure to heat. They had brought personal water reserves, but they were limited.
notanescalator
mccoy had been so focused on other things, he hadn't even noticed the black substance on him until it seeped into his clothing, feeling cold and sticky against his skin. and that's when he glanced down, a disgusted look crossing his features. when had this--? "good gods! what th' hell is this thing, a land lubbin' octopus wannabe?!" while there was no immediate effect on his skin or health, mccoy started to peel away the vest, trying to mop up what tar had gotten on his skin. he was so not amused right now. the quirk of the brow from spock did not go unnoticed by mccoy, but he held back any snippy retorts to defend himself. when the vulcan began trotting away like some stiff, proud show pony, mccoy rolled his eyes and followed him, all the while still trying to pull his shirt off without getting any more tar on himself. the sun was becoming unbearable, though mccoy was known to detest the heat in general. a small groan escaped his lips as he trailed behind spock. he was getting too damn old to run places in such weather conditions, and he prayed silently that they would reach the canyon soon. a slight tingling sensation crossed his chest, where the tar had smothered on his skin. it wasn't highly alerting, but it was slowly becoming slightly discomforting. the tingling also vibrated along his fingers and hands, where he had also gotten tar from trying to clean off the rest of the black substance. paying no heed to it, he simply wrapped his shirt and vest and placed them atop his head to shield his scalp from the sun. his footing faltered slightly, but the man was in no mood to fall behind. it was just the heat... all he needed was some shade... and some water... once they had finally reached their destination, the tingling had become so bothersome, mccoy all but practically flung himself against the first rock he saw with slight shade. "god damn, good fer nothin' hnnrghh..." his words became muffled as he fished for his water reserve, trying to will away the sensation now expanding over his whole body. turndownforspock















