[ Indeed, Kirk is mad. Spock is mad, even if he is significantly more adept at hiding it — at least from everyone but Kirk. That the fury humming below his skin is due to the loss of life instead is immaterial. The emotion is one to be buried until they have accomplished the rescue of the remaining crew. There is no place for fear or anger or anything but cold, brutal efficiency until the dire situation is dealt with.

In this regard, he and Kirk are far too alike.

Spock covers Kirk as he darts and shoves his way through the throng of hostiles. Another native pops as Spock delivers a neat shot to his? her? its head just as Kirk reaches Fa'vi'do. Spock watches as Kirk smacks the mask back onto the Lieutenant's face, makes a mental note of the likely injury, and then takes his next shot.

It does not matter that Fa'vi'do is injured at Kirk's hands — an unconscious mirror of Kirk's thoughts. So long as the Lieutenant is alive and uninfected, Kirk's methods are acceptable.

Spock takes the Lieutenant's weight as Kirk returns with him, quickly running a tricorder over his body to confirm a lack of internal spore matter. Then he turns to Kirk and repeats the procedure, only responding when he's determined that both men are without infection. ]

Affirmative. [ His eyes flick up to Kirk's, burning. ] Our objective is to retrieve the remaining crew members and locate an area that is either clear enough of radiation that we may beam up into quarantine, or defensible enough that we may prevent further losses while we wait for a shuttle to provide egress.

[ He does not bother to give the chances that either option will succeed. They are both unacceptably low. ]

[ He turns, scanning the milling crowd of fungal thralls and adds: ]

Your retrieval of Lieutenant Fa'vi'do was commendable.

[ Spock simply looks his lack of surprise back. Kirk is saying nothing Spock is not already aware of. He would, perhaps, question Kirk's faculties if he believes Spock thought anything else. ]

As I said, commendable. [ Desert dry. ] You are learning.

[ Spock has no issue being stubborn enough to annoy Kirk into following Starfleet protocol and ideals. Neither of them are at a dearth of pragmatism. That he has had need to apply his in novel ways since Kirk became his first officer is simply a matter of adapting to new circumstances.

Spock tucks away the tricorder and adjusts his hold on the injured lieutenant. He does not bother scanning himself when he already knows the results. ]

I have laid a perimeter to cover our retreat. It will ignite in twenty seven seconds. Do you have a recommended area in which to set our defense?

[ A lifted eyebrow is the only response he allows to Kirk's decidedly inappropriate comment. Eventually, he will have to reprimand Kirk due to Lieutenant Fa'vi'do's presence; at the moment, it is not worth bothering to do so. Typically, Kirk knows to hold his less appropriate comments for when they are alone. That he has failed to do so speaks to an unusually high level of stress.

At least Kirk does not let his pique distract from his duty.

Spock nods at the offered suggestion; he does not doubt Kirk's tactical mind. If he has determined that to be the most defensible situation, it will be most suitable to their needs. ]

Then we will regroup there. Notify the Enterprise and the other members of the Away Team.

[ He doesn't wait for Kirk's agreement, just pulls out his phaser and begins dragging Fa'vi'do towards the cliffs and Kirk's hill. ]

[ He leaves the extermination of the infected to Kirk. Fa'vi'do is in and out of consciousness, alternately walking on his own and needing Spock to carry him. His stumbling gait occasionally knocks Spock off balance; it is effective in camouflaging the intermittent hitch in Spock's stride.

When they reach the target location, Spock sets Fa'vi'do down against the cluster of rocks and pulls out his tricorder again. He leaves the perimeter to Kirk, instead scanning for the ion storm disrupting transporters, for any incoming life signs — and while Kirk is distracted, the progress of the fungal infection in his body.

By the time Kirk returns, he has the tricorder tucked away and is instead digging around in the guts of his communicator, an attempt to boost the signal now that they intend to remain in one place. He looks up, gives Kirk a nod as he returns to the clearing. ]

Kora'g, Ro, and Neetah have checked in. They anticipate they will be able to safely rendezvous within thirty minutes.

That is adequate, though not optimal.

[ That the anger is only temporarily banked is obvious, at least to Spock. Acceptable. He himself is unable to muster any kind of positive feeling toward the mission; Kirk is certainly in a glowering terrible mood that is only worsening as their time on the planet lengthens. And that is without knowing of Spock's injury. Though it is unlikely he will be able to keep it from Kirk, and furthermore, would be unwise to, Spock is reluctant to admit to it and turn Kirk's simmering anger into boiling rage.

But as he sits, feeling Kirk's eyes on him, heavy with the intensity and suspicion of his stare, there is no point to prolonging the inevitable. Kirk is already well aware something is wrong. ]

As my First Officer, I am duty-bound to inform you that I have been injured during the course of the mission.

[ As someone who is not a member of a psi-null species, Kirk's anger flares across Spock's mind, a harsh burn that nearly has him wincing away from Kirk. Only nearly — he will not flinch from this man. Spock turns and looks back at Kirk levelly, holding his gaze, a cool wall of steady calm.

After a moment, he nods and sets the communicator down next to his phaser. Slowly, meticulously, he rolls up his sleeve.

A long, ragged cut along his forearm is smeared with blood, dried, tacky splotches spattered across Spock's skin. Several incandescent threads of the planet's invasive fungi glitter along the edges of the wound. ]

[ The desire for violence is apparent even were it not radiating off Kirk in tangible waves of pressure. In another, less dire situation, he would again commend Kirk's restraint solely to get beneath his skin. In their current condition, he allows the vice grip to his arm, recognizing that the bruises Kirk's fingers will leave are in place of other, more overt violence.

Kirk's fury roils over his mind. Spock spends a moment stifling the spill of Kirk's thoughts, ensuring his own emotional control is not affected, before he answers. ]

During initial contact with the native hosts. [ He knows what he says next will only infuriate Kirk all the more. He says it anyway. ] I was able to prevent Ensign Ro from coming into contact with the spores.

[ He was the first one who realized the parasitic nature of the native flora and the carrier fauna during that initial slaughter. He knew full well what he was doing when he took the wound for her. ]

[ He rocks on his feet, kept upright by the hold Kirk still has on him. Perhaps he could have avoided it. The reaction was certainly one Spock could have anticipated, had he thought to. But he had not. Though not overcome, his cognition has clearly been affected by the spores in his system.

Silently, Spock waits, distantly curious to see if Kirk will attempt to strike him again. The flashfire blaze of Kirk's feelings certainly makes it seem likely, but he's only reeled in, head tilting automatically to catch Kirk's low, furious hiss. ]

While your intent is duly noted, I am curious what you believe you can do to avoid "letting me off."

[ A sardonic curl of his lips. Dying had hardly been his aim, even if it may be a consequence of his actions. ]

[ The vicious tinge to Kirk's expression is not a surprise. Neither is the grin Kirk gives him, the expression one Kirk would also be chagrined to realize he has been utilizing less and less as of late; it is the expression Kirk wears when he attempts to remind Spock that he is a morally bankrupt murderer who has committed countless atrocities in the place of Spock's bondmate. Kirks' efforts are futile, of course. Spock could not forget that fact.

As a result, the threat — and it clearly is a threat, Spock is able to tell even without Kirk's bruising grip — does not land with the hostility Kirk clearly intends.

The other crew members are far enough away that Spock does not worry about them overhearing as he responds. ]

Indeed, you are here at my side. [ Pointedly, he touches the back of his hand to Kirk's and projects his satisfaction at having Kirk here, how he has not even once this mission considered that Kirk might be in any way unreliable despite the fury Spock has been certain he would ignite. How deeply he trusts Kirk. ] However, your resurrection methods may have some difficulty so long as the spores remain inside my body.

[ Placidly, Spock tugs his sleeve down, covering the wound. He would prefer to avoid death if at all possible. It is unlikely, but at the least, he has lasted a significantly longer time than any other member of the crew as himself despite the infection. ]

[ Of course, Spock is able to feel that surge of annoyance. In consideration of Kirk's already elevated stress levels, he does not project his own momentary amusement in return.

The amusement is short lived — would have been, already, due to his current situation, but it is even more swiftly stamped down as Neetah haltingly relays her information.

Ensign Ro unwisely attempted to reason with one of her friends who was infected; her belief that she would be able to get through to him despite the advanced stage of his infection led to receiving a bite wound through which the spores entered her system. When it was discovered by the rest of the party that she was now a carrier of the parasites, she had insisted that she would be able to resist their influence. The crew, unwilling to abandon one of their own, had allowed her to accompany them toward the rendezvous point. Though the spores in Ensign Ro's system eventually proliferated enough to present visible symptoms, she did not inform the others.

When the parasites inevitably seized control of her nervous system and motor functions, Ro was killed by Lieutenant Junior Grade Comilla, though not before infecting Comilla herself.

Comilla refused to travel any further with the other crew, instead choosing to remain behind and attempt to hold off the group of natives drawn to the noise of their altercation.

As Neetah finishes her report, Spock does not allow himself to stiffen. He does, however, slant a glance at Kirk, eyes dark as he searches for the man's reaction. ]

Acknowledged, Commander.

[ Crisp and calm, as though Kirk's perfectly professional attitude is nothing out of the ordinary. The other crew members are staring at him as though expecting him to whip off a mask and reveal he is an evil double; the reaction is not surprising as Kirk has never before bothered to control himself to such a degree around anyone but Spock.

If this is meant to further punish Spock for his actions — and he has no doubt that Kirk fully intends that — it is ineffective. Perhaps had Kirk been his bondmate the sudden lack of even ambient psychic read would be more than a snub, but as he is not... More likely, though, is that Kirk is too infuriated to maintain anything but this forced calm. Though he is better at hiding it, Kirk is just as unwilling to face a loss of control as Jim had been, and even Spock, who sincerely regrets the loss of Ensign Ro's life, had felt an uncharitable blaze of emotion upon hearing how she had died, stupidly and needlessly.

He nods to the gathered crew members, and orders them off to the cliffs to rest and care for their various wounds. There is no point in instructing Kirk to join them, or in attempting to rest himself. He will be unable to, and he is not stupid enough to give an order he is aware Kirk will not obey.

When they are settled, he takes a seat on one of the nearby rock outcroppings. No one else will mark it as a sign of weakness, but he has no illusions that Kirk will fail to notice. Until Kirk raises some topic of conversation, though, he is perfectly willing to wait for the Enterprise to arrive in dead silence. ]

[ A quick, flicked glance at Kirk every so often shows that whatever he is thinking, it is not positively contributing to the situation. Spock says nothing, though, merely waits. Eventually, his patience is rewarded as Kirk stiffly walks to him and sits beside him. Tension radiates from him, as taut as a drawn bow.

When he speaks, Spock calmly turns to look at him. ]

I require further clarification.