They came out of the elevator side by side. Spock noticed that the life signs were being tracked, including their own. He saw Kirk's glowing yellow life sign and the Fa-Tukie's life sign a shade of blue. A jet of light blue flew out of the wall scanning the men then vanished as it had activated. Spock looked over quite intrigued gazing at the glass. Spock's hands were locked behind his back. It was quite a fascinating sight. Intriguing. It reminded him of the panels on the Enterprise that showed where to go when it came to getting lost. One could easily get lost aboard the Enterprise if they were not careful. The thirteenth deck was harbored by what crewmen called 'cryptids', only these were most of the night shift. Whenever one came down to it in the morning, all they would see is zombie like crewmen groaning, slowly, walking down the hall with half open eyes lacking sufficient energy to stand upright.

"Room 845 B, room 857 B, room 756 B," McCoy repeated. "where is a room where ya need it?"

"The room number is 893 B," Spock said, looking over in concern toward the human.

"All the numbers are ordered so oddly," McCoy said. "I doubt Vulcans use this system."

"Not at all doctor," Spock said, with a nod.

"Room 800," McCoy walked past the current section of wall space. "uh . . . Spock. . . ." he turned toward the Vulcan utterly baffled. "He did say floor seventeen?"

"Yes," Spock said, as McCoy walked back. "perhaps the next---"

Suddenly the floor moved beneath the man's death sliding in a different direction. McCoy fell into the Vulcan's arms so Spock slid him out of the way watching in fascination the walls change design while being laid above the human. Spock raised an eyebrow muttering a soft "fascinating" at the unique aspect. Spock looked up to see there was a different path leading ahead of them with three ways. McCoy looked over then rubbed his face with his right hand. Spock moved to the side then steadied himself up. Spock helped the doctor up back onto his to feet grasping the man's offered forearm rather than the hand. McCoy's head felt as though it had heated when being underneath the Vulcan. No, it hadn't, he liked to deny.

"893 B," Spock said. "we are in the eight hundred ninety's."

"Ya think I could have been right instead of makin' a damn maze in here," McCoy said, placing his hands on his waist.

"It would have been logical," Spock agreed. "these people are more interested in showing off than being convenient."

"Or maybe this follows to our command," McCoy said. "movin' when we need it to."

"That is quite intriguing that they would handle halls this way," Spock said.

"Yeah," McCoy said. "it does." they walked down the hall.

"It has been awhile since your last communication with Eleanor," Spock said. "which away missions have you not vented out to her?"

"All of 'em," McCoy said.

"Good," Spock said. "I will tell her the most embarrassing stories."

"Fair enough," McCoy said.

"I am not pleased about the arrangement and never will be," the Vulcan let his displeasure spill in his tone of voice. "I prefer to get this situation done and over with."

"Spock, she is goin' to be with us for two weeks and a half," McCoy said. "it is very unfortunate for ya."

"Then we tell her once arriving to Star Base 1," Spock said.

"Uh huh. . . Just watch out," McCoy said. "she will model a character after ya."

"I do not believe she can write my character, adequately, or ever will," Spock said. "her last attempt turned into her other me into a android."

McCoy snickered.

"Lead the way," McCoy said. "Kathro-a-orhtak."

Spock walked ahead of McCoy.

"I do not like that name," Spock said.

"What?" McCoy said. "Harold not embarrassin' enough?"

"It is not spelled the same way forwards as it is backwards," Spock said. "nor is it a reasonable name."

"My ma based the complainin' security chief off me," McCoy said. "Why? I do not know." Spock looked over, baffled.

"So . . ." the Vulcan's eyebrows raised. "Leuthik of Dumbella was you?"

"Yes," McCoy said. "hilarious character. Got a lot of charm to him."

"How are you not ashamed of that?" Spock asked.

"He died a hero," McCoy said. "what is not there not to like?"

"He died saving his security team rather than his charge," Spock said. "the point of a security officer is protecting others."

"By that point, his team was his charge," McCoy said. "now tell me, if ya were in his position, would your solution be any different?"

"My solution would have been less of a sacrifice of the ship and the crew," Spock said.

"There was no other way once the crew was being hunted down like animals and changed their surroundings to their native habitat, there was no coming back, they made eggs, Spock," Spock nodded as though he understood the problem. "it would have been needed to destroyed anywhere. If the grown variations were killed, and everyone thought everythin' was well, then be attacked by their spawn, wouldn't that have defeated the point of saving the crew and the ship?" McCoy said. "Your character was the reason why they were in space anyway and it was just a transport mission that went way out of hand because of some android haters," the doctor sighed. At least your character survived, and the survivin' families, because the engineered aliens missed them by a minute! Sole survivors. Who would want that? I wouldn't, would ya?"

McCoy eyed the Vulcan, intently, waiting for a reply.

"I would not," Spock said.

"No wonder ya don't like it," McCoy said.

"The solution would have been to use a phaser rifle to destroy all the eggs," Spock said. "with the risk of being caught in the blaze."

"We don't know what killin' an egg does," McCoy said. "spit out acid? They might have died either way and the ship infested that could be boarded by visitors and then it start a chain of events that can only be stopped by massive, more powerful phaser fires."

"We should ask your mother," Spock said, as they came to a stop at the door with 893 B in golden text on the front.

"Yes, lets do that," McCoy said.

"How should we exaggerate our relationship?" Spock asked.

"Spock," McCoy said, glaring back at the Vulcan. His eyes were like daggers.

"I was joking," Spock said, showing the hint of a small smile.

"Now is not the time to joke about decievin' my ma," Spock said.

"Understood," Spock said. "after you."

"You know who goes faster than a human bein' when bein' chased?" McCoy asked. "Even beatin' a snake?"

"No," Spock said.

"A lizard," McCoy said.

Spock grew a fond, pleased expression on his well aging face.

"Remain a static person, doctor," Spock said. "you will make someone laugh to death with that humor."

"Actually, I do not wish to make someone laugh to death," McCoy said, following after the Vulcan into the room. "Hello, ma!"

McCoy smiled, warmly greeting the woman resting on the bed. He motioned over toward the woman coming to the woman's side. Her hair was graying yet she looked graceful and beautiful as she had over thirty years ago. Her curled, graying hair resting on her shoulders. She bore some resemblance to the man with the small arched eyebrows. Spock sat down alongside the human observing the woman's dulled, less loud attire. The shirt was a dark shade of gray while covered partially by a purple blanket laid below her chest. She had one hand laid on the side of the bed with another on her lap. She had lethargic, glassy eyes and quite ill at first glance. McCoy took the woman's hand. The woman had brown eyes just like he did.

"My little Len," Eleanor said. "and his fiance."

"We are not engaged for that level of engagement," Spock said.

"Ma," McCoy said, squeezing her hand. "don't I look too old for him?"

"Baby, ya look like a rock star," Eleanor said.

Spock looked over toward the human. McCoy had bags under his eyes that were not from lack of sleep but showed his age. There were jowl lines appearing alongside his mouth and his hair was starting to turn gray at the sides. Soon enough, in a few years, McCoy's dark brown hair would be turning to a shade of gray. He didn't have laughter lines yet. McCoy had refused to use a colorizer on his hair after the incident that made his hair black for a entire year. He was going to age in style under his terms not a machine's terms. Spock turned his head away with a nod. Spock, compared to him, still looked to be in his mid twenties with a well trimmed bowl hair cut and sleek thin, slanted eyebrows.

"Indeed," Spock said.

"Ya almost look like your pa, Len," Eleanor said.

Spock looked toward the human then McCoy nodded in Spock's direction.

"Leonard had to pretend to be his father last week," Spock explained, earning a eyebrow raise from Eleanor. "an old colleague of Doctor McCoy. It was Andrea Mellbig dealing with aiding in the more production of Vulcans with four Vulcans as willing participants. She knew your husband intimately." Spock's hand found it's way into the doctor's hand as the human experienced feelings about his father. McCoy missed his father. "Unfortunately. . . They had produced one hundred Vulcanian children."

"How is that unfortunate?" Eleanor asked.

"They were rather attached," McCoy said. "they had a family bond. Every single one. DNA streams were different. Some were not related and some were related. They were all given an arranged marriage at the age of seven. . . "

"They had been raised the Vulcan way," Spock picked up where the human left off. "Doctor Mellbig implied that there were others but died in their seventh year while doing their kahs-wan. She showed us how many she was still creating in test tubes. Star Fleet wanted them to be taken to New Vulcan. Including the ones when they were born. The Vulcans who had participated were praised for their efforts but not many were happy about keeping their children from the outside world for so long."

"Ah, so they were makin' a colony?" Eleanor asked.

"She intended so," Spock said. "As did the participating Vulcans." Spock squeezed the human's fingers.

"They were sure the ones were dead, dead?" Eleanor asked.

"They were dead," Spock said. "It required a level of fibbing and some persuasion from Leonard to get Mellbig to allow the children to be handed over," Spock said. "the Vulcans listened to her instead of the captain's charm, which would have been useful given how often he attracts both genders on a daily basis."

"Regardless, Jim got himself in trouble," McCoy said."even without wooin' the woman. I had to do it for him."

"It was a cave in," Spock said.

"Still, trouble," McCoy said.

"I believe y'all," Eleanor laughed, sickly.

"Miss McCoy," Spock said. "in one of your previous novels, you wrote about a starship being overrun by aliens while the cargo had escaped without a scratch. Leonard says they would have died anyway if they attempted to clean the ship out. Are the eggs capable of spilling acid out after being shot at?"

A smile grew on the weathered dark woman's face.

"Now they do," Eleanor said, then had a difficult laugh.

"See?" McCoy said. "The sacrifice was necessary."

"Leonard went to the wrong house when searching for his patient on a away mission," Spock said. "He also lost pants, his socks, and briefs over strip poker. For the same away mission," Eleanor laughed. "It was to get Mellbig to hand the children off and. . . the persuasion was all there."

"I have to use the restroom," McCoy said.

"You could have used it before we left, T'hy'la," Spock said.

As soon as that fell out of his mouth, Eleanor's tired demeanor faded then she looked back and forth at the two men as though she understood it. Very well. The words echoed in her mind over and over. She was off for one thing regarding the relationship their characters should have had, for one thing, and she was obligated to make a sequel to fix that error. If she knew Vulcans, she knew them well off her research done fifteen years ago in the Vulcanian culture. It was a fun ride, the woman recalled. It was her favorite novel to write with colorful, unique Vulcanian individuals as main characters.

"I didn't have to go then, sweetie," McCoy replied. "and I do now," the Vulcan's grip loosened. "Jeeze, all those drinks Ohalis gave us really comes down fast," the doctor let go of Spock's hand heading toward the door. The Vulcan's brown eyes were focused on McCoy's path. "Might just be me havin' a small bladder."

Eleanor gave a exasperated, tired glance at her son.

"Honey, that bladder of yours is unpredictable when it comes to sprite," Eleanor said. "Fa-tukie beverage is similar to sprite with its properties."

"Thasian alcohol is even more predictable than that, ma," McCoy said. "be right back."

McCoy exited then made his way down the hall, "bathroom, please," the passageways moved around the doctor moving him to the right turns. He came to a stop at the sign that was for both genders. The doctor speeded into the restroom. We can overhear his loud humming on a distinctive melody. Then the sound of a zipper, water coming out of a faucet into a sink, and a unique hand dryer sound. The doctor came out seemingly relaxed. He looked around appearing to be lost. He stood there, placing a hand under his elbow thinking about the number.

The doctor's brown eyes lit up.

"Right!" McCoy said. "Room 820!"

The path changed before him as he resumed his trek. He whistled to himself heading down the corridor. The color of the hall turned a shade of dark gray. The light became like flares to his eyes nearly blinding where the doctor walked. The doctor noticed the walls had changed color and design. There were protruding bars sticking out from the wall. The doctor trailed his fingers along the surface. Fascinating, someone must be determined to make it as eerie and scary looking as possible in the hospital. He saw the rug had changed to raven black. McCoy walked over until he saw a wide, octagon shaped doorway that opened before his eyes. A bad feeling sunk into his gut. McCoy took out his communicator then flipped it open.

"McCoy to Spock," McCoy said. There was only sizzles. "McCoy to Kirk."

A minute later, Kirk's voice came over.

"Kirk here," Kirk said. "what is it, Bones?"

"I forgot the number to the room," McCoy said. "Tell Ohalis that some of his halls is just damn creepy."

"I will tell him that when he gets back," Kirk said. "I think it was 892? Or 839."

"I can hear ya laughin' over here," McCoy said.

"Sorry, it's just funny that you and Spock got lost," Kirk said.

"Spock is with my ma tellin' her stories that are rockin' her socks off," McCoy said.

"Oh, and captain, if I have to go through every number on this floor just to get back to ma's room, your replicator card is goin' to only get ya a salad."

"All right, Bones," Kirk said. "I am almost done. Just a few more signatures."

"Good," McCoy said. "I don't like it here. McCoy out," McCoy turned away from the door putting the communicator into his nearby pocket. "Room 839."

McCoy walked forward seeing the halls change path, color, and lighting. Finally, the movement stopped. The structures in the wall were gone but replaced by light gray. McCoy noticed there were several bars in the window. He narrowed his eyes. Something was not right here. As a medical professional, he was obligated to see what was wrong. He walked into the room to find a resting figure in a pod of some kind. It was smaller than a stasis pod. It was shaped like a oval. McCoy walked right over toward it then placed his hands on the glass. McCoy walked around searching for anything to inform him what was wrong. Or was it just their aesthetic? He noticed there were not any security cameras on his walk. He flipped the door open to the pod. The dark blue woman's eyes slowly opened. The woman gasped as she lunged forward, placing a hand on her chest grasping for air.

"Hey, lady," McCoy said. "I am Doctor McCoy. I didn't see ya file. And I didn't brin' my medical tricorder with me. . . "

"I am Seliana of the Dekoua Vloucity Senate," Seliana said. "please, help me out of here."

The doctor's hunt sunk as he could tell that she wasn't lying.

True, genuine, fear, was in her eyes.

"First, tell me, are ya a candidate for the chancellor election?" McCoy asked, helping the woman out.

"It's no election," Saliana said. "it's a affirmation of what will come. They believe him! THEY ACTUALLY BELIEVE HIM!" she grasped onto the man's shoulders. "getting my people in there has been a failure. Every single one of them. The democracy that we wanted is turning back into a dictatorship. I don't want that. No one in my state wants that."

"Let's go!" McCoy said, then fled out of the room taking her by the hand. "My captain will know what to do about this!"The two fled out of the room skidding to a stop in the middle of the hall. The long, elongated squares turned on a shade of red. The panels did not only show life signs or give a idea of where to go, but they were capable of electrocution apparently. "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE TO THE ELEVAOR!" He let go of her hand as they bolted down the hall. "ELEVATOR, ELEVATOR, ELEVATOR!"

He could hear his own breath, loudly, in his ears. It was a typical day as a star fleet officer, even off duty, trouble tends to follow. A jet of orange shot out behind them making a field of energy. The walls changed path. OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT! the man thought to himself. The walls were getting darker and darker. He looked over to see the woman lagging behind. McCoy yanked her forward placing a hand behind her back. He saw the wide doorway before him laid against the wall with closed gray doors. They were getting to the exit! They were getting to the exit! They were going to get into the exit and expose Ohalis. Suddenly a familiar figure stepped in the way startling the doctor.

The woman lagged behind. And he stopoed hearing her all together as the doctor came closer to the chancellor.

McCoy was stopped in his tracks by the electrical, jelly like field keeping him in place.

"What a shame," Ohalis said, shaking his head. "To think you would have left alive."

McCoy felt agony throughout his body. The jelly like substance was pressed against his skin, soaking through his attire, and into his eyes. His eyes burned like wild life. His tongue felt as though someone had chopped it off with a single swing by a long blade while keeping him still. His heart was racing. His neck radiated in pain. His very bones. What kind of agonizing jelly did they program? Or engineer for that fact? Ohalis's security detail blocked the entrance and the exit. Ohalis went over to the panel then tapped his fingers on the screen. It felt like he had eaten a very hot pepper. His mouth was on fire. Ohalis pressed on a button lightly. McCoy's mind turned off abruptly then his legs gave out beneath him. The next McCoy saw was his world tilting sideways. A thud to the floor. And his vision grow darker and darker.

His last thoughts was a small, weak: no.