#sulu is a botanist

[dreamicus]

The fun thing about the character of Leonard Horatio "Bones" McCoy is that the situation with his father called into question his very purpose as a doctor, which, really, is his only purpose as a character on the show. Should he preserve life, or ease suffering? It's an incredibly difficult decision for anyone, but especially for a character defined by his role as Doctor. Good stuff

[defconprime]

Botanist Sulu from Star Trek Timelines, 2022

[lithiumseven]

“When it comes to farms, I wouldn’t know what looked right or wrong if it was two feet away from me”

Sulu you are a botanist

[marlinswritingarchive]

A Million Things To Want

The first attack comes without warning.

The away team are still on the surface, finishing up their investigations of the local flora. Tricorders whirr. Voices chatter.

One moment, they're commenting on the natural beauty of the planet, and, the next, they're bombarded by an avalanche of petals, branches, and pollen.

As the most battered member of the away team, Ensign Grenson is beamed up to sickbay as a matter of urgency. The rest of them remain standing in a mustard-yellow field, surrounded by the colorful, gaudy plants. They're still now, but the crew cower away from them warily. Flowers of every color cover the surface of Hspersa Prime, making it appear reddish-brown from orbit. From space, the planet had looked peaceful- but, up close, the illusion is broken.

There's a tear in Jim's shirt, and a gash in the skin beneath. He has two obvious cuts on his face: one above his eye, and one on his forehead, along with the beginnings of a bruise. Still, now that they're out of the field of sentient thistle, Jim assumes that the worst is over.

A botanist stands beside Spock. The two of them contrast their surroundings in their vibrant blue shirts.

“Sorry,” she says, as she plucks thorns from the thin material. “I led us straight into an ambush.”

“Don't worry about it,” Sulu says. “This isn't the first time we've been attacked by the local wildlife.” His left cheek is bright red, where he's been slapped by a flailing branch. "I'm surprised you're still in one piece, Captain.”

Jim chuckles, and coughs lightly. “I wondered that myself.” He coughs again. There's a slight tickle in his throat, and he massages it self-consciously. “Still- I can't be allergic to everything.”

Sulu laughs, but he's interrupted by Jim's coughing. In a matter of seconds, Jim is doubled over, clutching his side, then his stomach. There's a hand on his shoulder, the beep of a communicator, and a low pain in his chest, steadily building.

“Sulu to Enterprise-”

The whine of the transporters gets higher.

“- emergency beam up-!”

The world shimmers, and his ears ring with the sounds of it.

The next few seconds are ones of chaos, of blurred, familiar faces and colors. The cry of panicked voices- voices he recognizes: Nurse Chapel, then Bones.

“- There's something in his throat!”

The next thing he knows, he's in medbay, where everything is cool, and soft, and dark. The colors here are altogether more neutral: off-whites and pale, pastel blues, which soothe the throbbing in his head. The lights are kept dim, and he gets the feeling he's been in here for a while, though it seems like hardly a second has passed. Chapel is standing there covered in blood, and Bones is wearing matching scrubs.

There's a slight weight on Jim's forehead, and he looks up into a pair of brown eyes, dark with concern. The weight is comfortable yet overwhelming, the after-effects of a mind meld he doesn't remember. Then, Spock removes his hand, and Jim lets out a long, shaky breath.

“What…?” He tries to say, but it's nothing more than a squeak. He can't even be sure that he's spoken aloud, save for the fact that everyone is looking at him with the same, mute confusion. Chapel excuses herself with a polite grimace, tugging at the scrubs as she goes, and Bones leaves too, with a muttered promise to return.

Moments later, the doors open again, and Sulu runs in, with a flurry of 'is-he-alright-is-he-awake-yet?' and 'can-I-see-him-now?'

Something stirs within Jim's chest. He coughs, once, and Spock steps in front of him, as if to shield him from view.

Jim waves him back with a forced smile. “I'm alright. Come in.”

Truth be told, he's hardly alright- his mouth aches terribly and he can still taste the blood- but he feels undeniably bolstered now that the two of them are here. With a glance at his vitals, Sulu approaches him cautiously, and Jim tries not to speak much. His throat is still raw and aches terribly. Instead, he just pats Sulu on the arm and tries for a reassuring smile.

From the corner, Spock picks up a thin, reddish plant, which looks strikingly familiar. It had been sitting on a table at his bedside, and he's not sure why he hadn't noticed it until now- perhaps because he hadn't wanted to. Its leaves aren't particularly spiky, but they're sharp enough to cut someone in the right conditions. The plant appears to have been potted hastily, and fresh soil obscures the roots, but Jim can visualize them perfectly, despite never having seen them.

"Do you recognise this plant, Mr Sulu?" Spock asks.

Sulu blinks. "I, uh- yeah,” he swallows. "They're native to the planet; I took a sample of one. It's sitting in the lab right now, awaiting categorisation.”

Jim runs his tongue along the roof of his mouth. There are nicks and cuts in every groove. He tastes blood.

“What's your opinion on it?”

“I thought it was beautiful.” His eyes are locked on Jim.

“Your professional opinion, as a biologist.”

“Oh, right.” His mouth twitches. “Well, I haven't had the chance to analyse it yet, but I'd say it's unusual. The tricorder couldn't identify any known methods of passing on genetic information. However it reproduces, it's not through pollination.”

Spock nods. “That is consistent with data points from other wildlife on the planet.”

Jim's chest spasms, and he breathes uneasily. Please, not again.

“This plant…” Sulu reaches out to touch the silky petals with a frown. “I thought mine was the only sample on this ship. What was its origin?"

Spock sets it back on the table, and crosses his arms behind his back. "It came out of the captain."

Suddenly, Jim starts coughing violently, like he's hacking up a third lung. It happens exactly as it did before; but it's different this time, because he's conscious for it: for every contraction of his chest, and the way each leaf pokes his tongue and jabs at the roof of his mouth.

Sulu says something, but Jim can't hear it over the sound of his own choked sobs.

"- leave us, please, helmsman."

Sulu stays where he is.

"Leave." Spock's voice is a low growl.

For the second time today, Jim passes out.

*

A second plant sits next to the first: golden and beautiful, with red-tinted leaves. This plant came out much stronger than its predecessor, with better-defined pigmentation. The stems shine brightly in the light, so much so that Jim almost can't tear his eyes away.

Almost.

Jim’s room has been placed under a strict quarantine, and the only people allowed to visit him are medical officers and anyone who was down on the planet at the time he was infected.

Bones stands at the corner of the room, accompanied by the loud whir of a tricorder.

"The plant's growth-rate accelerated the moment Lieutenant Sulu entered the room," Spock informs him. His hand is still pressed to the stem of the plant. "For a moment, I could sense a connection with it."

"What are you saying?" Jim wheezes, through the tightness in his chest.

Bones turns and peers at him. "The disease appears to have a telepathic component."

Jim lies still. "Telepathic, as in…"

Spock's face is carefully neutral. "For reasons we can't yet explain- the plant is connected to Sulu, and has taken root in you."

His breath rattles, and he shakes his head. "That's impossible. That doesn't…" he touches his forehead. "That doesn't make any sense.”

"I know," Bones says, gruffly. "But other members of the away team have the same symptoms. Since we returned yesterday, Ensign Grenson has been coughing up daisies."

"Daisies," Jim repeats, with a kind of astonished numbness. "But that's… That's from home. Why is a telepathic virus from an alien planet causing us to-?" he stops, and spits a mouthful of red petals into his hand.

"Take it easy," Bones says. "You create new plants every time your adrenaline spikes."

Jim closes his fist, crushing the petals. "So, it creates a panic response?"

"I don't know," Bones admits. "But it seems to feed on heightened emotion, which could explain why it has yet to affect our Vulcan friend here."

Spock raises an eyebrow, and Jim gives a small smile, then unfurls his hand again. The soft petals are marred by flecks of his own blood, and he feels a distinct sense of unease. They seem small, harmless; hardly enough to hospitalise someone- and yet, here he is.

"The flower species which emerges may be calibrated to the genome of each host," Bones muses, though he doesn't sound convinced. “Or, it depends on the parasite.”

"Is it a virus, or a parasite?" Jim says, weakly.

"Both," Bones says, uncertainly. “It's difficult to define it, because…”

"What?"

"Because you don't have a parasite," he grumbles. “At least, not one I can find.”

Jim blinks at him. "Then why am I…?” His hand shakes a little, and his throat feels unnaturally tight. “What happens if you run your tests and Sulu doesn't have a parasite?”

"Then I'll need a new theory.”

Jim wheezes a little. "The only other members of the away team- aside from us- were Jarren, Rueld, Sulu and Begum." He says, tightly. "Did one of us make Grenson sick?"

"No," Spock says, from across the room. "That part is less clear. It is likely that the... daisies… are being dictated by some other crewmember- most likely one who was infected on-board, before the ship-wide quarantine was introduced."

"It should make it easier to find the perpetrator… Though, just to rule it out- you don't happen to like daisies, do you?" Bones peers at him, and Jim chuckles.

"No. If I was going to choose a yellow plant, I'd go for something else. A zinnia, perhaps."

"Alright. Good." He makes a note of it. "Now if anyone sprouts geraniums, we'll know who to blame."

“Bones…” his head is spinning, but he searches for the right words. “What's all this about?”

“Your psi-readings are still slightly elevated," Bones says. "Grenson's, too. I'm still waiting on that reading from Sulu."

"But why isn't Spock affected? Or you? You've been taking care of us all day, and you haven't started coughing up plants yet."

He shrugs. "I don't know what to tell you, Jim. Maybe it hasn't spread to me. Maybe I'm asymptomatic. At any rate, this disease- if you can call it that- doesn't show up on our tricorders beyond a slight elevation in psi-levels. We're shooting in the dark here.”

Jim smiles. "In other words, it's literally all in our heads. I bet you love that."

Bones glares at him, and gestures to the plants. "Those came out of your lungs, Jim." His hand falls. "I wish I could explain it.” He mumbles something under his breath, something about 'aesthetic preference', and Jim breathes uneasily.

He can think of one, probable reason why he's connected to Sulu, but it's nothing grounded in logic. From across the room, he can feel Spock's eyes burning into him, and he averts his gaze.

*

The next time Sulu visits, Jim is asleep. Spock watches him enter, then glances at Jim's biobed. He waits for the coughing to begin anew, but there's nothing but the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

"Curious," he observes. He doesn't say anything else.

Sulu gives him a look he can't decipher. "Is it okay for me to be here?"

Spock looks at him. "You are offended.”

"No, no…" his mouth twitches. "I get it. I'd do the same." He checks the readout on the biomonitor, but there's no change. He relaxes slightly. Spock comes to stand beside him as they survey the readings in silence.

“Doctor McCoy came to see me,” Sulu says at last. “He took some readings, said there was some ‘residual psi-energy.’”

Spock keeps his face carefully neutral as Sulu fidgets.

“He thinks it has something to do with me, doesn’t he?”

"You were the only crewmember who recognised the plants." Spock says, simply. “You stated an affinity for their aesthetic qualities."

"But there's something more than that, isn't there?"

"Yes," he admits. "Ensign Grenson is afflicted with the same disease, but he has been producing a much different plant.”

“So…”

Spock tilts his head. “It is possible that there is a parasite within you which used your aesthetic preferences as a blueprint, and activated a sympathetic response in the captain. But, as no parasite appears on our tricorders-"

"You're reconsidering your theory?"

Spock nods, sharply.

"I heard about Grenson's friend," Sulu admits. "Rumors travel fast on this ship. I’m trying to work out why the aesthetic preference of one person would transfer to another like that. I mean, it gives an advantage to competing plants, so maybe it’s an accident, but-”

Jim stirs slightly, and Sulu falters. “I shouldn't be here,” he says, quietly.

The doors swish closed behind him.

Jim opens his eyes the moment he leaves, and Spock peers at him curiously.

“I was listening,” Jim admits, quietly. “Why didn't you tell him?”

“It was only a theory.”

“Your theories are rarely wrong.”

Spock raises an eyebrow. “Then perhaps you should inform him yourself.”

“I can't.” He looks away.

Spock places his hands behind his back, and waits.

Jim watches the ceiling. “There are a million things in this universe you can have, and a million things you can't. It's no fun facing that, but that's the way things are.” They're the well-rehearsed ramblings of a man who's had a while to convince himself that they're true.

“I assume you refer to the guidebook on inter-crew relations?” Spock says.

Jim gives the smallest nod.

“Relations between senior crew members are not forbidden. Particularly not in circumstances where they would save the life of an officer involved.”

Jim pictures the hot sands of Vulcan, of Spock bearing down on him with a Lirpa. Spock's hands around his throat as he crushes him, his body pinning him with his weight. Spock grabbing his shoulders in sickbay, so relieved to see him alive, with a level of delight he hasn’t seen before or since.

“... This isn't like that,” Jim says, quietly. “I have a duty to this crew. I can't balance… Love… And duty.”

Spock doesn't meet his eye. “It stands to reason that if you don't tell him, your only alternative will be to avoid him for the remainder of our five-year mission.”

*

"Hey." Sulu stands in the doorway, but doesn't come any closer.

"Hey," Jim acknowledges. "Y’know, if this disease is telepathic, then keeping your distance won't help."

Sulu frowns, and lifts the newest plant from the bedside table as he walks over. He holds it out like a shield between them as he examines it. "It's a prime specimen," he says, dryly. "You should be proud."

Jim smiles. He reaches for it tentatively, and touches the petals. “What are you calling it?”

“I wasn’t in the lab at the time, but they’re going with ‘Hspersia’, after the planet. The first specimen has been thoroughly dissected, but it's genetically identical to the first,” he says, apologetically. “There were no genetic traces from you at all. You wouldn't know it had come out of a human.”

"Hmm. Well, if I cough up any more, at least I know who to give them to," Jim says, with a lopsided smile.

Sulu swallows. "Jim…"

"It's not your fault."

Sulu purses his lips. “We don't know that for sure. The tricorder results-”

“- It's not your fault,” Jim repeats, and Sulu smiles bashfully.

They fall into a comfortable silence, as Sulu feels his way around the leaves thoroughly, as if they might be hiding any more secrets.

“I'd better get this down to the lab.” Sulu says at last. He shoulders the plant, and turns back to him one last time. “We're going to keep searching until we get to the bottom of this.”

“Do you still think it's beautiful?” Jim says, and Sulu breaks into a smile.

"To tell you the truth," he admits, "This whole thing has put me off Hspersias.”

As the door closes behind him, Jim feels something stir in his chest again, and breathes heavily.

There's a twinge of pain.

*

"So," Bones says, carefully. "There goes my theory.”

Jim cries silently, and Spock withdraws his hand from his forehead. The mind-meld he had administered had done very little to stem the growth of the plant.

"It's okay, Jim." Bones rests a hand on his shoulder and pats him gently. "Just let it all out."

Up until a few minutes ago, Jim had been curled on his side with a budding rosebush lodged in his throat. It took some quick-thinking from Nurse Chapel and a laser scalpel to remove it entirely, and Jim keeps finding petals between his teeth. He can only be grateful that he's no longer finding thorns. The inside of his mouth has been healed with the help of a dermal regenerator, but he can still taste blood.

Bones shakes his head. “I’ve seen plenty of things on this ship that I can't explain, but this one takes the cake.”

He waits for some reaction, but Jim just breathes through his nose and watches the ceiling.

Bones exhales, and turns to the corner. Medical staff have been coming in and out all day, but Spock has hardly moved at all, still sitting on the same chair at the head of the bed. Normally, he'd discourage it, but, today…

He folds his arms. “Now, Spock. This telepathic Mumbo-Jumbo is beyond me, but, as our resident Vulcan, I expect you to protect him. I don't want to be called up here every five minutes because he's coughing up some other plant that's tearing him apart from the inside out."

Spock's mouth is a thin line. “Protecting the captain is always my utmost priority, doctor; but I cannot protect him from psychic attacks where there are none."

There's a pause.

“... I get the hint,” Bones says. He casts a glance back at the tangled mess of flowers and thorns, which glisten with a fresh sheen of blood. “I'm close to creating an antidote with Grenson- though, to tell you the truth, he's been much better ever since he got a visit from that little girlfriend of his. I can't explain it. Maybe it's psychological.”

Spock glances at Jim, who stares at the wall, glassy-eyed and despondent.

Bones pats him on the shoulder as he heads out of medbay, and shoots Spock a meaningful look.

The new plant is set in the middle of the room: in pride of place as if it hadn't just nearly killed the captain. It's quite beautiful in its own way, and Spock moves to admire it for the first time. The leaves are a pure, vibrant red, unlike the rusted-maroon of the Hspersias. With a frown, he wipes away the flecks of blood which coat the leaves. The color is almost perfectly matched, as if painted by the haemoglobin itself.

"Fascinating," he says, at last. "This is a common-variety rosebush, perfectly acclimated to the environment of The Enterprise's arboretum."

Jim turns his head slowly. "Any new theories?" His voice is tinged with exhaustion.

"New observations. Every cell sample from Hspersia has had a nucleus," Spock says. "But there is no genetic information stored inside it. The only genetic information encoded is mitochondrial DNA, accompanied by an excess of psilosynine- the same chemical found in other telepathic species such as Betazoids.”

Jim huffs out a breath. "So, a plant infects someone, then uses a telepathic link to force a host body to grow new plants for it? What is it, mutual parasitism?"

Spock nods approvingly.

“Then- why was Grenson growing daisies?”

"Speculation," Spock begins. "The originator plant may require a mental snapshot in order to reconstruct an accurate replica of itself in the host. Without it, it will default to whatever image the telepathic carrier is projecting- which is why it appears to be flora from Earth."

“‘Appears to’?” Jim frowns.

Spock nods. “The genetic makeup of the daisies was identical to that of the Hspersias you produced. I am certain the rose bush will yield the same results.”

“Identical?”

“It had no nucleonic DNA, but there was a chromosomal excess of psilosynine.”

A rose by any other name, Jim thinks. “So, it's a daisy in appearance alone.”

“Correct. The Hspersias use mirror neurons to determine their exterior appearance.”

“A species of plant which doesn’t reproduce asexually?” Jim muses. “I’m sure the Federation Biologists will be very interested to study this.”

“Indeed. Though the nature of Hspersia makes it difficult to study. Scientists will have to be vetted before they are allowed close contact with it.”

“Vetted?”

Spock raises an eyebrow. “The Birds and The Bees, Captain. It is no coincidence that the template for Grenson's flowers were provided by his romantic partner.”

Jim’s heart beats faster, and he folds his hands together in his lap.

“If a strong emotional connection is enough to induce the growth-cycle, the reverse may also be true. An emotional experience may cause it to lie dormant.”

“An emotional experience, such as…?”

“That is my evaluation of the facts, Captain. What you decide to do with them is up to you.”

“That won’t be difficult,” Jim says, miserably. “He'll probably work it out as soon as he sees the rosebush."

Spock's eyes narrow almost imperceptibly, and Jim laughs.

“Pity, Mr Spock?" He teases, but there's no conviction behind it. “Surely such sentiment is unbecoming, for a Vulcan.” He gives a short, hacking cough.

"Perhaps, Captain." Spock purses his lips. "But you have my sympathy, as your first officer.”

He breathes heavily, and leans back on the pillows. He watches from the corner of his eye as Spock lifts the plant, and carries it from the room.

*

Christine Chapel blocks the doorway to Jim’s quarters- and, when Christine Chapel wants something, she gets what she wants.

“He can't see you right now,” she says, apologetic, but firm. “Spock said he needs his sleep.” She gives him a strange look, and extends the potted plant to him. “But, he said you should have this.”

Sulu stares at it, and takes it with shaking hands. "Chris…"

The pot is so small he can balance it in the palm of one hand. The soil, he recognises from the arboretum- dirt transported from Earth, fertilized with recycled biological composite. This, in itself, is not unusual- but this plant has so many thorns. With mounting horror, his eyes drift upwards, to the plant itself. He gasps. Not only is this a fledgling rosebush- it’s an almost exact replica of the rosebush he'd planted a week ago, nestled between the trees in the upper-left section, where the benches are. He’d germinated it in the lab and planted it there with one very specific purpose- he knows that Jim goes to that spot in the arboretum to read, and had been hoping to surprise him with it.

Well, he’s certainly surprised him.

Stupid. Stupid.

His shoulders, and the rosebush, shake. Christine steps forwards, concern in her eyes. “Mr Sulu-”

She’s no longer blocking the door.

He bolts forwards as fast as his legs will carry him.

“Hey!” Christine shouts, as he barrels towards the doors. He’s fortunate that they’ve been left unlocked, otherwise he would just smash right into them. They part automatically, and he stumbles into the room.

“Jim!” he shouts, voice booming in the sudden stillness. He skids to a halt beside the bed, as Jim blinks awake.

“I told you he was sleeping!” Christine whispers furiously, and grasps Sulu by the arm.

“It’s fine,” Jim says, but his bio-monitor readings say otherwise. “It’s-” he glances at the rosebush in Sulu’s hands, and places a hand to his chest.

“... Jim?”

His breathing becomes laboured, and Sulu swears under his breath.

“Oh, not again!” Christine reaches for a laser scalpel, but Sulu jumps between them, discarding the rose bush on the table.

“Wait! Wait, it’s okay.” He kneels on the edge of the mattress, and grabs Jim’s shoulders then presses their foreheads together. “I’m thinking about forget-me-nots now,” he says, lowly. He closes his eyes and focuses on the mental image of small clusters of blue flowers. “They’re much smaller, and they don’t have thorns...”

Jim gives a hacking laugh, and something lands in Sulu’s lap. When he opens his eyes, they’re both covered in blue petals, strewn around like confetti. Jim’s eyes are watering, and his breathing is laboured, but he’s smiling.

“That was reckless,” Jim wheezes. He has tears in his eyes, but he smiles in spite of it.

“I thought it was pretty smart, actually,” Sulu jokes, as he rubs his back.

Jim spits out a couple more petals and laughs weakly.

Christine gives a relieved sigh. “I’ll be outside, in case either of you start coughing up rose-bushes again.” She gives Sulu an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture as she leaves, and he sits up a little straighter. The door hisses shut behind her.

Jim’s breathing gradually becomes more steady, and Sulu cups Jim’s cheek with a hand as he waits for his bio-readings to return to normal.

“How did you know how to do that?” Jim says, at last.

“Well, Doctor McCoy had just told me I had elevated psi-readings, so I thought it was worth a try.”

Jim exhales. “You worked it out just from that?”

“Not quite,” he admits. “It wasn’t until I saw it that I realised-” he grips Jim’s arm excitedly as he points to it. “-It’s a perfect copy of the rosebush I planted in the arboretum a month ago.”

“But genetically identical to a Hspersia,” Jim points out, and Sulu represses a grin. The structure of the plants is utterly fascinating. If Jim hadn’t been in danger, he might never have been able to pull himself away from the lab.

For a brief, fleeting moment, he imagines what it must feel like to swallow a rosebush. His heart clenches.

“Jim…” he murmurs. “If I'd have known sooner…” he shakes his head. “I did try. I mean; I knew you liked roses, though perhaps I've ruined them for you now-”

Jim closes the distance between them, and Sulu falls silent.

He can taste forget-me-nots on his lips.

*

For the third time today, there’s a white orchid in Spock’s sink. This one is in significantly worse condition than its predecessors: the stem wilted and drooping, the flowers shattering upon impact with the basin. This is not the only variety of plant he has produced- there had been a moment, hours ago, when he had coughed up some small, blue flowers, of Earth origin. At first, he had assumed he was merely intercepting telepathic signals from the afflicted people around him, but now, faced with the evidence before him, he can only conclude that he has indeed been infected himself.

This development is slightly bothersome, as Sulu and Jim are currently talking to one another next door. Still, it’s no matter. His own health is secondary to the captain’s, and the plants Spock has been producing are at least more forgiving than roses. He will forever remember how distraught he was when he thought he had killed Jim during pon farr. If staying away from him is all that is required to assure his safety, then that is what he must do. After all, the plants are induced via telepathy- a distinctly Vulcan area of expertise. Perhaps he can travel to Gol in order to learn how to master it-

There’s a distinct knock.

“Spock?” Jim’s voice is muffled by the door between them. “Are you alright in there?”

Spock steadies himself against the counter, and drops the orchid- and all its fallen petals- into the matter reclaimator beside him. “Enter,” he coughs as he clears his throat.

“Spock?” Jim repeats. He leans against the doorway with one hand.

“I am quite well,” he says, tightly.

Jim glances over his shoulder towards the sink, but Spock was careful to remove any traces of blood. There have been many times over the course of their mission when their shared bathroom has been a benefit- it saves time to discuss ship matters while brushing their teeth- but, presently, it is a detriment.

“Are you sure?”

“I am relieved to see you out of sickbay,” Spock tries to say, but the words stick- and they're not the only thing stuck in his throat.

He freezes. He's never had two attacks so close together before, nor so fast. There's no way he can hide it from them.

The stem has already breached his throat.

“Oh, Spock.” Jim drops to his knees beside him, and tries to grasp hold of his hands. “Has this been happening all day?”

Spock makes a small sound. His vision swims, until Jim is nothing more than a vague golden blob before him. The telepathic interference from the two of them is unbearable, and Spock clutches both sides of his head, whimpering slightly.

“I’m here.” Jim’s hands are either side of his face, prying his hands away.

He trembles, and a hand strokes his hair. The touch is soothing.

“Let me help.”

Jim takes Spock’s face in his hands and kisses him gently. Soft, open-mouthed kisses to coax the poison out of him. Spock claws at his shirt, shivering uncontrollably as he veers backwards, and hands catch him. He turns his head, chest and stomach heaving as he spits a flower to the ground.

He tries to flee, to bolt like a horse from the stable, but those same hands reassure him, holding him tight.

“What was the plan?” Jim teases, gently. “Were you going to avoid us for the remainder of our five-year mission?”

“Jim…” Spock grumbles.

Something stirs in his chest, but he attempts to remain stoic as they embrace him. As predicted, the connection between Jim and Sulu seems to have fallen dormant. As they huddle together, the telepathic pull from the two of them lessens, but there's something else tugging at him; some other compulsion. He ignores it.

At long last, Sulu picks up the fallen flower.

“White orchids?” he comments, as he pinches the leaves between forefinger and thumb. “Yours, Jim?”

Jim nods, and offers Spock a hand up. He takes it, feeling distinctly off-kilter. There's a twinge in his chest, and he tightens his grip on Jim's hand.

Then, he doubles over again, coughing violently.

“Spock!”

*

Jim and Sulu sit at Spock’s bedside as Bones hovers over him, a short distance away. He runs a tricorder over him as he fusses, and touches his face more than is strictly necessary.

Jim tugs on his sleeve. “It looks like your theory was correct after all, Bones,” he says, as he opens his palm to reveal the bunch of bright flowers clenched within. “Azaleas. I’ve heard they’re quite common in Georgia.”

Bones goes very still as he looks at the flowers, and, finally, to Spock.

“Now just wait a damn minute,” Bones says. “I should have known it was suspicious how quick you were to support that aesthetic preference notion-”

Spock raises an eyebrow. “As I recall, you were the first to raise that theory, Leonard.”

“Well, now, that's beside the point!” he splutters, as he flushes the same shade as the azaleas.

Jim rests his head on Sulu’s shoulder as the two of them begin bickering back and forth, perhaps a little more gently than usual. Jim smiles to himself. The small matter of Spock being in a hospital bed has never made either of them hold back before.

Sulu’s shoulders shake with silent laughter, and, at last, it occurs to Jim that, with friends like these, perhaps he can balance love and duty more easily than he thought.

[thesconesyard]

What?!? An update to a story I haven’t updated in months?!? That’s right! I got hit by an attack of writing and inspiration! So enjoy!!!

(Need a refresher first? Here.)

Wherever You Are, I Am

Part 44

“Good morning sir.”

McCoy looked up as he entered the classroom with Scotty. Astrid was sitting in her usual spot.

“Hello Astrid,” McCoy replied. “This is Lt. Commander Scott.”

“Hello sir,” Astrid said promptly.

“Aye lassie, hello.”

“Astrid, could you give us a moment please?”

“Of course Dr. McCoy. Would you like others kept out as well?”

“Just for a few minutes, please.”

“Bright lass,” Scotty said after Astrid had left the room.

“She’s been a big help,” McCoy agreed. “She’s looking to be a botanist like Sulu.”

Scotty nodded.

“You didn’t have to walk to class with me,” McCoy said. “I could have said goodbye at home.”

“I know,” Scotty said softly. “I just wanted the few extra minutes with ye.”

“I know, I did too.”

Scotty looked at him quietly for a moment before he stepped forward and embraced McCoy.

“It’ll be soon love,” Scotty whispered in his ear. “Holiday break will be here before we know it.”

“We’ll have a whole week,” McCoy whispered back. He leaned back, then cupped his hands around Scotty’s face and kissed him.

“Bye mo ghràdh,” Scotty when he pulled back.

“Bye Monty.”

McCoy stood near his teaching podium and watched Scotty leave.

“He’s all yours again lass,” he heard Scotty say to Astrid outside the door.

McCoy took a breath to center himself as Astrid walked back in followed by a couple cadets. He turned to get his lesson pulled up.

“Alright sir?” Astrid asked quietly.

“Yes,” McCoy answered.

“That was your husband?” Astrid asked even quieter.

McCoy felt his eyebrow raise in confusion.

“I read up on you sir, remember?”

McCoy let out a chuckle. “Yes that was. He came from Yorktown to Riverside and surprised us.”

“That's so sweet,” Astrid said with a sigh. “Us, sir?” she asked a moment later.

More students were entering the classroom.

“Jaylah and I. I thought you read up on me cadet?” McCoy grinned.

Astrid gave a sheepish smile. “I must have skimmed that part. Jaylah is your—”

“Family,” McCoy said. “I can’t believe I haven’t introduced you two. She would benefit from an older cadet showing her and her roommate around.”

“I’d love to meet her,” Astrid said.

[rainpelt25]

Ok this is gonna sound so basic but like,, If you haven't in forever I am BEGGING YALL to rewatch season one omg,, personally I've only seen it once and GOODD I FORGOT HOW MUCH CHARECTER SCENES THERE WAS!! ITS AMAZING!! LIKE I feel like if your in fandom spaces a lot you might get caught up in the spirk of it all but there is soooo much more than that!! Just from watching the man trap there was Rand and Sulu being friends!! Cool sentient plant and just in general botanist sulu!! Bones centered villain and some backstory for him!! Uhura flirting with spock!!! Uhura SPEAKING SWAHILI!!!! I DIDNT KNOW SHE DID THAT THAT IS SO COOL!!!

Soooo much chatecter stuff god I wish they did more of that in the other seasons it makes me so sad, like yeah we got some really good stuff for spock later on but for kirk it was like "yup he was in a genocide" and then never mention it again, and that was for the MAIN charecter!!! It's so sad these rich charecters from season 1 only got a few lines in the future :( but I am glad the fandom really love them and analyze and headcannon them to hell and back that really makes me happy

[lacefuneral]

it could be the sleep deprivation! but it is also possible. that i unironically like space waltz BECAUSE!

[spongebob holding hands out dot jpeg]

it reminds me a lot of red dwarf. WHICH!

[spongebob holding hands out dot jpeg]

isn't to say that it's good like red dwarf is. only that, as a parody of the space exploration/space opera genre, it also manages to be its own thing. you look at, for example, unser traumschiff. it's a one-to-one parody of star trek tos. the characters, set design, costume, even sound effects. when you watch unser traumschiff you are essentially watching Bad, unliscenced Star Trek, on purpose. red dwarf, while a sitcom that parodies, goes out of its way to make New Lore. New Characters. New Motivations. (and is also a pastiche of many scifi works.) when you watch red dwarf, you are just... watching red dwarf.

and that's the weird thing about space waltz. because it strikes a weird balance between an unser traumschiff and a red dwarf. the primary parody is star trek tos, and this is obvious. you have a character standing in for uhura, a character that references sulu (a botanist that also flies the ship), a character that appears to reference both data from TNG and kryten from red dwarf in the form of an android.

but.... the costume design, the sound design, the set design, even the props.... they don't follow the norm for a parody in this genre. you have this weirdly haunting music that plays over most skits. a bright white ship interior that ALSO differs from more modern blockbuster takes of sci-fi, it's like its own... uncanny sort of thing. and then the uniforms are a mashup of navy, pirate, super hero??? reflective tape??? rubber/PVC???

and then we have the characters. the captain isn't there because he's skilled... he's a nepo baby with absolutely no expertise. a māori descendant, weirdly, of the colonizer captain cook. he has a literal pirate ship steering wheel (which... may? or may not? work?) and his first officer, a pāhekā with a te reo name, Rangi. meaning sky/heaven and, as one fanfic author pointed out, one letter away from "ranga" (derogatory slang for a red-haired person). he's a knowitall, spent 6 years at the academy, and resents his inexperienced captain for outranking him. also there's a guy that has kirk and spock "dollies" that he plays with at his station.

then plotwise, the purpose of their mission is specifically to find a planet to evacuate the aoteoroean population to, as rising sea levels have already swallowed the north island and are beginning to swallow the south island. in one skit, the PM says that they are doing this so the kiwis won't have to go to australia. but, paradoxically, we do also see a group of australians in space? and most of australia's population is concentrated on the coastline. so perhaps the australians, too, are in search of land to evacuate to. unclear.

anyway. all of this is like. genuinely kind of compelling to me? which is weird to say because this was made as part of like. an objectively terrible, unfunny, aged-like-milk skit show. the goal of which was to be as LOL RANDOM XD and offensive as possible, apparently. so even though space waltz is undoubtedly the best skit segment, it's still........ well. it's still radiradirah. the premise of one "episode" (collection of related skits?) is that the ship has been infested by tribbles (called "meeple" here) that can only be killed with human farts. the premise of another episode is that captain hemi """gets schizophrenia""" from looking into a black hole (which results in. what you would expect. unfortunately.). and in the same episode, the uhura stand-in character makes a comment that she's worried about being sexually assaulted if first officer Rangi mutinies and takes over the ship. (which like. deeply upsetting to begin with. but also there's no basis at all for the character to do something like that. it, like many other radiradirah skits, chucks in SA as an Edgy Shock Humor Joke).

if you do check out space waltz, i recommend doing so by watching the compilation someone made on youtube. radiradirah itself isn't worth it. i gave up on episode 4. and also... do be aware that it is still radiradirah. and with it comes... well. what it comes with.

now all of that being said. i do kind of want to see a take of space waltz that's more like red dwarf. like, still silly. completely absurd. but also... a little more effort put in. some more lore building. little less trek. really showcase the bits of the world that are actually interesting and new.

like, it's fucking strange that captain hemi talks into a vacuum cleaner hose on his belt to record his captain's log. that's awesome. give me 500 more details like that

alcohol is illegal? why? what happened? prohibition 2? give me the fake earth history

but more importantly. put men back in those shiny suits and hats. for me, specifically

[daughter-of-melpomene]

For the faceclaim and fandom ask game: Jenna Coleman + Star Trek, please??

@dancingsunflowers-ocs ✨💛✨

Oooh, I love this one, thanks a bunch, Alexandra!! <3

NAME: Magdalene “Maggie” Scott.

LOVE INTEREST: Christine Chapel.

SUMMARY: Maggie is the daughter of Starfleet navigation officer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, born from a two-night stand between him and her mother. Abandoned by her mother and left with her father shortly after her birth, Maggie spent much of her childhood being raised by various family members while her dad was away on Starfleet missions, but when he was home, Scotty always tried to be the best father to his daughter that he could be. Now in her twenties and fresh out of Starfleet Academy, Maggie is offered a position as a science officer on the USS Enterprise, finally getting to spend an extended period of time with her father for the first time in her life. She’s very quick to make friends with her fellow crew members, and even a playful flirtation with a certain Enterprise nurse… but as time goes on and they spend more and more time together, Maggie has to wonder if maybe her banter with Christine isn’t so unserious as she thought.

OTHER INFO:

She’s an OC for the original series.

She’s a little sweetheart lesbian!

Like Scotty, Maggie is a pretty bright and friendly person, but she’s not quite as playful or comfortable around authority figures; she believes in following Starfleet protocol to a T unless it’s strictly necessary not to, and she never speaks to Kirk or Spock with anything less than complete respect and proper decorum. (Of course, once she becomes friends with Sulu, you can imagine how long that whole thing lasts.)

She’s a botanist, and she absolutely loves plants! Usually the one place you’re sure to find her is in the Enterprise’s lab, running tests on flora found by the crew on expeditions and talking softly to the plants to encourage them to grow.

It takes a while for her and Christine to get together, because it takes Maggie to realize that Christine’s actually interested in her and not just flirting for fun, but they’re super cute once they do get together!

send me a fandom + a faceclaim and i’ll make an oc!!

[anonymousewrites]

Considering how Celians are in touch with their emotions and value peace and spreading good emotions I can see how encountering an entity that feeds on and causes fear and death would be distressing and put MC out of their comfort zone which I feel you managed to capture well. Their slight paranoia and nerves on edge after Sybo's murder create a great atmosphere for the rest of the chapter while overall managing to remain in control bc they know fear is what it feeds on.

I love how this chapter pushed them out of their comfort zone (not that other chapters haven't but I love the way it was done) and forced them to show great adaptability. Honestly, the strength they showed this chapter was amazing! Shoving anger into his mind even though it pains them in a moment of protectiveness for their crew and kinda spite as well (I love when characters get petty, even tho this was technically more than just petty). Their ingenuity to remain calm when being targeted mentally and physically and to think under that pressure, knowing that if they were fearful it could mean bad news for their friends but if they did nothing he could hurt them. The fact that while being threatened and focusing to remain calm they also managed to think and realise that his weakness would be the opposite of fear and use joy against him. The ability to summon joy (and enough to subdue a powerful being) in such a situation is a testament to their mental strength beyond their psychic capacity as a Celian.

It's also really nice to see them fighting and showing strength beyond physical strength or intellectuality. Putting value in emotions and resilience and making them a force of power in stories is so special to me and something about how this series (and most of your stories) has overall been very joyful and joy being a force against the darkness of fear is so awesome. I'd like to think MC was thinking of working on the enterprise with their friends which gave them enough joy to overwhelm Hengin.

Kirk kind of acting like a mother like: the sacrifices I make so that they may be happy 😢

Bones: you mean getting stuck babysitting a bunch of adults with no pay so two idiots can pretend they aren't in love? Yeah it must suck😒

I, for one, would have loved to see the officers high.

Side note: I loved Sulu just rolling with whatever is happening, John Mulaney "this might as well happen. Adult life is already so goddamn weird" style

("malfunctions don't usually talk back", the captains making us take drugs? *Shrugs* alright)

I love him<3 my favorite botanist boi

First of all, oh my god do I love this analysis, you completely hit the nail everywhere, and that means a lot to me because it shows my writing and characterization of everything is coming across the way I want to.

To your first point: absolutely, MC was totally out of their comfort zone, and I enjoyed having them face a species that could use their abilities and strong emotions against them, but MC didn't give in. That's a major part of who they are, plus, Spock has rubbed off on them and they have learned to be calm and collected in stressful situations.

To your second point: Yes! I really like having my characters be strong in their hearts and that be the reason they are powerful and resilient. it resonates with me because of how my life has gone and how I think people should be empowered. I want to show people being kind and being strong in their kindness of heart instead of just straight up power.

And then to your little quotes of the characters? Adorable, fantastic, that's totally how Kirk and Bones are.

And Sulu is the ultimate botanist-sword fighting-helmsman.

[holly-poly]

Nomination Clarifications #3

We've almost finished processing all the nominations - just 29 ships left from 15 fandoms to process once we have some clarifications. The current count overall is 459 fandoms and 2788 ships. We'll also be spending the next couple of days looking over the tagset ourselves for any issues but we don't know most of the fandoms so please do let us know if you see any errors with the tagset - wandering tags, typos, duplicates, things in the wrong place etc.

If you nominated Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg under Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, this is only 2 people and we don't allow 2 people ships. If you meant to write in a third person, please let us know who and also whether the ship is for The Witcher books, games or TV.

If you nominated Botanist("When t War Came")/Famine/Pestilence/Pollution(GO)/Teller(Dr Atomic)/small god of Chernobyl for crossover - Fandom, can you clarify what fandom small god of Chernobyl is from.

If you nominated Hinata Shoyou/Kageyama Tobio (Haikyuu)/Miyazumi Tatsuru/Shiratori Mitoko (Ryman's Club) under crossover - Fandom, we assume you may mean Shiratori Mikoto for the last character but can you confirm since we're not familiar with the fandom.

If you nominated Kristin | Death/Niki | Nihachu/Technoblade/Phil Watson | Philza or Technoblade/Philza/Kristin | Death (Dream SMP) under Dream SMP, we feel this may be borderline on if Kristin is a public figure in her own right or should be considered a significant other who would not be allowed under the rules. We don't know the fandom ourselves, could you provide more info to help us decide - for example, does she have her own stream/channel, or is she in a significant number of streams/videos?

If you nominated Cosette Fauchelevent/Marius Pontmercy/Any Character(s) (LM AMT) under Les Misérables - All Media Types, could you confirm if you are fine with literally any character, including original characters, or do you want any canon character?

If you nominated Beranardi al Auriga/Mandala Flynn/Hikaru Sulu under Star Trek: Classic Timeline, we assume that was probably a typo in there but can you confirm if this is meant to be Bernardi al Auriga from the The Entropy Effect novel.

If you nominated Aiden/Coën/Lambert (Witcher TV) under The Witcher (TV), can you confirm whether Aiden is actually in the show since we couldn't see anything suggesting the character was in it on character lists, only Aiden mentioned in the games.

If you nominated Kamisato Ayato/Thoma/Other Commissioner under 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game), could you clarify what you mean by other commissioner, does this mean either of commissioners from the other two commissions or something else?

If you nominated Klimt van Zieks | Klint van Zieks/Prosecution’s Office under 大逆転裁判 | Dai Gyakuten Saiban | The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Video Games) is that meant to be the specific Prosecutor's office or a more general term?

If you nominated Gong Jun | Simon/Yu Xiang/Zhang Zhehan under 山河令 | Word of Honor (TV 2021) RPF, we weren't 100% sure if we'd found the right actor for Yu Xiang, is Yun_Xiang who plays Bi Xingming in Word of Honor the correct person?

If you nominated Erik Lehnsherr/Pietro Maximoff/Charles Xavier or Erik Lehnsherr/Raven | Mystique/Charles Xavier or Kurt Wagner/Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier under Marvel (Comics) or Logan/Ororo Munroe/Kurt Wagner under X-Men (Comicverse), please can you let us know if you meant Marvel 616 or another comics universe.

If you nominated the fandom Mr. Malcolm's List, can you clarify if you mean the novel or the 2022 film.

If you nominated the fandom ユリ熊嵐 | Yuri Kuma Arashi, can you clarify if you meant the anime or the manga since they look to have the same characters but very different plotlines.

If you nominated Hernando Fuentes/Lito Rodriguez & Daniela Velasquez under Sense 8, that is rejected because we don't allow &'s for relationships in this exchange, however, the version using all /'s - Hernando Fuentes/Lito Rodriguez/Daniela Velasquez - is already in the tagset. Similarly, we've rejected Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey and Neal Caffrey/Mozzie under White Collar (TV 2009) but Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey/Mozzie is already in the tagset.

We also still have 5 questions outstanding from the other clarifications posts. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment on this post. You can also send an e-mail to holly.poly.exchange@gmail.com. Collection: https://ao3.org/collections/holly_poly_2022 Tag Set: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/12906 Tumblr: https://holly-poly.tumblr.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/holly_poly_ex

[starfleetbotanist]

What role would you have on a ship or station? Are there any foods from other planets you would want to try? Who would you be best friends with?

I would (hopefully) be the chief botany officer! If not that, then a diplomat or captain, maybe! But I am a botanist at heart! I'd like to sample different sweets from different planets, as well as teas and honeys! And I think I would get along well with Uhura, Sulu, Chapel, and maybe Dr Crusher or my namesake Deanna Troi! Bones and I might get along, too, I have some of his gentler mannerisms! Thank you for asking! 💕

[ds9-trekkie]

Next is Shore Leave! Adore this episode!!! Brief Summary: The crew is granted shore leave, but while down on the planet, wild manifestations of their thoughts come to life. Thoughts: Okay so we start out the episode with Kirk getting a kink in his back and thinking Spock is massaging him, but upon realizing it’s the beautiful yeoman he gets embarrassed and tells her to stop. I literally don’t have any idea what’s happening with these two anymore lmao Moving right along, Bones and Sulu are checking out the planet to see if it’s suitable for shore leave. Sulu collects plants like the nerdy botanist he is, while Bones manifests a big white rabbit and Alice herself. 🐇 So apparently the planet is completely uninhabited, but there’s a gun!? Kirk finally relents and beams down to the planet for some shore leave (and to meet up with Bones who scared he’s hallucinating lol) McCoy discovers footprints of a giant rabbit so Kirk decides to put shore leave officially on hold. Sulu has apparently found the gun and is shooting it over and over, not once questioning why it’s weird that a gun he’s always wanted just happens to be there 😂 Kirk tells McCoy about someone named Finnegan at starfleet academy who used to play jokes on him and then minutes later he appears. They fight until Kirk hears yeoman Barrows being attacked by Don Juan lol Then Kirk is surprised to see a very pretty woman from his past named Ruth. Damn, I love 60’s makeup. It’s been 15 years and she hasn’t aged at all, and Kirk is mesmerized lmao Oooo! We get Bones flirting with yeoman Barrows! (Continues in comments) #startrek #startrekuniverse #startrektheoriginalseries #startrektos #tos #trekkie #trekkies #llap #livelongandprosper #episoderewatch #shoreleave #captainkirk #jimkirk #spock #vulcan #drmccoy #bones #sulu #yeomanbarrows https://www.instagram.com/p/CdtD1xSuqTx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thesconesyard]

Wherever You Are, I Am

Part 28

McCoy walked across campus to the small cafe near the library. It was still a few minutes before nine so he wouldn’t be late. He kept his eyes open in case he caught sight of Jaylah anywhere. He hoped again that she would thrive here.

A moment later he entered the cafe and his breath hitched as a flash of red-gold caught his eye.

Monty! His heart pounded.

“Dr. McCoy!” The soft voice from the comm yesterday called.

He composed himself quickly. The young woman waving at him was the source of the reddish-gold hair.

“Astrid?” he asked as he moved to her table.

The young woman stood and offered her hand. She had a firm grip McCoy noted as he sat down across from her.

“I wasn’t sure how you might like your coffee, so it’s black, sir,” Astrid said in a hesitant voice.

“Black is fine,” McCoy said, picking up the cup.

He took a long drink before setting his cup down and studying the young woman across from him. Her hair matched Scotty’s but that was where any resemblance stopped. She had soft features and warm green eyes. When standing she had been close to Jaylah’s height.

“What year are you?” McCoy asked.

“Third sir.”

“Any plans for what division to join?”

“Sciences,” Astrid replied quickly. “Xenobotany.”

McCoy nodded and thought of Sulu. He had a moment of sympathy for the Enterprise’s pilot. Sulu was more often than not away from his husband and daughter. Maybe Sulu or Ben would have some tips for making the distance not feel so distant.

“Sir?”

McCoy blinked and refocused on Astrid.

“Sorry. Was thinking of a friend who’s a botanist.”

“Lieutenant Sulu?” Astrid asked. “He’s one of my inspirations.”

“How’d…”

“I read up on you sir, and the Enterprise after I was assigned to be your TA. You’ve had some very exciting missions.” Astrid smiled and her eyes held stars.

“Exciting isn’t always the word for it,” McCoy grumbled.

“Tell me about you, Astrid,” McCoy continued a moment later. “Why Starfleet?”

“Well, I’m from just outside Manchester, England. Mum and Dad; two brothers. We took a trip once when I was little, to Risa. Traveling through space was the most exciting thing! I fell in love then and couldn’t wait to do it again.”

McCoy smiled at Astrid’s enthusiasm.

“My older brother already went through the academy and is stationed on Starbase 397.”

“Pippin,” McCoy commented. “I’ve been through there.”

His thoughts turned to Scotty again. They’d had their first date at Starbase 397 and when they had been there a second time, had gotten engaged.

“It’s so funny sometimes, how places get nicknames,” Astrid said.

People too, McCoy thought, thinking of Jim.

[blueberry-gh0st]

i can and will headcanon every star trek character as asexual and no one can stop me

[jack-inaboxx]

New tag game cos I'm bored. Tag 3 popular media role models and why!

[el-im]