A/N: I just realized how long this fic is and it isn't really going the way I planned. Having the change of POV for each chapter especially makes it slow. So, I will quicken the pace so I can fit in things that are necessary, something I should've done chapters ago.

By the way, the beginning scene references the first and second chapter of BY DESIGN, my companion fic for this story. So, if you're interested, please have a gander :)

Warp Factor 14: Mission Accomplished

He trekked long and far until days and nights were intertwined and time was a fleeting notion. His feet dragged through what seemed like an eternity of red sand and he thought that he would never find…whatever it was he was looking for.

His legs moved and his body moved and although he could see his footsteps behind him, it didn't feel like he moved at all. Everything around him looked the same. Mounds and hills of sand wavered in the heat as nothing more distinguished the landscape. He could have been walking in a circle for all he knew. He could have just been walking in the same footsteps.

Would he die? Forever in search of what he longed for?

But he didn't know what he longed for. These feelings didn't seem like his own, but he walked and he searched and he walked some more until his feet and his soul ached deeply. All the timelessness and all the eternity in the barren land halted when he saw a dying stranger lying on its stomach—a mark in his endless path.

It wasn't compassion that compelled him to reach for the body or even sympathy. It was pure curiosity, necessity, and a profound yearning for this stranger to be what he wanted. So he reached out, turned the cloth covered body over, and met the face of a different kind of man. Not a Vulcan, he presumed, but a dehydrated and heat stroked creature who suffered from the desert just like any other humanoid. He didn't know why or how but his hands moved without his accord. He provided the man shelter under his shadow and gave him water from his own bottle. And when he touched the man's face, staggering blue eyes, cradling an ancient and forgotten ocean, looked straight back at him.

'Saved,' was what he thought, and saved was what he felt.

But then he drowned.

Submerged in a watery depth, he finds himself floating out of the darkness and rising towards the sunlight seen through an underwater world. Air bubbles filled his vision as he continued floating contently upwards; he was everything but mobile and his mind felt listless. Then his chest broke the surface and his eyes snapped open to reality.

Spock sat up straight in his bed, blinking through the dimness in his room as he tried to ground himself to his present location. He wasn't searching hopelessly in a desert on Vulcan. He hadn't ever done that because he had attended the Vulcan High Academy, and right now he was on the starship USS Enterprise commandeered by none other than James Tiberius Kirk, an unlikely friend and his captain. Spock didn't dream often but when he did they were usually small things, insignificant things, and things that have already passed. Like the destruction of Vulcan and the passing of his mother. What he didn't dream about were memories belonging to someone else. At least, that's what it felt like to Spock.

However, the eyes he had seen, the ones that left an internal impression on him were familiar. Spock could not remember the face though. They were the hazy parts of his dream.

Breathing deeply, he swung his legs over his bed frame, bare feet feeling cold flat ground. He ordered the lights to brighten at 40% in a groggy voice as he stood up. He rubbed his eyes and made his way to the washroom, not knowing what time it was or who would be in there if he had simply checked his wall clock.

By the time the doors slid open and white light poured through though, it was already too late. Kirk stood at the sink, back hunched as he leaned over the basin, hands resting on the counter as his head hung low and he breathed deeply with his eyes closed. He was half-naked, privates covered by a simple white towel clinging loosely to his lips.

"..Captain?" Spock said, nearing the man. Kirk didn't look too good and the thought was confirmed when the man turned unsteadily to face the Vulcan.

"Spock?" Kirk said hoarsely. He shoved himself away from the counter and leaned heavily against it, trying to appear casual. "I thought you were done with the washroom. It's already past 0700. Don't tell me a big brain like yours forgot after three days?" Kirk asked with a teasing smile, but it didn't cover the uneasiness under his expression. The man's face was slightly flushed redder than usual; even his shoulders and chest were shaded in the same intensity.

It made Spock walk forward, mesmerized by the tinge. It looked the same shade as the one in his dream. "Forgive me, Captain, but I did not realize what time it was. I believe I have…slept in."

Kirk gave a low laugh. "Haha…never thought I'd see that day so soon. You even have bed hair!"

The Vulcan knew better than to fall for his captain's attempt at provoking him. They have been working together, sometimes against each other, in the days following their dinner with his counterpart and he came to recognize when the man would try to divert his attention elsewhere. Like at the moment. "My bed hair is not of importance. However, your state of health is. Are you ill, Captain?"

At the question, Kirk stood up straighter, his towel hanging lower in the process. Spock pointedly ignored it as he moved closer to the man, trying to get a closer inspection, and stopped just a bare foot away as he stared levelly at his captain and repeated his question.

"I'm fine, Spock," Kirk said clearing his voice, eyes meeting the Vulcan's challengingly. "Just let me finish up and the washroom's all yours, alright?" When Spock doesn't respond, Kirk tried to side-step away, but his legs unexpectedly gave out from under him.

Everything happened quickly in less than eight seconds, but it seemed as if time slowed down just for them.

As Kirk's towel finally unraveled and fell, Spock reacted reflexively. His left arm shot out as his captain's knees buckled, wrapping it hastily around the man's middle back, hand spread just below Kirk's naked neck, to lift him from reaching the floor. Caught off-guard, however, Spock was easily unbalanced from the new weight and staggered into Kirk's body, one leg shifting forward between the man's thighs as his right palm hit the mirror to steady them. as they knocked against the counter. His captain's head was thrown back from the momentum, throat and chest exposed as he let out a gasp, clutching Spock's shoulders and biceps. Feeling the warm, soft flesh of his captain's manhood pressing tightly over his thigh, Spock tried to ignore it and pull Kirk towards him.

White fluorescent lights above the mirrors bore down on them and Spock saw every feature on his captain's skin as if he was inspecting him under a surgical table. The creases, the faint moles, the stubble, the sturdy nose, the sweat slicked skin, and the mouth hanging open; Kirk breathed rapidly, even his flushed skin seemed starker under such revealing setting. But it was the man's eyes, pupils dilated from the light, bright and pure, that looked unsteadily and wholly up at Spock that made the Vulcan's hands sear where they pressed against Kirk's already unnaturally hot skin.

No amount of meditation could shield what he felt through the contact. Dehydration, burning, determination, longing, suffering, feeling lost—as if the man was stuck in two places at once but trying to ground himself in the here and now. Spock glimpsed red sands, dark eyes, an oasis; felt relief, haven, and marvel. But the Vulcan knew, just as he knew his dream wasn't just a dream, that the clamour of emotions his captain felt were not actually the man's own.

And then Spock realized that the long suffering creature that laid in his lap in the desert, the one that looked at him with wonder through his dream; the one who had cradled him there with just a look (because never had he seen such blue eyes), drowned him, and made him yearn for more—they were the same person.

"Spock…" Kirk whispered weakly, breath hot against the Vulcan's face. His hands gripped Spock's shoulder and arm tightly, trying to regain his composure as he lifted himself closer to the Vulcan. His legs pushed and pressed against Spock's thigh, his groin shifting in kind as the Vulcan froze, stunned on how to respond to all these newfound sensations and emotions. He swallowed the gasp that almost left his throat and eased his leg back, carefully and firmly pulling the captain along with him. His fingers dragged against Kirk's hot flesh, the friction an act of guidance, until the man could stand on his own feet. Kirk's hand still clutched Spock's shoulder though, fingers sweaty on the Vulcan's shirt, and eyes still hazy as he breathed heavily. He stared up at Spock, an emotion the Vulcan has never seen passed the man's face as Kirk admitted quietly, eyes drooping, "Actually….I…don't feel so well at all."

Then without warning, Kirk fainted and collapsed.

00000000000

"Commander Spock," Lieutenant Sulu addressed, turning around in his helmsman seat, "is Captain Kirk alright?"

The Vulcan wanted to know too. In his uncertainty when Kirk fell unconscious, he contacted Sick Bay. When the good doctor arrived, Spock had ignored the man's suspicious look at their captain's and his compromising position, and allowed McCoy to tend to him. The Vulcan, on the other hand, had to prepare himself for their shift. So, there he was, sitting in the Command chair and overlooking all Bridge activities, trying to act like the acting-captain and not the worried Vulcan he was underneath.

"Lt Sulu, we are an hour away from reaching Argo VII. Make sure we do not head off course," Spock said instead, voice stiffer and duller than usual. The yellow-shirt man nodded his head before returning to looking forward. After that, the First Officer just knew that all eyes were on him. He had announced he would be acting-captain for the time being, while Kirk was in Sick Bay. It had been over forty-five minutes and Spock wanted nothing more than to head down to see the man. But the mission was important. It was their first mission and hopefully not the last. He couldn't just leave his post.

But he could press the com button on his arm panel and ask how the captain was doing. So, he did.

"Spock, Jim's alright," McCoy's rough voice filtered through and the Vulcan could hear every last person on the bridge breathing out a sound of relief, including his own. "Just a fever, nothing life-threatening. He'll be up shortly. It's a good thing you called me when you did, Spock. McCoy out."

True to the doctor's words, Kirk came on board, fully dressed to command and looking a whole lot better. He carried a water bottle with him as he stepped up to their command chair platform, careful to not look at the Vulcan on it.

"Captain," Spock addressed standing up, but before he could say anything else, Sulu, Chekov and Uhura asked simultaneously, "Captain, are you alright?" "Feeling better Captain Kirk?" "Awe you feeling bettew, Kaptain?"

The blue-eyed man looked around with an amused smile. "I was out for, like, what? Fifty minutes—"

"Fifty-seven," Spock corrected.

Kirk rolled his eyes without glancing at him, "—fifty seven minutes, and all of you sound like I've been out for a week. I'm fine!" he announced. "Nothing can put me down."

"Except McCoy's needle," Uhura commented snidely from the side.

Ignoring the woman good naturedly, Kirk continues confidently, "This is our first mission and we are going to finish it today without a hitch! So don't worry about me and worry about your posts instead because that's how we're going to get this done. Cooperation, everyone. I have it, don't I?"

The crew erupted in positive agreements.

"Good, now let me see it," said Kirk and everyone returned to their positions feeling hyped up and chatty with their neighbours. Approving of what he saw, Kirk finally looked to the Vulcan and whispered, "Sorry about what you had to see this morning."

"It was no trouble," Spock said lowly, hands behind his back as usual, responding to the man's tone of voice. "It is good to see that you are well again, Captain." Just as the Vulcan turned to walk away, he felt a broad hand over his bicep, turning him back around. He stared questioningly at Kirk's face and couldn't help remember his dream and the man's naked vulnerable state. "Captain?" he asked.

Kirk's grip tightened on the Vulcan, mouth poised to say something, but then his eyes flickered just off to the side of Spock, where the Vulcan knew Uhura was sitting, and something like guilt flickered through the man's eyes. Spock knew that look. He had seen it on the eyes of cheating men in films and in conversations, but did not understand why his captain would wear it. Kirk released the Vulcan and said as he sat in the command chair, "Never mind. Uh, thanks for acting in my place. Let's make this mission a success," he ends smiling.

As Spock returned to his Science Station, he believed Kirk.

00000000000

The blue reddish blue planet floated in the vast darkness, its shape and colour similar to Vulcan and Earth combined. Spock looked at in subtle wonder through the Enterprise's viewing screen. This M-classed planet, Argo VII, would be his people's new home. He couldn't wait to see it.

Kirk ordered a last scan of the planet to make sure it was fit to land on before he gave permission for people to leave the ship. Meanwhile, Spock oversaw the process. By the time all the contracted builders, Vulcans, and several other humanoids were shuttled off and on the planet, Spock thought the mission was already a success.

Hours after seeing people and Vulcans settle down accordingly, Kirk wandered off to observe what lay beyond the desert sand. Spock's eyes followed him while he stood with Uhura. The man hadn't at all looked too well when they had beamed down. The red flush returning to his skin as the man tried to adjust to the heavy gravity and thin air. Every human was actually, but Kirk seemed in particular affected by the conditions. He seemed dazed, confused, and not altogether.

Uhura gently touched Spock's arm as he tore his eyes away from the man's body. His stomach lurched, a feeling of foreboding over coming with no reason when Kirk disappeared past a crowd of people. "What's wrong?" the woman asked, concerned, looking in the direction where their captain went. "He'll be fine, Spock. He's just taking a walk."

"No," the Vulcan disagreed, stepping away from her. He suddenly felt faint, images without warning flashed through his mind of a le'Matya, a grey-skinned and yellow-tailed predator native to his home world, flickered through his mind. That and splatters of blood. Red blood.

"Spock!" Uhura cried, steadying the man when he stumbled. "Are you alright?"

"You have read the reports on this planet," Spock stated, accepting Uhura's help. "What predators are there on Argo VII?" The Vulcan was ashamed to not have read all the full facts of the planet. Researchers and experts made sure not to land and develop on predator territory though. Their campground was supposed to be neutral. Nothing should go wrong. Yet, the Vulcan still felt a sinking pit in his stomach as blood, blue eyes, and claws ripped through his conscience in bits and pieces.

"The main one is the belelkuram,but we are outside any of their territorial ground," Uhura informed.

Spock pushed her aside and headed in the direction where Kirk left to. "What if one strayed? What would draw it out of its territory?" he asked hurrying, pushing past bustling people as Uhura trailed along behind him. The whining sound from a construction machine shook the air as the woman gasped in panic.

"Noise!" she answered, halting.

Foolish, Spock thought morosely. How could they have missed something so critical?

He continued to move and ordered over his shoulder, "Warn all personnel and the Vulcans about the belelkuram. Tell them to be silent! I will call down security officers." Then he was running, flipping open his communicator and ordering a group of armed security officers to perimeter the camp. He spotted a trail of lone footsteps on the sand once Spock parted from the campground and tried to contact Kirk where he saw him at the end of it. The man, for reasons beyond Spock, did not pick up.

In the distance, just to the right of where Kirk was walking, the Vulcan caught a glimpse of a moving red shadow; something massive and nimble as it approached the oblivious man. Spock tried to call again, adrenaline pulsing through his veins as he ran faster. He wanted to scream Kirk's name, but that would only jumpstart the predator to attack.

The belekuram may have been heading towards camp, but with Kirk in its sight, its target would indefinitely change.

Spock patted his side for his phaser and mentally cursed when he realized that he had left it onboard the starship, thinking it was useless to bring it with him. Now that he was a feet away from Kirk he wished, illogically so, that he did have one, especially when the red armored creature leapt from the shadows. Kirk finally looked to his right, surprised by the massive spiked creature.

Thinking madly for other alternatives, Spock saw a piece of solid gnarly wood sticking out of the sand and yanked it out as he ran past; in a swift follow up movement, he swung the heavy tree limb in an arc towards to the beast that overshadowed him and his captain. With brute force, the weapon slammed clean into the side of the predator's head, crushing its sharp-teethed filled jaw and eyes as Spock's momentum drove it off its course. He continued his swing and completed it until the belelkuram crumbled uselessly to the sand in a sick thud. Spock stood over it, breathing quick and deep at what he had just done. His hand numbed from gripping the wood like a vice. Green blood flowed from the creature's head and Spock turned away, barely fazed by the brutal death that he was the cause of.

Kirk was partially upright, his hand in the sand to support his weight while his legs were in front of him. His other arm was stretched out, assumingly in a gesture to protect himself. He looked at Spock, eyes delirious as the Vulcan approached him.

"Captain?" Spock asked. The man was breathing ragged, skin hot to the touch as he squirmed away, as if he did not see the Vulcan; as if he was still being attacked in his mind somewhere. "Captain Kirk!" Spock tried again, pulling the man towards him. When the captain continued his unusual behaviour, Spock shook him and shouted, "JIM!"

Slowly, as if waking, Kirk blinked at the name. He stopped pushing the Vulcan away and gazed up at him instead. His face was still feverish and his mouth was dry, but at least the man was back to reality. "Spock?" he said confused. He stood up with the help of his First Officer.

"You were just about to be attacked by one of this planet's predators," Spock informed him, a hand out to steady the man.

Kirk spotted the massive corpse on the ground and lurched back. "The hell..!" His eyes snapped to the campground. "We need to warn them," he said moving towards it.

Spock followed. "I have called for security personnel to beam down and Lt Uhura is in the process of warning the rest of the settlement."

"Shit," Kirk muttered under his breath. "Shit!" he cursed loudly after, stomping his feet as he ran faster. "How could we have messed this up? How?"

"I apologize, Captain Kirk," Spock began.

"No, don't apologize. I read over every report and analysis of this planet. Predators were the last thing I thought about when I approved this site for development," Kirk said, cutting off the Vulcan.

"I second approved your decision," Spock argued back, feeling deep guilt.

"Enough," Kirk said, "What we need to focus on is the protection of the site."

When they reached the camp ground, everyone was already warned and security guards were stationed along perimeters. The Vulcans noted the similarities between the belelkuram and their planet's le'matyas and quickly developed a natural ancient deterrent to the predators. They hung the separated remains of the belelkuram's corpse along the camp's edges, but all in all, the Vulcans weren't highly too concerned with their safety.

"Our civilization may be of one of logic, reasoning with our value for life, and that we may appear weak but, Captain, I assure you my people are anything but," Sarek explained to Kirk. "The desert is our habitat and these creatures are already our natural enemies. If anything, we are more at home than we ever were."

"I agree with Ambassador Sarek," Selek said nodding his head. "Do not be disappointed, Captain Kirk. We were fully aware of the potential danger."

"You, what?" Kirk asked perplexed. "And you didn't tell me why?"

"You had a lot on your mind," the elderly Vulcan reasoned and even Spock wanted to punch himself. "If I had told you, you would have looked for another site, but there is no need. This here is home to my people and we appreciate the hospitality and leadership you have shown to us during our trip here. We can part on good terms and I will relay to the United Federation of Planets of our safe passage."

Kirk sighed and shook his head. "It's not just Spock, but you Vulcans really are a sneaky bunch," he muttered. Then he looked Selek in the eyes. "If you're sure, then we can leave you as you are now, right? You Vulcans won't be complaining?"

Sarek huffed. "Vulcans do not complain."

After everything was disputed and resolved, the Enterprise crew shuttled and beamed back aboard their mother ship. Kirk and Spock were the last to leave, the man wanting to speak with Selek before their departure. The three of them stood alone just outside the gates of their campsite as the low sun cast long shadows across the sands.

"I'll miss you," Kirk said grinning. "It's been a good few days getting to know you."

"We can still speak with each other through subspace intermission," Selek suggested, looking down at the smaller man. "This will not be our last time, Jim."

"Yeah, for sure," Kirk agreed and hugged the taller Vulcan weakly. "Doesn't mean I still won't miss you though," he added letting go.

Selek nodded as the captain took a few paces back and allowed Spock to speak with his counterpart. The younger Vulcan made sure the man was out of ear shot as he spoke to his other self. "I…do not know what is happening to me," he informed in a low voice.

"You speak of your killing with belelkuram? That was self-defense, Spock."

"It was not. I knew of the attack before it had happened and Ichased after Kirk with the intent to kill it. I knew because I had visions of a le'Matya attacking another Kirk on another planet in a similar situation," Spock spoke quick and to the point. "I have another person's memory. Why?"

Selek stared quizzically at his young self. "That is certainly very curious. Spock, I cannot answer you for not even my vast knowledge encompasses what you are experiencing. I will find out and consult who I am able to and inform you of any news. Do not despair. You have my coordinates and you may contact me at any moment."

At the news, Spock's shoulders slumped, mildly disappointed that his other self did not have the answers he sought. "Very well, I will contact you when the need arises," he said stepping back with a formal posture. "As it is self-serving to part in the usual Vulcan gesture, I will simply say 'Good luck.'"

Selek's lips twitched as Spock returned to his captain, who still did not look too well. As the man pulled out his communicator, barely flipping open the tiny device, he nearly fell to his knees. Spock, however, caught Kirk in time. He pulled the man over his shoulder as he confirmed Lt Scott's go ahead for beaming.

"Have Dr McCoy on standby in the transporter," the Vulcan added. "The captain has just fainted. Spock out."

00000000000

Two days later….

"Bones, come on!" Kirk complained on the biobed. "I had a little fever. That doesn't mean you should incarcerate me in Sick Bay! For two days!"

On break, Spock watched from the doorway. He hadn't dreamt anything unusual since they left Argo VII, but it still left a scar in his memory. Now, they were on the way to explore a new planet, but it would be another eight hours and thirty-five minutes before they would reach their destination. Discreetly, he observed how the gruff doctor roughly pulled Kirk side to side to check for the man's vital points.

"Oh, please. Don't be a drama queen, Jim. You're not incarcerated—you're just my patient," McCoy corrected.

Kirk batted the man away, "What's the difference?!"

The doctor bristled and glared at the man. "You're here because of an unnaturally high fever that hasn't gone down until only a few hours ago! Being on Argo VII was terrible to your health. Not to mention, you were having delusions that had you running off and almost getting yourself killed in the process," McCoy said angrily. "You stay incarcerated until I see you fit to leave, Jim. D'you hear me?"

For the eleventh time in two days, Kirk huffed at being scolded. He crossed his arm as he leaned back in his biobed and allowed McCoy to finish his examination on the man. Spock thought their relationship was strangely an aggressive one, but he accepted it as one of their many human illogical practices. He entered the room, thinking it appropriate to come in at that moment. In his hands, he carefully held a three-tiered chess board and smooth black case as he walked towards the two individuals.

At the sight of the Vulcan, Kirk visibly brightened. "Spock!" he greeted smiling.

"Captain, Dr McCoy," the First Officer greeted in kind, save for the smiling.

McCoy took one look at the board in Spock's hand and said exasperated. "Not you too, Spock! First Chekov and Sulu with their cards, then Uhura and her Klingon, the Engineering fan club, and now you!" He turned to Kirk. "Did you call the whole crew to entertain you?"

"Hey, you forgot Scotty!" Kirk said instead.

McCoy huffed even more as he organized his medical equipment. "Scotty? Pfft. Jim, you're ill and he tried to have you drink Scotch whiskey."

"Scotty's a perfectly good man! And it's the thought that counts, Bones," Kirk reasoned with a grin. "Besides, how else am I supposed to get through sitting in here all the time?"

"Well, if you'd just relax and just do what I say, maybe you'll recover faster so I don't have to deal with your whining ass anymore!"

As the doctor and his patient continued to bicker, Spock wordlessly eased his way over to Kirk's bed and pulled a white table over it. He placed the board on top and dragged a chair out so he could sit down. Then he opened the black case and methodically took out each black and white piece to arrange on the board. Afterwards, he waited.

In the few times that he could, the Vulcan would visit his captain. Most times the man's bed would be surrounded by several of the bridge crew. Other times they were people from engineering, sciences, and a few handfuls of women from different sub-departments. Spock hadn't been alone with the captain not once, but when McCoy finally left to attend to other matters, the Vulcan found himself with Kirk's full attention on him.

"So," Kirk said shifting in his bed. "I've never played 3D chess before."

Spock raised his brow. "That is deeply regrettable. I assumed a man with your intelligence would already know how to play."

"Well, I am a fast learner," Kirk pointed out with a sly grin. He casually settled his elbows on the table and fixed a challenging pair of eyes on the Vulcan. "So go ahead and teach me, Professor Spock."

Without his consent, the Vulcan's heart beat rapidly in his side at the mention of his previous title. The way it left the man's lips reminded him of when they were in their washroom: his captain, dazed, naked, arched in his arms, and speaking his name with such fervent need…

Throat as dry as a desert, Spock nodded and proceeded to teach. Never in his entire life had he known such difficulties in giving instruction; his voice wavered, his hands shook, and the images, that had inappropriately entered Spock's mind earlier, stubbornly stayed there.

In case you haven't read my A/N in the beginning, I have incorporated scenes from my other fic, BY DESIGN, so if there was any confusion in this chapter, please let me know. I will try to infuse them better in the later updates, because it's not supposed to be necessary to read the companion fic to get this one. By the way, I'm wrapping this fic up with only about four chapters or so left!