Author note: This story is a sequel to my TOS fanfiction stories. All you need to know is that McCoy has been in a relationship with an alien called Lily-Lee, but that was a long time ago.

–***–

"Live life like you're gonna die – because you're gonna.

But you'll have time to think: Why did I waste it? Why didn't I taste it?"

William Shatner singing, "You'll have time"

–***–

Chapter one – Not Dead Yet

The shuttle came in to dock in the USS Enterprise-D. Data escorted branch admiral Leonard McCoy to check over medical layout on the new ship.

"Have you got some reason you want my atoms scattered all over space, boy?"

"No sir. But at your age, sir, I thought you shouldn't have to put up with the time and trouble of a shuttlecraft." McCoy stopped walking.

"Hold it right there, boy."

"Sir?"

"What about my age?"

"Sorry, sir. If that subject troubles you . . ."

"Troubles me? What's so damned troublesome about not having died? How old do you think I am?"

"One hundred thirty seven years, Admiral, according to Starfleet records."

"Explain how you remember that so exactly."

"I remember every fact I am exposed to, sir."

–***–

"An android. Hmf. And sickbay was full of machinery and not enough nurses in my opinion. The fleet is getting too reliant on new-fangled devices."

"Not everything new is of a mechanical nature, sir. For example, Star Fleet has assigned much of the analytical equipment in the laboratory to be stand-by backup. During non-combat assignments, they are replaced by one crewmember. A chemical analyst, sir." McCoy straightened up and looked at Data. The ship has a sniffer?

"Where is she?"

"Papipo Op is presently in laboratory six. But . . . I am curious to know how you knew it was a female."

"It's always a female. No male has ever left the home planet. Doesn't your info banks contain that little tidbit?"

"Not yet, sir. I am scheduled to download information about all species included in the crew at the end of next shift."

McCoy left Data and shuffled over to the elevators. The laboratories were on a different level. Stupid designers. The laboratories should be closer to sickbay.

–***–

When Vovaror Poplolanonetot was discovered during the first five-year mission of the Enterprise, it had been Kirk's intention to introduce this race of born analysts to the fleet. They were a bit primitive, sure, but they could be extremely useful in screening and scanning. So they had brought one emissary with them, and she had been very useful indeed. Becoming a regular feature in the laboratories, however, had proven to be more difficult than expected. First the red tape, of course. Second, compressing the academy training to fit their quick learning pace and short life span. Some subjects had to be left out completely. Discipline, most notably.

After that came the first tries, and Star Fleet soon discovered that if you have more than one sniffer (as they were soon called) on a ship, then their migratory instincts would kick in. Even two of them were enough that they would form a tiny flock and try every way they could think of to leave the ship. So it had to be just one, and it was also imperative that this one adopted the crew as a substitute flock. If not, they would become sad, isolated, uncooperative and finally depressed.

When these facts were established and the program started to work, accidents and combat killed four sniffers. This became known on the home planet when they were scheduled to return but didn't. Star Fleet didn't get any volunteers for the next three decades. Eventually, the desire for something new overcame the fear, but by then the program had already been scrapped. They had to start over. All in all, it had been eighty years since the first human saw what McCoy now saw standing at the laboratory bench. It was a short, hairy, ape-like woman with stripes and four nostrils.