GoldiSpock and the Three Bears (Part 2)

Star Trek: The Lost Missions: “GoldiSpock and the Three Bears” (Part 2)

by Christopher Jones

Missed the beginning of the story? Start with Part 1.

Last time on Star Trek: The Lost Missions…

While running routine scans of a planet previously cataloged as lifeless, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise detected the presence of a small cottage. Beaming down to investigate, the six-man away team split into two groups of three. One group, led by Spock, headed off down a trail and has not been heard from since. The other group, led by Kirk, stumbled upon a small plastic bottle filled with honey, and was trying to unravel its secret when a rustling sound from the nearby bushes startled them.

And now the continuation…

A thin, high-pitched oscillating sound danced amongst green leaves as they flitted in the breeze. A bird perched high above looked down. So accustomed he was to not seeing anyone walking down these trails, he found it odd that a light blue tunic was now making its way deeper into the forest. He found it even odder that inside the tunic was a tall humanoid figure with pointy ears.

The humanoid, known in many parts of the galaxy as a Vulcan, was accompanied by two other figures, both wearing red. One figure’s attire matched the Vulcan’s—black pants and a colored tunic. The other donned a short little skirt that looked like something from a high school football halftime show. The Vulcan wore a perturbed look upon his face as he slowly came to a halt.

“Vat is it Spock?” asked Ensign Chekov, one of the two humanoids accompanying the Vulcan, and the one not wearing the skirt.

“This tricorder seems to have stopped functioning,” answered Spock. “When we first began down this path, readings indicated that the cottage lay about 1km due east of the clearing; exactly where the path seemed to lead. But now I get no readings whatsoever.”

“So we just keep following the path, then,” said Chekov, failing to see the problem.

“That would seem to be the logical course of action,” replied Spock. “However, since we first left the clearing the path has taken several gradual turns, and I believe we are no longer headed due east.”

The second figure, the one in the skirt, looked on with her beautiful dark eyes as her shipmates continued their banter. Her name was Uhura, communications officer aboard the Enterprise, and she had grown accustomed to these difficult fits of logic on Spock’s part. Finally she had had enough.

“Maybe this would help,” she chimed in, pulling an old fashioned compass from her pocket.

“Thank you, Lieutenant, but I fail to see how a Cracker Jack toy will help extricate us from our current predicament.”

“Vait a minute, Mr. Spock,” cut in Chekov, “that’s more than just a toy. ‘Tis a little Russian invention that helped sailors on Earth many centuries ago.”

“Indeed.”

“That’s right,” added Uhura, “people used to get lost at sea all the time. But thanks to this little ‘Cracker Jack toy,’ they were able to alleviate the problem.”

“Then we shall try it,” Spock finally relented.

He took the compass from Uhura, held it in front of him, and waited for the needle to stop spinning.

Kirk and McCoy stood in the center of the clearing debating the meaning of the honey bear. This had been going on for some time now, and Ensign Jackson had grown weary. Having been unable to think of any plausible reason for a plastic bottle full of honey to be lying in a forest on a planet several hundred light years from Earth, he had eventually found a nice, cozy little spot on a log near the edge of the clearing and sat down.

“I wouldn’t sit so close to the edge if I were you, Ensign,” said Kirk, trying to scare Jackson. “You haven’t forgotten what color shirt you’re wearing have you?”

“Cut it out, Jim,” said McCoy, “can’t you see the boy’s scared enough already. Why, he’s white as a ghost.”

“I’m not scared, sir,” replied Jackson, “I’m just hypoglycemic. A little sugar and I’ll be as good as new. I brought along some cookies. They’re special ones my mother sent me from Earth. They’re quite tasty right out of the package, but I bet they’d be even better with some honey. Why don’t you bring that bottle over here and we can have a quick snack, sir.”

“Well, I am getting hungry,” said Kirk, “How about you Bones?”

“I could go for some cookies and honey,” he answered, “and we’re not getting anywhere just leaving the thing sitting on the ground.”

Jackson was feeling better already and was secretly delighted that he would no longer be alone near the perimeter of the clearing. Not that he was that concerned. The rustling sound hadn’t been heard for some time and the entire area seemed to be completely deserted. What could possibly happen to him here?

McCoy bent over to pick up the bottle. Wrapping his hand around the little bear’s waist, he lifted the small container from the ground.

“See, nothing to worry about,” he said to Kirk and Jackson.

The two senior officers were just about to step away from the center of the clearing when a net came flying up out of the ground like a Denebean bat out of hell, surrounding them both and ultimately leaving them dangling about 15 feet in the air.

“Unbelievable!” exclaimed Jackson, “It wasn’t me! Someone in the landing party fell victim to bad luck and it wasn’t me!”

Just as the last word left his mouth a huge grizzly bear came charging out from the bushes and gobbled him up.

to be continued…

Will the Cracker Jack compass help Spock and friends locate the cottage? How will Kirk and McCoy escape from the net? And where is the Enterprise, anyway? All of these questions and more will be answered in the next installment of “GoldiSpock and the Three Bears.”

Read the entire GoldiSpock and the Three Bears saga. Use the links below to jump to each installment:

Part One
Part Two (You are here.)
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven