Second Star On The Right  by Qzeebrella
warning: possible crack fic ahead

Once upon a time there was a starship by the call sign of Enterprise
NCC - 1701. This ship and her crew were dedicated to keeping the
Federation of planets and all its member species safe. In many ways
this starship was like a small kingdom. Her Captain, one James
Tiberius Kirk, was known for his courage, his leadership, and his many
romances with alien princesses.

King... I mean Captain Kirk owed a large part of his success to his
most trusted advisers, otherwise known as his command crew. The
youngest of his six advisers was Pavel Chekov. A man fiercely proud of
his Russian heritage. Pavel's best friend (and partner in creme) was
Hikaru Sulu. Sulu was an extraordinary pilot, swordsman, and he had
the potential of becoming a captain of his own ship one day. Their
honorary sister was Nyota Uhura who was neither fair nor a maiden.
Nyota was a woman of surpassing inner and outer beauty, with a gift
for language and music, and a compassion that made her soul shine.
Then there was Montgomery Scott, known as Scotty. He was a veritable
magician when it came to anything mechanical. He had the respect of
the entire crew and was a friend to all on board.

Then there were Kirk's two top advisers, whom this tale is primarily
about. Spock, his right hand man, a scientist of renown. Spock had
dedicated his life to following Surak's philosophies, adhering as best
as he could to the philosopher's teachings. Like most Vulcans, he
valued logic, learning, and doing the best he could to live up to his
responsibilities. He was also a man of honour who faced a daily
struggle within himself, for he was a man with a dual nature, a man of
two worlds, and the resultant conflict this caused within himself was
difficult to manage. The hardest part for him was living up to his own
expectations for he had very high expectations and a desperate need to
prove himself.

Kirk's other most trusted advisor was one Leonard "I'm a doctor, not a
bricklayer" McCoy. A true gentleman fiercely dedicated to saving lives
and doing as best as he could to be a good man. Known for his inner
strength and his devotion to his friends, he also had a desperate need
to prove himself. And an irresistible urge to get a raise out of
Spock.

During one fairly typical day on the starship Enterprise, everything
changed. Though the crew did not realize it at first, so focused were
they on working together in order to accomplish their mission. They
were flying from one star system to the next when a space dwelling
dragon began nibbling on Enterprise's port nacelle (something not all
that unusual when it came to Kirk's ship." As the space dragon
attempted to eat the ship, Spock and McCoy became entrenched in a
debate (a sometimes hourly occurrence though normally just thrice
daily.) But this debate was different.

"Look Spock, all I'm saying is that our nacelles look remarkably
similar to the space dragons habitual prey. Heck their prey, the
Hyperspace Hares - even emit the same sort of energy signature that
our engines do so it's not the dragon's fault that it though Food! And
started nibbling on our ship."

"No, but we can not just let it attempt to finish eating the engine as
that would endanger the crew." Spock replied.

"I know that Spock, I'm not an idiot!" McCoy grumbled.

"No, you are a remarkably intelligent man." Spock commented with an
unusual warmth of almost emotion.

Leonard blinked. "Why thank you Spock." He drawled and bounced on his
toes, pleased by the compliment and thrilled by the hint of emotion.

Spock nodded and rose one eyebrow in acknowledgement.

Leonard grinned.

And that was the end of argument, pardon me, debate number one
million, one hundred and seventy five thousand, three hundred and two.
Not that they were counting. And it was the beginning of what made
this day - of all days on the ship - unusual.

Of course the end of the debate did nothing to solve the problems
caused by a dragon nibbling on the port nacelle. Scotty tried "souring
the milk" by inverting the energy signal, however the dragon responded
by beginning to chew the nacelle instead of just nibbling. McCoy
suggested turning off the engine completely, which was discounted as
Spock thought the dragon would see that as the "prey" dying and go on
to tearing the "carcass" to shreds. Nyota suggested attempting to
communicate with the dragon, Sulu began sharpening his sword, and
Chekov began talking about the legendary Siberian Snow dragon. Kirk
sighed.

Leonard made his way over to Spock and stood so that their shoulders
touched. "So any more ideas Spock?" McCoy asked.

"Unfortunately not." Spock replied.

"Um, aren't their eggs about the same size and shape of our
torpedoes?" Redshirt Ramirez asked.

"Yes." Spock replied.

"Then why not used a dummy torpedo, put in a generator tweaked to emit
the same sort of energy signal their eggs do, and shoot it away from
us and toward the stellar nebula over there?" Ramirez suggested.
"Maybe the dragon would think it was a real egg and give chase. They
are supposed to be protective of all dragon eggs, not just their own,
and their natural instinct is supposed to be to get any egg to the
traditional nesting grounds as quickly as possible. At least, so I've
heard."

"Might work." Len said.

"It'd be worth a try." Kirk said.

A moment later Redshirt Ramirez got a first name and a transfer to the
Engineering section. Leonard grinned at Spock, delighted that at least
one redshirt wouldn't die, at least not in the near future. Spock's
lips twitched as he acknowledged Leonard's delight, his eyebrow
lifted, and he nudged McCoy's shoulder with his own.

Petty Officer, 3rd Class, Bob Ramirez's, Enterprise's new warp nacelle
specialist, idea worked. The space dragon chased the dummy torpedo and
then nudged it towards the nearest stellar nursery, thus the closest
nesting grounds. Ramirez was put in charge of repairing the port
nacelle and the rest of the crew went on with their normal lives.
Except when it came to Spock and Leonard.

They left the bridge together, in the same turbolift - which wasn't
all that unusual. It was what they did next that made this day on
Enterprise different from all those before it. They stepped out of the
turbolift and into the corridor leading towards Spock's quarters
together. They walked side by side, Spock's right index and middle
finger touching Leonard's left index and middle finger in the
traditional Vulcan method of expressing deep affection. Their fingers
touching, their minds and souls beginning to swirl and dance around
each other, making unbreakable connections, their love for each other
obvious only to each other, they stepped into Spock's quarters
together.

As they did Kirk sat back in his command chair and gave an order.
"Sulu, Chekov, set a course. Second star on the right and straight on
until morning."

"But sir.." Chekov protested.

"You heard me Ensign." Kirk said, emphasizing the younger man's rank.

"Doesn't the okhu'el mu'dak know that heading will take us into
Klingon Territory?" Chekov whispered, cursing in Russian.

"Do you really think he'd notice if we set a different course? Like
say to Risa?" Sulu asked, also whispering.

"Good point." Chekov said. "Aye sir, second star on 'the right.'"

"And straight on until morning." Sulu said with a grin, inputting the
course and then returning to sharpening his sword.