"If this is such a routine mission, how come you don't send somebody else down to take the samples?" Dr. McCoy asked. He and Captain Kirk were on their way to the transporter room, even though the doctor steadfastly refused to go on the mission.

Kirk resisted the urge to roll his eyes and started to laugh, "It's a brand new planet, and no one's ever been there before. Why would I let someone else have all the fun? You could come if you want, you know."

"Jim, that planet's surface temperature averages 100 degrees! Not my idea of a fun day. More like stepping into the sun," McCoy said.

Kirk laughed as they entered the transporter room, "Are you sure you grew up in the South, Bones, if you hate the heat that much? Mr. Spock, are you ready?"

"Affirmative, Captain," Spock answered. He had his tricorder slung over one shoulder and a small container to collect samples, as well as the supplies they would need for a day in the desert environment they would be entering.

"Good," Kirk said, turning to the intercom. "Everything all right on the bridge, Scotty?"

"It's all fine, Captain. Should be nothing but smooth sailing from here on out," Scotty answered.

"All right, let's get going then," Kirk said. "See you when we get back, Bones. Energize."

Arriving on the planet's surface was like stepping into an oven, at least to Kirk. He took several deep breaths, to accustom himself to the increased temperature. "Well, this is…hot," he said in a deadpan, looking around. They seemed to be in a valley of sorts; there were mountains in the distance all around them, but the area they had beamed into was flat and sandy. There appeared to be no vegetation in sight. Kirk held a hand up above his eyes, squinting into the distance. The air shimmered when he looked at it due to the heat. "I don't think there's even any snow on the mountaintops. Does this planet have an ocean?" It seemed difficult to imagine the presence of water on this arid surface at all.

"It has small pockets of water, however, due to their small size, they have an extremely high concentration of sodium. It is unlikely that any life beyond the hardiest plants have developed here," Spock answered, looking at his tricorder.

Kirk nodded in agreement, "Or even just simple, single-celled organisms." He picked up some of the reddish sand, "This is thick. The geology team will be very interested in these samples."

"Yes, much less finely grained than what is common on Earth. Or Vulcan," Spock said, putting the sand into a small bag inside his sample container.

"There might be some larger rocks closer to the mountains," Kirk said, pointing to the distance. He wanted to get moving, standing in one place made the heat worse. He felt like he was caught in a close orbit around a sun.

"That seems logical," Spock said, starting to head toward the mountains. Kirk struggled to catch up, catching Spock's eye with a grin when he finally did.

"You're used to this temperature. I'm not. Iowa barely reaches more than 90 degrees, and it doesn't maintain that for long. Besides, there's usually a breeze or something." It didn't feel like the air ever moved on this planet.

"Even Vulcan has more variance in temperature than this planet," Spock answered. "Wind storms of violent ferocity are not unheard of. The almost complete lack of oceans on this planet must account for the difference."

"Well, it is barely Class M," Kirk said. "Anything more extreme and we would have needed protective gear." He was grateful that wasn't the case; he'd used Starfleet's protective suits on more than one occasion and they were extremely difficult to maneuver, and very uncomfortable. The downside to this was that they had to deal with these temperatures with nothing.

Spock raised an eyebrow but said nothing, concentrating on recording the differences in air quality and temperature on his tricorder as they walked.

"What?" Kirk asked. "I know that look, Mister. Something on your mind?"

"Only that Doctor McCoy would undoubtedly say you were being reckless in accompanying me to such a planet. As you say, I am more physically suited for it."

Kirk laughed, "He'd probably be right. But what else are we doing out here if not to explore, to push our boundaries? To see what's out there, not with instruments or probes but with our own eyes, and feel it for ourselves? There's no greater privilege in all of history than that." Saying it allowed made him want to get moving; to concentrate on something rather than just stand here in the heat.

"Captain!" Spock cut him off, sounding almost alarmed.

"What is it?" Kirk asked.

"Some unusual atmospheric readings. They appear similar to an ion storm, but are not exactly the same."

Kirk looked up, "But we're not experiencing the effects of any ion storm."

"As I said, the readings are unusual," Spock said, fiddling with the tricorder. "They would require further analysis to determine what exactly they are."

Kirk wasted no time, "Kirk to Enterprise. Kirk to Enterprise."

No answer. They were cut off from the Enterprise for no reason that they could tell.