"There's still no sign of them, sir," Lieutenant Xander, one of the landing crew, reported in grave voice.

It was morning. The long, seemingly unending night had eventually turned into a crimson red sunrise. The black rain clouds sweeping across the sky like ink spilled in water. The first sun, a small red star, rose over the jagged horizon. It was followed two hours later by a larger white sun that shone with a cold and pale light over the jagged black rock structures that twisted and rose unevenly out of the low mountains. Their crumbling shapes twisted upwards like spires towards the sky. A thick layer of wet ash covered the ground and seemed perpetually present across the strange new landscape.

"We must keep searching the surrounding area until we have located the Captain and Jaylah," Spock said.

They had been transported onto a narrow path cutting through the twisting black mountains. It was wide enough to carry a decently sized transport vehicle, however due to the unstable nature of the geological formations and the ground shaking thunder, part of the road had crumbled down the steep hill and off of the cliffs below.

"This is all a bloody mess," Xander muttered under his breath as he turned and began gathering together the long cables they had used in an attempt to lower themselves over the precipice far below. Their attempts had quickly proven futile, as the ropes were not long enough to penetrate the seemingly bottomless abyss and the ground was too unstable to anchor to anything lower than the top of the road on which they now stood.

"I still can't get the scanners to work," Ensign Elden reported, studying the half taken apart device in his hands. The communicators, beacons, scanners as well as most other devices besides the phasers were all unresponsive.

"The severe storm last night must have been powerful enough to create an electromagnetic pulse that destroyed the semiconducting circuit in all our devices, rendering them inoperable," Spock theorized, watching the dark storm clouds fall away in the distance. Red streaks of lightning flashed in their swirling black depths. "The phasers however have a modulating energy core which repulses every three point six minutes, protecting the primary functions from the electromagnetic pulse."

"So we have no communication with the Enterprise, no captain and no way to find our way out of this hell hole?" Xander swore loudly as coiled up the rest of cable. "This is just damn perfect."     

"In accordance with Starfleet Order 104, Section B, Paragraph 1-A, in the absence of the captain, I as first officer, take on the duties and responsibilities until he is able to resume them himself," Spock warned his crew member.

Xander glared at Spock for a long moment before continuing his work. "Yes sir," He grumbled.

"How will we return to the ship if we have no way to communicate with them?" Elden asked.

"The indigenous lifeform upon this planet possessed the technological capability to contact the Enterprise. We merely need to locate civilization." Spock told him.

Despite the two suns in the sky, the planet surface was very cold and an icy wind moaned its way through the tall spires of black rock around them. Spock attempted to remain indifferent to the temperature, although it was difficult.

"It is illogical to remain at this location accomplishing nothing, we must move on and attempt to find a position in which we can successfully rescue the Captain," Spock said.

"Yes sir," Elden said, shoving the pieces of his scanner into his pack, following closely behind the Vulcan. Xander brought up the rear, glaring at Spock.

The three traveled down the narrow and winding road for several hours but were still unable to find any suitable location from which to descend into the deep drop below. Black clouds soon covered the sky again, blocking out what little warmth the two distant suns provided. An icy black rain fell for a few minutes before stopping.

As they walked, Spock carefully studied the sky. Another storm of that magnitude was highly unlikely, but it was still practical to be prepared.

Although he was still entirely focused on studying the environment, Spock mentally calculated the likelihood of finding the Captain. He factored in the environmental hazards of the planet as well as the undeniable ability his friend possessed to miraculously survive odds that would otherwise be deemed impossible. It was a continual phenomenon that could only be described as none other than "sheer luck", an unquantifiable state of being in which the Captain so often dwelt.

"How much farther do you think we'll have to go?" Elden asked, trying to sound as uncaring as he could, but he could not hide the fact he was growing tired.

"Probably the rest of the day and then some," Xander grumbled. "And it'll take a lot longer if you keep yapping."

"It would be much appreciated if you both stopped any unnecessary conversation and focused on the task on hand," Spock told them, finding their constant bickering distracting and contributing nothing to their current situation.

The men grew silent. Spock kept walking, he himself estimating the distance they must travel before they reached the end of the twisting black spires and cliffs surrounding them He began to calculate another equation, factoring in the time traversed as well as the estimated average range of the jagged mountains from the brief overlooking view of the planet he had seen when the Enterprise entered its orbit.

They walked for another hour, but the twisted rock formations only grew taller and denser, their jagged and crumbling black sides shining like knife blades slicing into the sky. Spock and his crew still found no suitable location in which to lower themselves over the cliff face. But rescuing the Captain turned out to be the least of their problems.

Spock heard them long before they came into view. A slight scrapping sound high in the spires above. Something so faint and soft that his Vulcan ears barely picked it up. Spock froze, signaling his crew members to do the same. He listened carefully, tilting his head to the side as he heard it again. The same faint scraping.

"What's he doing?" Elden asked in an unintentionally loud whisper.

The sounds ceased for a slight moment, but then rapidly continued. This time it was louder and there was a great deal more noise. The sounds of a dried piece of hide scraping against the rocks was quickly joined by hushed screeching. Spock looked above him and suddenly, where there had only been the jagged ends of the black rocks, were hundreds of creatures perched on the edges of the rock formations.

Dried black skin clung to the yellowing skulls. Eyes that were mounted on the edge of a stalks within the orbital depressions whipped back and forth as the creatures examined the prey below. Long, bone like fingers were projected at the edge of the wizened leather wings, long jagged claws digging into the smooth black surface of rock. Sharp toothed beaks clicked loudly as the creatures snapped their jaws opened and closed.

"Do not be alarmed, but we are being monitored from above by a group of potentially hazardous lifeforms," Spock told his small crew.

The two men slowly looked up at the mass of giant birds perched just above them. Xander quickly struggled for his phaser.

"Be careful that you do not make any abrupt movements that could possibly be perceived as a threat," Spock said in a low voice, he himself wrapping his fingers around the phaser at his side.

They slowly continued on their way in silence, nervous gazes continually eyeing the creatures above, who noiselessly followed them through the jagged mountains. The time stretched on even slower and more than before. The long moments of silence now broken only by the rapid rush of wings and scratching of claws as the creatures changed their position to keep up with their prey. Other than the brief moments, the creatures were deathly silent.

The jagged rocks had begun to break apart and the road they were on was growing steadily wider as the sharp hill and cliff gradually leveled off. Some of the creatures had lost interest in the crew and had silently crawled across the cliff faces, back to where they came from. But several still remained, and they watched the crew below with ravenous black eyes.

A piece of road unexpectedly slid away into the hill. Lieutenant Xander slipped for a moment. A rock tumbled lose and fell apart as it crashed against the mountain side. The lieutenant staggered back to his feet, but the damage was already done.

A creature clicked as it opened its beak wide, jagged rows of teeth lining the inside. With a blood curdling shriek, it dove at the crew. The other creatures followed suit. Xander expertly targeted the swarm of twisted bodies diving at them, but the number of attackers quickly grew.

One creature slammed into Elden, knocking him on his back as it clawed at his exposed chest.

Spock shot the creature with his phaser. The large black body went limp, rolling down the hill and over the cliff below. Another creature screamed as it dove at Spock. He fired but the shot only grazed one of its naked wings. It dove at him again unnaturally fast, its claws flashing in the light.

Spock rolled out of the way, only to be attacked by another. A line of fiery pain raced down the length of Spock's arm as serrated claws dug deep into the skin. The Vulcan stumbled forward, momentarily blinded by the pain.

The creature dove at him again, claws only inches from his back when it suddenly fell away. Spock glanced over at Xander, who stood there with the phaser in his hand, having just saved his life.

Spock could see another creature just behind him. He called out, but it was too late. The creature grabbed Xander's jacket, its claws digging through the fabric and deep into the flesh beneath. Xander screamed as he was lifted off of the ground, another creature swooping in, its beak latching around Xander's neck as it flew away, struggling with the other over the writhing body.

The phaser lay a few feet from him, where it had flung from his hand from the previous attack. Spock quickly snatched it up, preparing fire at the creatures who had carried of Lieutenant Xander, but they were gone.

He was able to expertly target two other creatures, one who was about to make a grab at the momentarily unarmed Elden. The two remaining ones shrieked as they turned and flew back to their refuge among the peaks of twisted black rock.

Spock rose to his feet and walked over to his remaining crew member, holding out his good hand to help him to his feet. Elden was out of breath and still shocked at the sudden brutality of the creatures that had attacked them. He had several scratches along his face and hands, but he was otherwise uninjured. As the young man climbed to his feet, he stared at the crooked peaks that the creatures had taken Xander to.

"They took him," Elden said. 

"From the injuries he sustained, it is unlikely he would have survived for very long," Spock told the boy, hoping he would find some reassurance in the fact that Xander did not suffer for any lengthy amount of time.

Spock turned to the creatures lying on the ground. The phasers had been set for stun, however the unexpected shock of the weapons appeared to have killed them. While it had not been a pleasant task, it was one that the Vulcan deemed unavoidable.

With a grimace, Spock assessed the condition of his injured arm. The grey jacket sleeve was soaked with dark green. But there appeared to be no serious damage. Functionality remained sufficient.  It was, however, proving to be inconveniently painful.

A creature's shriek echoed through the black twisting rocks, the sound joined by more cries, a chilling chorus echoing throughout the sky.

"We must continue moving forward," Spock told Elden, pulling the jacket sleeve back over his arm. "The creatures are likely to return."

Elden picked up his dropped phaser and followed Commander Spock.

Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter of Star Trek Uncharted! Please don't forgot to leave a vote or comment to let me know what you thought!