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"O how much more doth beauty beauteous seem,
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give!
The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem
For that sweet odour which doth in it live."
Spock looked around in an attempt to determine what the Captain saw of interest past him but the terrain of the Beta Ardana IV hadn't changed in the 15 minutes since they had beamed down. It was still a rocky desert expanse better suited to his Vulcan physiology than the Captain's Human one. The rock formation in the near distance was no stranger than a dozen eerily similar ones they had found on the planets they had visited previously on their 5 year mission. If Spock had more than a passing interest in Geology he might write a paper on how all the worlds in the quadrant seemed to have the same rock formation, and somehow the transporter operators always put them down nearby. Perhaps there was something in the scans that looked for similarities in rock formations, though that still didn't explain the prevalence of this exact jutting of upthrust sandstone which always seemed to have the same weathering and arrangement of rocks.
Spock glanced back at the Captain, but he had not found some beautiful female member of an unnoticed alien species that had somehow hidden from their sensors only to show themselves within moments of the landing party beaming down. Indeed, with the rest of the landing party scattered to survey the area in search of the tritanium needed to finish repairs on the Enterprise's hull the most likely thing the Captain's quote referred to was Spock himself.
This seemed out of character for their friendship, but the blush slowly fading on the Captain's features and the way he was carefully studying a small boulder that didn't seem to fit into the rest of the landscape, yet was somehow also very familiar, while glancing towards Spock, at an average interval of 3.26 seconds between glances, implied that Spock was the cause of the Captain's suddenly quoting Shakespeare.
"There appears to be little plant life of interest in the surroundings, Captain. And none of the shrubbery in the local area is very fragrant."
"Yes well, Mr. Spock, I suppose it's a good thing we came down here in search of minerals instead of vegetables or animals then."
"The Human need to break scientific classifications down to their simplest forms continues to be illogical, Captain." Spock said. He focused on his tricorder for a moment but, since it failed to show anything likely to divert the conversation, he was forced to continue. "While the tritanium we are searching for is a mineral, the same can be said about the quartz found in abundance all around us."
"But neither one is a plant." Jim said with an air of triumph. And I would be surprised if there were a single animal larger than a flea within a kilometer of us."
"The tricorder shows a series of small lakes starting 1.442 km due west of here. There appears to be abundant plant life and some small animals living around it." Spock said. "I believe Lieutenant Rawlins went in that direction if you wish to attempt to 'catch up'."
"No, Spock, I think that we're fine right here." Jim said leaning gingerly against the rock as if unsure it would hold his weight. "After all I've got a beautiful view," the Captain continued to look at Spock as he said this, "and while there aren't any signs of things going wrong so far, we should stay centrally located to support the first team that finds trouble."
"It is illogical to assume that trouble will always find us, Captain. The tritanium we are looking for is supposed to be near the surface of the planet in this area and there are no signs of intelligent life. There is nothing about any of our readings or database information about this planet that indicates that this away mission will do anything other than go as planned."
"Now Mr. Spock, if you keep saying things like that you'll jinx us for sure." Jim said playfully. "With the week we've been having we shouldn't push our luck."
"I do not believe in jinxes any more than luck, Captain." Spock said "And while the Enterprise does encounter many unusual events, the Metallosphaera giganteus that ate the hull of the Enterprise were strange enough that I predict it will be at least 5.47 ship's days before there is another disruption to our schedule."
"Let's hope you're right about that, Spock," Jim said. "We could use a few quiet days here or there." The Captain pushed off from the rock and moved closer to Spock. "Scotty estimates that it will take 3 hours to complete repairs on the hull, assuming we do find the tritanium we need on this planet. Would you care to join me for dinner tonight?"
"We have dinner together in the mess many nights, Captain. I see no reason tonight should not be included among them, provided the survey teams find what they are looking for in the next 3.57 hours."
Jim paused for a moment looking almost pained. "Mr. Spock I was thinking about something a little more intimate," he gestured between them in a way that somehow brough him within touching distance of Spock. "Perhaps in my quarters? We could play a game of chess afterward."
"While the preliminary study of the Metallosphaera giganteus is complete, I had planned on studying it further in order to determine what attracted such a large quantity to our hull.
"Spock, we were up for 58 hours studying the Metallosphaera and trying to figure out how to remove them from the hull. Between the two of us I think we got 9 hours sleep while on the way to Beta Ardana IV and I got the lion's share of that." Meanwhile we are four days out from our scheduled rendezvous with the Potemkin. A schedule we will still be able to keep if the repairs go smoothly. Surely a meal and a night's rest is in order?"
"Very well, Captain," Spock said. "As you say you have not gotten enough rest recently. If you will stay in your quarters and not spend the night going over every bit of the repair team's work then I will join you in your quarters at 19:00 hours."
The communicator on the Captain's belt whistled insistently and he leaned away from Spock as he grabbed it and flipped it open. "Kirk here."
"Captain, this is Rawlins. We've found the tritanium deposits that appeared on the Enterprise's scans. There are deposits all along the river bed. We should be able to collect enough to repair the ship and be ready to leave within the hour."
The Captain's face lit up at the news and he grinned at Spock. "Excellent work, Lieutenant. Mr. Spock and I will join you to help your team with the retrieval of the tritanium while you survey the area further. If it's as plentiful as you say perhaps the Federation will be interested in setting up a mining operation." The Captain flipped the communicator closed and gestured towards where the rest of the away team was gathering. "Well Mr. Spock, it looks like we're going to see your small animal life after all."