What Jim Was Up To — Part I
Geunus Colony, 2289.313, 1130 hours. With a hand covering his brow he watched the Vulcan vessel circle gracefully before setting down. As soon as the dust settled Jim hurried aboard and headed straight for the cockpit, unmindful of Selek's penetrating gaze. "Right on time," he saidgood-naturedly, shoving the small canvas bag beneath his seat before doing up the straps.
Selek took off as swiftly as he landed and did not reply until they were out of orbit. "I am at your disposal, Jim," he replied, "However, I am not in agreement with your current plan of action."
"I know." He nodded and scratched his beard. Taline had been very vocal about her dislike of the new chin growth but he didn't dare shave. He'd told her he was just trying it out but the truth was it went a long way toward hiding his identity—no one, not even his own mother, had ever seen him with a beard before—and where they were going he couldn't afford to get caught.
Soon they made the jump to warp and were in a field of stars. Selek swiveled around to study him more closely. "Why have you not informed Spock and Doctor McCoy of your plans?"
He let loose a long sigh. They'd been having this argument ever since he first asked Selek to join him. "Because," he said, "It's not safe for them."
"This undertaking is not safe for us either," he replied without skipping a beat.
"Yeah, but I signed up for this and they didn't; besides, you didn't have to come."
"I could not afford not to accompany you, Jim."
Only now, a lifetime later, could he truly appreciate Spock's unswerving loyalty and friendship—in both incarnations. And while his gratitude ran deep Jim knew he didn't deserve it from either of them. He quickly changed the subject before he grew maudlin. "Besides, Bones isn't Starfleet anymore, or don't you keep up with the news?"
"I have kept abreast of all of his work since he transferred to the Center for Disease Control; however you must certainly be aware that he and Spock together with you…"
"I am." It was true; he knew what a team they made, how good they all worked together, a triumvirate of logic, emotion, and common sense. Pinching the bridge of his nose Jim tried to keep his irritation at bay. His eyes narrowed into hard little slits as he gazed out the viewport. "I've looked at this mission from every possible angle and this is the safest way. Section 31 is too dangerous to involve them and if you really had a problem with this you'd have put up more of a fight before now. Hopefully we'll get what we need and get back to Geunus before anyone's the wiser."
"What if we are caught?"
In a momentary lapse he let Selek's cool veneer of Vulcan magnanimity got under his skin. Shutting his eyes tight, Jim took a few deep breaths to help keep his composure before joking, "If we get caught I'll just look like a traveling eccentric who got lost with his elderly Vulcan attendant."
Selek said nothing for a full minute but Jim watched in amusement as his eyebrow rose high up into his graying hairline. "Elderly attendant?"
"You're 188 years old, you're hardly a spring chicken. Or would you rather I call you my companion? Or perhaps…"
"I would prefer," his friend replied, abruptly cutting him off, "That I need not be referred to at all."
Jim went quiet again. That's all he wanted from this fact-finding mission too.
Beta Quadrant, 2289.325, 0004 hours (ship's time). The trip had been harder than he'd anticipated. Not physically—they were flying in one of the best ships the VSA could design and it was smooth sailing all the way—but emotionally. It'd been over 40 years since Tarsus and he'd worked damn hard to put that horrific part of his life behind him but now the old memories refused to be held back. The constant fear, the gnawing hunger, the brutal beatings…the recollections left him irritable and angry in a way he hadn't been since he was a teenager and Selek wisely kept out of the way.
Until tonight.
He knocked on the side of the door frame before entering his berth. "Jim, we must talk."
Sitting cross-legged on the bed he set his PADD aside and gestured toward the desk chair. "Have a seat."
Selek adjusted his robes and settled in. "We are 36.58 hours away from arriving at Tarsus IV. I request advice on where best to land our shuttle craft and how to avoid the surveillance that Section 31 undoubtedly has in place."
A wry chuckle escaped his lips. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that too." He pulled up a holo-image of the original colony, specifically the area near the Governor's mansion, then moved about 7 kilometers west. The area was completely barren save for a small but thick grove of trees. Selek gazed at him with questioning eyes before Jim zoomed in on the image. "Kodos was…he was…" A lunatic, an egotistical despot, a genocidal tyrant…the more he thought about the former governor the more Jim trembled with barely checked rage.
He clenched and re-clenched his hands into fists at his side. "Well, he was nothing if not pragmatic. His—election to power, if you will—was extremely divisive."
"I recall that fact from my own timeline as well."
Jim nodded, briefly wondering if he was doomed to repeat his experiences on Tarsus in every reality, when he realized his counterpart might've had it even worse. The taste of bile rose up in the back of his throat and he choked it back down before moving on. "He was prepared for everything; I know because one day one of my friends stumbled onto something we were never meant to find.
"David was out scouting for food when he found the secret tunnels. He was in the sewers looking for a way into the compound when he found a door in an odd place. It took him to a network of tunnels that led directly underneath the Governor's compound."
Here Selek took the PADD from his hands and called up other screens looking at building permits and street plans. "I cannot find any evidence of such tunnels in our files."
Jim shot him a skeptical look. "If you wanted an escape route in the event of a coup would you advertise it by pulling permits?"
Selek duly returned the PADD. "I see." In a more human gesture he drummed his fingers against the footboard. "Jim, we have our entry into the enemy camp, but now I must inquire as to how you intend to get us on the ground."
"Well…" Here Jim bit back a grimace and shot Selek an apologetic look. He had a plan alright, but it wasn't one he was going to like.
Tarsus IV, 2289.327, 1337 hours. The ship hurtled toward the ground despite the beeping alarms and warnings in the most urgent Vulcan tones that they "decrease their velocity post-haste". He kept a firm grip on the controls even as his teeth rattled in his head while beside him Selek appeared to be non-plussed. "Jim…"
"Just a few more seconds." They were getting close now…another 10 seconds and he'd be nothing more than pink mist. "NOW!"
Selek let loose the controlled blast while Jim brought up hard on the steering to level them out. She should've stopped but instead the ship went into a complete stall and landed hard on her belly before skidding away. Their momentum carried them toward the woods and Jim could only hope that the tree line that was rapidly coming into view would cushion their entrance.
"Jim…" he warned again.
"I know, I know!" He pushed harder on the brakes and she knocked sideways into a line of trees, knocking them down like bowling pins until stopping outright a dozen or so meters in. All at once the alarms shut down and Jim sat with his hands clenched in a death lock around the brakes. He glanced to his left. "Well?"
His friend held up one finger and pressed the earpiece closer, tuning the dial on the control panel to cover all frequencies. "They are sending out drones to investigate the meteorite crash."
Jim exhaled deeply. "Here's to hoping they buy it."
He knew it wasn't possible but he swore he just saw Selek smirk. "Indeed."
"Are our recon drones ready?" The question hadn't even fully left his mouth before his colleague pushed the button and deployed the devices that were now speeding stealthily toward the compound. Slowly, Jim released his hold, flexed his grip, then began undoing his harness.
"What do you intend to do now?"
"Cover up our landing a bit better in case they send anyone other than drones out to look," Jim answered first and foremost, "Then head for the tunnels."
Selek was on him in a flash. Holding him tightly by the forearm, he said, "Jim, if you value my opinion at all you will wait until we have a better understanding of the layout and security of the compound before you breech their walls. Please."
Deep brown eyes laced with almost paternal concern penetrated Jim to his core. Selek was right, he was in such a rush to get at the truth that he was throwing all caution to the wind. "You're right." Shakily, he sat back down and ran a hand through his hair. This mission—well there was no way he could be objective no matter his reason for being there.
His friend said nothing but sat back down as well and continued to monitor his screens, letting several minutes pass. "Are you fully recovered?"
"What?" Jim asked, shaking his head out of his private reverie, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"Because I would strongly recommend that you set about obscuring our… unorthodox landing."
He let loose a throaty laugh and clapped Selek hard on the back before exiting the cabin. "Yeah, alright, I'm on it."
Tarsus IV, 2289.328, 2211 hours. "Whoa." It was all he could think of to say as he reviewed the surveillance footage Selek compiled for him. There were almost 3 times as many prisoners and personnel than he originally thought.
"That would be an understatement," Selek replied. "By my estimation there are 216 prisoners and 359 Starfleet officers present at this installation. This is a far larger operation than we had originally anticipated"
Jim shook his head. "I knew Mangayo's group had a following but I had no idea it was this big."
"They may not all be Section 31." Selek took the PADD back and Jim stared at him in disbelief. "As you may have observed these engineers have been isolated from the rest of the population and appear unaware of the prisoner's presence. It is my opinion that they do not know that their work is counter to Starfleet's founding principles."
"Like Pullman and the artificial dilithium project," he muttered. "Keep 'em blind to the big picture."
"Precisely."
Jim turned his attention back to the footage of the forlorn and weary prisoners emerging from their subterranean toils. They were covered in dirt and sweat and he couldn't tell where their clothes ended and they began. Single file they trudged forward toward an aircraft carrier which he surmised was their makeshift prison barracks.
"Can we replicate some clothes like that?" he asked, gesturing at the screen.
"Of course."
"Then let's get on it and as soon as it's ready I'll check the tunnels for an entry point."
Tarsus IV, 2289.329, 0613 hours. Having sat disused for almost half a century the tunnels were badly in need of a cleaning yet they were still standing. Jim followed the old paths but luck was only half on his side; he popped up a floor tile in what should've been an empty storehouse but saw a pair of regulation boots slip around the corner ahead of him. 10 seconds earlier and the man would've been right on top of him. Slipping back underground Jim stood at the base of the ladder and reached into the folds of his grubby robes for the tricorder Selek insisted he carry. There had to be a breach somewhere that he could exploit.
0937 hours. As he rounded the corner Jim cursed soundly under his breath. He'd been searching for hours and was getting nowhere. If the next tunnel didn't get him anywhere useful he'd head back to Selek and regroup.
Shit. And they were really hoping to avoid leaving any kind of teleportation trail.
The slow and steady plop-plop-plop of dripping water echoed down the dank passageway and the air was heavy with the smell of earth. Jim couldn't see more than a few meters in front of him; the automatic lights failed halfway down the corridor, obstructing his view.
He aimed the tricorder at the wall on his left then brought it up to the ceiling, checking the readings for any broken conduits and finding none; however, when he checked the right wall he discovered 35 life forms working a few meters away.
They'd blasted through the tunnel and they didn't even know it!
Charging down the dark hallway he slipped the tricorder back inside his robes and began groping about for any opening. It wasn't much—only a few centimeters or so—but it was enough for him to claw at and eventually slip through. As Jim pulled himself through the dirt he felt his hand hit something cool and hard; as he wedged his way through he saw a packing crate with a Starfleet insignia.
He squeezed through into a small dirt antechamber full of pickaxes, packing crates and polishing cloths. After covering over the opening and wiping the grime from his eyes Jim peered around the corner to see a larger chamber lit by artificial yellow light that was full of moving people. On the far wall trace glints of dilithium crystal twinkled from their homes in the unnaturally-hard packed earth. While several prisoners had the unenviable task of working them out of the bedrock the rest were manning the low wooden tables in the center of the room, cleaning the freed crystals and inspecting them for defects. Quantity was high but quality was not as he noticed only a fraction of the haul actually made it past the guards and out of the room.
Jim sat and observed all of their movements for the rest of the day looking for any weaknesses he could exploit. He was surprised by the small number of guards present until one passed close enough for him to see the type of phasers they carried. The tech wasn't Starfleet standard issue—it looked more like something Khan would've cooked up—and if that was the case than they must've packed enough heat to keep everyone from thinking about rushing the guards. It certainly made Jim think twice.
From the ceiling above a siren sounded three times and all work ceased. He quickly scrambled through the opening and headed back to Selek and the shuttle to make his report. He'd just have to try again tomorrow.
A/N: Worst. Case. Of Writer's. Block. EVER!
I'm trying though, I really am, so I hope you'll stick with me. I'm also way behind on my reading (sorry NotesfromaClassroom and NyotaRules!) but I know I'll get there. I have every intention of working through this block but it's definitely going to take me some time. Hopefully this update will help keep you going until Chapter 4 works itself out. Thanks for reading and I'm sorry again for the delay!
