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Friends In High Places
Jim ordered Sulu to take his sweet time getting to Veda. Bones was very upset that Spock and Nyota would be going on an away mission without sufficiently recovering from their injuries. The Vedan Empress had a lot of nerve. Apparently she had just assumed the throne upon the death of the old Empress and was attempting to establish her authority. The Minister who contacted them insisted that they come immediately. Veda was a small planet, but strategically placed. The Federation could not afford to offend the Vedans.
Spock was noticeably stiff and sore, sitting not quite as straight as usual in his seat at the conference table.
"I wonder who the new Empress might be. I met several members of the Vedan royal family as a child when my parents took me to the planet on a diplomatic mission. We stayed in the palace and I played with the Princesses. My family was very well treated. My mother especially enjoyed the visit. My father did not, as the Vedans are a very "tactile" society. It was a very difficult experience for a touch telepath. However, I do not believe that we have anything to fear from them."
Bones was still seething.
"I don't like it. Just who does she think she is, demanding that we send injured crew members down just to give her a damn report in person. Jim, put me on the away team so I can keep an eye on them."
"Okay, but if you're going, so am I. Somebody has to keep you out of trouble."
Jim had expected Spock to object to Bones being on the away team. He could be a hothead at times. Spock and Nyota met the pair in the transporter room. Spock had his hand on the small of Nyota's back, watching her as though he expected her to break like fragile glass. All four were in their dress uniforms.
"Doctor, I am most gratified by your presence on this mission. I am concerned for Nyota."
"Spock, I'm fine. You worry too much. Let's just go down there and get this over with."
They materialized in a marble entry hall. Servants were waiting to escort them to the Empress.
The Vedans were a pleasant looking race, humanoids with pale pink skin and silvery hair. They had turquoise eyes and were short in stature with a tendency to be plump.
The attendants took them to a waiting area and seated them on plush sofas of a silky, silver fabric. They were served wine and fruit, which Bones pronounced safe for their consumption. They began to relax a bit.
A rather important looking male in a bright blue tunic entered.
"Her Royal Highness Empress Greina will join you shortly. Please stand."
Spock whispered to Jim.
"I knew a Princess Greina as a child. Perhaps this is she."
A middle-aged woman in regal garments of deep green entered the room on the arm of an escort. She sat down on another of the sofas and motioned for the away team to be seated.
"Please introduce yourselves."
"I am Captain James T. Kirk, and this is Dr. Leonard McCoy. Next to him is Commander Spock, my First Officer, and our Chief Communications Officer, Nyota Uhura."
"Spock, my little brown-eyed friend! My how you have grown! Come closer and let me look at you."
Spock approached the Empress.
"May I embrace you?"
"If my wife gives her permission."
"Your wife? Surely you are too young to have a wife, though she is a beautiful as any princess I have ever seen. I would embrace you both."
"Please do so carefully, your Majesty, as my wife was injured on Ordolia Zev."
"As was my husband" said Nyota as she shot him a dirty look.
"You are unwell! That is why you have brought a physician! This briefing could have waited until you had healed. Erlon, why was I not informed of their injuries?"
"Your Majesty wished for them to come immediately."
"So that they could be properly thanked, not endangered. Spock's mother was my friend. He played with my daughters. I would never wish him harm. Erlon, prepare a suite for them, that they may rest, and then we shall have a feast. Only then may we hear their report."
Jim lay on satin sheets in the middle of the biggest bed he had ever seen. Servant girls had scrubbed, massaged and anointed him. One lady stayed behind to give him some "special attention" after the others had gone. He assumed Bones was getting the same treatment in his room, but he was too relaxed to be bothered to check. The feast would not be for another two hours. Jim had plenty of time for a nap.
Bones had never felt so pampered in his life. It was wonderful having someone take care of his needs for a change. The bed was so comfortable. The Empress said that she wanted them to rest. Sometimes the hobgoblin came in handy, especially when he had friends in high places!
Greina's own servants waited on Spock and Nyota. They were a little miffed at Spock's insistence that he could bathe himself. Nyota laughed at him, but finally came to his rescue.
"Please do not touch my husband. We are newly married and it is my duty to tend to his needs."
The ladies in waiting disappeared, giggling on their way out.
"Thank you, Nyota. I now have better understanding of my father's discomfort."
"I was a bit uncomfortable with that myself. Those ladies were a little too interested in you, though I can't say that I blame them. However, I promised that I would take care of you, so come get in the tub. It's nice and hot, just the way you like it. It will feel good on those sore muscles."
Bones kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. They had been pampered, lavished with "affection", dressed in finery, and fed a sumptuous banquet. Surely they were being fattened up for something. Where were the monsters in the closet or the Klingons that had been hiding under the bed? It was just too perfect, the Vedans just too accommodating. Well, whatever they were hiding Jim and Spock would soon find. Then Bones would be there to patch them up afterward.
After the meal, the Empress brought them all to her private apartment. There was a computer link and a large screen. Spock showed the monarch and her ministers the images of the pillars found on Ordolia Zev. All agreed that they were very likely Vedan in origin, or perhaps the Ordolia Zevans and Vedans had common ancestry. Veda ancient history was sketchy at best. There had been two great wars and a series of plagues.
The team from the mission had documented thousands of lines of text which would need to be translated. Spock and Nyota had started on this, but the rest was best left to the Vedans.
Empress Greina sighed.
"It may be years until we have the answer. I know that I was being optimistic, but I had hoped it would be there. However, we are grateful to have this much, especially at the cost of two lives. Captain, we appreciate all that has been done for us by your crew."
The four friends were very confused, looking at one another. What had the Empress been hoping for?
Jim was the one who finally asked.
"I beg your pardon, ma'am, but exactly what answer were you looking for? What is the question?"
"Our people have stopped having babies. No young ones have been born for twelve of our sun cycles. It is not for lack of trying. As you may have noticed, we are an affectionate people. The old records are not complete, but apparently this has happened before and a solution was found. However, we are missing the part of the chronicle which details it. My husband and daughters have been researching the issue day and night in the archives. So far they have found nothing."
The other shoe had dropped, thought Bones. This is what they were being fattened up for. He sighed as he thought of the hours of research and the dozens of medical exams he'd be doing. However, the challenge energized him. This was the very reason he had joined Starfleet in the first place.
Jim and Bones returned to the ship to organize a crew of medical researchers. Dr. M'Benga and Nurse Chapel would each head a team. They assembled the needed supplies and returned to Veda in a matter of hours.
Nyota joined Prince Consort Harin and daughters Edda and Lasun in the translation efforts, while Spock ran searches on the texts already decoded. He tried thousands of word combinations involving fertility, conception, and pregnancy.
Bones was motivated to try his best. He and his teams set up a well-equipped lab in an empty room of the royal palace. Empress Greina had found five young couples willing to donate eggs and sperm for fertility evaluations. These were healthy kids in their early twenties. Individually, they all tested out fine. When he attempted in vitro fertilization, embryos resulted. However, they died after a few hours. It was not a genetic problem, but a mechanical or chemical one. The cell walls broke down.
Jim felt useless. At the Academy he had studied Computer Programming, Engineering, and Weapons Systems. Translation and Biology were definitely not his fields of expertise. However, Jim excelled at thinking outside the box.
They had been at it for three weeks now. Spock had run every search string he could think of several times. Nyota, Harin, and the Princesses were faring no better. Spock had checked the recent Vedan archives for significant events that had occurred in the last twelve years. There was nothing that one would associate with decreased fertility or increased cell wall fragility.
When Jim beamed down for a progress report, he saw the frustration building. Even Spock seemed ready to snap. Time for some of that creative thinking.
"Hey, Spock, the Empress said the last baby was born twelve years ago, right?"
"Yes, Jim, that is correct."
Spock sighed. What was it Bones had called Jim? Captain Obvious?
"Well, it takes a little while to grow a baby. Maybe you should find out what happened on Veda thirteen years ago."
Suddenly Spock was not feeling quite so smug.
Three minutes later Spock had the answer. There had been a major earthquake on Veda thirteen years ago. Several ancient structures had shifted, including a temple to a fertility goddess. The pillars had been emitting harmonic vibrations ever since. The Vedans had not been concerned about these because the frequency was too low for most humanoids to hear.
When Bones heard about the findings, he remembered something he had once read about the "Taos Hum" and similar vibrations on Terra. The low frequency hum was first noticed in the latter half of the 20th century and had been linked to a combination of natural ocean wave activity and electric energy from power lines. The evidence was mostly anecdotal, but many health issues such as migraines, cancers, and infertility were supposedly caused by the "Hum."
Jim took Spock and a team with construction experience to the temple site. With the permission and blessing of the Empress, the temple pillars were shifted until the vibrations stopped.
Bones had taken his specimens to the Enterprise to remove them from the interference of the vibrations. This time when he fertilized the eggs, he got healthy embryos, at least two per couple. Some were frozen and some were implanted. The Enterprise waited two weeks to see what would happen. Bones was delighted to be able to confirm five pregnancies.
The party thrown by Empress Greina was more lavish than any the Enterprise crew had ever seen. It went on for three days, until every crewman on board had had chance to attend. Jim, Spock, Nyota and Bones all got special recognition and awards.
The Empress addressed her people from the balcony of the palace. She pointed to the sky, where the ship was in orbit.
"It is good to have friends in high places."
