A NAIL
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Sorry for keeping those of you still reading this waiting so long. Hopefully this tale will end in a couple of chapters.
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A NAIL
Chapter Thirteen
"There's about fifteen of those things left." Stewart Bobby Turner held his broken arm against his body. Behind him were twenty terrified women of all ages.
"We'll get you over to the Enterprise," Dr. McCoy ran his tricorder over Turner's arm. The break was clean. As long as he didn't jar his arm he'd be fine. He looked up and nodded to Spock. "Send them back to the Enterprise. Dr. Stone and M'Benga can fix him up."
An explosion sudden rocked the Atlantis. Turner was thrown against the wall. He let out a sharp cry of pain. "Damned it." Dr. McCoy moved quickly. "The bone has moved." He ran the tricorder over the rapidly swelling arm. "Damned it," Leonard swore. "We need to get him to surgery now."
"Anyone hear us," a male voice with a southern twang whispered over the black communicator. "We got divided into two groups. There's no one else left alive. We're carrying a pregnant woman whose water broke."
"This is Dr. McCoy of the Enterprise, where are you." Demanded McCoy.
"We on the mall level. There's another group on the food court level. The last of the creatures are between us."
Quickly calculating the number that had been rescued, the number of people in escape pods safely in the Athena asteroid cluster Spock frowned. "The Atlantis carried a combined two thousand two hundred and seven passengers and crew. So far with this group we can only account for seven hundred and nine people."
"Spock, Bones." Captain Kirk's urgent voice came over their communicators. "Scotty says you need to get out of there. The Atlantis is going to come apart."
"We're not leaving without the last of the survivors," Leonard said quickly. The ship violently shook. Leonard hit the wall. He grimaced as he momentarily ignored the pain in his shoulder to check on Turner again.
"Captain," Spock interrupted. "We are sending a group of people to the beam out area. Two groups are headed our way. We'll hurry them to the beam out area." He cut off the transmission from his communicator.
Putting Turner's arm in a sling McCoy said quickly. "I hope you have some good ideas about rescuing people. Any more shaking like that and we're going to find out cold space is."
Spock reached over tapping the black communicator still strapped to Dr. McCoy's arm. "Who is the person at the mall level?"
"I'm Keith Franks. I'm with about thirty people that include half of a Brazilian soccer team." An excited male voice chimed in. "The other half of the team is with the people in the food court."
As McCoy watched the passengers of the Atlantic being led away he suddenly turned to Spock. "I have an idea, Spock." He tapped the Princess Annabel communicator on his arm. "Captain, find someone that speaks Portuguese. And I really hate to say this but get my daughter up to the bridge. She knows more about this communicator than anyone."
Spock raised an eyebrow.
McCoy grinned at Spock. "I treated a Brazilian soccer player back in Georgia. They speak Portuguese. We can pass information to the survivors without those creatures knowing what we're saying."
"How would that be relevant?" Spock asked. "Portuguese should be a language that the universal translator would know."
"Should be but its not this far from Earth. A number of Earth languages were dropped from the universal translator to make room for more alien languages."
Meanwhile a Klingon ship dropped out of warp. A familiar snarling face appeared on the Enterprise's screen. "I owe you, Captain Kirk, a debt of honor." Kluge snarled.
Joanna and a small jovial looking man in a white chief's uniform spilled out of the turbo lift. Jim barely had time to say, "there are creatures aboard the Atlantis."
"Which we Klingons will defeat!" Kluge cut the transmission.
"Captain," Chekov said. "Klingon warriors are beaming aboard the Atlantis."
"Bones, what's your plan?" Jim snapped. "You are about to get Klingons for company."
"Jim, we know the creatures are intelligent enough to listen in to transmissions." McCoy said.
"Daddy," Joanna spoke up quickly. "You need to hit the little app that looks like a pigeon with a mailbag." She turned to Uhura. "The signal frequency," she raised her hands quickly moving fingers. Smiling Uhura quickly tuned to the right frequency. It took only a few minutes for Spock to outline their plan of rescue. The cook quickly translated into Portuguese.
Meanwhile in the mall level sixteen year old Zoe Smith heard the announcement go over the ship's intercom. She had become separated from her mother and her younger brother Toby. Her stomach twitched nervously in frustration. Her full lips twitched back revealing normal teeth as a growl rose in her throat. The slight ridge of a boney forehead was the legacy of the Klingon who'd raped her mother. Her mother and little brother were full humans. They needed her protection.
Use your brain along with your Klingon strength. Her mother's often repeated words echoed in Zoe's mind.
Sucking in a breath she looked over to the three dance bots. The blond dressed in a pink sparkly dress stood looking out the shop door. At her side a slender blue Andorian complete with signature horns peered down the corridor. Someone had dressed the Andorian bot in a silver sparkly cheerleader outfit. A human Asian looking bot closer to her wore a blue sparkly tunic top paired with short shorts. She held a gold twirling baton wrapped with red ribbon.
"I don't speak that language," annoyed Zoe whispered. Dressed in knee length bright pink shorts with a white strip on the sides and a white tee shirt with the number six on it she tightly gripped the only weapon she'd managed to grab running from shop to shop, a silver red ribbon wrapped twirling baton. She sucked her lower lip. Predator Pink Number Six nail polish gleamed on her perfectly manicured nails. Winning the Wicked Ellie's Nail Polish jingle contest had been a way to get her family off the backwater planet they'd been calling home. She sucked in a breath. She'd find them and get them off on one of the life pods and to safety. She pulled back her broad shoulders. And no damned creature would stand in her way.
"Everyone has to get off the Atlantis." The petite dance bot whispered. The bots had all been programed to know all earth languages. "The ship is going to come apart. A distraction is going to take place. We need to get to the engine room." The Atlantis shook violently. Things fell from the shelves around them.
Before they could move three misshaped figures lumbered down the mall corridor. They were sniffing the air. A growl rose in Zoe's throat. She was going to have to fight. Her hands tightened on the baton.
The Andorian bot looked from the blond bot to where Zoe stood. The blond gave a slight nod. She hit the button by the door that suddenly filled Wicked Ellie's with loud pulsating music. Bubbles erupted from several machines. The Andorian shoved a finger into the control panel next to her. Crackling with electricity the panel shorted out. Suddenly the Wicked Ellie perfume display started spewing out copious amounts of multiple samples of the new perfume line. Both bots began a wild synchronized dance.
Growling the three creatures grabbed the two dance bots at the front of the Wicked Ellie store. They smashed the two dance bots repeatedly into the floor. Parts of the bots flew in every direction. The petite Asian bot stood mouth open in horror. Zoe grabbed her hand. The dance bot had been designed to have human warmth and a heartbeat. Zoe could feel the race of the petite bot heart. "No." She fiercely whispered. "Those things won't come in here. Your friends would want you to live."
Gagging and holding their large hands over their ears the creatures lumbered off. Shattered pieces of the bots lay strewn across the corridor.
Once the creatures were gone the little bot tugged Zoe to where the remains of the other bots were. The music had reached the end of the track. "Do you have a name," Zoe whispered in the sudden silence. "I'm Zoe."
Slowly lifting her head the petite bot said. "Until the Atlantis was to dock at Station Twelve I am Cho. It means butterfly. The new market manger is selling all decommissioned bots to a brothel. I don't know what my new name will be."
Zoe growled. "NO." She sucked in a breath. She coughed at the stench of the combined perfumes. "Come on, Cho. We're going to find my mother and brother and get off the Atlantis. You are coming with us."
Derek Lee Tanner swung his favorite guitar with every ounce of his strength. It shattered across the face of the advancing creature. Staggering back the creature was hit in the stomach by a kicked soccer ball. The force of being hit by the soccer ball was enough to sent it through the open emergency airlock the creature's back hit the hatch. Out of breath the creature struggled to right itself. A small ten year old boy raced forward and hit the corridor panel that closed the emergency airlock. The door slid shut. A heart beat later the outer hatch blew. The creature was sucked out into cold space.
Meanwhile per Miss Joanna's instructions Spock had removed a section of paneling. He quickly wired the phone to the sound system. "Here, Spock," Leonard handed him a pair of ear plugs. "Rockabilly, the new popular kind, is insufferably loud. This is going to hurt your delicate Vulcan hearing unless you protect it."
"You know this how, Doctor?" Spock took the ear plugs.
"I've been in music stores." Leonard sighed. "It was far worse than hearing two tornadoes do a tango."
Spock raised an eyebrow.
"Enough of the metaphors," Jim shouted over the phone.
"Yes, Captain," Spock said. He put in the ear plugs.
The squealing sound of a guitar ripped from the sound system.
Klingon warriors and the creatures howled. The creatures covered their ears and they tried to escape the sound. The Klingons grinned at the loud music that pulsated through the Atlantis. At last music to fight by!
Kluge spotted the enemy. He let out a warrior's yell. Kory let out a warrior's yell. He had to prove he was worthy of Joanna.
Meanwhile holding hands Zoe and Cho sprinted through the ship's shopping mall. Cho tugged Zoe's hand leading her to a section of wall that hid a doorway. "Its the crew access passage way." Securing the door behind them Cho lead Zoe behind the shops towards the kitchen area.
The Atlantis shook again. Environmental controls flickered. Heavy crash doors rolled across several section of the ship as oxygen was cut off to those sections. A section of the ship tore loose sending shudders through the crippled ship. Several Klingons and creatures were spilled into cold space.
"Get those Klingons," Captain Kirk ordered.
Swirling light surrounded the Klingons. They appeared next on the transporter pad. Gasping one snarled, "Get us back to the fight!" Reilly made a quick decision.
"She not going to hold together much longer," Scott shouted over the intercom.
Joanna stood next to the captain's chair. "My daddy's got to get out of there." She whispered.
Three Klingons materialized near the engine room. Grinning they pushed passed the humans headed toward the auxiliary engine room.
In the dark crew passageway Zoe had to rely on Cho to lead them to safety. "We need to get out of here." Zoe felt slightly light headed. "I think there's no more oxygen getting in here."
Cho had emergency night vision in case any boutique she been put in had power failure. She scanned the corridor. Dragging Zoe with her the petite bot lead them to a door. She tired it. The door was jammed. Zoe was struggling to breath. Cho slammed her shoulder against the door just like the men in the videos she'd watched did.
They tumbled through the door right between a group of Klingons and creatures. Zoe drew in a breath. Music twanged loudly though the corridor. The creatures moved forward to grab Zoe. "Its a good day to die," shouted Zoe as she swung the baton she still had.
Kory felt his double hearts leap in a wild dance. Roaring he rushed forward. Not wanting to end up destroyed Cho swung her baton at the creature trying to grab Zoe. Kory reached them. He shoved Cho out of the way gutting the creature that dared to come near the young Klingon woman.
Roaring a proud Kluge decapitated another of the creatures. Blood splattered the walls.
The Atlantis shuddered again. Cho nimbly leaped over a downed creature. "We have to get to the engine room." She shouted in Klingon.
Wailing rockabilly filled the dying Atlantis.
In the engine room Spock stopped a woman from rushing back into the ship. "My daughter is back there." Anguished filled the thin woman's features. A half grown boy at her side grabbed Spock by his arm. "My sister Zoe is half Klingon."
"Then the Klingons will rescue her." He guided the woman and her son to the beam out area. "Mr. Scott," he said over his communicator. "Once we beam these people over search for a human Klingon hybrid girl."
TBC