In the Family
Chapter 8
"For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone;
and the place thereof shall know it no more."
Psalms 103:16
"Gentlemen, I'm going to take you where we know for certain there are ryetalyn deposits. Unfortunately those areas are also where some of our most beautiful and delicate ecosystems are located, and that includes, the flora, fauna, insect, bird, and animal life. Not all areas have all these species, but all the species that are present in the different sites are on a razor's edge in their stage of development. It has taken many years to get to where we are now with some species we've introduced here."
"Keep a sharp eye out," Jim muttered to Sulu.
"Yes, Sir."
They traveled a good ways in silence until Doris stopped the transport. "This is our first stop. It's called," she smiled, "The Adam site and it was our first terra forming success story. It was carefully planned 84 years ago, and planted just a few months after the first colonists arrived. They wasted no time. As you can see there's already a lot of growth, lush wild flowers and the berry bushes growth necessary for insects, birds, and pollinators, a small lake to supply water, trees for nesting birds, and grasses for small mammals and rodents. This area is approximately 60 square miles and growing. There is ryetalyn below ground here, quite a large deposit. We've pin pointed where most of the large ryetalyn deposits are located, and we're keeping an eye on those areas," she sighed, "as well as we can with no official man power to help. There's only volunteers to assist our department."
She started the transport again, and they traveled on to the second site. "This area was much smaller. This is an experimental area where we're using different types of soil. Seeds are planted and we check to see which type of soil provides the best nutrients and conditions for crop growth. You can see some of the shoots are already sprouting here and there. Our farmers are always looking for ways to increase crop yields."
Sulu's keen eyes could detect nothing untoward in the area. A few birds chirped, and what looked like a rabbit was hiding from the visitors.
Bones pointed. "Looks like a little someone is eatin' your yield over there."
Doris smiled. "We've introduced some rabbits into the ecology. The children love to see them hopping around. Really that's the only reason we introduced them here, for the children. We've sterilized most of them, only very few can reproduce, otherwise we'd be over run with rabbits in no time."
"A wise decision, Cousin Doris." Spock's eyes met Jim's as they recalled the tribble fiasco on Sherman's planet. Like tribbles, rabbits reproduced rapidly and ate everything in sight.
"Our next site is quite a distance away, gentlemen, but well worth seeing. We're quite proud of what we've accomplished there in just a couple of years. Unfortunately, it too, has been pin pointed as having a large ryetalyn deposit."
They drove for a while toward the next site, Doris pointing out an occasional point of interest. Suddenly Sulu stood up in the transport. "Over there, Dr. Stemple. I think there's something over there. Look Captain." Sulu pointed to a shady area mostly obscured by low bushes and tall grass.
They looked closely to where Sulu was pointing. Something did, indeed, look slightly "off." To Leonard, who loved music, and who made sure that music was played in the operating room when he had a lengthy surgery, the "something different" was subtle, like a false note within a melody…slightly off key. The vista should have looked undisturbed, but somehow it didn't.
"Something does look off," Doris said, driving closer, hurriedly getting out of the transport to get closer on foot. The three men quickly followed her. At first glance, it looked undisturbed. But as they got closer they received quite a surprise.
Behind the tall grass had shielded their view, there was a hidden garden paradise. There was a thick hedge which protected the garden from strong winds, and behind the hedge grew tall hollyhocks, bright phlox, marigolds, snapdragons, and high plumes of goldenrod in a profusion of color. The different flowers were massed together and growing willy nilly much like an English garden.
"Beautiful," murmured Jim. "What is this place, Doris."
In spite of her worry, Dr. Stemple smiled looking proudly at the beautiful area. "I haven't been here in a few weeks," she answered. "There's been a lot of growth and bloom since then. This is one of our experimental flower gardens, Jim. Some of our volunteers who came here from England and Ireland, and who have gardening experience, wanted to try growing different types of flowers, to try making a true garden. They hope that once this garden flourishes, others will do the same for their own homes, purely for aesthetic reasons you understand. Beauty for beauty's sake so to speak. This is the result of their flower growing trials."
"A very successful result it appears," Spock said, sweeping an appreciative glance at the greenery and flowers. Vulcan was a desert planet and it was a constant and continuous struggle to keep flowers and vegetation alive. Not a single drop of water was ever wasted on Vulcan. His mother, who loved to garden, used every drop of waste water from the Embassy to tend to her own small garden.
"Captain, Look! Someone has been digging here," Sulu said. "Those are bore holes," he said pointing to several holes in the ground.
"And look over there," Jim pointed. There was thick brush behind the garden, and hidden there in the brush, were several greenish synth drop cloths covering some equipment, well camouflaged by the greenish drop cloths. You'd have to look closely to see them at all. They walked closer, and Spock pulled the drop cloths off and there, plain to see, were three obviously expensive top of the line bore hole diggers. Jim flipped open his communicator.
"Kirk to Enterprise."
"Enterprise here, Captain."
"Uhura, connect me to Mr. Scott, please."
"It looks like the miners have been precipitous in their desire to find the ryetalyn," Spock murmured to Doris.
"They're checking for the amount of the ryetalyn deposit here," Doris said angrily, "and doing it illegally. They have no right or permission to do that."
"Sulu, take holos documenting the holes and equipment, I want proof this was done in secret, without seeking permission from anyone. I'll send the holos to Dr Boyce, and maybe Spock can send them to Sarek"
Spock nodded.
"Yes, Sir. On it."
"Scott here, Captain," came over Jim's communicator.
"Scotty, I want you to beam down to these coordinates. There's some equipment I want you to check out. I want it beamed back to the ship so you can examine it. If possible I want to know who manufactured it, distributed it, and to whom it was sold. And Scotty," Jim added, "bring my, Sulu's, and Mr. Spock's phasers." Everyone looked at Jim in surprise.
"Aye, Captain," came Scotty's unperturbed voice from the ship.
It had been last night as they sat in the comfortable living room, drinking tea, and catching up on family and Federation news, that Spock had commented to Doris on the fact that no one on Nara seemed to wear a phaser.
"That's so, Spock, there's really no need for phasers. Nara is a very peaceful planet. We do have a minimal civilian police presence, and they do have standard Federation phasers at their disposal, but crime on Nara is practically unknown, probably because we're all so busy most of the time, and we have so much personal time and energy invested in the betterment of the colony. We don't even have a prison, it's just a holding room that locks. Even the children and adolescents behave well, I think because the elementary and secondary schools have a lot of hands-on activities for the young and older children, and the kids take pride in what they've done to help us out with different ecology projects."
"Jim, is that really necessary?" Doris' glance at Jim was shocked.
"Maybe not, Doris," Jim answered grimly, "but I feel better if we're prepared for any eventually. According to Gavin, Antares has a reputation of not playing nicely with others.
"I agree with the Captain, cousin Doris. It is best for us to be prepared for any and all eventualities."
"Yes, I suppose it is," Doris said unhappily.
"Doris, after the equipment has been removed, would you like these holes filled in?" Jim asked, thinking it best to change the subject away from phasers.
Dr. Stemple looked dubiously at the deep holes. "Can Mr. Scott do that, Jim?"
"Of course he can. I'll have Scotty take care of it right away. It won't be difficult. We have the right equipment in the Engineering Bay and a couple of his lads can do the job quickly. I also think filling in the holes and removing all this equipment will send a clear message to Antares that they've been caught, that we're on to their tricks, that they didn't get away with doing this."
With the usual pleasant transporter jingle, Scotty materialized beside the group, handed Jim, Spock, and Sulu their phasers, and went over to the digging equipment. He scrutinized it carefully, then tuned to Jim. "Brand new, and top of the line, Captain. Verrry expensive this equipment. I'll have it beamed on board, take it apart and try to trace where it was manufactured and for whom."
"Excellent Scotty. Then send down a couple of your lads to cover these holes."
"Aye, Sir. 'Tis a blight they are on this bonny place. Haven't seen so many flowers since I last visited me mother." He looked around in pleasure. "My lads will soon have it looking pristine again."
Doris stepped forward holding out her hand. "Doris Stemple, Mr. Scott. I'm Spock's cousin. You have my thanks and the gratitude of the folks who've worked so hard to make this a beautiful spot."
"A pleasure," Scotty shook her hand gently. "Dinnae fash yerself, ma'am, once my lads are finished you won't know any digging took place here to despoil this bonny place. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll get back to the ship and beam this equipment to the engineering bay. I'll report to ye as soon as I find out anything, Captain."
"Thanks, Scotty. Bones and I will be back on the ship this evening. If you learn anything before then, just comm me and I'll beam up."
"Aye, Sir," Scotty said and disappeared.
"If there's any thing to discover, Mr. Scott will find it, Doris. What we need is proof, actual proof Antares is behind the listening devices and digging here."
"I feel certain, they will have covered their tracks efficiently, Captain."
"Maybe so, Spock, but all crooks make mistakes, and between Gavin, Sonnai, Scotty, and us, we'll find what we need, actual physical proof against Antares."
"You got that right, Jim."
"Historically, cousin Doris, that has proved to be the case with any mission we have undertaken."
"Shall we go on to the other sites, Doris? Jim asked. "I'm anxious to see if Antares has been digging anywhere else, or if this was their first attempt."
"Yes, let's go on, now I'm worried we'll find other sites that have been disturbed."
"How many more sites are there, Doris?" Jim asked.
"There's four more experimental agricultural/botany sites, and then we have several animal husbandry/farming sites. I'm not worried about those because they're actual farms where cattle, poultry, and sheep are raised. There's always someone around, so doing any digging in secret would be very difficult."
"What about fish hatcheries?" Leonard asked.
"We have two experimental hatcheries, but they're tended constantly and there's no place to dig anywhere close by."
"So," Jim said thoughtfully, "considering Antares' deep pockets, and the fact that they seem to have inside knowledge of what goes on here on Nara, I'd say they already know about these other sites not being suitable for their ryetalyn mining purposes."
"Doris," Leonard hesitated, but then went on, getting the words out with difficulty. He hated to hurt Doris by even suggesting the possibility of treachery. "Are you sure you can trust everyone who works in your office? Everyone in your department?"
At her shocked glance, Spock nodded, his dark eyes thoughtful. "We must consider that not everyone here may share your concern about the ryetalyn mining, and may be working with Antares. Perhaps, like some of the Federation sub-committee members, they too, were wined and dined and possibly convinced by the lure of a large number of credits."
"I hate to think that any of our staff or volunteers would betray us, our long term goals, our hard work of 85 years, our mandate from the Federation to make Nara a thriving, independent, viable colony." Doris looked heart sick at the possibility that Spock's words might be true.
Jim cleared his throat. "Let's not borrow trouble, people. This is all conjecture." He didn't want to put doubts in Doris' mind about her colleagues and friends….people she had probably worked with for years. "Let's go look at the other sites."
Happily the other sites were fine with no issues, and looked undisturbed. "Looks like either Antares just started boring those holes. I think they'll stop now, since they've been discovered, but it would be best to keep a closer eye on the ryetalyn sites, Doris."
"I'll have the teams double their rotation schedules." She sighed. "They're all volunteers, but they're so vested in what we're doing, that the teams will be happy to do it. Hopefully it won't be for long, we always have so much work to do."
"Hopefully we'll get the proof we need to sabotage the Antares prospectus very soon," Jim said, trying to console her.
The ride back to the University was uneventful and silent for the most part. Jim had Doris stop the transport in a secluded spot away from the campus so Sulu could beam back to the ship without attracting attention.
"You did good work today, Mr. Sulu. I'll speak with you and Lt. Uhura when Bones and I get back to the ship. Please tell her we'll meet in the briefing room after the end of after Alpha shift."
"Aye, Sir."
"Scotty," Jim ordered into his communicator. "Mr. Sulu is ready to beam up now."
"Aye, Sirrr. Me lads have already finished their work at the site, Captain. The work went quickly and smoothly. The holes are completely filled in, and everything looks as it should. I have the boring equipment in the Engineering Bay ready to dismantle it. I'll have a report for you soon, Captain."
"That was quick work! Thanks, Scotty. Kirk out."
They watched Sulu disappear, and headed back to Doris' office.
Mayri was waiting for them, bouncing on her toes, eyes gleaming in excitement, a huge smile on her face. "Dr. Stemple, everything is set for your birthday party except the flowers. I want them to be fresh so that order will be placed later. I sent out the invitations right after you left, and I've have already gotten positive responses from almost everyone on your list. I've ordered the food too. An assortment of our best cheeses with crackers, some fruit; grapes, apples, pears, plums, all grown here of course, three large sandwich trays, three crudité platters, and of course," and here, she peeked shyly at Bones from under her lashes, "the cake. I chose a three tier Red Velvet cake. Is that all right with you, Dr. Stemple?"
"Of course, Mayri. Everything sounds delicious. It looks like you've been your usual efficient self, and we're all set for the party. You issued the invitations for 3:00 pm day after tomorrow?"
"Yes, Dr. Stemple."
"Isn't Red Velvet cake considered a very Southern dessert?" Jim asked Mayri innocently, throwing a side glance at Bones mischief in his eyes.
Mayri beamed! "Oh yes, Captain, it is. I thought Dr. McCoy would enjoy eating a traditionally Southern dessert. I hope that's all right. You like Red Velvet cake, don't you, Dr. McCoy," Mayri asked him anxiously.
"Of course I do, Mayri, it's one of my favorite desserts, but what with being on the ship, I don't get to eat it often. Thank you for thinkin' of me, darlin', it was mighty sweet of you."
"You're very welcome, Dr. McCoy." Mayri smiled happily at him and turned to answer the office comm. Leonard turned, glowering at Jim, who looked innocently back at him.
"It seems that some people around here rate, while others of us not so much," Jim whispered in Bones' ear.
Spock's acute hearing heard the whisper. "I must agree with the Captain, Doctor. It is quite evident that the Captain and I are situated well below you in the Mayri preferential scale," he added, softly, his face impassive, but the dark eyes gleamed in amusement.
"Shut it, you two," Leonard hissed at them, cheeks pink in annoyance and embarrassment.
"Dr. McCoy, your escort to the hospital is here waiting in the foyer." Mayri interrupted the teasing, then hurried away to answer another call.
"Thanks, Mayri. See you later, folks," Leonard called, striding away, completely forgetting his ire and grinning happily. Visiting a planet's medical complex was always great.
Jim swallowed a laugh, watching Bones hurry out. It was one of the great pleasures of his life to tease Bones. He always reacted so beautifully and afterward Jim would notice the rigid, tense, overworked shoulders were much more relaxed. After all, what were best friends for?
Doris cleared her throat in warning, as Mayri came back, a frown on her usually happy face. "Dr. Stemple, that comm was from the two Antares Mining Corporation officials. They said they'll be happy to attend your birthday party and to thank you for the invitation." The frown stayed on her face.
"What is it, Mayri," Doris asked her.
"I don't understand, Dr. Stemple. Why would you invite them? We know what they're trying to do on Nara. They're our enemies,"she added simply.
Doris sighed. "I know, Mayri. I feel the same, but I thought it'd be a good idea to engage with them in a non adversarial and more relaxed environment. Get a different perspective about them, and besides I want Spock, the Captain, and the doctor to meet them."
"Yes, I see," Mayri said. She turned to the two Enterprise officers. "Maybe after you meet them, you'll see and understand what Dr. Stemple…what we're all are up against. I know you won't be here on Nara for very long, but it would be wonderful if somehow you could help us." She looked pleadingly at Jim.
"Mayri!" Doris protested.
Jim put on his stoic Captain's face. Keeping Admiral Boyce's orders for secrecy and utmost discretion was going to be difficult in the face of Mayri's pleading face and his own inclination.
He exchanged a glance with Doris, and she gave him a tiny nod of understanding. "We'd like to help, Mayri, but it's just not going to be possible, first because we won't be here on Nara for very long, and second, because it's outside the parameters of our mission orders. Enterprise and her crew, including me, and all my officers and crew must follow orders and the chain of command. I'm sorry."
Mayri's face fell in disappointment, but then she straightened her small shoulders in determination. "Then I guess we'll just have to do it ourselves, find a way to defeat that mining prospectus, right, Dr. Stemple?"
"That's right, Mayri. We'll find a way."