In the Family

Chapter 9

"Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
I say, trouble right here in River City.

Trouble, oh we got trouble,
Right here in River City!"

"The Music Man"

Once back on the ship, Jim stepped in to the bridge, waved Hannity back down to the chair, indicated for Sulu and Uhura to wait, and went directly to his briefing room. He contacted Admiral Boyce, and as he predicted the Admiral was angry when he heard about the listening devices and saw the holos Jim had forwarded to him of the bore holes. He also told him about Gavin and Sonnai's investigations into Antares Corporation's past.

"Good work, Captain, I'll update Admiral Barnett. The way your mission is going, I think it won't be long before we have all the proof we need to bring down Antares."

With his comm call concluded, Jim asked Sulu and Nyota to come in.

"Sit down, both of you. What do you have for me, Lieutenant Uhura?" Jim stretched his tired back

"It didn't take me long to find out a few things, Sir. There's quite a lot of scuttlebutt in the sector about Antares, and none of it is good stuff. There's talk that the company needs cash, they're over extended and spread thin across the quadrant. Also, Sir, because of the court case they lost, they've attracted negative publicity which their PR team hasn't been able to turn around. It seems news about their dubious mining practices has gotten around and their reputation has suffered considerably as a result of the judge's ruling. The planetary governors who won the case have done a stellar job of spreading the word throughout the sector."

"Cash poor, hmm. That's probably why they're desperate to mine the ryetalyn," Jim mused. "They obviously need the cash influx."

"Yes, Sir, possible bankruptcy is the consensus of the gossip I heard."

"Good work, Nyota. Keep digging." Jim grinned. "Your network rivals even Gavin's.

Uhura's dark eyes twinkled. "I will. Thank you, Captain."

He turned to Sulu. "I have a job for you starting tomorrow, Mr. Sulu."

"Yes, Sir."

"In my opinion, all of Dr. Stemple's terra forming sites are vulnerable. For the next couple of days, I want you to patrol all the sites on a rotating schedule. I'll have Dr. Stemple put a transport vehicle at your disposal first thing in the morning. Be sure you take your phaser with you, Mr. Sulu. It might be a good idea for me to ask Mr. Giotto to assign someone from security to go with you. I'll give the order. It's best if you're not alone."

"You think there might be trouble, Sir?"

"I'm not sure, but Antares seems prepared to play hardball to get that contract, and as we've seen they're certainly not an ethical corporation, so it's best to be proactive and prepared. I'd hate for one of those sites to be destroyed."

"Me too," said the plant loving Sulu. "It's beautiful down there, Captain. The colonists have done a fantastic job. In my opinion it would be a tragedy if any of those eco systems were damaged or destroyed by haphazard, unscrupulous mining practices."

"It certainly would be, but we're going to do our best to stop that from happening. Thank you, that's all for now, you're both dismissed, get some dinner and enjoy your evening. I hear pot roast is on the menu this evening," Jim smiled.

"Aye, Sir.

Jim met Bones for dinner in the mess. He was happy to see that, yes indeed, there was pot roast. "How was your hospital tour, Bones? Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Enjoyed it very much, the hospital is a work in progress. They asked me for suggestions to upgrade some of the departments. They're especially interested in the obstetrics and surgery departments. I'm gonna' send them a priority list for improvements. They're making great strides in upgrading the hospital, Jim. Only a couple of years ago, it was only used for minor injuries or illnesses, for everything else, they sent for a Federation hospital ship to come for the patient."

"They couldn't have asked anyone better to help them out, Bones," Jim looked at him with deep affection.

"Thanks, Jim, I'm happy to do it. These folks deserve all the help we can give them." Leonard helped himself to a bite of pot roast. "Hey, this is really good. Chef outdid herself."

"Didn't she?" Jim sopped up the pot roast gravy and gave Bones a blissful smile. He loved a good pot roast with carrot, potatoes, and the tender meat swimming in the thick rich gravy. His Ma's pot roast was always outstanding.

Later after dinner, Leonard and Jim relaxed on the sofa in his quarters. Jim had snagged a couple glasses off a shelf and they sat in their comfortable sweats nursing their after dinner drinks. In spite of their enjoyable dinner, Jim's face was shadowed and serious. Leonard gave a silent sigh, reading Jim's introspection easily. He knew Jim felt terribly guilty about turning down Mayri's plea for help, never mind they were already secretly helping Doris. Mayri's disappointment in the Enterprise officers had been obvious. Comfort was definitely needed.

"Jim, don't feel bad. You know we're already helpin' Doris, and she knows it too. Orders are orders and no one else can know what we're doin', and that includes Mayri. I know you feel real bad about disappointing that sweet girl."

"I did, Bones, I do, you know me too well. It felt like I was disappointing Peter or JoJo. Not a good feeling," he grimaced at himself.

"I know, Jim. I know you hated to do it." And Leonard did know. Jim was the kindest of men, tough as nails when and where his mission parameters dictated, but soft of heart where and when it counted. "After this is all over, Doris can tell Mayri we were helping her out the whole time we were on Nara. Won't be necessary to keep it a secret then."

Jim sighed. "Bones, you know how much I love being a Captain, how much I love my crew, love my ship, but you also know how much I've always detested secret missions. Starfleet is all about transparency, integrity, honor, and truth. It was founded under those principles. I hold them sacred, and it goes against all I hold dear to have to obfuscate the truth on a mission that should be straight forward and above board. Fleet should leave undercover missions to SIS and guys like Gavin and Sonnai who do that for a living. I hate that sort of subterfuge."

Leonard nodded. He knew Jim hated any kind of underhandedness. The man was the soul of honor, his Starfleet oats were as sacred to Jim as Leonard's medical oaths were to him. "In other words, I'm a Captain, not a secret agent," Leonard grinned trying to lighten Jim's mood.

Jim snorted. "You got that right! But what gets me most, is hiding this mission from these good people on Nara because some of the Federation Council members may be on the take, or at least skirting dangerously close to it. Those members should be above reproach! I want no part of protecting their reputation if it's true."

"Jim, calm down. I think you can safely leave that aspect of it in Sarek's hands. He's more than capable of logically and ruthlessly exposing those members of the subcommittee. As for us," Leonard added, "let's focus on exposin' the Antares Corporation's corruption. Once we expose them, I'm sure they'll sing like the proverbial canaries. If anyone in that subcommittee is on the take, Sarek can and will pursue his scorched earth policy with them. The Council President will have no truck with any type of dishonesty or corruption on the Council."

Jim took a deep breath and relaxed his tense shoulders. "You're right, Bones!" He grinned. "And that, my friend, is exactly why I keep you around, to drag me kicking and screaming back to sound judgement and common sense when I go off half cocked."

Leonard chuckled. "You got that right, sometimes you, but really it's Spock most of the time." His eyes crinkled with ill suppressed glee. "In my humble opinion, the only one with any common sense and good judgement in that family is Lady Amanda."

Jim threw back his head and laughed. Bones had growled, grumbled, and gnashed his teeth at both Sarek and Spock and their stubbornness during their journey to Babel. He'd practically torn his hair out dealing with those two, but he and Lady Amanda had hit it off right away.

Jim's hand comm beeped. He sobered and glanced at the read out. "Speak of the devil. It's Spock," he said, flipping it open. "Wonder what's going on?"

"Kirk here. Is something wrong, Mr. Spock?"

"Captain," Spock's smooth baritone voice sounded troubled. "Yes, I am afraid so, Sir. After our dinner, Cousin Doris and I were conversing about Nara's future time table for development, and she wanted me to look over a document about their next Terra Forming project. Her writing padd was left on her office desk where she was working on it. We decided to take a walk and retrieve the padd. We are here, Captain. Some one has broken into the office, and it has been thoroughly ransacked. There are padds scattered on the floor, the drawers have been pulled out of the desk, books were dislodged from the book case, and her computer has been compromised. The breakin must have happened some time after office hours, well before we arrived. Cousin Doris says the third floor is usually empty shortly after 6 pm. Sometimes someone will work late, but not usually. All night classes end at 8, and it is well after that time now. I have already contacted the Nara police department and they are on their way."

"Spock, are you sure no one is still there? That you and Doris aren't in danger?"

"No one is on this floor, Captain. I did a thorough check. However, I cannot speak about the other floors as I have not investigated. I did not want to leave Cousin Doris alone here to do so. I have my phaser and Cousin Doris and I are safe here. I will report back to you after speaking with the police."

"Very well, Mr. Spock. Stay alert, and don't let Doris out of your sight."

"I will not, Captain. Cousin Doris and I are in her front office and I have locked the door. The police told us to stay here. They will alert me and identify themselves after they do a sweep of the three floors. However, I doubt if they will find anyone. The officer asked us not to touch anything more. They want to check for DNA or fingerprints left behind by the perpetrator or perpetrators. There are cameras in all the hallways, and they will check those feeds. We will abide with their security procedures. I do not know how advanced their police protocols are here, but I am sure they are adequate enough for something like this."

"Is Doris really alright, Spock?"

"Yes, Captain, just dismayed at the havoc that was created here, and perplexed about what they were looking for. She says only student records, school projects, and department meeting agendas are kept in her computer. Everything else, her encrypted computer files, the Terra Forming committee budget information, the meeting minutes, and proposals for future projects are up loaded everyday to a secure server which is kept off world in a secure location. As you know that is the usual protocol for Fleet and Federation sensitive information. Her computer here is used strictly for daily University correspondence and student files."

Jim nodded. His mother's Xenobiology files were also uploaded to an off site secure Federation server on a daily basis. The Federation and Fleet were nothing if not paranoid about computer security.

"Obviously whoever did this, didn't know that, which is a good thing. Makes me pretty damn sure it's not anyone in her department." Jim gnawed worriedly at his bottom lip. "Should I beam down, Spock?"

"I think not, Captain. It would call undue attention to our presence here, and possibly undermine the secrecy of our mission. Why would the Fleet flagship's Captain concern himself with a simple break in to a University office? Since I am a family member here for Dr. Stemple's birthday celebration, my being here with Cousin Doris is easily explained. However your presence would not be, Sir."

"Yeah, you're right, Spock. At this point it'd be difficult to explain my being down there." Jim huffed an irritated breath. He hated to be out of the loop. "Just keep me posted, Commander. And keep a close eye on Doris."

"Of course, Captain. Spock out."

Jim closed his comm and met Bones' eyes. "Looks like things are escalating, Bones. Antares is getting more aggressive, first it was just listening devices, but now a break in to Doris' office.. I wonder what they hoped to find?" he mused.

"Maybe read her correspondence with the Federation Council members, or with anyone else they thought would listen to her complaints about Antares. I hope her contacts with Amanda and Admiral Boyce were by voice comm only and not by correspondence or messages."

"I hope so too, Bones. I'll have Spock check on that when he gets back to me with his report." Jim rubbed his forehead tiredly. "This will not make Admiral Boyce happy," he added. "And it certainly won't sit well with Sarek and Amanda either. I hope Spock and the police can find some sort of evidence to identify who it was. "

"I bet it was a hired someone, Jim. I doubt the Antares reps would do anythin' like that themselves. They wouldn't take that kind of a risk of maybe gettin' caught, they'd get someone else to do their dirty work. Sure am glad Doris doesn't work late, she could've been badly hurt. Still if you ask me, they took a hell of a risk. Nara is a place where everyone knows everyone else. So besides the two Antares Corporation officials who've made themselves known already, a stranger would stick out like a sore thumb."

"Bones, I find it hard to believe that any of the colonists would do something like this. They've all worked so hard to build Nara into a thriving community. They started here with nothing, literally started Nara from the ground up. They've accomplished miracles in a short 85 years. From what we've seen here, and according to Doris, it's been a cooperative, concerted effort from all the colonists."

"Well, Jimmy, as we know, and have seen before, for some beings, greed really is a powerful motivator, and a lot of credits equals a lot of motivation. Let's hope it's not anyone from the Nara volunteer group, or anyone in her department. It would break Doris' heart."

Jim nodded, his face grim. Loyalty was a quality he held sacrosanct, and he was grateful that his Enterprise crew had proved their loyalty to him, and their loyalty to Fleet, over and over again. As Bones often told him, his crew would follow him to hell and back.

Jim's comm beeped again. "Kirk here."

"Captain, is Dr. McCoy with you?" Spock's deep voice sounded strained.

"Yeah, Bones is here. What's wrong, Spock? Did something else happen?"

"The police officers searched the entire building, they found nothing inside, but when the began their search outdoors, they found Mayri unconscious outside the side exterior door. It appears she was struck on the back of the head. We are on the way downstairs. We need Doctor McCoy immediately, Sir."

Before Spock had even finished speaking, Leonard was out the door. "Tell Spock I'm coming, just getting my med bag, nobody move her!" He yelled back at Jim.

"Bones is on his way, Spock. He says not to move Mayri. I'm beaming down too, tell them I'm coming with Bones to help. How is Doris?" Jim huffed, hopping up and down on one leg, pulling off his fleece pants one handed. He pulled off his sleep shirt and put on his cords and flannel shirt. He clipped his phaser to his belt, and bolted out the door still holding his comm.

"I immediately informed the officers that Mayri must not be moved, that Dr. McCoy was on the way. One of the officers covered her with a blanket, but that is all that has been done. Cousin Doris is quite distraught, Captain. You know how fond she is of Mayri."

"I know, Spock. Tell her Bones is coming, that he's the best there is."

"I will. Spock out."

"Kirk to Lt. Hannity."

"Hannity here, Sir."

"Hannity, Bones and I have to go back down planet. They've asked Dr. McCoy to consult on a head injury accident. I'm going to accompany him. We'll be back on board as soon as we can."

"Aye, Sir."

Jim walked quickly to the lift, he didn't run, because seeing the Captain running down the hall alarmed the crew, but he walked very fast. Once the lift door opened to the transporter room he looked to see who was on transporter duty.

"Dr. McCoy?" He asked Lt. De Salle.

"He's just transported down, Sir. A medical emergency, he told me."

"That's correct, Lieutenant. I'm beaming down myself. Stay alert up here. We may need to transport a patient to Sick Bay depending on Dr. McCoy's examination."

"Aye, Sir." De Salle replied calmly. Jim was pleased it was Lt. De Salle on transporter duty. He was an excellent, experienced officer, calm and measured, with a lot of duty experience logged on the transporter. Transporting injured or ill beings was especially difficult. Scotty was very strict about who he assigned to transporter duty. He trained all his transporter duty officers personally, because as he'd said to Jim one evening after a couple of drinks under his belt, "ye can't afford to make a single mistake on transporter duty, Jim, me lad, or our atoms would be scattered all over the quadrant." Jim had shuddered and thanked the heavens Bones wasn't there to hear Scotty.

Jim jumped on the transporter pad. "Same coordinates as Dr. McCoy, Lieutenant. Energize."