CHAPTER 2: RESCUE
Sato was using the quick step she had been taught in her security training to keep up with Reed and his team. Reed tried to give her an O2 tank, but the Ensign gave it to back to the security officer. "I can't have anything dampening my voice, Lieutenant. I'll take some O2 if I start feeling the effects."
Reed looked at her skeptically, but Sato continued. "These children are going to be frightened. I think we need some people without masks so they'll feel comfortable."
Tucker quickly offered his support. "She's got a point, Malcolm. We should probably have one of your security without a mask, too. I'm pumping pure oxygen in there, it's the partial pressure of O2 that counts for breathing. You may not even need any supplemental air if I can keep the ventilation just right."
"Fine, but keep your tank on your back with your mask close at hand." Reed waited for Sato to agree. He would be the other officer without a mask.
Tucker was loping ahead and stopped at the control panel outside of the hatch. "When we get into the room, I'll dump the pressure to equalize with the Light Bringer. As that happens, your ears will pop, and you know the drill from then. You'll open the hatch, then I'll turn on the O2 flow. Once that happens, it's gonna get loud in there. I've got as much oxygen flow as possible. Any more and they'd be blown out through the Light Bringer and into space."
Tucker waited for everyone's nod before turning to Reed. "I'm gonna shut off the gravity plating in the room. That should help us get everyone out."
"We're prepared for that, Commander." He knew Tucker would cringe at the damage they were doing to the walls of the corridors, but once the hatch opened, it could very well be the vacuum of space they would be facing. Reed called to his security team, "Get those anchoring rings set as soon as we move inside the next compartment."
Reed grabbed the line that had a series of belts and tossed one to Sato. She efficiently clamped it around her waist and moved to the hatch with Reed staying right behind her. They went into the room and Tucker sealed the door behind them. The security team set the anchors and tested the tethers.
Sato felt the pain in her ears immediately, but automatically adjusted by performing the drill to counter loss of pressure. She went to the docking hatch and in Klingon shouted, "We're going to open the hatch. We're anchored, so just hang on to anything in the tunnel. Bang twice if you understand."
Clang, clang. The officers released a sigh of relief. At Tucker's nod, Reed opened the hatch.
The vacuum began pulling on them immediately and facilitated the security team's ability to reach the nest of children hanging on to the ridges of the docking tunnel. Bukah began literally tossing children two at a time to the Starfleet officers as soon as they appeared. She had braced herself by impaling her jacket on one of the struts that had come loose.
Sato clutched two little girls under her arms and drifted back to the Enterprise with gravity field acting like a magnet once she got past the docking hatch. She kept shouting any words of comfort she could remember in Klingon. "No danger now. We'll take care of you. "
The sound of the ventilation was almost unbearable, but still the oxygen pressure was too low. Sato began to see stars, so she quickly used her mask to inhale oxygen. She then gave the children a quick inhalation before returning to the hatch for the next round of children. See saw Reed doing likewise.
-----
At the end of the tunnel Gurtag was shoving at three of the older Klingon boys who had been herding the young ones ahead of them. Reed moved in after giving his last set of children to Tucker to see about getting the adult Klingons out.
The breach in the Light Bringer began to increase and the force of the airflow was overwhelming. Time was running out, but Bukah turned to grab at Gurtag. As Reed approached them, he ripped the back of Bukah's jacket to release her from her anchor and gave her access to his tether. Together they reached an arm for Gurtag, and brought him into the Enterprise.
Sato saw the Klingons tumbling into the Enterprise with Reed looking like he was being dragged in by their movement since Bukah still held the tether in a rigid grasp. Tucker grabbed Reed by the back of his uniform, said a silent prayer for having such a lean Armory Officer, and tossed him out of the way before slamming the hatch shut. The roar of the oxygen flow continued until the pressure was at a safe level.
Sato looked at Bukah and Gurtag who were wheezing from their effort and moved with Reed to offer their oxygen. Reed was sitting with his back leaning against the wall as he surveyed the rescued party. Twenty children. He saw Sato holding tightly to the two little girls she had first recovered. They appeared to be twins and were responding as she said soothingly, "See. All are safe. We'll fix your ship. You're with friends."
Tucker tore off his mask and pulled out his communicator. "Tucker to sickbay. Better get down here with some more oxygen, Doc. These folks won't be able to move until you see to them. Looks like no major injuries, though."
Sato saw Tucker smile at the Klingon children around him. In the meantime, Reed had closed his eyes and decided to stay where he was sitting. Sato watched as one of the youngest of the boys he had rescued scooted over to the man and tapped his shoulder. Reed opened his eyes in surprise. The little boy reached out a hand to touch his forehead and said, "Thank you."
Sato looked at Bukah and Gurtag with her question. The linguist then translated for everyone. "The human tongue has expressions not often used in Klingon. We have taught these to the children."
Bukah leaned against Gurtag and waited. Their precious cargo was safe.
~~~~~
Dr. Phlox seemed to be in his element as he moved from bed to bed to scan the children. Sato was leaning against a biobed that held four little Klingon girls with their feet dangling in the air.
Reed stood by the next bed because the littlest boy had grabbed his hand and refused to let go. The Armory Officer noticed the grin that Sato kept trying to hide at his predicament, but merely rolled his eyes and sighed. He assumed he would soon be released to see to his duties and leave the care of the children to more adept crewmembers--like Sato. He turned to her and gave her a bright smile.
All Klingons and humans were now off oxygen masks, so Archer stepped forward to greet the Klingons. Sato had given Bukah and Gurtag a UT, although their command of English had much improved.
"Welcome aboard. It looks like you have your hands full again," said Archer as he approached the bed where Gurtag and Bukah sat.
"The children are from the Kumburan House. They represent seven family units." Bukah's voice was quiet.
"Where are their parents? Was this just a field trip? Or were you transporting them to meet their folks?"
Gurtag's tone was harsh as he spoke instead of Bukah. "Their parents have been--eliminated. We were transporting them to the Seeker Colony on Quamong to be with them, but the colony was attacked."
"We received the instructions to turn away from Quamong and take the children to an alternate location." Bukah's voice continued its quiet tone. She looked at her young charges and added, "They range in age from four to twelve."
"I don't understand why a bounty hunter was after you. A scan of your ship clearly shows no precious commodities," said Archer.
Sato and Reed gave their full attention to Bukah's explanation. The Klingon looked around at the children, the future peacemakers for the Klingon species. Although she was a Seeker, her warrior's heart knew that she would die to protect them. Would the humans understand? She exchanged a quick look with Gurtag before continuing.
"The children are the bounty. They want the children alive to be returned to Kronos. "
"So the raiders weren't out to kill the children?"
"No." Gurtag's voice was stern.
"But you don't think it's a good idea to return them to Kronos?"
"The children would be indoctrinated by the Rumaiym into 'proper' Klingon doctrine. Those fools believe in Durgath and Cymele; they will never be Seekers! The House of Duras is behind this! All the work of their parents to train them as Seekers will be stripped from them if they return to Kronos." Bukah's voice carried a note of bitterness.
"This situation must put you in some danger then," offered Archer. He understood matters now. The children were pawns in a power game between two Klingon Houses.
"Our lives are forfeit. The children are wanted because they are strong, intelligent, and talented. They are the best seeds for the future." Gurtag then added, "We will die before we see them turned over to the rival house."
"Was this House responsible for the assault on the colony?" asked Archer. He couldn't believe a civilization could be so vicious.
Gurtag seemed about to agree, but Bukah held her hand up and he swallowed his words. "The House of Duras is merely a scavenger taking advantage of the situation. There is no evidence that Quamong was destroyed by them."
"They act through agents, but Bukah is correct. We have no evidence."
Archer nodded his head. He looked to Reed and Sato who were absorbing the information. Reed became tense at the thought of dealing with more Klingons. His paranoid nature immediately leapt to images of Enterprise being pursued by raiders and renegade Klingons.
Bukah continued her explanations. "There is another planet, more isolated, with an abandoned Seeker colony. It is barely habitable. It is unknown to any but the most loyal Seekers. We plan to raise the children there until their age of ascension when they will be incorruptible by the Rumaiym and are able to protect themselves from the House of Duras. The children must eventually be re-introduced to Klingon society, Captain. They will be the peacemakers of the next generation. But first, they will learn to be Seekers."
-----
Phlox interrupted the conversation to complete another scan on the Klingons. The girls who sat by Sato leaned into her comfortably and giggled when the Doctor gave them one last hypospray. The boy with Reed had actually loosened his grip sufficiently so that the Lieutenant could flex his hand. He was about to make his excuses for leaving when Tucker entered sickbay to report to the Captain.
"We managed to seal off the major leaks on their ship. The integrity of some of the seams on the Light Bringer is marginal, though. Several of their pressure hatches failed. That's why they were loosing air so badly. It'll take two days of repair work, Cap'n."
"We will assist you, Commander Tucker," said Bukah with a small smile at the Southerner. Tucker could hear the low rumbling growl that seemed to be coming from Gurtag's throat.
"Ahem, I'd be much obliged," said Tucker. "I think my engineers can handle the external repairs. They're out on the hull now, but we'll need you to show us where your critical systems are inside the ship so that we don't reinforce the internal hull at the cost of a critical system."
"Well, it looks like you'll be our guests for the next two days. We'll have to see about quarters for everyone," began Archer.
"Captain, I believe I have developed a plan. You merely need to recruit five officers. Even the smallest of the officer's quarters can accommodate the adult human and four Klingon children. Luckily for us, the sexes are divisible by four. We just need to accommodate Gurtag and Bukah." Phlox seemed quite pleased at the math.
"Well, I'm gonna be real busy working on the Light Bringer. I'll let Bukah and Gurtag use my quarters for sleeping and bunk down with someone else," offered Tucker immediately.
Reed was about to offer to be bunkmates with the Chief Engineer when Archer said, "Fine, Trip, why don't you bring an extra cot to my quarters?"
Archer then looked at Reed and Sato with a smile. It was obvious that the Klingon children already felt comfortable with these two officers. He pointed to them as he said, "Malcolm, Hoshi, why don't you two take the youngest of the boys and girls? I'll have Travis see to the older boys. That leaves eight of the girls."
"I think Ensigns Cutler and Moriarty will be happy to see to the remaining young ladies, Captain," said Phlox as he gave the names of the two women most likely to be found helping out in sickbay.
"You have your assignments. Let's get everyone settled then we can get back to work."
The children turned to look up at their humans and smiled. Tucker was chuckling at the look of chagrin on Reed's face. The Lieutenant began his protest, "Captain, really, I think that I'll be far too busy--"
"The raiders have left the sector, Malcolm. We can let you know if you're needed on the bridge. It'll just be for--how long, Trip?"
"I expect forty-eight hours, Cap'n," said Tucker with a wink at his friend. He turned to Reed and said, "Come on, Malcolm. How bad can two days and two nights be?"
Reed looked sternly at his friend who obviously found his predicament amusing. "Do you really want me to answer that, Commander?"
Tucker saw the smirk that Sato threw his way and began to blush. There were few things that embarrassed him, but getting rolled by shape-shifting warthogs and left tied to his crewmate was one of those things you just didn't bring up in polite company.
"Come on, let's get to the Light Bringer. I'm sure Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato can see to the children. Play nice, you two."
With a wave, Reed and Sato were left alone amid the twenty Klingon children.
*****
Sato was using the quick step she had been taught in her security training to keep up with Reed and his team. Reed tried to give her an O2 tank, but the Ensign gave it to back to the security officer. "I can't have anything dampening my voice, Lieutenant. I'll take some O2 if I start feeling the effects."
Reed looked at her skeptically, but Sato continued. "These children are going to be frightened. I think we need some people without masks so they'll feel comfortable."
Tucker quickly offered his support. "She's got a point, Malcolm. We should probably have one of your security without a mask, too. I'm pumping pure oxygen in there, it's the partial pressure of O2 that counts for breathing. You may not even need any supplemental air if I can keep the ventilation just right."
"Fine, but keep your tank on your back with your mask close at hand." Reed waited for Sato to agree. He would be the other officer without a mask.
Tucker was loping ahead and stopped at the control panel outside of the hatch. "When we get into the room, I'll dump the pressure to equalize with the Light Bringer. As that happens, your ears will pop, and you know the drill from then. You'll open the hatch, then I'll turn on the O2 flow. Once that happens, it's gonna get loud in there. I've got as much oxygen flow as possible. Any more and they'd be blown out through the Light Bringer and into space."
Tucker waited for everyone's nod before turning to Reed. "I'm gonna shut off the gravity plating in the room. That should help us get everyone out."
"We're prepared for that, Commander." He knew Tucker would cringe at the damage they were doing to the walls of the corridors, but once the hatch opened, it could very well be the vacuum of space they would be facing. Reed called to his security team, "Get those anchoring rings set as soon as we move inside the next compartment."
Reed grabbed the line that had a series of belts and tossed one to Sato. She efficiently clamped it around her waist and moved to the hatch with Reed staying right behind her. They went into the room and Tucker sealed the door behind them. The security team set the anchors and tested the tethers.
Sato felt the pain in her ears immediately, but automatically adjusted by performing the drill to counter loss of pressure. She went to the docking hatch and in Klingon shouted, "We're going to open the hatch. We're anchored, so just hang on to anything in the tunnel. Bang twice if you understand."
Clang, clang. The officers released a sigh of relief. At Tucker's nod, Reed opened the hatch.
The vacuum began pulling on them immediately and facilitated the security team's ability to reach the nest of children hanging on to the ridges of the docking tunnel. Bukah began literally tossing children two at a time to the Starfleet officers as soon as they appeared. She had braced herself by impaling her jacket on one of the struts that had come loose.
Sato clutched two little girls under her arms and drifted back to the Enterprise with gravity field acting like a magnet once she got past the docking hatch. She kept shouting any words of comfort she could remember in Klingon. "No danger now. We'll take care of you. "
The sound of the ventilation was almost unbearable, but still the oxygen pressure was too low. Sato began to see stars, so she quickly used her mask to inhale oxygen. She then gave the children a quick inhalation before returning to the hatch for the next round of children. See saw Reed doing likewise.
-----
At the end of the tunnel Gurtag was shoving at three of the older Klingon boys who had been herding the young ones ahead of them. Reed moved in after giving his last set of children to Tucker to see about getting the adult Klingons out.
The breach in the Light Bringer began to increase and the force of the airflow was overwhelming. Time was running out, but Bukah turned to grab at Gurtag. As Reed approached them, he ripped the back of Bukah's jacket to release her from her anchor and gave her access to his tether. Together they reached an arm for Gurtag, and brought him into the Enterprise.
Sato saw the Klingons tumbling into the Enterprise with Reed looking like he was being dragged in by their movement since Bukah still held the tether in a rigid grasp. Tucker grabbed Reed by the back of his uniform, said a silent prayer for having such a lean Armory Officer, and tossed him out of the way before slamming the hatch shut. The roar of the oxygen flow continued until the pressure was at a safe level.
Sato looked at Bukah and Gurtag who were wheezing from their effort and moved with Reed to offer their oxygen. Reed was sitting with his back leaning against the wall as he surveyed the rescued party. Twenty children. He saw Sato holding tightly to the two little girls she had first recovered. They appeared to be twins and were responding as she said soothingly, "See. All are safe. We'll fix your ship. You're with friends."
Tucker tore off his mask and pulled out his communicator. "Tucker to sickbay. Better get down here with some more oxygen, Doc. These folks won't be able to move until you see to them. Looks like no major injuries, though."
Sato saw Tucker smile at the Klingon children around him. In the meantime, Reed had closed his eyes and decided to stay where he was sitting. Sato watched as one of the youngest of the boys he had rescued scooted over to the man and tapped his shoulder. Reed opened his eyes in surprise. The little boy reached out a hand to touch his forehead and said, "Thank you."
Sato looked at Bukah and Gurtag with her question. The linguist then translated for everyone. "The human tongue has expressions not often used in Klingon. We have taught these to the children."
Bukah leaned against Gurtag and waited. Their precious cargo was safe.
~~~~~
Dr. Phlox seemed to be in his element as he moved from bed to bed to scan the children. Sato was leaning against a biobed that held four little Klingon girls with their feet dangling in the air.
Reed stood by the next bed because the littlest boy had grabbed his hand and refused to let go. The Armory Officer noticed the grin that Sato kept trying to hide at his predicament, but merely rolled his eyes and sighed. He assumed he would soon be released to see to his duties and leave the care of the children to more adept crewmembers--like Sato. He turned to her and gave her a bright smile.
All Klingons and humans were now off oxygen masks, so Archer stepped forward to greet the Klingons. Sato had given Bukah and Gurtag a UT, although their command of English had much improved.
"Welcome aboard. It looks like you have your hands full again," said Archer as he approached the bed where Gurtag and Bukah sat.
"The children are from the Kumburan House. They represent seven family units." Bukah's voice was quiet.
"Where are their parents? Was this just a field trip? Or were you transporting them to meet their folks?"
Gurtag's tone was harsh as he spoke instead of Bukah. "Their parents have been--eliminated. We were transporting them to the Seeker Colony on Quamong to be with them, but the colony was attacked."
"We received the instructions to turn away from Quamong and take the children to an alternate location." Bukah's voice continued its quiet tone. She looked at her young charges and added, "They range in age from four to twelve."
"I don't understand why a bounty hunter was after you. A scan of your ship clearly shows no precious commodities," said Archer.
Sato and Reed gave their full attention to Bukah's explanation. The Klingon looked around at the children, the future peacemakers for the Klingon species. Although she was a Seeker, her warrior's heart knew that she would die to protect them. Would the humans understand? She exchanged a quick look with Gurtag before continuing.
"The children are the bounty. They want the children alive to be returned to Kronos. "
"So the raiders weren't out to kill the children?"
"No." Gurtag's voice was stern.
"But you don't think it's a good idea to return them to Kronos?"
"The children would be indoctrinated by the Rumaiym into 'proper' Klingon doctrine. Those fools believe in Durgath and Cymele; they will never be Seekers! The House of Duras is behind this! All the work of their parents to train them as Seekers will be stripped from them if they return to Kronos." Bukah's voice carried a note of bitterness.
"This situation must put you in some danger then," offered Archer. He understood matters now. The children were pawns in a power game between two Klingon Houses.
"Our lives are forfeit. The children are wanted because they are strong, intelligent, and talented. They are the best seeds for the future." Gurtag then added, "We will die before we see them turned over to the rival house."
"Was this House responsible for the assault on the colony?" asked Archer. He couldn't believe a civilization could be so vicious.
Gurtag seemed about to agree, but Bukah held her hand up and he swallowed his words. "The House of Duras is merely a scavenger taking advantage of the situation. There is no evidence that Quamong was destroyed by them."
"They act through agents, but Bukah is correct. We have no evidence."
Archer nodded his head. He looked to Reed and Sato who were absorbing the information. Reed became tense at the thought of dealing with more Klingons. His paranoid nature immediately leapt to images of Enterprise being pursued by raiders and renegade Klingons.
Bukah continued her explanations. "There is another planet, more isolated, with an abandoned Seeker colony. It is barely habitable. It is unknown to any but the most loyal Seekers. We plan to raise the children there until their age of ascension when they will be incorruptible by the Rumaiym and are able to protect themselves from the House of Duras. The children must eventually be re-introduced to Klingon society, Captain. They will be the peacemakers of the next generation. But first, they will learn to be Seekers."
-----
Phlox interrupted the conversation to complete another scan on the Klingons. The girls who sat by Sato leaned into her comfortably and giggled when the Doctor gave them one last hypospray. The boy with Reed had actually loosened his grip sufficiently so that the Lieutenant could flex his hand. He was about to make his excuses for leaving when Tucker entered sickbay to report to the Captain.
"We managed to seal off the major leaks on their ship. The integrity of some of the seams on the Light Bringer is marginal, though. Several of their pressure hatches failed. That's why they were loosing air so badly. It'll take two days of repair work, Cap'n."
"We will assist you, Commander Tucker," said Bukah with a small smile at the Southerner. Tucker could hear the low rumbling growl that seemed to be coming from Gurtag's throat.
"Ahem, I'd be much obliged," said Tucker. "I think my engineers can handle the external repairs. They're out on the hull now, but we'll need you to show us where your critical systems are inside the ship so that we don't reinforce the internal hull at the cost of a critical system."
"Well, it looks like you'll be our guests for the next two days. We'll have to see about quarters for everyone," began Archer.
"Captain, I believe I have developed a plan. You merely need to recruit five officers. Even the smallest of the officer's quarters can accommodate the adult human and four Klingon children. Luckily for us, the sexes are divisible by four. We just need to accommodate Gurtag and Bukah." Phlox seemed quite pleased at the math.
"Well, I'm gonna be real busy working on the Light Bringer. I'll let Bukah and Gurtag use my quarters for sleeping and bunk down with someone else," offered Tucker immediately.
Reed was about to offer to be bunkmates with the Chief Engineer when Archer said, "Fine, Trip, why don't you bring an extra cot to my quarters?"
Archer then looked at Reed and Sato with a smile. It was obvious that the Klingon children already felt comfortable with these two officers. He pointed to them as he said, "Malcolm, Hoshi, why don't you two take the youngest of the boys and girls? I'll have Travis see to the older boys. That leaves eight of the girls."
"I think Ensigns Cutler and Moriarty will be happy to see to the remaining young ladies, Captain," said Phlox as he gave the names of the two women most likely to be found helping out in sickbay.
"You have your assignments. Let's get everyone settled then we can get back to work."
The children turned to look up at their humans and smiled. Tucker was chuckling at the look of chagrin on Reed's face. The Lieutenant began his protest, "Captain, really, I think that I'll be far too busy--"
"The raiders have left the sector, Malcolm. We can let you know if you're needed on the bridge. It'll just be for--how long, Trip?"
"I expect forty-eight hours, Cap'n," said Tucker with a wink at his friend. He turned to Reed and said, "Come on, Malcolm. How bad can two days and two nights be?"
Reed looked sternly at his friend who obviously found his predicament amusing. "Do you really want me to answer that, Commander?"
Tucker saw the smirk that Sato threw his way and began to blush. There were few things that embarrassed him, but getting rolled by shape-shifting warthogs and left tied to his crewmate was one of those things you just didn't bring up in polite company.
"Come on, let's get to the Light Bringer. I'm sure Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato can see to the children. Play nice, you two."
With a wave, Reed and Sato were left alone amid the twenty Klingon children.
*****