Disclaimer: I do not own Spock. There I said it, ya happy? All registered Star Trek technology is not mine; all pirates, ships, characters other than Spock, the Rock, and the Mounties are mine (well, not the real Mounties, they belong to the Canadian Government).
Notes to my MOST EXCELLENT reviewers:
Evilhamster13 : Yes of course I read your profile, I like to know who is reading my story. As for correcting my spelling, THANK YOU! If it weren't for the Grammar/Spelling Nazis of the world, we would have a ton of ill written books. Thank you, I so totally stink at spelling (If it weren't for SpellCheck, I wouldn't write), and I need people like you to keep me in form. And I DO like the Romulans, but I needed a stereotypically "bad" guy for the antagonist. The Romulans are cool, my fave episode of ST:TOS is when Kirk has to hunt the Romulan commander through the Neutral Zone, that was soooooo cooool. Mark Lenard made one heck of a good Commander. Thanks for sticking around.
Ariennye Dhivae Argelia: Thank you for the compliment. But allgood things must come to an end, and I am beginning to set up the end of this story as you read this. BUT FEAR NOT! I am already planning the sequal and a sequal to the sequal, so keep your eyes pealed for more of Keath.
Schematization : I am"an expert at handling and dealing with Spock and all his many complexities"? SUCH PRAISE! OOOOH I feel so warm and fuzzy now. Thank you. Yeah, Spock doesn't mind meld with women very much (I can only remember one cannon ep when he melded with a female, the Horta in "Devil in the Dark"), but, come on, I couldn't have Spock without having him meld with SOMEONE! I have worked in some elements of a lingering effect, I really liked that idea, but it is very faint. And don't stop writing, I enjoy hearing what you enjoy. If you are willing to put up with MYramblings, thenI will surely read yours.
Onaleia: If you're out there, hon, I hope you still are reading this. I missed seeing your notes in the review box. Hoping you're doing okay...
Chapter 9
Saturdays are for Home
The first few days after raiding a slave ship are insane. Sickbay goes crazy, performing the healing arts on people who had never seen a doctor before. Bunks and cabins get jammed, sometimes we have to bed people down in the cargo bays, the corridors are crammed, but strangely, everyone is happy. Once our passengers get it into their collective heads that they are now free, even the most dejected are filled with new life. Freedom does that to people. Life seems worth living when you don't have to fear for it. Only now, the hard part began: trying to figure out who wanted to stay, who was going, who needed what, who had relatives within the ship, all the logistics that I usually hated that I now took pleasure in. Like I said, freedom does that to people.
I picked my way down crowded corridors that morning. All night I had sat and sorted out the memories that Saul's mind-meld had snapped to the forefront of my life. Getting no sleep, I was edgy and itching to do something. So I was headed to sickbay to pester Carpenter. As I walked, I watched the faces of ex-slaves in the corridors. Confusion and joy and amazed shock were blended together to give the impression that this was a momentous occasion for them. I knew how they felt. Sickbay's doors opened just as I was about to enter, and I almost collided with the man I had come to see. Carpenter was trying to juggle a tricorter, three data pads, his med-kit, and sign something, while giving directions to three different nurses at one time. I stopped short of slamming into him; Carpenter almost dropped half the stuff he was holding, a bad sign. The doctor was usually one of the most graceful people that I knew of, but when he was clumsy that meant one of three things. Either A) he was extremely stressed, B) he was extremely angry, or C) he was extremely excited. When in the former two conditions, one tended to avoid him, but when he was in the latter, he was a heck of a lot of fun to be around.
"Hey, Doc, what's up?" I decided to brave the odds and hope that he had something to be excited about.
"Keath! You nearly gave me a heart attack. Don't you know it's rude to go sneaking up on people?" He stooped to pick up on of the fallen data pads, the nurses, having received instructions, were moving to fulfill their duties. I grinned.
"Easy, mate. I seriously doubt that you're gonna die of heart failure. And I didn't sneak up on you, I didn't even know that you were behind the door."
"Sorry, I'm just a little harried at the moment. All these new people, I've hardly got staff enough to handle them. Half a hundred have black lung disease, twelve cases of radiation poisoning, scattered second and third degree burns, most children have some kind of parasite in them, half of them have a kind of flu that I've never seen before, oh and not to mention the malnutrition, dehydration, infections, stunted growth—"
"I get it, Doc, slow down. How long will it be before I can think about releasing them?" He ran an empty hand through uncombed hair and sighed, thinking.
"I dunno, Keath. Could be tomorrow, could be next week. It all depends on how long our medical supplies can hold. We've never taken this many slaves in at one time, I'm a little pressed."
"Doctor Carpenter." One of the nurses stood at the end of the corridor and called for him.
"Gotta go, stuff to do. Check back later." He hurried off, still trying to maintain a hold on all the stuff that he was carrying. I half laughed to myself and wandered over to a com unit on the wall.
"Keath to bridge."
"Bridge, Hannah here, Ma'am."
"Hey Hannah, what's our status?"
"We are currently headed to Red Rock, Ma'am. Speed is warp five, ETA eight hours, most of the lower decks are filled with the haul from the Romulan ship, and André requested that you contact him when you are ready."
"Where is he?"
"Cargo bay 1, Ma'am. I believe he is overseeing the registration process. Do you want me to call him?"
"No, I'm halfway there, I'll go see him myself. Thanks, Keath out." I began to pick my way to the nearest turbolift.
DXVJKE
"ANDRE!" I called out over the throng of some seven score people in the largest bay. I waited and saw the massive bulk of my first officer shift slightly in the corner. Moving along the edges of the throng, I was able to see him, Saul, Pilot, Gunner, Duo, and some twenty techs registering people. Tables and computer terminals had been laid out along one wall, in front of which the ex-slaves were standing in long lines that snaked back into the far reaches of the bay. Each slave walked forward, said his or her name, the names of their parents, how old they were, where they were born, what race they were of, what they had been doing for the last five years, and what skills, if any, they had. It was a very long, slow, process but a necessary one. Once that mass of data was collected, it would be sifted to find who needed to learn a life skill, who was ready to move out into the world, who would be qualified to remain on the Assurance, and who was too young to have a choice.
"André," I finally got up behind the tables. "How's it going?" The Titan looked down at me and smiled. André always enjoyed this part; he considered it the first step to freedom.
"Good," he smiled again and took me over to a separate computer terminal where there was a partial readout of what they had collected so far. "We are almost done. Only need the info from the critical patients now." I started scanning over the list.
"Whoa," I let out a slow breath. "There are a heck of a lot of ex soldiers." André nodded.
"Political prisoners." I nodded grimly and turned back to the screen. When the Romulans conquered another world, the military of that world along with most of the lower levels of the political system were enslaved to remove all those who could become rebellious. Other professions included engineering, computer specialists and programmers, half a dozen cooks, a lot of miners, and nearly a hundred children (we considered anyone a child who was between the ages of infancy to sixteen years of age).
"Interesting lot. How many wounded total?"
"Almost all of them, by the doctor's count. Sixty some are in serious to critical condition."
"That's not too bad." I looked over the crowd. "Any families?"
"Some siblings and marrieds, no parents." André seemed to be watching me closely. I expected it; he was looking for any signs of anger that would spontaneously erupt from within me. But my encounter with Saul had quenched my usual frustration. I glanced over to the Vulcan, patiently interviewing and scrupulously entering the information into his computer. I could almost feel him, still with in my mind; it was intangible, like the effects of a strange dream, there but unremembered. I blinked and stood up from the computer terminal. "Hannah says that we should be at the Rock by next shift, you guys gonna be done by then?"
"Yes. I am about to send the techs to question the doctor's patients. Orders, major?"
"Nah, I'm gonna be on the bridge, you come up when this is done." The Titan nodded and watched me as I slowly left.
DXVJKE
"We are entering hailing distance of Red Rock One." Saul calmly said. Eight hours had practically flew by. My officers had returned to the bridge, Carpenter had given clean bills of health to the majority of our passengers, all the data had been collected, and we were ready for some major R&R.
"Hannah," I started.
"We are being hailed, Major." She turned and smiled.
"On screen," I said. The view-screen flickered from the stars and asteroids that we had been looking at to the picture of a youngish humanoid male.
"We have you on our scanners. Please identify yourself immediately." He spoke with mechanical coldness.
"This is Harper of the Crimson Assurance, I would like to speak to Walsh on a matter of urgency."
"Walsh isn't here right now, may I take a message?" The coldness changed to computer-like stupor.
"Tell him, if he doesn't let me get to my base, I'm gonna start asteroid plinking." The human smiled.
"Welcome back, Major, we missed you. Bay three is open and ready for you, defenses lowered, come on in."
"Thanks Mik. Docking now." He smiled again and faded from the screen. Pilot smoothly guided the Assurance towards a massive asteroid, which, as we drew closer, flickered and various metallic structures were visible. Three long arms extended from its sides; two of them were occupied with a mid-sized ship each, while the third was empty. The Assurance deftly glided to this empty arm, gently nuzzled up to it and with, a loud clanking sound that rang through the body of the ship, came to a rest.
"Hannah, gimme all ship."
"All ship ready, Ma'am." My voice took that echo-y effect again.
"All hands, the is the Major. We are at Red Rock One to get some repairs. Shore leave is issued to all hands until further notice. But stick close to home, I want to be ready at a moment's notice. All previous occupants of the Romulan slave ship are to proceed immediately to Cargo Bay 1 and await instructions. That is all." I clicked off the intercom and addressed my officers. "Right, ladies and gents, let get this over with. Duo, fix my ship please." The engineer grinned as fiddling with the innards of the Assurance was his greatest pleasure. The rest of us trooped to our various turbolifts to head down to Cargo Bay 1. Saul, who was in with me, Katra, and Hannah, took the opportunity to ask what we were doing.
"Handing out badges." Katra said with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.
"For what purpose?"
"The Major will explain. Just wait." The doors opened to reveal a corridor teeming with life. We entered the bay along with some twenty other people. Most of the slaves were there already there, with more pouring in by the minute. André and the rest of the command team had gathered around one of our small shuttles, waiting for me. I walked over to André.
"Can I have a leg up?" He nodded, stooped and opened his huge hand. I stepped in it and he effortlessly lifted me to the height of the shuttle. I stepped onto its roof and shot him a thank-you look. When people stopped coming in, I held up my hand and waited for silence, not that it was noisy to begin with.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," my voice reverberated off the walls, giving everyone a chance to hear. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Keath Harper, and I am the commanding officer of this ship. I am a pirate but I am not a slaver. I have no use for two hundred and thirty some slaves so you are all free to go where you please." A quiet murmur ran through the crowd. It grew then subsided as I stood there waiting. "Right, so I want to give you a few choices for what to do with your new freedom. First, my ship is always open to any of you who want to join. There are very few rules here but those that exist I expect to be obeyed completely. If you want to join or just want more information see me sometime later." Another murmur rippled through then silence reigned again.
"Second, we are now docked at my home base. There are some twenty main places for employment and a hundred smaller ones. Quarters, schools, a hospital, and many other amenities are available to those who want to live here. We are going to be docked here for a while, so look around and see if you would like to live here. Third, if either of these options are unappealing to you, I will personally escort you to any spaceport in the nearby vicinity and give you a sum of currency to help you start a new life." A very loud murmur moved about as these ideas were discussed.
"ONE LAST THING," I called above the rumble, silence slowly wrested control of the room. "Children, that's all of you who are younger than sixteen years of age, you MUST stay at the Rock until you reach the age of sixteen. I cannot allow any of you to go wandering around the galaxy in your young age, it is not right and is not condonable. However, when you turn sixteen you will be given the choice of staying, going or joining my ship. I will not allow any adult to stay here against his or her will, so whatever you choose it doesn't have to be permanent. Finally," I gestured down to my officers standing at the base of the shuttle; "My officers have badges here which they will distribute to you. DO NOT TAKE THESE OFF WHILE YOU ARE ON THE ROCK! This is the only means that we have of identifying or finding anyone. If you get separated from a family member or friend this is the only way we have to find them. We will also be using this as a kind of communication device." I held one up.
"When the badge flashes red, it means that someone is trying to contact you. Press the center disc and speak. If you ever have a problem, press the center disc and speak to the communications people. I cannot emphasize this enough. DO NOT TAKE THESE OFF! DO NOT TRADE THEM! AND DO NOT USE THE COM BUTTON FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN AN EMERGENCY! That is the only rule that I have. When you have received your badge, leave here and follow the arrows to leave the ship. You will be contacted and told where you are bunking during your stay here. Please enjoy your stay on the Rock. Ask questions of anyone, explore places, find out if you like it at the Rock or on my ship. Just DON'T TAKE OFF YOUR BADGE! Alright? Good. Go get your badge and have a good stay at the Rock."
There was a mad push as people came to get their badges, but in time it changed into a semblance of order as they lined up. Two hours passed and the cargo bay was empty.
DXVJKE
"What are you gonna do, Kat?" We were walking towards the docking station and, as we usually did, discussed plans for what we were going to do with our leave.
"I was thinking about running a few simulations with the Assurance's computer. Pilot?"
"Me and Gunner are gonna organize a tourney with the new hotshots, see if any of them have chutzpa. André?"
"Garden." We all laughed. André had a passion for plants that was unmatched by anyone I knew. When we first designed the Rock, he carved out niches all through the asteroid to house flowers, shrubs, trees, water-gardens, rock gardens and the like. Whenever we came home, André would spend hours on hours tending them and designing more. It was a kind of joke, that a giant would have a green thumb, but that was the essence of André's personality. Carpenter appeared at the far end of the corridor, waved at us and ran up.
"Hey Doc, what are ya gonna do?" Gunner yelled as he slowed down.
"Sleep. That was about the busiest that we've ever been and I am dead tired."
"Yeah, but you can only sleep for so long," Hannah said. "What then?"
"Probably restock the med supplies, get some candy, and then go see my boys." Carpenter was the only person on the Assurance who had family. His three sons, Jack, Chris and Michael, were fully-grown and had families of their own. When Carpenter came back to the Rock, he immediately became "Boompa" and was lost in a sea of eleven grandchildren all clamoring for his attention. And he spoiled them rotten. "What about you, Hannah?"
"Shop, what else?" The communications officer grinned.
"Keath?" The doctor turned to me.
"Hmm?"
"What are you gonna do with your leave?"
"Do some paperwork." Laughs and groans filled the party. My longstanding joke was saying that I was doing paperwork when I was really doing anything but.
"No really. What are you gonna do?"
"I have no clue. Just hang, I guess. Make sure Duo doesn't soup up the Assurance too much."
"What about you, Saul?" The Vulcan looked slightly puzzled.
"As I am unfamiliar with your base, I intended to stay aboard the Assurance and assist Duo." That brought some distinct cries of outrage.
"Like hell you are."
"Saul, you can't do that."
"That's work."
"Yeah, and shore leave is for fun not work."
"Duo is…" he tried to protest.
"Duo is one of those strange people who take pleasure in poking at the insides of a dilithium matrix." Katra said.
"Now I know what I'll do," I said triumphantly, turning to Saul. "I'm gonna give you the nickel tour of the Rock." He looked at me quizzically.
"What exactly is a 'nickel tour'?"
"It means I'm gonna show you what life on the Rock is like, and you're gonna enjoy it. We'll find something for you to do that's fun."
"I do not believe that 'fun' is logical."
"Hey! What'd I tell you about pirates? We don't do logic." We were now standing in a small anteroom headed towards a set of double doors beyond. I paused just before them and turned to my newest officer. "Saul, welcome to Red Rock One." The doors opened to reveal huge cavern with an arched roof that extended some eighty feet upwards. Studded in the sides of the cavern were small shops, windows, catwalks, turbolifts, doors, and hundreds of people. The cavern was egg shaped, gently sloping down beneath us to the center. There, at the bottom, was a huge garden. Lush trees, bushes, grasses, and flowers created a mini oasis of life in a sea of stone and steel. Saul glanced around, taking in the architecture of the room. I grinned.
"This is our main center of activity, we call it the Egg. All of the large structures are built into naturally occurring pockets within the asteroid. Because they existed already, we were pretty assured that they wouldn't crumble, and they haven't, but we still supplemented the pockets with steel frames." I led him towards one of the turbolifts. "Natural shafts connected one pocket to another, so we built the turbolifts within them. Smaller pockets were hollowed out and interwoven to make dwelling places for our residents." The lift came. "The lower half of the asteroid is devoted to the more technical aspects of a base, including the base command, engineering, training stations, communications, defensive systems, and the like. The upper half is all home devoted. That's where our schools, nurseries, gardens, galleys and most of the homes are. In the middle we have the hospital, several small doctor's offices, the shopping district, and lots and lots of small businesses." We stepped in and the turbolift's computer waited for instructions. "What would you like to see first?" Saul never got the chance to answer. An angry klaxon filled the asteroid and the cavern outside.
"Damn, Command center. Now."
"Please state name and access code." The computer's monotonous voice was very out of touch with the pounding insanity of the klaxon.
"Keath Harper. Access code 21Alpha7dash64FoxtrotZion."
"Code accepted. Please hold on." The lift seemed to drop beneath our feet.
"Major," Saul started, "I don't believe it would be proper for…"
"Save it." The doors opened and I stepped out into a long cylindrical cavern. Computer banks and terminals lined every wall on three decks. Huge view-screens angled down from the ceiling, detailing the various sides of the base. I raced along the center catwalk to a large platform in the middle of the cavern. Seven people of varying races were seated there; six of which each faced a section of the cavern and gave orders to the operators below. The seventh sat in a chair in the center constantly twisting to direct the six persons around him. It was to this central figure that I moved.
"MATT!" He whipped around, saw me and a small smile broke out on his tense face. "Matt what the bloody hell is going on here?"
"Major," he tried to rise from the central chair, but I gestured him back down. "Dam, is it good to see you. Long range mounts picked up…" His attention was attracted by the figure who had followed me. I turned, glanced at Saul, and at the armed guards behind him, turned back to Matt and made some quick introductions.
"Saul, this is Matthias Walsh commanding officer for Red Rock One. Matt, Saul's the newest member of my bridge crew. He's clean and I vouch for him so tell the goons to back off." Matt nodded to the guards, who immediately returned to their stations. "Now, what did the Mounties see?"
"Single bogie. Just on the outside of the asteroid field. It's hesitating there, I don't know when it's going to come in, but having it wait on our doorstep isn't very reassuring."
"Specs?"
"Unable to tell, it's just outside our ability to get a lock on it, but we estimate that it's big enough to give us trouble." He looked up at me as if waiting.
"What do you think?" He blinked.
"With you here I was—"
"Rock's your command, Matt. I'm just here to offer my help. What do you want me to do?" He thought and was about to answer when one of the chairs turned toward him.
"Commander, long range mount seven is informing that the bogie is moving off."
"Seconded, Tase?" The chair paused.
"Confirmed by mounts six, eight, and fourteen. Bogie is circumnavigating around the edge of the asteroid field. Heading is…" Another pause. "Heading is zero-zero-six-mark-one-five-four-mark-three-one-four: the Federation, sir."
"Keep a lock on them 'til we're sure."
"Aye, sir." Matt turned back to me.
"I think I won't be needing your services, Major. Thank you though."
"No problem, Matt. You call if you need me, it's what I'm here for." He smiled.
"You have no idea how glad I am of it, Ma'am." He touched a button on his comlink. "This is Walsh. Secure from general quarters. Repeat secure from general quarters." The klaxons died and a collective sigh could be heard emanating from the asteroid. I grinned.
"See you later Matt. Hey, when are you off from duty?"
"Nineteen hundred, Ma'am."
"Good, come on up to Nick's, we can do stat-reports over a beer."
"That would be wonderful, Ma'am. I want to catch you up on the split project."
"Excellent. See you then." I moved off the deck, back to the turbolift. Saul followed. I leaned back against the lift's wall and sighed with relief.
"Something wrong, Major?" I felt that shadowy presence again; I could almost feel his concern for me.
"No, that's the thing. My one fear these days is that someone will find the Rock. When André and I designed this place, the first thing we did was equip it with one of the best defense systems, but even that could be penetrated. Right now, there are some two and a half thousand people on this asteroid. Ninety-five percent of them are ex-slaves, sixty percent are children, if something happened to this place, if I was unable to defend it…" I rubbed my eyes. Saul was quiet.
I straightened up, "Right, lemme show you around the Rock."
DXVJKE
Good grief that was long. Hope you liked it (tell me in a review!). Next chapter may take a while, I have major amounts of homwork to catch up on and the other story i'm writing and planning the sequal forCrimson and editing for a friend of mine and, well, my life is swamped. So, hope this holds youover for a bit. Anyone have any ideas as to what the "Split Project" is? Be good and review.
DarkX