Chapter 5
I'm sorry, Daddy.
Jamie had been practicing what to say for the longest time. There was nothing else to do in the tiny room with bars. Surely, Daddy would come to get her soon. He'd probably be awful mad, but he wouldn't leave her in this jail. Brig - that's what Baxter said it's called on a ship. Daddy might like the Enterprise more than me, but he won't leave me here. Will he? As soon as Daddy came, she wanted to be ready to explain how she hadn't meant to be so naughty she got thrown in the brig. Jamie still wasn't sure just what she'd done to end up here anyway. But, it was probably best to say she was sorry right away even if she hadn't done anything wrong. Daddy sure didn't like people who broke the rules.
Hours and hours ago, the scary man who'd grabbed her at the fun park had put her in a small shuttle-like ship and brought her here. The bracelet around Jamie's wrists had locked into a chain on the seat in the shuttle and she couldn't really see outside the viewscreen. Two other people had been chained inside the shuttle - a Mavaronian and some alien with furry hands. None of them were allowed to talk. The scary man hollered so. Jamie felt like crying but she was too scared. She wished that she hadn't dropped the communicator or that she hadn't hidden on the Explorer.
When the shuttle had stopped, the scary man led her into a building where a giant Marovian woman in a bright red uniform with lots of shiny gold buttons took over. They spoke to each other in a language Jamie couldn't understand. The scary man kept pointing at Jamie. Finally, the woman used a universal translator and spoke in English, "Guilty of defrauding the good people of Disney Mavaroon by using stealth to gain entrance to the park. Your sentence is two terms of imprisonment. State your name."
"J - jaime Diana Kirk."
"Where hail you from?"
"I don't understand." Jamie answered.
The scary man and the woman talked some more in another language. Then the woman scanned Jamie with something that looked like a tricorder.
"Earther," she announced. "How you arrive here?"
"I came on the Enterprise."
More foreign talk, then the scary man unlocked the bracelet on Jamie's wrists. It felt so good to move her hands . . . for a minute. The woman snapped on a pulsing gray bracelet on Jamie's right wrist. Colored lights glowed green and a chronometer on one end looked like it was counting down numbers. Jamie thought they were universal numbers but she couldn't be sure. It pinched though.
"Move forward!" The woman ordered and shoved Jamie in the back.
Jamie stumbled a little and the bracelet on her wrist glowed deep red, gave off a shrill whistle and the numbers moved backward.
"Move!"
Sniffing a little now, Jamie started to walk where the woman pointed.
"Halt!"
Jamie stopped in front of a doorway with a force field. The woman did something to a data screen on the wall and the force field hummed off. They stepped through and it came back on. Jamie thought they walked for a long, long time. On each side of the hallway there were rooms with bars that hummed and glowed with force fields. In some of the rooms people stared out at Jamie and the woman. In other rooms people shouted and hollered or called the woman bad names. After each bad word, the bracelets on their arms would glow bright red, give that shrill whistle and the people would holler some more.
Jamie's stomach tied up in knots and big sobs ached in her throat. This was the scariest place she'd ever been - even scarier than the shuttle deck on the Enterprise, or Gramma's cornfield after dark. Scarier even than having Centauri pester her about coming to the planet.
Finally, the woman pushed Jamie into a small room with a bunk hanging off the side of the wall, a small silver bucket with a lid and a silver spigot coming out of the wall. Outside, she tapped a data screen and a force field filled the gap across the doorway with glowing, silver/blue bars.
As the woman moved away, Jamie couldn't help a big sob from coming out. "I want my daddy!" She hollered as loud as she could. On her wrist the bracelet glowed red again, another shrill whistle and the numbers did a dance backward. Crying, Jamie sat down on the bunk and wrapped her arms across her chest.
I wish Daddy would come get me. . . even if he is madder than anything.
That had happened hours and hours ago. Jamie's tears were all dried up and she curled up on the bunk-practicing saying she was sorry. Why didn't Daddy come? Jamie nibbled a corner of her lip wondering what kind of punishment she'd get for this.
########################
The atmosphere on the bridge was informal and relaxed. Jim sat in the command chair, looking over the daily reports from different departments of the ship. Since there was nothing they had to do until Ambassador McCale arrived, most of the Enterprise crew was following standard procedure for an ordinary shift. While some of the crew were on shore leave, the others on board were doing a little of what Scotty called "housekeepin'." Without any pressing duties, it was time to do minor repairs, cleaning, organizing and outfitting the ship for their next mission to the Denali Base.
For the past hour or so, the bridge crew had been reminiscing about various planets and their time there. Spock had asked permission, and received it, to delve into some of Mavaronian history for a scholarly article he wished to present to a historical publication on Vulcan. He'd become fascinated, he'd said, with the knowledge that Mavaro had so many similarities to Earth and it's culture. There was much scientific data to prove that someone from Earth had visited the planet in the far distant past.
Uhura, while standing by at her station despite the rather boring lack of any communications, was also working on an extracurricular project with her computer. On shore leave the day before, she'd come into contact with a form of musical notes she'd never encountered. The notes were used to play sticks and rocks into a rather pleasant tune. She'd become so deeply involved in the project she forgot where she was. It came as a shock to have hailing frequencies open and whistle in her ear.
"Enterprise here," she answered in her pleasant voice.
Jim turned to listen in with a faint hope that the Apollonian, carrying Ambassador McCale, would arrive earlier.
"Yes, Commandant," Uhura answered, "I'll relay that message to the Captain at once."
After signing off, she turned and right away Jim knew the news wasn't good. Her brow furrowed in worry and her dark eyes showed concern or maybe even a bit of fear. Even her normally steady voice trembled a little with the news she had to impart.
"Captain, that was a Commandant Leef of the Mavaro Prison System. He asked me to inform you that one of Enterprise crew has been sentenced to two terms of imprisonment for attempting to defraud the people of Mavaro."
"What?" Jim was out of the command chair and striding to the Communications Station in an instant. "Were there more details? Did he tell you who it was?"
"No, Captain," Uhuru shook her head as if she couldn't quite believe the brief conversation. "He did say that this was only a . . . I believe he said courtesy call . . . that normally they give out no information. But, because they hope to keep good relations between Mavaro and the Federation, he thought we might appreciate the news."
"That was it?"
"I'm afraid so."
Jim turned next to the bridge crew who were staring at him with similar expressions of dismay and puzzlement. "Who the devil is on shore leave? Pendleton," he ordered the rather thin, nervous ensign who handled the organizational details involved in shore leave, cleaning and other mundane duties. Pendleton had a gift with lists, numbers and keeping things in line on paper. Dealing with people was harder. "Call up that list and give it to me on the double! Uhura, try to open communications with someone down on Mavaro and see if you can find out what the devil is going on. Spock . . ." he stepped up to the First Officer's station and took a deep breath. "Prison terms on Mavaro . . . how long are they?"
"According to my recent research the Mavaro Prison System is quite unique. A term of imprisonment is roughly two Earth years . . . however . . . the terms can be lengthened by bad behavior, resistance and any of a dozen other reasons."
"So two terms is close to four years?"
"Yes, if the prisoner is a model one and does not cause the numbers on their restraining device to add more time."
"Restraining device? Explain."
Spock turned so that the various bridge crew could also hear his statement. His finely tuned Vulcan ears could sense that everyone wanted to know the fate that awaited their unfortunate crewmember. "Each prisoner is given a restraining device on arrival. It's similar to a band worn around the wrist. The device counts down the prison term with a built in chronometer. If the prisoner violates any of the rather stern laws of the prison system, the device emits a high pitched whistle and adds on more time. The device glows red to show the prisoner he has violated one of the laws. Interestingly enough, these violations can change day by day so that a prisoner is never sure what he or she has done."
"This charge . . ." Jim swiveled to Uhura for confirmation and back to Spock, "what was it? Defrauding the people of Mavaro - what does it entail."
"There could be many ways this could be violated, Captain."
"So one of the crew has gone down there, probably gotten liquored up and into some mess that landed them in prison. This is as, my grandmother used to say, a fine kettle of fish."
Spock's eyebrow went up. Although he would deny it, his face did move in a slight expression of puzzlement. "Excuse me, Captain, but I do not quite understand the . . . analogy."
"I'm not quite sure I do either, Spock. We just need to figure out what to do now. The Federation is going to frown on us leaving someone down there for the next four years." He sighed. "Don't these people have a trial or a jury or anything where we'd have some chance of having this overturned?"
"Negative, Captain. Violators to Mavaro law are judged immediately by the arresting body and taken to prison. It is one reason they have so few criminals."
"Mr. Spock," Uhura asked, "Is there anyway to get out of prison before the end of the term?"
"There is one way."
"And . . ." Jim spread his hands in a give-it-to-me gesture.
"It is death."
"I was afraid you were going to say that." A fine kettle of fish indeed. "Pendleton! Give me that list! Uhura, try to get that information! If you can't hail someone in the Prison System, we'll go to the top and talk to the King. There's got to be someone who can overthrow this sentence. Get busy people! Maybe we can get this resolved before Ambassador McCale gets tossed into the kettle . . ." Jim sat down in the command chair with the weight of that on his shoulders. "I knew shore leave was a bad idea . . ." he mumbled mostly to himself. "Stay on the ship . . .nobody gets hurt."
"Captain," Uhura said, "I'm getting a communication from the Apollonian, sir. They anticipate being here a day earlier than expected. Should I respond?"
"Why not?" He threw up his hands in momentary defeat. "Tell them we'll be waiting."
Varoom was in trouble. Even worse trouble than the night before. Although he'd had a few rounds of winning cards while the Captain and other officers dined with the King, mostly he'd lost. Big. It had helped that he'd been saving credits in the hopes of taking Vanessa in Engineering out for a flaming good time. So, thankfully, he'd avoided defrauding his gambling debts by clearing out his credit limit. Defrauding on gambling debts here meant a swift kick into Mavaro Prison. From what he'd heard, they locked you in and lost the key.
Today the cards hadn't gone his way at all. He'd switched from the game of Earth poker to Mavaro Rings. It looked easy, until he tried to play it. Too soon he'd sunk himself in over his head. He'd extended his credit borrowing limit and unless this last hand came out a winner - he was in deep space trouble.
"Show your cards, Earther," the Andorian ordered, his attenae twitching in anticipation. "See if you can beat this."
Varoom began to sweat. His hand included three double circles. It was hard to get three. Most players only managed one or at the most two. "Let's see you beat this," he tried hard for a tone of bravado but his voice shook.
The Andorian spread out a perfect hand of double circles. Four. He'd probably cheated, Varoom didn't know how, but there was no way he was calling the alien out.
"You lose," the alien said. "Pay up."
"Let's see, how many credits was that?" Varoom asked as he pulled out his data pad and pretended to check his credit limit. The bright red zeros flashed and a warning came on the screen. You have exceeded your borrowing limits! Please deposit more credits immediately. He hid the small screen from the others around the table, swallowed past the hard lump of fear in his throat and said, "Could you excuse me for a minute? I need to call my ship and deposit some more credits into my account. How much did you say I need?"
"80,000 credits."
"Um, sure . . . that's right . . . let me just go . . ."
The Andorian's hand shot out and he grabbed Varoom around the throat. "You better come back, Earther, or I will track you down."
It was all Varoom could do to gasp enough air to keep from passing out. The others around the table, including two of the Enterprise crew, shrank back away from the fight. There'd be no help from them if this got ugly. Varoom tried to speak but the words were garbled. Just before he blacked out, with white specks floating before his eyes, the Andorian let go. Varoom gulped air gratefully.
"Go . . . but you better come back."
"Sure, sure . . . just give me a few minutes."
#############
Carolyn Banks stared down at the recipe and read it again. Mumbling to herself, she read the list of ingredients over. "Ground beef, eggs - chicken, bread crumbs - white, sage . . ." It looked as if she had everything in the yellow bowl. Hopefully, she read the next instructions and began to mix it all up with her hands. Carolyn had eaten plenty of meatloaf on Venus, even the Earth variety, but she'd never tried to make it before. As a nanny, one of her duties was to prepare real food for Jamie when supplies were readily available. Her grandmother had left a recipe box of Jamie's favorites and meatloaf was one of them.
Right as her hands were their stickiest, Carolyn's personal com chat buzzed.
"It never fails!"
She thought about ignoring it, but then the thought popped into her head that it might be the Captain. He called several times a day to check on his daughter's activities.
Hurrying to press the button to answer, she was pleasantly surprised to see Varoom's name on the ID box. Good thing it's not a video chat, she thought, with this mess on my hands. I'm sure I look a sight.
"Varoom! What a pleasant surprise! I thought you were . . ."
"Listen, Caro, I need your help. I'm really in a spot of trouble here."
"What's wrong?" Inside she was thrilled that he'd turned to her in his hour of need. Carolyn had heard the rumors about him spending time with Vanessa in Engineering. Putting compassion into her voice, she swiped the messy mixture off her hands and said softly, "You know I'll help you with anything."
"You will? You're a gem, you know that Caro? I knew I could count on you. You remember the other night when you told me you were saving up credits?"
"Yes." She answered with a wary note in her voice. Somehow she hadn't expected his need to include credits.
"Do you have 80,000? You mentioned you had enough for dinner at the Green Pelican. You still have those?"
Maybe he wants me to get shore leave and meet him for a romantic meal. Giggling a little, she flirted, "Oh, so you want to know about my credits, do you?"
"Stop acting stupid!" He snapped. "Do you have the credits or not?"
Hurt by this unexpected attack, Carolyn gasped as tears filled her eyes. Don't speak to me like that, she wanted to say. You hurt my feelings. But in the next second he was all apologies and explanations. Like he always did, he somehow got her all twisted up inside and she ignored his bad humor.
"I'm sorry, baby," he murmured, "I'm just in a bit of a fix here and I need those credits. If I don't have them either one of two things is going to happen. This evil-eyed Andorian'll either murder me, or I'll wind up in the Mavaro Prison. Please help me, you're the only one I can turn to."
It melted her heart right away and soothed the hurt feelings. Part of Carolyn knew she shouldn't give in, that he might just be using her. If those rumors about Vanessa were true. The other part wanted to believe so much that she and Varoom had a future, she could deny him nothing. He had turned to her in his hour of need. Right then it was enough. "Of course, I'll help you." Carolyn bit her lip. "The only problem is I only have 50,000 credits."
He muttered a curse word. Then his active brain took over. "Look, can you borrow on your credit amount?"
Borrowing was so alien to her frugal upbringing; she shuddered, but admitted she could borrow up to 40,000 credits.
"40? How'd you rate that high a limit?"
"Most nannies are allowed more, in case of an emergency that involves the children we take care of."
"Caro, I know I don't have any right to ask this but could you send your credits to my account, then borrow the rest and have it sent over? I'll send my banking number."
Warning, warning, her frugal nature shouted, but she only allowed a twinge to come through. "All 90,000? I thought you only needed 80?"
He ignored that. "I promise to pay you back, sweet Caro. We'll even find some way to have that romantic dinner at the Green Pelican before we leave this planet. Or if we don't do that . . . there's this tiny cafe on the Denali Base . . . candlelight, violins, the best Saurian brandy you've ever tasted. . . "
Again Carolyn giggled. She'd never tasted Saurian brandy or any other kind. "Well, okay . . . send me your number." In less than two minutes, she had transferred 90,000 credits to Varoom's account and listened to his grateful thanks. He'd even blown a few kisses over the com chat line.
Carolyn went back to mixing the meatloaf with a smile on her lips, imagining being with Varoom in a tiny cafe with candlelight.
############
"Captain," Uhuru had finally found someone in authority that would deign to speak to a lowly starship. "An Officer Scree is willing to speak to you. Shall I put him on the screen?"
"Certainly." Jim waited for the Mavaro's face to come up and was pleasantly surprised to see the man looked human. There were many of the Mavaronians who did, as Spock's scientific research had proved. Others had a distinctive purplish cast to their skin. "Officer Scree? I am Captain James Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. Thank you for speaking to me."
Officer Scree gave a brief nod. His silver white hair gave him a look of calm dignity and his face wore lines that showed a hard, though not unpleasant life. "You're welcome, Captain Kirk, but as I told Lt. Uhura, there is really nothing I can do. The Mavaro Judicial System has been in place for generations. Its laws are immovable."
"I understand that and certainly we don't want to do anything that would interfere with your planet's laws," Jim said. "However, you can understand my position too. One of my men or women has somehow - perhaps accidentally - violated one of your laws and landed in prison. Perhaps it's all a misunderstanding, a language barrier that might be easily explained. If I could speak to the prisoner, clear things up . . ."
Already the man was shaking his head. "I'm afraid that is quite impossible. Mavaro law prohibits any communication between prisoners and those outside."
Jim clenched his jaw but forced himself to keep a pleasant expression on his face. "Very well. But surely you cannot deny me the information of knowing who the prisoner is. He or she might have family somewhere that will need to be notified."
"Your request is most unusual," Officer Scree mumbled. "We have never had anyone who asked this before."
Hopeful, Jim pressed this slight advantage. "Perhaps, if the King were asked, he could grant this request? There might be some way to work it out . . ."
Officer Scree shot bolt upright in his chair and went rigid. "The King is NEVER involved in prison matters. Excuse me, Captain Kirk, but I have other pressing matters to attend to." With that the screen went blank and left the bridge crew in stunned silence.
"What the devil just happened?" Jim asked.
No one seemed to know except Spock. "Perhaps the Officer's reaction makes sense in light of some research I have been reading."
Jim swiveled his chair to face the Science Officer. "Explain."
Steepling his hands, Spock faced everyone and spoke. "According to various . . . legends . . . myths . . . rumors . . . however one wants to name them, there is some reason to believe that King Hescate, as well as his predecessors, has amassed a great deal of their fortune by releasing prisoners and taking . . . bribes I believe is similar to the Marovian word. Perhaps, Officer Scree either wants to ignore this fact or pretend it doesn't exist. It is possible he felt you were hinting at this in your query."
"There might be a third possibility," Dr. McCoy suggested. Bored with the empty sickbay, he'd come calling on the bridge for company.
"What might that be, Doctor?"
"Maybe he doesn't know about it. If there are bribes involved, maybe the King has someone set those restraining devices forward to say that a prisoner's time has elapsed. According to what you've told me, Spock, no one keeps any records except on those devices."
"It is a quite logical assumption."
McCoy beamed at this unexpected compliment. "Even a lowly country doctor hits a bullseye once in awhile."
"I fail to see the connection . . ." Spock began but was interrupted by Jim.
"A bribe, huh?" Jim was already thinking of possible ways around this impasse with the Mavaronians. Bribes reminded him of poker. He couldn't have explained why. "Uhura, hail that Commandant Leef and tell him that I wish to speak to him. Let's see if we can't do a little bluffing and see what happens. Everyone at your stations and look . . . stern and unyielding. I have an idea."
After a brief period of back and forth messages, the Commandant finally agreed to speak to the Enterprise. Sitting in his most authoritative position, with the rest of the bridge crew staring daggers at the viewscreen, Jim dismissed the man's greeting with an annoyed, "Commandant, I demand to know the identity of the crewmember who was taken prisoner and the specific charges of the crime."
"Captain Kirk, as I have explained to you, that is quite impossible. Our laws prohibit the releasing of any information. Normally, we do not even inform passing ships that their crewmembers have been taken prisoner. We did this as a courtesy, at the King's request, because of our negotiations with your Federation. Now if that is all, I have other business at hand."
"It is not all!" Jim sat up straighter and formed his face into a scowl. "I'm sorry to have to inform you, but by not releasing the prisoner's name or telling us the specific charges, your negotiations with the Federation are in serious jeopardy. We do not take lightly a violation of our laws either. If you wish us to respect your laws, we demand that you also respect ours."
The Commandant looked surprised. "Your laws? I don't understand."
"Members of the Federation of planets must agree to respect a code of common laws. Many of these laws regard the humane and civil treatment of prisoners and prisoners of war. One of our laws states that everyone is innocent until proven guilty by either a trial or a Federation judicial jury - even the Klingons have agreed to this provision."
"Interesting," the Commandant murmured but he did not turn away.
"King Hescate and your governing body have asked us to come here. They have expressed interest in joining the Federation and in using the Starfleet shipping services to service other planets in the galaxy with Marovian exports. However, I must inform you that if we are not given the name of the prisoner and the charges against him or her, I will report this infraction of our laws to the Federation. We will consider this a violation of Federation treaties and consider Mavaro an enemy planet. Kirk out."
At his signal, Uhura cut communications.
"Well, let's see what happens next." He swiveled in his chair. "Pendleton, have you finished that list of who's on shore leave yet?"
"Yes, Captain," the tall, gangly man hurried to hand over a data pad with the names. "Here are the people currently on the planet. I've managed to contact everyone except shuttle pilot Varoom and Lt. Darcy from Engineering. All others are accounted for and none of them know who was taken prisoner. There are currently ten crew waiting to return to the ship on the Explorer. Lt. U said that Varoom is expected to let them board at 0300, sir."
"So we see if Varoom shows up and if not, it's Darcy in the brig. Darcy, Darcy . . . Uhura, get me Scotty." Although Jim prided himself on knowing most of the crew by station if not by name, he was having a little trouble familiarizing himself with the newest crew. There'd been so many stops at outbases on the way to Mavaro, that he hadn't had time to get to know everyone personally. Others, such as the designer and workers on the children's deck, he'd gotten to know too well. Thankfully they were civilians he'd be able to leave when they reached the Denali Base.
"Mr. Scott waiting, sir."
"Scotty, this Lt. Darcy, what do you know about him?"
A chuckle came across first and then Scotty's burr corrected him, "Tis a lassie you're talkin' about, Captain. Lt. Amber Darcy an' she's one of me newest right hand crew. What is it you're wantin' to know?"
"I stand corrected, Mr. Scott," Jim smiled despite the seriousness of the situation. "Have you heard from her since she went on shore leave?"
"Aye, Captain. Just a few minutes ago, in fact. She dinna go on shore leave but to find some supplies we need to rebuild the . . . well, you wouldna understand what we're rebuildin' . . . but Lt. Darcy just communicated with me that she'd found the things we need and was havin' them taken to the shuttle base."
"Is there a reason she's not answering her communicator? Lt. Pendleton has been trying to page her."
"Aye again. She mentioned that she had to shut it off to pass through an inspection grid. I expect to hear from her before she takes off."
"Thanks, Scotty." As he cut the communication, he furrowed his brow and ground his teeth a little. If Darcy wasn't the prisoner, that left Varoom, one of his best shuttle pilots. It was more than a little annoying. Varoom had always been what an old Earth dictionary called a hotshot. Jim sighed.
"Captain!" Ensign Pendleton hurried up to thrust a data pad into his hands. "I just established communication with Lt. Varoom. He's preparing to leave the planet with the Explorer, Sir. That's everyone on shore leave present and accounted for."
Jim's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out this puzzle. If everyone was accounted for, who was in the Mavaro Prison?
"If everybody's accounted for," Bones asked the same question as he came to stand beside the command chair, "who's down there in their prison? You think someone took unofficial shore leave? Or maybe they made a mistake?"
"I don't know." He sighed again and tried to ignore the beginnings of a massive headache. Pressing his fingers into his forehead, he massaged into the pain hoping for results. It didn't help. Why me? "But I guess we better find out. Uhura, Pendleton, begin to run the roster of crew members . . . contact each personally. If they are in their sleep cycle, wake them up. We need to know where everyone is . . . now."
It took a little time but soon the reports were in. Ever member of the crew from Officers to the maintenance crew was accounted for. Some had been woken from sleep and were grumpy, but all had answered. Then Jim had Uhura and Pendleton account for the non-crew personal that were working on the children's deck. Security personnel were sent to speak personally to everyone aboard the ship. All the builders, painters, grunt-workers and Mr. Sezon, the designer, were still present on the Enterprise. Jim didn't know whether to contact the prison and tell them they'd made a mistake, or drop the whole mess. Whoever the unfortunate prisoner was, they didn't belong to his ship. While he didn't agree with the Mavaronian laws, he couldn't object if one of his own were not in trouble. Starfleet would take a dim view of that.
"So what are you going to do?" Bones asked after they'd determined that the prisoner couldn't belong to the Enterprise. "Those laws sound barbaric. You know the Federation is never going to agree to making them a member planet if they don't come up with more humane treatment of prisoners."
"That will be up to the diplomats in the Federation," Jim responded. "As long as one of our own isn't involved, we can't legitimately do anything." He didn't remind the good doctor that they'd come up against this before. The inability - because of the Prime Directive - to change laws or cultures they didn't personally agree with.
"Captain, it's Commandant Leef. Shall I open hailing frequencies?"
"Yes, Uhura. Put him on screen."
The Commandant's face filled the viewscreen. "Captain Kirk, I have spoken to the Mavaro governing body and we have come to a conclusion."
"Thank you for that but . . ."
"Please, let me continue." The man pushed a hank of silver hair off a sweaty brow with a shaking hand. "The governing body is very concerned about offending the Federation in any way. We are looking forward to availing ourselves of Starfleet shipping services. We are also interested in becoming a member planet of the Federation. With that view in mind, and in the hopes that you will see our good-will, the body has voted unanimously to waive prison rules in this instance. We will allow you to see the prisoner and to inform you of the charges. However, I regret that we cannot offer any concessions other than that. This person is guilty of two lapses and must serve her time. She tried to defraud the good people of Mavaro by stealth. In other words, she tried to access entrance to Disney Mavaroon without payment. You should receive the communication momentarily. It has . . ." the man's voice shook as he wiped a silk hanky across his sweaty brow, "taken quite a lot to work out the details."
"Thank you, Commandant but . . ."
Again Uhura who would have seen the picture before anyone else interrupted him, this time. "Captain, they do have someone from the Enterprise."
"Put it on the screen." He said automatically.
No! It isn't possible! Shock, denial, horror and then a gut wrenching fear twisted his stomach as the face flashed up for all to see.
"Jamie! How the devil did she get down on the planet?" It was Bones who took the words out of his mouth, but every member of the bridge crew began to murmur and express sympathy.
Jim sat down heavily in his chair as the Commandant wished them good-bye and closed communication.
My baby, in a Mavaro Prison. I should never have brought her into space. The little girl lay on a bunk behind a force field. She'd curled herself into a ball and faced forward with an expression on her face he wished he could wipe away. Sheer terror. Her blue eyes were wide and staring with it. Her little mouth set in a grim line and her hands clenched together until her knuckles were white.
"Jim, what are you going to do?" Again it was Bones who asked the question. "We've got to get her out of there, man! It looks like she's in shock already. No telling what being in a place like that will do to her."
His first reaction had been shocking, a sucker punch to the stomach that left him winded and unable to grasp the truth of the situation. His second reaction was red-hot anger that boiled over and instantly exploded. "Uhura! Get that Nanny and teacher to the bridge at once! Then get the head of Security up here. I want to know how my daughter got down to the planet and I want to know it yesterday!"