Getting Nanny Banks to agree to visit the shuttle deck proved harder than Jamie thought. As soon as Learning Center was over, Jamie grabbed Nanny's hand and told her the story she'd invented while she sat over the boring math assignment.
"We have to go to the shuttle deck," Jamie insisted, "to say hello to Ambassador McCale. He's coming over from the planet."
"The Ambassador?" Nanny got a puzzled look on her face. "But why? I thought he was angry at the Captain . . . in fact, someone said something about him wanting to get rid of the Children in Space program. We'd better stay away from there. Don't you want to go to the holo deck instead?"
Jamie shook her head. Okay, so this was not going to be easy. "No, we have to go to the shuttle deck. Don't you remember?" It was wrong to pretend like Nanny had forgotten, but Jamie couldn't think of any other way to get her to come.
"Remember what?"
"About Varoom . . ." Jamie mumbled something and kept walking fast to the turbo lift. Nanny had no choice but to follow in a hurry.
"Jamie! Stop right there and tell me what I need to remember. I don't think we should be going to the shuttle deck. I'm sure I haven't forgotten that the Ambassador doesn't like children . . . Jamie!"
Stepping into the turbo, Jamie pressed her hand on the padd and announced, "Shuttle Deck." The doors whooshed closed on Nanny's protests. Jamie had no doubt that Nanny would be right behind her. I'll just get to the Ambassador first.
The turbo let her off at the shuttle deck and she could see by all the green lights and people rushing here and there that Varoom's shuttle had just landed and been cleared. So, she was still in time. Not thinking about how wrong it might be, she hid herself behind a pile of cargo waiting to be shipped down to the planet and watched. As soon as the Ambassador walked by, she planned to jump out and tell him not to take Daddy's ship. He might not listen, but she had to try.
Jamie hid for a few minutes. Long enough to see Nanny arrive, all out of breath and fuming mad, hissing as she searched the corridor along past the turbo lift. "Jamie? Come here at once. Jamie!"
Jamie thought about coming out, begging Nanny to let her talk to the Ambassador, but then decided not to. I have to wait for him. It's important to Daddy. For another few minutes nothing seemed to happen. The shuttle deck workers walked by talking and joking, then here came the Ambassador. Jamie's throat swelled tight and she couldn't get any words out. His face looked mean as a Denuvian dragon - the kind that spit fire. His gray brows were pointed over his nose and his lips were pressed as tight as an airlock. Suddenly, she didn't know if she could talk to him. Her heartbeat like fists inside pounding to get out and disappointed, she sat back on her heels. I want to help Daddy . . . but I'm too scared.
Then a couple of things happened all at once. Nanny Banks stepped into Jamie's hiding place, grabbed the sleeve of her blue dress and hissed, "I've got you! Now, let's get out of here."
As they stepped out, Varoom came around the corner, whistling and in a jolly mood. "Caro? What are you doing here?" His face lost its smile and his forehead wrinkled like he might be worried.
Before Nanny could answer, the Ambassador came striding back, his face red and his dark eyes bugging out of his head. Right away his voice boomed out and his hollers echoed along the shuttle deck. "What is going on here, Lt. Varoom? I'm waiting to be escorted . . ."
He never finished.
Jamie didn't mean to be rude and interrupt, but she'd just seen something so scary the words spilled out before she could stop them. "It was you." She tugged on Nanny's arm and whispered, "It was him."
Jamie stared at the back of Varoom's pant leg with the white paint stain. The stain she'd seen hanging upside down while he carried her into the Children's deck. "It was him. Varoom. He took me." An echoing clang from somewhere in the shuttle deck reminded her of that other sound, the one she heard when she'd first been taken from her bed by the elephant man. "He took me and brought me . . . here. I remember the sound."
"What are you babbling about, child?" The Ambassador yelled. "I demand to see the Captain at once! I've been in communication with Starfleet about stopping this ridiculous nonsense. Children on starships! It can lead to nothing but troub . . . what are you doing?"
Varoom had pulled a phaser and motioned them all back toward the air lock. "Into the shuttle. Now!"
"Of all the . . . what is the meaning of this," the Ambassador sputtered.
"Do it!" Varoom ordered as he held the phaser straight to the Ambassador's head. Even Jamie could see it was set to kill. "Unless you want me to vaporize you right here."
For once the Ambassador shut up and obeyed. He was the first into the shuttle, followed by Nanny and Jamie. Varoom hurried behind them and pulled the door shut with a metallic clang.
From outside, another crew member called, "Hey, Varoom! What's going on? What are you doing?"
Nanny squeezed Jamie's hand tight and whispered, "Do as he says, everything will be all right."
Will it? Jamie had never been so scared in all her life.
#####
"Has the Ambassador's shuttle arrived yet, Uhura?" Jim Kirk asked around a yawn. This had been one of the longest days he'd spent orbiting Mavaro so far. Even longer than the hours he'd struggled to get Jamie out of the prison. Messages from Starfleet had zoomed back and forth, been caught in some type of interference and arrived on the bridge garbled. So far all he knew was that Uhura had intercepted messages from some of the top brass at the Federation Council. What they said was anyone's guess. Some of the tech crew were working to fix the problem but weren't having much success. If he was about to lose the Enterprise, ignorance was bliss.
"Yes, Captain, about five minutes ago."
"Very well. Let me know when he's on his way to the bridge."
"Yes, sir."
Settling back in the command chair, Jim sighed and massaged his aching forehead with his hand. This planet had given him more headaches than he'd had on his first five-year mission. Or was it just dealing with Ambassador McCale - an aging, dictatorial Starfleet fixture? It might have been better to face the angry Ambassador face to face as he stepped out of the shuttle. But, Jim well knew McCale's rather odd ideas about interrupting the crew's work for what he called "Pomp and Timewasters." McCale insisted that his shuttle not be met by any officers on arrival, nor accompanied on departure. Personally, most of the officers on the Enterprise and other ships in the fleet thought this gave the Ambassador an unfair advantage to snoop.
"Captain Kirk!" Something in Uhura's voice alerted him to trouble.
Not more trouble.
He swiveled around in the chair, braced himself, and faced the lieutenant. "What?"
"Sir, I don't understand this at all. The Apollo arrived but I'm getting reports that it's getting ready to leave the shuttle deck again. In fact," she pressed the communication nodule to her ear with a puzzled look on her face. "I'm getting reports from Security as well. Something's happened in the shuttle deck. Captain, Varoom has taken . . . hostages."
In an instant he was out of the chair and striding toward the turbo. "I'm on my way. Mr. Spock please accompany me. Mr. Sulu you have the com."
#######
The scene on the shuttle deck was minor chaos. The Security team assigned to protect Jamie were arguing with two of the shuttle deck workers. The Apollo - the shuttle Varoom had used to ferry the Ambassador - was still in the shuttle deck, doors locked but warmed and ready to go. Thankfully the outside shuttle doors were still locked. It gave them a minor advantage, but Jim wasn't sure it would amount to much. If Varoom were determined to leave, there was nothing to stop him.
"What's going on here?" Jim demanded.
Security - Ferguson and Maria Grasias - began to speak at once. At the same time two of the shuttle crew, O'Flynn and a beginner named V-7 were also trying to be heard. Jim caught a word here and there before ordering silence. The arguing voices stilled at his command.
"Maria, explain."
"Its Lt. Varoom, sir. He's taken the Ambassador, Nanny Banks and . . ." she hesitated, and her lips quivered, "your daughter. He refuses to come out and insists that the shuttle release doors be opened. He's given us ten minutes to decide. If not, he plans to kill the Ambassador. The Nanny has confirmed that his phaser is set to kill."
Not Jamie . . . again! "How did my daughter get involved in this? Weren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on her?"
"Yes, sir," Maria answered before Ferguson jumped in with, "We tried. She . . . got away from us."
"You didn't try good enough, mister! No children are allowed on the shuttle deck. How'd she get down here in the first place? You know that. . ." He might have gone on and on if Spock hadn't stepped behind him and in a quiet voice brought him back to the task at hand.
"Captain, perhaps all this can wait? Until after we ascertain what Mr. Varoom's demands are and how to resolve this current situation."
Jim took a deep breath and managed a slight smile for his first office. "Thanks, Spock. All right. Does anyone care to tell me what happened? Why has Varoom taken hostages?"
O'Flynn knew that one. "I think it's because he's the one who hid your daughter and demanded credits."
"Go on. Tell me everything you know."
The story O'Flynn told was simple. He'd been checking cargo to go back to Mavaro when he saw Varoom's shuttle arrive. The Ambassador stepped out and started for the turbo. At the same time, O'Flynn saw the Nanny pull Jamie from a hiding place behind some crates. Varoom came up about then and started talking to them. "The next thing I knew, Jamie was accusing Varoom of being the one who snatched her. He got real scared then and pulled a phaser. I was coming up to try to stop him when he ordered everyone back into the shuttle. By the time I got here, he'd locked the doors."
"Has anyone been in communication with him?"
Ferguson nodded. "We used ship to shuttle communication. He didn't say much, only that we had fifteen minutes to open the release doors and let him leave. He gave orders that we were to let him get to the planet, no tractor beam, no communication, or he'd start eliminating hostages."
"Open communications," Jim ordered going to a com station in the wall. "Varoom. This is the Captain. What do you think you're doing, Mister? I want my daughter and the others released at once."
From the shuttle Varoom's voice came over loud and clear. In the background Jim could hear a sniffle from Jamie and the Nanny's quiet whispers. Oh, Jamie, how'd I let this happen to you again? "Not a chance, Captain. Guess you know by now that I'm the one who snatched your kid. I know the Federation's statutes for kidnapping - no way am I spending the rest of my life on a prison planet chipping slag."
"Then what do you intend to do?"
"Let me leave with the shuttle. I'll take it to Mavaro and drop everyone there. As soon as I've escaped, you can pick them up safe and sound."
"That's not a good plan to me." Jim didn't know what a good plan was, but he knew that allowing Varoom to leave would lengthen the odds of getting Jamie back safe. "Why not turn yourself in now. I'll vouch that you cooperated . . ."
"No! Release this shuttle now or someone's going to die! You have about five minutes." With that Varoom slammed off communications.
Jim turned to the people standing near him. "Ideas? Suggestions? Anyone?"
"It would seem that you have no choice, Captain," Spock said. "Mr. Varoom's mental state seems quite . . . unpredictable. If he were to fire a phaser inside the shuttle, it's possible that it would hit not only his intended target but something or someone else."
"Yes, but what's to guarantee he'd let the hostages go when he arrives on Mavaro? What's to say he's even going there?"
Ferguson spoke up, trying to redeem himself. "It is possible he could go to one of Mavaro's moons - there are 45 with habitation. If he lost himself on one of those, chances are he'd get away. What he'd do with the hostages though, I couldn't guess. There are several possibilities."
The pounding in his head had gotten worse, but Jim knew he had to make the right decision. Not only for Jamie but for the Ambassador and Nanny.
"Anyone else? Opinions?"
"It would seem wise to allow him to leave," Maria said.
O'Flynn agreed. "He can't get that far in the shuttle before running out of fuel," O'Flynn said. "He's going to have to land on either Mavaro or one of the moons. We can track him easily with the GPS in the shuttle. Maybe if he thinks he's getting away, he will be less likely to . . ."
No one had to spell out the worst-case scenario. "Open the release doors. Let him go."
I hope this is the right decision.
#######
Varoom grinned in satisfaction as the Enterprise crew opened the shuttle release doors and allowed him to leave. So far, so good. He had no real plan in mind except to get away. There were plenty of dark holes on Mavaro where a man could lose himself and hide indefinitely. But he wasn't sure he'd stay on the planet. With all the muckety muck higher ups at Starfleet working to establish good relations with the King, it might be in Varoom's best interests to hop the first alien ship going to galaxies unknown. He'd decide that later. Right now, he had to get the shuttle to the planet without interference and ditch the three albatrosses around his neck.
"I demand you release us at once!" Ambassador McCale commanded, red-faced and hotter than a Venusians volcano. In fact, the Ambassador looked ready to explode any second.
"Shut up!" Varoom waved the phaser in front of the Ambassador's fire-breathing mouth. "Keep quiet or you won't get out at Mavaro."
He sat down in the control chair and piloted them out of the shuttle deck and into space. Hearing movement behind him, he turned and stared hard at the hostages. This was not going to work. Somehow, he needed to control them or one of them might jump him while he was piloting. One glance at Sweet Caro told him she'd like to crack his skull as wide as he'd cracked hers. No, this was not a good situation. Jittery, he managed to get away from the Enterprise and set the course to Mavaro. Once certain they were on a straight setting, he slid the Auto Pilot lever into On and stood up.
"You!" He pointed at the Captain's kid, sniffing back tears but darned mad. Blue eyes like lasers drilled into him and let Varoom know just what she thought of him. Even his command didn't cower her. "Find me some rope in the supply closet."
"No." Jamie answered.
"Leave her alone," Caroline interjected, pulling the brat closer to her. "We aren't going to do anything you say."
"Aren't you?" He walked close enough to stare into her eyes and saw fear. "I need old Ambassador here tied up so you better get that into your thick skull. If you and the kid can behave, I'll let you sit quietly, and you won't get hurt. But, if you don't obey me now, I'll tie the both of you up too. So, what's it gonna be?"
"You're a . . . you're worse than . . ." Caroline couldn't seem to think of an insult good enough to call him. The words spewed out and sputtered as she tried to think of something horrible. He could see it in her eyes. Finally, she seemed to make up her mind and went for the jugular. "You stole my credits and lied to me! You're a Denebian slime devil . . . no, you're worse than that!"
"Oh, no, the shame!" Feigning horror, he threw a hand to his forehead like an old-fashioned silent film heroine. "You cut me to the quick, Sweet Caro."
"Don't you ever, ever call me that again."
"Aw, don't be like that, Sweet Caro." He reached out and rubbed a hand along the sleeve of her pink velour pullover. "And to think, we were once thought of as a couple."
"You stole my credits and lied to me!" She repeated. "And the rumors about you and that girl in Engineering are probably true too. I don't know how I ever got mixed up with you! You're a fiend!"
He laughed which seemed to make her madder. "You were desperate. Desperation does strange things sometimes. Or didn't they ever teach you that proverb on Venus?"
This time she reached out and tried to slap him but Varoom caught her hand before it could reach his face. "Don't you ever try that again. Now tell the kid to get the rope, because I'm going to tie the Ambassador up and then you're next." For emphasis, he twisted her wrist just enough to hurt.
Caroline cried out and seemed to wilt at the pain, but surprisingly she got one last jab in. "If I had a Klingon blackjack, I'd hit you in the head just like you did me. I'd hit you so hard . . ."
"Tell the kid to get the rope!"
As her face paled from the pain he inflicted on her wrist, Caroline whispered, "Jamie, do as he says."