I do not own Star Trek, any of the canon characters, nor do I make any profit from my writings. I write this disclaimer to guard myself from legal action. Otherwise, there might be Hell to pay later.

Hellguard III

As gently as possible, Spock had just informed her that the away team had found Gaila alive in the "brothel" on Hellguard. They had rescued her and her infant daughter. Now both were in Sickbay, along with the others who had been saved.

Sickbay was buzzing with activity. All of the refugees were in need of some type of medical attention. Bones and his staff had dealt with the more serious ailments first. Now there was time to concentrate on the minor problems. The good doctor was tending to a toddler boy's eye infection when Nyota entered the room. He looked her way, acknowledging her presence.

"Be with you in a minute, darlin'."

He finished the eye treatment, washed his hands, and came over to Nyota's side.

"Len, how's Gaila doing?"

"She lost a lot of blood with the delivery and contracted a pretty nasty infection. It's amazing that she survived. However, I gave her several units of blood and a massive dose of antibiotics. Her fever has broken and I think she's gonna be fine. Her baby girl is as healthy as a horse."

"May I visit with her?"

"You sure can. Christine is in with her now. I'll have somebody bring in a chair for you. You've had a long day and should be taking it easy yourself."

He pointed to one of the smaller rooms. Nurse Chapel was raising the head of Gaila's bed a bit, so she could sit up and sip some juice. Gaila's eyes lit up when she saw Nyota, but no words came.

Nyota ran to her friend and hugged her, both women dissolving into tears. They stayed that way until an orderly brought in a chair for Nyota. Christine gave them each a box of tissues and then left the room.

"Hey, Nyota."

"Hey, Gaila. I never thought I'd see you again."

"I never thought I'd see anybody again."

It was the middle of the night and the sandstorm had finally let up outside of the dilithium mine. Midok was anxious to end his shift which already lasted several hours longer than usual. There was no point in both he and his relief risking their necks in the foul weather. Rethen had promised to save him some of the feast the visitors had brought. Rethen had dined with Zelen in the Command Center, waiting for the storm to subside.

Midok tried to contact him by communicator, but the device did not seem to be working. It was probably full of sand again. He gave it a shake and was not disappointed with the quantity of sand that fell out. Midok tried it again, but it still didn't function. As he banged the useless thing on a rock, he did not hear the intruder come up behind him, nor did he see the hand that pressed on the nerve in his neck. Midok crumpled and fell to the ground. The away team members bound him tightly and securely, then followed the sounds of the hammers and chisels down the passageway to the mine.

The two women dried their tears and sipped their juice.

"Gaila, I thought you died with the rest of the Farragut crew. How did you manage to escape?"

"We never knew what hit us. The ship was coming apart. Remember Lt. Angelli, Commander Spock's Instructional Aide our first semester? He was the Chief Communications Officer aboard. Three of us female cadets were in the Comm Lab with him and we all made it into an escape pod. We didn't even have time to launch it, it just fell away when the ship broke up. Angelli piloted the pod around the debris and got us out of Vulcan orbit. We were picked up by another ship, claiming to be a freighter, but they weren't! Oh, Nyota, they were pirates. They killed Angelli and took us girls as slaves. We were each sold to a different man."

"I was sold to a Rigelian trader who was looking for a new wife. Krev actually wasn't such a bad fellow. I think I would eventually talked him into letting me go if we hadn't wandered into the Neutral Zone. The Romulans captured us and confiscated the ship and cargo. They brought me to Hellguard. I have to assume that they killed Krev."

"Gaila, do you know who the baby's father is?"

"Oh, yes. I had been the exclusive property of Commander Tirell since I arrived. She even has his ears. However, I love her in spite of them. I hope that you don't mind that I named her after you."

"You named here after me?"

"Yes, and after our favorite doctor. Nyota Lenore. I hear her fussing. When Christine brings her in, would you like to feed her?"

"Would I ever!"

"Cupcake" managed to stun the guard in the passageway before he could reach for his weapon. Unfortunately the sound attracted two more guards, one of whom got off a disruptor shot, wounding Ensign Heisen in the leg.

Spock and Sulu stunned these two and they were tied up and left in the passageway. Kirk ordered Heisen beamed back to the ship. Spock scanned the mine, finding thirty-seven separate life signs in the large chamber before them. A side chamber held another three dozen.

The away team crept down the passageway as quietly as possible, finding a spot where they could see into the larger chamber, but not be observed by the occupants. The miners represented many species and most were children or young adults. Their feet were shackled and they were guarded by an enormous Romulan, armed with a disruptor and a three-bladed sword.

Ensign Thollen stumbled in the loose shale, losing his footing and landing in front of the doorway. The armed overseer shot Thollen through the heart, killing him instantly. Kirk fired his phaser at the Romulan, but his stun setting had no effect. Sulu fired his own weapon, quickly reset to kill. The Romulan died in his tracks before he could get off a second shot.

Sulu and Hirsch stayed with the miners while Kirk, Spock, and Giotto investigated the other chamber. It was a barracks of sorts, sleeping quarters for the off-duty miners. Two elderly Romulans stood watch, both facing the sleeping children. Kirk and Spock managed to stun them both and bind them.

While Sulu and Hirsch explained the situation to the first group of miners and arranged for their beam up, Spock and Giotto unshackled the others from their beds. Soon they too were beamed aboard the Enterprise.

On the bridge, Chekov and Nhegmi were tracking a small group of life signs, about twelve in all. These all seemed to be small beings, most likely children. They were located in the woods about a kilometer from the mine. They did not appear to be moving, most were likely asleep. There was scarcely more than an hour before dawn. The away team would have to hurry if they were to take the group by surprise.

Nyota burped her "niece", who had just finished a bottle. The little girl was adorable. Nyota gave the baby back to Gaila, who happily cradled her in her arms. Gaila gave her friend a quizzical look.

"I just realized something. You're wearing a wedding ring and a maternity uniform. What's the story?"

Nyota smiled at her.

"Spock and I have been bondmates for a few years now, married for almost a year. We're expecting a son in about 17 weeks, if everything goes according to schedule."

"So you two finally figured it out and got together. Tell me all about it."

The away team reached the small wooded area, really an oasis in the sandy wasteland that was Hellguard. Ten children slept on the ground while two others stood watch. The young sentries appeared to be armed with homemade spears and stone knives.

Day was breaking as Giotto and Hirsch sneaked up behind the two, disarming them. However, one of them, a young girl managed to sound the alarm. Three of the youngsters managed to run away, but the rest were quickly gathered together.

When Spock explained that they were being rescued, most were cooperative, consenting to be beamed aboard the ship. The early morning light revealed that all the children were girls on the verge of puberty. If they had been recaptured by the Romulans, most would probably have had less than a year before they were sent to work in the "brothel." They were dirty, hungry, and some of them had the shackles digging into their legs. They had managed to break the chains but were unable to remove the cuffs. It was a sickening sight.

While Sulu and Hirsch got the kids beamed on board, Kirk, Spock, and Giotto gave chase to the three who had escaped.

On board the Enterprise, Bones had his hands full. His sickbay was full of youngsters, most of whom spoke only Romulan. The universal translators were of some assistance, but not very soothing. T'Vedna was a tremendous help, as she had raised some of the children. Ensign Johnson came up from Engineering, but they were still short-handed. Bones really needed Nyota.

Reluctantly, he went to Gaila's room.

"Sorry to break this up, ladies, but I need another Romulan speaker. Gaila should really be resting anyway."

"That's okay, Len. Gaila, we'll talk tomorrow."

"Good. You never told me want happened with the attack on Vulcan."

Nyota and Bones looked at each other. Gaila didn't know that a whole planet had died along with most of her classmates from the Academy. Most likely the rescued Vulcans didn't know it either.

Two of the small children had tired quickly during the chase, falling to the ground. Spock and Giotto scooped them up and had them transported before the confused little ones understood what had happened.

The third child was proving difficult. She climbed a tree and refused to come down, despite Spock's repeated requests for her to do so.

"I do not believe you. You are trying to trick me."

Finally, Jim climbed up after her and brought her down. She fought him all the way, kicking, biting, and screaming in his ear.

When they reached the ground, Giotto grabbed her and tied her wrists behind her.

Jim stood next to her.

"Now be a good girl and hold still while we transport you up to the ship. By the way, I'm Jim. What's your name?"

"I am called Saavik."

As the transporter beams began to shimmer around them, Jim looked at Spock, who raised an eyebrow. Saavik had been Selek's wife in the alternate universe.