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 IV
When they were safely beamed aboard the ship, the Enterprise prepared to leave Hellguard orbit. Jim took back the conn from Chekov, while Spock took the science station. Sulu was almost ready to engage the warp drive when Mofasu placed an emergency call to the bridge.
"Captain, don't leave without my food carts."
"Hamed, they're not essential. I'll requisition you some more."
"But sir, they have "USS Enterprise" stenciled on their bottoms."
"Good point, Hamed. Gentlemen, we need to find those food carts."
Spock was as efficient as ever.
"Captain, I have located them and will transmit the coordinates to Mr. Scott."
In his dining room on Hellguard, Tirell awoke to the sound of a transporter beam. Bound and groggy, he watched helplessly as the food cart dematerialized. The reality of his situation slowly sank in.
"Aichus, wake up! We've been had. We must find out how badly and by whom."
Aichus groaned and struggled against his bonds. He picked a steak knife up off the table with his teeth and stood up, still tied to the chair. He managed to carry the knife to Tirell and slowly sawed at his commanding officer's bonds. It took him nearly thirty minutes to free Tirell's hands, as Aichus was still holding the knife with his teeth.
"Cupcake" escorted Saavik or "Little Miss Feisty" to Sickbay, her hands still tied behind her back. Bones was irate when he saw this and insisted that the little girl be freed.
T'Vedna saw what was happening and gave the doctor some sound advice.
"Wait a moment, Dr. McCoy. I know this child. I raised her until she was five years old. She can cause quite a bit of trouble."
T'Vedna stood in front of Saavik and took the child's face in her hands. She addressed her in Romulan.
"Saavik, look at me when I speak to you. These people are your benefactors. They mean you no harm. The doctor merely wishes to treat your injuries. You must allow him to do so. If you promise to cooperate, your hands will be untied."
"I promise" came the grudging response.
Giotto untied the child and lifted her onto an exam bed, smiling all the while. Saavik eyed him suspiciously, but offered no resistance. While McCoy treated her injuries and removed her ankle cuffs, T'Vedna explained every step in advance.
Giotto was too keyed up to sleep, so he checked on Heisen, who was recovering nicely from his leg wound. The kid asked about his buddy Thollen, so Giotto sat with him and told him the sad news, staying until Heisen had cried himself to sleep. Then the big guy looked around sickbay for something else to do, some other way he could help.
Ensign La Keisha Johnson had her hands full with the little ones, some of whom were in pain from having their shackles removed. Giotto took a fussy child in each arm and sat down in a big rocking chair. He sang an Italian lullaby his mother had taught him.
The crying stopped as all the children listened. Giotto did not have the most pleasant voice, but the little ones were soothed none the less.
Johnson smiled at him.
"No wonder they call you "Cupcake." You're just a big sweetie."
She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Giotto had never liked his nickname much before, but it was kind of nice when Johnson said it. He smiled back at her.
It was four days at Warp One to the Federation side of the Neutral Zone via the most direct course. They did not dare go any faster for fear of overtaxing the power distribution system. There were nearly one hundred extra people on board, so Kirk ordered all none essential systems shut down and power usage strictly rationed.
In Sickbay, Bones tended to the children and the women who had been rescued. The away team would have to wait to have their ears and eyebrows returned to normal. Because the replicators were only being used in emergencies, the kids were dressed in oversized clothing borrowed from crew members. T'Vedna really enjoyed the Starfleet issue sweats and sneakers, proclaiming them the most comfortable things she had worn in over fifty years.
When Tirell had finished freeing himself and Aichus, he tried to contact Zelen in the Command Center. There was no answer, so he sent Aichus to investigate. Aichus woke Zelen up and freed him and the others with him. Aichus ordered Zelen to start scanning for the "Colius" and sent Rethen to check on the mine. Aichus returned to Tirell, who had freed the Weapons Officer and the Security Chief. They began a systematic search of the building, hoping the situation was not as bleak as they feared.
Spock and Scotty had been working on an updated version of SAM, Sensor Attenuating Material. This was loosely based on the RAM technology used by the US Navy in the 21st century. Sheets of a sensor-resistant material were deployed around the ship, greatly reducing its susceptibility to scanning. Three layers of transparent material now covered the hull of the Enterprise, much like a giant, shrink-wrapped basket. Scotty had deployed it while the away team was on the surface of Hellguard.
After Nyota had gotten several hours rest, she stopped into Sickbay again to visit with Gaila before Alpha shift started. Gaila was now sharing a room with T'Genna, also rescued from the "brothel." As promised, Nyota told her friend the story of the battle of Vulcan, Nero and the "black hole" he had created. Gaila wept when she learned of Vulcan's destruction and of how Spock's mother had died nearly in his grasp. Nyota also told her of the New Vulcan colony and the hopes the Vulcan people had for their future.
T'Genna was silent for a moment. She had been taken over twenty years before from a Vulcan research vessel that the Romulans said strayed too close to their space. Her parents had died shortly after. T'Genna had always hoped to escape and return to Vulcan. Now that would be impossible. Still, she would go on living, as she would be needed to care for her daughter and the new life growing inside her. T'Genna's unborn child was baby Nyota's half-brother, due in just two weeks.
T'Vedna had also been listening to the sad story Nyota told. The old woman wondered what fate awaited her on New Vulcan and what use she might be to the colony.
Zelen scanned the general vicinity of Hellguard and then broadened his scan. He found nothing. How could they have gotten away so quickly? Surely they had no more than two hours head start. Tirell would not be pleased when he was informed of this.
Rethen found Midok just inside the mine's entrance and untied him.
"What happened to you, my friend?"
"I was attacked from behind and pressure applied to my neck. It rendered me unconscious. That is a technique that Vulcans use. I thought that they were all dead."
"Not all of them just most of them. Perhaps the surviving ones are now seeking revenge on us. They have probably joined forces with Starfleet."
"That makes sense. Let us check on things in the mine, Rethen. Then we can discuss your theory with Tirell."
Jim turned the conn over to Lt. Riley and headed off to bed, ordering Spock to do the same. The Vulcan started to protest, but his wife gave him her best evil glare.
No one is chasing us yet. You'll need to be at peak efficiency when that happens. Take your stubborn Vulcan butt off to bed!
Yes, my wife. Be certain that you do not overtire yourself. It would not be in the best interests of either you or our son.
I'll join you in three hours. Now scram!
Tirell and his men quickly found the brothel guards tied to their chairs. He opened the doors to all the rooms and found the women gone, including his prized Orion. Running down the other corridor, he found Quiros' servant dead with his hands still upon the sword in his chest.
Inside his chamber, Quiros also lay dead. It appeared that he had choked to death on his feast. Tirell sat down in the chair next to Quiros' bed. The Commander had always suspected that he would die on Hellguard. He had hoped for a natural death, however the Praetor was certain to want him executed.
As he sat there, Aichus came and delivered more bad news. The children from the nursery and the old Vulcan woman who cared for them were also gone.
Several minutes later, his comm unit chimed. It was Rethen informing him of the death of one of the overseers and the fact that all the mine workers were missing.
Tirell began to laugh, wondering which would make the Praetor angrier, the death of his son, or Tirell's inability to meet this month's dilithium quota. Either way, Tirell was a dead man. This time, not even his powerful father would be able to save him.
Tirell would do his family two final services. First he would contact the Romulan home world and confess his shortcomings. Then he would take his own life, at least saving his parents the shame of his execution. Perhaps his siblings might still gain a place in Romulan high society.
The Enterprise had gotten a six-hour head start before Nyota intercepted Tirell's transmission to Romulus. He told his superiors that he and his men suspected Starfleet and Vulcan collaboration. He also told them of the suicide pact he and his men had made. The Praetor would not have the satisfaction of their executions.
Within minutes, six of the fastest and best equipped Romulan ships were dispatched to the vicinity of Hellguard. The closest was a full day away at top speed. This would bring the Enterprise nearly a day and a half closer to Federation space by the time the Romulans were in long-range scanning distance. If the SAM held and they shut down even more power-draining systems, they might just make it home.
Jim tried his best to rest after Lt. Uhura gave him the news, but it was no use. The images of the hungry and abused young miners haunted him and reminded him of Tarsus IV. Every time Jim fell asleep, he would have a nightmare. He decided to go down to Sickbay, get a sleeping pill from Bones, and maybe even visit with Gaila.
On Hellguard, Tirell gathered all his men in the dining room.
"Our visitors left us this Romulan ale, no doubt drugged. However, it is tasty enough and good for one last toast. Let us drink to the Praetor and to the ability to take our own lives instead of leaving the task to him."
Tirell raised his glass and the others did the same.
"To the Praetor and to an honorable death."
Each man drained his glass and when he had finished, took his own life.
Bones was finally taking a break when Jim wandered in.
"Jim, you look like Hell, no pun intended. I'll get to those ears eventually. Why aren't you sleeping?"
"I can't sleep, Bones. Every time I do, I have nightmares about Tarsus IV. It must be that seeing these half-starved kids brought back all the memories. I was hoping you could give me something. Nothing too heavy, I need to be alert in case the Romulans find us."
"Okay. Take two of these blue pills, but not until you're ready for bed. They work quickly."
"Bones, how are Gaila and her baby doing?"
"They're just fine. I think Gaila is awake if you want to visit her."
"Yeah, I would. I owe her an apology."
"Yep. Second small room on the right."
Jim took the bottle of pills from Bones and tiptoed to Gaila's room. She was wide awake and holding her daughter. Jim smiled at the sight of them.
"Gaila, she's beautiful."
"Hi, Jim. Meet Nyota Lenore. Would you like to hold her?"
"In a minute, if you still want me to. I have both a confession and an apology to make."
"Okay, go ahead."
"I hacked into your cadet account and used your access code to cheat on the Kobayashi Maru test. I nearly got expelled from the Academy for it. I made a full confession to Admiral Komack. Your record is clean."
"Jim, that's ancient history. Do you think that they would let me back into the Academy? Let me repeat my last term and take my finals?"
"I bet that Spock and I could get them to waive them for you. After what you've been through, it would only be right."
"What posting could I get, as a single mom with a child?"
"You could get posted to the Enterprise. You wouldn't be the only single parent on board, and we have a great childcare center."
"I'll think about it."
"Good. Can I hold the baby now?"
"Yes. Just make sure you support her little head. Nyota Lenore, meet your Uncle Jim."
"Uncle Jim, I like that. Come here, precious girl."
The more the Praetor thought about the situation, the angrier he became. First the scrolls were given away by that idiot Orinar, and then the rest of them taken by only the gods knew whom. Most likely it was that Federation Captain, that Kirk fellow. Now they had shut down his mine on Hellguard, the main source of dilithium for the Romulan Empire. It would take months to find more workers and overseers, longer still to train them and get the mine back to full production levels.
He would not even have the satisfaction of executions to soothe his temper. The Federation must be stopped. Kirk and his half-breed Vulcan First Officer must die.
The Praetor dispatched another six ships to the Hellguard area, ordering them not to return without pieces of that Federation ship and even better, bits of Kirk and Spock.