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 V
Leonard McCoywas avery thorough man, always dotting his i's and crossing his t's. He collected DNA samples on each of the refugees from Hellguard. He could not process them yet, but he would do so just as soon as the ship left the Neutral Zone, then forward his results to the Vulcan Immigration Ministry and the Federation Genetic Registry. It was possible that some of these poor unfortunates still had living family. At least that is what he hoped for.
Dinner at the Romulan Imperial Palace was a somber affair on this particular night. The Praetor, never known for being the most cheerful of men, was in a particularly foul mood. He had invited his top aides to dine with him. The Praetor's oldest legitimate son, Nefel, was also in attendence. The boy was still in his teens, but his father thought it never too soon for him to learn the ways of warfare and politics. He hoped Nefel would be more intelligent than his mother had been attractive. The marriage had been for a political alliance. It was so unfortunate when the Praetor's wife had died shortly after Nefel's birth. However, the court physician had been relocated and rewarded handsomely.
Nefel listened intently as his father's advisers informed him of the steps that had been taken to intercept and apprehend the Enterprise.
"Father, I do not understand why you are so certain that Starfleet and the Enterprise are involved."
The Praetor looked at his son and sighed. It was definitely time the lad learned something besides mathematics and ancient Romulan poety!
"Nefel, every ship, whether Romulan, Klingon, or Federation has a distinctive warp signature. We have Imperial Fleet officers who spend years training in order to be able to distinguish them. We first tracked the Enterprise in the disputed area near Tragan V and then followed that signature until it was out of our range, near Starbase 7. Shortly afterward, a team investigating Tragan V discovered all the colonists missing. The Enterprise was then replaced on its mission by another starship."
"You have already heard of the unfortunate incident with Orinar, how he sent complete idiots into Federation space with both my treasures and a cloaking device. The women were of no consequence, other than as a source of transponders for the Federation engineers to study."
"A well-placed spy at a hotel on Starbase 7 confirmed that the women have been taken to New Vulcan. He also confirmed that Romulans had been arrested in some sort of melee near the Vulcan Immigration Ministry Office. One must assume that the two men charged with monitoring the hybrid women have been tortured to obtain information."
"There are other operatives, including one who reported the Enterprise's two-week stay at New Vulcan and the Vulcan Council of Elders' approval of a starbase to be constructed there. They must feel unprotected or as though they now have something worthy of protection. I suspect they now possess the Artifacts."
Nefel nodded, finding his father's reasoning sound thus far.
"The trackers picked up the Enterprise's warp signature again after it left Starbase 7, then it disappeared in the vicinity of the Neutral Zone shortly before the raid on Caldena. The warp signature has not yet reappeared."
"There is no such Imperial Warbird as the Colius, though it was a good choice for a name. Most would not have given it a second thought. We often name our ships after former praetors. The one who chose that name was a student of Romulan history."
"Also, the mine sentry on Hellguard reported that he had been neck-pinched, a Vulcan technique almost impossible for Humans to master, as they do not have sufficient strength or dexterity. Very few Romulans master it either."
"There is a very foolish clerk in Starfleet Admiral Komack's office, who believes that she is selling information to a gossip magazine. In fact, she revealed to one of my agents that there is only one Vulcan currently serving on a starship. That would be Commander Spock, assigned to the USS Enterprise, First Officer under Captain James Tiberius Kirk. This Spock is also the son of that damned Ambassador Sarek, who is always poking his nose in our business."
Nefel nodded again. This all made sense to him. However, he had another question.
"Father, if you have agents watching Starfleet and the Federation, might they also have spies watching us?"
"A very good question, Nefel. It seems that you are capable of intelligent thought after all. Yes, I am certain that there are probably a few old V'Shar (Vulcan Intelligence agents) in this very court. They would not have been able to return home once their planet had been destroyed. They would have deemed it logical to remain in place. No doubt they are spread throughout the Empire. Do you have any other questions, my son?"
There was a question that Nefel really wanted to ask, but did not dare. Vulcan had been destroyed by an angry Romulan, intent on revenge against some old man from the future who failed to rescue Romulus in time. Since they knew what the future held, it seemed reasonable to spend their time and resources relocating the Romulan people. Why was his father so concerned about some moldy old scrolls and tablets stolen from a vault over a hundred years ago? However, since the last person who asked that question, one Commander Tirell, was sent to Hellguard for his "impertinence", Nefel asked another question instead.
"Father, may I visit your vault to examine the remaining artifacts?"
"I do not see why not, my son."
Christopher Pike was also skilled in the arts of warfare and strategy. When he first received his promotion to Admiral, he became privy to knowledge shared only with those at Starfleet's highest ranks. This included the existence of the deep-cover branch of the V'Shar called the a'kweth, or the Underliers, named for the legendary giant Sandworms of ancient Vulcan. There were still over a hundred of these spread throughout the Romulan Empire, forming a network that was a valuable source of information. They were most often bondmates, deployed in pairs. Some had assumed their places in Roumulan society over a century ago. Most had gone undetected, though a few had been exposed and painfully tortured to death.
Pike gathered a force of three starships and a dozen smaller vessels close to the Neutral Zone but just out of the range of the Romulan tracking devices. The pretense was a training exercise. The Enterprise, loaded down with refugees and power systems overtaxed by the cloaking device, did not dare risk a subspace transmission to Headquarters.
The a'kweth, however had no such concerns, ready to risk their lives and those of their bondmates so that the Federation would have valuable information. Starfleet and the remaining Vulcans owed them much. However, the debt would most likely never be paid as the a'kweth members would probably die in Romulan space, unknown and far from a home that no longer existed.
The Enterprise was now less than a day and a half from Federation space. So far they had yet to be detected, though the subspace chatter made it clear that the Romulans were looking for them. The power distrubution system was showing the strain as brownouts occurred randomly all over the ship.
Kirk ordered the ship's temperature reduced everywhere but Sickbay, the Childcare Center, and the greenhouse. Crew members doubled and tripled up in quarters, conserving power and body heat. Water showers were banned and sonics were by medical order only. No laundry was to be done and all cooking stopped.
Hamed brought all the fresh produce that could be eaten raw out of stasis, shutting down the empty units. He gave silent thanks for all the cold, left-over roast beef, though there was no bread for him to serve it on. He also had over 500 dozen cookies, though they would not last long with so many hungry crew members and youngsters.
Spock and Jim were working double shifts, trying to help Scotty and Nhegmi keep the cloaking device and the simulated warbird warp signature on line. They would not need the projected warbird image unless they encountered Romulans at close range. Thankfully, the SAM created no power drain.
Some of the kids were well enough to move to the Childcare Center, but most were still in Sickbay. Nyota spent her time there when not on duty, comforting the little ones, as did La Keisha and "Cupcake".
Gaila was getting tired of lying on her back, especially when all of her friends were so busy. Finally, she reminded Bones that she also spoke Romulan and if talking was all that was needed, she could do it quite easily from one of the Sickbay wheelchairs. And so, while her little daughter slept, Gaila amused the refugees with Orion folktales loosely translated into Romulan.
Soon the little eyelids grew heavy and most of the children fell fast asleep in their makeshift beds.
One child, however was proving to be a problem. Saavik simply could not sit still, even though her ankles had to be very painful. The tight cuffs of the shackles had embedded themselves into her flesh. Bones had removed them and the skin was now regenerating, a slow process. Saavik was an intelligent and curious child, as T'Vedna had discovered when the girl was still a toddler. The medical staff had to be on constant guard, not leaving any equipment lying around. Otherwise, Saavik would disassemble it. Bones was considering sedating her for her own safety and his peace of mind.
Little Senar, the child found in the storeroom on Caldena, was slowly recovering his sight. He was only three years old and had not seen since a blow to the head had detached his retinas. Bones had repaired his eyes, but the child was unaccustomed to processing visual images. His head hurt, even with the maximum amount of pain killer Bones dared administer. Senar whined constantly and wanted to be held all the time. This was a difficult situation for the overwhelmed medical staff.
However, T'Vedna had a brilliant idea. Saavik was nearly ten years old and strong as an ox. She was used to taking care of the other children in her little band of escapees. T'Vedna gave Senar to Saavik, charging her with his care and amusement. She fed him, took him to the bathroom, and cuddled up to him while he slept. It was a great arrangement until Bones tried to give the little guy a hypospray. Saavik had endured several of them and knew that they hurt. While Bones prepared the dosage, Saavik kicked him in the groin.
While the good doctor groaned in pain, Christine finished giving Senar his meds.
"Damnit, I'm gonna have to start wearing body armor to work, or at least a cup!"
T'Vedna sighed and took Saavik aside for a little chat.
Eighty-three point two seven years ago, Sorge and his bondmate Svai were placed into the old Praetor's service by the a'kweth. They replaced a chef, Rinek and his wife Tula, who had died in a shuttle "accident" on their way to the palace to take up their new positions. They greatly resembled the deceased couple, who had no living relatives, so no one was the wiser.
Being a cook for the Praetor was an uncomfortable position, as it was required that a member of the chef's immediate family assume the role of food taster. Even if one had no intention of poisoning the Praetor, extra steps would have to be taken to be sure that his food never the cook's sight until in was placed before the Praetor. Then the food taster would cut a generous sample of everything on the plate. Even in the age of bioscanners, someone was always developing a new and undetectable poison.
"Tula" had now sat at the Imperial table, tasting food for two Praetors and passing a wealth of information to the a'kweth network. The news that the Praetor was looking specifically for the Enterprise travelled all the way to Admiral Pike in two and a half days.
Exhausted, Nyota curled up on an empty bed in Sickbay and went to sleep. Spock joined her there an hour later, needing a bit of rest himself. They looked both ridiculous and adorable, a woman nearly twenty-five weeks pregnant and her long-limbed Vulcan husband, snuggled together on a narrow bed. Bones found them that way and covered them with a blanket.
Their rest was short-lived. Two hours later, a main power coupling failed, shorting out the cloaking device and taking the warp signature simulator off line. Federation space was only three hours away at warp one. Maybe they would be lucky and arrive at the border undetected. Spock hurried to main engineering, hoping to help repair the power coupling so that the ship could achieve maximum warp and exit the Neutral Zone.
However, the Enterprise's luck had run out. Within minutes, a Romulan warbird was hailing them.
Nyota turned in her chair to face Kirk.
"Captain, I have a Commander Muvar from the Imperial warbird Jidan. He wishes to speak with you."
"Put him on the screen, Lieutenant."
"Aye, sir."
"Ah, Captain Kirk, it seems that what they say about you is true. You have gone Vulcan. I must say, though, that you do not make a very attractive one. However, let us discuss the terms of your surrender."
As Kirk was formulating his response, he was interupted by Scotty in engineering,
"Hold that thought, Commander Muvar. I'll get right back to you."
Kirk gave Uhura the "cut signal" and she terminated the audio feed to the Romulan vessel.
"Okay, Scotty, what is it now? I'm a little busy up here."
"Captain, I just wanted to tell you that full power has been restored."
"Excellent, Scotty. You just earned your pay for the week. Mr. Sulu, prepare to get us the hell out of here, maximum warp on my signal. Lt. Uhura, resume audio feed to the Jidan."
"Aye, Captain."
"Sorry about the delay, Commander. However, there's not going to be any surrender. Now, Sulu!"
TBC