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A Little Help From Your Friends II
Bones gave Jim and Spock's whole family a long list of instructions for the Captain's care and prepared to leave. As he did so, a call came in from T'Ameela.
"Leonard, do not return to the inn tonight. We are being evacuated. Heat lightning struck the brush in the mountains and has started a fire. The university is threatened."
"T'Ameela, how are you being evacuated?"
"T'Mardis has a small ship. She will bring Selek and the inn staff to New Shi'Kahr. Others are traveling by transporter. The university also has a small shuttle and the Federation Corps of Engineers a few others. I must leave now, Leonard."
"Okay, contact me again when you reach New Shi'Kahr. I'm at Spock's father's house. Leonard out."
Bones had everyone's attention when he said the word "evacuated". They were all waiting for an explanation. He repeated what T'Ameela had told him.
Sarek verified the information with Syrol, the New Vulcan Chief of Communications, sharing the reports with Spock and Jim.
Jim was coughing badly but managed a few words.
"Tell Sulu and Scotty to help with the evacuations and anything that's needed."
Admiral Mercedes Groves was the newly appointed Project Manager for Starbase 64, being constructed in New Te'Rikh. The ground had already been cleared and utilities laid, as the first heavy equipment had arrived ten days ago. However, the project was now on hold, as the nearby settlement of New Sura'Kahr and its brand new university were under the threat of wildfire.
Groves had quickly dispatched the base's ground shuttles to help evacuate settlers to New Shannai'Kahr. The transporters near the inn were working non-stop to move people away from the fire, as were those from the Enterprise, currently in New Vulcan orbit. Lt. Commander Sulu, acting under orders from his commanding officer, also sent the starship's five shuttlecraft, each making constant runs back and forth from the threatened area to designated shelters in the other settlements. Approximately 5500 people would need to be evacuated from the fire's projected path.
Groves had already dispatched earth-moving equipment to the hilly area above New Sura'Kahr. It would be another forty minutes before it arrived to plow a firebreak around the business and university districts.
She reviewed what she knew about New Vulcan. The Elders had chosen a world not very far from the former location of their old one. The planet was medium-sized and class M, with three small oceans, and limited surface water, mostly in the form of small rivers and lakes. The current population was around 50,000 people spread over three settlements. This was expected to double in the next two years, as the new starbase was likely to attract more Vulcans from colony worlds. One third of the population was under twenty-five, with half of those being children. The birthrate among Vulcans had increased five-fold since the Genocide. Gender inequity still persisted, as there were four women of childbearing age for every five men, but that gap was slowly closing as more females began to immigrate and more males took non-Vulcan mates. Only a very few females had taken non-Vulcan males.
As it stood currently, immigrants were arriving at the rate of a few hundred each month. There were many jobs available, both skilled and unskilled. Housing was the biggest issue, though the builders were slowly catching up with the demand. Most of the units were pre-fab, fire-resistant modules constructed off-world and then joined together at the building site. However, recently two new firms had relocated to New Vulcan and begun making bricks from compacted or rammed soil. This was a sturdy, resilient, and flame-retardant material. Dirt was one resource New Vulcan had in abundance. Dirt could also help put out these fires.
Selek had made numerous runs with T'Mardis' six passenger flyer, ferrying all of the inn's patrons and staff to safety. On the last trip, they also brought Healer T'Mena. Sarek insisted that Selek, T'Mardis, and T'Ameela all stay with the family.
"Leave room in the shelters for those who have nowhere else. We have room and food to spare here."
His offer of help was gratefully accepted.
Word came almost simultaneously to both Sarek and Spock that the evacuations were complete, at least for the time being. Manpower and resources would next be concentrated on fighting the fire.
Sulu sent the firefighters all the fire-retardant foam he felt that the Enterprise could spare. Some crew members volunteered for firefighting duty, shoveling dirt onto areas that had sparked. The local municipality owned two specially equipped fliers which picked up loads of water from a nearby lake and dropped them on the fire.
The New Vulcan Meteorological Ministry was tracking a huge bank of nimbus clouds coming from the ocean. Spock and Sulu discussed the merits of an old twentieth century technique called cloud seeding.
When conditions were right, rainfall could sometimes be induced by dispersing silver iodide and dry ice into the clouds which contained super-cooled liquid water, water just at the freezing point. However, this could not be done until the clouds were over the fire-stricken area.
Hot, dry winds continued to blow, spreading the flames. This was no help at all.
It was crowded at Sarek's house. Bones made Jim wear a mask so he wouldn't spread the fungal infection to others, especially baby T'Shana and Nyota. After receiving the anti-fungal meds for Jim from the bio lab, Bones and T'Ameela went to the Community Center, now serving as a shelter. Some of the evacuees had medical issues and were in need of assistance.
Though the fires were over fifty kilometers away, the smoke had traveled to New Shi'Kahr. Those with weakened lungs were advised to stay inside. Not all heeded the warning. The local healers were being kept quite busy.
No one slept well that night. Jim coughed and wheezed , and baby T'Shana was still cranky from her immunizations. Sarek kept getting updates from various ministry offices, while Spock received reports from the Enterprise on the crew's firefighting efforts. Two volunteers had suffered minor injuries, but were recovering well in Sickbay. Four others took their places.
T'Mardis busied herself in T'Sela's kitchen, making a huge pot of vegetable soup and a second smaller one for Jim with ingredients he was not allergic to. She also baked dozens of biscuits, both the flat, Vulcan kreyla and the tradition North American baking powder variety. These were a favorite of Selek and apparently of Spock as well.
At daybreak, Bones and T'Ameela came back for some food and a few hours rest. Bones dove into his breakfast.
"T'Mardis, these are the best biscuits I've ever eaten in my life. They're even better than the ones our chief cook makes and that's really saying something! A full belly should help me sleep!"
By evening, the fire was out in New Sura'Kahr, except for a few hot spots being treated with foam. If there were no new flare ups, the evacuees could begin returning home in the morning. A few buildings had been damaged by flaming brush that scattered in the wind, but they could be easily repaired.
Everyone was starting to breathe more easily when the wind picked up again and three areas started to burn. Three thousand more people needed to be evacuated and sent to the already crowded shelters.
The Enterprise beamed up five hundred people and sheltered them, using the cargo bay and conference rooms as emergency quarters. Hamed Mofasu borrowed workers from Maintainance and Housekeeping to keep up with the demand for food. Many of those being sheltered also helped out.
The situation was the hardest for the elderly evacuees, many of whom were having flashbacks to the Genocide and their time as refugees. T'Pau and Tauril were both adept at assisting those suffering from this type of mental distress, a form of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. They volunteered to help at one of the shelters, leaving Saavik and Senar with Nyota.
Jim's medication had begun to work, and as he was much improved, he returned to the ship to relieve Sulu. Spock went with him, to assist in the preparations for the cloud seeding mission. The winds were shifting again, bringing the nimbus clouds on course for New Sura'Kahr.
Jim felt he had no choice but to release the fire-retardant foam that Sulu had held in reserve. The Vulcan people had already lost so much. Some might not be able to bear the loss of their homes and businesses a second time. More supplies were on route from Starbase 7, along with fresh volunteers to help. They would just have to hope that no fires broke out aboard ship. The risk was greatly increased with five hundred extra people on board, unaccustomed to shipboard life.
Having nothing better to do at the time, T'Mardis sat down at the table with Saavik, working with the child on the finer points of using a fork and spoon.
Selek had thus far avoided interaction with the child. It was just too painful. In the universe he came from, he had first been her mentor and then her husband and father of their three children. Though he was happy with T'Mardis, little Saavik was a reminder of all that he had lost.
Instead, he sat at another table and colored with Senar. He could be that much help while Nyota rested. She had put in a full shift at the Communications Center, helping evacuees communicate with relatives they had gotten separated from.
The dawn of the fourth day finally brought some good news. Two supply ships arrived from Starbase 7, replenishing badly needed supplies, including the fire-retardant foam that was so desperately needed.
A few hours later, Spock and Scotty swung into action. A shuttle craft had been specially adapted with a device to deploy the materials for cloud seeding. The window of opportunity was small and there was no guarantee of success. Sulu would pilot the craft while Scotty operated the robotic cloud seeder. It was up to Spock to determine positioning and timing.
Admiral Groves stood next to the earth-moving equipment, analyzing the latest reconnaissance images of the fires and deciding where manpower was needed the most. She was so engrossed in her work that she didn't notice the rain until the drops began to collect on the screen of her PADD. Within minutes, it was pouring.
A few hours later, the fires were out. They would still need to be on the lookout for flare ups, but the worst was definitely over.
Admiral Pike granted Captain Kirk's request to extend the Enterprise's stay on New Vulcan. The crew wanted to help repair the damaged homes and businesses.
When T'Mardis and Selek returned home to their inn, they found only minor damage to the roof and some scorched plants in the garden. The stasis units had lost power, so there was also some spoiled food, however all of this could easily be replaced.
Twelve housing units had been lost and another thirty had varying degrees of damage. Most of these had still been under construction, so only three families were left homeless. These were housed at the inn while dwellings were made ready for them.
Six businesses had damage, but none so extensive that they could not open after a few days of hard work with the help of others.
A huge crowd of family and friends was on hand to greet Jack, Lewis, and Krysta when they arrived home in San Francisco. There were banners, balloons, and a cake with purple icing flowers.
Sonrisa escorted her new little sister to the room they would share, showing her the new bed with purple sheets and accessories. Sonrisa had even made space in the closet and on the bookshelves, wanting everything to be perfect for her new little sister.
When all the company had gone, Corazon summoned the other adults to the doorway of the girls' room, her finger on her lips requesting quiet.
Sonrisa and Krysta were both sound asleep in the middle of the purple bed, cuddled up to each other.
Spock's cousin Sirin pulled the family vehicle into the garage and helped Rachel remove their daughters from their child safety seats. The little girls were both asleep, as it had been an exciting day.
Seven year old Jason waited for his parents to tuck his sisters in and come into the family room. When they were both seated and relaxed, he let them know just exactly what was on his mind.
"There are too many girls around here! This family needs another boy. Mom and Dad, you guys should go to New Vulcan and get me a brother."
Sirin sighed.
"My son, it is not that simple. The adoption process is lengthy and difficult."
"But Dad, Uncle Jack and Uncle Lewis have gotten three kids in less than a year. It can't be that hard. I want a brother. Even Grandmother T'Pau and her new husband got a couple of kids, and they're old. Really, Dad, they're just giving them away! Why can't we get me a brother?"
Sirin looked at Rachel, who smiled and shrugged. More children had always been part of the plan.
"Your mother and I will discuss this. However, I make no promises."
Tauril finally got his wish, as Sarek and T'Sela asked the older couple and the children to dine with them. Jim and Bones had been invited, too.
The whole family listened wide-eyed as Jim told them as much of the story of their rescue missions to Caldena and Hellguard as he dared, revealing no classified details. The Vulcans found the concept of Humans sporting pointed ears quite amusing.
Sarek seemed to wear the slightest of smiles.
"It is most unfortunate that no images were taken of you in your disguise, James."
"Not according to Spock. He said I resembled some ugly second cousin named Streld."
Sarek and T'Pau exchanged amused glances. Even as a child, Streld had been so unattractive that his father had to promise his bondmate's parents some financial incentives in order to secure him a bride.
"Perhaps it is just as well, then."