Author's Note

Hey, All –

I'm posting this a bit early because I'm on vacation and I can! Thanks to those of you who favorited, followed, or reviewed. Funny, before I started posting my own stories here, I didn't realize how much that matters… It's huge!

Don't own Star Trek. Sniff.

Like some of the most productive brainstorming sessions on the Enterprise, this one took place at the front of the bridge during alpha shift. As Spock finished describing the planet-side conversation with Kathleen Tallis, the captain paced, arms crossed, between members of the command crew.

McCoy started the first round of comments. "So it sounds like Governor Rawles pawned us off on the head of his children's center."

"It is possible," Spock responded, "that Ms. Tallis is the colony's defacto leader."

McCoy snorted. "Yeah. Rawles and his lackey weren't exactly impressive."

"What did Tallis mean those kids were smuggled out because of Starfleet?" Sulu asked.

"Eet must have to do with ze mining of dilithium on Plutus VII," Chekov offered.

"Indeed," Spock agreed. "It was not uncommon for the Federation's early dilithium contracts to destabilize mining planets. Most analyses of Plutus VII cite the discovery of raw dilithium and the resulting corruption as the main causes of its civil war. The phenomenon is similar to what happened in oil-rich regions of your Earth in the 20th and 21st centuries."

"You mean the Middle East and North Africa…" Carol added.

Jim nodded thoughtfully. "They called it the oil curse. A poor country would strike oil, and corporations would move in with hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars. But that money almost always ended up in the hands of a few corrupt strongmen and their cronies."

"And the little guy pulling the stuff out of the ground got screwed," added McCoy.

"So our friend Kathleen Tallis doesn't like Starfleet." Jim thought aloud. "She's right that those old Federation contracts were shams, but that's old news. Those contracts changed decades ago—too late for Plutus VII, maybe, but that's no reason to deny medical care to the kids she's supposedly protecting."

"'Supposedly, Jim? You think she's just pretending to act in the kids' best interests?"

"I wouldn't say that, Bones, no. She seemed to care about them. Still…" Jim stroked his chin. "…there's more going on than she's telling us."

"That doesn't take much," Bones drawled. "She's telling us less than a pig at his own barbecue."

"I think it's time we learned more about Kamali," Jim said. "Spock, set up detailed scans of the planet. See if any surprises show up. Carol, I want you in on that. Check every region with a fine-toothed comb. Uhura, let's go deeper and wider looking for news and information relating to Kamali or Plutus VII. Chekov, analyze this system's traffic patterns, starting with Stardate 2256.3. That's when the Faraday passed through here, a few visits back. There's a reason these people are acting odd, and I want to know what it is."

A chorus of "Yes, Sirs" rang out.

"Meanwhile, I'm going back down to the surface."

"Captain," Spock said. "May I remind you that we have yet to make sense of the colonists' strange reaction to our presence, which could be indicative of danger. I suggest you take a security team with you."

The captain donned his trademark smirk. "Nah… what I have in mind requires a… gentler approach."

Jim didn't see the frown on Carol's features as he bounded toward the turbolift. "You have the conn, Spock," he called over his shoulder. "I'll check in every hour until I come back." And with that, he exited the bridge, Carol's gaze following even after he was gone.

Jim beamed down to a cacaphony of delighted screeches and squeals. Over the fence of the children's center playground, Kathleen Tallis helped a tiny girl negotiate a horizontal ladder, hung like monkey bars at a jungle gym. A 20-something man and older woman were nearby, keeping careful watch over the kids near them. Above them, a course of ropes and beams soared impossibly high—fiber and wood and children criss-crossing against the green-tinted backdrop of Kamali's afternoon sky.

Scotty had left him near a clump of trees, so Jim decided to fade into the shade and watch for awhile. Know thine enemy, he mused, the thought breezing through his mind before he realized it was there.

Without looking away from the chubby legs flailing beneath a rung of the ladder, Kathleen Tallis called out, "I didn't take you for the kind of guy who'd hide outside a daycare center and watch, Captain."

Caught red-handed, Jim moved toward the center's gate. "Sorry. I was just… interested. That's all."

Tallis frowned, and shook her head. "Captain… you seem like a fine officer…" She broke off, her attention still on the dangling child. When she started again, she was matter-of-fact. "Truly, we have nothing more to say to each other."

"I thought maybe we could start over," Jim replied gently. "WHOA!" He vaulted over the fence to catch a boy he was sure would take a header off a high rope. The boy, however, stayed aloft, springing lightly onto an adjacent rope.

Tallis smirked. "That's Patik. He's pretty skilled with those ropes. He could probably teach you a thing or two."

"Really! I'd enjoy that." Jim stated, watching Patik, eyebrows raised.

The young woman rolled her eyes. "It wasn't an invitation, Captain." Then, beyond exasperation, she changed her mind. "You know what? Go ahead—have at it! You said your Dr. McCoy is the best in the fleet, right? You may want to put him on standby."

Half to himself, Jim quipped, "He's always on standby; believe me." Jim grasped a rope above his head, and pulled himself up. "So, Patik!" he yelled. "What's my first move?"

Patik dove to Jim's level, and caught a nearby cable. He wore an amused grin, enjoying the Captain's gamesmanship and relishing the chance to show off. Patik hoisted both legs over the rope above him and turned his body, which gave him room to swing… and swing… until the momentum launched him yet another level higher.

Jim watched, his face falling ever so slightly before he remembered to paste on a confident grin. "Gotcha, Patik."

Tallis stepped toward him in growing alarm. "Captain, you really don't…"

Before she finished the sentence, Jim's legs were flailing toward the rope above. He was able to secure it behind his knees, albeit clumsily, and he flashed an upside down grin at Tallis in triumph. "That wasn't so hard!"

In a tone usually reserved for stubborn toddlers, Tallis mollified, "Yeah, um… Nice job, Captain. How about we…"

But James Kirk was far more obstinate than the average two-year-old. He swung from his knees… higher… and higher… flew off the rope… stretched his grasp toward the rope above… and promptly slammed to the ground with a loud thud.

"Captain!" Tallis called as she ran over, eyes wide at the stupidity of Starfleet's famous genius.

Jim raised a hand, catching his breath and shaking himself off. "Fine!" he choked out. "I'm fine. Nothing to see here, people."

Kathleen Tallis laid a hand on her mouth to hide a relieved laugh. "That looked like it hurt," she said.

He pulled himself up slowly, rubbing his wrist and hugging it to his frame. "Nope!" he exclaimed painfully. "All good." After a beat, he gave Tallis a punch-drunk grin. "I guess Patik showed me, didn't he…"

Tallis gave up hiding her laugh, and with a lilt in her voice said, "I don't think you've noticed, Captain, but Plutusians have tremendous upper body strength." She smirked, enjoying Jim's comeuppance. "And they have six fingers on each hand."

Jim examined the Plutusian children dancing on the ropes above, and understanding dawned. "No shit!" he cried, then cringed at his language when he remembered he was surrounded by babies. "Would ya look at that?!" he added quietly.

Despite herself, Tallis found her smile lingering. "Let me at least get you a cold pack. The kids swear by them." She disappeared into the building, leaving Jim in the play yard with her two co-workers and a lot of kids. When she came out, Starfleet's youngest Captain was helping a Plutusian preschooler up the steps of a slide, chanting something that was making the child giggle.

Tallis moved toward Jim, still wearing a smile, and handed him the cold pack. "You're good with kids," she offered.

"Yeah, well, I was one once, so…" He looked at her and let a quiet moment pass, as he pressed the pack against his wrist. She really was pretty… beautiful, actually, even in baggy pants and a loose, jelly-stained t-shirt. He shook off the reflection, almost visibly. "Some people think I'm still one." Then, more seriously, "I'm not the enemy, Ms. Tallis."

Tallis sighed, then nodded. "Katie."

"What?"

"Call me Katie. Everyone else does. You may as well, too."

"Katie." He was making progress. Ha! Knew it!

"Captain, I…"

"Jim."

She paused. "What?"

"Call me Jim. That's what my friends call me."

"Oh, we're friends now, are we?" she asked good-naturedly.

"Maybe not now," he answered, "but I have a feeling we will be."

She sighed. "I don't see that happening, Captain."

He grimaced and shook his head. Pretty short-lived progress, that was. "Why would you say that?"

She paused, then lit up with a wicked grin. "Because my friends don't suck on the ropes course!"

Jim looked stunned, then let loose a loud laugh.

Laughing herself, Katie grabbed a rope and hoisted herself into the maze of intersecting cables. At first Jim could only stare, feet frozen to the ground. Then he pulled himself up on a beam and launched himself onto a rope with much more grace than his earlier display.

"This thing is wild!" he exclaimed as he reached for the next handhold, looking at the layers of ropes and wood soaring above him. "Who built it?"

"We all did. The colonists." she called over her shoulder. He couldn't tell for sure, but she didn't seem to be breathing hard. "This is what Plutusians call a playground."

"Hey!" He puffed, trying to catch up. "You're not… (breath) Plutusian (breath). How are you (breath) doing this? (big breath)"

She stopped and settled into a corner where a beam and three ropes met. As comfortable as she seemed, it may as well have been a hammock. She let him catch up.

"I've been here a few years, remember. And I like to climb. Always have."

"Trees?"

"Trees, boulders, mountains. Anything taller than me."

She looked impish, grinning in her make-shift nest, fingers lightly wound around the ropes. Her hair was wild—abundant rust and sand and gold. Jim fought the impulse to loosen the pile of curls atop her head and set them free. A thin sheen of sweat made the cotton of her shirt cling to her chest.

He leaned against a beam and caught his breath. "Has Governor Charleston Rawles ever been up here?"

She giggled conspiratorially. "Charles prefers more ground-based activities."

"Why do I get the impression that you're the one running things on Kamali?"

Katie shrugged. "I work with kids, Captain..."

"Jim," he reminded her.

"Okay… Jim," she conceded. "Kamali is all about helping kids recover. So I guess my expertise fits this colony well."

"That doesn't tell me why Charleston Rawles calls himself governor when he's not the one in charge."

Katie gestured to the colony below. "Look around, Jim. Kamali isn't exactly a glamorous posting. We're lucky to have someone willing to come this far and deal with the bureaucracy. Charleston's actually very good at dealing with Federation red tape." When she looked back at Jim, she seemed almost shy. "But running this children's center, seeing to kids who need support—I can do that."

So, Katie Tallis cared little what title she held as long as she could put his considerable gifts to great use. Jim thought fleetingly of Spock.

Katie stretched back, looking even more relaxed, if that was possible. "Being up here," she said wistfully, "gives me access to these kids on another level, you know? I mean, I've read all the research, about how to break through, how they need to integrate all the horrors they've witnessed before they can move on. Hell, I've written some of it." She watched a boy and girl goad each other playfully. "But on the high ropes, these kids are more open and free than they ever are in our treatment rooms. It sounds silly, I guess, but something… sacred… happens up here. Sometimes."

He just watched. For some reason he wasn't aware of, he didn't want to alter the picture of Katie Tallis, eyes bright, curls floating, body leaning into the sky while she silently sought his understanding. Maybe he watched a moment too long, because she self-consciously tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and, looking slightly embarrassed, lowered herself to the ground. Jim followed.

With her feet firmly on the surface, Katie gathered herself. "Captain, you can't stay here. You can't stay, and your doctor cannot examine these kids."

It was his turn, now, to be exasperated. Two steps forward; three steps back. "Do you have any idea how little sense that makes to me?"

"I do, yes," she nodded. "But explaining things to you is not my job. My job is giving these kids the very best chance at a decent life, and the Enterprise can't do that." Then, as an afterthought, "No offense… Jim."

He clenched his jaw as his mind spun, trying to decide how best to talk sense into her, when a gasp escaped from one of the workers behind him. He turned and saw it all… a girl, way too young to climb so high, dangled from the middle of the ropes course. Jim launched himself toward the little one, as did all the adults simultaneously—but too late. The child fell, cracking against one of the beams before she hit the ground.

"Anli!" cried Katie.

As one, Jim and Katie lunged for their comms and ran toward the small, too-still form. Katie called for a local doctor, while Jim found Bones.

"We've got a medical emergency..." While Katie commed one colonist after another in search of a medic, the telltale golden shimmer of the Enterprise transporter appeared near the trees. She let go a strangled shriek of frustration.

"Bones! Over here!"

Jim stepped away from the little girl to give McCoy access. Katie stayed crouched down beside the tiny patient, stroking and soothing, even though the child was out cold. "You're okay, Anli. It's okay."

McCoy's instruments came out one by one, as he calmly worked on the child's injuries. It wasn't long before she began to squirm and sputter, and then let loose a full-out cry.

McCoy smiled. "Good set of lungs."

"Doctor?" Katie looked at the CMO.

As McCoy turned to answer, he saw Katie watching the child, and Jim, to his surprise, watching Katie. The doctor cleared his throat. "She fractured her femur, but I've pretty well mended that. She has a concussion, too, so keep her quiet. Wake her every two hours and make sure she's lucid. If she vomits, or you have trouble waking her, comm us in sickbay right away. Got that Ms. Tallis?"

Katie nodded, letting out a deep sigh—of relief, or some other emotion.

Bones patted her shoulder. "She'll be fine. Don't worry."

Katie avoided his eyes. "Thank you, Dr. McCoy."

Jim's gaze followed Katie as she stood.

"I'll be back to check on her in the morning."

"All right, Doctor." Tallis mumbled.

McCoy packed his med kit and rose to leave. "Jim? You coming with?"

"Yeah, Bones," he breathed. He looked at Kathleen Tallis, his expression bordering on expectation, but he only said, "Ms. Tallis, we'll be in touch."

Then he turned with Bones, and left.