Chapter 6

Officer's Rec, U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.132, 0038 hours. "Ugh." Jim brought a hand up to his throbbing head but still didn't open his eyes; whatever it was that hit him had packed one hell of a punch. He quickly figured out that he was still on the ship but that's about all he knew.

Soft-booted footfalls plodded up beside him followed by the sting of a hypospray plunged roughly into the sore spot on his neck. Eyes flying open he grimaced against the light and cried out, "Dammit Bones!"

"You're welcome. Give it another minute and the headache should ease up some."

Groaning again he pushed himself up on his elbows and leveled a glare at his friend. "Well?"

"Well what?"

This time Jim didn't fight the exasperated sigh. "Aren't you going to tell me what happened?

Bones blinked owlishly. "You mean you don't remember?"

Seriously? "Would I be asking if I did?"

"Look around, Jim."

Ignoring the rudeness of his tone he took a good long look at his surroundings. They were in the Officer's Rec—there was Scotty, sleeping it off in a corner, and Sulu and McKeon were standing over by the door. Ross and Hinzle sat on the long bench at the end of the room busily going through a large black bag. Giotto stood with 8 or 10 other crewmen talking quietly amongst themselves in the middle of the floor. There was a good crowd there tonight—almost all the senior officers by the look of things—and that in itself was strange; most of them, including himself, preferred the public Rec Rooms on the lower decks.

Wait, did Hinzle just pull an emergency blanket out of that bag?

"It's mutiny," Bones answered gruffly.

"Mutiny?" he hissed quietly, not wanting to draw everyone's attention. It was every captain's worst nightmare and one he never thought he'd see on his ship; the waitlist for transfers onto the Enterprise was a testament to that fact. "Who? And how?"

Bones grimaced. "Look around you, Kid. Who's missing?"

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 0930 hours. "Given the scarcity of definitive evidence and the…pain…of our recent loss, it is unlikely that the Captain will give credence to our findings, let alone permission to return to the planet's surface to effect a rescue mission."

The family now sat gathered in the living room, Selas clutching his PADDs to his chest while they all were deep in thought. "I have been unable to discover how the Gamma tribe secreted Mama away in so short a time span, which does not help in our search."

"And I cannot reconcile the presence of human remains that were left at the scene with our theory of what occurred," T'Alora added.

"Misdirection," Sa-mekh said. The children drifted closer to him now, listening in earnest. "If the Gamma tribe did not want anyone to search for her then the best way to ensure that they would not would be to make everyone believe she was dead. It is also possible that your mother's kidnapping was not pre-meditated but a matter of coincidence. The Gamma tribe may have been attempting to reach the surface for some other purpose and inadvertently came upon your mother, taking her back with them out of fear of discovery."

Se'tak scowled. "That's all well and good but what are we going to do with all this talk? We need to get down there and if Uncle Jim won't let us go then our plan is dead before it hit's the ground." Before anyone could respond Spock's communicator chimed with a ship-wide alert; they had new orders from command and would be breaking orbit in thirty-six hours.

Sa-mekh raised an eyebrow at the device. "It would also appear that time is of the essence."

"This is insane!" Se'tak shouted. Jumping up out of his chair he began to pace back and forth, occasionally throwing up his hands. "Why are we even talking about this? Let's just steal a shuttle and go get her!"

"That would not be wise."

"Sa-mekh, we can't just sit around…"

"The shuttle would be stopped by the tractor beam before we even neared the planet's surface," T'Alora interjected calmly. "We must take the time we have and plan now so that our odds of success in this mission are greater."

"Oh." He stopped pacing and quietly walked back to his chair. "Ok. So what's the plan?"

Officer's Rec, U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.132, 0040 hours. "How'd they get to all of us?" he asked as he struggled to his feet.

Chief Giotto saw the movement and came over to lend a hand. "Sneak attack, Sir," he said, pulling Jim upright. "I always say never underestimate your opponent but even I didn't see this one coming."

Jim rubbed the sore spot on his neck again. "Nerve pinch?"

Bones confirmed with a nod. "Se'tak called just as I was gettin' ready for bed, said he wanted to talk and asked if we could meet here."

Hearing the little boy's name started to bring it back for him. "I think I got a similar call. It was late but after everything they've all been through how could I say no? Taline was already asleep when I left—she probably doesn't even know I'm gone." He started to head to the door to check on Sulu and McKeon's progress.

"He lured us all in here with the same ruse," Giotto added. "He met me out front. When I came in I saw the Doctor asleep in a chair and the next thing I knew everything went black."

"He got me first," Bones grumbled. "Took my damn communicator but was kind enough to leave me a medkit. Got plenty of painkillers for everyone, bandages and dermal regens too just in case, and every antihistamine under the sun for you." He fished out one of the hypos in question. "Though I doubt you'll come across any Baktorran worm root in here."

With his immune system anything could happen and he shrugged. "Better to be safe then sorry."

"I'll say."

Giotto shifted his stance. "We're still doing inventory but it looks like he got all the communicators in the room, including the one in the emergency kit, and disabled the internal system. I hope you don't mind, Sir, but while you were unconscious we discovered the Swiss Army knife in your boot. I gave it to Sulu to use on the door. It's come in very handy so far."

Jim smiled and clapped the Chief on the shoulder. "That's what it's there for. Keep me posted on what else you find that's of use." Dismissing him he turned to McKeon and Sulu, "What's our status, gentlemen?"

"It won't budge, Sir," the navigator replied. Behind them they heard Scotty groan and Bones left to go see to him.

"And we can't simply override the lock because…?"

Sulu stepped aside to the freshly loosened panel. "Captain, you're not going to believe this…"

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 1044 hours. He stood before his children at the kitchen table, several new PADDS with the Enterprise logo spread out before them. "These schematics pre-date the ship's last overhaul on Earth; however, they will have to suffice. Accessing more recent information would merit undue attention." He handed out plans to T'Alora, Se'tak and Selas, the older children alternately reading them and sharing their vision with their younger brother whenever there was a pertinent illustration.

"Our immediate concern is gaining control of the ship. I have determined that striking during Gamma shift will cause a minimal amount of disruption to the crew and draw little attention to ourselves. It is beneficial that Lieutenant Leghorn is scheduled to be in command of the Bridge this evening; he possesses the skills for command yet lacks the confidence that come with experience. He will not react without first contacting the Captain. Our true problem lies in how to neutralize the Captain and others in the chain of command that will be in a position to stop us, otherwise the chances of my successfully commandeering a shuttlecraft and piloting it down to the planet's surface is 1.052%."

They all mulled that over before Selas offered, "We could put a sedative in their food."

T'Alora answered before he could. "There is no guarantee that they will all be eating in the Mess Hall tonight, or that they will be dining in or around the same time. We also would not want to arouse suspicion by spending more time in the Mess then necessary," she explained. "There is also the chance that the sedative might not work or that it would cause an adverse reaction due to unknown allergies or physiological differences, as in the case of Uncle Jim or Lieutenant Commander Plin-yee."

"We also can't risk one or more of them waking up early or somebody getting suspicious and raising the alarm," Se'tak added. "We need something stealthy and swift."

"Agreed." Spock turned and walked the length of the room, attempting to resolve this dilemma satisfactorily. It was bad enough that he required Selas' presence with him on the surface but he needed his son's knowledge and expertise; still, he did not relish putting any of his children in the way of potential harm.

"Perhaps if we could lure them out…" Se'tak muttered, leaving the thought unfinished. His son was unaware of just how much his actions reminded him of Nyota in that moment. If their theories were incorrect and they were unable to retrieve her it would thoroughly break him.

"Sa-mekh, I believe I have a solution."

Officer's Rec, U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.132, 0043 hours. He stared at the motherboard in disbelief; in the middle of the hardware was a perfect 5 cm hole. "What in the hell?"

"Yeah, we were kind of scratching our heads over that one too," Sulu replied.

Behind them they heard Scotty making his way over. "Let me have a look a' that there…" When they parted so he could see he instantly stopped, his face turning bright red. "Oh." Stepping closer he peered into the panel, reaching a hand in to feel the soldered off edges. "Oh."

Jim reached out and swung the Chief Engineer around. "You don't seem too surprised by this, Scotty. Care to share with the rest of the class why that is?"

The Scotsman looked like he'd been hauled into the principal's office as he shifted his feet and wrung his hands. "Cap'n, I…you see, Sir…it's one o' the pranks we in the engineerin' department used t'play back when I was at the Academy. Harmless stuff mostly, 'til this one got out-o'-hand. People were doin' it so much maintenance were replacin' whole dorm floors of panels every week and cadets were missin' simulations and exams. They outlawed it me third year it got so bad."

One eyebrow rose as Scotty quietly added, "I never expected her to try it, though. I mean, it was just a story!"

"Her being T'Alora?"

"Aye, Sir."

So the whole family was in on the act. Wonderful. Next he'd find out that Selas was sitting in his chair on the Bridge and running the whole show. "How long ago did you talk to her about this, Scotty?"

He scratched his balding pate and thought. "Oh, I dinnae know, Sir…must be several months back now, maybe even a year. Why?"

"Just wondering." Both men went back to staring at the hole. "Why not just take the whole panel out though?"

"That's the genius of it, Cap'n, and why it was so popular. Without the panel the doors won't open, and once it's locked inside it cannae be opened 'cept for by someone outside. That circle cuts the relay to override the interior lock and it's too wide to try and connect the wires back across."

"That much we already figured out," McKeon told them as he finished attempting to do just that. The ends of the wires were 1.5 cm apart and they wouldn't budge.

Jim's brain immediately went into problem solving mode. He refused to admit they'd all been duped by his grieving XO and his XO's three genius children. "What if there was a ship-wide emergency? Would the doors stay locked then?"

"The only type of emergency I kin think of that'd do the trick would be orders to abandon ship…"

"…and we can't get a message out to Leghorn to do that because all our communicators are gone," Sulu finished.

Jim tried hard not to visibly wince. He'd forgotten Leghorn was on duty. This night just kept getting better and better. The man was good but he didn't do well under pressure, always calling in the higher ups 'just to be safe'. He and Spock had consistently tried to break him of that habit but there was only so much they could do, and whatever Spock and the kids were cooking up now would surely overwhelm him to the point of inaction.

Great. Just great. "There's got to be another way out of here."

"The Jeffries tube is sealed up tighter then a drum. If I didn't know any better I'd say it was welded shut," Sulu said. This information sent Scotty running over to the other side of the room to see for himself.

"Ach!" he cried as he gave the door a go. "No! She got into me plas-crete! This'll take days to undo!" As the Engineer audibly lamented his misfortune Jim took a calculated look around. They had no tools and nothing to do with them at this point even if they had them; they had amenities aplenty, judging by the mound of blankets and pillows Ross and Hinzle had gathered around them. Behind the bar there appeared to be boxes and boxes of MREs, enough to feed them all for well over a week.

G-d he really hoped they wouldn't be in here that long—though if they were someone was bound to notice sooner or later.

Like a bolt out of the blue Jim remembered something and raced over to survey the stash. They really did have quite a lot of foodstuffs there—the mini-mutineers obviously weren't messing around. As he started to move the heavy boxes out of the way he prayed that this was one stone they left unturned.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 1215 hours. "I have retroactively authorized a fictitious clean-up of the Officer's Rec, thereby ensuring that you will have the room for the entirety of the afternoon undisturbed," Sa-mekh told them as he put his box down. "Se'tak and I will gather more supplies. T'Alora, I will also retrieve the incendiary implements you have requested. Do you have the tools you currently need to fulfill your tasks here?"

He heard her shift the tools about in her grip. "Ha, Sa-mekh."

"Very well. Selas?" He turned toward the sound of his Sa-mekh's voice and soon felt a warm touch at his temple. Immediately accepting the meld he pulled on his father's eyes and examined the layout of the room. "You will transport these boxes and stack them behind the bar along with all other supplies your brother and I bring you."

"Ha, Sa-mekh." He withdrew from the meld.

The door closed behind them and he listened to T'Alora move toward the back of the room to check the emergency supply pack before starting on sealing up the Jeffries Tube. Selas attacked his work and was finished within ten minutes while his father and brother had yet to reappear. Reaching into the box he pulled out two MREs and headed toward his sister. "Are these vegetarian?"

She took one of the meals to study the label. "Yes. They are both spaghetti with tomato sauce." Selas felt the meal being pressed back into his hands and waited for her to conclude her work. When she was ready she led him over toward a table, each of them popping open a tray and digging in.

He was halfway through his lunch before he broke the silence. "I am glad you are eating again."

T'Alora's hands trembled and he heard her fork strike the side of the tin plate but she said nothing. When this was all over and Mama was back Selas resolved to take much better care of his sister.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 1548 hours. The afternoon carried on with periods of activity followed by short lulls. They did not waste their words, instead remaining focused on the task at hand. After five separate trips she had sealed the Jeffries tube with plas-crete, allowing each layer ample time to dry in-between coats, before declaring it successfully closed. Sa-mekh and Se'tak were making a final run, careful to take stores from places where they would not be easily noticed or missed, and then she would make the incision in the motherboard for the front door.

Selas sat on a bar stool, legs swinging in the air as he occasionally pushed himself off and spun in a circle. For the last 56.9 minutes he had been unusually quiet.

"T?" She looked over at him and waited for him to continue. "Although I have ample support for my conclusions I find I am beginning to have my doubts," he declared. "Are you certain as to the efficacy of this plan?"

She came up beside him and stopped his slow revolutions. "Do your misgivings stem from how our actions will be received by our family and friends, or do they stem from what may or may not happen once you and Sa-mekh reach Unohdettu?"

"Both."

She shared in his sentiments but did not want to distress him more then he already was. Reaching down, T'Alora patted an errant wisp of hair on his head back in place. "Pi'sa-kai…*" He quirked his head up at that; she had not called him by that endearment in 3.3 years. "Tonight we will be breaching the trust of some of our closest friends, thereby 'burning many bridges', as Mama would say…but I believe the end result will justify the means. Either we will retrieve Mama or settle our lingering doubts regarding her passing once and for all." She did not tell him how fervently she hoped for the more illogical outcome to come true. "It will be difficult to accomplish this but it is also necessary and in time we will redeem ourselves for our actions."

Selas reached out, blindly groping about for her shoulder. When he found it he threw his arms around her in a quick hug. She was glad to be of help.

* Pi'sa-kai = Vulkhansu for Little Brother