Without another thought, Jim dropped to his hands and knees. Hidden by the thick bushes, he watched as guards with fully charged phasers stormed through the camp. Nothing was left untouched. Any food, clothes, electronics they found were piled by the edge of a deep hole. His eyes scanned the area, searching for any sign of his fellow 'fleet officers. He couldn't see any of them. Like a moth to a flame, blue eyes drifted back to the hole. Foreboding permeated every fraction of his being.
He moved in closer. Once he was free of the cover of the forest, he ran to the edge of the rubbish pile. He snagged two partially broken PADDs and tucked them into his shirt. They were sure to be useful, some way or another.
Dread pooled low in his gut, Jim stalked forward as quietly as possible. The smell was horrible. This close to the trench, he could hear the flies buzzing. Jim's breakfast threatened to come back up. He couldn't help the reaction. In his minds eye, he could already see what was waiting.
Bodies, some charred from phaser fire, some little more than bloody mush. The filled the depression, arms and legs tangled. Some were dressed in full uniform. Some were totally nude. It was horrifying.
Without looking back, Jim turned and ran. He didn't stop until he reached the safety of the forest. There, he sunk to the ground. Tears ran down his cheeks. Sob after sob rumbled through his chest. Pain bloomed behind his eyes and along the length of his throat.
Shakily, he backed up against a tree. Hands shaking, he brushed back his fringe. There were so many bodies. Had anyone survived?
He slumped in the dirt, mind racing in a million directions at once. Gary, Spock, Kodos, doctors, medical checks, eugenics, electronics. On his way to Hoshi's, he'd heard people complaining about the food shortage. Starfleet officers relied on their own food sources. They'd brought everything they needed to sustain themselves for the mission. But then, his mind worked through the maths, he'd only been gone 15.48 hours. How could so much have changed?
Who else was in danger?
Jim's eyes widened as the realisation tore through him. If it wasn't for the weight which pressed against his back at that precise moment, he would have given his location away.
A hand covered Jim's open mouth, dirt and bits of debris finding their way onto his tongue. He wanted to retch. The feel of dirt -or sand- against his teeth had always been something which disgusted him.
"Delta-oh-one-epsilon-one-five." The man atop him whispered before removing his hand. This was a game Jim knew.
"Gamma-em-seven-iota-four-two." He replied. The body above him relaxed and shifted its weight. Starfleet's mandatory classes did come in handy, from time to time. Good to know.
"Glad to see you alive, Jimmy." Phil positioned himself to the side and turned to watch the soldiers. Jim could feel questions bubbling up but decided it was best to stay quiet. If Phil made it out, so had others. It was enough to give him hope. He could already feel, in the pit of his stomach, that it was too late for the townspeople. The needs of the few no longer mattered. They were long gone. Kodos' fucked up ideals.
"Come on kiddo, nothing good here. We need to rondevu with the others." Phil started to squirm away, keeping low to the ground and almost totally silent. Jim had to give his friend some credit. He'd never known he could be so sneaky.
"Wait! There's a kid. I can't leave him." Jim hissed, already turning away from Phil and rushing back to Kevin. He'd left the little tyke waiting for long enough. The poor thing was probably scared by now.
Jim pushed through branches and vines, carefully stepping over roots and fallen branches. He spat out the dirt and detritus left in his mouth and ran his tongue along his teeth. If Kevin survived then there would surely be other children needing help. He couldn't leave them to fend for themselves. History could attest for the vile things men did to women and children during political unease.
"Kevin? I'm back. Come on, we have to go." He called into the growing darkness. The silence of the forest unnerved him. Weren't there usually animals scampering about?
"J-Jim?" A little voice called.
He followed the sound until he could see the boy. Kevin was exactly where he'd left him. The sight bought tears to the corners of Jim's eyes. He was all the little boy had left now.
"Hey Kevin, come here." Jim cooed as he reach out his arms. "That's a boy, I've got you."
Holding the boy close, Jim jogged back to where Phil was still waiting. The older man looked Kevin over before nodding and silently leading the way. Jim had a pretty good idea of where they were going. Before the Reliance left, he and Scotty had spent a day rock climbing in the foothills. They'd discovered a number of sandstone caverns which branched out and interconnected. A giant, underground stone maze. Or just a normal tunnel system but maze sounded more mysterious. They'd even mapped quiet a bit of it before they'd had to head back. It would be the perfect place to hide out in.
Dark, quiet, safe from the weather, hidden entrance Jim had literally stumbled upon. And they'd only told a select few about it. A few of the science nerds, two engineers and Phil.
When they arrived, Kevin was fast asleep in Jim's arms. The extra use of the ships gym and then all the heavy lifting and running around on planet hadn't been for nothing.
He shuffled through the dark caverns, careful to keep quiet. The poor boy looked like he needed some rest. And food. His hips dug uncomfortably into Jim's side.
Eventually, they walked into a large central room. Another doctor, Amelia Stratford rushed forward and took Kevin into another room. Freed of his burden, Jim was led into an adjoining chamber. Here, Commanders Abbey and Xverjabdene were sitting at the head of an assembly of 25 people.
"Lieutenant, good to see you back. Report." Abbey signalled for them to stand at the raised end of the hall.
"Kodos' men have ransacked base. Anything they can use is being taken back to town. Everything else has either been destroyed or buried with, with the others." Phillip paused, eyes glassy. A murmur moved through the room.
"No other survivors?" Xverjabdene rasped, throat clicking over the Standard words.
"Only Ensign Kirk and a local child." Phil said, stepping aside.
Abbey dismissed them and ran a tired hand through ginger hair. He shared a look with Xverjabdene. She tilted her head, silver eyes glistening. Something passed between them.
"It'll be another month before Starfleet checks in. Two before they can get here with enough forces to make a difference." Abbey straightened his spine, face pale.
Jim looked around the room. Every face he saw, paled at the time frame. It would be more than a month before the USS Reliance came back for them. In that time, who knew what could happen. How many of them would be left. They had minimal supplies. A lot of their friends, workmates, fellow officers had been killed right before their eyes. Despite their military training, the people around him were fidgeting. Whispers arose and frustrated, hopeless tears fell.
"If I may?" Jim asked, standing back up. "The Tarsus system is over 50 light years from Earth, correct? That makes it just over 30 from Vulcan." Jim thought over the figures. If the high council were to give the order, Vulcan could lend aid within two weeks.
Noticing the multitude of confused faces, Jim sighed. Sometimes the secrecy surrounding his home planet was more than a little inconvenient.
"The Vulcan Sciences Academy has been working on an advanced warp core system for, well forever. Over generations they've redesigned and developed a system that's at least twice as efficient as anything else in the Federation." Jim said. He bit his lip. The plan would only work if Spock petitioned the council and they agreed. A vote from Sarek was guaranteed, Amanda would see to that. T'Pau was a given. If they argued the logics of it, she'd follow. Spock and logic were her two favourite things. The other council members however, they were the problem. And getting a message to Spock. Jim may have missed his check in but no Vulcan would act without direct proof.
"We need to open communication..." Jim trailed off. If Scotty was still here they'd be able to do it, without a doubt. The man was a crazy genius. But so many people were dead. Jim could only see three familiar faces from Engineering. Six from Science.
"If we were to build a transmitter and bounce it off the 'fleet subspace channel. It could work." Lieutenant Damherns spoke up. She waved a green hand thoughtfully. "We'd need to hack into it though."
"Subspace is guarded by the best of the best. There's no way we can hack into it, especially without-" Rogers angry tirade was cut off.
"Leave the hacking to Jimmy. I have the feeling he might have done it once or twice this mission alone." Phil said, smirk firmly in place.
Jim blushed at the attention. It was true. Since the Reliance had left, he'd been using supspace to bounce his signal. This could work. And in the meantime, Jim would find any survivors he could and keep them safe. He owed it to Kevin and everyone who'd been killed by Kodos.