They set to work straight away. Anything salvaged was bought into a chamber closer to the surface. Here, cracks in the walls provided lighting during the day. Not much, but enough for Xverjabdene's silver eyes to work on their device. The former Science officer was truly the best woman for the job. She had a way with machines that left the engineers feeling a little jealous. Mostly it was the fact that her kind could move electrons to their will. Jim was pretty sure it was covered in advanced xenobiology. Which was something he would be taking next year. When they got off this forsaken planet.
Meanwhile, Jim and a select number of officers, began taking small trips into the forest. They had multiple objectives. Sourcing essentials, such as food, water and materials to be made into blankets was a top priority. The nights were steadily getting longer. The temperatures dropping to below freezing. It wouldn't be long before snow set in. Jim could see it in the clouds already.
It had been almost twelve years since he'd last seen snow in Iowa. It was something he'd hoped to introduce Spock to. A Christmas trip to the old farm could be alright. Snowed in, warm fire and a cosy position on the couch. Huddled up for warmth, of course. Marshmallows, soft fairy lights, a Christmas movie for Spock to logic over. He'd try and seduce Spock into drinking from his hot chocolate. Spock would give him a lecture about substance abuse they'd all gotten before witnessing the horrors of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. What a delightfully terrifying experience that was.
Before the cold set in for good, Jim wanted to head to the outskirts of town and find out what happened. He'd been told by Phil what happened at camp. The screams to run, the way security officers stayed behind and tried to hold them off. How people banded together to let the youngest survive. How the doctors and biologists figured out what was happening too late. Everyone personally blamed themselves. Survivors guilt had settled in thick.
Jim glanced behind, checked that everyone else was thoroughly occupied, before pushing through the ferns. Working his way from the group, Jim searched the forest floor for any signs of life. He knew that Kevin couldn't be the only 'accidental' survivor. He also knew that most people would head into the lush vegetation and not stray too far from their old home. Humans were creatures of habit, after all. Young ones especially.
Creeping through the dense foliage was harder than it looked. Under his feet leaves crunched and fallen branches snapped. All around him, branches grew, some covered, some bare. Vines had to be gently pushed aside. Puddles stepped over or walked around. It was arduous travelling but it was worth every scrape, bite, bruise and blister to finally find three small faces.
They were hidden in an alcove created by the roots of a giant tree. From the relative safety of their position the eldest, a girl who appeared no older than thirteen, assessed him. What she was looking for, he had no idea. She seemed to find it or deem him safe or something because a second later, out she popped. She ran a hand through her knotted saffron hair and cautiously came forward. Jim stayed very still, crouched as he was opposite their tree.
In truth, he'd simply been admiring it, in awe of its size and age. The shape reminded him of the oasis trees on Vulcan. The seeds would bury themselves deep in the sand until they hit a hidden water source. Then the tree would grow bringing the water up with it. Soft mosses, flowers and other small plants would eventually grow in the shade of it's willowing branches. The thick leaves created a dome which little heat permeated and just enough sunlight breached. It was a tree which gave life, very much like this one.
Behind it, Jim could hear the tell tale rushing over a small river. It would explain where this titan got enough water to support itself. It was fortunate that the kids came across it.
"Hey there sweetie, my name's Jim. Would you three like to come with me?" Jim tried to keep himself as unthreatening as possible. If these children had escaped the violence in town, an unfamiliar adult would do little to make them feel safe. Not if they'd seen even a fraction of the horror Jim had.
"Why should we trust you? You're with them, with Kodos. I hate you. I hate you!" A little boy, perhaps ten or eleven, ran at Jim. His little fists rained blow after blow to his chest while Jim waited for it to pass. When he tired himself out, Jim would offer him comfort and a slightly safer, warmer place to stay before the 'fleet got them all out.
"Shhh, I've got ya. You're safe now." Jim murmured into his sandy brown hair, the kids tears and snot working into his shirt. The little body shuddered in his arms, pulling at his heartstrings. They were like little, cracked porcelain dolls.
"I'm Zayra. Thomas, David and I decided not to go to the hall when everyone was summoned. We were playing in the park and we heard screams. We ran toward them and the doors started to buckle. It looked like a monster was trying to escape." Zayra bit back a sob, her face contorting in agony.
"We borrowed some food and blankies." A voice perked up. Jim watched as a little boy wiggled his way from between two particularly close roots. Dirt was smeared over his clothes and cherub face. Everything about him made Jim want to pinch his little cheeks. Including the filthy blanket, clutched tight in his right hand.
"Are you going to hurt us?" Big green pools stared up at Jim. The hope and yearning in those eyes. How anyone could hurt children was beyond Jim.
"No, I was hoping I could maybe look after you. I've already been looking after another boy. Maybe you know him. His name is Kelvin?" Jim asked, looking at the three. Zayra's eyes began to water, David's cherub cheeks turned pink and he giggled in delight. Thomas shifted his gaze.
"If Kevin Riley thinks you're alright, I guess." Thomas huffed. Jim guessed this was what he was like as a kid. Divine retribution for all the premature grey hairs he'd given his mother.
The bushes behind their party rustled and then three figures stepped out. The tallest made his way straight over to Jim and whacked him upside the head.
"Of all the stupid, selfish things you could do. What were you thinking, walking off on your own? I have half a mind to send you to the naughty corner since you're acting like a child." Phil ranted while Damherns tried to muffle her giggles. She filed and the irate doctor turned his wrath on her.
Meanwhile, three small, traumatised kids watched with wide, frightened eyes. When Phil moved closer to Jim again, Thomas shot up off his lap and in front of him, like a little guard. Zayra joined his side, long hair turning dark with her mood. David managed to squirm his way into Jim's vacated lap and watched with innocent, wide eyes.
"Fascinating. Look how the colour's changed." Phil examined the kids standing between them. "You must be Lilinian."
Zayra continued to scowl at Phil. They reminded Jim of sehlat cubs. Cute but vicious and very territorial. It seemed like he'd already won his way into their hearts.
"Don't worry about Phil. He's just a doctor and they're all bound to be grumpy. Comes with the trade, I fear." Damherns stuck out her hand to Zayra who shook it lightly. Slowly, her hair faded back to it's soft flaxen colour which seemed to be the signal for Thomas to relax as well.
"Come on Jim, Verjabadene wants you back." With one hand, she pulled him to his feet while the other curled around Zayra's waist and lifted her up.
"Xverjabdene." Jim corrected, repositioning David and holding his free hand out to Thomas. He figured the older boy would rather save his dignity and walk rather than be carried.
"You're lucky you're cute Jimmy." She said, flipping her curly hair over one shoulder and walking back the way they'd come.
"I guess we'll just bring up the rear." Phil muttered as he and another sciences lackey, followed along behind them.
Entering what Jim liked to affectionately call High Command was nerve racking. Beside him, Xverjabdene explained how she'd turned three PADDs and a few scraps of replicator into a transmitting device. The smooth clicks and sharp hisses of her language were settling to his frayed nerves. It had only taken her two days to get the device up and running. In that time, Jim was subjected to major disapproval by several of his peers. They either didn't believe he had the skills to pull of such a feet, were planning on reporting him for hacking a secured subspace channel or possibly worst of all, couldn't fathom why anyone would be interested in believing him.
"Worry not, brother of blood. Ignorance breeds fools." Xverjabdene patted his shoulder and took her seat at the front of the hall.
In true Starfleet fashion, they were opening a debate as to whether Jim should be allowed to hack into Starfleet's channel. Never mind that this was an emergency. Never mind that people were dying. Had already died. They were in the hands of a mass murdering psychopath and everyone wanted to argue on a plan they'd already agreed upon.
"The room is now open to discussion. One person at a time, please." Abbey called out. Murmurs broke out across the room. Eventually, Rogers stood.
"If Kirk can get a message out, why would the Vulcan High Council help us? They hate Humans and the stuck up-"
"Hate is an emotion. To be 'stuck up' would be an emotional reaction to perceived superiority. You're petty conclusions don't become you." Jim balled his hands, repeated Surak's tenets, anything to stop the seething rage boiling in his blood. It was hypocritical, he knew, but he couldn't help it. They might just be assholes to anyone who wasn't green blooded and pointy eared with scary awesome IQ's -and some who were- but that didn't mean they weren't Jim's people. If Vulcan was home then even the High Council was family.
"Okay, calm down everybody. I don't need to separate you two, do I?" Abbey asked, looking between them. Rogers was glaring like his life depended on it. Unfortunately for him, Jim was used to glares. And Vulcans were much better at it. T'Pring practically made it an art form. When she was seven. The secret was adding a little disgust in with the hatred.
"With all due respect," Phil spoke up from his spot leaning on the back wall. "Jim's significant other is Vulcan royalty."
The doctor closed his eyes and looked the picture of ease as if oblivious to the shitstorm he'd just summoned, the bastard. Jim knew he just liked to watch him squirm.
Questions began to bounce off the walls. People shuffled and tried to get a better look at Jim. All the attention made him feel a little ill. Sure, he liked being the centre of everyone's universe every now and then but not like this. He'd learnt long ago that any attention was not good attention. Right now, people were looking at him like a le'matya circling an injured aylak.
"Are there anymore concerns regarding our current plan of action?" Xverjabdene had a way of making the largest of rooms fall to silence. She clicked her tongue twice, a sign of impatience, and when no one else stepped forward finished the meeting.
"Come, brother. Together we shall make noise." Xverjabdene led Jim out of the hall and into the halls leading to the surface. They scrambled over the lip of the entrance and climbed up to the ledge overlooking the forest. From the position of the sun, the single satellite in orbit around Tarsus V should have been roughly in line with their position.
Jim's fingers flew over the screen. He worked his way into Kodos' system, bounced his signal off the satellite and entered the server. The message, pre-recorded with footage of the ruins of camp and statements from Kevin and Zayra, was in Spock's capable hands.
Now they just had to wait.
Xverjabdene comes from an alien warrior species. Blood brother is the closest translation to 'fellow soldier whom I trust and respect'. It's a high honour for Jim to be her 'brother'.