Chapter 7 - Inmates, Part 1
The USS Hampton's shuttle sank into the turbulent atmosphere of Tantalus V. Kirk sat in the copilot's seat beside Graham, who handled the controls like someone barely paying attention, but always on course. Lt. Nangana was in the back, overwhelming the small jump seat on the port side beside the hatch. His two security crewmembers and Nurse Noel, the Hampton's petite and rosy lipped psych expert, had the bench on the starboard side. They needed to transport nineteen prisoners and would do so in two waves using the cleared space in the middle of the shuttle.
Shuttle trips always felt tedious if Kirk wasn't at the controls. But he did not want to turn aft and make conversation. Nurse Noel kept expressing too much interest in him and if he looked busy at the controls she kept quiet.
A blip fluttered across the sensors, likely a scan. It returned, grew in strength.
"Commander Kirk," Noel said. "I'm still curious how you personally assess success, both yours and other's." She huffed a cute laugh. "It's a study of mine to better understand what drives fleet's best officers."
Kirk looked sidelong at Graham, hoping for an intervention. Graham stared at the nav display, forcing down a smile.
"I have a theory that it's almost entirely competitively driven," Noel said. "That those who succeed the most are those most aware of others around them succeeding. Do you agree?"
Kirk watched the scan flitting back and forth across the shuttle's sensors. He turned the copilot's seat a few degrees and looked over his shoulder. "Beyond having role models, or intentionally pitting groups against one another for simulations, I don't think competition factors into it. Hierarchies are about satisfying those below you."
Her delicate brow crinkled. "Below you? Don't you mean those above you?"
"No." Kirk glanced at Graham. "They can fend for themselves."
The proximity alarm began beeping, went steady, indicating they were approaching the force field. Graham put the controls into a rocking hover, awaited the penal facility's signal confirming they had dropped the shielding.
There was a long gap of silence and more scanning.
Graham looked aft over her shoulder at the others without speaking. She'd done this repeatedly early in the flight without hinting as to why. Kirk stared at her until she looked his way. She opened her mouth, but the panel chirped, confirming a window had been opened in the shielding. Graham dropped the shuttle through it. The altimeter wound down six hundred meters and the signal turned red again. Kirk imagined a giant door closing over the top of them.
Graham looked aft again. Had they been alone, Kirk would have asked what was up. As it was, he could not undermine her.
The planet surface grew craggy, grew detailed. They settled onto an artificially flattened spot in a rugged gray landscape, on a marked pad beside a circular utility building. The shuttle touched an aft corner, yawed, settled to the ground with a crunch.
Graham unhooked and stood up. She surveyed the team as they assembled in the open center of the shuttle.
"Noel, you're with me and Kirk. I tried to argue for bringing security in, but they insist on having only their own inside the facility. To avoid anyone aiding a breakout, apparently. Some of the prisoners here are legendary, Matumma Jina the Orion pirate, Lopdosic the Hermit, who caused the mass suicide on Farwest Colony."
Noel's head lifted suddenly in keen interest. Kirk was glad to see her attention diverted.
The shuttle door rocked open, bounced on the hinges in the wind. At least the building was a short dash away.
Graham leaned out of the shuttle and the wind blew her hair against her head. "That must be the top of the lift shaft." She turned back to Nangana. "I don't expect to be more than three hours. I don't think you can get a signal out, nor can you return to the Hampton unless the facility allows it. I guess my orders are if you don't hear from us in 12 hours, try your best to blast in. Got it?"
The security crewmembers fell still, brows furrowed. But Nangana nodded easily, crossed his great arms.
The three of them huddled under the overhang of the utility building, in the biting wind. Dr. Adams himself came up on the weathered communications screen. He was a coarse-skinned middle aged man with a friendly crinkle around his eyes.
"Commander Graham. It's a pleasure to have you here. I'm Dr. Adams. I apologize for what I'm sure is an inconvenience. I know how it is to have to leave key personnel behind, but I'm afraid we really can only allow two visitors at a time. We have to keep our little home here quiet for our residents. You do understand."
Kirk tightened his jaw. This was what Graham had kept to herself.
"Dr. Adams, I have to insist on three. I need a psych expert and I need a Vulcan expert. I don't have that combination in a single officer."
The wind continued to buffet them.
"It goes against my policy, Commander. And I will have to place additional restrictions on your movements. If you can accept that, I'll happily make an exception."
"Understood Dr. Adams," Graham said. She crossed her arms and ducked lower.
"Well, good then. Please don't take it personally, Commander, we get so few visitors and I really do appreciate seeing new faces, I really wish we could bring your whole crew down, but it's just not possible."
The lift doors opened. Graham gave Kirk a formal tip of her head and hurried inside. Noel minced in after her, showing off her nicely shaped calves. Kirk hoped they never did away with the skirt option to the duty uniform as he followed in last. The triple, hardened doors of the lift slid closed one after the other.
The lift sank like the bottom dropping out and the three of them grabbed for the railings. Kirk breathed out, shook his head. They continued down and down, shaft lights racing away upward.
"The hell," Graham said.
"Point four nine of a kilometer deep," Kirk said.
"My expert," Graham said with a mocking smile.
"Keeps me alive."
They looked at each other but said nothing. They were likely monitored. Kirk had made it clear in their meetings that he didn't trust anyone in a position like the one Adams was in and he sensed that Graham was willing to concede his point, at least superficially. Deep down she likely thought Kirk paranoid.
"These are our treatment areas."
Kirk lagged behind, looking inside each open suite. He didn't recognize any of the equipment. He tossed his head at Nurse Noel when Adams had his back turned, indicating she stick close and advise him while Graham kept Adams busy.
Noel joined Kirk, but seemed to pay at least as much attention to Kirk himself as to the rooms they passed.
They reached a common area done in bright colors. A tall woman with straight black hair stood in the the center of the room, staring straight ahead.
"This is Lethe, one of our success stories," Adams said. "She stayed on as a therapist. Lethe, these are our guests."
Lethe's voice had no inflection. "I am pleased to meet you."
Noel slid by Kirk to stand before her, peering up, and tried to strike up a conversation. A seemingly amused Adams sidled up beside her to intercede.
Kirk slid over to Graham, turned his back to Adams. He whispered, "Take the offer to stay for dinner."
Graham wrinkled her brow in confusion since there had been no such invitation. "I want to get out of here."
Kirk minutely shook his head, stepped away as if examining the art. This place was raising his hackles and he refused to leave until he knew exactly what was going on. Graham could sanction him later for speaking out of turn. He'd make it up to her somehow. Maybe it was the closed in smell unmasked by the air circulation, but something down here was setting him off.
"Dr. Adams," Graham said. "Can we see our prisoners?"
Adams smiled broadly. "Of course, of course. You'll forgive my delight at having visitors. I'm hoping you'll stay for dinner, actually."
Kirk turned. Graham opened her mouth, closed it. Frowned. Nodded. "I'll have to call my shuttle and warn them about the delay." She paused, gritted her teeth, but didn't glance at Kirk. "But we accept your kind offer."
"Excellent. And about your prisoners. You did see the report, right? We had quite a bit of trouble with them when they first arrived." He frowned, but his eyes crinkled as if he smiled. "Took us a while to sort out who to best house with whom. Can't have them alone unless we have no choice. That would be inhuman."
"We saw the report," Nurse Noel said kindly when there was a delay in Kirk or Graham responding.
Security joined them as they approached the cell blocks. Their boxy faces were almost as expressionless as Lethe's. Kirk tried to slow down, to not have their armed presence at his back, but they slowed down with him.
They stepped through a security interlock and into an area where the walls were carved from bare rock. It smelled vaguely of cave, and something animal and primitive. Nurse Noel peppered Dr. Adams with questions, obviously approving of his answers. Kirk expected, given his reputation, that he'd have the right answers.
They walked thirty meters along, passing doorways leading onto open suites with forcefield walls leading to cells. They stopped before a wide doorway with forcefield bars glowing in the opening and extra warning signs on the label beside the door.
"I have to ask for just one at a time in the residential cell area," Adams said.
Graham tilted her head. "Kirk."
Kirk followed Adams into a central room with security screened walls on three sides opening onto cells with Spartan bunks and facilities. A figure rose up and stepped up to the field on the left. Kirk turned and faced Zuram.
It took two blinks for Zuram's gaze to come in close from a thousand meters away. Unlike Lethe and the guards, his lack of expression held back a lot of deep impressions.
Another figure rose from meditating on the floor, came over to stand beside Zuram, at first pensive, then with squared shoulders.
"You're being moved," Kirk said. "Vulcan wants to take over your incarceration."
Zuram didn't respond. Kirk wondered if the force screen blocked sound.
"They've been like this," Adams said with more than a touch of sadness. "Can't get through to them."
Zuram's eyes slid to Adams. Kirk's impression of restrained violence grew stronger, as if a bomb might be ticking down to zero.
Adams sounded the tour guide. "There are nineteen here. We have two non ambulatory that are looked after by their comrades. We tried to keep them in medical, but we almost lost them doing that."
"Non ambulatory from what?" Kirk asked. He shouldn't have. It was in the report. Asking again implied he wanted to hear Adams explain it in person.
"As I said. We didn't learn right away who could be with whom." Adams sadly shook his head. "It's been better the last month. Quieter." The sweep of his gaze took in Zuram, moved on. Zuram seemed to collapse inward slightly, seemed to lose his foundation of hot strength.
Kirk pretended to look elsewhere. He paced the perimeter of the room, studying the others sitting on the floors, standing at the ends of the bunks, appearing to rest. Most of them didn't look at him.
"Shall we move on with the tour?" Kirk said.
Adams shrugged. Back in the corridor, Adams said, "What else would you like to see, Commander?"
Kirk said, "If you wouldn't mind. Some of the other prisoners."
Adams shrugged again. "Just one visitor at a time, if you wouldn't mind. We're not running a zoo. It's difficult, very difficult you understand, for our residents to be gawked at by strangers."
"Nurse Noel will accompany you, Doctor," Graham said.
Adams lifted his arm in invitation, then went down the corridor to the next suite off that block. As soon as they were out of sight, Kirk, ignoring the guards who had spread themselves out in the corridor, paced farther along as if impatient. They didn't shift.
Kirk paced back. The guards still didn't shift. "I recommend we get round one sent to the ship right away."
Graham crossed her arms, leaned on the wall. "You'd make a terrible first officer, Kirk."
"Did I phrase that wrong?"
"The words were fine. Your attitude is too much assuming command."
Kirk paced again, farther this time. The four security still seemed to think nothing of it. They stood rigid with their backs to the wall.
Kirk paced back, stared straight at Graham. "I'm doing the best I can," he said, sounding peeved.
Her brows went up, then her face relaxed.
She puffed up. "You need to do better. Much better. Or you can forget ever moving up."
Kirk paced angrily this time, farther. One of the security peeled off and followed. His heavy steps fell lazily on the stone floor behind Kirk. Kirk wondered how far he could push it. He held his shoulders hunched, feigning annoyed. He didn't know what he was looking for, just needed to see more than Adams wanted to show them.
"Sir," a voice said fifty meters farther along.
Kirk turned as if surprised, stared at the security member. "Yes?"
"You are strongly requested to remain near Dr. Adams." The guard stood with his hand on his double-barreled stun gun.
Kirk shrugged. Gave Graham a supposedly glaring look all the way back down the corridor. Strode slowly back, looking sideways into each suite. He glanced at Andorians, tall humanoids he didn't recognize the race of. A figure in red came to the security screen inside the suite on the left, threw himself at it, causing buzzing and a cry of agony.
Kirk stopped, backed up. The white haired man in the cell was doggedly stumbling back to his feet, wavering as if he might fall again into the force field. He met Kirk's gaze, opened his mouth and tried to speak. The security guard took Kirk by the arm and physically dragged him away.
Kirk was released beside Graham and the guard remained beside them, face empty.
Kirk rubbed his arm. Adams and Noel emerged, chatting amiably, laughing. They entered the suite across the corridor. Kirk didn't dare talk freely here. He stewed, thinking. Ten minutes later, Adams and Noel rejoined them.
"I'm quite satisfied, Commander," Nurse Noel said. "Everything seems well kept up, needs attended to as much as possible given the incurable nature of the residents."
"I'm pleased to hear that," Graham said. "Like you, Doctor, I have to fill in reports, keep people happy. You understand."
"Of course, Commander. Anything else you'd like to see? The physical plant gets inspected annually, but I can show you that. It is critical in an underground operation like ours. Almost like a spaceship down here."
"I'd like to see it," Kirk said. "You've piqued my interest."
"We should begin transferring prisoners to the ship," Graham said.
"Well, I have to see to that personally, given the unusual nature of the residents in question." Adams gestured at security. "You informed us that you can't take them in one wave. Let me advise my people on whom to take in the first round." He turned and spoke low to the guards, gestured.
Graham pulled out her communicator, but did not get a connection to the shuttle.
Adams turned. "Oh, that won't work in this area. You'll have to wait until we're near the repeater in the common area. My people will get the first set of seven ready to go and we can retreat to the offices to coordinate with your shuttle."
They followed Adams.
"Just seven?" Kirk said. "We have nineteen total to transfer."
"I assure you, this is the right set to go at one time, Commander." He smiled, broad and friendly. "Trust me, we've learned this the hard way."
Kirk looked for a chance to pull Graham aside, but it did not occur. Arrangements were made, orders given. Kirk was to take the prisoners back to the Hampton and return in the shuttle for the next round. Kirk followed colony security up in the lift with seven heavily secured Vulcans, arms bound behind their backs, feet electronically tethered so that any rapid movement would pull their legs together. Lt. Nangana and his team met them at ground level, phasers drawn.
The prisoners were herded to the shuttle, well guarded. Kirk tapped Nangana on the arm and gestured for him to step around the side of the shuttle nacelle while the others arranged the prisoners in the shuttle. The wind felt like a buffer against being overheard.
"You can pilot, I hope?" Kirk said.
"I can sir. I certainly don't usually. Is that Commander Graham's orders?"
Kirk spoke fast. "Not exactly. I couldn't coordinate with her without being overheard. I have a very bad feeling about things and I'm not leaving your commander alone down there. If you take the shuttle, I don't have to. Fair enough?"
Nangana stretched his long mouth farther, until it curled at the corners. "Yes, sir. We'll return as soon as possible." He spoke right into Kirk's ear. "With more firepower this time."
Kirk nodded, gestured that they should return and oversee with the loading. The eyes of the Vulcan prisoners were bright, simmering with resentment. Security attached their individual tethers to the cargo mounts in the shuttle deck. Kirk watched them check the integrity of each of the tethers with a hard tug, and with a nod, seal the hatch. The shuttle rose up. Kirk watched the speck of the shuttle recede, uncaring that colony security was waiting for him in the open lift.
Back down in the penal colony, Kirk found Graham with a drink in her hand that she didn't appear to be drinking. Noel and Adams were deep in a discussion about hallucinatory rewrite therapy. Graham stared at Kirk, then looked away, jaw tightening. He could see her expression cycle through heated anger, then into annoyed acceptance of his unilateral change in orders.
Kirk tilted his head indicating a piece of art on the wall. She joined him in front of it.
He whispered, "Talk while I talk to cover for me."
Graham looked at the painting, began comparing it in silly terms to the work of the crazy artist she roomed with before the academy. Kirk whispered, "During my excursion earlier I saw one of the inmates throw himself against a security field, but it wasn't an ordinary inmate. I recognized him from the colony records. it was Dr. Van Gelder. I'm sure of it. He's supposed to be Adams' assistant, not an inmate."
"Want me to ask?" Graham said.
Kirk shook his head, waited for her to start telling him about the time this roommate's friend flew his hoverscooter into the apartment window, ten floors up.
Kirk said, "I don't want to tip our hand with Adams. He always has a good excuse for everything and will for this too."
Dr. Adams' booming voice said, "Join us, Commanders. Have a drink, Commander Kirk. Please. I don't want to be anything but a gracious host given how rare it is."
A/N: I've joined tumblr, although I know almost nothing about using it yet. karajstorm if anyone else is on there.