Surefoot 22: Birthpains

"No," Hrelle answered for her.

Farro spun in place, but Hrelle reached down and clamped his hand around the man's throat, lifting him up to his feet as the girl ran back to the others. Hrelle squeezed, as the human struggled. "D-Don't- P-Please-"

"Are there any more children here?"

"P-Please- I d-didn't-"

Hrelle leaned in closer. "My forefinger tip is at your carotid artery right now. I can pop my claw out-"

"There is just us," a Vulcan boy, who looked to be the oldest and tallest of the group, informed him. "We were taken from the USS Beltane."

"The Beltane?" Hrelle remembered a report on its destruction two weeks ago while en route to New Brooklyn IX, from a warp core breach, with all hands lost – or so it was assumed. "Was it Orions? They made the ship's destruction look like an accident?"

"It would be logical to assume that," the boy replied.

"Were there any adults with you?"

"There was one who accompanied us in our lifeboat; we... do not know what happened to him. Are you with Starfleet?"

"Yes: Captain Esek Hrelle, USS Surefoot."

The boy nodded. "My name is Sevrik, Sir. My brother is Lt Dareth on the USS Nautilus."

"Can we go home with you?" the girl, Libby, asked, tears flooding from her now with the resurgence of hope.

It broke Hrelle's heart to see it. "Oh, yes, sweetheart. You're all going home with me. I promise." Then he faced Farro once more, allowing his growing rage to show in his expression and voice. "And you're going to help make that happen. Aren't you?"

The human gasped. "Y-You can't- get away- Dissak w-won't-"

"Trust me, Dissak is going to have bigger things to worry about before I'm through. Now, let's get these collars off them and get upstairs." He looked to Sevrik again. "I'll need your help with the others. Can you be my First Officer on this mission?"

The boy nodded. "I will endeavour to function as my brother would expect."

Moments later, Hrelle, still clinging to Farro from behind, led the way, with the children holding hands in a line. And the man was still trying to justify his actions. "Captain- it's not my fault- I'm just following orders-"

He stopped talking as Hrelle squeezed his neck and shushed him, and they arrived in the corridor. He motioned for the children to line up against the far wall, out of sight of the main room, before touching his cheek. "Hrelle to C'Rash and Rrori: Rrori, where are you?"

"I've received the clearance and the coordinates, Sir, and am now two minutes away, preparing to land and unload the trilithium."

"Change of plan: there are Federation children here, fourteen of them, victims of a trafficking network."

"Children, Sir?"

"Shut up and just listen. Land, keep the engines running, arm yourself and have weapons ready for us. Under no circumstances allow anyone but myself, Lt C'Rash and these cubs near the ship. Use lethal force if necessary. Acknowledge."

"...Acknowledged, Sir."

He peered around the corner, saw C'Rash standing beside Dissak and Khersaq by Dissak's computer, uploading the data into a PADD. The tense look on her expression and posture told him she had listened in on the conversation. "C'Rash, I know you can't respond, but I'm leading the children out to the field. Can you manage those two and meet us out there?"

She nodded, seemingly to herself.

Then Farro shouted out, "LUR! HE'S-"

Hrelle clamped his hand around the human's mouth and turned to Sevrik. "Get yourselves outside! To those trees! Stay out of sight!"

As they ran off in a group, Hrelle looked back at C'Rash and the others, as they caught sight of the children exiting to the outside. Immediately the Caitian female struck out, knocking back Khersaq and slamming Dissak into his computer – but not before the Klingon recovered more quickly than anticipated, grabbing C'Rash, lifting her up, and flinging her against the nearest window. The material shattered into a million pieces as she was thrown out and down to the landing field.

Hrelle broke Farro's neck without hesitation, throwing the body aside and charging towards Khersaq, roaring.

The Klingon laughed, arms wide, beckoning. "Yes, Fat Man! Come and let me send you to your-"

But Hrelle bypassed him at the last second, turning and leaping out the window, nearly ending up tumbling as he went down the steep sloped wall and reached the grass, where C'Rash was struggling to rise amidst a circle of window fragments and blood.

He helped her up – she appeared injured, shocked but conscious – as their ears filled with the whine of the large arrowhead-shaped Caitian shuttle quickly descending onto the landing field, Hrelle guiding the dazed C'Rash towards it even before it had fully landed. The door on the side opened, and Rrori emerged, phaser rifle in hand. "Sir-"

"Get her in! I have to get the children!"

"Yes, Sir- take my rifle-"

"No! Cover us!" He took off around the ship before either of his crew could protest, his eyes instantly taking in the scene around him: a wall surrounded the grassy landing field, one side with Dissak's house overlooking it, and lights stationed at the corners – along with some sort of wicked-looking black perimeter gun mounted on a turret at one corner. But fortunately the guards that he saw appeared to be in a state of confusion as to what was going on, shouting to each other, demanding instructions.

He saw Sevrik and the other children. "Come on! Let's go!"

They started out of cover – but then some of them screamed as disruptor bolts struck the ground near them, kicking up dirt and grass. Hrelle followed the bolts back to their source, some human guard. He charged at him, shifting as the man tried to fire in his direction, but miscalculating the recycling time on his weapon. Hrelle tackled him, claws extended to slice open his throat and take his disruptor, leaving his victim spasming, gushing blood from his fatal wound.

He looked back at the children, hoping that it had been too dark for them to take in the graphic details of what he had just done. "GO! NOW!"

They started off, leaving Hrelle to cover them from there, firing at more guards as they approached.

*

In the Caitian shuttle, C'Rash ignored her many cuts and the broken ribs she felt as she retrieved a phaser from the weapons locker. Damn, damn, damn it! She was supposed to be a trained Starfleet Security officer! And she was caught off-guard like a rank amateur! And now her uncle was gonna get himself killed!

Another Captain lost, because of her.

But she pushed aside thoughts of the late Captain Myrick from a prior assignment, needing to focus on the here and now. She returned to the door as Rrori reported, "The children! He's sending them round now!"

She nodded. "Get back to the flight deck, get ready to take off!" Then she stepped back out, waving to the approaching children as she aimed the rifle and fired in the direction of the villa, at several figures that appeared by the windows and along the perimeter walls, driving them back out of sight. And all the while, searching for Hrelle- he couldn't survive out here, he wasn't built for fighting anymore.

Then she saw him.

He moved, far more quickly and agilely than she would have expected, shooting opponents and dodging their own shots. And when they were too close for weapons, he broke limbs, shattered kneecaps, tore flesh open with his claws, his fangs, his own clothes tearing as he descended into pure Fury. He was a quadrant away from the warm, funny man she knew, the one who danced and sang badly and made jokes and who everyone liked – but one she would never have turned to for something like this, despite his reputation.

This was the Beast before her. And he scared her.

Still, she covered him as best she could with the rifle, shouting, "CAPTAIN! COME BACK! THE KIDS ARE ALL ONBOARD!"

But he moved out, out of sight and into the darkness, some guards pursuing him – others gathering onto the field, various larger weapons raised, demanding her attention. She fired on them to keep them back, then tried her dermal communicator. "Captain! Where are you going?"

But he didn't respond, and she suspected her own communicator was damaged when she was flung out the window; no wonder combadges were preferred. Damn it, Uncle Esek, where did you go-

"Hold your fire!"

She stopped, as she saw Dissak and Khersaq emerge onto the field with their surviving guards, the Orion calling out again, "Starfleet! You won't get away! We'll shoot you down before you get a hundred metres up! Up on the wall, there's a THX-1138 Plasma Cannon aimed at you right now! It cost a small fortune, but it was worth it! And it'd turn that ship and everything and everyone in it into flaming scrap and ash! Those poor little children will suffer and die!"

"You think that's a worse fate than what you had planned for them, you son of a bitch?" C'Rash shouted back at him.

Dissak held out his arms. "Of course! They would be treated well by my clients! Exotic pets have value here!" He smiled. "Especially the pretty ones."

C'Rash hissed. "You stroking bastard!"

He laughed now, glancing at his equally-amused Klingon bodyguard. "Maybe... but I'm the stroking bastard who's holding all the cards. Even if you escaped from us, you would soon be caught. We control the Imperium, which means we control the planet! Wouldn't it be better for you, for the poor children, for everyone, if you just surrendered?"

She cursed – but she knew that, as terrible as it was, he was right. They couldn't get away without being fired upon, and would end up destroyed or damaged, forcing them to crash land. She glanced back inside, where the children were huddled together, crying, terrified. She looked back out again. "You're not getting your filthy hands on them!"

Dissak smiled. "Well, I suppose that is your decision, since you must in charge, now that your Captain has run away like the coward he apparently is; what's the old expression warning you about never meeting your heroes?

Still, don't be so hasty to throw away all those poor, precious little lives in your hands. I can't guarantee you'll survive what Mr Khersaq and his men will do to you because of all the trouble you've caused me tonight, but I promise you, we'll take good care of the little darlings-"

"I AM THE GOD OF HELLFIRE!"

All eyes at the ship and on the field turned to the one who roared.

It was Hrelle, standing on the nearest wall, the THX-1138 plasma cannon torn from its turret and its operators, and now in his hands and aimed towards Dissak and his men as he promised, "AND I BRING YOU..."

He let loose.

An orange-red beam of superheated plasma poured down on the men, striking grass and clothes and igniting them, striking bodies and making them explode from the high temperature thermodynamics of the ionised gas, as the liquid in the tissues instantly turned to steam and expanded outwards, bones becoming ash before vaporising entirely.

The sounds of destruction overwhelmed their feeble cries of panic, though Khersaq managed to raise his disruptor and begin to make some macho warrior's call, before the beam enveloped and consumed him utterly.

Guards at the outer edge of the group tried to flee into the nearby trees, but were caught as Hrelle moved the beam in their direction, setting them and the trees alight, before raising the beam and attacking the walls of Dissak's villa and business, scattering fragments of stone and igniting the interior furnishings.

C'Rash, after making sure the children couldn't see anything happening outside, watched the scene with horror, watching her uncle, her captain, a silhouette in the fires around him, roaring again with triumph at what he had wrought – before finally casting aside the gun and making his way down to the burning field. As he drew closer, he displayed injuries and exhaustion, limping before stopping, removing his torn, blood-stained tuxedo jacket and wiping his face with it. Then he cast it aside and growled, "Inside."

She obeyed.

Once in and with the door closed, he called towards the flight deck. "Any reason we're still on the ground, Mr Rrori?"

The cadet didn't respond, except with a lurch of the ship as it ascended once more into the night sky.

Then C'Rash saw the mask he put back on his face, for the benefit of the children that he now addressed. "Okay, kids, I know it's a little crowded in here, and the trip's gonna get bumpy, but if you sit tight on the floor there, we'll get underway. Mr Sevrik: good work taking care of them, you can be my First Officer anyday."

The Vulcan boy nodded politely – showing pleasure only in his eyes.

Now, Hrelle looked at C'Rash. "Come on, let's get you patched up."

Still feeling stunned by what she had witnessed, she swallowed and shook her head. "I'll- I'll be okay-"

"That's not a good example to set the cubs." Hrelle retrieved the medical kit, setting it on the floor and opening it, and then kneeling beside it. "Who wants to learn about First Aid? Come on, show of hands."

Several children, sitting cross-legged facing them, raised their hands.

"Good, good," he replied, beaming, motioning for C'Rash to kneel beside him as he lifted up a tricorder. "Now I'll show you some basic First Aid skills. Now, the term 'First Aid' refers to the fact that you may be providing the first medical aid that someone might need before they're seen by a proper medical specialist. And the first thing to do is to work out what is wrong." He looked at them. "Anyone know how we can do that?"

A Tellarite girl raised a hand. "The tricorder?"

"Yes! But don't forget to also ask the person who's been hurt as well, if they can speak. And also use your eyes, because sometimes, someone can be injured and they don't even know it, or they'll be in shock..."

And C'Rash watched it all unfold: the events of tonight cast aside by the children, desperately seeking normalcy again through a lesson from an adult they can trust – and by an adult, desperately seeking normalcy again through a lesson he could give to cubs.

*

Once C'Rash was patched up, Hrelle had her show the children the ship's replicator, before heading for the flight deck, noting that they had already reached orbit and were heading out of the system. He patted the white-furred cadet on the shoulder as he took the co-pilot's seat. "Hello again, Mr Rrori. I trust eight days alone here with a database of adult vivids hasn't exhausted your right hand?"

"Um, no, Sir. Are you, um, okay, Sir?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

The Caitian youth glanced at him. "I, ah, saw what happened out there-"

"I'm fine, Cadet, but thank you for asking. What's our status?"

Rrori's furred hands moved over the controls. "I'm detecting alerts from their nearby ships. I suspect they've been informed of our rather... fiery departure." After a pause he announced, "Plotting an evasive course out of the system."

"Belay that. Direct course out."

He looked to Hrelle. "Sir, that will take us along the most regulated routes- the Skarosian ships will easily intercept us."

"Do it." Meanwhile he moved his fingers over the controls and announced, "Computer: Captain Esek Hrelle, Authorisation Ma'Sala 11361."

The computer replied, "Authorisation Confirmed."

Hrelle nodded in satisfaction. "Activate Prowl."

Suddenly the lights in the flight deck changed, darkened. A new display appeared beside Hrelle, identifying something enveloping the outline of their ship.

"Sir, what's happening?"

"Nothing's happening, Cadet. You didn't hear anything I just said, or saw anything I just did. Proceed on the direct course, maximum warp. What are those Skarosian patrols doing now?"

Rrori checked his readings, his confusion growing by the second. "They... they were on an intercept course with us. But now they've stopped, as if..." He looked at his captain again. "Sir... do we have a cloaking device onboard?"

Hrelle never looked back at him. "The use of cloaking devices by Federation vessels is illegal, Cadet, as per the Treaty of Algeron. Didn't they teach you that at the Academy?"

"Well, of course, Sir, but-"

"Are you suggesting that the Caitian Planetary Navy, even with its history of facing superior hostile forces over the centuries, would secretly employ its own equivalent of a cloaking device on certain ships for certain missions?"

"Well, of course not, Sir, but that display you've just activated-"

"What display?"

"Sir-"

Hrelle shot him a look and raised his voice. "Mother's Cubs, Cadet, do I need to relieve you of duty to protect you from becoming a potential accomplice?"

"N-No, Sir-"

"Then keep your eyes on the road!" Hrelle ground his teeth. "I want to get home. I want to see my wife, and make sure she and the cub are alright. I've wasted enough time out here."

"Yes, Sir. Velocity at Warp 9.5, we'll be out of the system in 5 hours."

Hrelle nodded. "Good." Hrelle rose. "I'm gonna go check on the children, get their names so we can contact their families. Then I need to clean myself up."

*

On the Surefoot bridge, T'Varik found herself steepling her fingers together on her lap in thought. "Status, Lt Neheru?"

The Kelpien examined his board. "No change- wait. We are now detecting alert activity on Skarosian Imperial channels."

She nodded. "Tactical status, Ms Nemm?"

Neraxis' fingers moved over her station panels. "Skarosian vessels are beginning to veer off their patrol routes... no discernible overall patterns detected."

"Which suggests?" the Vulcan prompted.

The Bolian's broad blue face darkened as she considered the question. "Something unexpected's happened. There's confusion, no coordinated effort agreed upon yet."

T'Varik nodded. "I concur. Continue the exercise."

"This is farcical!"

All eyes turned to Eydiir, sitting at the Auxiliary Science station beside Kit as expected for her role as Medical cadet. T'Varik focused on her. "Is there a problem, Cadet?"

The muscular, dark-skinned Capellan girl faced her defiantly, angrily. "We all know this is no exercise, no test of engines or scanners! We are here because our Captain and his party are in that system! Perhaps in trouble, needing our help! Where is the honour, the honesty, in not being straightforward, in hiding our intentions? Admiral Tattok should have just told us to go in and-"

"And do what, Cadet? Invade the sovereign space of a non-aligned power? To spark an interstellar incident? To provoke war? If Captain Hrelle and the others were here, would they agree that their lives were worth all that, and potentially more?"

Eydiir's jaw tightened. "No, Commander."

T'Varik's expression softened. "In medicine, the most 'straightforward' way to remove a tumour might be to simply cut straight through the tissue in the way and it to remove it, but then one might spend far more time and effort managing the damage you caused.

Starfleet, among its many other roles, must also operate as diplomats. And diplomats are rarely blunt about their actions and intentions; they must employ subterfuge, to protect themselves and those they represent. Not that we are doing anything like that today, of course."

The Capellan grunted, grudgingly sated by the explanation. "Of course."

Then T'Varik's combadge chirped. "Commander, this is Sickbay. Can you come down here, please? You're needed."

The Vulcan rose. "Acknowledged." She ignored the curious, fearful looks of the cadets around her to nod at Neheru. "You have the Bridge, Lieutenant. Contact me if there are any changes."

*

They found emergency blankets and pillows in the stores, laying them all out of the floor in the aft of the shuttle, maing it seem like one of the slumber parties Sasha used to hold. Hrelle and C'Rash spoke with them, gathered their names and their stories: of the Beltane being attacked, their being shot out into a lifeboat, but being being picked up by the Orions, the adult who had accompanied them... being taken away, not to be seen again.