Forced Labor Stardate 2259.344

Sorsha stood up and walked over to them. She put her arm around Kirk's shoulders as they looked at the woman. They were both smiling and wasn't certain if the woman was right in the head. "Ooo, a Vulcan! That sounds very interesting," Sorsha said. "The Captain? Wow, well that's some promotion! "Well Amara...Kirk and I'm James Kirk? Are we...what, married too?" Kirk said obviously enjoying her story. "I'm the Captain and married...to you? Where is this...ship? The Enterprise? A Starship right?" Kirk asked. His eyes sparkled with amusement and maybe he also liked her too, which he did.

Amara sighed. Obviously her holopictures weren't working. Well, maybe getting them onboard the ship would work. She pulled out her communicator. "Amara to Enterprise. Three to beam up."

Scotty locked onto them and they were beamed onto the ship. Although these beings had messed with her memories, Scarlett was still a scientist and thus a naturally curious person. She was fascinated by the transporter and what had just happened. She saw a man with pointed ears looking at her and she felt a strange...connection to him. It was so strong and she couldn't understand why she felt such a thing when she couldn't remember him.

Amara looked at "Sorsha" and "Daelan." "Still think I'm not telling the truth?"

Kirk looked around the transporter room. It looked oddly...familiar. He touched the edge of the transporter console. Once again, familiar. He looked at Scotty...familiar as well. He finally looked at Amara. "Ok, I will admit, this does feel...familiar. But a Captain? And Married?" he said as he stepped up to her. He raised a hand and touched a few strands of her hair and folded them back over her ear. Again, familiar. He smiled.

"So, if what you say is true, what do we do about it?" He asked.

Amara looked at James as he approached her. She stood still and looked into his eyes as he touched her hair and then brushed it back behind behind her ear...a very familiar and intimate gesture. Something he had done a hundred times or more over the course of time they had known each other. Again, the desire to kiss him was strong, but she resisted...for now.

"Well, we have a way of restoring your memories," she said, but then paused and turned and looked at Spock. "Unless, you think we should wait and use the memories they have to help us."

"Actually, Yes. Them knowing the plant for starters. McCoy and Vasquez could use some help," Spock said then looked at Kirk. "Captain, this ship has over 480 crew members. We don't know exactly who, but every one of them were knocked unconscious and then their memories erased and replaced in order for them to be integrated on the planet as new workers," Spock said. "We were on an away mission on a shuttle to a neighboring planet while it happened. That is why we aren't also workers right now," he said. "We have a way to bring everyone's memories back but in doing so, we're afraid it will cause the planet's security forces to try and stop the workers from escaping. We do not want people to be hurt or killed. And so..." He began but Scarlett spoke over him.

"And so you're planning on...hmm, beaming up someone important perhaps?" She said and Spock looked at her. She smiled feeling the spark of approval in him yet his face was completely devoid of emotion.

Amara smiled when she saw the look that passed between Scarlett and Spock. She may not be able to remember him at the moment, but there was still that chemistry there and that ability to anticipate what the other might thinking. 

Amara looked back at James. He was still standing very close to her. She looked up at him and her eyes met his. "What do you think...Captain?" she added with a little grin.

"Well, we've all wondered how they were able to find so many workers with a worker shortage," he said. He couldn't deny that things felt familiar here. But his whole life was down on the planet below. A promotion and having Sorsha as a mate. But Amara was stunningly beautiful and she said they were already married. 'Well, what the hell', he thought.

"I'm in. I'm guessing that the first place to look is on level 5 where we get our injections," Kirk said. "I agree...Captain," Sorsha said with a snort of a chuckle. "It won't be easy getting in there though...unless...unless you could..beam us there?" Kirk asked. and if the guards catch us, it'll be over," he said.

"Well, Amara and I can go with em," Scotty said, armed with phasers on stun," he said. "I agree," Spock said. "Amara, you will lead the away team. We're looking to find proof of what their doing. If you do, it is likely the planetary government does not know that this is going on. If you can, find a high ranking official, and bring them here," He said.

Amara left for a few minutes and when she returned she was fully dressed in her black, Section 31 uniform...a clear sign that she meant business. She saw James eyeing her and she gave him a little grin. "Yeah, you like me in this suit," she teased. "My first time leading an away mission and you won't remember it when you wake up," she said as she stepped up onto one of the Transporter pads.

"I am a supervisor at the plant, my Identification has a higher security clearance than most," Scarlett said and all four of them got onto the pads. Spock used the transporter and transported them down.

They materialized in a storage room. It was later afternoon and the plant was quiet from inactivity. It still had a monitoring crew but they were down in the maintenance levels watching to make sure everything worked as it was supposed to. "There's a few guards that patrol up here, sometimes," Scarlett whispered as they stepped out of the room into the main hallway. "Oh, hell, the security cameras!" She said. "This won't work at all!" She said but Amara smiled. Her suit was designed to scramble things like cameras and listening devices. If everyone just stuck close to her, they'd never see them.

"These rooms were for new worker processing...but...I've never seen in these rooms," She pointed at the other side of the hall. 5 doors led into rooms, but they found them all locked. She tried her keycard but the doors wouldn't open for her. "Wow, my clearance won't open these," she said. "I'll open them," Scotty said as he adjusted the phaser then fired at the door latch. It burned away in seconds. Kirk was amazed by the power of those weapons.

Inside were 12 beds, 6 on each side of the room. There were complex machines over the heads of the beds and large, auto injectors on the machines. There was a large desk and shelves in the back of the room and another small room where the chemicals were stored.As they were searching for evidence a security guard saw that the door was opened and moved in to investigate.

"Hey, this is a restricted area!" he said.

All of Amara's training kicked in. There was no more joking or teasing. She became serious and all of her senses were on high alert. Amara wasn't concerned about the security guards or the cameras. "Just stick close to me and you won't be seen," she told them. 

As they moved down the hall, Scarlett pointed out the five rooms that she had never seen before. Each door was locked, but Scotty was able to use one of the phasers to burn through the latch. The group moved inside and Amara saw there were 12 beds, each with a complex machine over the head of the bed with what looked like large, auto injectors on the machines. There were chemicals and Amara had a feeling that this is where they changed everyone's memories. She was angry about what these people were doing to not only their crew, but countless others.

Amara was about to suggest they move on, when suddenly a security guard appeared in the doorway. She turned and at first she thought about firing a stun disc at him, but at the last second she decided that perhaps they could use him. She moved before he could and she moved fast. In a matter of seconds she had him down. She then forced him to sit in the chair at the desk and she looked hard at him. "I want the location of your highest ranking official."

The guard began to sweat immediately. He was younger, mabe in his mid twenties. “Administrator Tesh is...at his home...probably and Director Lynch is in his office on the 7th floor,” The guard said. Scarlett turned to the others. “I know where it is. I’ve been up there before,:” she said. “His badge will get us up in the lift,” she said as she pointed to the guard’s ID on his chest.

Kirk moved up to him and pulled his badge off, took his keycard, this one was black, and his stun pistol. “Do we need anything else from this man?” Kirk asked as he pointed the stun pistol at him. The guard winced fearfully. “I doubt it,” Scarlett said, her anger at what happened to them beginning to shine through. “Ok then,” he said as he shot the guard with the pistol. The guard jolted then slouched down in the chair, unconscious. “Lets move out,” Kirk said in a commanding tone as if he were the Captain again.

Amara was quite impressed by James. Clearly, being in charge came naturally to him. The others walked out of the room, but Amara held James back for a moment. She just couldn’t take it anymore. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him...passionately. She smiled when she felt him kiss her back. She pulled back slowly and gave him a little grin before walking out of the room to meet the others.

They used the guard’s ID badge to get into the lift and they headed towards the 7th floor.

The 7th floor was much more luxurious than other floors. Art was on stands andon the walls and the floor was a speckled gray tile polished to a high sheen. Just like before there were security cameras but staying close to Amara diffused them. Several guards were checking their equipment in the security room to see why it was happening. Each time it was a different monitor and they couldn’t figure out why. Finally they were at the Director’s office. Kirk used the keycard and it opened. They all stepped inside and before the director could push his panic button Scotty fired his phaser at the console near the director. It sparked and then smoked as the director put his hands up.

“Sorsha, what is the meaning of this!?” The Director asked in outrage. He had reddish hair with a bit of gray. Kirk pointed his stun weapon at him.

“You’ve been waylaying ships...aliens and reprogramming their memories in order for you to get workers. I am afraid to know how long and to how many people you’ve been doing this but it ends now,” he said. “We have photo proof of what you’ve done as well as a sample of the chemicals you’re using. My ship is in orbit ready to destroy this power plant and we’ve discovered a way to reverse what you’ve done to everyone. We can hit each city in minutes and ‘everyone’ will quickly regain their lost memories and identities. It will be a bloodbath, maybe even a war,” Kirk said.

The director’s eyes grew large and he had a fearful look in them. “You won’t do that. You just want your people back,” He said. “Alive, I assume?” he said. “I will do that and I will contact every race’s homeworld and tell them what you’ve done. You think a labor shortage is your greatest problem? Try scores of hostile races coming here to pick your planet clean for the abduction of their people. You’re going to confess and I suspect the Administrator is in on this as well,” he said. The man looked sick as they waited for his answer.

Amara walked in front with James and everyone else clustered around them. In this way they were able to get past the security cameras and made their way unseen. Soon, they reached the Director’s office. Amara stood, ready to attack if necessary. Scarlett was furious about what theses people had done. She glared at him.

“You’re going to pay for what you did...you and everyone else who’s in on this. I suggest you start cooperating immediately.”

It was obvious that the Director was searching his mind for a way out. Kirk wasn’t willing to wait for him to try to sideline this. Too many lives were at stake. “Ok Sorsha, let’s call the region governor. I’m certain that the punishment for something like this is death,” he said. “Ok! Ok, whatever you want!” He said in a panic

Amara smiled at James when the Director agreed to their demands. They worked on locating all of their crew and then the cure was readied to be dispersed. Amara stood in front of James and she smiled at him as she reached out and held his hands. She wanted to be in front of him when he regained his memories.

Kirk looked into Amara’s eyes as Spock launched the torpedo. They watched it explode in the air. The pale green gas began to disperse into the air. It slowly filtered down toward them. Kirk blinked as his eyes fluttered closed. He frowned as he felt something leaving. He took in a few deep breaths then opened his eyes.

“Amara?” He said as he looked at her. “I had the strangest dream?” Kirk said.

Amara smiled James as she saw the recognition come back onto his eyes. She smiled at him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned in and she kissed him deeply. She then slowly pulled back and she smiled at him.

“I led my first away mission and you technically you were there, but you missed it.”

Scarlett blinked as she looked around. She didn’t understand where she was or how she got there. She then saw Spock approach her. “What happened?”

Spock looked down at Scarlett. "You and most of the crew underwent memory alteration and were forced to work in a power plant down on the planet," Spock told her plainly. He was indeed happy to get her back. He was not one at all for PDA but he did brush her face with his fingers. It only lasted a few moments but he had done it. "Well we better leave this system," Kirk said as he began to turn away. Amara just looked at him. He felt that the ship was already moving. He took her hand and led her out of the transporter room. They were headed for the turbolift. He was going to take her to their quarters and do what he pleased with her. She did not stop him.