When Cona and Lieutenant Rayn returned to the first cave, the other three had begun to wake. Kaimana waited outside while Cona filled the Captain in on the last night's events. Nathan was anxious to meet her. Feeling his anxiety from outside, Kai entered the cave. Cona introduced her to his shipmates.
"Captain, may I introduce telepath Lieutenant Kaimana Rayn."
Jonathan rose from his seat. "I am grateful to you, Lieutenant, for saving us last night. What can we do for you in return?"
"Just what you came to do in the first place. Take me and what's left of my people, (no thanks to the Klingons), off this planet before it's too late."
"What do you mean 'what's left'?"
Turning away, Kaimana replied only, "I will take you to your destination, the city of yIn. There you can see for yourself."
"Excellent. We'll leave immediately."
Over an hour later they emerged from the cool underground caves to the hot desert sun. When their eyes adjusted to the sunlight, they saw before them the ruins of a once great city. From it, steam still seemed to rise from the Klingon disrupters. "This Captain, was the city of yIn," Rayn told him. "It was the last to go. You see now why I wish to leave. This was my home city, until the Klingons destroyed it. However, I managed to save it's inhabitants. They now live, along with myself, in the secret caves of Mol Duj."
"Where are they now?" Ridger asked curiously.
Lieutenant Rayn turned back towards the desert from which they had come. "Near the center of Mol Duj, where the ion field is weakest."
* * * * * * * * * *
Once they were back to Kaimana's cave, she offered them food and drink before the headed out to find the last of the Mikellan people. In silent remorse, Kaimana packed some of her possessions. Then they set off. In less than fifteen minutes, they had reached a vast section of interlocking caverns and the remainder of the Mikellan people. Lieutenant Rayn announced their presence.
"Brave people of chu'yIn," she spoke in Klingon, "hear me! Help has come from the Federation as I promised. Their ship lies awaiting in orbit to take us to safety before the sun goes nova. But we must first go to the very center of Mol Duj, to be transported aboard. We leave within the hour! Ready yourselves now."
Turning back to the nearly flustered Captain and landing party, she explained her bold statement. "One does not save a people by being slow Captain."
"Quite logical," T'Lenn commented. "And quite true."
"But now," the telepath continued, "on to a different subject. While we wait for the rest of the group to ready themselves, I shall tell you my planet's ancient history, and how my race came to be a cross-breed of Vulcan and Klingon."
Sitting down on near-by benches, the starship party listened to her story.
"Many thousand years ago, when Surak's philosophy of logic and peace was just beginning to spread, a small party of newly reformed, un-bonded males left the planet and, not knowing precisely where they were going, headed out into the stars. After many days of travelling, they reached the Mikellan system, which was then under Klingon duristiction. Once landed, the party met the Klingons stationed there. Once again, the Vulcans were thrust into war, reviving the ancient ways. There was a bloody battle that lasted for over a year, but the two bands eventually yielded to each other out of pure respect for the other's strength. The Vulcans bonded with Klingon women and learnt each other's ways, eventually having children.
"After many years, the Klingon occupants grew tired of the planet and left. The Vulcans (now completely peaceful) and their wives and children, however, stayed. They had no desire to leave, for this planet was now their home. They're children eventually learned to control their telepathic abilities and also adapted the ways of peace. Their children & their children's children spread across the planet, building great cities of beauty and power. This was the beginnings of the Mikellan race."