Chapter 9
Starfleet Command – Personnel Quarters
Ki’Baratan
Romulus
"I can't believe you're letting them get away with this."
Kalara savagely stuffed a pair of underpants and a bra into the side pocket of her carry-all, then reached for a spare set of boots. "And what exactly do you expect me to do?" She glanced at her husband, who lifted his hands in the air.
"I don't know. But you’ve worked so hard for this, honey. You deserve it. They can’t just… Surely there's something... Someone you can appeal to?"
"This is Starfleet, Damien, not some publishing house,” she snapped. “There are no appeals, no committee discussions. I follow orders or I leave the service."
"Then leave. Let's go back to Earth, we could find some way for..."
"Find what?" she snarled, throwing the socks she was trying to force into the bag down on the bed and turning on him. "Find something for me to do? Courier captain? Piloting a delivery runabout around Earth? Some job where I'll be back in time for dinner? Or why not just give up working altogether? You'd love that wouldn't you? Your little stay at home wife to take care of you!"
She could see that she'd hurt him with her accusations, but she didn't care. Her vision was coloured red and she needed to lash out at something. She wanted him to shout back, to yell at her, even to strike her. In short, she wanted him to act like a Klingon male. Instead, he just stared at her, his eyes burning.
"Wow," he said, finally. "That's so unbelievably unfair... Wow."
Before he or she could say anything else, her comm badge chirped. She tapped it, hard, half hoping she would break it. "Kalara here."
There was a pause. "Commander, this is Redemption. We're ready to beam you and your husband up when you are."
Dammit, the ship. She checked the chrono on the wall and realised she was supposed to have contacted them for beam-out fifteen minutes before. How had the time gone by so fast? It seemed like mere minutes ago she had come back to her quarters and told Damien what had happened with Qwert and Kovoth. They had started to fight almost immediately, Damien trying to make her feel better by trashing the service, while she lashed out at him for not understanding… She ran a hand through her hair. She was exhausted.
"Give me five minutes, Redemption."
"Standing by, Commander."
Kalara turned away from her husband, packing furiously. Half of her hoped he would try and smooth things over like he usually did, the other half hoped he wouldn't. Finally, she finished packing. Damien had been ready when she got back, his bags packed and his carry-on ready at his side. Without looking at him, she tapped her comm badge again.
"Commander Kalara to Redemption."
"Redemption here,” came the response.
Glancing at Damien, she saw him still staring at her, as if waiting for her to say something. She turned away, but moved closer to him to make the beaming process safer. This was going to have to wait and if he couldn’t understand that… Well, she would cross that bridge if she came to it.
"Two to beam up," she ordered.
As the transporter beam caught them both up towards the waiting ship, she wondered whether this - having her husband on board - had been such a good idea after all.
USS Redemption
Starfleet Construction Yard - Romulus
Jasto squirmed slightly in his dress uniform.
He glanced at Ianto. The android seemed to be totally at ease in his own dress uniform, the white and grey bringing out the golden tinge of his skin. The same couldn't be said for Lieutenant Vareen, the ship's security officer. A massive Xindi reptilian, she looked totally out of place in the white and grey dress uniform. He could see her clawed hands clenching and unclenching every few moments, while her eyes darted all around the room, never settling.
At least someone is more uncomfortable than I am.
Just as he thought that, the transporter buffer began to hum. He felt himself stiffen involuntarily and cursed. How many times have I done this and I still get nervous? Hell, Karina stood in a Dominion transporter room and welcomed the Borg Queen herself, and she didn’t even break a sweat. Of course, Karina had been… well Karina. He didn’t think even Curzon had as strange and exciting a life as she had. He smiled at the thought, then wiped it away as the transporter hum increased in volume.
Two shimmering columns of light appeared on the transporter pads. The hum increased as two figures coalesced within the opalescent brilliance, resolving finally into the forms of a Klingon woman wearing a dark Starfleet uniform, the shoulders, arms and collar edged out in command purple, and a human man, stocky with very short brown hair and an angry look on his face. One glance at the Commander - or should that be Captain? - showed her own tight jaw and red, angry eyes. Uh oh, Jasto thought, trouble in paradise.
As the sound of the transporter faded, a whistle blew from behind as one of the ship's stewards sounded the arrival of the XO. Ianto, as acting commander, stepped forward.
"Welcome aboard, Captain."
Jasto caught the merest hint of pain flash through Kalara's eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Her husband’s eye rolling, though, was more obvious. What's going on here?
"Thank you, Lieutenant Commander, but I'm still a Commander."
Ianto seemed taken aback by her cold manner. The part of Jasto that was still Ezri Dax recognised that Kalara was trying very hard not to break down by putting up a hard, professional front. All the signs of her pain were there to see, though. Maybe for a counselor.
"Of course," Ianto said with a smile, recovering quickly. "I didn't mean to put the unpowered seating unit before the quadrupedal equinian."
Kalara just stared at him, then carried on as if she hadn’t heard the joke. "Please call a meeting of the senior staff, Lieutenant-Commander, in m- in the captain's briefing room at 1700. I would also like to visit the bridge before that. If someone could show my husband to our quarters..."
Jasto wondered if anyone else had caught the Commander’s strange slip of the tongue. Why didn’t she want to say my briefing room?
Ianto seemed determined not to let Kalara's strange behaviour affect him. He nodded smartly. "Of course, sir." He turned to Jasto. "Lieutenant Dax? Perhaps you could show Mister Laurel to his quarters?"
"Of course, sir." Jasto fought back a sigh. Oh, this is going to be fun.
Kalara nodded to Jasto in thanks and, without a backward glance at her husband, she swept out of the room. Ianto glanced at Jasto for a moment, obviously confused, then hurried to catch up.
"Sorry about that," Damien Laurel said, stepping down from the transporter pad. "It's been a rough couple of days."
"Sir," Jasto responded, uncomfortable talking about his commanding officer that way.
"Sorry. Am I breaking some Starfleet regulation?"
A part of Jasto - the young cadet he had been before being joined – didn’t take too kindly to the derisive tone in Damien Laurel’s voice. The part of him that was Dax, though – and remembered what is was like to look at any military organisation from the outside, with all of the foibles and endless rules that went with it – could understand his frustration. He glanced at the door, as if expecting his commanding officer to come jumping out at him, then took a chance. It seemed like the man needed a friend.
"I'm sure she'll calm down once she gets settled in." He had to almost tear the words from his throat.
Damien Laurel looked taken aback, but he grinned. "You've obviously never been in a relationship with a Klingon," he said ruefully.
Oh hell. Jasto couldn't hold back a grin. "You'd be surprised."
Damien looked him up and down, as if trying to picture the slim Trill with a Klingon woman. "Now I'm intrigued. Come on. Where can two men go to have a drink and a manly conversation around here?"
Jasto frowned. "Actually, sir, I'm on duty."
"Fine. I'll drink, you talk."
Hefting his sack, he headed for the door. Jasto hesitated. Damien turned, framed by the open doorway, and sighed. "Listen, Starfleet, I believe you were ordered to accompany me to my quarters? Well, either you come with me and make a small detour to the nearest watering hole or I’ll just have to contact my wife and tell her that her subordinate abandoned me to wander the corridors.”
Jasto hesitated a moment longer, then shaking his head, he followed Damien into the corridor. This is such a bad idea...
Ready Room
USS Redemption
Three hours later, Kalara stepped into the briefing room.
She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that no one else was there yet. She could use the time to relax and unwind slightly. She hadn’t had an opportunity since arriving and the fight with Damien had left her wound up and tense.
Walking around the large oval table, she stopped in front of the large ceiling-to-floor window that covered the far wall. Rubbing the back of her neck, she watched as a tug-shuttle dragged a repulsor trolley packed with a large engineering team in front of the huge limbs of the construction dock. She stared beyond the tug, past the dock, out to the stars.
She felt exhausted. She had kept a tight leash on her emotions throughout the tour with Ianto, which had mainly consisted of a rapid visit to Engineering and a walk around the bridge. Seeing the Captain’s chair had been harder than she had expected – she had stood there for a moment, just staring at it, picturing what might have been. For a moment, she had wondered if she was going to be able to go through with it. Then she had remembered what Kovoth had said and that had firmed her resolve.
It had been good to see Ianto again. They had served together for a year aboard the USS Jean-Luc Picard, and again back on Earth where both of them had been part of the Restoration-class design project. When she had received confirmation of her command, she had immediately commandeered him into becoming the ship’s chief engineer. In the last couple of weeks, all during her fruitless search for an XO, she had actually begun to consider making him her XO and appointing someone else – perhaps Lieutenant Dax – as the second officer.
The sound of the door hissing open behind her broke through her thought. She turned to see Ianto step inside, followed closely by Lieutenant Jasto Dax. The Trill seemed a bit nervous, glancing at her every few seconds and then looking away again almost as quickly. She supposed she couldn’t blame him after the way she had acted in the transporter room. Well, she would just have to make up for that now.
Crossing the room, she forced a smile on her face and held out her hand.
“Lieutenant. I don’t think we were probably introduced earlier on. I am Commander Kalara.”
He flinched slightly, but took her hand. “Uh… Yes Cap- Commander. Lieutenant Jasto Dax. Ops.”
She kept her grip on his hand for a moment longer, then turned to Ianto. “You called together the rest of the command crew?”
“Yes, Commander. They should be here any moment.”
As if on cue, the door opened again and the rest of the command crew walked in. Kalara immediately recognized Vareen, the Xindi reptilian from the transporter room, who would be serving as her security chief. Behind her was a very young blond human woman who Ianto had introduced her to on the bridge as the primary Helm officer.
She held her hand up in the traditional greeting as Ensign Q’Sar, the only Vulcan left in Starfleet, stepped into the room. The Helm officer seemed somewhat surprised at the courtesy, but he returned the gesture before blushing and scurrying to his seat.
Following the Vulcan into the ready room were her Tactical and Security officers, respectively Lieutenant L’Wynd, a Crystat with strangely opalescent skin, and Lieutenant-Commander Katal, a Cardassian male with a blinking metal graft where his left eye should have been. Both officers smiled warmly as she greeted them, Lieutenant L’Wynd’s hand hard and brittle in hers, then took their seats around the table.
The last two members of the crew were introduced to her by Lieutenant Commander Ianto. Lieutenant Hakim Benouakhir, a tall, dusky-skinned human, was the ship’s Starfleet Press Liaison officer – the Redemption was such an important mission for the Federation that a full staff of press officers from every major news network had been permitted to travel onboard. That was one problem Kalara was happy to leave to Captain Sarine. Still, Benouakhir seemed a pleasant, affable man, who Kalara imagined would be able to put anyone at ease.
Last into the briefing room was the ship’s Chief Medical Officer. Kalara had been looking forward to meeting Doctor Malok ever since she had learned he was available for the Redemption. Not only was he a member of the shuvoth'shu, whose beliefs about the path to honour had always intrigued her, but according to his file, he had borne witness to some of the key events of the final years of the War. Malok had served aboard a Resistance fighter before joining the pacifist sect and she had been impatient to hear his stories and discuss philosophy with him.
To her surprise, though, the Doctor would not even look at her as she greeted him. When she tried to engage him in conversation, she received a handful of one-word answers and then he requested leave to sit down. She shared a surprised look with Ianto, who seemed as confused as she was. The android shook his head, then went to take his seat.
Once everyone was seated, Kalara walked around the table to the front. She put her hands on the chair and took a deep breath. She had spent the past two hours running through what she could possibly say to this crew – her crew – to explain the change in situation. After changing the wording a dozen times, she had decided the simple, straightforward approach would probably be best.
“I will not be Captain of Redemption.”
A murmur ran round the table as nine pairs of eyes stared at her in surprise. She waited for the noise level to drop, then forced a smile.
“I will however be continuing on board as XO and…”
“Commander.” Jasto seemed as surprised as anybody to be the one to have interrupted. When she had been XO aboard Kovoth’s ship, she did not suffer anyone to interrupt her or the captain. In this situation, though, she decided to show some leniency.
“Go on Lieutenant.”
“But who is going to be Captain?”
“Captain Ba’el Sarine has been selected by Starfleet Command.”
Another murmur at the mention of Sarine’s name. Astrid and Q’sar glanced at one another, obviously not understanding what all the fuss was about, but Kalara was sure that the other officers would fill them in very quickly.
She held up her hand to forestall any other questions. “I expect that each and every one of you has questions, maybe even fears. I can tell you that I have received assurances from Command that your positions aboard this ship are as secure under Captain Sarine as they were when I was going to be taking command.” For some reason, Doctor Malok looked up at her with what could only be described as anger. What is wrong with him? “I wanted to be able to tell you personally before Captain Sarine arrived,” she went on, “and before the launch tomorrow.”
“When can we expect Captain Sarine?” Ianto asked. She smiled. Always efficient.
“In the morning. He is spending today meeting with the diplomatic delegation, as well as receiving final instructions from Command and selecting someone for the one position I had not decided on yet – that of Flight Commander.”
“Permission to speak freely, Commander?” Jasto asked.
She nodded.
“Why? What are Command thinking changing command the day before the launch?”
“That… is intrinsically linked to our mission. Unfortunately, I am not at liberty yet to reveal what that mission is, though I am sure Captain Sarine will do so as soon as possible.”
None of them looked happy. Kalara sighed. “I know you must all be shaken up by this, but I’m sure that as long as we…”
Whatever she had been about to say was cut off by the sudden sound of the red alert klaxon reverberating around the ready room. Kalara slapped her comm badge.
“Kalara to bridge. What’s going on?”
The voice of the duty officer who had been left on the bridge shook with fear. “Commander… I…”
“What is it?” she snapped.
“Klingons, sir. We’re under attack.”