Walking to his car, Doctor Fraser Burton was buttoning up his long coat as an attendant ushered him down from the steps of the Royal Albert Hall and into his waiting car. The sixty-three-year-old physicist bobbed his head down to enter the vehicle after the chauffeur opened the door for him. He smiled in gratitude and got himself comfortable into the car. 

Behind him was his colleague Doctor Beverly Lockhart, who had accompanied him to the opera show they had just watched. It had been the last part of the conference he had been invited to. Some of Humanity’s leading scientists had attended a four-day conference in London, all-coming together to discuss various topics and issues that related to their fields of expertise. A bulk of their discussions had been around the latest developments that could help Earth and its allies against the Romulans in their war. 

As one of Earth’s leading physicists that were involved in warp theory, Burton had chaired many meetings and had been a special guest speaker at several lectures.  Being the current holder of the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge University meant that his theories and ideas were seen as almost god-like with his peers. 

“Remind me to never agree to RSVP to one of these events again Beverly.” He moaned as they put their seat belts on in their black limousine.

Lockhart chuckled at his words as she pushed a lock of her fading blonde hair behind her right ear. “Is the opera not to your taste Fraser?” She asked.

Burton shook his head. “Far from it.” He stated as he took his seat and put on his seatbelt. “My wife on the other hand loves the opera.”

“Then perhaps you should offer Lynette your ticket next time?” Lockhart suggested referring to Burton’s wife as she took her seat next to him before looking towards the driver. “Please take us to Saint Pancras/King’s Cross station.” She ordered.

“Yes ma’am.” The driver replied. 

“That sounds like an excellent idea, why didn’t I think of that?” Burton asked her. He smiled at her; pleased he had her on his staff. She was an excellent physicist and a great researcher. 

“So how’s the new grandson doing?” Lockhart asked as their car moved off and travelled through the busy streets of the British capital city. 

Burton smiled at the thought of the latest member of the Burton clan. “Oliver is doing well thank you, in fact Madison and Stephen are coming over to stay with Lynette and I tomorrow evening.”

Lockhart copied her boss’ positive expression at the news he shared. “And how’s Madison doing with motherhood?”

Chuckling at that notion, Burton spoke up. “Stephen said she’s struggling not being able to retreat to the centre chair when Oliver needs feeding at four o’clock in the morning. Fortunately for Madison Starfleet have kept her seat open.”

“You think she’ll return to commanding Voyager?” Lockhart asked him as rain began to tap down on their moving vehicle. 

Burton had been looking through the darkened windows at the busy streets of South Kensington when she asked him that. He turned to look at her. “With the war with the Romulans on, it wouldn’t surprise me if she returns to duty early. Thankfully though Voyager is stuck in dry-dock as it was undergoing a major overhaul when the declaration was made. It won’t be space-worthy for at least another two months.”

“Plenty of time for her to spend with little Oliver then.” Lockhart stated.

Nodding in agreement, Burton returned to looking outside. He recognised several buildings, including the Science Museum. A place they had visited at the start of the conference for a formal reception. “How about Alicia? Have you heard from her?” He asked, referring to Beverly’s wife who was a Starfleet Captain too.

A sad expression went across the middle-aged woman’s face as she replied. “Unfortunately no. Still the Miranda isn’t due back from Alpha Centauri for another two days, I’m hoping to see her in Chicago then.”

Burton squeezed his friend’s hand for assurance. “I’m sure if something bad happened then Starfleet would have let you know by now.”

Lockhart held his hand just a bit more. “That’s what I keep reminding myself of.”

“Alpha Centauri isn’t too far for them not to know what’s going on.” He added, a hint of sadness entering his voice.

“Have you heard any news on Lloyd’s ship?” Lockhart enquired. “The news feeds haven’t reported anything positive.”

“Unfortunately the disappearance of Challenger isn’t big news anymore.” Burton frowned at his words. “In three months they haven’t heard from them and all Starfleet can guess is that they were victims of the Romulans’ early volleys in this godforsaken war.” 

“Don’t give up hope Fraser.” Lockhart assured him. “If anything, remember that no news is good news.”

“I keep telling Lynette that, but I know she worries for all four of our children. With Roman out on Discovery and Seth is on the Republic, well you can understand why we feel apprehensive about Madison returning to Voyager so quickly.” Burton said as he tried to relax into his black leather chair. 

“There isn’t a family on Earth or the rest of the Commonwealth that doesn’t have a loved one who is in harm’s way right now. Just remember your children and many others are out there defending our way of life against aggressors who would take it away from us.” Lockhart reminded him. A brief lull of silence filled the car. “You haven’t mentioned what Admiral Gardner spoke to you about earlier? Was it about Lloyd?”

Burton shook his head. “No, he was asking me about-” He paused as they eventually arrived at their destination and the limousine came to a graceful stop. Both scientists got out of the car after their driver had opened their doors. He opened the boot to their car and picked up their small hand luggage that had been stowed away in there earlier. The two scientists left him and walked into Saint Pancras/King’s Cross Station. The station was one of the capital city’s busiest ports. From here high-speed trains could be taken to various locations across the British Isles as well as into neighbouring European nation of France. London’s famous underground tube network also had a station here, allowing the city’s commuters to access the high-speed subterranean trains. On top of the train stations was a shuttle-port that allowed small flying transports to take people further afield, be it to another location in the world or into space. A private transport was sitting ready to take Doctors Burton and Lockhart to Tokyo for a meeting they had the next day. 

They entered a nearby elevator, neither of them talking, which took them all the way up to the rooftop facility. An attendee quickly escorted them to their craft, after checking their boarding passes and other travel papers. Both of them had to go through a set of scanners after they had dropped off their bags and other items onto the conveyor belt. 

As they entered the small transport, Burton spoke up. “What were we talking about before we got out of the limousine?” He asked Lockhart.

“You began to tell me about your conversation with Admiral Gardner when we arrived.” She prompted him as she started to look around the cabin. Their small cabin had some luxurious reclining chairs for them to take as well as a small bar area at the other end. There were two computer terminals also fixed along one side for them to use. They were truly travelling in style.  

“Ah yes.” Burton remembered as he took off his coat and took one of the seats. 

Pausing for a moment, Lockhart realised they were missing something. “Fraser, did you pick up our bag with our tablets in?”

He looked around and shook his head, “No sorry, Beverly. I thought you did.”

“I must have left them by the baggage scanner, I’ll go get them.” She said as she quickly rushed to the exit, informed the attendant what she needed and made her way across the shuttle-port. There sitting on the edge of the conveyor belt was the bag she had thought she had lost. Picking it up in her right hand, Lockhart turned around to head back to her transport but was stopped as she pushed down to the floor. Her entire surrounding was filled with total darkness. On the rooftop people ran and screamed in fear as the private transport that Lockhart had just got off exploded into a ball of flames. Pushing herself off from the floor, Lockhart screamed out for her colleague as she pushed her hair out of her face.

She got no response from him. He was gone. 

Sparks flew above his head as he entered main engineering, followed by the noise of tools banging and clanging against various surfaces. It was another depressing day for Challenger’s chief engineer since their rescue by the Andorians from the constant attacks led by the Carreons (and not to forget the Romulans too). Commander Stanton had only recently come to appreciate the extent of damage the NX-class ship had sustained during almost one hundred days of brutal aggression. Even though the damage was extensive, the repairs were hard work for him and his team, Stanton shared in Captain Burton’s pride that the ship survived such an ordeal. It was a credit to the starship designers that they built the NX-class to last. Just like Enterprise when it survived the Xindi conflict, Challenger was proof that Earth starship designers knew what they were creating. 

It was now past oh-nine-hundred-hours and Stanton was reporting for duty after having breakfast with Captain Burton, Commander Levesque and Sub Commander T’Plau. Almost instantly as he got through the large entrance to the heart of the ship his senior engineers approached him. Masuko, Metaxas and Peterson all had computer tablets in their hands and with them they all had serious expressions. Stanton groaned inwards before approaching them.  

“Wow, I’m so glad my fellow engineers are as happy as I am this morning.” Stanton sarcastically remarked as he approached their huddle. “What’s wrong?”

Being Stanton’s deputy, Masuko naturally spoke for the group first. “We’ve got some news that Chief Dubois has just reported to us.” 

“Oh?” Stanton said, wondering what the ship’s chief of the boat and quartermaster would have said that put them all in glum moods.

The second engineer passed her superior the tablet she held in her hands. “Sir we’ve run out of spare parts, what our repair teams are using at the moment is all that we have left.”

That was a major problem Stanton thought to himself as he quickly glanced over the inventory report compiled by the French enlisted officer. Dubois was thorough with any report she composed, and she was the finest quartermaster and enlisted engineer that he had ever worked with. Trying to think on his feet instantly, Stanton looked to his engineers. “Very well, what about spares from the Avenkerev?” He asked.

Metaxas answered, “Lieutenant Dreu has stated they can’t provide any more resources as it would compromise their ability to repair their ship if anything drastic was to happen.”

Stanton understood that, especially as they had been draining their Andorian ally’s supplies (as well as personnel) in repairing as much of the Challenger as they could in the last two weeks. “Well, we’ll be entering friendly space soon and in a few days be back at the Obama Repair Facility. Let’s do what we can to keep the ship together until we reach Earth orbit.”

Peterson slightly coughed, “Sir, I think we have too many engineers who can’t sit still for that long. Most of the crew are keen to see the ship back to the way it was.”

“I get that Brad, and they will see her return to her former glory,” Stanton responded. “But they’ll have to wait until we get home to see it happen. As you guys have just shared with me, we don’t have the materials to do it, unless you can create a device that can replicate spare parts from thin air?”

Peterson only responded with an empty smirk, knowing that Stanton understood how annoying their current situation was.

“It’s going to be two very frustrating weeks then. Especially as we have no warp core to babysit.” Masuko stated as she inclined her head to the large missing device that normally sat in the centre of the room. Since the captain was forced to eject it, the entire engineering crew had to work around the clock in using other sources of energy to keep the ship’s primary and secondary systems working. 

“Lieutenant, your job will be to ensure that those systems our repair teams are working on are the ones that will help us in getting home in one piece. Everything else we will leave for the boys and girls at the repair yard.” Stanton ordered his right-hand woman before looking at the two men. “Theo and Brad, your job is to oversee everyone else, who aren’t helping with repairs, are maintaining those systems that do work.”

“That’s going to be tough to do without spare parts sir.” Metaxas said as he crossed his arms against his chest, almost hugging the tablet that he had been holding.

“Tell them to improvise and be creative, as long as they don’t compromise the safety of the crew and ship.” Stanton said. “Anything else?”

They shook their heads in response and he dismissed them. After they walked away, he made his way over to where his desk used to be. It was still a broken and burnt area. Crewmember Stahl was standing nearby, making adjustments to the computer terminal he was working on. Stanton sighed at the sight and then looked back at where the huge void was in the middle of the room. He agreed with Peterson’s remark from earlier, he too was keen to see the ship back to its original appearance.

The door to the imaging chamber slid upwards and the bed was ejected gracefully. Lying across the bed was Commander Levesque, as it moved, she slowly opened her eyes and was greeted with seeing Ben-Ami. The doctor was studying the scans that were coming through on the screen above her head. Sickbay was empty beside the two of them, which Levesque was grateful for. 

“How are you feeling?” Ben-Ami asked as she picked up her portable scanner and helped Levesque to sit up.

“The sickness seems to have calmed down, but I still feel nauseated.” Levesque almost whined. “Is this normal?”

Ben-Ami chuckled, “I’m afraid so Nicole.”

Levesque tried to smile at the answer she received. “So, what’s the verdict?”

“Everything looks healthy from this end.” She answered. 

“Really? Even though I feel rough?” 

“It is normal to feel this way Commander.” Ben-Ami reinforced, almost annoyed with the commander at not listening to her the first-time round.

“Any more information you can share?” Levesque enquired as she looked up at the scan results.

“We won’t be able to find out for another three months for exact information.” Ben-Ami answered. She pulled up a stool and looked at the science officer with sympathy and compassion. “Nicole, I think it’s time we had the chat.”

Groaning inwards and quickly resting her head back on the bed, Levesque closed her eyes. She didn’t want to have this conversation; she knew what it was going to be about. “I told you Kefira, when I’m ready I will do it.”

“Nicole, I understand that, but the circumstances around this are extraordinary. This isn’t a normal conception and for me to be able to support you I need to speak to the right people, that includes transporter experts to confirm our theory. Overall though the captain needs to know too.” Ben-Ami stated, now becoming firmer with her patient. “He has a right to know and you can’t deny him that.”

“What’s the worst that could happen if we don’t look into this and just let this happen the way nature intended it to happen?” Levesque tested as she rose back up again on her elbows.

Ben-Ami rolled her eyes, realising that once again her efforts were being side-tracked. “I can’t calculate the chances that everything will go to plan or prepare a treatment if complications arise later on.” She paused. “Nicole, you took the choice to go forward with the pregnancy and you have three little life forms growing inside of you. If you want to be a mother, then you need to be responsible for them. On top of that being the first officer of this ship requires you to ensure this crew is fit and well. That includes yourself as well.”

“I thought that was your job?” Levesque argued back.

“We’re really going to argue over our job descriptions?” Ben-Ami countered. “I could order you to do this, but I don’t think that’s the right choice.”

Levesque sat fully up and gave out a huge sigh of frustration. “Fine, I’ll speak with the captain.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Ben-Ami offered.

Levesque nodded as she placed a protective hand over her stomach. “Yeah I think he may consider it a prank if I go in there alone.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t.” Ben-Ami said as she extended her hand to assist the young commander in getting off the bed. “Come on, let’s get it over and done with.”

“And we’ve just crossed into friendly territory.” Ensign Conrad announced from the helm. 

Captain Burton looked up from the tablet he was reading from. Currently sitting in his captain’s chair on the bridge, he was trying to waste time by catching on some paperwork that his yeoman had told him needed to review urgently. The news they were finally on the last leg of their journey home was a godsend he thought. Instantly Burton looked over towards Hennessey who had been sitting at the communication’s station. He too had been trying to pass the time but hadn’t been doing anything productive. Instead he had been sitting there twiddling with his thumbs, as he had nothing to do while they maintained a radio silence. However, when Conrad had released the news of their current location the older communication officer quickly began typing away at the keyboard in front of him.

“Any luck?” Burton asked as he now stood up and slowly made his way over to stand just before the raised area where Hennessey was sat. Ned knew what the captain was referring to, they needed to get in contact with Starfleet’s network of subspace amplifiers that they and other ships had been dropping off in specific locations in neutral space. 

Hennessey had put his earpiece in so he could concentrate further. He placed a finger on the piece so he could improve what he was hearing. Squinting, he showed how much he was concentrating to find what he was trying to listen out for. Eventually he nodded when he detected something. “We’ve got a connection with Echo Nine sir.”

A grin appeared on Burton’s face as well as everyone else on the bridge. “Excellent, when you get a chance, hail Starfleet Command for me. Get me Admiral Gardner on a secure channel.” Burton ordered.  

“Aye sir.” Hennessey said cheerfully.

Burton turned around on his heels and made his way across the bridge. “Sub Commander T’Plau the bridge is yours until Commander Levesque returns to duty. Continue monitoring the status of the Avenkerev’s tractor beam on us and remain on the lookout for any hostile ships.”

“Yes captain.” The Vulcan woman answered. She rose gracefully from her chair at the tactical station and sat down in the centre chair as Burton made his way into his office. 

Pushing one of the doors so he could squeeze through the door frame without scratching himself or his uniform, Burton entered the room. The reminder of Challenger’s recent brutal ordeal was apparent in this room like elsewhere on the ship. Despite this Burton had tidied the room up. He had stored his personal items away to avoid them being damaged any further. All that was left was the broken bulkhead, the scorched deck plating and the cracked glass frame that held each picture of every ship named Challenger from Earth’s history. 

Making his way over to his desk, he sat down in the chair and sighed in annoyance. The chair itself had been burnt too and now was extremely uncomfortable to sit in. He was looking forward to getting that replaced when they got home. He was interrupted from adjusting himself in his seat by a knock on the door. As the door chime was offline, he was getting used to hearing people rapping their knuckles against the bulkhead. Looking up he saw Levesque standing there with a sheepish smile on her face alongside Ben-Ami who also wore an unusual expression.

“Ladies, can this wait?” He asked. He was eager to speak with Starfleet as soon as possible. Commander Anthi and he had only told their crews about the declaration of war with the Romulans only a week ago. As such he was interested to find out the latest developments. They all hoped they had a home to return too. 

Ben-Ami answered for them both. “I’m afraid not sir. This is urgent.”

“No Kefira, it’s fine it can-” Levesque started to say but was quickly quietened by the doctor by the flapping of her right hand to hush.

“We’re doing this now Nicole.” Ben-Ami said with a strong conviction in her tone. 

Burton was confused about what was going on. He imagined this was something to do with his first officer’s health. She hadn’t been herself since leaving Ardana. She had been ill on and off every day. Levesque had brushed it off, saying she had caught a bug while on Delta or on Ardana, one that wasn’t contagious or going away. 

“Okay what’s this about?” He asked as they shuffled into his office.

Levesque seemed quite distressed and seemed to be pushing back tears. Burton searched her expression, trying to see if he could work out what she was thinking or feeling, but for the first time since he met her he couldn’t tell what was happening. It was a strange expression she held, a mixture of dread and sorrow. The two of them had become close since joining Challenger and had shared almost everything with one another. They had a solid sense of trust between them. This was confusing for him. 

Levesque went quiet and Ben-Ami spoke for her. “Captain, as you know, Commander Levesque has had some health issues recently. We felt it was time we told you what was really going on.”

Burton was surprised to hear she hadn’t told him the full truth. “Now I’m worried. What’s wrong?” Automatically he was thinking that she had contracted some sort of deadly virus and was terminally ill. Dread began to fill his heart.

Ben-Ami smiled, tried to ease his concerns. “Nothing is wrong, in fact it’s quite the opposite. Commander Levesque is-”

It was Levesque’s turn to interrupt this time. “Pregnant.” She snapped as she pushed a tear away from her face. “I’m pregnant Lloyd.” She then placed her head into the palms of her hands to stop showing her embarrassment.  

He wasn’t expecting that. “Oh.” Burton responded after being silent for a brief moment. He didn’t know she was in a relationship. Automatically his head began to consider whom on their crew she was seeing. He knew it wasn’t Stanton, as he was in a committed relationship and Levesque wasn’t his type. The only other men that he had seen her interact with off from duty were Hennessey and Stewart. It couldn’t have been the latter as Stewart was also in a relationship with Corporal Jenkins. Could it be Hennessey? Or maybe it was someone from Delta? President Thea perhaps? He remembered her reporting that she had developed a good relationship with the Deltan leader, but she never mentioned it going any further than that. 

“…you’re the father.” Ben-Ami said. He hadn’t caught on to what she had said at the start of her statement as he wasn’t paying attention until she spoke those last three words.

“I beg your pardon?” Burton almost screamed in surprise.

“Hennessey to Burton.” The intercom went off with the communication officer coming through the room’s speakers. 

Burton was still in shock but responded. “Standby Ned.” He said after hitting the button on his desk. 

“But sir I have Admiral Gardner for you.” Hennessey stated.

“Give me a moment Ned. Burton out.” The captain said, still in shock and closed the channel. He looked at both women. Levesque was looking down at her feet, while Ben-Ami was trying to keep herself composed. “So…um…how?” He began and choked a bit as he rubbed his forehead trying to understand. He looked at Levesque. “We’ve never had…” He fumbled out, pointing towards himself and his first officer. “I don’t get how I’m the…” Dumbfounded, he looked up at Ben-Ami for answers. 

Ben-Ami smiled, trying to suppress how amusing this situation was as well as the awkwardness that now filled the room. “Captain, I believe it was caused by the use of the transporter when you both were beamed up from Delta almost a fortnight ago. Do you remember Commander Stanton stating he had problems separating your patterns?”

Burton nodded as the colour started to drain from his face, clearly indicating that the situation was starting to settle in for him. “Yeah, but he cleared up the problem and we materialised all fine.”

“Yes, that is right. My theory is that during the time that your patterns mixed, somehow fertilisation happened.” Ben-Ami stated. 

“And you’ve known this long?” Burton asked, slightly annoyed he was only finding this out now. Levesque still remained quiet. He couldn’t work out if she was scared or embarrassed or possibly a mixture of both. 

“Unfortunately yes, that’s because of the unusual circumstances of the pregnancy I wanted to monitor it to ensure it didn’t affect Commander Levesque’s health in any way.” Ben-Ami said.

“Okay.” Burton said. Still shocked at the news. “And is she okay?” He asked compassionately. 

Ben-Ami nodded. “Commander Levesque is experiencing a healthy pregnancy so far.”

“Okay.” Burton repeated. He looked up at his first officer. “I take it you want to keep the baby?”

“Babies.” Levesque whispered.

“Babies?” He echoed, his eyes widening at more unexpected news. 

“Triplets captain.” Ben-Ami explained. “And all three are very healthy too.”

“Oh.” Burton said. He now felt the colour completely drain from his face at that news. 

“Kefira, could you give us the room please?” Levesque asked softly.

“Of course.” She said and smiled at both of them before leaving.

An uncomfortable silence now filled the room. Levesque sat down in the leather armchair behind Burton. He turned his chair around to look at her. 

“I’m sorry, I should have told you once we determined you were the father.” She started with. “But I wanted to make sure there were no complications and I needed to come to terms myself and try and understand how this all hap-”

“No, it’s fine, I understand.” Burton said with acceptance. “So you want to keep them?”

Levesque placed her hand across her stomach. “I couldn’t bring myself to going through the process of an abortion Lloyd. I’m sorry, it’s just not what I believe.”

He smiled. “It’s all right Nicole, I get it and I’m okay with that decision.”

“This is so awkward now isn’t it?” Levesque remarked as she tilted her head back.

“That’s putting it mildly.” Burton replied, attempting to make a joke of the matter. “So how does this now work?” He asked as he rubbed his forehead again.

Levesque shrugged her shoulders as she looked back at him. “I want to keep them afterwards Lloyd and I’ll let you be as involved as much as you want.”

He smiled at her words. “I appreciate that, I really do.”

“But I don’t want you to feel you have to, I know you didn’t ask for this.” 

“Neither of us did Nicole, but what has happened is a miracle in itself.” He paused. “This is going to be one for the record books though.”

She chuckled at that. “That’s exactly what I said to Kefira.”

“I want to be there for everything, and I mean everything.” Burton said. He moved his chair closer to her and took her hands in his. “Fatherhood is something I’ve always looked forward to and I don’t plan to let you go through this alone.” He got out of his chair and knelt down to her, still holding her hands. “We’ll figure this all out, I promise.”

“Thank you.” She said become upset and tried not to cry. “Sorry but my hormones are all over the place. I seem to cry at everything these days.”

“It’s fine.” He said as he pulled her into a hug. 

After embracing each other for a while the intercom went off again. “Sir, I don’t think I can hold off Admiral Gardner anymore. I’ve already used the excuse we’re having technical difficulties transferring his call.”

Burton slowly released Levesque and returned to his desk after making sure she was okay. “Sorry Ned, pipe his call in here.” He got back into his chair and swivelled it around to look at his first officer over his shoulder. “Wanna join me for this?” He almost pleaded.

Levesque nodded and got out of the armchair and pulled one of the small stools over. Burton, like the gentleman he was, got out of his chair and insisted she sat in it while he took the stool. 

The monitor on his desk soon flickered into life and the face of Admiral Gardner appeared. “Captain Burton, Commander Levesque it is good to see your faces.” He greeted them.

Both of them smiled at each other before looking back at their superior officer. Under the table Burton took hold of her hand as he began their conversation informing Gardner of what had happened to them. Levesque smiled at this gesture and for the first time in a week she didn’t feel like she was on the edge.

Happily, Major Yu made her way around C deck towards the games room. She had stopped counting the amount of times she stepped over some broken pieces that had fallen from either the ceiling or from a wall on her journey. It was becoming a bad habit of hers and she was trying to kick it in. Once she arrived at her destination, she pushed the doors apart from each other when they didn’t open automatically when she pressed the button to let her in. The moment she opened them she heard the chuckles of Roburn, the young Ardanan boy they had rescued several weeks ago along with his older brother Edro. 

The games room was almost as big as the mess hall, but instead of having lots of rounded tables dotted around the room it had different items that the crew could use to enjoy themselves with. Hanging on the wall was a couple of dartboards, while by the opposite wall all in a row were four large rectangular tables. There was a pool table, a snooker table, a table tennis table and an air-hockey table. Against one of the walls were a few screens that were connected to game consoles too. 

Instantly Yu saw both boys playing on the air-hockey table, even though it wasn’t switched on they were enjoying themselves with the game in their own way. You smiled at the scene, reminding her of her own childhood when she would use her own imagination to keep herself entertained. 

Sat at one of the few smaller tables, that the crew normally used to play either board games or card games like poker, was Staff Sergeant Iyer. He was sat with a mug of something in one hand and a book in the other. Unlike her, he wasn’t wearing his uniform as he wasn’t on duty. He saw Yu enter the room and put his book and mug down to greet her.

“Major.” He said, instinctively he began to stand up, but she waved her hand to him gesturing for him to sit back down.

“As you were Rupesh.” She told him as she joined him, watching the two boys carrying on with their games. Roburn was standing on a small stool so he could reach over the table to play with his older brother. Yu noticed that Edro was definitely letting his brother win. “They seemed to be enjoying themselves.”

“They certainly are.” Iyer agreed.

Yu looked back at her officer and passed him the tablet she had been holding on to. “I wanted you to take a quick look over the duty roster for the rest of the week. There’s nothing too exciting planned, however I wanted to ensure we’re using everyone’s abilities and strengths to help with the repair teams. I know Commander Stanton is appreciating the extra help from the MACOs.”

Iyer took the computer device from her. “I’ll look through it now while they’re playing.” He switched it on and put his passcode in to take it out of its standby mode.

“So, how’s fatherhood treating you?” Yu asked quietly and with a wry smile on her face. 

He chortled, knowing the major was teasing him. “Edro’s an absolute superstar, while on the other hand I’m having difficulties with Roburn. He doesn’t sleep well.” He explained.  “I’ve lost count of the amount of times he has climbed into bed with me or Edro because he is scared of either a noise or the darkness.”

Yu smiled slightly at him, recounting that. Since their return to the ship, Captain Burton had suggested that Iyer temporarily moved down to G deck where the VIP guest rooms were located to care for the boys. They had tried giving both of them their own rooms, but they insisted on staying with Iyer in the forward VIP guest room. It turned out they were not used to staying in a room by themselves as they always stayed with their parents back in their settlement. Doctor Ben-Ami had explained to them all that the boys would need time to change to their new surroundings, they needed time to make an attachment to those around them. They had lost their parents, their community and didn’t know anything else. The ethical dilemma of bringing them with them on Challenger had been a hot topic among the crew, but Captain Burton had made the decision to allow them to join them. Major Yu had wondered how much trouble he would get into with Starfleet once they got back to Earth about that decision. 

“How do you get him to sleep then?” She whispered to him.

Iyer smiled before responding. “He loves hearing me read to him. I’ve been reading Captain Proton non-stop. Even Edro stays up to listen to it.”

“Well, it’s a good thing there’s a whole series of Captain Proton novels to get through.” Yu remarked with a wry smile. She looked at the staff sergeant, noticing that he looked exhausted and almost burnt out. “How are you though?” She asked. 

“I’m fine ma’am, thank you for asking.” He replied, obviously lying to her to maintain his macho MACO stance. “Between Angie and I plus half a dozen other people we’re able to look after them. They seem happy here, even if the ship looks like a scrap yard!” He looked at both boys playing in front of them. “We definitely did the right thing in bringing them with us.”

“Let’s hope the top brass thinks so too.” Yu said without much confidence in that matter.

“About that ma’am.” Iyer said as he put the tablet down on his lap. “I’m considering filing papers to officially adopt them.”

Yu’s eyes got bigger at that news as she relaxed into the chair. “Wow! Are you sure you’re ready for taking them on a permanent basis Rupesh?”

He nodded with confidence as he spoke. “Without a doubt ma’am.”

“What about your job?” She probed, hating herself for asking it but knew it would be a discussion they would have later on so why leave it until then? 

He smiled at that. “I’m considering resigning, ma’am if my parents aren’t comfortable taking care of the boys while I’m away from Earth.”

“Well, I hope they are comfortable with that Rupesh. I would hate to lose you.” Yu said genuinely. 

“I don’t want to leave the unit either ma’am, but I’ve got to consider what is best for the boys.” Iyer said. “I can’t expect Angie to leave, she’s only just started her career and Starfleet needs a good pilot like her right now.”

“And the service still needs good men like you Rupesh, to help win this war with the Romulans.” Pausing for a moment to think, Yu came up with an idea. “I could always see if I can get you a transfer to one of our Earth based facilities. Say a nice teaching post at one of our training camps in Pakistan?” Yu suggested.

Iyer’s demeanour changed positively at Yu’s proposal. “I would be eternally grateful if you can do that ma’am. That’s if I have to cross that bridge though.” He replied.

Yu gave him one more smile before leaving him. Inwards she groaned to herself, wondering just how many others from her unit or the Challenger crew would consider leaving. If good men like Iyer left, then she wouldn’t have much of a detachment left. She had her suspicions that Jenkins may leave once he and Stewart tied the knot, or even before that. She didn’t blame any of them wanting to go, especially after the recent ordeal they had to endure and now with the war. Being posted on one of Earth’s fastest ships didn’t bring them much luck or cause them to think they will live a long and happy life. Many of them may want to leave and return to Earth to avoid any more conflict in their lives she considered. As she left C deck she decided on having a chat with Ben-Ami to see what she thought about the potential exodus from Challenger.

Ensign Stewart was sitting on the floor of the decon-chamber attempting to fix the curtain rail. It was a mundane job for him to carry out, despite that and with the rest of sickbay fixed, including the chamber itself now being operational, Ben-Ami wanted the smaller things sorted. As such she had ushered him out of sickbay earlier when Commander Levesque had entered. Ben-Ami had told him to go organise the decon-chamber and ensure the stocks of the different types of gels and creams were full. He had done the latter and was now fixing the curtain that was rarely used to split the room in half to give its occupants some privacy. The rail had fallen down at some point during one of their various battles with the Carreons. He was currently looping the curtain through the pole; a series of holes were in a line along the top of the curtain and when the pole had fallen the curtain had completely slipped off. The curtain itself was burnt around the edges and would most likely be replaced once they returned to Earth, despite that it would suffice if it was needed in the near future. Sitting quietly, humming to himself he didn’t hear any of the outer doors open. As such he was slightly surprised when two familiar hands covered his eyes.

“Guess who?” The masculine voice said.

Stewart decided to tease his visitor. “Ensign Dalton? Hold up, is it Commander Stanton? Wait a second, these hands are too feminine to be either of theirs. It must be Major Yu!” 

Corporal Jenkins whacked Stewart in the back for his response. “My hands are not feminine!” He protested after letting go and slumping down on the deck plate next to his fiancé. 

“Ha! They’re smaller than mine!” Stewart said, proving his point by measuring his hand up against one of Jenkins’. “See!”

“These hands could easily kill you if you don’t watch yourself Ensign Stewart!” Jenkins threatened with a wry smirk.

“Well, then you’ll be marrying yourself!” Stewart replied. He looked around and saw they were still alone and leant in to passionately kiss his partner on the lips.

“Hmm, that was nice.” Jenkins said after breaking away from their intimate peck. He looked around the chamber and was trying to work out what Stewart was doing. “So what are you working on? Apart from threading a curtain?”

“Just that!” Stewart said deadpanned and returned to his work. “It’s been a slow start to the day in sickbay, so I’m doing some of the unexciting jobs to keep me occupied.”

Jenkins nodded in agreement. “I know the feeling. My shift was long and uneventful as there isn’t much more for the MACOs to do. I can’t believe how much debris we’ve lifted and moved into the cargo bays over the last two weeks! We’ve literally got not much else to do at the moment.”

“Have you just finished your night shift then?” Stewart enquired. 

“Yup.” Jenkins said, popping the ‘p’ sound. “I was going to head back to our quarters, but I thought I would try and see you before I go to sleep.”

“Missing me that much are you?” Stewart asked, beginning to tease his other half again.

“Yeah the bed is never warm enough when you’re not in it with me.” Jenkins said seductively as he leant in to say it in Stewart’s ear.

Stewart rolled his shoulder to knock Jenkins off from him, knowing what his partner wanted to do at that very moment. “Not here while I’m on duty.” He told him firmly, while trying to suppress a grin.

“Oh!” Jenkins protested. “You’re no fun!”

Stewart looked at his other half with an unamused expression. “Coming from the boy who a few months ago wouldn’t dare speak unless spoken to while on duty!”

“Boy?” Jenkins repeated. “Well, if we’re going to play that game just remember who had to be told by that boy to arm themselves on their first mission off the ship?”

Stewart rolled his eyes. “You’re really going to keep bringing that up?”

“I’m going to always bring that up as that was the day that I got to see your beautiful crystal blue eyes and hear that sexy semi-Irish accent of yours!” 

“You’re such a creep.” Stewart returned and smiled at his spouse-to-be before kissing him again. “Now go.” He said in a sterner voice. “That’s an order Corporal.”

“Ooh I like it when you pull rank!” Jenkins said with a grin as he got up from the floor. “Yes sir!” He said more formally and saluted Stewart. “Don’t forget we’re seeing Chef Lawson later to discuss ideas for our wedding reception.”

“Yeah, yeah I haven’t forgotten!” Stewart said, waving him off. He returned to focussing on his work and was straight away surprised again. 

Jenkins returned, this time put his arms around Stewart’s waist and whispered into his left ear. “I love you Niall Stewart.” And then kissed him again, this time on his cheek. He quickly left him after that.

Stewart just smiled at how romantic his fiancé could be and went back to his great task of fixing the curtain rail!

“We’re dropping out of warp.” Conrad announced from the helm. 

Burton had been standing at the rear of the bridge in the situation room when his pilot had spoken. He had been reviewing all of the latest information on the Romulan war that Admiral Gardner had sent him. Standing there with him studying the data too were Commanders Levesque, Stanton and Sub Commander T’Plau. Every so often he had caught Levesque’s eye, neither of them being able to stop smiling at the idea they were going to become parents in the near future. It had changed everything, especially how he looked at life now. He had heard that parenthood changed people, but he wasn’t expecting it to be so sudden like this. Looking at Levesque again he noticed that most recently she was constantly holding on to her stomach in a protective manner. He found the act adorable.

Two nights ago, they had stayed up talking about the whole situation after they had briefed the senior staff about their news. By now it had gone around the entire crew and both were getting constant congratulations from everyone they passed in the corridors. They had made it quite clear to their crew that they were not in a romantic relationship with each other but were pleased to be having the triplets. That night they had spoken about how they would try to raise the children, neither of them being able to actually come up with a plan that would mean they could remain on Challenger. Overall though they were happy to do this with each other; they felt they could be two friends who had children together. Levesque had said she would take some time to think about everything once they arrived on Earth. They had also said they would make Admiral Gardner aware of their situation and circumstances surrounding how it all happened. They would do it once Challenger was docked at the Obama Repair Facility. 

Burton and his senior staff had just finished reading the news of how the Romulans were using their telepresence computer virus on Klingon vessels to attack allied shipping. It would seem that everything Challenger had endured recently was part of some grand Romulan scheme to destabilise the peace in the region. Burton eventually ignored all the information on the screens before them and indicated for them to head back to the main area of the bridge. As they walked away Sub Commander T’Plau logged off the computer screens and placed them all in lockdown standby mode. 

“Ned, please inform Commander Anthi she can disengage her tractor beam.” Burton commanded as he took his chair.

Hennessey nodded and sent the message to their Andorian saviours. After a few seconds he got a response. “Commander Anthi has said they’ll escort us all the way into Earth orbit.”

“Send her our thanks.” Burton said before looking down at Conrad. “Jack, take us to full impulse and lay a course for the Obama Repair Facility.”

“Aye sir.” The helm officer replied. 

 Challenger sped away at sub-light speeds across the Sol system, quickly passing the outer planets before approaching Mars. 

“Sir we’ve got an incoming call from Starfleet Command Headquarters, it is Fleet Admiral Hathaway.” Hennessey stated.

Burton was impressed to hear the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief was calling them. “Put her up.”

Hennessey accepted his orders and transferred the call directly to the bridge’s main viewscreen. The visual image of Fleet Admiral Hathaway stood in the Hub, the main area of the day-to-day operations of Starfleet. “Welcome home Captain Burton.” She said in her stern British accent. 

A shiver went down Burton’s spine. The way she spoke reminded him of his mother, but the sentiment of being welcomed home after what they had to go through recently was nice to hear. “Thank you, ma’am, we’re glad to be back.”

“You’re to proceed to the repair yards at once.” She commanded “Our engineers believe it will take at least two weeks for Challenger to be restored to her former glory. As such I am relieving your crew of duty and ordering you all to take some well-deserved R and R.”

“We appreciate that ma’am.” Burton said sincerely with a smile. 

Hathaway hesitated for a second. “Captain, there is also a personal matter I need to discuss with you.”

Burton got worried when she said that to him. He quickly looked to Levesque and back to the admiral. Did she know about Levesque’s unexpected pregnancy? If so, how? “Ma’am?” He said, seeking clarification.

“It involves your father, captain.” Hathaway said in a more compassionate manner, despite still sounding professional. “Let us speak in privacy.”

Burton was now worried. He rose from his chair and just nodded. He gestured for Levesque to take over from him as Hennessey transferred the call to his ready room. Burton entered the office and activated his desktop terminal. Hathaway appeared after her call was put through to him.

“Captain, I am truly sorry to tell you this, but your father died recently.” Hathaway said, still in her compassionate tone. “Please accept my deepest condolences.”

Burton felt a sudden pain hit his chest after she spoke. He wanted to know more. “How did he die?” He asked, fighting back the tears that were building up.

“There was an explosion on a private shuttle that he was on. Our investigators believe it to be an accident.” She answered. The Starfleet leader had noticed that Burton was in distress, as such she quickly continued. “I felt it was best to tell you once you arrived in the Sol system. Your father and I had met on a number of occasions over the course of our careers and I found him to be truly inspiring. Earth has lost one of its finest scientific minds.”

Burton just nodded sombrely.  “I appreciate you telling me ma’am, thank you.”

“I know your mother and siblings are eager to see you. I believe you also have a nephew to meet for the first time. Go to them the moment you are able to, your debriefings here at headquarters can wait.” Hathaway stated. 

“I will. Thank you, admiral.”

“My deepest apologies again.” She paused before closing the call. “Hathaway out.”

The screen went blank and Burton sat back in his chair and allowed the tears to now fall. He wanted to know more, but right now he just wanted to see his family.

An hour had passed, and Captain Burton hadn’t come out of his ready room for some time. Commander Stanton kept on looking towards the entrance of the office from the engineering station, becoming anxious about what was going on to keep the captain locked up.

“Are you sure Ned the call has finished?” Stanton now asked the communications officer.

Hennessey replied with a single nod after looking at the computer display beside him. “I’m sure sir. The admiral cut the channel from her end over fifty-seven and half minutes ago.”

Stanton looked at Levesque. “Something big has happened.” He said.

Levesque had been sitting in the centre chair and was using the time to read more on what had happened so far with the war. She looked up at the chief engineer. “He’ll come out when he’s ready too.”

“I don’t think this is one of those times Nicole.” He remarked. “The admiral had a serious look on her face when she said she had a private matter to discuss with Lloyd about his father.”

“Then you should respect his privacy.” Sub Commander T’Plau interjected from her position at the tactical station. “The captain does not have to share everything with us.”

“He shared with us that he got Commander Levesque pregnant.” Stanton stated.

“Hey!” Levesque defended herself. “This isn’t the time and place for that Commander.” She paused in her speech. “And for the record he didn’t get me pregnant, on purpose. It’s your fault you rushed us back to the ship via the transporter.”

Before Stanton could protest, he was interrupted. “Commander Levesque has a logical point to her argument.” T’Plau added.

“Okay, how many times do I have to apologise?” Stanton said with a smile. Since the news of Levesque’s pregnancy had become public knowledge on the ship, he had been jokingly told on numerous occasions that it was his fault it had happened. “I’ll make it up to you by being godfather!”

“Good, I’m glad we can call on you for babysitting duties!” Levesque said in a deadpan expression.

Stanton shook his head and got out of his seat. 

“Where are you going?” Levesque asked him.

“To see if our captain is okay.” Stanton said, “Let me do this Nicole, please.”

She sighed and silently nodded at him. She knew he was right, and Stanton was probably the best person right now to speak to Burton beside her. Since she had told him about her pregnancy their relationships had changed dramatically. She wasn’t certain where it was going now.

Stanton walked straight in to find Burton leaning with his right arm up against the ceiling bulkhead, staring out of his office’s window. His posture was almost statuesque. “Sir, is everything okay?” Stanton asked after coughing once, he didn’t want to startle his commanding officer.

Burton only nodded and relaxed from his position. Still keeping his back to the chief engineer, he wiped his face with the back of his free hand before turning around. “Yeah, I’m fine Michael, thank you.”

Stanton was slightly surprised to see Burton with red tear stained cheeks and watery eyes. “Obviously you’re not Lloyd.” He remarked, stepping close to Burton. “What’s happened?”

“It’s my father,” Burton answered as he pushed the tears further away. His attempts at remaining calm were slowly failing. “He was killed in a shuttle explosion.”

“Oh Lloyd, I’m so sorry.” Stanton said, closing the gap further and embracing him into a hug. “Is that what Hathaway informed you of?”

Burton just nodded again as he returned the embrace.

“Do you want me to contact anyone for you?” Stanton asked after letting go of Burton and guiding him to his desk chair.

Burton spoke, shaking his head in response to Stanton’s question. “Once we’re docked, I’m planning to see my family as soon as I can.” He then sat down and wiped his face again. 

Stanton sat on the edge of the desk. “Do they know how it happened?”

“Apparently there was an overload in the shuttle’s engines as it powered up. There were no warning signs, it just happened.” Burton described. 

“Look you don’t need to worry about the ship, we’re home safe now so the rest of us can deal with the handover to the repair teams and in a fortnight’s time Challenger will be as brand new just like when we took her out for her first spin!” Stanton stated, trying to make things easier for his captain.

“Thanks Michael, I appreciate it.” Burton said, attempting to smile in gratitude for Stanton’s support, but there was nothing the engineer could say that would make him feel any better. He felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest. He just wanted to return home as soon as he could.

Slowly walking down the corridors of E deck, Levesque was feeling quite sombre in her mood. She approached the big hatch for main engineering. Forcing the door forward after pulling on the lever, she made her way into the heart of the ship. It wasn’t as busy as she had expected it to be. 

Since docking at the Obama Repair Facility three hours ago, most of the crew had departed from the ship to begin their breaks per their orders from Fleet Admiral Hathaway. Levesque had seen Captain Burton off on one of the first transports. When Stanton had told her Burton’s news regarding his father her heart had gone out to him. Burton didn’t look like the man he had been before the admiral’s call. Burton on many occasions had spoken fondly of his father and how close he was with him. The loss of a parent on anyone was a serious toll to endure. Levesque was thankful that she still had her parents. Burton had promised to be there for her to help sort out her pregnancy issue, but she had told him not to worry about it right now and to be with his family. She had promised to keep him updated with any developments though. 

Levesque soon found Stanton, who she had journeyed to see, standing on the upper level. He was adjusting some controls on the matter induction coils. She made her way over to him via the access ladder. “Michael.” She called as she reached the upper section.

Stanton automatically looked up from where he was working upon hearing his name. “Nicole, you okay?” He asked before returning to his work.

She approached him. “I am, but I’ve come to tell you that your request to stay on board has been denied.”

“What?” He protested as he got from his crouching position. “Why?”

“Orders from Fleet Admiral Hathaway, she doesn’t want any of us on Challenger.” Levesque stated. “We’re to take a break!”

Stanton sighed. “I really wanted to supervise the installation of the new warp core.”

“I understand; however, those are our orders. Anyway, you and your team will have a few days before we re-launch to check over all the new installed systems.” Levesque said. “Surely you want to take this time to see Alex?”

He nodded. “I do, but the Discovery isn’t due back to Earth for another four more days.”

“Then go see the rest of your family or friends!” Levesque suggested. “Or go find a nice beach somewhere Michael and relax on it. You deserve it, after all you’ve done to keep this ship together!” She rubbed his shoulder in a friendly manner and smiled at him.

Stanton surrendered and agreed with her orders. “Understood.” He said playfully. “What are your plans?”

Levesque sighed as she rested against the wall and crossed her arms. “I’ve got a couple of appointments to go to, then I’m planning to see my folks in Napa. I’ll probably stay with my sister Claudia at her vineyard. Why don’t you come and join me at some point?”

Stanton smiled at the gesture. “Thanks Nicole, that would be great.”

They were both interrupted by the arrival of Ben-Ami who cleared her throat from the level below them. “Sorry to disturb you both, but Commander Levesque can I have a word please?”

After telling Stanton she expected to see him on the next transport off the ship, Levesque climbed down from the upper level and joined Ben-Ami for a walk outside main engineering. 

“So, what’s up Kefira?” Levesque enquired when they were alone in the corridor.

“I’ve been discussing your pregnancy with some of my colleagues at Starfleet Medical and obviously many of them are baffled at how the conception occurred as it’s entirely new territory for them. None of them know where to start in working on a method of checking that the pregnancy is developing normally.” Ben-Ami remarked.

“That’s not helpful Kefira.” Levesque said with concern, instinctively she placed her hand over her small bump.  

“I know, so I’m pursuing a few of my old professors from the University of Tel Aviv. One of them was part of Emory Erickson’s team when he did his first trials of the transporter. She’s intrigued with your case, so I’m planning to visit her and her husband for a few days. They’re both experts who I think may be able to give us helpful insights into this.” Ben-Ami stated. “If you want, you can join me. Tel Aviv is a beautiful city.”

Levesque smiled at the offer from the doctor. “Thanks Kefira, but I’m really not in the mood to sit in any more labs or hospitals, no offence. I really want to visit my family.”

“I understand. I’ll keep you posted if I find anything useful.” The doctor said after nodding. She squeezed Levesque’s left arm gently before walking away from the first officer. 

Slowly and carefully, Sub Commander T’Plau placed the final item of clothing into her holdall. She pushed the folded-up garment gently so she could close the zipper but didn’t apply too much force as she wanted to avoid crushing some of her other belongings in the bag. She gazed around her quarters and to see if there was anything else that she needed to bring. Pleased that she had not missed an item, she began leaning down to pick up the black holdall and small suitcase that had Challenger’s insignia on it when her door chime went off. She ceased her movement and looked over at the entrance to her room. 

“Yes, enter.” She answered swiftly. 

Ensign Hennessey stepped through the doorway once it had opened, carrying a computer tablet in his hands. “Ah good timing.” He spoke when he noticed her packed bags sitting on her bed. He handed over the device in his hands towards her. “This just came through for you. I wasn’t sure if you had left yet, so I ran down here to deliver it to you.”

T’Plau bowed slightly in gratitude for his rapid response to her message. “I appreciate your promptness.” She took the tablet and entered her access codes. As she logged in, she turned around, placing her back towards the chief communication officer as she read the message. A frown began to appear on her face and Hennessey noticed it forming from her reflection in the nearby hanging mirror.

“Everything all okay ma’am? I noticed it was marked as personal and urgent.” He said, offering friendly support.

Instantly after he spoke T’Plau span on her heels. She did her best not to show her frustration at his attempt to intrude on her privacy. “Thank you Mister Hennessey, you’re dismissed.”

He hesitated at first but nodded in respect. “Of course, ma’am. Have a safe trip.” Hennessey offered before walking out.

As soon as the door closed behind him, she looked back down at the message that she had been sent. She read the title of the message one more time and was certainly curious to know why the Vulcan High Command had decided to promote her and reassign her off from Challenger.

Yanking on his holdall’s strap for the third time since leaving his quarters, Ensign Conrad was going to be glad to be getting off Challenger so soon. He was more than happy to go somewhere else and forget about the last few months, especially the past fortnight. He had thrown himself into his work so he could avoid feeling the pain of his breakup with Martha. He could no longer stand how much she had changed since their mission to Delta. The woman he had fallen in love with had returned a complete stranger to him. He had considered the possibility that he had changed as well, but he was definitely sure that she wasn’t her old self. He had tried to be supportive of her, especially as she had felt so awful after publicly opposing Commander Levesque in her decision to help the Deltans with their fight against the Carreons (it hadn’t helped when it was revealed their fight had been started and manipulated by the Romulans). Habiba had returned to the ship in a bitter depressed mood with a sense of self-destructiveness since then. She had gone through so many mood swings and in the end Conrad had enough. He tried to be reasonable and fair to her. He had spent many long nights with her talking everything through, particularly talking about the relationships she had ruined from her decision, despite everything he said or did was never right or helpful in her eyes. He was certain there was something more to it and in the end, he felt like she was pushing him away. Eventually he had just given up on their relationship and after another massive argument with her he had called it a day to what they had. Since that evening when he had walked out on her a bitter taste had remained with him. He was annoyed with himself for not trying harder with their relationship, but his friends had told him he couldn’t have done any more for her. 

Walking along the starboard corridor of E deck, Conrad was on his way to meet with his friends in the mess hall before they all left Challenger. He was looking forward to the break and getting away from the ship for a bit. Fortunately for everyone Fleet Admiral Hathaway had organised for the crew’s debriefing sessions to take place at the end of the two-week break. Captain Burton had described the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief being eager to allow everyone to take a vacation while the ship was repaired and refitted. Conrad had found the notion of taking a holiday while their nation was at war an odd one though. Even Angela Hathaway, who was the admiral’s niece, had said it was odd for her aunt to say such a thing and wondered if there was more going on than what was being said to them. Nevertheless, everyone was quickly leaving the ship to take up the opportunity to escape from the madness, even if it was for a short time. 

Entering the mess hall now, he was pleased to see his collective group of friends all huddled around one corner of the room. All of them were out of their uniforms and wearing casual civilian attire. 

“There you are Jacky!” Trommler called him over and gestured for the pilot to join them where they stood.

Conrad smiled at his MACO’s friend’s use of his nickname. Conrad had been called Jacky by his grandparents when he was growing up and had hated it. However, hearing Trommler call him it sounded different. The soldier had quickly become his best friend and had spent almost every free time with him since his breakup with Habiba. 

“So, is everyone here Trommo?” Conrad asked as he approached the group. He could see almost everyone there. 

“Ja.” Trommler replied in his native German accent as he pulled Conrad under his arm in a protective manner. 

“See I told you they would end up together!” Ensign Cortez playfully whispered from where she stood in the group towards Hathaway.

“Hey!” Trommler said in defence of his gesture towards the female armoury office. “I’m just sharing the Trommo love. Ladies there’s plenty to go around.”

“Sometimes too much Luis.” Ensign Stewart replied from where he sat on the edge of the table with his arms around his fiancé, who stood in between his legs. 

The group laughed at the banter floating in between them. 

“Right so is everyone clear on the times and locations of when we’ll meet up?” Corporal Jenkins asked, looking around the group.

“Yeah, yeah.” Larsen said as he zipped up his jacket that he wore. “We’ll meet in five days’ time in Hastings before starting your joint-bachelor party.”

Jenkins nodded in confirmation. “Yep, my folks have just expanded their hotel, so we can all stay in. They’re expecting you all so don’t be late!”

Eventually after a few more minutes of standing around and finalising their plans for Jenkins and Stewart’s joint-event to celebrate their upcoming nuptials, the group began to disperse and leave the room. 

“Ready?” Trommler asked his friend as he picked up his own bag off from the deck plating.

Conrad nodded after snapping out of his gaze. He had completely disengaged from the group conversation after a few minutes. His mind had drifted off in thinking about his breakup with Martha.

“I can’t wait to hit the Gold Coast! I haven’t been to Australia since my initial training.” Trommler said, sounding like an excited child on Christmas Day. 

“Yeah, the city is an amazing place.” Conrad replied.  “You’ll love the waves too.” 

“Five days of sun, sea and amazing beaches! What more could we ask for?” Trommler said remaining excited for their holiday. The two of them had found out months ago they both shared a passion in surfing and had decided before joining the others for the joint bachelor party they would go to the Gold Coast and spend a few days surfing and sunbathing. Everyone else would be visiting families and friends. It was going to be a welcome distraction for Conrad. If he had time at the end of his holiday, he would go home to Tycho City and visit his parents on the Moon. 

 A shiver went down his spine as he took one more glance around the room, eventually he gave up hoping that Martha would appear, apologise and try to get back with him. Nonetheless it didn’t happen and for the first time since their breakup he didn’t actually feel as disappointed as he had previously.

“Gold Coast here we come!” He said to Trommler as they departed, trying to hype himself up for their vacation.

Packing the last of her items into her holdall, Major Yu looked around her office one more time to double check she hadn’t forgotten anything. Pleased she gathered everything she wanted to take with her, she picked up her bag and chucked it over her right shoulder. She walked towards the door and tapped the button by it to turn off the lights before opening it with the access button underneath. Stepping through the now opened doorway, she walked through the MACO briefing room and was surprised to see Staff Sergeant Iyer emptying his locker and loading his items into a similar holdall she had with the ship’s insignia on the side of it. 

“Rupesh, I thought you left in the first transport?” She remarked when he looked at her after hearing her enter the room. 

He shook his head. “I was planning to ma’am, but I had a bit more packing to do.”

Yu sighed; she knew this could be the last time she saw him. “Looks like you’re taking everything with you?” She said, hoping that he wouldn’t confirm her fears.

Iyer just gave her a weak smile in reply before carrying on with his activity. 

Yu placed her holdall on top of the briefing table and walked over to the sergeant. She knew he was taking his responsibilities as guardian of the two Ardanan boys seriously. She wondered just how much he was planning to sacrifice for them. “Rupesh,” She began with, he stopped what he was doing but didn’t turn around to face her. “I just want you to know that whatever you decide to do, you have my absolute support and it has been an honour serving alongside you.”

Smiling at her words, he now turned around to look at her. He extended his hand towards her to shake it. “Thank you, ma’am. It has been an honour serving with you too.”

After shaking his hand, Yu picked her bag back up and left F deck, heading towards the launch bay to make her own escape back home to Canada. Deep down she hoped that wasn’t going to be the last time she saw Iyer.

The cold British autumn rain splattered gently against the Burton residence. It was early in the evening as Lloyd looked out of the bay window of his father’s study. He believed the weather was a perfect reflection of how he felt at that point: miserable. Since returning home to see his family to deal with his father’s death he hadn’t had time to stop to reflect on anything. The past twenty-four hours had gone past him like a blur. The moment he had arrived home yesterday afternoon he had discovered that a memorial service had been arranged for his father the next day. He had spent the evening before spending quality time with his family. It had given him the chance to greet the latest edition to the Burton clan: his nephew Oliver. Lloyd had held Oliver in his arms for a very long time, Madison had offered many times to relieve Lloyd of the burden of carrying her son, but Lloyd had told her he was fine. In actual fact he was also trying to make sense of the fact that he himself would be a father soon. He hadn’t told anyone in his family about the transporter accident that Levesque and he had gone through. It didn’t feel like the right time to do it and he needed time to make sense of it all too. One side of him was excited about becoming a father while on the other hand he didn’t know how they were going to raise the triplets especially as both of them were starship officers. Could he get away by asking his chief engineer to build a crèche on the ship? Would Starfleet ever allow their officers to have their families with them on active assignments? There were just too many things to consider at the moment and none of them seemed appropriate to deal with at this point in time. Lloyd’s attention needed to be with supporting his family and mourning for his father.  

Now as he walked around the study, only hours after his father’s service at Portsmouth Cathedral, he began to take in what was his father’s private sanctuary. Memories began flooding in, like the time when he and his father had an argument in the room after Lloyd had told the family he was following his sister’s footsteps in joining Starfleet. Despite that moment it had served as the place where they had reconciled from that disagreement. Walking around the glass desk, which sat in front of a bay window, Lloyd looked down at the various photo frames that his father had placed on it. There was one of his parents’ wedding day, various pictures of Lloyd and his siblings as children and teenagers. Then in the centre of them all was a recent one of Madison, Stephen and Oliver. Lloyd picked it up and smiled at how happy his sister appeared in it with her recently married husband and new-born child. As he carefully put it back down, the wooden door to the room slowly creaked open. He looked up and was pleased to see his brother Seth walking in.

“Hi Lloyd.” Seth spoke as he closed the door behind him.

“Hey Seth.” Lloyd replied as he watched his brother enter the room, placing his hands into trouser pockets of the black suit he was wearing. All of his siblings had agreed not to wear their Starfleet dress uniforms for their father’s service. Instead they wore black smart civilian clothing instead. The three brothers had all worn black suits with black skinny ties while Madison had worn a black dress. 

“Dad kept a lot of books.” Seth mentioned as he guided his hand over a shelf of books. That was a typical Seth comment to make, he wasn’t a deep reader himself. How he got through Starfleet training without reading was a blind mystery to Lloyd and his other siblings. Along one wall of the study was an entire array of bookcases filled with numerous hardbacks with a majority of them being to do with his field of study in physics. “Do you think he read every single one?” He added.

Lloyd was now sitting on the edge of his father’s desk studying the more photographs that sat on the sideboard in front of the bay window. Again, most of them were family pictures and some of his father’s colleagues. “Knowing dad, I would say he read every single one of them more than once.”

Seth lightly chuckled at his older brother and decided to copy him while sitting on the edge of the desk. “So how bad was it?” He asked Lloyd.

“How bad was what?” Lloyd questioned back, looking confused at his brother’s line of questioning. 

“You know, the constant battles with the Carreons and Romulans.” Seth elaborated. “Admiral Gardner briefed us on what you had to deal with when news got out…”

“We were alive?” Lloyd finished, looking back down at the photographs and crossing his arms. “Well, it wasn’t a walk in the park Seth.”

“I bet.” The younger brother said. He paused before he spoke again. “Did you lose anyone?”

Lloyd shook his head. He knew Seth was trying to be supportive in his own way. “Thankfully not, but almost all of the crew were injured one way or another.”

“Even you?”

Lloyd just nodded sombrely.

“The Republic hasn’t seen any action yet.” Seth then stated, trying to fill the silence that quickly appeared between them. “After the incident at Archer Four we were assigned to bring all the colonists back under direct orders from Prime Minister Samuels.”

“Seriously?” Lloyd asked, surprised at the news of the evacuation of the colony. Previously Starfleet had wanted to build an outpost there and develop the colony to be self-sustaining. The work that Challenger did after removing the Romulan threat from the area now felt like it was for nothing.

“Yeah, the declaration of war was too much for Starfleet to be able to properly defend the system. It was Madison’s last mission on Voyager to take charge in the evacuation of the colony.” Seth explained. “Hopefully we’ll be able to return to the Archer system once this war is over.”

“Let’s hope.” Lloyd said. “When’s the Republic leaving Earth?”

“It left three days ago.” Seth stated, when he said that Lloyd looked at him worried about his future in Starfleet. “Don’t worry she’s escorting a convoy to Alpha Centauri and will be back in two to three weeks.” He paused. “Hopefully.”

“They’ll be back, don’t worry about that Seth.” Lloyd said, trying his best to keep Seth’s spirits up. “Captain Jennings wouldn’t want to go on another convoy duty without his favourite pilot!”

Seth chuckled at that. “Yeah he would be lost without me, but he was brilliant at letting me have the time off to be here with mum when the news came in about dad.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t have been here sooner.” Lloyd said.

Seth then wrapped his left arm around his brother’s shoulders. “Hey, don’t worry Lloydie, the main thing is you’re here and safe. We thought we had lost you too.”

Lloyd smiled at his brother, grateful for his words and then pulled him into a hug. “I’m glad to be here too…” He paused as they hugged and decided to call Seth by his nickname just like he had by using Lloydie. “…Sethers!”

Seth pulled back from the hug while groaning at the use of that name. “I hate it when you call me that!”

Lloyd had a smug smile now. “Hey, I’m your big bro, I’m allowed to embarrass and annoy you.”

“Just make sure Captain Jennings doesn’t hear it.” Spoke a stern feminine voice from behind them.

Instantly both men turned around and were surprised to see Fleet Admiral Moira Hathaway standing in the doorway. Lloyd instantly wondered how she had gotten in so quietly. The admiral had attended the service, which was odd for her to do so. As the Commander-in-Chief she had the authority to send someone from the admiralty on her behalf to represent her and Starfleet for someone of their father’s. It was rare for her to leave Headquarters to attend such an event, however she had told Lloyd she knew his father well. Perhaps the two of them went back further than any of them knew? The moment it had sunk in with both Lloyd and Seth that the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief had just entered the room they both instantly stood to attention.

“Gentlemen at ease, please.” Hathaway gestured by raising her right hand. “This is your home and we’re not on duty.” She continued.  

Seth looked nervously at Lloyd; he had never met the admiral before and was worried about what she wanted. The moment he sensed Lloyd being calmer he relaxed slightly. 

“Ma’am, can we help you?” Lloyd asked.

Hathaway smiled slightly and walked further in the room, straightening her. “I hate to impose, but lieutenant, would you mind giving me a moment with your brother in private please?”

Seth automatically nodded, like a drone that had been programmed to respond in a certain manner when the Commander-in-Chief walked into the room and to do whatever she asked of you. “Yes, of course ma’am.” As he walked out, he looked at Lloyd and gave him a worried glance. Lloyd registered the expression and gave his brother a look to say he would catch up with him later.

Once Seth had closed the door behind him Lloyd offered his guest to take a seat in one of the armchairs that was placed in the centre of the room. Hathaway was grateful for the gesture and sat in one of the modern looking armchairs. The chairs matched the dark red décor that his father had adopted for the room. They had a black, red and white chequered pattern in the fabric that covered them. 

“How can I help you ma’am?” Lloyd asked after he took a seat in the opposite chair.

Hathaway pulled out a small device from the inside pocket of the charcoal-black speckled suit jacket she wore above a black collarless blouse. She too had not worn her Starfleet uniform in possible respect to Doctor Burton. She activated the device and placed it on the table before them. It looked like a silver pen, however instead of a nib at one end a cobalt blue light flashed from either end of it.  Lloyd recognised the device instantly. His time in security training meant he had come across it before. The device was a sound scrambler and was used out in the field to prevent others using listening devices from being able to record conversations. It had been developed by the British Military Intelligence during the Third World War and later enhanced by Starfleet Security who would use it primarily for covert missions. Challenger had five in storage that Lloyd knew of. With the admiral producing such a device made Lloyd suspicious about what they were about to talk about. 

“Captain Burton before we go any further, I want to make it clear we didn’t have this conversation officially.” Hathaway said once she was satisfied that the scrambler was properly working. 

The fact she had used his rank made Lloyd realise this was now business she was about to share with him, yet the remarks and tone of her voice made him know she didn’t want it being shared with anyone else. “I understand ma’am.” He answered.

“Excellent.” She said and relaxed a bit into the chair. “Captain, I’m not sure how to say this and I don’t have any hard evidence to support my claim. I just have a hunch, however over the years I have learned to trust them and to follow my gut instincts when something doesn’t always sit right with me.” Pausing to take a brief glance, she realised that she had yet to convince Burton of anything yet. “Captain, that may sound like a whimsical approach, one not fitting the leader of Starfleet, nevertheless I need your help and I believe you will be interested in this matter.”

“Okay.” Lloyd slowly said, still puzzled at her words.

There was a brief lull in their conversation before the admiral continued. “Have you read the investigation report into your father’s death?” She asked.

Lloyd shook his head. “No, but my mother told me what they discovered. There was an overload in the shuttle’s deuterium injectors that caused the explosion.”

She paused and looked at the captain with an indescribable expression. “Lloyd before you were a captain you were considered one of the best armoury officers in the fleet. Your strategic way of thinking makes you one of our most valuable assets out in the field. You are good at seeing the links when patterns are being formed. I’m eager to get you back out to be involved in the war efforts, but before you do that, I’m encouraging you to re-examine the circumstances around your father’s death.”

Lloyd squinted his eyes at her. “Ma’am is there something more that I need to be aware of?”

“As I said, I have a hunch that there’s more to it than it seems.” She pulled out a small memory disc and placed it on the table. “Unfortunately, right now I feel I can’t give this issue to anyone at Starfleet Headquarters to investigate. Knowing who to trust is everything in this business, be that as it may, I still think there’s something else happening, things don’t quite appear right.  As such I want to leave it to you to deal with.”

Lloyd sat back in his chair. He was curious to find out if there was more surrounding his father’s death, but he hadn’t had the chance to actually come to terms with his father’s death (alongside the news of becoming a father himself). He still couldn’t quite believe he was having this conversation with the Starfleet commander-in-chief. What she was saying was now messing with his emotions and he couldn’t quite think clearly with them now.  

“I know I’m asking a lot from you at such a difficult time captain, but if my instincts are correct this could have a massive impact on our national security.” Hathaway remarked. She then stood up. “If you need to call in people to help you then do so, however I ask you keep this information limited to yourself and a select few of those you truly trust. If what I just gave you got out then it could have damaging effects to Earth, its Commonwealth and possibly the relations with our allies.”

Lloyd just nodded, still unsure of how to respond completely to Hathaway. “I understand ma’am.” He lied, as he still didn’t quite comprehend what she was implying. He was trying to work out how his father’s death could have serious implications for national security and the current political situation.  

“Get in touch with me when you have something and only me. Do I make myself clear captain?”

“I do.” He answered and looked up at her.

“Good luck.” She whispered as she switched off the scrambler, placing it back in the pocket she had retrieved it from before leaving the room. 

Lloyd stared at the memory disc for a moment before picking it up to place it in his pocket. He examined the octangular shaped disc against the light, wondering what to do next.

The moon gleamed hard as it pushed its rays through the wisps of the remaining grey clouds that filled the night sky. It was quickly approaching midnight and Lloyd had been unable to sleep since their final guests had left his mother’s house. He and his siblings had helped tidy up after they insisted their mother take an early night and get some much-needed rest. For the first time in Lloyd’s life he had seen a different side to his mother. His mother was a compassionate, independent and confident woman, the true matriarch of the Burton family. Her strong moral compass and intelligence attracted people to want to get to know her. While her glamorous and fashionable styles echoed through everything she wore. She was one of a kind of a woman. But today a sense of frailty was draped over her like a cloak of darkness. Her normal sociable approach to all gatherings had evaporated. Tear stained cheeks and red puffy eyes along with a sense of sorrow now filled out her features. Lloyd had never seen his mother seem so weak before. It was a shock not only to him, but to the rest of the family too. He and his siblings had finally discovered her source of strength had been their father in all these years. The work of mingling with other family members and those who had attended the service fell to Lloyd and his siblings to undertake. His mother had kept to herself for most of the day. The odd faded smile here and there when friends and family members offered their sympathy and comfort, yet she was unable to go further than giving them a small grateful beam in an attempt to thank them. The moment the last of the guests had left, Madison had taken their mother to her room so she could rest. Madison had returned almost an hour later, stating that she had left their mother listening to the song that their parents had danced to at their wedding. Prior to them all retiring for the evening, Madison had returned to her mother and found her asleep, still quietly listening to the song that was on repeat. After dimming the lights in her room, Madison had left their mother alone to deal with her grief in her own private sanctuary. 

Lloyd had headed up to his bedroom, just like everyone else had, but he still couldn’t sleep. He was lying on the massive king-size bed in just his t-shirt and jogging bottoms, staring up at the ceiling. His bizarre conversation with Fleet Admiral Hathaway still rang in his ears. When Seth had asked him what she had said Lloyd had brushed it off as nothing and told him he would tell him another time. Lloyd’s thoughts were interrupted by a quiet whine coming from his sister’s room (that was adjacent to his across the corridor). Slowly creeping across the balcony, he gently pushed the door open to find his nephew wide-awake and fidgeting in his cot. Deciding not to wake his sister or brother-in-law from their much-needed rest, Lloyd had scooped the infant up into his arms and carried him out carefully. 

Lloyd had made his way downstairs and returned to his father’s study. Oliver was slowly drifting off in his arms when Lloyd finally decided to discover what was on the disc the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief had given him. Impressively, he kept Oliver in one arm as he retrieved the disc from his right pocket. He placed it on the glass desk before switching on his father’s computer. Once it was operational and he was logged in, under his father’s account (Lloyd knew his father’s passcode as he had never changed it for almost fifteen years now), Lloyd inserted the disc and waited for it to load up its contents. 

Oliver stirred slightly in his uncle’s arm and extended his small hands to take a firmer grip of Lloyd’s top. Lloyd smiled at his nephew’s small gesture, loving every moment of having the child in his arms. The idea that one day he would have his own children sitting in his arms excited him now. He knew he would have to eventually tell everyone, and he wondered if the news would help lift his mother’s spirits. The whole sensation of holding Oliver and thinking about his own children had distracted him enough not to realise he had been joined by his other brother Roman.

“What are you doing Lloyd?” Roman whispered from across the room.

Lloyd looked up, almost startled to see someone else but he kept his posture to avoid disturbing Oliver. “Roman, I thought you were asleep.” He said quietly back.

“Likewise, now answer my question.” Roman replied as he moved further into the room, holding on to the door behind him to ensure it closed slowly without making too much noise, unfortunately a few quiet creaks sneaked in as the door met the frame.   

“I couldn’t sleep.” Lloyd mumbled and then looked at the little bundle in his arms. “Plus, I heard this one stirring in his sleep and thought I would give Madison and Stephen the night off. Why aren’t you asleep?”

Roman wasn’t completely buying his brother’s explanation. “I think I’ve become too spoiled by Discovery. My bed doesn’t feel the same here as it does back there. Plus, my mind is racing with too many thoughts at the moment.”

Lloyd looked back up at his brother. “You wanna talk about it?”

Roman shook his head, “Nah, just missing Nathan I reckon, but thanks.” He paused for a moment, curious what his brother was doing at their father’s computer. “So, what are you doing here?”

Lloyd sighed, knowing he couldn’t keep a secret from Roman. They were too close and Roman knew when he was keeping something from him. He pressed the eject button and pulled out the disc to show Roman. “Fleet Admiral Hathaway gave this to me earlier.” He waved it in the air before putting it back in.

“What is it?” Roman asked.

“It’s related to dad’s death.” Lloyd started to explain. “She’s told me to re-look at the circumstances behind the shuttle explosion.”

Roman was confused at what his brother was going on about. “How come?”

“She said it was a hunch that there was something more going on and that it could be related to national security and would have a damaging effect on the coalition.” Lloyd answered as he put the disc back in. The computer reloaded the disc contents on to the monitor before him. Lloyd pressed a few buttons on the keyboard before him and mirrored its image to the large flat plasma screen that hung on the wall so Roman could see it too.

“Dad was one of Earth’s leading physicists, especially when it came to warp theory. Maybe he was involved in a secret project with Starfleet?” Roman offered loosely.

“A secret project that the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief was unaware of and has asked me to look into off the record?” Lloyd countered back with, his voice showing no confidence in his brother’s suggestion. He didn’t want to go with Roman’s off the cuff idea, nevertheless he had pondered over the idea of his father being involved in something classified for the war effort. The file directory finished loading and a Starfleet insignia appeared on the screen, requesting for level ten clearance to access the data on the disc.

“You never know Lloyd.” Roman remarked as he looked at the screen. His eyes squinted at the information that was displayed. His eyes widened when he noticed something curious about it all. “Level ten authorisation required?” He commented.  

“Captain’s eyes and above.” Lloyd said as he stood up to stand beside his brother, still holding on to his baby nephew. “Why would the admiral give me documents that are for my eyes only?”

“Madison could see them too.” Roman stated. He looked to his brother almost impatiently. “So, are you going to put your code in or what?”

Lloyd rolled his eyes at his brother’s insistence and moved back to the keyboard to input his security authorisation code. “If I get arrested for sharing sensitive information with you then I’m going to ensure you share a cell with me.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Roman said with a cheeky smile.

The computer accepted his code and unlocked the files for them. A few of the files automatically opened, including one showing a video recording of their father entering the shuttle and a few moments later it explodes, alongside it was the official Starfleet report of what happened. 

“I don’t get it; this isn’t worth being encrypted for level ten clearance.” Roman said, perplexed. He had seen all of this before. Why was all of this information locked down? Looking towards his older brother who also shared his sentiment across his face, Roman realised his brother was just as confused as he was. “Okay, let’s get a cuppa. If we’re going to solve this then I need to be more awake.” Roman suggested.

A few hours later Madison had joined her brothers when she had woken up to feed her son. She had found Oliver being cared for in the arms of both of his uncles. The young infant was fast asleep as they took it in turns to walk around their father’s study with him. Lloyd and Roman had filled her in with what they were up to. Neither of them could keep it a secret from her, over the years they had learnt that Madison could get anything out of her brothers with just a certain look. Now the three Starfleet officers were trying to work out what Admiral Hathaway was going on about over their father’s death.

“This doesn’t make sense.” Madison said as she sipped on her third mug of tea. She was sat behind her father’s desk now, reading again all of the information that the disc had contained. “There’s nothing here that makes dad’s death suspicious. Starfleet Security did a good job on reporting on everything. I can’t see how this can be seen as a threat to national security!”

Roman who was pacing the room with a tablet in his hands, agreed with her. “I’ve read this investigation report too many times. I can’t see any fault in what they found after the explosion. There were no traces of any evidence that the shuttle had been sabotaged. It was an accident. The Starfleet engineers that wrote this report were thorough.” 

Lloyd, who was now cradling Oliver, was staring out of one of the windows at the dark night sky. He was starting to lose hope and wondered if Hathaway was playing a game of some sort on him. “It doesn’t make sense.” He muttered.

Leaning back in her father’s chair, Madison rubbed her face with both hands before looking back at her brother. “Go through it again for us, word for word, what Fleet Admiral Hathaway said the moment she turned on the scrambler.”

Turning around to look at his older sister, Lloyd was at a loss as to where she was going with this. “What does that have to do with this?”

Madison rose from the chair and crossed her arms. “It just seems weird that she spoke to you in particular about this.” She gestured to the files currently on display. “These are all encrypted for level ten. She could have come to me with them, so why you?”

Roman nodded in agreement. “Madison makes a good point Lloyd. Perhaps we need to take a step back and look at it from the admiral’s point of view. Why didn’t she go to the two Burtons who have level ten clearance? Why you?”

“I dunno why she spoke to me.” Lloyd slightly protested. “Perhaps you were too busy to speak with? She did take off after speaking to me, maybe she wanted to share it with one of us before leaving. I was by myself and away from anyone else at the time she came in, well except for Seth and she asked him to leave us.”

“I don’t buy it, the admiral is known for making logical and decisive choices, that’s why she’s so liked by so many, particularly the Vulcans.” Madison stated. “She spoke to you for a reason.”   

“Then let’s think about this logically.” Roman suggested. “The only two things that make either of you different are your years of service in Starfleet and the class of ships that you currently command.”

“But you’re on a NX-class ship like Lloyd. Why did she not see you?” Madison pointed out to Roman. Again, no-one had an answer to that. “If we’re going to be logical about it then it can’t be anything to do with the class of ship we serve on. Years of service can’t be it either.”

Lloyd squinted his eyes as he focussed on trying to remember what the admiral said to him. “I don’t think it’s about our current postings or ranks. I think it’s to do with what I did before I became a captain.” He said as he looked at the two of them.

“Come again?” Roman said, confused as to what Lloyd was trying to say.

“The admiral said I was considered one of the best armoury officers in the fleet. That my strategic way of thinking made me one of our most valuable assets out in the field, as I am good at seeing the links when patterns are being formed.” Lloyd shared. 

“Talk about stroking your ego.” Roman remarked as he rolled his eyes.

“From what I know of Hathaway and from the few times I have dealt with her she doesn’t mince her words. As I said she’s decisive, she’s known for the precision in picking her words. There’s always a reason.” Madison stated, trying to ignore Roman’s last comment.

“So, she’s saying that I need to think like an armoury officer instead of a captain and I would see the link before anyone else would?” Lloyd asked out aloud.

“Possibly?” Madison answered, trying to sound as helpful as she could. From the tone of her voice it made it sound like she was unsure of the possible tenuous link that her brother was making. “It would make sense. My background is science, Roman is engineering and Seth is a flyboy. If you weren’t a starship captain, then this type of thing would be something you would deal with as an armoury officer.”

Roman looked confused as he spoke. “Armoury officers are only good at blowing things up or coming up with tactics. I should know, Nathan is constantly reminding me how good he is at them both and that I’m the one who has to clean up after him.”

“But armoury officers also deal with security matters.” Madison fired back. 

Lloyd had gone quiet at this point, closing his eyes for a moment to try and make sense of all of this. He took in a breath through his nose, smelling the fresh odour coming from his baby nephew who was still in his arms. Instantly, he opened his eyes as if a light had been turned on and looked at his sister and brother. “Security, that has to be it.”

“What is?” Roman queried, looking at Madison for answers as to what Lloyd was going on about. 

Lloyd rushed over to his father’s desk, handing Oliver back to Madison on his way, and quickly loaded up the files once more. “That’s it.” He said after a moment of quickly loading up all the reports and replaying a short part of the video clip of his father’s death. “Starfleet Security were involved with the reporting of this.”

Both Madison and Roman looked at each other, still not seeing what Lloyd was going on about. 

Quickly loading up the video clip on to the larger screen and pausing it to show the small vessel that his father stepped on to. “Look at the transport that dad got on. It wasn’t registered to Starfleet at all and Saint Pancras/King’s Cross station isn’t owned by Starfleet.”

“Which begs the question why did Starfleet Security get involved?” Madison said as she finally realised what Lloyd was thinking.

Roman, still in the dark as to what they were thinking, raised his hands in protest. “Hold on, make this clearer for me. I’m still not on board with it.”

“Don’t you see Roman, Starfleet Security dealt with the case when they shouldn’t have.” Lloyd stated. “Neither the craft nor the port belonged to them. No one who was hurt from the explosion was Starfleet personnel. So why are they involved? When something like this happens then the civilian authorities should have taken responsibility in dealing with it, but the London Metropolitan Police were forced to refer to Starfleet Security. Unless it involves a Starfleet craft or someone from Starfleet then incidents like this are left with the civilian authorities to investigate.”

“Dad was one of Earth’s leading physicians and held the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge University. He’s almost royalty in the scientific community. Some of his work has been used by Starfleet, especially in the NX-program, he was a consultant for them.” Roman stated. 

“But dad was never a member of Starfleet, especially at the time of his death.” Madison reminded him.

Roman shrugged his shoulders in defeat. “Okay so the question now is why is Starfleet Security involved?” 

“Load up the main report again please.” Lloyd requested his sister as he glared at the larger wall mounted screen.

Tapping on the keyboard Madison did as he asked. “What are you thinking Lloyd?”

“We need to know who’s involved in this and then find out from either them or the people around them why Starfleet Security got involved. So, we start with the person who wrote the report.” Lloyd answered. He snapped his fingers when he saw what he wanted to see. “There.” He pointed at the name of the reporting officer. “Someone called Commander Alexa Hanson.”

“Hanson?” Roman repeated as he swiftly went through the tablet in his hands again. “I thought I saw her name before. She signed off on the engineering report on the system analysis. She’s the lead inspector for this case.”

Madison somehow had guessed Lloyd’s next move and was tapping with one hand on her father’s computer while holding on to Oliver in the other. “I’m trying to find out some more information about Commander Hanson.” She said, “Hmm, that’s strange.” She muttered.

Lloyd walked over to stand behind his sister. “What’s wrong?”

Roman joined them both to see what she was having difficulty with. As he did Madison spoke up, “Her service file is encrypted, and it isn’t accepting my authorisation code.” She looked at Lloyd. “Wanna try yours?” 

Nodding, Lloyd tapped his codes in and again was denied access to the file. “It’s stating it needs Sigma-Nine clearance.”

“What’s Sigma-Nine clearance?” Roman quizzed his older siblings.

“I’ve never heard of it.” Madison stated.

“I have.” Lloyd stated. “Sigma level clearances are reserved only for active Starfleet security officers as well as members of the admiralty. Sensitive cases are locked behind sigma level clearance. The nine stands for the level of authorisation. Those with the rank of commander and above can access it.”

Madison deflated into the chair. “Well that seems unfair that Starfleet captains aren’t trusted to have sigma level clearance.” She protested before continuing, “So do we know anyone who works for Starfleet Security who holds the rank of commander or above that we can trust to get us this information?”

Roman shook his head. “I don’t, but I could see if Nathan does.” He offered.

“Don’t worry, I know someone, and they owe me. We’ll just need to take a trip.” Lloyd said with a confident smile on his face.

“Where are you three going?” The voice of their younger brother filled the room, catching them by surprise. Seth stepped further into the room “If you guys are planning to go somewhere then I wanna know where and why.”

Lloyd, Madison and Roman all looked to each other and gave one another the look that said they needed to share with Seth what was happening so far. 

“Take a seat Seth, we’ve gotta tell you something but you can’t share it with anyone else, especially mum.” Madison said. 

Seth just nodded and took the nearest free armchair and sat in it, waiting to hear what his siblings had to share.

The late afternoon wind gently moved across the sky as the Callahan family walked across the plains towards their ranch. After spending the day at the local fair, a rare family moment, they were now returning home to continue spending the evening together by having a decent home-cooked meal. John Callahan looked up at his son, the ten-year-old was on his back, enjoying the ride his father was providing. Almost seven months ago their relationship was as harsh as the Chihuahuan Desert, but with John’s return from Challenger almost after its first mission it had given the father and son the time to rebuild burnt bridges. With John being assigned as a senior lecturer at the Starfleet Training Command complex in Houston, he was closer to his family and was still able to be in Starfleet. He had never considered being a teacher of the next generation of Starfleet officers as a possible career, yet the current war with the Romulans made his expertise in being out in space and engaging with so many aggressors someone Starfleet wanted to be preparing the latest recruits.  Working at the former site of the Johnson Space Centre, which had been re-opened by the UESPA before being handed over to Starfleet a few years ago, was extremely memorable for the Texan armoury officer. Walking among the historical corridors where early human spaceflight was conducted was a surreal feeling for him. Callahan was able to work decent hours that allowed him to be home in the evenings and have the weekends off to be with his family. He was living the perfect work-life balance. That said, with the declaration of war against the Romulan Star Empire, he had considered putting a request in to transfer to an active assignment. He felt guilty about staying Earth bound while others were out there every day putting their lives on the line, however one of his colleagues had reminded him that he was making a valuable contribution to the war effort. He was preparing their students for what awaited them out in the void of deep space. The sentiment was a nice one, despite this it was purely empty for Callahan.

“So, I reckon that Pa should create his infamous BBQ sauce to go on the ribs!” Johnny stated, “Whatcha you think Lizzy?”

Nodding in agreement with her older brother, Callahan’s youngest daughter who was holding her mother’s hand cheered too. “That sounds yum!”

Both parents laughed at their children’s enthusiasm. “Well honey, it looks like we’ve gotta put some effort in with tonight’s dinner.” John remarked towards his other half.

“So, it seems.” His wife, Laura replied. She looked up at their home and the smile she had instantly disappeared, “But that may all have to wait.” She said, indicating to the figure that stood on the raised porch. 

Callahan looked up to what his wife was staring at and paused in his tracks. He was surprised at who stood before his family. Slowly, he let Johnny climb off his back and instructed his children to stay by their mother as he approached the man who he hadn’t seen for months and was the reason why he was here today. 

“Cap’n Burton, this is a pleasant surprise.” Callahan said as he climbed the few steps up onto the porch and extended his hand towards his former commanding officer. 

“It is good to see you John.” Burton replied in his thick British accent along with a warm smile. “I hope you don’t mind me intruding on you like this?”

Callahan shook his head once, “Not at all cap’n, you’re always welcome here.” He said after letting go of the captain’s hand. He turned to his family. “Guys, let me introduce you to Cap’n Lloyd Burton, the skipper of the Challenger.”

Johnny raced up the steps to stand by his father. “Is this the guy who allowed you to return home Pa?”

Lloyd knelt down to shake the younger Callahan’s hand. “Johnny, I presume? It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Callahan’s son just shook Burton’s hand after nodding to him. Callahan spoke up. “I do owe the cap’n a favour for allowing me to return home, so I can be with you all.”

Laura, who was now holding on to Lizzy by her side stepped up to greet the stranger. “Captain, it’s a delight to finally meet the man who returned my husband to me in one piece.” She too extended her hand towards Burton, who gladly shook it. “This is our daughter Lizzy.” Laura mentioned.

“It’s nice to meet you both.” Burton replied, still smiling before looking back to Callahan, hoping that the armoury officer would recognise that the captain had come to see him and him alone.

Callahan had picked up the signal and looked to his wife and children. “Honey, why don’t you take the kids inside and start dinner. The cap’n and I have a bit to catch up on.”

Laura nodded, also getting the hint from her husband to give him some privacy. Before she entered their ranch house, she looked up and gave him a look that said: ‘don’t you dare go back to that ship’.  

Once the door had closed behind them, Callahan offered for Burton and him to sit down on the small outdoor furniture that was placed on the wooden porch. “So, sir, what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

Burton smiled at Callahan’s directness. It was something he had missed from the Texan armoury officer. “I’ve come to ask a favour from you, one I promise won’t take you away from your family.” 

Sitting, now confused at Burton’s words, Callahan was interested to find out more. “Last time I heard, Challenger was docked at the Obama Repair Facility undergoing extensive repairs and refits. So, I presume this favour would be Earthbound?”

Nodding as he relaxed into his chair, Burton clarified his remark. “I’m afraid the job requires a stealthily approach to it, as such I cannot depend on the use of the Challenger.”

Callahan took Burton’s words in carefully. “Understood, but before we go on, I heard what you guys endured out there. Did you lose anyone against the Romulans?”

Burton shook his head, “Fortunately no. The crew survived, but many of them were injured.”

“I’m pleased to hear that no one was lost, sir.” Callahan replied. “So, what’s this secret favour then?” His directness came straight out again.

“I need you to gain access to a personnel file that is behind sigma-level clearance.” Burton said in a hush tone.

“Sigma-level?” Callahan repeated. “Why would a personnel file be locked down with that?” He quizzed.

Burton shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure, but I need to find out more about them for a sensitive assignment I am currently working on.”

“Whose file do you need access to?” Callahan asked, keeping his volume low.

“Commander Alexa Hanson.” Burton whispered. 

“Hanson?” Callahan said with some surprise in his response. “Why her?”

“You know her?” Burton asked back.

Callahan nodded twice. “Yup.” He said, emphasising on the ‘p’. “She’s on a detached assignment to Starfleet Training Command from Starfleet Security.”

“What do you know about her then?” Burton quizzed.  

“Well cap’n she’s got a helluva of temper on her.” Callahan started with. “I’ve heard her rip into a lot of our recruits. She’s a harsh marker too.” 

“Sounds like a great person to inspire the next generation of officers.” Burton commented sarcastically. 

“Hanson has a bluntness about her that is colder than the Northern Wastes on Andoria.” Callahan added.

Burton stood up, crossing his arms against his chest and leaning against the balcony. The captain was wondering if finding out more about Commander Hanson was worth it. “Anything else?” He asked. 

Leaning back in his chair further, Callahan nodded. “From what else I know she’s one of the finest to join Starfleet. She was given a field commission to lieutenant four years ago and is one of Starfleet’s rising stars, like yourself sir.”

Burton chuckled slightly at that. “Thanks John, but you don’t have to impress me, I’m not your C.O anymore.”

“Sir, I kid you not. Your fame is starting to give the likes of Cap’ns Archer and Hernandez a run for their money. You’re almost Starfleet’s poster boy!” Callahan said with a grin.

“Okay, we’re going off topic here John.” Burton commented on, he could feel himself beginning to blush. “Can you get me Hanson’s file?”

Callahan stood up and extended his hand towards his former captain. “Consider it done sir.” He said as they shook hands.

Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America, Earth

Stephen Braddock had always enjoyed his work as an architect, it had given him many opportunities to visit various locations across the United Earth Commonwealth, including visits to Vulcan and other allied worlds. He currently stood on the top floor of his latest creation: Travers Tower, looking down at Times Square. The high-rise building complex was owned by the Travers Foundation, a charity that had been formed at the end of World War III to support the rebuilding efforts in New York City. The charity had continued, even after the reconstruction efforts had been completed in the American city, it had grown to a global organisation now. Travers Towers was its new headquarters and would be where the charity would support a number of its projects from, but at the moment Travers Tower wasn’t officially open as such that fact helped with what he was currently involved in. Looking away from the beautiful evening skyline, Stephen cradled his son in his arms as the infant slowly sipped on the bottle of milk that his father was giving him. Smirking to himself as he looked at the scene before him, Stephen couldn’t hold back his chuckle. Working around the long rectangular conference table was his wife with her two youngest brothers. He looked at Madison as she sat at the head of the table, her face was all scrunched up as she concentrated on the desktop monitor before her. The way she looked made Stephen love his wife even more. Originally when she had told him about what she and her brothers had possibly discovered about their father’s death, he had thought they had been sold a wild conspiracy theory by Admiral Hathaway. However, Madison was absolutely convinced this was legitimate and wanted to pursue it. Even though he didn’t agree with it, he would support her, hence why they were using his building as a place to work. They needed to be somewhere where anyone else who could be involved in this possible conspiracy would not think to find them. Their parents’ home in Britain wasn’t the best place and their own homes weren’t a good idea either. However, as Roman had said, being in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world meant he could hack into any network from anyone’s server and gain access to information they may require without it being traceable to anyone, in particular the Travers Foundation. This whole thing would become illegal if they started to hack government servers and networks. Stephen hoped that he wouldn’t be raising his child while his wife (and her brothers) were serving time in the recently built Starfleet penal colony in New Zealand. 

“Why has dad spent a lot of time between Earth and Mars recently?” Seth pointed out as he looked up from the tablet he had been reading.

“Mars?” Roman repeated back as turned away from the wall-mounted plasma screen he had been working at to look at his younger brother. 

Madison had also looked up from her screen down at her pilot brother who was sat at the other end of the table. “I thought dad hated travelling off world. I was under the impression he had taken on more teaching at the university this year?”

“That’s not what his schedule is showing.” Seth stated as he mirrored the image from his tablet on to one of the spare operational wall mounted screens. “Look, in the past few months he has made at least twenty-one visits to Mars.”

Roman walked over to study his father’s schedule to find some explanation behind these trips. “For a teaching professor, he certainly wasn’t at Cambridge a lot during the academic year.”

“He was the holder of the Lucasian Chair, maybe he attended a number of conferences?” Stephen offered. 

“But on Mars?” Madison questioned; she was still not understanding why their father would visit the fourth planet in the system. “Where did he visit on Mars?” She asked.

“Every time he went,” Seth started, “he would travel to Utopia Colony and then take a transport to Ares City. He booked with the same space-flight company too, some company based at Utopia which is named Trentuno Galactic.” 

“So, what’s at Utopia Colony or in Ares City that dad has been involved with?” Roman asked. It was the same question that was on everyone’s lips.

At that point the main door opened, and Lloyd walked through, wearing his civilian clothing just like everyone else. In his hands he carried a standard computer tablet. “So, I’ve got some interesting information about our dear friend Commander Alexa Hanson.” He announced.

Madison, Roman and Seth all moved towards their brother to find out more from him. “Good,” Madison said, “hopefully it may answer a few questions we have.”

Lloyd looked confused at Madison’s comment. “What do you mean?”

“Seth’s been digging into dad’s schedule and discovered that dad has been to Mars a lot recently.”

“Mars?” Lloyd said, sharing the confusion with his siblings before carrying on with what he had found about the mysterious woman who had reported on their father’s death. “Well, Commander Hanson’s service record is interesting.”

“Do tell,” Seth stated. “Was it worth getting access to it?”

“Oh yes,” Lloyd said as he activated the tablet in his hands and quickly transferred his contents onto the wall screen that was next to the one that had their father’s work schedule. “Commander Alexa Hanson has had quite a career before Starfleet. Born and bred here in the States, she has degrees in forensic science, law enforcement and psychology all from Harvard University. She later married and moved to Britain where she worked for the British secret service. Her husband died during a covert mission in Jakarta. She left the service and returned back to the States. She was in the FBI for two years where she worked with INTERPOL before transferring to Langley to be an analyst with the CIA. Two years ago, she was given a field commission to join Starfleet Security. She now is without an official portfolio but is assigned to one of its special investigations bureau. I’m also informed by a reliable source that now and then she teaches at Starfleet Training Command too.”

“An impressive résumé,” Roman stated without sincerity. “how does it help us though?”

“I think this explains why Fleet Admiral Hathaway approached Lloyd about this.” Madison remarked as she crossed her arms against her chest. Lloyd only nodded in agreement with his sister while both Roman and Seth still looked confused. Continuing, she explained how this piece fit their puzzle. “I reckon Hathaway is just as perplexed as we are as to why Starfleet Security is involved in the investigation of our father, especially when they assign one of their brightest sparks to the case. We need to meet with Commander Hanson and work her out, see if she can tell us anything or give us a clue.”

“You read my mind.” Lloyd said.

Roman scoffed at that idea. “Do you honestly believe she will tell you that there’s more to dad’s death if there’s something that someone is trying to hide?”

“Roman is right, she won’t tell you.” Seth added. “I say we head to Mars and chase that lead and find out what dad was doing there so much.”

The four Burton siblings had reached an impasse in their research and all looked to each other, not knowing where to go next.

“It feels like we are pulling on loose strings.” Lloyd stated. “We’ve got two strong possibilities that we could follow up, but which one do we take first?”

“And if they don’t work out, what then?” Roman enquired. 

“We still haven’t got a complete picture of what dad got up to before his death at this conference he attended. We need to find out who he met with, what he said at the seminars, things like that. We may find a clue from that to look into.” Lloyd answered.

“So how do we play this?” Seth asked his older siblings.

At that point the one person who had remained silent, until now, spoke up. Stephen’s voice echoed across the room from where he stood still holding his infant son. “Do you hear yourselves?”

Madison quickly shot round to look at her husband as he spoke. “What do you mean Stephen?” She quizzed, not understanding why he said what he said.

Stephen approached the group. “Do you really think you guys are going to be able to find out the answers you want to hear by the way you’re going about this? If there is some sort of conspiracy at work here, then from the sounds of it the builders of it aren’t going to leave clues just because the Burton Clan has turned up demanding answers. If you four all go see this Hanson and then go to Mars, it’s going to tip someone you are on to if they’re linked. You need to be more subtle with it. You four have just lost your father and meant to be on compassionate leave. On top of that do you really think your mother isn’t going to realise you are up to something? The moment you four go travelling she’s going to ask questions with Starfleet. If it’s not her then it will be the press. Your father was one of Earth’s leading physicists and even though his death was recorded as an accident it’s still a high-profile case. Plus, it doesn’t help that Lloyd commands one of THE fastest ships in Starfleet. You guys need to be more careful in your approach, plus you all have others to think about.” Stephen looked down at his son before finishing. “You guys may not be able to do this, and you may have to say to Admiral Hathaway you can’t complete this mission she has you all on.”

Lloyd looked at his nephew as Stephen spoke and nodded in agreement with him. He looked at his brothers and sister and they too had the same expression plastered across their faces, agreeing as well. “You’re right Stephen. We need to keep up appearances at the moment. We need to play it out that we’re none the wiser about any of this.”

“Then I may suggest we split up to deal with each of our leads.” Madison proposed. “I’ll meet with Commander Hanson. Lloyd and Seth should head to Mars.”

“What about me? Why aren’t you involving me?” Roman whined. 

Lloyd smirked at Roman not seeing the big picture. “Because officially Discovery returns in two days’ time. For us to keep up appearances as everything is normal then we need to make it look like we are dealing with real life while dealing with this matter quietly alongside it. You need to return to duty, which is expected of you.”

Roman now crossed his arms across his chest. “Well, that seems unfair.” He said with a partial pout. Everyone else in the room ignored him.

“Once I’ve met with Hanson then I’ll return to staying with mum,” Madison said before looking at her husband. “If you’re okay with that?”

Stephen nodded. “Absolutely fine. We can carry on working on this while being with your mother and me without losing my job here in New York.” 

“Seth, Roman and I should return to London today and we can be back with mum before this evening. We can use the excuse that Stephen was giving us a tour of his latest creation. Seth and I can work out how we will get to Mars from there.” Lloyd suggested. 

Madison agreed with the plan. “I’ll call Starfleet Security from here in New York and arrange to meet with Commander Hanson. She can’t say no to meeting with a captain.” 

“Well, if that’s the case then can I suggest this ‘tour of my latest creation’ is over and we leave here before anyone finds us and suspects anything?” Stephen said, ushering for everyone to leave Travers Towers.

Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth

“Lloyd, a second please.” 

Lloyd had just jogged down the central staircase in his parents’ large house and past the doors to the lounge when he had been stopped by his mother’s voice coming from within. He knew that tone of voice wasn’t a happy or pleasant one. It was her serious tone, one that she used on him and his siblings on a number of occasions during their teenage years. Instinctively he complied and entered the room. His mother stood by the large bay window that sat in the centre of the opposite room; her arms crossed against her chest. She wore a beige coloured blouse and a burgundy pencil-skirt – her normal look. Lloyd had been slightly surprised to see her return to this appearance, but it was typical of Lynette Burton. She rarely allowed herself to look anything but pristine and flawless. She had even returned her greying blonde hair back to its normal bob cut style. 

“Can I help you mum?” Lloyd asked as he approached her.

She turned on her heel. “You tell me.”

Lloyd gulped at her comment. “I’m not sure what you mean.” He answered, attempting to use his best poker face ever. It was going to be a futile attempt as his mother knew him too well, but he felt he needed to try. 

True to form, she rolled her eyes as she looked at him with a displeasing expression and gestured for him to join her on the nearby couch. “Lloyd, I won’t be mad.  I know when my children are keeping a secret from me. Just tell me what you four are up to.”

Slowly sitting down, Lloyd smoothed out his grey jumper as he responded. “Mum, I know you’re going to hate me for saying it, but it is classified.”

Lynette Burton re-crossed her arms and looked deeply at her eldest son. “Don’t give me that crap Lloyd, I’m your goddamn mother.”

“And I’m a Starfleet officer mum, you know I can’t break my oath.” Lloyd said in defence. “Especially while we are at war.”

“Fine.” Lynette said in defeat and stood back up and went back to looking out of the large window. “You know you four are as bad as your father with your secrets.”

Lloyd looked up at his mother, hurt by her comment but curious too. “What do you mean by that?”

Shaking her head as she was still angry at the current situation, Lynette spoke up.  It was obvious whatever the matter was, it had been playing on her mind for some time now. It was not like her to bottle things up and then just come out with things without them meaning something. “Your father and his team spent a lot of time visiting Mars just before his death. He wouldn’t tell me the truth about what he was up to. I’m pretty certain he was working for Starfleet as a civilian consultant again.”

The mention of Mars caught Lloyd off-guard and for a moment he wondered if he should bring his mother into the fold about the mission he and his siblings were on. “What makes you say that mum?” He probed. 

Lynette looked back at her eldest son. “Your father was a bad liar and would come up with poor excuses and reasons why he was visiting Mars. He came up with some rubbish that his department was part of some exchange programme with a college in Ares City. We had a number of arguments over the fact we weren’t spending as much time together like we used to, so I hired a private investigator to follow him for a while.”

Shocked at that last statement, Lloyd’s eyes were now wide open. He hadn’t realised that his parents’ relationship was so strained in its last months. He also couldn’t believe it that his mother had taken such drastic action. Her knowledge of their father’s visits to Ares City also rang alarm bells in his head. Not knowing what to say, Lloyd just spoke to fill the void. “Mum, I’m so sorry I didn’t know how bad it had gotten.” 

Shrugging her shoulders, Lynette continued explaining. “Lloyd, do not worry. All four of you were out and about exploring deep space. It was only when Madison came home to have Oliver that your father seemed to have changed and was here more, alongside that when we heard the news that Challenger was declared missing and possibly destroyed, he was very adamant at being here. Things between us somehow returned to how they were before.”

Lloyd stood up and walked over to his mother and embraced her in a hug. He had been so wrapped up in his own affairs that he had never stopped to think about his family. “Listen mum, if I tell you what is happening you have to promise me you cannot tell a soul.” He begged in between their embrace.

Nodding, Lynnette spoke up after she finished hugging her son. “Of course, Lloyd.”

Lloyd took a deep breath before he shared. “We’re investigating dad’s death, as some things do not add up. Particularly the involvement of Starfleet Security, but if dad was a civilian consultant even an unofficial one then it explains why they investigated his death. Nevertheless, the whole Mars thing still doesn’t sit right with me and I’m sure the answers are there.”

“I had wondered why Starfleet Security had visited me and not the local police force.” Lynette remarked. “I suppose the shock of the news just blinded me from properly thinking.” She paused as she thought for a few seconds. “Lloyd, do you all think your father was murdered?”

The thought hadn’t crossed his mind, Lloyd just wanted to know the truth and if Admiral Hathaway felt it required investigation then it meant something. Now his mother had put the idea in his head he did wonder, was his father killed for the work he was doing? Was his father working for Starfleet, if so what for? Was it some sort of Romulan plot to remove one of Earth’s leading physicists from helping with the war effort? And why was he prepared to jeopardise his marriage for it? Too many questions he felt, he looked at his mother. “Mum, I don’t know what to think right now but what I do know is that we need to look into this. Tell me more about this private investigator, what did they find out?”

Lynette sat back down on the sofa and Lloyd joined her. His mother sat there for the next hour telling him everything she knew. Once she had finished, Lloyd had gone to see his brothers who had been planning Lloyd and Seth’s trip to Mars in Roman’s room. Once Lloyd had shared with them what their mother had disclosed to him, they had decided to bring Roman with them too. It had turned out that their father had purchased a small apartment at the Utopia colony. That would be their first place to investigate. They had also spoken with Madison who had confirmed her meeting with Commander Hanson. It had also turned out that Hanson visited their mother to inform her of her husband’s death. There were now too many pieces to this puzzle and Lloyd was eager to start to put them together and find out what the bigger picture was.

The spacious studio apartment, where their father had temporarily lived on Mars, looked almost bare. The three Burton men all stood, almost in the centre of it all, gazing around, trying to comprehend this piece of the puzzle. Their mother had shared how their father had purchased the apartment while he had apparently been engaging with an exchange programme with a nearby educational institute; the Ares City College.  Ares City was the nearest settlement to Utopia and was Mars’ capital city. Instinctively, Lloyd had tried to determine why his father had not stayed in Ares City, especially as it meant that every day, he would have to travel for almost over an hour to get to his work. He could have easily purchased a similar property in the capital, but he didn’t. 

Lloyd remained still as Roman and Seth started to look around the opened planned home that their father had created. At one end of it was a kitchen that was of a reasonable size. It was separated from the rest of the flat with a breakfast bar that had stalls around it. Besides this was an oval shaped dining table, which had six seats around it but looked as if it hadn’t been touched. In the centre of the apartment was the living area with three black leather sofas all placed in an arch shape along with two armchairs of a similar colour. Against the far wall at the opposite end of the apartment was a king size bed which had cabinets either side of it. The bed itself was made with dark navy sheets covering it. Near to the bed was a chest of draws and a two-door wardrobe, all made from pine. Roman was now standing by the wardrobe and had reached out to open it. Inside were clothes that obviously were owned by their father. Seth on the other hand had found their father’s glass desk. The apartment itself had three walls which were obviously made of cement and brick, while the fourth was an arched set of bay windows that had a small centred door that went out onto a balcony. Their father had purchased a top floor place, obviously he liked the view of the settlement as he had placed his desk and work area facing the view. Looking out at the colony of various interconnecting structures, Lloyd could see why his father had invested in such a place. A bulk of the Utopia Colony was based around the designs of the Millennium Gate, Earth‘s first self-sustaining civic environment. The Millennium Gate, which was located in the United States, had served as a model for the first colony on Mars. Ever since its inception and construction on the red planet, different variations had been designed and built to sustain human life on Mars. The apartment was located in the south-eastern block of the super-structure. Thankfully none of them had to wear pressure suits as they were able to use the internal transportation facilities within the colony to move around. Lloyd stopped gazing and returned his focus on what he needed to do. They had to find some answers or their trip to the fourth planet from the Sun would be for nothing.

Seth had sat on the black leather chair that was by the desk and had switched the small desktop computer console on. Lloyd wandered over to him and stood behind Seth. He was drawn to the only picture they had seen in the flat so far. It was in a silver frame and was sitting on the desk. In the picture was Lloyd and his siblings all sat back in their living room back in Portsmouth on Earth. Lloyd knew it had been taken when he was about seventeen and couldn’t believe how young they all looked in it. He had picked the picture up, stared at it for a bit before putting it back down. During this time Seth had been able to gain access to the files on the computer. 

“Found anything interesting?” Lloyd asked his younger brother.

Seth shook his head, “Nothing yet, it might be worth Roman taking a look. He’s the computer genius compared to all of us.” He tapped away at the keyboard and then stopped. “This looks interesting.”

“What is it?” Lloyd asked.

Drumming away at the keys, Seth pulled something up on the screen before them. “Dad had a private server installed on this. One that was not connected to the rest of the planetary network and it looks like it’s got nothing to do with the university either. To top it all, it’s encrypted.” 

Lloyd beckoned Roman over, who took over from Seth to see if they could access what was on this private server. Roman told them it was going to take him some time, as such Lloyd and Seth resumed their search of their father’s property. 

A few moments later, while Lloyd was going through his father’s wardrobe, Seth spoke up. “That’s weird.”

Lloyd looked over to where his younger brother was. He was sat on the red, white and grey patterned rug going through a nearby sideboard that had contained various documents. Seth had the different papers, books and folders all dotted around him.  “What’s wrong Seth?” Lloyd asked.

Holding up the folder he was currently reading, Seth answered. “None of these records contain anything to do with dad’s work at the college. They’re all research notes from his time at Cambridge.”

They didn’t make sense, Lloyd pondered, there must have been some reference to his time working with the Ares City College. “Really? Nothing at all related to the college?”

Seth shook his head in confirmation. “I cannot find anything in any of them that links him to it.” The younger man paused as he considered what this may have meant. “How do we know for certain dad actually worked with the college?”

“Well, mum mentioned it.” Lloyd answered.

“And how does she know he definitely worked there?” Seth asked.

Roman interrupted his brothers’ conversation. “Guys, you need to come over and take a look at this.”

Seth stood up from the rug and walked over with Lloyd towards Roman. 

“You found something?” Lloyd questioned. 

Nodding once, Roman replied. “I don’t think dad ever did work with the college.” 

“How can you be certain?” Seth enquired. 

Roman stopped pressing the keys on their father’s computer and turned the seat round to look up at his brothers. “Because I recognise the configuration of the operating system for this private server.” He turned back around and pressed a few buttons to reveal his discovery. “It’s the one used by Starfleet.”

Lloyd wanted to be shocked, but his mother had pre-warned him that she had a feeling her husband had been working for Starfleet again. “Why am I not surprised?” He muttered.

“That may explain why Starfleet Security were involved with investigating his death.” Seth suggested. “It still doesn’t explain what he was doing on Mars.”

“I’ve started to hack my way past the security lockout and firewall, I should be able to access some of dad’s files, but I need a bit more time.” Roman stated. 

“Good work Roman.” Lloyd said, patting his brother on his shoulders. “Glad we decided to bring you with us.”

Roman smirked at the compliment from his big brother as he continued with his work. 

“I’m going to get in touch with Madison to see how her appointment with Commander Hanson went.” Lloyd said as he took out his communicator.

Starfleet Security, San Francisco, California, United States of America, Earth

The building that held the main offices for Starfleet Security were connected to Starfleet Headquarters, as a result of this Madison had not been bothered about walking among the grounds with Oliver in his pushchair. She had received a few strange looks; it may have been because she was wearing her uniform and it must have been a rare sight to see a captain pushing a buggy around Starfleet Headquarters. 

She pushed her son’s buggy up to the main glass doors, which opened automatically after detecting her, and entered the small building. Automatically she approached the front desk, shared with the receptionist her credentials and was allowed to proceed further into the building. Oliver was sitting gurgling away with one of his toys in his hands. It was midday by now and he would soon naturally sleep, well that’s what Madison hoped. 

Entering a lift, she took it up to the third floor and exited the cart. The receptionist had given her directions to Commander Hanson’s office. As she approached the fifth door on the left of the corridor, she noticed a small sign on the side stating the commander’s name. Pressing the door buzzer, Madison waited for permission to enter. A low female voice replied for her to enter. The doors opened soon after and Madison turned the pushchair into the room. 

“Captain Burton.” The same voice came from earlier.

Looking up, Madison noticed she was in a small office, it was almost as spacious as her quarters on Voyager. Two small windows were on the opposite wall from the door. The room itself was painted in a mint colour while the carpet was a dark grey. The voice that had greeted her came from the direction of a desk that was pushed up against the right-hand wall. Madison looked at the woman who was now standing and offering a handshake to her. 

Madison parked Oliver besides the armchair she was going to sit in and went over to meet who she knew was Hanson. She looked almost exactly like the picture from her record that Lloyd had got his hands on. She had black hair that was cut to shoulder length. Along with this she was a petite woman, but as her brother had stated her grey eyes carried a sense of strength and intimidation. “Commander Hanson, thank you for seeing me.”

“It’s a pleasure ma’am.” Hanson responded, offering for Burton to take a seat in the armchair. “I’m assuming you wanted to see me about your father’s death?”

Almost surprised with Hanson’s directness, Madison kept her posture. “Something like that commander.” She said, “My mother shared with me that you were one that investigated his death and in fact you were the one that had the burden to tell her of his death. Firstly, on behalf of my family, I wanted to thank you personally on how sensitively you dealt with that matter. My mother was extremely grateful with your approach and how thorough you were in sharing all of the details with her.”

Hanson smiled slightly at the compliment. “Thank you, ma’am.” 

Continuing, Madison knew she had to find out more information. “The only thing that concerns me is my mother couldn’t quite remember all of the facts. I’ve taken a look at the report on the accident and I would appreciate your thoughts on it for my own closure on the matter.”

“Of course, ma’am, I would be happy to help as best as I can.” Hanson said as she extended her left hand to close down her computer terminal. As she did that, Madison wondered if there was something on her display that she didn’t want her to see.

“Well, one of the issues I cannot understand is that if my father’s transport had only recently undergone its routine service and maintenance, how come something went wrong? I feel the report on this appears to be vague.”

Hanson cleared her throat as she answered. “From what I can recall ma’am, our engineers believed that a plasma relay hadn’t been installed correctly. This was one of the factors that led to your father’s death. It contributed to the explosion and we were unable to determine if this was computer error in not registering the faulty hardware during diagnostics or human error for not recognising the need for it to be replaced with a new one.”

“I don’t find either of those reasons to be comforting Commander Hanson.” Madison hit back with. “To hear that it was an error for my dad to be dead and one of his colleagues to be injured is inadequate in my opinion.”

“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way ma’am,” Hanson began. “And I understand that there is nothing I can say that will make your loss any easier. I wish I was able to give you the answers you want.”

“I would like to know for certain that this was not done on purpose and that none of this was part of some elaborate plot to have my father, one of Earth’s leading physicists, killed.” Burton stated.

Hanson shook her head. “In my professional opinion, I do not believe there was any plan to have your father or Doctor Lockhart murdered because of their positions in the scientific community. I am unaware of any motive on any party wanting to undertake such an act. I even interviewed Doctor Lockhart when she was cleared from the hospital. She had no suspicions that this was anything more than an accident.” She paused. “Ma’am it’s my belief that it was that; a simple accident. I do not know what else to say.”

In that moment Madison realised there was nothing else she could do to get any more information from Hanson. “Very well.” She now stood from her chair. Thank you for your time Commander Hanson.” 

“You’re welcome ma’am and I am truly sorry for your loss.” Hanson said as she stood up from her chair and made her way over to the door to see Madison out.

As Madison went through the doorway while pushing her son’s buggy she stopped. “There is one question you could answer for me though.” She remarked looking at the smaller woman.

“Oh?” 

“Why was Starfleet involved in the investigation?” Madison asked. “The London Metropolitan Police should have carried it out as it happened on their turf, it involved two civilians and a private transport. But that wasn’t the case as they were ordered by you to step aside and allow Starfleet Security to take over. So, I ask again, commander, why?”

Hanson went silent before finally answering. She appeared as if she was considering her words carefully. “As you said ma’am, your father was a high-profile member of the scientific community.”

“Even so, Starfleet still didn’t have authority in the matter. Unless my father or Doctor Lockhart worked for Starfleet?” Madison enquired. At this point she felt like she needed to push the commander. 

Again, the Starfleet security commander said nothing at first as she considered her words. “I’m afraid I cannot comment on that ma’am. I was ordered to take over the investigation.”

“By whom?” Madison challenged.

Hanson swallowed before answering. “By my superior ma’am.”

“And who’s that?” 

“Admiral Gardner.”

“Gardner?” Madison echoed. She was confused, why was the director of Starfleet Operations so involved with Starfleet Security? She was expecting her to say Admiral Black’s name as he was the director of Starfleet Security. 

Hanson just nodded once. She then pulled out one of her desk’s draws, looking into it she extended her right hand in and took out a small device. Immediately Madison recognised it. It looked like a silver pen, however instead of a nib at one end a magenta light flashed from either end of it. The device was a sound scrambler. Madison had never seen one before but knew what it was based on what Lloyd had described to her as Admiral Hathaway had used one with him when she had briefed him on her suspicions regarding their father’s death. Hanson continued to talk when she was satisfied that scrambler was working correctly. “Ma’am, I believe you and I are investigating the same thing.”

“Clarify.” Madison said, still feeling weary about the security officer.

Hanson appeared to roll her eyes. “Ma’am, I know you and your brothers are investigating your father’s suspicious death off the record. In fact, your brothers are on their way to Mars, if not they’re already there.”

Madison looked at the commander with a slight wince in her eyes. “Very well Commander Hanson, please continue with your theory.”

Hanson went on to explain to Madison that Admiral Gardner had ordered her to take over the investigation of the shuttle accident and to make sure that the London Metropolitan Police did not get any access to evidence. She also explained how quickly he wanted her to finalise her report and classify it as an accident. “Unfortunately for the admiral I do a thorough job of any assignment I am given, along with that this isn’t the first case I have been given since joining Starfleet that doesn’t appear right.”

A sense of dread went over Madison as she shuffled slightly in her chair. “Commander, before we go on, I’m going to ask you, is this something we should really be discussing here?” She mentioned, hinting at the room and building they were in.

Smiling with a sense of power and pride, Hanson continued. “Ma’am, I’m a former member of the CIA, British Intelligence and the FBI. As a result of that I know how to discuss private matters in possible hostile locations.” She then indicated to the sound scrambler on her desk. “That device isn’t a Starfleet issue and is highly effective.”

Madison nodded with approval, starting to show some sort of trust with Hanson.

Continuing, Hanson went on to share with her what she was talking about. “I was originally brought into Starfleet Security by Fleet Admiral Hathaway as she believed there was a division within it that was working against the principles of Starfleet. She and a couple of other high-ranking officers had noticed too many suspicious activities that had taken place since its formation, but they couldn’t put any strong evidence against anything to determine what was happening.”

“That sounds very vague, Commander Hanson.” Madison said, surprised at what Hanson was now sharing with her.

“I appreciate that ma’am, but I hope by not sharing everything that I know it will keep you and your family from any more danger.”

“Are you threatening me?” Madison said, placing a hand on Oliver’s pushchair. 

Quickly, Hanson shook her hands to dismiss the captain’s question. “No, no ma’am. I swear that’s not what I meant. Since I took on this position, the evidence I have compiled has made me consider the admiral’s speculation to appear to have some truth. However, none of it can be truly linked together as concrete evidence.”

“It sounds like you’re describing a conspiracy theory.” Madison remarked.

“I know how crazy it sounds, but if you knew what I knew then you would see where I am coming from.” Hanson took a moment before carrying on. “Captain, I’m a professionally trained investigator. My years of experience have never prepared me to understand some of the things I have discovered in these last two years. I’m also concerned that if I shared this with anyone else, especially with what’s going on with the war with the Romulans, then it may cause serious ramifications for Starfleet.” 

Madison got up from her chair and paced the small office as she considered everything. She looked at the young commander a couple of times, no longer was she the almost intimidating woman that she had met when she first walked in. “Okay, I’m not sure how much I can help you with this bigger investigation, however if you can help me find out more about my father’s death than anything else we come across that helps you then I will ensure no-one else finds out about it.”

“That sounds reasonable.” Hanson replied.

Madison sat back down in her chair. “First off, how do you know so much about what my brothers and I are up to? We’ve kept almost everything within a tight circle.”

Hanson smirked at that. “Besides accessing my personnel file which required sigma level clearance.”

Madison still couldn’t work out how Hanson knew so much. “That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Put it this way ma’am, working in the intelligence and investigative communities for as long as I have, I have learnt certain tricks and ways of finding out who is trying to find out about me.” Hanson stated. “I was alerted the moment Commander Callahan downloaded it. Once I worked out why one of my colleagues, especially one who I teach alongside, would need to see it the rest as they say was easy to determine.  Please don’t be discouraged, your brother Captain Lloyd Burton, did an excellent job in trying to find an alternative way of gaining access to information he shouldn’t have his hands on. I was highly impressed, however if I was any other officer in Starfleet Security, he may have got away with it being noticed. Unfortunately for him the notification system I have setup within the main Starfleet database around files linked to me have certain fail-safes in them.”

“I’ll make sure to share your notes with Lloyd.” Madison commented.

“Along with that, your request to meet with me within a matter of days was enough for me to conclude what you could be up to. I was able to find out from a few friends in the private sector that your brothers left recently for Mars to. The rest is history.” Hanson concluded.

“Well, bravo Commander Hanson. I’m sure if there was a Sherlock award for great detective work then I’d be sure to nominate you.” Madison sarcastically said, although she was impressed with the woman’s ability. However, she hated the fact that her husband, Stephen, had been right about her and her brothers trying to be so secretive and almost failing in their attempts to do so. She then looked behind Hanson at the wall and noticed she was the recipient of a number of awards from the FBI, CIA and British intelligence. Madison only smirked and laughed slightly at it all. “I’m sorry commander, I didn’t mean anything by that.”

Hanson, who was also smiling, shook her head. “No offence taken ma’am. I’d be sure to suggest to the admiralty about creating a Sherlock medal for us security officers.” 

“Okay, enough chat. We need to get down to work. Where would you suggest we start?” Madison asked.

“Ma’am I find it interesting that your brothers are heading to Mars as at some point as I was planning to do the same thing.” Hanson answered. She took out a small computer tablet and handed it over to Madison after unlocking it. “The transport that your father was using was registered to a private company from Mars.”

“So’s there something going on Mars?” Madison wondered as she looked at the details on the tablet’s screen. Hanson had done a thorough job on finding out as much as she could about this particular company.

Hanson continued their exchange, “I believe so, but what I find more interesting ma’am is the company itself has been involved in other incidents which have affected other high-profile members of Starfleet or those associated with it. The company is called Trentuno Galactica.”

“Yes, my father used them all the time. What do you mean about their other involvements?” Madison asked. 

“Last year Admiral Maxwell, the former head of Starfleet Operations, used a private transport from Trentuno Galactica for half of his trip to Vulcan which led to his death. The transport met up with a Vulcan cruiser prior to the admiral’s arrival. Then there was the kidnapping of Enterprise’s chief medical officer, Doctor Phlox.”

Madison held up her hand. “Wait a minute, we all know that Doctor Phlox was kidnapped by Rigelians for the Klingons. It was shared across hundreds of media outlets.”

Nodding in agreement, Hanson added more detail. “But again, the freighter that undertook that action transferred supplies with a transport from Trentuno Galactica before entering the Sol system.”

“I’m starting to see what you mean by evidence that can’t be truly linked to each other.” Madison stated.

“Exactly, there aren’t many links to each of these incidents as Trentuno Galactica has a long-term contract with Starfleet in support of transport arrangements and is becoming one of the biggest competitors in freight with the Earth Cargo Service. However, the last incident I wish to share will make you raise your eyebrows.”

“Go on.” Madison encouraged.

“Earlier this year your brother Lloyd was promoted to the rank of captain.” Hanson specified.

“Yes, after Captain Karim’s death…” Madison hesitated. “Commander…” She paused again. “Are you saying Captain Karim’s death may be linked to this as well?”

Hanson nodded. “I led the investigation into Karim’s death and surprise, surprise, the other craft involved with the captain’s shuttlepod was registered with Trentuno Galactica.” 

Madison didn’t know what to say. She leaned her head back slightly, she hated conspiracy theories or anything that was similar to them. “So, you believe on some level they’re involved with all of this mess?”

“My gut instinct is telling me yes, but my brain is telling me that it’s all circumstantial evidence that cannot be completely linked.” Hanson said. 

“Can I ask why you haven’t gone to Admiral Hathaway with all of this?” Madison asked.

“I have.” Hanson responded. 

Inwards Madison sighed, wondering if she was going to get any further with this. “And what did she say?”

“She said it needed to be looked at further and suggested I put a group of trusted officers to do it off the record.” Hanson uttered. “That was over four months ago.”

Some dots started to form in Madison’s mind now. “I think the admiral may have done that for you commander.”

“What do you mean?” Hanson said, now with a confused look across her face.

Madison sat up. “I believe Admiral Hathaway has put my brothers and I on a course to meet with you and to help you with this.”

Hanson shook her head. “I’m sorry ma’am, I don’t follow.”

For the next few minutes Madison went on to explain how Hathaway met with Lloyd at their father’s funeral, made similar remarks to him about her concerns with the investigation and encouraged him to look into it further. Somehow the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief knew that they would end up crossing paths with Hanson and knowing the admiral’s wishes in wanting all of this to be unofficial then it all made sense. “On some level, she wanted us to meet. If it wasn’t me sitting in this chair, then it would have been just my brother Lloyd. Commander that offer of us joining together to sort this all out is still there. Can I count on you to help us?”

Hanson stood up and extended her hand towards Madison. “Yes ma’am.” 

“Then let’s get to work.” Madison said as she shook Hanson’s hand. “I think we need to follow my brothers to lend them a hand on Mars.” 

“Agreed, but I would recommend we take separate journeys ma’am.” Hanson suggested. “The less we are seen in public the less aware others who may be involved in all of this will be of my involvement with you.”

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s make our own separate ways to Mars and meet at Utopia colony.” Madison said. She finished off making arrangements with Hanson and soon departed from her office. 

As she left the building pushing her infant along, she wondered how she would get herself to Mars. Considering her options as she made her way towards the Golden Gate park, her trail of thought was interrupted by her communicator going off. She looked into the bag it was in and pulled it out. Straight away she recognised the caller I.D. as it belonged to her brother. “How goes the trip Lloyd?” She said into it as she carried on with her journey.

“We’ve arrived at dad’s apartment. We’re starting our work on sorting it out.” He said in a very ambiguous way. “How did your trip to San Francisco go?”

“It went well actually.” She replied, she too decided to remain careful in what she was saying. “Stephen and I were talking about perhaps coming out to help you guys. I feel bad about leaving you to do all of that work by yourselves.” She added.

It took for a moment for Lloyd to register what she was saying. “I understand what you’re saying Madison, but do you really want to put Oliver on a long journey?”

She looked down at her infant and instantly guilt washed over her. She didn’t want to leave him behind, but on the other hand she felt she needed to see all of this through with her brothers and discover exactly what the hell was happening. She owed her father that. “I’ll see if I can get Stephen or even mother to look after him while I’m with you guys.”

“That sounds like a good idea to me. Let me know when you’re on the way here and we’ll meet you at the port.” Lloyd said, still remaining calm. 

“Understood. I’ll speak to you soon, little brother. Take care in the meantime and give my love to the other two.”

“Will do. Burton out.” Lloyd said, closing the channel at his end.

“Burton out.” She whispered as she put the communicator back away and headed to the nearest port to get her home to New York to see Stephen before visiting her mother in Portsmouth. She had made up her mind and knew what she needed to do. She wouldn’t allow her brothers to undertake all of this without her by their sides. They were family and this was a family matter that had to be sorted for them all to have closure. If it turned out to be nothing, then she didn’t feel that it would be time wasted. At least they would have the facts.

Confused, Perplexed, Bewildered, Lloyd Burton could not see how he and his siblings could go any further with their current enigma. Madison had arrived only four hours ago on Mars, since then she had introduced them to Commander Hanson and together the two women had described in detail what they knew. Lloyd was unsure if any of it helped. He hated not being able to see the bigger picture where all the dots were connected. They had to find another clue, another lead, something else that would take them to the next step in finding out what their father had been up to. They were now in too deep with this and he refused to believe that it was for nothing. 

“I think I’ve got something.” Seth said. His voice held a mixed sense of hope and surprise.

The group were currently sitting in their father’s former apartment. After Hanson had scanned it for any listening equipment, she had set up a few other devices including her sound scrambler to prevent anyone else from listening in to their conversations or recording what they were doing. It was getting late into the evening and the sun was setting over the red Martian horizon. Lloyd had considered the scenery to be impressive but was not as grand as the view of the sunsetting over Portsmouth harbour. 

“What is it Seth?” Roman asked from where he sat next to Lloyd on one of the sofas. 

Seth, who had been sitting at the oval-shaped dining table with a number of tablets surrounding it, got up from his chair and walked over to where everyone was sitting. He passed the tablet to Roman. “After you got access to dad’s personal database, I looked at his logged schedule while here on Mars. On a few occasions dad will book himself on the same tour.”   

“A tour?” Madison repeated. “What sort of tour and where?”

Seth quickly answered, “A shuttle tour of Utopia Planitia and it appears to be the same one he books on.”

“Either dad had a weird fetish about the lower Martian plateau or there’s something more going on there that we don’t know.” Roman remarked. 

“Well, we need to find out what.” Lloyd suggested. “At the moment it appears to be our only other lead we could follow.”

Madison sighed, “Or it’s another dead-end.”

“It’s worth looking into.” Alexa stated. “We should follow your father’s footsteps as best as we can.”

Lloyd stood up; he was now determined they were not going to give up on this investigation. “Let’s do it. Seth book us tickets to the tour that dad took regularly, in the meantime Roman and Alexa why don’t you look into this tour company. See if there’s anything that could cause any alarm bells to ring?”

Madison held up her hands, “Hang on Lloyd,” she spoke. “We don’t know if it’s the right route to take with all of this.”

“Can you see any other lead?” Lloyd countered back with. 

Silence filled the room, giving Lloyd his answer. He looked at Madison one more time. Both of them were capable Starfleet captains, until now neither of them had pulled rank or attempted to establish themselves the leader in the situation they were in. Wondering if they were about to fall out over all of this, Lloyd was about to speak, but was stopped by his sister. 

“I just don’t want us wasting time.” Madison spoke. Her words were enough to indicate she was happy to follow her younger brother’s lead on this. 

Alexa cleared her throat at this point, “If it helps my background check on them won’t take too long. I can use various contacts to find out if they are legit or something else.”

“Are we hoping for the latter?” Roman remarked sarcastically at everyone. 

“In a good way, yes.” answered Alexa. “If it’s a solid lead then we may find out more information, or at the least try and work out why your father often went on the tour.”

No one spoke, if this was a hopeless direction then they would have taken it together.

The port was swarming with an assortment of people who were travelling to and away from the colony. Mostly they were human with an odd collection of aliens that included Denobulans, Rigellians and a couple of Andorians. 

Approaching the gate that housed the tour company, the group found themselves a small line of passengers who were all providing boarding passes. Seth had led the group and handed their passes over to the attendant on the door. The moment their security checks had been verified they were heading down the walkway towards the shuttle. Alexa’s checks on the tour company had brought up something that worried them. It was a subsidiary of Trentuno Galactica, the same cooperation that Hanson had been investigating for some time now. Even with this information they had decided to book themselves on to the tour and reserved the same row of chairs that their father would always sit in. Again, this had been another mystery that Seth had discovered. They knew their father liked keeping to the same old routine, even so this was almost like he was leading breadcrumbs for them…or was someone else?

Entering the shuttle, which was as long as some of the ferries that Lloyd would watch depart from Portsmouth on their way to French coast or to the Isle of Wight, the small group of Starfleet officers (still in their civilian attire) took their seats and waited to see where this next step took them. Welcoming them on board, the flight attendants had gone out of their way to run through the normal procedures in case of an emergency – indicating where the gas masks and lifeboats were. Following on from this the pilot’s voice, a female one, had welcomed her passengers on board and soon the craft left the port. The tour guide, who also came over the intercom, began talking once the shuttle had begun its ascent into the lower Martian atmosphere. On either side of the cabin were long windows, giving the passengers access to seeing the amazing, breath-taking sight of the lower Martian plateau also known as Vastitas Borealis. The vast lowlands included Utopia Planitia and covered most of the northern hemisphere. Knowing why his father would enjoy this tour because of this, Lloyd had started to ponder why his father had taken it in such an excessive amount. His thought process was broken when he caught something in the corner of his eye. Just across from them in two rows ahead sat a man that had gotten up and moved forward towards the area that contained a small bar. Lloyd took a double take on him as he looked familiar. It was obvious his poker face wasn’t showing as Roman, who was sitting opposite to him, picked up on his brother’s distraction.

“Lloyd, everything okay?” He asked. 

Rising from his chair, Lloyd answered. “Just give me a moment.” He started to follow the man’s footsteps and approach the tall figure who was leaning against the bar with his back to Lloyd.

Slowly and carefully, Lloyd made his way over. Every fibre and gut instinct in his body was telling him he knew the man, but his identity was impossible as a result of this his stomach was making him feel sick (alongside this the odd shudder from the shuttle hitting turbulence wasn’t helping). Taking a deep breath in to calm his nerves, Lloyd spoke up. “Excuse me.” 

Turning around was a face Lloyd had never thought he would see again. Startled, shocked, confused, the Starfleet captain had an expression on him that was quickly removed as the colour in his face went and was replaced by a sheet of whiteness. “Alec,” He whispered.

Standing before him was Alec Rossi, the man who was meant to be Challenger’s original science officer and second officer. Rossi had died in a shuttle accident over the English Channel almost ten months ago. It was the same accident that had elevated Lloyd into the captain’s chair. Rossi looked different, instead of having his thick head of black hair he had short cropped blonde hair. His green eyes were now blue, he had a scar above and through the middle of his left eyebrow. He even looked thinner than before. The man cleared his throat, he held a glass of clear liquid – which Lloyd knew wasn’t water. “Hello Lloyd.” He spoke. 

“What the hell is going on?” Lloyd asked in an almost angry whisper. “You’re dead.”

“Alec Rossi is, officially.” Rossi replied before taking a sip from his drink. 

Wincing at the man before him, Lloyd still couldn’t work out what he meant by that statement. He didn’t get a chance to ask as the rest of his ensemble soon arrived behind him asking what was going on. 

“You’re Alec Rossi.” Hanson remarked looking at the man in front of Captain Burton “But, but…” She stuttered, “You’re dead, I even led the investigation into your accident.” 

Everyone else was still puzzled by the man before them. 

Rossi put his drink down on the bar and took in a single inward gulp. “Well, this is very awkward, however I’m not supposed to be talking to you.” He looked at the captain.

“Tough, because you’re going to explain to me why the hell the man who was meant to be Challenger’s science officer and whose funeral I attended is standing before me on the shuttle tour I’m on to investigate my father’s death.” Lloyd spat out in an angry manner. 

The tension in the compartment rose by Lloyd’s outburst, his group all becoming more aware of what was going on and the other passengers who were in earshot all were looking at them. 

Raising his hands in a hopeless attempt to calm the situation, Rossi continued his defence. “I know you’ve probably got a million questions, but I cannot answer them.”

“Why not?” Madison quickly shot back. Lloyd could sense the same annoyance he had in his sister as well his other siblings now. 

It was at this point that the female bartender had moved around and was now holding up a Starfleet issue phase pistol as were four others, including a passenger and the flight attendants. All of them aimed at Lloyd and his group. 

“Who are you?” Alexa asked. The Starfleet investigator was looking at everyone in the room, attempting to figure out what was going on and who these people were. 

Rossi sighed, “Again I cannot divulge such information,” He responded in his thick Italian accent. “What I can say is the work we do defends the interests of Earth and her allies.”

“That doesn’t make any sense still.” Lloyd said, still annoyed at their current situation. “Are you to tell me that you faked your own death, even allowed Caspar to think you’re dead?” 

He winced at Lloyd’s words. The mention of Challenger’s original chief engineer and the man that Rossi was romantically involved with before his death appeared to be a stinger for the former science officer. “I’m sorry for what I put you and others through Lloyd,” He paused — obviously not wanting to mention the man he had loved. “However, there isn’t anything I can do about it now.”

“Sorry isn’t good enough Alec.” Lloyd said, “So what are you and your goons going to do with us?” He gestured towards the others that still surrounded them with their phase pistols. 

“All I can say is sorry is gonna have to be enough Lloyd, because that’s all I have.” Rossi answered before motioning with his head to the others to open fire. 

The group didn’t have time to react as they were hit with multiple crimson red blasts from all angles. Collapsing to the floor almost instantly, Lloyd glimpsed one more time at the man he thought he once knew and wondered what hand he had in his father’s death. Mentally he vowed he would get his revenge before his head hit the floor with a mighty thud.

Tuesday, January 7th, 2155

Challenger NX-03, San Francisco Orbital Shipyards, Earth orbit

“But you’ve gotta admit the ending wasn’t expected!”

Chuckles soon followed Captain Karim’s response as she entered the lift, followed by her first and second officers. They had just spent an evening with the rest of the crew and the construction teams in Challenger’s brand-new recreation room viewing the latest Captain Proton film. Turning to face them as Burton tapped the button to head towards E deck, Karim continued to speak. “You’ve got to agree that you were not expecting all of them to disintegrate into dust after Doctor Chaotica had detonated the eternity bomb!”

Burton just rolled his eyes at his new captain. “Ma’am you’ve gotta admit how absurd these plot lines are!”

Laughing at her first officer’s remarks, Karim raised her hands in defence. “But that’s the great thing about The Adventures of Captain Proton – it’s not meant to be realistic. It’s how mid-twentieth century America saw the future. As I child read every book of the series and since they’ve been making films of them, I have loved every single one.” 

 “I don’t know about you two, but I am still traumatised by Buster Kincaid’s death scene. I thought the sidekick was never meant to die?” Rossi remarked. “The way he cried, begged and then screamed in Proton’s arms as he dissolved into a million pieces was very melodramatic.” 

“And that’s the point of this third instalment in the series, Proton is left alone in the galaxy to face off against Chaotica. A true rivalry, much like the old western films. It’s just the two of them left. Who will win the final battle?” Karim questioned with a sense of glee in her voice. “As my mother said, the third one is always the best and this film is the best one.”

“If memory serves me right, isn’t the next chapter meant to be called the ‘Bride of Chaotica’?” Burton asked. “So how is the evil doctor meant to get married if he killed everyone except him and Proton?”

Laughing more, Karim answered. “That’s called spoilers Number One! We’ll just have to wait and find out!” At that point the lift had reached its destination and the captain led them out and towards the mess hall. “Also just be aware they’re not completely following the series word for word in the films. There are a lot of creative differences between them.” 

Entering the mess hall, the three most senior officers headed straight to the captain’s mess where they were met by Lieutenant Commander Caspar Slater, the ship’s chief engineer.  Slater smiled at the group and as they were all off duty, he approached Rossi, planting a kiss on his cheek. Normally if they had been on duty and in uniform then Karim would have not appreciated the display of affection between her chief science officer and engineer, but she knew that she was building a community on Challenger and needed to let people form relationships with each other. She had hoped for a friendly, family feel to the ship and hadn’t expected it to be closer than that especially between members of her senior staff. Nevertheless, both Slater and Rossi had joined her already in a relationship with each other. She couldn’t do anything about it. 

“Guten Abend!” Slater said in his German accent after he kissed Rossi. “How was the film?”

“You may need to console Alec,” Burton said with a smirk, “He can’t get over the death of Buster Kincaid.” 

“I’m not the only one who may need to see a counsellor!” Rossi threw back as they entered the small dining compartment. “Lloyd needs help in dealing with his lack of creativity and imagination. He can’t understand why films are allowed to be unrealistic and absurd.” 

Slater sniggered as they all sat down around the table. “Maybe having a counsellor on board wouldn’t be a bad idea?” He asked rhetorically. 

Burton looked at Karim, they both smiled at the notion. It had been a topic they had discussed only the day before with Doctor Moralez, who was adamant that Starfleet should consider it if they wanted their crews to endure years of deep space exploration. However, she had concluded that it would probably take another century or two before Starfleet had put the idea into action. 

“Talking about good doctors needed, where is Calista?” Karim wondered, looking at Slater hoping that he knew where she was. The five of them, the most senior members of Challenger’s crew, had become close knit in the past fortnight since Burton had joined them. They met every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It had become a routine which had allowed them to catch up with the latest developments for the ship and to get to know one another more before their official launch. 

“She was creating the inventory list for all of the supplies that Starfleet Medical had sent up today.” Slater said.

“Wow, she must be happy.” Burton stated. “She had been waiting for that delivery since I arrived.”

Karim chortled at her first officer. “Number One, I can tell you now that Calista is only a happy doctor if she has all of the medicine and tools around her.  Along with that it all has to be put away in a certain way or she won’t sleep properly.” 

The group laughed further at the doctor’s expense which quickly stopped as the doors to the room opened and the subject of their conversation entered. “Sounds like you are having a ball in here.” Moralez said as she walked in and took her normal seat near to the captain. 

“And from what I hear Calista, you’ve had a ball today as well?” Karim replied as she looked at her friend. The two of them had served together on their previous assignment and Moralez was eager to join Karim when she was given Challenger. 

Throwing her hands up in surrender, Moralez nodded in acknowledgement. “What can I say except you know me too well Rani!” She smiled further at her friend. 

“So, captain, any news when the next additions to our family will join us?” Rossi asked, quickly changing the subject. 

Karim nodded. “Our new communications and protocol officer will be joining us tomorrow and it will be a couple of weeks before we get our pilot and MACO commander.” 

“MACOs?” Moralez repeated. “Are they truly needed?”

Karim looked at her first officer for help and the answer. “Number One, would you like to answer that?” 

Burton had noticed since joining the Challenger crew a slight sense of tension between him and Moralez. It was more from her than him, he had linked it to the idea that since he had arrived that he and Karim had quickly bonded and were gaining an excellent rapport and relationship with one another. He had wondered if there was some jealousy over the amount of time they were spending together and wondered if the good doctor wanted to spend more time with her old friend. He had even heard her scoff and mutter under her breath a few times when Karim started to refer to him as Number One. An affectionate naval term that captains sometimes used to refer to the first officer. One that Karim had picked off from her previous commanding officer when she was their first officer and was called it often. 

“The reports from Enterprise and Columbia would advise that having a MACO presence on board is more beneficial.” Burton stated.

Leaning forward to grab a glass of water in front of her, Moralez spoke up before taking a sip. “It just seems that since the Xindi crisis all Starfleet ships and outposts that have had MACOs assigned to them. I thought we were meant to be explorers, not soldiers?” 

“Well, let’s hope we don’t need to depend on them too much.” Karim said. “And I’ve spoken to our new major, she seems to be a bit of a maverick who comes with a wealth of experience and skills. She’s not just your normal foot soldier.”

“Let’s hope she shares the captain’s science fiction passion, if not she’s doomed like Buster Kincaid!” Rossi mocked, allowing for everyone to move on to their next topic of discussion as stewards arrived in the room with their dinners in hand.

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2155 

Vastitas Borealis, Mars

Darkness covered her eyes and her hands were tightly restrained by what felt like a standard set of Starfleet handcuffs. The coldness of the metal against her skin sent a slight shiver up and down her arms. Alexa Hanson had undergone training and had been kidnapped on more than once occasion as part of her line of work, nonetheless this would be her first one off-world. When she had accepted the job offer to join Starfleet, she had imagined her working closely with analysts, assistant directors and occasionally an admiral or two at Starfleet Command Headquarters. She had enjoyed the minor amount of teaching she had undertaken too, but she had never considered the notion that one day she would be active and back in the trenches dealing with an important matter again. Everything she had experienced since meeting Captain Burton (the older one) a few days ago seemed to be joining the dots for her. She was starting to put pieces together of a puzzle, a puzzle she had been asked to look in almost two years ago by the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief.  Hoping that she was about to receive the final pieces, Hanson pondered if she would ever get the opportunity to find that concrete evidence Fleet Admiral Hathaway trusted with her to find. 

However, her current predicament in having a blindfold bagged over her face and her hands being handcuffed behind her prevented her from doing anything more. Remaining still for a moment she concluded that she was lying on the floor, the slight coldness going through her body indicated that she was in a man-made structure — one that was still on Mars. She knew this as she hadn’t noticed a change in the gravity pull compared to Earth’s. If she had been on an Earth ship, or even in a Starfleet base then the artificial gravity plating is set at Earth standard. Outside of the blacked head bag she could hear mumbling nearby. Voices that she recognised. Again, she remained still to see if she could work out who it was. One female voice and two distinct male voices. The Burtons. She could hear Madison, Seth and Roman but no Lloyd. Either he was still in the same room with them and unconscious still or was missing. Slowly she moved her head and tried to sit up. Within a few seconds of her movement she sensed other movement around her and soon the dark mask that covered her head was pulled off her. 

Blinking more than twice, Alexa was pleased to see the friendly face of Captain Madison Burton. She too had her hands cuffed and was holding on to the bag that she had just removed from Hanson. 

“Thank you ma’am.” She said to her superior officer.

Madison pulled a face at Hanson formally addressing her. “No more ma’am Alexa – while we’re out of uniform and off duty just plain Madison.”

“Understood.” Hanson replied with and looked over to see that her deduction of who was in the room with her was correct. Seth and Roman were both conscious and were attempting to wake their older brother up as they too took off his black hood. It was obvious whoever Rossi worked for didn’t want them to see anything originally, but now they were all waking up she had pondered what their captors would do if they saw them without their masks on. “Where are we?” She asked the group. 

Madison shook her head as she looked around the room. “My guess is some installation underground. We’ve heard a lot of noise that sounds like drilling and this room appears to be a spare storage bay.”

“He isn’t waking.” Roman said concerned over to his older sister. 

Madison sighed as she looked over at Lloyd’s body. “The stun setting that hit him must have been more powerful than ours.” 

“We need to get ourselves out of here and contact Starfleet Command Headquarters.” Seth stated. 

“Easily said than done little bro.” Madison remarked as she analysed the entire room with her eyes. It appeared she was trying to find something to use for their own advantage, yet there was nothing that would do. She looked back at Alexa, pushed a strain of dishevelled hair out of her face (her hands still restrained together). “Alexa, you said you knew about Rossi before his thugs took us out. What did you mean? Wasn’t his death one that you investigated?”

Hanson nodded in response. “Yes, Admiral Hathaway had overridden Admiral Black’s orders on who would be the investigating officer on Rossi’s death.”

“Who is Rossi? Lloyd mentioned something about being his original science officer?” Seth enquired with a confused expression. “Did he and Lloyd serve together?”

Alexa pushed herself up straight against the metal wall. “Lieutenant Commander Alec Rossi was meant to be Challenger’s science officer and second officer; however, he was involved in a shuttle accident before its launch involving him and Captain Karim. They both died.”

 “So how come he isn’t dead?” Roman threw out, stating the obvious.

“Of that I am unsure of. As I told your sister beforehand, I investigated their deaths. Their shuttlepod was hit by another craft when they were leaving London on their way back to Challenger. Captain Karim reported that Rossi was killed on impact and that she was attempting a water landing with the pod. She was unsuccessful and her shuttlepod exploded moments after it crashed into English Channel. Debris was later found by the Royal Navy. There wasn’t much left, and we concluded that there was no way she could have survived the explosion. Search and rescue missions were undertaken but her body and his were never found.” Alexa finished talking as Lloyd started to come around. 

“He’s alive!” Seth said in an excited tone. 

Lloyd appeared groggy as he blinked several times to take in his surroundings. “I’m not going to ask where we are.” He mumbled. 

Roman chuckled. “I wouldn’t bother, but we’re trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together.”

Sitting up, almost reflecting the same posture that Hanson was in, Lloyd spoke. “How far have we got with this?”

“I think Alexa has all of the missing pieces for us.” Madison said. 

The rest of the Burton siblings looked at her. “There’s still a few more missing, but I think I’m seeing part of the bigger picture.” She revealed. “The other reason I was put on the investigation for your father was because of two facts. Number one being the fact that it involved this Trentuno Galactica and number two that it took place from the same port that killed Captain Karim and Commander Rossi.”

“Saint Pancreas/King’s Cross station.” Madison offered. 

Alexa nodded. “As I said to you when we first met Madison, there are too many incidents happening in similar manners.”

“That’s why Admiral Hathaway went to you Lloyd.” Roman expressed. “She wanted you to make the connection.” 

Alexa nodded, “I believe you’re right. She wanted us to get together for this, but there was no way we were ever going to get to it without one another.”

Seth spoke up, “So does Admiral Hathaway know that Rossi isn’t dead?” 

Hanson shrugged, “She and the limited number of others who I’ve spoken to about this don’t appear to.”

“So, what now?” Lloyd asked. It was the question they were all thinking. 

Madison now leant against the same wall that Alexa was up against. “There’s still too many unanswered questions, but my gut is telling me we are close.”

Roman nodded, “I agree so we need to get ourselves out of here.” He looked at his younger brother. “Seth, take off my left boot will you.” He instructed. 

“Eww, no!” Seth complained. 

Rolling his eyes at his brother’s response he then looked at his other brother. Lloyd shook his head in disbelief that he would do it and soon took off Roman’s boot before passing it over to its owner. 

“What are you doing Roman?” Madison questioned. 

Struggling to put his hand inside of the boot, Roman eventually pulled out the sole before banging the rest of the boot on the floor to reveal a gadget falling out.

Surprised at what appeared, Lloyd spoke up. “A micro-spanner? Is that meant to be your lock pick?” 

Roman nodded with confidence, “I had a feeling it may be handy to have.” He picked up the small tool, activated it against his electromagnetic restraints and they soon dropped off. Working quickly, he did the same to Lloyd’s and the rest of them. Soon the group all stood up and approached the door. 

“What if there’s guards outside?” Madison questioned. 

Alexa stepped forward and banged on the door. She paused and there wasn’t a response. She did it again and got the same result. “Well if they’re not going to respond to that, then us getting this door open will.”

Roman had already pulled off the door’s switch opener and was trying to hot-wire its circuits. Eventually his engineering skills gave them the indicator they needed to escape. The door hissed open with both Lloyd and Alexa either side ready to fight whoever, if there was anyone there, that was on guard. Luckily there was no-one. 

“So far, so good.” Lloyd commented. 

They now found themselves in a long L-shaped corridor. On the opposite side to them were stretched out windows that showed an impressive view of a Martian cavern. The corridor itself was empty and appeared very dull with limited lighting and everything being a different shade of grey and silver. It almost felt like they were on a Starfleet ship. In the distance was a constant hum, the sound of a power reactor. Leading the group forward, Alexa took steps towards the window to look at their surroundings. As she was joined by the others, they were surprised by what they saw looking down. Before them appeared to be a row of starships in various stages of being almost near to their completion. They were of a Starfleet design, most of them being a variation of the NCC-class (better known as the Daedalus-class). The cavern itself was enormous and work crews all appeared to be working in and around the crafts dotted in parallel lines. 

“Impressive, isn’t it?” A feminine voice said to the right of the group. 

Instantly they all looked over, it was Lloyd and Alexa who had the most shocked expression of all. Standing before them, flanked by a small armed group was the woman that Lloyd once considered would become a mentor and close friend, while Alexa had considered her dead. Captain Rani Karim stood with arms crossed her chest and a proud smile sweeping her expression.

“Doesn’t anyone die now?” Lloyd said, breaking the uneasy silence that had filled the corridor. 

Karim shrugged her shoulders, “I’m afraid not Number One.”

“Don’t call me that.” Lloyd shot back at her. The unburied rage and upset that he felt earlier at seeing Rossi began to rise inside of him.

“Very well, would Captain Burton do instead?” She enquired. 

Lloyd didn’t reply to her and just looked at his siblings in disbelief. 

“I take it that’s Captain Karim.” Seth stated, still staring at the woman that was taunting his older brother.

“Exactly and back from the dead.” Hanson answered, but she paused. “No, I’m sorry not back from the dead. To quote Mr Rossi, let me guess she’s officially dead and she can’t talk to us.”

Karim smiled at the group, still remaining calm compared to them. She went on to explain. “Unfortunately, Alec wasn’t meant to board that transport, he didn’t read his communique in time to avoid bumping into you. Our agents on board were not able to tell him in time before Lloyd recognised him and the rest you know. That all said, you are all now here and I am sure you have many questions.”

“Where is he?” Madison threw out. 

Karim had a blank expression in response.

Sighing in disbelief, Madison repeated herself. “Where is he? Our father? He is here, isn’t he?”

Cringing slightly, Karim nodded. “It would seem that your combined efforts to investigate your father’s death revealed some holes in our cover-up efforts.”

“And who do you work for now?” Lloyd spat out. “Because that’s definitely not a Starfleet captain’s uniform.”

Karim looked down at her attire, it consisted of a long, black leather coat worn over a black turtleneck jumpsuit. “I’m afraid not Number-” She paused to prevent herself from saying Number One and antagonising her former first officer any further. “Lloyd, let’s just say I belong to another branch of Starfleet.”

“And what exactly does this branch do, apart from covering up fake deaths,” He paused and then pointed out towards the cavern, “and build ships?”

Karim stepped forward towards him. “We keep a low profile. We search out and identify potential dangers to the Earth Commonwealth and its allies.”

“And then do what with them?” Lloyd questioned. 

“We deal with them, quietly and if it is technology that we can use, well let’s say we have a saying around here,” She responded and smiled at her colleagues who were now either side of her, “if it’s alien, it’s ours.” 

“And Starfleet sanctions this?” Alexa quizzed, now standing beside Lloyd showing her own distaste of Karim’s words.

Smiling still at them, Karim continued to answer the inquisition she was now under. “We’re a bit like you Commander Hanson, we have a very open and lenient portfolio of the work we do, consider us an autonomous department. We don’t submit reports or ask for approval for specific operations.”

“How are you allowed to operate without an oversight of some kind?” Madison challenged.

“Article fourteen, section thirty-one of the Starfleet Charter, allows for extraordinary measures to be taken in times of extreme threat.” Karim answered with. 

“I can’t believe we’re hearing any of this.” Madison blurted out. “I cannot believe one of Starfleet’s finest, the second woman to command a NX-class ship, stands here and tells me that the rules – no not just the rules but the laws that govern us all can be bent when it’s deemed a requirement to keep the state safe. Furthermore, there’s an actual division in the institute we belong to that allows it! I thought Starfleet was meant to be explorers first, not soldiers of some grand Human Empire!”

“I get why you’re angry Captain Burton, but I can assure you the work we have achieved since Starfleet’s formation has kept Earth and humanity safe.” Karim stated.

“Safe?!” Seth said with a shocked expression. “Bloody hell woman, have you not heard that we are at war with a blood-thirsty enemy that wants to destroy the interests of Earth and her allies?”

“Yes, I have and we are working extremely hard to reduce that threat and support Starfleet in its campaign against the Romulans.” Karim countered. “We’ve all lost close colleagues in this war, including those that work with me.”

The group continued to be in disbelief in what they were hearing.

“So, where is he?” Roman asked, repeating the question that Madison had already asked. “Our father is alive, isn’t he?”

Karim stepped further forward, almost within the group and looked at the young engineer. “He is and he is working with us to safeguard our future.”

“That doesn’t sound like something our father would do voluntarily.” Roman returned, looking at the woman before him. “You must have coerced him with something.”

“They didn’t.” Spoke a deep masculine voice at the end of the corridor, stepping through the same doorway that Karim had entered via. 

Turning around in the direction, they were once again confronted with another former dead person: their father Doctor Fraser Burton. 

“Dad.” Madison said in surprise looking at the man she believed she had said her final goodbye to only days ago. 

Doctor Burton walked down the corridor with Commander Alec Rossi, both of them wearing similar all black attire like Karim. “Hello princess.” Burton welcomed with a smile towards his only daughter. 

It was without a doubt that Doctor Burton was now receiving a frosty reception from his children. All of them had expressions of hurt, anger, grief and annoyance plastered across their faces. “Deputy Director Karim, why don’t I take over from here?” He offered. 

Karim looked at him and then back to the rest of the group. “Fraser, you know that they cannot leave this facility with what they know now.”

As he reached them all he continued to look at his sons and daughter as he answered her. “I trust them to listen to what I’ve got to say.” 

“What about Hanson?” Rossi interjected with, looking at the Starfleet investigator. “We know she’s working for several members in the top brass. How’d we know she won’t report back to one of them? Especially Hathaway?”

Karim looked at the others that had originally accompanied her. “Gentlemen, please take Commander Hanson to guest quarters and get her some refreshments.”

The three men acknowledged their orders and gestured for Hanson to join them. Alexa looked at Madison and Lloyd, both who gave her a gesture to proceed. 

“See you all soon.” Alexa said, almost annoyed at the fact she was being removed from the current conversation. 

As Hanson and her escorts moved on and back towards the entrance that Doctor Burton had come through, Karim extended her hand towards a door at the end of the corridor, “Let us go somewhere that is a bit more comfortable.” She began to walk. 

Lloyd gestured for his siblings to follow and soon they were joined by their father and Rossi as they followed Karim. Eventually they entered a room that looked like the conference room on Challenger. It had a long rectangular table in the centre with chairs around it. Monitors were attached to all three walls, except for one that had windows that gazed out onto the cavern they had just seen. Lloyd sat down in one of the chairs, with Madison sitting next to him. Their father sat opposite to them while their two younger brothers remained standing. Karim went over to a drink’s station, she took a mug and ordered the protein resequencer to create her a black coffee. The drink soon dispersed into the mug before the device beeped at her to say it was finished creating the drink for her. She took it out of the slot she had rested it in and took a sip from it. 

“I’m sure you all have many more questions for us.” Karim started with. 

Roman mumbled something under his breath that sounded like “that’s the understatement of the century”. 

Madison had ignored her brother’s comment and spoke up, looking at her father. “Just one from me, why?” 

“Why did I do this?” Doctor Burton clarified. 

Madison nodded once before answering. “You’re lucky you’re alive here and not back on Earth, as I’m sure mum would kill you for what you’ve put her and the rest of our family through.”

Fraser looked at Karim before looking back at his children. “Your mother can’t know I’m alive Madison.”

Seth quickly erupted, “Are you actually kidding dad? C’mon, you expect us to head back to mum and tell her that we found nothing of interest out of here? She worked it out that us four were looking into your apparent death just by observing us. You really think we can get that past her?”

Fraser looked up towards his youngest, “For the sake of your mother’s life and others you will do it young man.”

“Oh, don’t you dare patronise me!” Seth shouted back, slamming both of his hands on the table and staring at his father with so much rage. 

Roman stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Easy Seth.”

“No, not easy Roman.” Seth replied looking back at his brother. “Our own father has lied to us, joined some extremist group that thinks they have the right to do what they please-” He returned to glare at his father and pointed at him, “this is not the man who raised us to remember that family comes first!”

“That’s why I did it Seth!” Fraser now shouted back as he stood up to confront his youngest. “To put you all first. All four of you stupidly wear that god damn uniform.” He walked away from the table and headed to the large bay window. He took a moment to breathe before looking back at them. “For heaven’s sake, I left because the work we do here might mean we win this bloody war. I did it because I thought Lloyd was dead.” He looked at his eldest son. “When we hadn’t heard any more about Challenger it was enough for me to reconsider Karim’s offer that she gave to me months ago. By working within this section, I can help Starfleet with the scientific input they need to outsmart the Romulans. I thought if I did that then on some level, I could help protect you all.”

“That’s your justification?” Roman now blurted out. “Dad, you could have done that same amount of work within Starfleet itself. For goodness sake, you could have been given a field commission and be the director of Starfleet R and D.” 

“No, he couldn’t.” Karim said, interrupting the family squabble. “The Romulans are more powerful than you all realise.” She took another sip from her coffee and sat down at the head of the table. “They have a sophisticated intelligence network, one that is stronger than ours and the Vulcans. If your father had taken on another prominent position, then it is more than likely he would have been a target for the Romulans, and Earth can’t afford to lose any more of its distinguished scientists. Your father is one of the leading physicists in the Commonwealth – his work rivals that of Zefram Cochrane, Henry Archer, Kotaro Tasaki and Emory Erickson. As I said, we can’t afford to lose him.”

The room fell silent, rage still burnt within Seth and partially in Roman. Madison sat further back in her chair, crossing her arms against her chest glaring further at their father.

Leaning forward and resting his chin on his right palm, Lloyd spoke up. “So, what happens now? Do we all end up having our deaths faked and we join this division of yours or will it actually be the real thing?” It was one of the questions that now plagued him, one he knew his siblings would be considering as well. A sense of guilt of getting them all involved now flooded him. Knowing that Madison may never see Stephen and Oliver made his heart skip a beat, however it was something closer to home that made it nearly stop. If this was it, he automatically thought about Nicole and their unborn children. Could he live with himself in leaving her and them alone in this mucked up galaxy? It was at this point he wished he had access to Challenger’s transporter to be able to beam him away from this mess. 

Karim shrugged her shoulders. “I’d need to speak to my superior on that one.” Karim placed her coffee mug down. “Please make yourself comfortable.” She stood up and gestured for Rossi to join her in leaving.

“Wait.” Lloyd said, not looking towards the two of the officers leaving. 

Karim and Rossi paused in their tracks just as the door opened and turned to look at him.

“You both still owe me an explanation as to why you left Challenger in such a drastic manner.” Lloyd remarked. His own anger began to bubble. “You left a brand-new crew devastated on the verge of their maiden voyage. I had to take the centre seat because of you both.”

Karim smiled again as she looked at her former first officer. “Lloyd, you were always going to get Challenger.” She said it in such a manner of fact. She even said it without blinking. Straight after speaking, she then turned on her heels and left the room with Rossi in tow. 

Tempted to chase after them both, Lloyd reconsidered his options as he knew he needed to remain with his family at this present time. He wanted to know what the hell Karim meant by that last statement and he promised himself before he left Mars, he would get his answer – having some sort of closure now would be helpful. 

“Where do we go from here then?” Madison asked openly.

“I am sorry.” Their father said sincerely, looking at all of them. “It was never my intention for you to ever find out. I wanted you all to get on with your lives and I hoped my work would make a difference without you knowing. If others, especially the Romulans, thought I was dead then at least they wouldn’t come after any of you.”

“Dad, I really suggest you keep your rubbish to yourself right now.” Seth spat back. 

By this time Roman had taken the seat on the other side of Lloyd, he rubbed his face with both hands. “This is ridiculous.” He said aloud. “Is there no Secrets Act that we can sign that says we won’t share anything that we’ve learnt here today?” 

“You know it’s not as easy as that son.” Fraser said, leaning against the small ledge under the window. “I’m assuming it was either Admiral Gardner or do I dare to be bold and say Fleet Admiral Hathaway that put you on the case?”

“Does it matter dad?” Lloyd countered back with. He wasn’t prepared to discuss the nature of his mission with his father, all the trust he had for the man had now gone.

“It does, as you’re all Starfleet officers bound by an oath and part of that is reporting to your superior officers.” Fraser remarked. 

“Maybe so, but I don’t think you have any right in telling us what to report. It’s not like you and this damn organisation of yours has anyone to hold you to account.” Madison stated as she shook her head. “God damn it dad, why didn’t you come to one of us about this? We could have sorted this out and avoided all of this mess.”

“It wasn’t that simple Maddie.” He said, using another one of his pet names – instantly he regretted it after she gave him a scornful look. 

The room went quiet again and none of them knew what to say.

Slowly and cautiously, Alexa Hanson scanned the room she had been taken to with her eyes. Like any good field agent (or maybe spy was the best thing she could describe herself now) she spotted a number of monitoring devices. The room itself had a small armchair and a medium sized couch with a glass table in between it. At one end of the room was a single bed with blue sheets coated around it. The room was well lit as it only had one porthole that appeared to look out into the cavern she had already discovered with the others. A restroom sitting behind a push door was located at one end while at the other end a small cabinet was filled with a few light refreshments, including some bottles of water. Instinctively she took out one of the bottles while she assessed how she was going to get herself out of here and catch up with the others to plan their escape. Nevertheless, she didn’t know how she was going to do it without being caught by her hosts. Sitting down in the armchair, she placed her bottle on the table before her and made the decision that she hoped would help the others. She tapped the right side of her neck, acting the sub-dermal transponder that she implanted. Hoping that her signal would be picked up by the right people.

Starfleet Command Headquarters, San Francisco, United States of America, Earth

Staring at her computer screen diligently, Commander Jane Astley instantly saw the pop-up message that appeared. Fortunately for her she was the only one in the office at the present time, so she was able to click on the pop-up to check on its contents. Being the executive assistant to the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief meant that many things went through her before they were passed on to Fleet Admiral Hathaway. The moment the communique required her to place her access codes in she locked her computer and got up. Walking around her glass desk towards the door, which was also made out of glass, she looked around in the foyer/corridor to see if anyone else was around. Besides the usual guards that were at either end of the corridor, no-one else inhabited that area. Gradually she closed the door shut, tapped the button on the wall automatically activating the misty filter that appeared over the door and the wall next to it. This privacy feature prevented anyone looking in. Currently she required some privacy to deal with the matter at hand. Returning to her desk, she sat back down in her white leather executive chair, and entered her authorisation code which was accepted by the computer. Quickly, she read the message before deleting it off her computer and Starfleet mainframe. She re-locked her workstation and made her way to the other door, the one that led to Hathaway’s office. She knocked gently on the doorframe to gain her boss’ attention. 

“Ma’am, I’ve just received a message.” Astley calmly reported. 

Hathaway, who was sitting behind her desk reading a report on a tablet device, looked over to the doorway and at her aide. “Who from Jane?” She enquired, looking over the glasses she sometimes wore when reading. 

“Agent Minerva ma’am.” Astley said, using the codename only her and Hathaway knew. 

Hathaway placed the tablet down on her desk and took her glasses off. “What does it say?”

Astley moved into the office, allowing the door to close behind her. “Nothing ma’am, it’s the distress signal. What are your orders ma’am?”

Standing up from her desk, Hathaway walked over to the large bay windows that looked out on to San Francisco. It was the evening and the city harbour looked alive with the many lights that dazzled against the darkness. She turned around after making her decision. “Inform General Casey I want a team ready for us when we touch down on Mars.”

“Yes ma’am – do you wish to take Hawk-Major-One?” Astley asked, referring to Hathaway’s personal interplanetary transport’s call sign. 

Nodding, Hathaway gave the order. “Yes, but we’ll need to move quickly though. I don’t want to tip anyone to my unscheduled trip.”

“I’ll deal with everything ma’am.” Astley assured her commander. 

Hathaway picked up her field jacket that was hanging up on one of the walls, before she made her way over to a small cabinet. She tapped a few buttons that soon unlocked a small door. Inside it was a phase pistol, a scanner and a communicator. Packing the two devices into her coat’s pockets and then placing the pistol on her hip, she responded to Astley. “Thank you commander. If anyone asks where I am, then I’m having a private dinner with my niece.”

“Understood.” Astley replied as she watched Hathaway approach another door in the room. 

Again, Hathaway inputted a security code that released the locks to the door. The door swished open to reveal a secret elevator. She entered the one-person capsule. “If you can commander, then send a message to Minerva. Help is on its way.” She said as she turned to look at her assistant. The moment she finished she pressed the keypad that activated the lift that took her to the bunker that housed her private executive vessel. This would be one journey she knew that could change the face of Starfleet, depending on what had been found on Mars. Nevertheless, Fleet Admiral Hathaway was determined to know what her agent had found. Months she had patiently waited for news, something that she could understand and finally she could tell herself she was not paranoid. She hoped.

Hawk-Major-One OX-01-A

Almost marching across the hanger deck towards her admiral’s yacht, Hathaway was impressed how quickly everyone was getting on board the compact craft. The ship was no longer than forty metres long and eighteen metres tall, it had two main decks along with a cargo area and had a dark-silver hull, similar to other Starfleet vessels. Starfleet Insignias ran along the sides of the craft as well as on its tailfin. Even though she had travelled on the ship on many occasions, she could not but help consider it being a kit-bash between the old orbital shuttles from the late twentieth century as well as the prototype vessels used for the NX-project. The two warp nacelles were stuck under the wings, and like Zefram Cochrane’s Phoenix, they would extend allowing the ship to travel at a maximum of warp one-point-five.  At the aft of the ship were its main impulse engines, while on the ventral side were its atmospheric thrusters. The ship had been originally constructed by the UESPA to mark the launch of the first orbital shuttle created and launched in the mid-twentieth century, the Dauntless OVV-165, as well as to celebrate the achievements of the NX-Project. It had been a gift to Hathaway, as many in the UESPA knew how she had a particular interest in the history of humanity’s exploration of the stars. Even though the vessel’s callsign was Hawk-Major-One, Hathaway had insisted on calling it the Dauntless as an added homage, but she was informed that the callsign had to stay due to her position within Starfleet. Everyone else in Starfleet had adopted the name in an unofficial capacity, but the use of the official callsign was always used when she was onboard. A military tradition she was not completely fond of. 

Stepping up the tall staircase that took her up to the main entrance of the craft, Hathaway made her way in and after briefing the small crew of their destination it was not long until they began their departure checks. Once the Dauntless was airborne, Hathaway had retired to her very small office, behind the cockpit, to review everything that Agent Minerva had sent her over these last few months. She did not want to miss a thing and was adamant she had all the facts prepped. Her reading was interrupted with a knock on the door. Standing in the doorway was the Dauntless’ communication officer, Lieutenant Wyatt Spencer. He was in his late twenties, was reasonably tall and had broad shoulders. He was from Ohio in the United States and had been assigned to Hathaway’s staff as a senior aide, when he wasn’t serving the Dauntless in this capacity, he was her speechwriter as well as an assistant to Starfleet’s Press Office. He kept himself looking extremely smart and tidy, his medium length brown hair was combed over to the left side. His maintenance of his appearance had impressed Hathaway recently as he had just become a father to a little girl, he had returned to work only two weeks ago, and the new father had not stopped buzzing about the new ‘woman’ in his life. Hearing him complain about the lack of sleep he had received since her birth had made the admiral chuckle, however she admired how much he kept going since he started fatherhood. 

“Sorry to interrupt you ma’am, however we’ve just received a communique from the Ministry of Defence.” He shared.

Looking away from her screen, Hathaway showed a confused expression to Spencer. “What does it say?”

Spencer stepped into her office, allowing the door to close behind him. “Secretary Stark has ordered that you see him at once.”

Leaning back in her chair, she considered her options. It was rare for the Defence Secretary to summon her, let alone order her. They had an excellent working relationship and the two of them were always in constant communication with one another. “Did he say where?”

“At the Manoir de Christofle.” Spencer replied, mentioning the Prime Minister’s official residence.

Keeping her surprise under-wraps, Hathaway looked out of one of the small cabin windows, to see the craft was still climbing through the San Francisco skyline. Looking back at Spencer she issued the order. “Take us to Paris first then.” 

“Yes ma’am.” He replied before departing her office.

Another mystery now sat before her. Was it a coincidence that Stark had got in touch with her just as she was leaving? Or was this part of the same investigation she found herself now part of? Fortunately for her she had a small squad of MACOs onboard, she wouldn’t go anywhere without them now. She returned her attention back to her screen to resume reading Agent Minerva’s reports and data. In the back of her mind she had been impressed with Minerva, nevertheless she had to keep reminding herself to call her spy by her alias. If anyone was to find out that Minerva was in fact Commander Alexa Hanson, then her entire operation would be compromised, and she would never learn the full truth.

“Well that’s a blast from the past I wasn’t expecting.” Rossi said as helped himself to the decanter of whiskey on the side.

Karim for the first time since moving to her Martian hideout was lost for words. Everything that she had planned over the past year felt like it was slowly passing through her fingertips. The arrival of her former first officer had never been part of the plan. She knew that bringing his father into the fold was a risky one but giving him Challenger had been the plan to keep him occupied. “You and me both Alec.” She said quietly. Staring out onto the Martian landscape from her office, which was on the top floor of their base, had become an enjoyable pastime of hers. But now the view was no longer beautiful, it was a bitter, scary one for her. She needed time to rethink how they dealt with the situation they were in. 

Rossi approached her, holding a glass of the whiskey he had just poured for them both. “Here.” He offered. Gratefully she took the drink and they both clinked the glasses together, like they always did. “So where do we go from here?” He asked, taking a sip from his glass and sitting on the black leather couch that sat under the window. The office itself was laid out in a simple square shape, with a slightly raised part under the window. Besides the black sofa, opposite were two same coloured armchairs. On the lower part of the office was a corner desk with a portable computer console on it. The room was accessed by two doors, one on the south-wall and one directly next to it on the west-wall. The south-wall door led to a small washroom while the other was back out onto the main corridor. 

“First thing we need to do is close Trentuno Galactica and all of its subsidiaries over the next few months. It needs to look like a natural business disaster that affected it because of the war.” Karim said. “We’ve got to stop using it as a means of removing people from the public eye as it will become too suspicious.”

“Agreed, but you know that’s not what I meant by where we go from here.” Rossi stated back. 

Resisting the urge not to shrug her shoulders, Karim looked down at her right-hand man. “Well we can’t remove them like we would with any other threat to this organisation, can we?” She asked rhetorically. “The death of four Starfleet officers who have all lost their father recently, by the way he himself is one of Earth’s top scientists, would look too suspicious. Hathaway would soon discover what we were up to and it would force us to go further into the shadows.”

“So, does that mean we’re recruiting them or keeping them locked up?” Rossi questioned. 

“Again, Hathaway would launch an investigation into the whereabouts of four Starfleet officers, especially with two of them being captains.” Karim took another sip of her drink. 

For a few minutes neither of them said a word as they considered their options. 

“We’ll need to get in touch with him, just like you told Lloyd.” Rossi said eventually. 

Karim nodded. “Make it so Alec.” She said feeling deflated. “In the meantime, I’m going to chat with Lloyd.”

“Understood.” Rossi said, knowing what she was considering. 

As their father had nothing else to say to them, along with that they had stopped talking to him, he had decided to leave his four children. He had locked the door behind him as he left. They had been thrown back to almost square one since they had arrived on the base: being prisoners of some shady clandestine organisation. 

The door began to unlock, the noise startled all of them as they looked to see who was coming in. It soon swished open and Rani Karim stood before all of them. She caught Lloyd’s attention and spoke up, “Lloyd will join me?”

Lloyd had noticed the EM-33 pistol strapped to her hip; it was apparent she wasn’t going to take any risk. He looked at the others and they all gave him that warning look not to comply with her request. Following his gut instinct that this could be a chance to find a way out of this mess, Lloyd got out of his seat and stepped forward towards her. As he approached her, he turned to the others, “Sit still for now. I’ll be back soon.” He reassured them. 

Soon he was walking down the corridor as before with Karim next to him and a very tall, muscular guard a few steps behind him. The guard was carrying a rifle that looked like a variation on the MACO phase rifle. Lloyd had noticed that it was set to heavy stun. Fortunately for him Major Yu had made him become familiar with the weapon, even at a glance he was able to determine its setting.

“It is good to see you Lloyd.” Karim said, breaking the ice between them. She sounded sincere. Their pace was slow as they entered another corridor that he was unfamiliar with. “I know there are no words I can share with you that would make this situation any better.”

“How about: I’m letting you and your team go?” Lloyd rebutted with. 

Karim looked up at him and rolled her eyes. “Lloyd, I understand you’re annoyed, angry, possibly fuming with me and all of this.” She took a breath, “Nevertheless your own actions brought you all to me. If our roles were swapped, I am sure you would do the same thing.”

Huffing in response as well as shaking his head, “It just shows how little you knew me when you made me your first officer.” Lloyd stared down at her as they approached a lift-door. “I would never have betrayed the uniform I wore.”

Refusing to engage any further about her being a traitor to Starfleet, Karim entered the lift and insisted that Lloyd follow her. Once all three of them were in the cart, she changed the subject. “I’m going to show you the work we’ve been doing, and I am hoping the open-mindedness that you showed when you joined Challenger still remains.”

The lift started to move, and Lloyd just scoffed at the remark. “You really think that showing me whatever you’re doing here would make me think that’s it all okay?” He looked down at his former captain. “You really think that I’m going to be so overwhelmed by your great work that I will go back and convince the others of it?”

Karim didn’t bother to look up at him. Eventually the lift arrived at its destination: the busy port that held a number of ships under construction. Engineers of all kinds were working in the bay on the number of ships that sat there. Lloyd followed Karim onto a platform that took them up towards the docking port on one of the NCC-class ships that were under construction. He noticed the name of the ship they were about to enter: Victory.  The Royal Navy buff within him wondered if the ship was named after the HMS Victory, if it was then he knew that Admiral Nelson would most likely be turning in his grave knowing that his flagship’s namesake was being used in such a vulgar manner. Stepping into the craft, Lloyd was expecting something else especially as he had served on board the Essex – which was the same class as the Victory. But it was certainly different. Instead of the curved corridors in their typical Starfleet grey and silver tones, the corridor was very straight. No evidence appeared for any curves that had become the standard in Starfleet’s design of its ships’ interiors. Along with this the walls were pretty much white, while the corridors’ bulkheads were narrower and shaped like the top half of an octagon. The doors were of a pure reflective silver metallic colour. 

“You’ve made some changes I see.” Lloyd muttered as they went further into the ship. Just like outside, many engineers and technicians were working on the craft on the inside building the ship.

Karim nodded. “Victory is one of many Daedalus-class ships that have been upgraded with the latest innovations we’ve developed here.” She led them down the corridor. “Remember I said earlier that anything that is alien it’s ours? Well from that we’ve also adopted some design features from various ships that Starfleet has encountered.”

“Oh, I see.” Was all Lloyd could say. He was still trying to get used to the unusual design of the ship. He wondered if Essex, if it survived the war, would ever be upgraded to these configurations. 

Karim looked at him. “I know some of this unnerves you Lloyd, but as I’ve said before we are fighting the same war you are. We are just hoping to be able to support Starfleet with improvements that could make a difference.” 

They ended up entering a room that appeared to be the ship’s crew lounge. It was empty and their guard remained outside as Karim approached the wide window on the opposite wall. From where she stood, she had an impressive view of the other ships that were being built. 

Deciding to remain quiet for the moment, Lloyd was still trying to think how he and the others would get out of here alive. He wasn’t impressed with what Karim was trying to show him. 

Karim continued to talk. “Our ships incorporate the best of what your ship has to offer along with a few other surprises that the Romulans wouldn’t expect.”

Leaning against one of the walls, Lloyd crossed his arms. He wasn’t going to engage with her any time soon. In fact, he found her constant talking a nuisance. Karim turned to look at him. 

“If it wasn’t for us Lloyd then Starfleet wouldn’t have the use of photonic torpedoes.” She mentioned. “Captain Archer and his crew rescued a Klingon ship from a gas giant a couple of years ago. We were able to gain access to the scans they took of their torpedo systems and were able to create our own based on their designs. Just remember that next time you fire a torpedo.”

He remained silent and just continued to stare at her. 

“Silence, really Lloyd? I didn’t realise how childish you were.” She finally threw back. “Can’t you see the work we do here can make a difference? All of it could be yours!”

Lloyd opened his eyes further at that remark. “Really?” He was sarcastic in his reply.

“Yes, really!” Karim exclaimed, almost mimicking his tone. “Once these vessels are ready to be launched, they need to join the war effort and will require a fleet commander. I can’t think of anyone else better to do the job!”

“I’m not interested, and don’t you think Starfleet would have something to say about that?” He argued back. 

Karim shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, we’ve got plenty of supporters in Starfleet who could easily play this out that we are a new shipbuilding facility. It could easily transpire that Starfleet needed to keep us a secret because of the war effort.”

“So, Starfleet opens, what? The Utopia Planitia Shipyard and at the same time reveals a fleet of ships that are pressed to the front lines?” Lloyd threw back. 

“The Utopia Planitia Shipyard does have a nice ring to it, but seeing as we are building a fleet, I think it should be fleet yards.” Karim considered. 

“You are unbelievable.” Lloyd huffed in disbelief. He stood up straight and began to walk towards the airlock, he didn’t want to see anymore. 

“And you are so short-sighted Captain!” Karim shouted at him. 

It was the first time she had raised her voice between the two of them. The sound of her frustration had filled the corridor. Burton spun on his heels to look at her. “I don’t get how you think that by showing all of this to me is going to convince me to join you? Or that you think that by convincing me it may help convince my sister and brothers! And you say that all of this is for the greater good of Earth? I get why it is important to keep secrets from our enemy, but all of this could still be achieved under the strict oversight of Starfleet and not some shady organisation that has branched off from it. And you know what, if we can’t win this war with our principles, our rules, our laws and our values then at least we will go down fighting for them and not taking the cheater’s way.”

Karim rolled her eyes at Burton’s naivety. “You keep selling that story to yourself, but your optimism is not going to win us this war Lloyd. It will be won by outnumbering the Romulans with powerful ships and powerful weapons. This war is only going to end with one of the sides surrendering and I’ll be damned if I live under a Romulan banner.”

Before Lloyd could respond any further to their debate, a nearby communication panel whistled and its light flashed on. “Operations to Director Karim.” Spoke the voice of Alec Rossi. 

Karim walked over to the wall and pressed the button inwards, “Go ahead Alec.”

“We’ve got an incoming call from Earth; you’ll need to see it alongside our guests and Doctor Burton.” 

Manoir de Christofle, Place de la Concorde, Paris, France, Earth

Entering the office of the Prime Minister of Earth, Fleet Admiral Hathaway was not surprised to see Samuels sat behind his desk with Defence Secretary Stark standing by one of the large bay windows. The two people she was not expecting to see there were two members of her Command Council; Admirals Gardner and Admiral Black. Both men were in their uniforms and were sitting on the opposite side of the PM’s desk. 

It was quite early in the morning for French capital city and the sun had barely begun to rise. As a result, the office was still lit up by various lamps and ceiling lights. 

“Good morning gentlemen,” Hathaway said as she walked across the room and towards the PM’s desk.

“Fleet Admiral Hathaway, thank you for coming in so early. Please do sit.” Samuels said as he placed a cup of coffee down. Instead of being in one of his normal smart suits, he was wearing more casual attire. It appeared that he had just come down from his private residence. Looking over at Stark, who appeared to be in a state of disarray, it looked like he had been wearing a tuxedo, but he didn’t wear his jacket, his bow tie was loosely hanging around his neck while several of his top buttons were undone. His sleeves were also rolled up to his elbows. 

Hathaway took the last remaining seat, the one besides Gardner. “I take it this meeting is not to present me with good news?”

“Unfortunately, not.” Samuels said, with a mixed expression of annoyance and anger washed across his face. “Admirals Gardner and Black have just informed me of an undercover mission they have learnt about, one that you have kept off the books admiral?”

Hathaway remained calm and looked to her two subordinates. She wondered if the two of them were part of this conspiracy that she and Hanson had been investigating. Deciding not to reveal her cards yet, Hathaway remained level-headed. “I’m sorry sir but I am not aware of what you’re talking about.”

Samuels rolled his eyes and rubbed his eyes with his palms. “The Martian mission you have sent Captain Lloyd Burton and his siblings on.”

Still she kept her posture. “I’m not aware of any mission Mister Prime Minister.”

Gardner huffed before speaking. “Then explain why they are on Mars ma’am.”

Hathaway looked at the man that she had made Director of Starfleet Operations over a year ago. “I am as baffled as you are Sam,” She replied. “The last thing I was aware of, they all were on compassionate leave due to their father’s death.”

“Well can you explain why they were seen on Mars with one of my officers after she had a meeting with Captain Madison Burton?” Black now added.

Glaring in disbelief at Gregory Black, the director of Starfleet Security, Hathaway responded. “I am quite perplexed that the two of you are asking me about the whereabouts regarding senior officers who serve under you both.” Hathaway paused. Whatever Burton and his group had discovered on Mars had obviously prompted the two of them to react this way. Wondering if Agent Minerva was with Burton and his siblings, the admiral had hoped they had been able to solve this mystery that had plagued Starfleet for some time now. She felt the admiral were trying to weave a web of more lies, but it was so obvious. “Why don’t you tell me?” She continued with, “That is your job, to inform me of any situations that I need to be aware of. It’s called the chain of command, or have you not heard of it?”

“Then explain why you were taking your personal yacht out for a spin towards Mars?” Black quickly threw back. 

Hathaway kept her anger back at his insubordination. She needed to be careful how she managed this situation. “I don’t see how that’s any of your goddamn business. Last time I checked Gregory, you have eight pips on your shoulders, not ten like me.”

“Enough,” The Prime Minister said in a stern manner. “I won’t have this bickering like school children carry on in my office. There’s a reason why we’ve called you three here.” He looked over his shoulder to Stark. “Matthew, would you share with them what you shared with me earlier?”

Stark nodded, turned himself towards them and crossed his arms. “Of course, sir, but I’ve got to say all of this,” He remarked by gesturing at the three of them bickering, “It couldn’t have been timed any better with what I’ve discovered. So, as you know my political ambition was never a high one and I only got into it when Nathan asked me to run for office. Before that I ran Earth’s leading private defence company, however when I was elected and made Defence Secretary, I handed the position of CEO to my wife. Well I had an interesting chat with her earlier tonight while we were celebrating our wedding anniversary. She recently tried to buy a number of shares into various firms that provide interplanetary transport and one of them she had serious problems with.” He then uncrossed his arms, placed his hands in his pockets and began to pace the office before carrying on with his explanation. “Have any of you heard of Trentuno Galactica?” Not giving them time to answer he quickly continued. “It’s a small civilian company, it does journeys from Earth to Mars mainly. However, when my wife’s chief financial officer made a number of valuable overtures to them, they turned him down. This happened on more than one occasion. My wife, wanting to know why such a small company would not be interested in any business ventures with her, had her legal team look into them. When she got the report back, she discovered that the company itself wasn’t a real one. It was an empty shell, with only a few small properties here on Earth but the biggest thing that made this all interesting was the large amount of land they acquired on Mars from the Martian Assembly just outside of Utopia colony. Again, further investigation discovered that this area was bare, there was nothing there except large craters and canyons.”

“This is all fascinating, but I don’t see what it has to do with Starfleet and the Burtons unauthorised undercover Martian mission?” Black interrupted with. 

“Oh, you will.” Stark confidently said. “Because my wife also found out that this company was moving heavy construction equipment into this area on Mars. Equipment which is used to build starships. Alloys, materials and other resources from various other private smaller firms were being purchased and again being sent there. So, they continued to investigate and remember my old company has the best satellites and communication gear in the private sector. My wife trained all of what she had available towards Mars and they were able to get a number of sensor scans that indicate there is currently a large construction facility under Utopia colony.” 

Alarm bells began to ring in Hathaway’s head. She had not always appreciated Stark’s approach to many situations; however, the man was a genius, extremely charming as well as resourceful. If he knew even a part of this puzzle, then she had to find out what he knew. “I’m assuming your wife investigated this further?” She said, wanting to know more details. 

“Oh, she did admiral. You see, my Holly is a determined businesswoman, it’s why she was my successor. Once her mind is set on something, she won’t finish the work until she has all of the facts.” Stark explained. “She has discovered that a number of Starfleet resources were originally used to put this little facility together.” Stark now looked at all three admirals. “Anyone care to share anything now? Because I don’t recall ever receiving any report on such a venture.”

All three admirals remained quiet but being the leader Hathaway wasn’t prepared to look foolish. “I’m unaware of such authorisation being given to Mister Secretary.”

Stark nodded, he obviously knew the answers except he was testing them, “No admiral you wouldn’t know anything about it, because it was kept from you.” He looked at the other two. “Admirals, I think you may want to share what you both know.”

Looking confused, Gardner spoke up. “I have no idea what you’re going on about Mister Secretary.”

“I concur with Gardner, what are you trying to imply?” Black asked, who appeared to be now getting frustrated with the situation.

“Admiral Black, you sir, signed off the original order for the materials to be sent to Mars, four years ago. While Admiral Gardner has signed off the most recent orders and before he was promoted to his current rank, he was a frequent visitor to the same location on Mars.” Stark revealed. 

Hathaway turned to look at the two men. “Well gentlemen, would you care to explain to me what is happening on Mars or am I going to have to order the Judge Advocate General to do her duties here during a court martial?”

“Hang on here admiral.” Samuels said, now speaking up since he handed this over to Stark. “We still need to know what is being built on Mars and why any of this started.” He looked at the two lower ranking admirals. “Well? Care to explain?”

Neither of them said a word; Black crossed his arms against his chest while Gardner placed his hands on his lap. 

“Gentlemen, I now have an issue in bringing this to the president. As the commander of all of Earth’s forces I am sure I can get her to order you to share everything you know about this operation. But knowing President Littlejohn, I am sure she would want me to call General Casey and have him send an entire division of MACOs to Mars to find out what is happening without your input.” Samuels said, hoping his threat would be enough to persuade them to share. 

“It’s a shipyard, obviously, along with a research outpost.” Gardner said. The moment he spoke Black sighed out in defeat.

“A shipyard, building what kind of ships and doing what type of research?” Hathaway asked. 

“It’s building ships that aren’t as expensive to build compared to the NX-class ships. It’s also part of our efforts to develop the warp-seven engine.” Gardner answered.

The revelation shocked Hathaway and Samuels while it appeared to pique Stark’s interest. 

“And when were we going to be informed about this secret hideout of yours?” The Defence Secretary posed. 

“Article fourteen, section thirty-one of the Starfleet Charter, allows for extraordinary measures to be taken in times of extreme threat.” Black finally said. “The entire base is black-ops. It’s a branch of Starfleet Security that no-one is to know about to avoid anyone, especially the Romulans, finding out about it. Everything that is there is classified and strictly off the books. There’s no records, except those created to make it seem like a legitimate small transportation company.”

Sitting back in her chair, Hathaway had found the answers she had been searching for. “And I take it the Burtons have spoiled your plans?” 

“What do you mean?” Black quickly enquired. 

“The fact you two just sat here, insinuated that I had sent them to Mars on some undercover mission can only mean one thing: they found the base and now you’re worried that they will reveal its existence.” Hathaway deducted, she looked up at Stark and she could see from his expression he was thinking exactly the same thing. Hence the reason why he shared so much about what his wife had found. “And they would only do that if they found their father there.”

“You did send them, didn’t you?” Gardner asked.

Hathaway shook her head, “No as I said before I didn’t send them. All I did was tell Captain Lloyd Burton to look into his father’s death as I believed it was suspicious. My instincts were right and as the captain is an excellent investigator, it would appear he was unstoppable once he had the help from his sister and brothers.”

“Along with Commander Hanson too.” Black added. “One of our finest investigators joined them on their little Martian exploration,” He looked at Hathaway, “I know she reports to you admiral.”

“Indeed, she does.” Hathaway acknowledged. “Commander Hanson is a fine officer and her joining the Burtons has almost made them unstoppable from the sounds of it.”

Prime Minister Samuels now sat back in his own chair. “You’re telling me that a group of Starfleet officers, without authorisation from their own government, have set up a base in an attempt to build a fleet to defend Earth and its allies?”

Black nodded, “Yes.”

“Hot damn.” Muttered the Prime Minister in disbelief as he shook his head.

“Sir, we have to face facts that we may lose this war. What this particular section of Starfleet is doing is ensuring our survival by building more ships that are better and stronger than our current ones. Alongside that, the development of technology that will help us in our fight too. Do you really have a problem with that?”

“Why yes I do.” Samuels replied. “The whole point of having a chain of command and having security clearance is to ensure that state secrets are kept only with those who need to know. If you had to come to us with this proposal beforehand then I don’t think I would have had a problem with it, but now I know about its existence and how it came about it makes it a lot harder to put this genie back into its bottle. I mean once it is out there…well the political ramifications will be huge! This goes completely against the spirit of the Earth Commonwealth.”

The room fell silent as there was nothing else to say or add to the matter at hand. Hathaway felt betrayed by both Gardner and Black. She pondered who else was part of this section of theirs. She dreaded thinking about it.

“Perhaps there is a way around this sir.” Stark spoke. He walked back towards the PM’s desk. “We allow for my wife’s company to buy Trentuno Galactica as planned, but we also start a joint-program between Starfleet and her company to develop a starship construction facility on Mars. Once time permits, we unveil the new shipyards and they are handed over to the sole control of Starfleet. We keep it quiet and let the official record show that this started recently, while only a few of us know the unofficial story.”

“The Earth Parliament won’t allow you or a member of your close family to profit from such a large contract, Mister Secretary. It would be seen as a conflict of interest.” Black mentioned. 

“Then I’ll resign as Defence Secretary and from Parliament.” Stark offered and looked down at Samuels who was shocked by his announcement. “I can request that my wife places me back on the board of directors of our company, by being there I could oversee this project.”

Samuels was not happy with Stark’s suggestion. “Matthew, I don’t want to lose you right now. The loss of you as the Defence Secretary would be a major blow to this administration.”

Stark nodded in agreement. “Yes, it would,” He said in a very egotistical manner, “but I could state that you need someone who has been a soldier in this position, not a former businessman.” He stroked his beard. “In fact, elevate the current deputy defence secretary to the post.”

“You want Thomas Vanderbilt to succeed you?” Samuels remarked.

Stark nodded, “Thomas is a good guy and served in the US Air Force before he was made an MP for the Atlantic Seaboard. Since becoming my deputy, he has been one of my point men for Starfleet and the MACOs. He knows how to work closely with both of them.” 

 “Okay and what about the black-ops side of the base?” Samuels asked. 

“We give key researchers new identities and especially move the resources for the warp seven project to another facility. Perhaps a civilian one, the Cochrane Institute of Alpha Centauri would be an excellent choice.” Hathaway suggested.

“You can’t do this.” Black said in defence. “This section has been working hard in protecting so many lives. If you rip out its main base of operations, then we will have serious security concerns.”

Samuels snapped at him. “Admiral, you don’t have the right to tell me what I can and can’t do.” He looked at Hathaway, “How do you wish to proceed with these two?” He asked the two admirals.

Hathaway looked at them both, she considered her options and sighed. “Arresting them or removing them from their posts would not help troop morale at the moment. As you said Mister Prime Minister it would be a major blow, especially to the Command Council. That said, if I say we took a page out of their book, I do have the right to re-shuffle posts within the Command Council. However, I would like to know everything they know. Perhaps we can organise a deal gentleman?” She looked at the two of them, both of them looking defeated on their faces. 

“I’ll leave this under your discretion then Fleet Admiral Hathaway.” Samuels said in agreement with her choice. 

Hathaway took out her communication device, called in the three MACOs and Lieutenant Spencer (whom she had brought with her). They entered the room promptly. “Lieutenant Spencer, Admirals Gardner and Black will be joining us on Mars. Please escort them to the Dauntless and tell our pilots to prepare for immediate departure.”

Spencer nodded and gestured for the two admirals to follow him out. Once they had left, Hathaway looked back at Samuels and Stark to speak to them. “There’s more to this than we actually know.”

“I agree.” Stark said to her, “and I think we need to remain vigilant and ensure this little section of Starfleet Security does not get out of hand.”

“Then can I suggest we keep Commander Hanson on the case with a higher clearance?” Hathaway proposed.

“What if Black tries to interfere?” Samuels asked, knowing that Black was her direct superior in Starfleet Security.

Hathaway smiled, “Don’t worry Mister Prime Minister, I plan to move Gregory out of Starfleet Security and place him as the Starfleet Liaison to the Office of the Prime Minister of Earth. You’ll be seeing him a lot more than me.”

Samuels groaned at that idea. “At least we can keep a close eye on him. What about Gardner?”

“I won’t be able to move him yet; it would appear suspicious if I move experienced personnel out of vital posts. But I will keep a tight leash on him, perhaps I will assign him a new staff and ensure that all of his orders go through me for clearance for a while.” Hathaway remarked.

“Very well,” Samuels said standing from his desk, trying to avoid yawning, “Keep me informed of any updates.”

“I will sir. I will speak to the others too and issue classified orders to them. I may have to raise some of their security clearances though.” Hathaway said, she turned to look at Stark. “And I suppose I will need to wish you luck, Mister Secretary.”

Stark extended his hand towards the admiral. “I’m sure this is not the end of our work together, but it’s been a pleasure to work with you Moira. The best to you as well.”

Hathaway shook his hand and soon left. She was eager now to head to Mars and begin to put all of this to rest.

“Admiral on deck!” Called Madison from Lloyd’s right the moment Fleet Admiral Hathaway stepped on to the large hanger deck. Except for the few Starfleet officers around, no-one else stood to attention.

Smirking at the lack of formality, Hathaway waved off the callout and moved towards Lloyd and his sister. “Captains, it is good to see you both.”

“Likewise, ma’am.” Lloyd replied as he extended his hand to shake the Commander-in-Chief. Madison nodded and shook her hand after her brother. “The others in our team are securing the facility per your orders we received.” He added. 

Hathaway nodded towards a young lieutenant in a blue science uniform behind her and a few seconds later a contingent of MACOs began pouring out of the cargo hold, all of them heavily armed. Other Starfleet officers followed them out. They began to scout out the area with scanners, all of them holding phase pistols.

“Ma’am, I’ll oversee them securing the base if with your permission?” Madison offered.

Again, Hathaway agreed with a nod, “Thank you Captain Burton.” She said to Madison, who quickly went to work with the new arrivals. 

Hathaway looked around the large bay, staring up at the great big ships that were almost complete. “An impressive facility.” Hathaway noted. She looked back at Lloyd. “Did you find the answers you were searching for?”

“We did ma’am.” Lloyd answered with a sombre tone. 

“And?” She probed. 

“Unfortunately, we found out too much.” Lloyd admitted.

Hathaway had incline about what he meant by that. “And beside your father, what about the others?”

Lloyd grimaced at that question. He had sent her a secure message before her arrival. In it he had told her about his former commanding officer and the others that were stationed on the base. “Sadly ma’am, when they discovered you were coming, along with a sizable force to take the base, Karim and the others all fled. We don’t know where they’ve gone now.” 

“And your father?”

“He stayed, I had Commander Hanson confine him in his quarters.” Lloyd explained. “They locked us all in our quarters before they left, those who are left on the base appear to be scientists, researchers, engineers and construction workers. Timers were set up on our doors so when they ran out our doors opened by themselves. Once we knew it was safe to leave our rooms, we made it to the central operations area and found out what they left.”

Hathaway gave out a big sigh and suggested they start to walk down the long hanger deck. “Did they leave us anything we can use to expose and remove this group of theirs from Starfleet?”

Shaking his head, Lloyd bluntly answered her. “I’m afraid not ma’am. My brother Roman took a look and he said they appeared to delete critical files that were related to any of their operations. They have an impressive computer system here. Section Thirty-One knew what they were doing.”

“Section Thirty-One?” Hathaway repeated with confusion. 

Scoffing at the name they had given the group; he clarified his point. “It’s the name Seth gave them, it’s after the part of the Starfleet Charter they claim gives them the authority to do what they’ve done here.” 

“Remind me to suggest to the Earth Parliament we make an amendment to the charter.” Hathaway said after groaning inwards. “What else have you found out about them?” 

“Roman has been trying to access what files that weren’t deleted, but from what they’ve left behind he believes shows they were just not interested in building up a secret fleet or developing the warp seven engine. The technologies they were researching here all appeared to be geared towards covert operations and security issues.” Lloyd stated. “That said, Roman thinks the ships they have built can be completed and launched.”

Hathaway paused and took one more glance up at the Victory, the ship that Karim had tried to entice Lloyd with only hours ago. “How many do they have here?”

“At least eight ships, all Daedalus-class, are nearing completion and we’ve found components to build another two.” Lloyd reported. “We also discovered shipping requests to various other companies for more parts. Roman estimated that with those they could have built another fifteen ships.”

Crossing her arms against her chest, Hathaway considered her options and then looked up to Burton. “You’ve done an incredible job here Captain Burton, I didn’t think you investigating your father’s death would lead us to this.” She smiled, adding to her compliments. “It would seem you and your siblings are unstoppable when you work together.” 

Lloyd smiled with pride at that last comment, “Thank you ma’am, but there is one matter my sister, brothers and I would like to talk to you about privately.” 

“What are we going to do with your father?” She guessed.

He nodded, “I would never agree with how Karim and her fellow Section Thirty-One operatives dealt with things here. In their eyes they think that covering everything up in the shadows will help us. That all said, my father is an incredibly resourceful and talented individual. If he can crack the research into the warp seven engine, it would make such a difference to the war, but he couldn’t do that by returning from the grave.”

“So, you want us to maintain his cover-up?” Hathaway asked. 

“If what Karim told us and the Romulans have a better intelligence network compared to us then I think we need to maintain the charade.” Lloyd said reluctantly.  “He has the best team here on the base, that with the right oversight, I believe they could do it and help with other war-efforts.” Lloyd suggested.

“And all four of you are in agreement about this?” Hathaway enquired, mentioning his siblings. 

“We are.” Lloyd said. His expression showed some pain in admitting that they would need to keep their father’s existence a secret. “If we win this war then we are going to need their expertise and we can’t put their lives at risk to do it. Plus, they know how this fleet works,” He said, gesturing towards the ships around them “they would need to train our people if we decide to use them.” 

“Well Prime Minister Samuels has a plan on how we can deal with all of this,” She said gesturing towards the base, “in a couple of months, as long as the Romulans don’t invade Earth, I’ll be announcing the opening of a new shipyard here on Mars.”

Lloyd smiled; the irony of the whole situation got to him. “Perhaps call it the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards ma’am?”

Rolling her eyes at the suggestion, Hathaway joined Lloyd by smirking herself. “Maybe.” She took one more look around the bay, “Well Captain, will you show me the rest of this facility, it will be nice to know what we’ve just acquired.”

After several hours the facility was now secure under Starfleet and MACO forces. Lloyd had moved himself into Karim’s office to see if there were any clues to say where she had gone after she fled with Rossi and the others. He had given up when he had realised there was nothing left, except a small gold model of Challenger that he had smashed into half out of temper and rage. Its saucer section laid on the floor next to a broken nacelle. Staring out of the main window he hadn’t noticed one of the doors opening and his siblings entering.

“Lloyd, it’s time.” Madison said, grabbing his attention.

He turned around to look at the three of them. “Where’s dad?” He asked.

“Still being debriefed by Admiral Hathaway’s people.” Roman said.

“You want to see him?” Madison asked. 

Seth quickly interjected, “Absolutely not.” 

Lloyd shared his youngest brother’s anger towards their father. “I’m with Seth on that one.”

Madison looked at Roman who just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “I’ve said all I want to say to him.” 

Nodding to show she understood, Madison cleared her throat. “Then why don’t we get out of here.”

“We’re all agreed though that we won’t tell mum any of this?” Lloyd questioned them.

Roman looked up at his older brother, “How can we? Admiral Hathaway has given us classified orders not to say anything. This whole thing is going to be kept a secret.”

“Perhaps once the war is over, maybe they will let us see him with mum.” Madison offered.

“Maybe.” Seth said and led his family out of the room, leaving Lloyd to be last. 

Lloyd took one more look around the office, he looked down at the broken model, gave it a kick and quickly left. He was eager to leave all of this behind him.

The unusual warm breeze continued to hit against Nicole’s face as she drove across the rolling hills of Napa. It was now the fall and the different shades of orange, yellow and red filled the landscape. Fortunately, the sun was out today and glaring hard down on her home state of California. Driving a convertible car across the country had always been a pleasure she had enjoyed when she had been old enough to drive. When she had returned after three years on the ECS Polaris, her aunt’s cargo ship, learning to drive had been high on her to-do list. Now it came natural to her, just like piloting a shuttlepod or a starship. Sunglasses on and an almost tight scarf around her neck, she was pleased with what she had picked to wear today. Since leaving San Francisco she had changed out of her uniform and was quick to enjoy the time off from her work. After getting her car, she had enjoyed the long trek north to visit her family, mainly her sister Claudia. She had called ahead, told her sister and her brother-in-law that she was home and asked if she could stay with them. Instantly her sister had said yes and was very excited about seeing her. Being the middle child of three sisters and two brothers, she had plenty of people to choose from to stay with, however Claudia had been the one to stay in touch the most since she had departed on Challenger.

Going down a long, narrow road, she soon found herself approaching her sister’s vineyard. Claudia had taken over the vineyard over ten years ago when her former boss had passed away and had left it to her in his will. Since then both her and Cooper (her husband) had developed it into a thriving business. It had become their home too, one where their son, who was now six, was growing up. She slowed her car down as she approached the main driveway. The main building itself was separated into three parts; the central section and the west-wing were assigned to the business while the east-wing was strictly off limits to everyone besides the family as it was their private residence. Making her way up towards the east-side of the large building, which looked like a huge mansion if no-one knew what happened within its walls, Nicole carefully parked her car and got out. She leant over to the back seats and picked up her white jacket and quickly put it on. As she was doing this, she heard a familiar voice calling her out.

“Aunt Nicole!” Shouted Mackenzie, her six-year-old nephew. 

Without delay, she turned on her heels to see the little blonde boy running towards her with his arms out wide. She crouched down on to the floor, spread her own arms out and took him into a tight hug. “Mack, oh my goodness you’ve got tall!” She said after giving him a kiss on the cheek. Mack looked almost like a little version of Cooper. His dusty blonde hair with his blue-green eyes were complimented by his dimples and adoring personality. 

Affectionately the little boy returned the gesture, “I’m so glad you’re here! Mommy was worried about you!”

“Hey, you’re not supposed to tell your aunt that!” Another familiar voice spoke. 

Letting go of Mack, Nicole stood up to see her sister approaching them. Claudia Walker was the eldest daughter of the Levesque clan. She was only five years older than Nicole and was the odd-one out of the Levesque siblings. Unlike everyone else who had inherited their mother’s dark brown hair (though it was more silver now), Claudia had platinum blonde hair and green eyes. Out of everyone in their family, she was the most outgoing and outrageous one. She was confident and knew what she wanted out of life.

Claudia quickly called her son a traitor for letting out an apparent secret before she gave her younger sister a hug. “Salut soeur.” Claudia greeted her in their father’s ancestral French tongue. “It’s good to see you.”

After letting go of her sibling, Nicole continued to smile. For the first time in a long time she felt extremely happy. “Likewise, thank you so much for putting me up.”

Flapping her right hand as to say it’s not an issue, Claudia linked her arm into her sister’s as they started to walk towards the house with Mack holding on Nicole’s other hand. “I’m glad to have you, I know the rest of the family will be happy to see you but none of them have the room like we do.”

“I do appreciate it Claudia, getting away from everything is what I just need,” Nicole mentioned, “and it would be great to catch up with the whole family too.”

“Of course, it will.” Claudia remarked. “You say the word and I will get the message out that you are home. I’ll get everyone to come over for a meal.”

Smiling at the idea of a home cooked meal with everyone around one table sounded like bliss. “That would be good, but I don’t want to cause any problems with everyone. Maybe we can all see them over the next couple of days.” Nicole suggested.

“Are you kidding me? If any of them found out that I was harbouring you here, we both would be shot!” Claudia joked back. “I’ll get a message out tonight and see who is available.”

“As long as it’s not too much hassle.” Nicole said, feeling bad to put on the family only moments after she arrived.

“It won’t be, will it Mack?” Claudia said, getting her son to join her side in convincing his aunt to agree to her proposal.

“Not at all, could Luc and Gabriel stay for a sleepover?” Mack asked, mentioning two of his cousins.

“Let’s see what everyone says first about dinner.” Claudia replied, attempting to deflect the idea of having her house invaded by her nephews as she knew if they stayed, she would end up having her nieces too. 

Nicole chuckled at her nephew’s youthful eagerness. “Where’s Cooper?” She enquired about her brother-in-law.

“He’s out visiting colleagues in Pasadena, he’ll be back later.” She answered. “Let’s get you settled into the guest house and then we can catch up about everything.”

“That sounds perfect Claudia!” Nicole said, still smiling and following her sister as she led her through their massive home. 

Nicole had unpacked her bags after being shown the guest house by Claudia. It was a reasonable sized building that had everything on the ground floor. It had two bedrooms, with the master room having an en-suite bathroom. There was a small kitchenette and a large living space that had huge floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out onto the decking that had a spectacular view of the Napa Valley. As an added bonus there was an impressive fireplace with the whole building being decorated in a very modern style. Deciding not wanting to be alone anymore, she made her way out of her temporary new home and headed over to the main house. She entered through the backdoor that took her into the kitchen. There she found her sister preparing food, possible for tonight. Claudia was an excellent cook, traits she had inherited from their father. In the distance she heard Mack screaming with joy as he dived and swam in the outdoor heated pool that could be seen from one of the windows. 

When Claudia had seen Nicole enter, she went over to the glass door refrigerator and took out a bottle of white wine. Nicole knew what type, it was a Pinot Grigio, one of her favourites. Claudia also took out two glasses and began to pour. As she began to pour, Claudia informed her sister about tonight’s plan.

“I’ve spoken to everyone and in true Levesque family style, everyone is dropping everything to come and see you here tonight for dinner. Mom is beyond excited about a family reunion!” 

Nicole smiled, glad to hear that she was seeing everyone tonight before she instantly remembered that she could not drink alcohol as Claudia handed her a glass. 

“Umm Claudia, none for me thanks.” She pleaded as she took a seat on one of the kitchen stools that was under the centre workstation.

Claudia paused, pouring her own glass, looking perplexed at her sister’s words. “I’m sorry, but when did my sister not jump at the chance of drinking real wine? Surely that stuff you have on that ship of yours isn’t as amazing as the real thing?”

Shaking her head, Nicole replied. “It’s not that, it’s just I can’t drink at the moment.”

“Why not?” Claudia persisted with her questions. “Are you unwell?”

Nicole chuckled to herself, “No it’s not that either, it’s just-”

“You’re pregnant!” Claudia interrupted with. 

Nodding a few times in acknowledgement, Nicole said she was followed by her sister now screaming with joy and running to hug her. 

“This is amazing news Nicole!” Claudia said, still beaming with a smile. “I didn’t know you were seeing someone!”

Inwards Nicole groaned to herself. She knew this was going to be complicated to explain. She took a deep breath and explained to Claudia that she wasn’t “with someone” and shared what had happened between her and Burton on the transporter, that she was pregnant with triplets too. Once she had finished, Claudia (who was now sitting on a stool) seemed to be taking a moment to process and understand the whole thing. 

“That sounds pretty messed up Nicole.” Claudia bluntly said. “I mean getting pregnant by your own commanding officer without doing the actual deed…well it’s very boring!”

“Boring?!” Nicole repeated back, confused with her sister’s use of words.

Claudia nodded, “Yeah, where’s all the excitement of making a baby, the passion, the love, the whole romance behind it? You’ve been spoiled by that transporter!”

Nicole burst out laughing at her sister’s take on her situation. She had never considered how hilarious it all was. “I never thought of it that way before.”

“Another reason to be glad you’re staying with me and not our parents!” Claudia remarked. “Are you keeping the babies?”

“Yeah, I am.” Nicole said, without realising it she instinctively covered her stomach with her left hand. 

“Good,” Claudia reassured her as she gave her another hug. After letting go she looked at her younger sister, “And what about this captain of yours? What’s his take on all of this?”

Nicole sighed deeply at that question. Again, she explained how the two of them had agreed to raise the children together, but they weren’t an item along with that he was dealing with the recent death of his father. Claudia was shocked to hear the whole thing. 

“What about Starfleet? Are they going to allow you to raise the children on a starship? In fact, is it safe to do so?” Claudia questioned. 

Nicole shook her head, “Sadly Starfleet won’t allow families on a starship. I would have to take a position here on Earth. I was thinking about applying to be an instructor at Starfleet Training Command or seeing if there was something else I could do at Command.”

“That sounds great, but what about your dreams of becoming a starship captain yourself? I thought you wanted to be out there exploring space? And is Burton going to stay with you or is he going off exploring?” Claudia continued with her barrage of questions. 

“Well I would have to put my plans on hold and raise the triplets and I’ve yet had the chance to talk arrangements through with Lloyd yet. As I said, the moment we reached Earth orbit he found out about his dad’s passing.” Nicole explained. “I need this time away from Starfleet to think things through and make some decisions from there.”

Claudia nodded, showing she understood. “Well, honey you’ve found the right place to do that. Are you planning to tell the others tonight?”

Nicole shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know yet. I need some time to think about it.”

Once again Claudia nodded to show her support. “Whatever you need Nicole, you’ve got me, Cooper and Mack’s support here.”

“Thanks Claudia.” Nicole said as she leaned in to hug her sister. 

The whole family were all sat outside, with outdoor heaters and a few fire pits all on to keep them warm while they shared their meal. Not so far from the decked-out patio that took up a bit of Claudia’s back garden, was the outdoor pool. Claudia and Nicole had stuck up various outdoor lights and a number of candles too to help set a calm atmosphere. Everything had gone to plan so far.

“Well, as always, that was superb and delicious,” spoke Anneliese Levesque at one end of the large oval-shaped table. She raised her glass of wine upwards and everyone around the table raised their drinks too. Claudia, the host and cook for the evening, smiled in gratitude. “It’s nice to have everyone together.” The matriarch of the family added. Which was followed by a number of them all agreeing. Anneliese was a petite woman; she was a force to be reckoned with when it came to her being highly protective of her family. It was her strength which her daughters had inherited from her that made them so successful. Her kind, caring nature made her an excellent teacher – something she had done for almost fifty years now at the local college. Her free spirit only enhanced her approach to teaching art to so many young people. Her almost grey/silver hair was always kept in the same fashion: tied up in a bun with bangs swiped almost to the right. Even though she was in her early seventies now, many people thought she was at least ten years younger. She had kept herself active through her work as well as being so active in her children’s lives as well as her grandchildren’s. As a result of that, she had earned the pet-name of “super nan” by them. 

Nicole was sat by Claudia, almost in the middle of the table. No-one had mentioned that she wasn’t drinking any wine. Instead they were all sharing stories and catching up about each other’s lives. At the other end of the table was their father, Anthony Levesque, who was taking a sip of his wine. Witty, intelligent, and formidable – Anthony had all the great qualities of a father. Being the former County Sheriff for Napa, he was well-known in the local community. After he retired from his position of sheriff, many had asked him to go on to enter politics, but he told his supporters the political life was not one he wanted. He was a pragmatic, charming, and tough man who was known for his ability to be graceful under pressure. He was only a few centimetres taller than his wife and shared the same colour of hair, although in most places his hair appeared whiter than hers. Nicole loved her father, just as much as her siblings did, he had always put their needs and safety above his. Back when she decided to join Starfleet, even though she had fallen out with both of her parents over it, it had been her father that had eventually told her to go and follow her dreams. Since leaving the Sheriff’s office, he had continued a small business venture he started when he was younger, running a small restaurant in the town. It was a typical bistro and many of Claudia’s products appeared heavily in its menu. Luckily for its patrons, Anthony did not cook. He had hired an old friend of Claudia’s to be his head chef, while Anthony had gone on to run the business side of the bistro and be its de facto maître d’. He had enjoyed welcoming customers, engaging with them and ensuring the entire staff were happy. Again, like his wife, he was in his early seventies and no-one would have thought it with the way he carried on. 

“To family.” Anthony said, adding to his wife’s sentiments as he raised his glass again to his loved ones.

Again, they all shared in the toast by clinking their glasses against each other’s. Anthony had placed his glass down and returned to cutting up the food on his plate. He spoke as he did this, “So Nicole how long are you home for?” 

Nicole had just placed her glass down and wiped her mouth lightly with her napkin. She looked down at her father, “Challenger is in the repair yard for at least two weeks papa.” She affectionately replied.

Cooper, her brother-in-law and Claudia’s husband, started to talk, “One of my friends said the Challenger was in quite a mess when she arrived. No warp-core? I reckon she’ll be in dry-dock for some time.” Cooper, like Nicole, was a Starfleet officer. He had been a scientist all of his life and had received a Starfleet commission only a few years ago after he spent many years as a civilian consultant. He was now working at Starfleet Training Command, preparing all future Starfleet scientists with what they needed to know.  He had served briefly on board the Miranda as its chief science officer before taking a teaching position at STC. Like Claudia he was confident, however his calmer, grounded, mature and level-headed traits made him the perfect other half to her. He had brought out a side to her sister she had never seen before. On top of that he was easy on the eyes and this was probably another reason why Claudia had instantly fallen in love with him when they met. His short sandy blonde hair and dreamy blue eyes made him particularly attractive. With being quite broad in the shoulders (Claudia said he was always working out or remaining active when he was home), Nicole had wondered if Claudia had also married him to further annoy her parents because he worked with Starfleet. 

“I think the crew are eager to return to duty.” Nicole commented. “With the war going on, I don’t think they like the idea of not being able to get out there and do their bit.” 

Cooper nodded, “I know what you mean.” He said with a friendly smile. Nicole had gotten to know her brother-in-law well before she was on active starship assignments; he had shared with her the values of Starfleet. She knew secretly that he had enjoyed his time on a starship and if it hadn’t been for them having Mack, he would instantly be back on active field duty.

“Can we not bring up the war at the dinner table please?” Anneliese requested from the other end of the table. 

A slight sigh came from Nicole’s youngest brother: Elijah. “Mom, it’s not as if you can avoid it. The media are constantly posting updates.”

Anneliese appeared to be flustered with her youngest child, “Yes I know that, but we don’t need to share all that doom and gloom in front of the children.” She said referring to her grandchildren who were all dotted around the table too. 

Elijah, who was twenty-six, just rolled his eyes and returned to eating his dinner. He just looked over to his husband who sat across from him, hoping for some support. Elijah, out of all the Levesque siblings, had always appeared to be the calmer one out of them all. He had also been the most determined with his life, he was career driven and this reflected at how far he had got in life. He was married at twenty-four after being with Thomas for some time and only last year the two of them had adopted Luke. He had been orphaned after his family, who had been friends of Elijah’s and Thomas’, had died in the Xindi attack. Being his godfathers, Elijah and Thomas were quick to take the youngster in their care. Elijah pushed back his dark brown hair from his forehead from partial frustration with his mother and shared a grin from Thomas. Elijah’s curly hair was kept short and he wore glasses, he refused to get laser eye surgery to correct his eyesight or take retinax. Thomas had always joked saying that Elijah had only worn glasses as he made a passing comment once that they made him look more distinguished and sexier. The two of them were junior partners in a law firm in New York and would always commute home to California on the weekends. The two of them had been friends at high school before they finally admitted their feelings for one another. In fact, it had been Nicole and Claudia who had pushed Elijah to tell Thomas how he felt by asking him to the senior prom as his date. The rest was history, the two of them had gone to Harvard Law School together and were quickly headhunted. Thomas on the other hand was the complete opposite to Elijah. He was a bit louder, loved his sports and kept active. He and Cooper had always competed in the New York and London marathons each year. Along with that they were always the first ones to get involved in playing sports with the children when the family was together. Unlike Elijah, who was quite slim built, Thomas was a bit more muscular. His hair was a light shade of golden brown and he had blue eyes just like Elijah. Many people would have commented that Luke had aspects of both Elijah and Thomas in him. However, both of them would argue over who Luke got his good looks from.

Not wanting to spoil the mood, Thomas spoke up. “Nicole, have you had the chance to go through Challenger’s transporter yet?”

Claudia made a scoffing noise at that question and quickly put up her glass of wine. As normal her sister was not good at keeping things quiet. She quickly did her best at busying herself with a glass of wine to prevent her from saying something that Nicole didn’t want shared. Nicole looked back at her brother-in-law to answer him after glaring at Claudia for a short nano-second. “Yes actually.”

“What was it like?” Thomas asked. 

Nicole placed her cutlery down as she shared her experience. “It’s the most unreal situation you can find yourself in. One moment you’re in one place, then you’re in two places before being deposited somewhere else. I could literally feel every part of me being dissolved and then being put back together.”

“Sounds scary!” Spoke Julia, Hadrien’s wife. Hadrien, the oldest of all of the Levesque siblings, sat next to his wife. Julia was the managing named partner of the law firm that both Elijah and Thomas worked for. She was faintly taller than Nicole, had long platinum blonde hair like Claudia and was hugely confident, again like Claudia. They were very similar in personalities, both strong-willed women and who had great senses of humour. Elijah had told Nicole before that he had seen how ruthless Julia could be in court and would not want to ever be on the bad side of her. As a boss at his company she was extremely fair and supportive of the younger staff, especially the associates and junior partners. Once again, like his brother, Hadrien was the complete opposite to his partner. If anyone had met Hadrien and Elijah they would instantly say how much they looked alike. The shared resemblance and their mannerisms were uncanny. Where Elijah was calmer, Hadrien was quieter. Like his siblings, Hadrien had worked hard – studying as a biologist. Understanding what laid beyond Earth’s atmosphere had excited him. He had taken his passion and had become an exobiologist at Princeton University. Both he and Julia had settled in New Jersey, so they were able to get to their work without any issues. Along with that they had made a home in New Jersey after their eldest daughter, Adele, was born over eleven years ago and was followed by their youngest, Léonie, three years later. Hadrien had worked part-time so he could still be around his daughters while Julia was one of New York’s most successful lawyers. She had been tipped to also run for public office a couple of years ago as New York’s District Attorney, however had declined as she felt the pressure of campaigning would take its toll on her family. 

Hadrien, in between swallowing his dinner, spoke up for the first time since they had sat down. “How often have you used the transporter?” He asked his sister.

“A few times,” Nicole answered. “You get used to it. It’s interesting.” 

“Have you met any new races out there?” Interjected her other sister, Caitlyn.

Nicole nodded in response, “A few actually.” 

“We had a Denobulan family start at our school,” Caitlyn mentioned, “And family isn’t the right word to describe them. They put our big family to shame as they’re allowed to marry more than once and have hundreds of children!” Caitlyn, who was an elementary school teacher for fourth grade, always made everything seem more dramatic than they really were. Her and Nicole looked familiar, both of them having inherited their mother’s long dark hair. Caitlyn’s husband, Scotty, was sat opposite to her and next to their son Gabriel. Scotty was the vice-principal of the school and both of them had met during their time as training to be teachers. He had only recently been promoted to vice-principal, something that Caitlyn was extremely proud of. Unlike the rest of her siblings, Caitlyn was a home girl and rarely left the confines of California. 

Gabriel, who was ten, joined in with his mother’s assessment of their new arrivals. “One of their sons was playing soccer with me the other day and when he was fouled his face blew-up up like a pufferfish!” 

Hadrien and Nicole both laughed at Gabriel’s interpretation. “Don’t worry Gabriel, he can’t harm you when he does that. It’s a survival instinct for Denobulans, just like pufferfish, they’re able to expand parts of their face to warn off predators.” Hadrien explained. 

“Denobulans are one of the many friendly races I’ve encountered. In fact, I met with their leader, Premier Nerlox on my first mission with Challenger. I promise you they love making friends with all sorts of people, make sure you look after the ones at your school and you will have many Denobulan friends!” Nicole added. 

Gabriel smiled at the reassurance handed to him from his aunt and uncle. Scotty looked down at his son, “See I told you that you had nothing to worry.”

The conversation around the table continued like that for the rest of the evening. Everyone just shared anecdotes from their lives.  

As it was a Friday evening, Claudia had offered for everyone to remain at their home for the evening (something Mack was especially excited about). As it was most likely going to be the last time, they were all going to be together before Nicole returned to the ship, they all agreed to it. As a result of this it didn’t take before the children had jumped into the pool with Thomas and Cooper leading them in. It only took a few more minutes before Elijah, Caitlyn and Scotty had joined them. Nicole had assisted Claudia in clearing up from dinner, her parents had remained outside watching the carnage unfolding in the back garden. When they had finished the two sisters had made their way over to sit on the side of the pool. Claudia had brought out another bottle of wine, while Nicole sipped on a mug of warm tea. 

“Can I grab a glass of that?” Asked Hadrien who eventually joined them. 

Claudia held up the bottle to her older brother, “Sure thing.” She said, “Where’s Julia?”

As he sat down, he answered her, “She’s just taking a call with one of her clients in New York. She’ll be out soon.” After taking a sip he looked at Nicole, who was sitting in the middle of him and Claudia now. “So how long gone are you?” He asked quietly to Nicole.

Nicole looked shocked at her brother. All three of them had their feet dangling in the swimming pool water. She looked at Claudia who raised her hands in defence. “I said nothing.”

Hadrien huffed at his sister’s lack of response. “Nic, come on, I’m a trained biologist by trade. I know the signs when a woman is pregnant, jeez I knew Julia was pregnant before she did with both girls. Plus, it was obvious something was up with you as normally you’re the first one to finish a bottle of wine before Claudia. So, come on then, how long?”

Nicole surrendered to her brother’s constant questioning. “Not that long, only a few weeks.”

Hadrien smiled at the confirmation that he was going to be an uncle again. “Congratulations,” He whispered before giving her a hug from the side. “When do we get to meet your new other half then?”

Claudia gave out a snort as she laughed and slightly choked on the wine she had just drank. Again, Nicole shot her a glare but told her brother what had happened.

“Jeez, you weren’t lying earlier about transporters being interesting. I didn’t think that type of thing could happen?” He stated in disbelief.

“You’re not the only one.” Nicole said deadpan. As luck would have it the three siblings were seated far from the rest of the family, so none of them heard what they were saying. “My CMO is looking into it to ensure the babies won’t be affected by it all.”

“Babies?” Hadrien repeated.

“She’s having three.” Answered Claudia as she filled her glass up again.

“Wow, you Starfleet types definitely know how to party!” Hadrien remarked. He took a sip of his wine. “What are your plans with it all?”

Nicole leant forward, “I really don’t know yet Hadrien. I didn’t expect to be pregnant, let alone do it while a war is on.”

“No-one could have predicted any of that Nic.” Hadrien threw back. “Give yourself some credit for what a great job you’ve done out there.”

“It’s certainly been a whirlwind ride.” She replied.

For a brief moment the three of them didn’t say anymore, they just watched the commotion happening in the swimming pool. 

“Mom and dad will be pleased to have more members in the clan.” Hadrien said, smiling.

Claudia nodded in agreement. “They certainly will.” She took a sip of wine, “And it will get mom off my back for a bit in having another one.”

“You’re lucky she hasn’t said anymore, in fact I think you owe Elijah and Thomas a big thank you for deflecting that line of questioning since they got Luke!” Hadrien stated. 

“I did, I sent them a case of my finest wine!” She countered back with and raised her glass in the air.

Nicola laughed slightly at the banter between her two oldest siblings. “It is good to be home.” She said, smiling. 

“Hey, why don’t we make something of the two weeks you have off?” Hadrien suggested.

“What do you mean?” Nicola replied.

“These days it’s rare for us to spend time together as a family. I’m not sure about the others but I’m owed some time off from work – we could spend it catching up. It’s not as if you and Claudia could drink this vineyard dry together while you’re here!” Hadrien suggested. 

“Hey, we could! We tried to do it before she left for Columbia, we could try again if she wasn’t expecting!” Claudia said in defence. 

Nicole smiled and turned to look at her oldest brother. “What did you have in mind?”

“I dunno, just some quality time together would be great.” Hadrien remarked.

“That does sound like a great idea Hadrien, still I wouldn’t want everyone to drop their lives just for me.” Nicole said. 

“I think Hadrien’s suggestion is a good one.” Claudia piped up with. “I didn’t want to say anything over dinner, but Cooper is being reassigned and leaves Earth in a few weeks. Spending some time together with you guys before he goes sounds ideal to me and it would mean the world to Mack.”

Nicole and Hadrien both looked at their sister.

“What do you mean he’s being reassigned?” Nicole asked.

“Where is he being posted?” Hadrien asked.

Claudia placed her wine glass down carefully on the poolside. “The Armstrong, it took heavy casualties and damage the other week and they need a new science officer and second officer. It will be ready to leave in a fortnight.”

“Is that why he said earlier he didn’t think Challenger would be fixed in two weeks, because the Armstrong is being worked on?” Nicole asked.

Shrugging her shoulders, Claudia answered. “Probably. I know he’s excited about his new posting, but I’m worried he won’t come back to us. The ship is a lot older than your ship Nicole.”

“Captain Charen is a wonderful woman to serve with, she’ll take excellent care of him.” Nicole said, trying to reassure her sister.

“Then I say we need to take this break.” Hadrien said again. “We should look at trying to get that large cabin we used to hire out as kids on Lake Berryessa. We can take all the children with us and it will be amazing, I promise you.”

“I’m in!” Claudia said without hesitation. 

Nicole smiled, “Yeah me too.”

“Right, let’s see what this lot all think, but if we do this, then everyone needs to know your news.” Hadrien remarked, looking down at Nicole’s stomach.

“Oh my god you’re so pushy Hadrien Levesque!” Nicole said in defence. “Okay, we’ll tell them!”

A few seconds later and the three of them had stood up, Hadrien had called everyone around and then allowed for Nicole to share her news. Shouts of joy and delight were shared with everyone. Especially with Nicole’s parents. She tried to explain what happened with Captain Burton and the transporter, but everyone was more bothered about her wellbeing and the unborn triplets. Hadrien then went on to share his plan about them all spending the next few weeks together. Unfortunately, both Caitlyn and Scotty had said they would not be able to get the time off from work for the first week as they were still teaching but they insisted on Gabriel going ahead without them. They would pop up once the autumn week break had started. Julia said she needed to head back to New York to meet with a client on Monday, but she would fly back and join them on the lake later on in the week. Through all of the excitement about their family trip, Nicole noticed Claudia heading over to Cooper. She whispered in his ear something, he simply nodded and soon enough they shared their news. Claudia explained she didn’t want to dampen the atmosphere or spoil Nicole’s good news, however they needed to tell them all about Cooper’s new assignment. The news he would be shipping off the same time as Nicole didn’t change much of the mood. Surprisingly both Anthony and Anneliese passed no judgement about his new Starfleet posting. Knowing them both, Nicole wondered if they kept quiet to avoid upsetting Mack – who appeared extremely proud about his father doing the same job as his auntie. 

The fun the family was having didn’t stop there. Hadrien had gone off to see if he could book the cabin on Lake Berryessa. He was able to and soon plans were being quickly drawn up by the Levesque family regarding their unexpected holiday.

Enjoying the time with her family was an absolute godsend for Nicole. They arrived earlier in the day and spent the whole afternoon enjoying the facilities that were on offer on the lake. They had taken the children off on water-skis, had hired a powerboat and now they sat on the shoreside watching the sunset as they toasted marshmallows on an open fire. Wearing a hoodie, along with jeans and a knitted black poncho she had pinched from Claudia, Nicola made her way back to the cabin to grab more food for them to share with the children. If today had been any other sign for her to definitely want to be a mother, she didn’t know what else she needed to convince her otherwise. Watching her nieces and nephews have so much fun, laugh and enjoy one another’s company had ticked all the boxes for her.

Entering the seven-bedroom lake house cabin (cabin was perhaps the wrong word to describe it, it was more like a villa), she made her way through into the kitchen and found her father pouring himself a glass of whiskey. 

“Dad, you okay?” She asked after him as she approached the cupboard that they had stored different snacks in.

He looked up as he heard his daughter. Placing the bottle down, he picked up his glass and walked over. “Absolutely fine my dear. How are you?”

“Exhausted, however I didn’t realise how much I needed this break.” She replied smiling as she picked up bags of snacks. He offered to take a couple of them from her.

“You think this is exhausting? Just wait until you’re rushed off your feet by those three little guys!” He remarked, gesturing towards her stomach. 

She smirked at his comments. “How did you and mom deal with us five?” 

Giving out a small belly laugh, Anthony Levesque smiled before replying in his French accent, “Patience et persévérance.” 

Nicole smiled further at his answer. She enjoyed it when her father reverted to his native tongue of France, it was rare to hear him do that in his later years. He was born and raised in France, just outside of Lyon, for most of his early childhood before his parents moved to the United States. They had settled in Napa and he ended up growing up enjoying the Californian sunshine. He had returned to France to study international law, before returning back to Napa. He and her mother had met early on in their lives when he had returned to Napa through his sister. And the rest was history for the Levesques. 

As they walked out of the house and back down to where the rest of the family were, Anthony spoke up. “Seriously though Nicole, your mother and I worked together on raising you all. We knew that teamwork was going to be the only way we would succeed, and I am proud of you all.”

“Even Claudia?” She mocked back with.

“Even Claudia.” He asserted with a chuckle. As they went down the small path, her father looked at her, “But between us, and I will indubitably deny this in front of the others, I am particularly proud of your achievements.”

Nicole, who was just in front of her father, paused and looked at her father with a smile. “Thanks dad,” she replied, “That’s nice to hear.”

“Your mother still thinks you being in Starfleet is the worst decision you’ve made and be prepared to hear that now you’re carrying three of her grandsons!” He threw back. “However, where credit is due – you definitely deserve it.”

Nicole placed the snacks down on the floor and gave her father a hug. He returned the gesture by embracing her back and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “You’ll be a wonderful mother; you’ve got nothing to worry about.” He whispered into her ear.

“Thanks dad!” She said again.

As he let go of her, Anthony continued talking. “However, we want to meet this Captain Burton fellow, I want to know what his intentions are with my daughter and my soon-to-be grandsons.”

Nicole groaned inwards, “Dad, I’ve told you before we’re not ‘together’ like that. Neither of us was expecting this.”

Anthony continued to walk and indicated for Nicole to follow. “Yes, I get that Nicole, but you two need to seriously consider the lives you’ll be providing for these youngsters.”

“We will, I promise.” She assured him. “I don’t need mom and you trying to scare him off. The man has just lost his father.”

Anthony looked up at that fact, it had been something that Nicole had not shared with everyone — except Claudia. “Well, that is very sad.” He remarked quietly. “I’m sure right now he may be feeling lost. Losing a parent is something you’ll never get over.”

Nicole nodded. “I’ve never seen Lloyd like that before. Only slightly did he show signs of being lost when he unexpectedly took command of Challenger.” 

“Well, you’re already showing me the man has signs of strength of character.” Anthony stated. “If he can be thrown into chaos and only show a slight sense of weakness in front of those he leads, then he is someone to trust. I don’t trust people who can’t show their humanity to the rest of the world, to be human is to have feelings – we’re not like those goddamn green-bloodied goblins: the Vulcans!” 

“Dad!” Levesque quickly snapped at him with the offensive statement about Vulcans. “Vulcans are not goblins and you know mom and the others would not appreciate you coming out with such slurs in earshot of your grandchildren!”

“And at one time you agreed with me about Vulcans holding humanity back.” Anthony countered back, remaining calmer than his daughter and keeping his charming manner present. “Anyway, none of my grandchildren are nearby.”

“Three of them are.” Nicole said, gesturing towards her stomach.

Anthony just mumbled something under his breath, it sounded something along the lines of Nicole being like her mother when it came to nagging him. “Who would have thought it though?”

Nicole looked confused as they slowly approached the family, “What do you mean?”

“That when we sent you to stay with your aunt on the Polaris that you would carry on with your adventures out in deep-space? Your mother and I had hoped it would make you rethink it all.” He remarked, “Your mother still regrets it to this day!”

“It was certainly an adventure!” Nicole said, remembering the good memories she had when she was on the Polaris.

Wednesday, July 5th, 2130

ECS Polaris ECS-1839, orbiting Earth

“Now this Nic is the bridge.”

Nicole Levesque had just turned nine years old and as a ‘birthday present’ her parents had arranged for her to stay with her Aunt Teresa. Secretly they had hoped that by seeing that life in space wasn’t as exciting as she thought it was, Nicole would reconsider her views on it all. Teresa Johansson was Anthony’s sister and was also Nicole’s godmother. When his older sister had returned home, she had witnessed how eager Nicole was about space travel. She had jokingly said that if Nicole had joined her for her next run to Vega colony, at a slow speed of warp one point five, she would see that it wasn’t glamorous at all. Almost the next day Anthony had seen her to discuss the idea further. She had explained that it took almost two years to get to Vega and two years back to Earth. Even though both Anthony and Anneliese did not want to miss four years of their daughter’s life, they knew that she would be safe with her aunt, that she would carry on receiving an education and it may finally help calm her down and make her become more responsible. 

Entering the bridge of the J-class freighter, Nicole Levesque was surprised and excited at the same time. This was the first time she had explored a starship and every moment was magical. “Oh wow, this is amazing Aunt Terri!” 

Not having children of her own and recently divorced, Teresa Johansson enjoyed her niece’s every reaction so far. She felt glad she was able to help out her brother, especially as they had just their fifth child. By taking Nicole with her she hoped that it would give them some room to be able to deal with their two teenage children and their two youngest ones. Even though Nicole had described the bridge as amazing, in Teresa’s mind it certainly wasn’t. It was a very cramped room, by chance though Nicole had joined the ship after it had just received a major overhaul, refit and numerous repairs. The ship was six years old and needed a revamp after its last journey. As such the time it took for the engineers at Jupiter Station to undertake the refit had given Teresa time to visit her brother and his family. Sadly, her parents had passed away in recent years and she had not been home for either of their funerals, so she had used the time to visit the graves and spend as much time with her brother – the newly minted law enforcing sheriff in their hometown of Napa. Getting to meet the latest arrivals to the Levesque clan had also been another reward for her vacation. She had missed the birth of Caitlyn and Elijah; however, her brother had sent her numerous letters, photos and videos of the children. Teresa had considered having children of her own, however her ex-husband had never wanted that. He had become bitter at the length of time they spent apart, even though she had tried to work it so she could have him on the Polaris, he refused to live his life as he called it: “stuck in a tin can” – Teresa had thought that perhaps she should have got him to talk to Nicola about the subject of life in space, however that wouldn’t have gone down well with her brother who had threatened to arrest the man that broke his sister’s heart.

Seeing Nicola remain excited about their adventure ahead of them was exactly the distraction she needed, she knew that her niece would fit in well with her crew. “Nic, let me introduce you to my first officer and chief pilot: Alicia Boseman.” Teresa said, pointing to the tall, African American woman, who appeared to be in her late twenties, standing by the helm. 

Without hesitation, Nicole walked up to the woman and extended her hand. “A pleasure to meet you Miss Boseman.”

Boseman, who had long black hair that curled upwards by her shoulder and deep brown eyes, smiled at the friendly child before her. She knelt down to get to Nicole’s level. “It’s a pleasure to meet with Nicole and please call me Alicia.” She shook the young woman’s hand back. 

“Nic, you’ll be happy to hear that Liz has promised to teach you. She used to be a teacher herself.” Teresa stated. 

Nicole looked from her aunt and back to the other woman. “How come you don’t teach anymore?”

Shrugging her shoulders, Alicia replied. “Because sometimes in life you need to see what is out there first before you make a commitment to something. So that’s what I’m doing here.”

“Do you enjoy it?” Nicole asked flatly.

Teresa had informed the crew why Nicole was here, so Alicia was careful with how she worded her response. “It’s challenging, but that’s what makes it exciting sometimes.”

Alicia stood up when another woman entered the bridge, the two of them exchanged smiles, before Alicia introduced her. “Nicole, this is Beverly Lockhart. She’s our chief engineer.”

“And chief science officer as well as cook!” Beverly added before smiling down at the youngest addition. “Welcome aboard Nicole!”

Nicole smiled back at the lady, who appeared to be the same age as Alicia. She had shorter blonde hair, a strong mild-mannered New York accent and a very generous personality. Nicole looked up at her aunt, “Aunt Terri, are all the Polaris’ crew women?”

“Not yet!” Replied a deep masculine voice coming through the same doorway that Lockhart had just walked through. A younger man, who looked very similar to Boseman walked in and smiled too at Nicole. 

Teresa soon introduced him. “Nic, the last member of our senior crew. This is Charlie Boseman, Alicia’s brother and our ship’s quartermaster as well as master gunner.”

“Gunner?” Nicole repeated, appearing confused at the title.

“I’m in charge of keeping the ship safe, especially from the pesky asteroids that get in our way. I get to blow them up!” Charlie explained, attempting to calm the young girl down. 

Nicole just smiled and nodded, trying not to appear scared at the idea of the ship fighting someone else. 

Charlie, who had his hands behind his back, looked at Teresa. “Captain, that package you wanted has arrived.” He said, inclining his head backwards towards whatever was in his grasp.

“Ah, excellent. Thank you, Charlie!” She replied and took the package out of his hands. She looked at Alicia and gave her a nod. Alicia tapped a button on the side of the wall and a whistling noise appeared around the room and it sounded like it had echoed across the ship. “Attention all hands, this is the captain. First off, welcome back home – I hope you all enjoyed your time off. The Polaris is ready to return to the stars, however before we do that, we have a new member of the crew joining us. Please make sure you give Nicole Levesque, my niece, a warm-Polaris welcome as she takes up a new position that I have created especially for our ship. I hereby promote her to being Captain’s Assistant. She will be familiarising herself with this ship, her crew and the nature of all of our work.” Teresa looked at Nicole with her well-known warm smile and handed her the present that Charlie had just given her. It was her own grey field jacket with the Polaris’ mission patch stitched on to the right shoulder, her first initial and surname was placed just above the left breast and her new job title was underneath it. All in crystal blue. Quickly she put the jacket on and found it to be a bit bigger than her, but she didn’t mind at all. Her aunt continued to give out orders. “Departure stations please everyone. Prepare to take us out!”

Nicole, now with her new jacket on, watched her aunt take her seat in the big chair in the middle of the room while everyone else took their stations. Teresa signalled for her to join her where she was. Immediately Nicole did as she was told and went over to her aunt, who picked her up and placed her on her lap. 

“Alicia, engage!” Teresa ordered once the ship had left Earth’s orbit and the Polaris went to warp.

Monday, September 30th, 2155

Lake Berryessa, Napa, California, United States of America, Earth

“What are you two laughing about?” Anneliese asked as she saw her husband and daughter walk back to the large circle their family was currently sitting in around a massive bonfire. 

Anthony calmed down as he approached his wife. “Just reflecting over decisions that you and I made as parents.” He leant in and kissed his wife on the top of her head. She smiled back as he sat down next to her and placed his arms around her. 

Snuggling into her husband she wondered what he meant by that answer. “The good or the bad ones?”

“So, you admit there were bad ones?” Elijah mocked from the other side of the fire. 

Anthony laughed at their youngest son’s quip which was followed by a slight nudge from his wife. “They’re only bad ones if you don’t learn from the mistakes you made!” He stated and then looked at Nicole, who was now sitting on one of the other benches next to Claudia. “Anne my darling,” He started by referring to her shortened name, he only did this when he was being overly affectionate to her in front of others. The typical Levesque charm! “Remember that time we sent our dearest daughter Nicole off with her aunt in an attempt to persuade her to avoid life in space?”

Anneliese snorted and laughed slightly at that question. “Which category of decision making did we put that one in?”

“The best one!” Claudia threw out.

Both Hadrien and Elijah laughed at their sister’s quick response which made Nicole snigger too. 

“Daddy, was Auntie Nicole really naughty then?” Léonie, the youngest granddaughter, asked Hadrien. 

Adele, his oldest, soon spoke up too. “I can’t imagine Auntie Nicole being that bad she got sent away!”

Hadrien continued to laugh at his daughters’ comments. “No, she wasn’t naughty.”

“She was too adventurous for nan and grandad!” Elijah added.

The grandchildren all looked confused at that point. Mack, who was sitting on his father’s lap, looked at him. “Daddy, will you send me on a Starfleet ship if I’m too adventurous?”

Cooper chuckled at that question. “Never!” He said and pressed his son further into him with a tighter hug. “I’m never letting go of you little man!”

“Sadly, for nan and grandad, your Auntie Nicole had the best time of her life!” Claudia added. 

“Why was it sad for them?” Léonie asked.

“Because sweetie, when Nic was your age she got the chance to leave with Great-Aunt Terri on her ship, the Polaris, for four years.” Hadrien answered.

“That sounds awesome!” Spoke Gabriel from where he sat on the sand with his cousin Luke in-between his legs. 

Behind him sat Luke’s parents and Gabriel’s uncles, after his comment Elijah ruffled his hair before speaking. “It does, but back then spaceflight was awesome compared to how it is today.”

“Amen to that. She returned home safe and sound with no regrets.” Anneliese said, raising an empty glass that had been full of red wine only moments ago. 

Thomas, who had not heard the story about Nicole’s adventures, was amazed just like his nieces and nephews. He turned to his husband, “You never told me that Nic had been in space as a kid. Did you get sent off as well?”

Claudia, just like Claudia would, interjected almost at warp-speed. “No way did he go, he was just a little cute, adorable baby when Nicole left us.”

Laughing at the exchange between her aunt and uncle, Adele spoke up. “I can’t imagine Uncle Elijah as a baby!”

“Oh, believe it, he was a cute baby!” Claudia told her niece. 

“You all were cute babies.” Anthony added. “In fact, Adele I have a great picture of your father in your uncle’s cot — your dad had got up during the night and heard Elijah stirring so he went into his room and took him out to sooth him. The next morning your nan called me into your father’s room and there before us was our big boy, who had somehow moved the cot out of our room and into his, snuggled up with his baby brother. Both fast asleep!”

The children all laughed at that story along with the others, besides Hadrian and Elijah who just shook their heads in embarrassment. 

“Hey, I was being the caring sibling — especially since one of your daughters was off gallivanting around the cosmos!” Hadrian said in his defence. 

“I would have looked after Elijah, if I had been around!” Nicole stated. “But he always wanted his big brother when he was first born!”

“And continues to want to be like his big brother as he got older!” Claudia included as she took a mouthful of melted marshmallow that had just come out of the fire. 

Elijah threw his arms outwards in surprise, “That is certainly not true!”

“You copied his hairstyle for almost ten years, Elijah.” Claudia lovingly argued back. “I’m surprised you haven’t copied him now with the odd silver highlights he has coming through!”

More laughter filled the family around the fire. 

Gabriel looked over at his Aunt Nicole, “So was it scary being away from home for that long?”

Nicole shook her head gently and answered her nephew. “Not really, at first it was a bit daunting. I had the smallest cabin on the ship which had the smallest window too. But I filled my days getting to know everyone, exploring every part of the Polaris and seeing some of the most amazing wonders.” 

“She certainly did see some great things out there.” Anneliese stated. “Your aunt wrote to us every day by keeping a daily log. In it she explained everything she had experienced.”

“Did you enjoy reading it nan?” Adele asked her grandmother.

Nodding vigorously, Anneliese replied. “Absolutely my darling, twenty years ago subspace radio wasn’t as efficient as it is now. It would take about a week for most of her logs to reach us, so your grandfather would collect them and on a Friday night we would sit down after dinner and listen to your aunt’s recordings. As they got closer to Vega, they became letters. We would take it in turns reading them.”

“Do you still have them?” Gabriel queried. 

Anthony took over the conversation. “Absolutely as well as the pictures she sent us. Several of them are hanging in my restaurant.”

Nicole smiled at how fond her parents spoke about her letters and was pleased to hear that her father still kept her pictures up.

“Didn’t you do that painting of the Vega sunset based on one of Nicole’s photographs mom?” Hadrien asked.

Nodding, Anneliese replied. “The one in the hallway? I sure did.”

Gabriel looked up at his aunt, “So what was the best thing about your trip?”

“I don’t think there was ever one particular best thing from it all.” Nicole answered. “The journey there and back was fun, as the ship’s science officer had rigged up a telescope in the only science lab on the ship. This particular lab was on the top deck, it had one dome like shaped window and when we passed by different celestial bodies, she would take me down there to observe them. I would spend ages in her lab, along with the ship’s first officer finding out about the different stars and planets we travelled by.”

“Was that where you got your love for stellar science?” Thomas asked. 

“You know, I think it was.” Nicole acknowledged, smiling fondly again about her time discovering space for the first time. 

Wednesday, August 27th, 2132

ECS Polaris ECS-1839, approaching Vega system

“Captain’s assistant personal log; August 27th, 2132 – encoded for transmission to Earth. 

Hi Mom, Dad, Hadrien, Claudia, Caitlyn and baby Elijah! I hope this message finds you well. You would not believe how exciting today is! Today marks the day when we finally reach Vega colony. Aunt Terri states that we would have been here sooner, however when the EPS manifold on C deck failed last month, it took several days to fix. Some of the crew appear happy to be reaching Vega at long last. I’m bursting to step on to a brand-new world. Aunt Terri said I could go with her on the first trip to the trading outpost. End log and transmit.”

Nicole stretched her arms out after she finished her log entry and watched as the computer sent it to the subspace radio ready to be sent in the next data stream back to Earth. Alicia had told her that now they were at Vega they would be able to use the subspace amplifiers stationed around the planet to send their messages to Earth as they would get there a lot quicker compared to using the Polaris’ transmitter. She had encouraged Nicole to get plenty of pictures to send to her family back home before they left Vega. Standing up in her cabin, which was barely big enough to move in, eleven-year-old Nicole Levesque picked up her duty jacket that finally fitted her. She had also picked up her baseball cap that had the ship’s emblem on it too and put both items of clothing on. Leaning across her small desk, she picked up her camera and placed it in her jacket’s pocket. 

Stepping out into the corridor, Nicole made her way towards the crew’s mess hall. It was only a few metres away from her room, something she enjoyed especially in the mornings. The mess hall was one of the biggest rooms on the ship, it had a few tables dotted around with a number of chairs. At one end was a food dispenser and an area where a small buffet of food was laid on every morning, lunchtime and evening for meals. If no-one liked what was on offer, they would have to eat a nutri-pak. However, in the last few weeks, Polaris’ food stores were starting to become depleted (as it was expected) and most mealtimes were filled with nutri-paks – or mystery meals as the crew called them. Picking up a bowl of porridge and covering it with strawberry jam, Nicole made her way over to the table with Alicia and Beverly sat. 

“Good morning sweetie.” Beverly said, greeting her in her calm manner. “Don’t you fancy a mystery meal today?”

She shook her head; Nicole spoke as she sat down. “I got an extremely sweet blueberry muffin yesterday that wasn’t as nice as I thought it would be.”

Both women laughed in between what they were eating and drinking. Beverly was drinking a mug of coffee while she was reading something on a data tablet while Alicia was tucking into scrambled eggs and mushrooms on toast. 

“So, we’ve got some news to share with you Nicole.” Alicia said after she finished her last mouthful and dabbed her lips with her napkin. “We’ve decided to get married.”

Nicole smiled at the news as she put her bowl of porridge down. “Oh wow, that’s great news!” It was no secret that Alicia and Beverly had started to date since the ship had left Earth. Her Aunt Terri had told her that she had suspected that they were seeing each other secretly before then but hadn’t told anyone to prevent Alicia’s brother, Charlie, from finding out. Nicole didn’t understand why he would have a problem with it, her aunt had just told her that she thought that he liked Beverly as much as his sister did. 

“In fact, we plan to do it while we are here on Vega colony.” Alicia continued, “Beverly got news today from Earth that she has been accepted to attend Cambridge University when we return home to complete her doctorate and become a researcher.”

“That sounds cool!” Complimented Nicole. “Who will take over here on the Polaris?”

“Most likely Charlie, but I’m also planning to leave the ship too.” Alicia stated. 

“Oh, how come?” Nicole asked.

“I’m planning to join Starfleet.” Explained the first officer. 

Nicole continued to smile at the news. “Wow, is Aunt Terri okay with you leaving as well?”

“She’s very happy for us both.” Beverly said as she stretched out to hold Alicia’s hand. “And she will be leading our ceremony, so she also gave her blessing for us to ask you a special favour?”

“Oh?” Nicole replied as she carried on eating.

“We would like you to be our bridesmaid, would you do that for us?” Alicia asked. 

Nicole put her bowl back down and nodded furiously. “Yes! Yes!” She answered with and leant in to hug both of them. “Thank you!” She added.

During their quick embrace the ship started to shudder, then the intercom went off, followed by Nicole’s aunt’s voice. “All hands, if you’re near a window on the port side you’ll be happy to see we’ve finally arrived at Vega. Prepare for landing procedures.”

  After letting go of Alicia and Beverly, Nicole ran over to the large bay window to see Vega for herself. She couldn’t believe how much the world looked like Earth. Its star was a bright blue cobalt colour that seemed to radiate across the entire system. Without realising it, in her haste to get over to the window, she had dropped her camera. Both Alicia and Beverly joined her to see the view with Alicia bringing over her camera. 

“Here,” She said, handing it back to the eleven-year-old. “Get some pictures to send back home.”

Quickly, Nicole switched the camera on and began snapping as much as she could. She wanted to get these sent off back home before they left. She looked up at the two women and smiled, she had enjoyed every moment of her journey here to Vega with them and the rest of the crew. Even though it was hard work and, in some areas, frustrating, she was glad they finally reached their destination and could not wait to explore this new world.

Monday, September 30th, 2155

Lake Berryessa, Napa, California, United States of America, Earth

“So, when you were on Vega, did you meet any other aliens?” Adele asked her aunt as she began to stuff her mouth with more than one marshmallow.

Nicole, who had just finished one herself while she re-told her story from being on the Polaris, nodded at her niece. “I met my first Denobulan and Draylaxian on Vega.” 

“A Draylaxian?” Gabriel asked, confused at not hearing that name before.

“They’re a humanoid race from the planet Draylax,” spoke Hadrien. “They have leonine faces and golden hair.”

“Do they eat you like lions do?” Mack asked his dad.

Hadrien, Cooper and Nicole all laughed at Mack’s question. 

“No, they don’t bud.” Cooper answered.

“So, seeing Vega was what made you want to join Starfleet?” Gabriel continued with his questioning.

Shaking her head, Nicole felt like she was being interrogated by her oldest nephew and nieces. “No, it was the time on the ship.”

“I thought you said you didn’t like it?”  Léonie questioned.

“Being in one small cramped place for such a long time wasn’t the greatest experience, but it was the people I was with. In fact, it was Beverly Lockhart who encouraged me to pursue my interests in science and her wife Alicia’s decision to join Starfleet that inspired me to return to the stars.” Stated Nicole. “When you’re on a starship it’s just like having a great family around you. You get to know everyone so well that a day doesn’t go by when you don’t bump into each other more than once. Everyone is in it together and when I joined Starfleet to be an explorer, I got to do it with some incredible people that I will never forget.” Nicole smiled, fondly of her sentiments about her time in Starfleet. “As nan said earlier, I didn’t regret going.”

It was early in the morning when Nicole, after being up for some time and suffering from morning sickness, had decided she needed to go on a walk away from the cabin to get some fresh air. She had walked to the nearby little store that stocked essential items. After grabbing a bottle of water, she walked back, glad she had the time to herself. Making her way back into the lake house, she went straight for the fridge as she began feeling peckish. Opening the large refrigerator, she didn’t hear her mother enter the kitchen. 

“Good Morning sweetie!” Her mother greeted her as she put on her glasses.

Surprised a bit, Nicole slightly jumped and looked around to see her mother starting to sit at the breakfast bar in the middle of the kitchen. “Morning mom.” She replied back with. “Can I get you anything?”

Anneliese just shook her head, “No, but I should be asking you that. I heard you up this morning. I take it morning sickness is still just as fun as it was when I had you five?”

“You better believe it.” Nicole answered as she took out an apple from the fridge and joined her mother at the breakfast bar. 

Rubbing her daughter’s arm as she sat down in support, Anneliese looked like she wanted to say something. She paused for a moment as Nicole bit into her apple. “I just wanted to say,” She started and paused, “I mean, I just didn’t know…” again she hesitated. “Last night what you shared with us about your time on the Polaris, I thought I understood your decision to join Starfleet because of the many letters you sent us. I didn’t realise it was more about the people you encounter then having your head up in the stars. I totally get it now.”

Smiling sweetly at her mother’s attempt at coming to terms with her reasons for not having a job like her siblings, Nicole took the apple out of her mouth and swallowed the bit she had just chewed. “Thanks mom, that means a lot to me.”

“Oh sweetie, you’re going to make such an incredible mother.” Anneliese added as she pulled Nicole into a hug. Once they had let go of each other, Anneliese carried on talking. “It was just when we heard the news about Challenger being presumed missing that it made me sick to my stomach. I hope you can appreciate that even though you and your brothers and sisters are older, I still worry about you. You are still my children and I love you all dearly. That will never change!”

Nicole nodded. “I get it mom and I am sorry for getting you worried about me, but the job I do can also be just as exciting and amazing as it can be dangerous. I don’t want my boys to ever feel scared of the universe, I want them to embrace it!”

“Of course dear, I certainly understand what you’re saying.” Anneliese replied, “In fact your father and I were talking last night and we both want you to know that whatever you decide to do with our new additions to the family we will be there one-hundred percent. If you want to remain in Starfleet, raise them on Mars, you name it we will help you.”

“Again, thanks mom.” Nicole said, hugging her mother for a second time. 

“Aunt Nic, I think you’ve got something beeping in your room!” Adele said as she entered the kitchen. She was wrapped in a mint green dressing-gown and was stifling a yawn as she approached her aunt and grandmother. 

The two women released each other from their hug. “Oh, that may be my communicator!” Nicole realised and moved hastily to her room to retrieve it.

Making her way up the stairs and across the landing, she entered her room, picked up one of her bags and rummaged through it to find her communicator making a beeping noise as well as smoothly vibrating. Flipping it open, she soon answered whoever was calling her. “Levesque here.”

“Nicole, it’s Kefira!” Came the friendly voice of Challenger’s doctor. 

“Kefira, it’s great to hear from you.” Nicole said as she sat down on the edge of her bed. 

“Likewise,” Ben-Ami returned. “How are you feeling?”

“As to be expected, thanks doctor.” Nicole answered. “Is this just a brief check-up or have you got some news for me?”

“Not news, but I have been looking into your case further with my friends here in Tel Aviv and we’ve hit a slight brick wall.” Ben-Ami remarked.

“Is it bad?”

“Oh no, no,” Ben-Ami assured. “We just want to conduct some more thorough scans, if you don’t mind? With the ship’s sickbay systems so badly damaged with our little trip through hell and back, we want to make sure we’re not missing anything.”

“Okay,” Nicole said, starting to feel a bit worried. “When do you want to do these scans?”

“Could we see you today? I promise you it won’t take long to do.” Ben-Ami stated.

Nicole considered her options, if there was anything wrong with the babies, she would hate herself for not dealing with this sooner. “I think I can be with you by this afternoon.”

“That’s great,” Ben-Ami replied. “My friends can organise for a private transport to pick you up, bring someone with you as well if you wish.”

“Thank you Kefira. I’ll send you my location shortly and timings.” Nicole said.

“Understood, see you soon. Ben-Ami out.”

Nicole closed her communicator and didn’t see her mother standing in the doorway. “Everything okay sweetie?” Her mother asked. 

“I hope so, they want to run more scans on the babies.” Nicole said. 

“Sounds perfectly normal to me.” Anneliese said and walked over to sit next to her daughter. She took hold of her hand. “You’ve got pregnant in quite a miraculous way Nicole. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“I know.” Nicole replied. “I just hope everything is okay.” She added as she touched her belly, trying to comfort her unborn sons.

Tel Aviv University, Israel, Earth

The private transport to the Middle East hadn’t been as bad as Nicole had imagined it be. Claudia had insisted on coming with her, even though Nicole wanted to do this by herself, deep down she was happy her eldest sister came as her jovial side kept the mood light. Nicole needed the distraction, the quips and jokes that Claudia came out with helped a lot. Landing in a small bay, just outside of the main campus, the two sisters departed from their luxury transport and was automatically greeted by Doctor Ben-Ami with a colleague of hers. After introducing Claudia to Challenger’s chief medical officer, Nicole was introduced to Kefira’s colleague. 

“Commander Levesque, this is Professor Philippa Lin.” Kefira said as she gestured towards the smaller woman to her right. 

Even though she was only a couple of inches smaller than Kefira, Lin looked quite the formidable woman. Her dark brown hair (with a few wisps of silver and grey mixed in) was loosely tied in a ponytail that sat on her right shoulder. She appeared to be in her late fifties or early sixties. Although she appeared strong in her stance, her genuine smile and warm welcoming eyes made her seem less-intimidating.

Nicole leaned forward and shook the Malaysian woman’s hand. “Professor, it’s a pleasure to meet with you.”

After shaking her hand, Lin bowed her head slightly. “Likewise, Commander Levesque.” She looked at Kefira and continued talking, “Kefira has spoken so highly of you and her shipmates in her letters to me – it’s nice to finally put a face to one of those names.”

Nicole smiled and then introduced her sister to the professor before the four women made their way into the university itself. As they moved through the long corridors, the professor carried on talking. She shared with them some of the interesting facts about the institution they were in and how long she had been teaching there. 

“So how long have you and Kefira known each other?” Nicole asked as they entered a lift. 

Lin smiled, “You could say for too long now.” 

Chuckling in reaction, Kefira answered the question. “Just over twenty-five years now.”

“I had just taken my post here at the university, Kefira was one of my first students.” Lin said with pride. “She went on to become a sort of protégé of mine during her time here and she was the one who asked me to join the Interspecies Medical Exchange.”

“Professor Lin’s work is highly recognised in the medical community.” Kefira added. “It seemed like a waste not to have her involved with the IME.”

“Kefira mentioned you were part of Doctor Emory Erickson’s team when he began developing the transporter?” Nicole remarked.

Nodding a confirmation at Nicole’s words, Lin further explained her work with the inventor of the transporter. “Emory and I go back. I was the bio-engineer for the project, I even dated his son Quinn.”

“Wow, you were there in the early days when the transporter was put together?” Claudia said, sounding highly impressed.

Lin smiled at Claudia’s question. “It was such an impressive moment the first time the transporter was used to move a living object from one place to another. I still can remember that moment as if it was yesterday. To see Emory’s face light up when we stated the project was a success is something that will live with me forever.”

“How come you never remained with Emory and his team?” Nicole wondered.

Lin sighed slightly before she replied. “However, exciting the project was, the research I wanted to be involved with was becoming constrained because of the nature of what the transporter was. When Emory wanted to research the concept of the sub-quantum transporter, I didn’t feel I could remain. As a result of my work with Emory, I was approached by the university to join their bio-engineering department. I’m glad I did because a year or so later I heard that Quinn had been lost when he volunteered to use his father’s newest invention.”

“Didn’t Erickson get sent to jail last year for mis-leading Starfleet and he ended up endangering Enterprise to rescue his son?” Claudia asked the group.

Nicole quickly answered her sister. “Yeah, he was successful in retrieving his son from a subspace bubble, but sadly his son died shortly after his rescue.”

“Quinn was an excellent son to Emory, he always wanted to please his father. On some level I’m pleased they found him, but on another he didn’t deserve to go that way.” Lin stated. She quickly shook her head, “Anyway we are here to discuss quite the miracle.” She gestured towards Nicole’s stomach. 

“Indeed.” Nicole said.

“I promise you that everything we work on here will be kept in complete secrecy. Our main priority is to ensure you and your children are safe Nicole.” Lin said with a reassuring smile. 

“Thank you, professor.” Nicole replied. “I do appreciate it. Where do you want to start?”

“As I think Kefira explained to you, I believe a full body scan is in order then we will move on to perform an extensive neonatal scan. We need to ensure there’s no genetic anomalies for starters, or any tissue decay. Once we have those results then I would like to begin exploring exactly how the fusion of you and Captain Burton in the transporter created the…” Lin paused as she considered her words, “I feel ‘incubation’ is the closest terminology to use here.”

Claudia laughed a bit before remarking, “If anyone was going to be incubated by technology, then I wasn’t surprised it was my sister! Her love for science is so overwhelming that I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner!”

“Then she’s in good company.” Lin countered with. “Will Captain Burton be able to join us?” She asked, quickly changing the subject.

Kefira answered her mentor’s question, “The captain’s father died in a shuttle accident recently.”

“I’m not sure Lloyd will be available soon.” Nicole added.

“I’m sorry to hear that. However, it would be helpful at some stage,” Lin started just as the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. As she led the group out of the cart she carried on, “for him to be tested too.”

Nicole groaned inwardly to herself. She hated the notion of how involved Lloyd would have to be with this. On one hand she felt so embarrassed by this all, while on the other she accepted that if she actually wanted to be a mother to these three children that their father had a right to be involved too. “Maybe we can delay getting in contact with him until he’s available?” She suggested. 

Kefira noted Nicole’s discomfort. “Don’t worry Nicole, I’ll speak to Lloyd at a later stage.”

Nicole smiled in gratitude to her doctor. “Thanks.” 

Eventually they entered a reasonably sized room that looked like a cross between a lab and Challenger’s sickbay. Lin gestured for Nicole to take a seat on the central bed that appeared to be linked to an imaging chamber. Unlike the one on Challenger, this one appeared to have more stations and features dotted around it.

“When you’re ready Nicole.” Kefira said with a smile.

Nicole just nodded back and before she was taking inside the chamber, she quickly held Claudia’s hand tightly for reassurance. Claudia clinched her sister’s hand back for support and gave her a smile too. After letting go, Nicole entered the scanning device. She instantly closed her eyes and attempted to block out all of the lights and sounds coming from the contraption. Eventually she found herself slowly nodding off as she started to relax.

Sunday, March 17th, 2143

Juno NY-02, docked at Proxima Shipyards, Proxima Colony 

Staring in awe, Ensign Nicolette Levesque couldn’t contain her excitement any longer. Her first assignment, since graduating from Starfleet Training Command, sat before her. The Juno was a brand new NY-class ship (or Neptune-class) and had just finished being built by the engineers at Proxima Shipyards. It was the first Neptune-class survey ship they had built outside of the Sol system. As a result of this, Nicole had arrived earlier that morning on board the Sarajevo, along with others who would become her new shipmates. The atmosphere on board the Sarajevo had been an absolute buzz. Everyone was talking about their new ship, how it would be amazing to serve on board. Now as she stood in the main observation deck of the shipyard, she continued to look down at the Juno. 

Starfleet designers had been using similar styles recently in their construction methods, as a result the Neptune-class survey shared a common look like its Intrepid-class cousin. The primary hull was shaped in an almost semi-circle shape (although from above Nicole felt it looked like a capital ‘D’) and had the main navigational deflector dish attached at the front. The secondary hull extended out like a neck from behind the primary hull. The ship wasn’t as big as some of the ships Starfleet was building, but it’s main aim was exploration and research. She had heard her fellow crewmates call this class of ship, a mobile sensor array or Starfleet’s response to pressure from the civilian sector to give them access to the tools needed to carry out scientific research beyond the confines of the Sol system. Nicole couldn’t see why that would be such a bad thing. She longed for the chance to explore; however, she may not be able to do much of it with the assignment she had. Her posting to the Juno, was as one of its armoury officers. She had been told that there would not be many of them in her department due to the size and nature of the ship, but she was eager to be part of the crew. So many of her former classmates at Starfleet Training Command, had wanted to join ships as science officers, as a result of this large number, there weren’t many postings in this area. On the other hand, Starfleet was calling out for trained officers to fill the ranks of the armoury department. Her experience and training had given her that edge that allowed her to get this assignment, so now she had to put it to good use. She would use this assignment as a stepping stone for her career to eventually return to the science division. For now, she would enjoy what the Juno had to offer a newly commissioned officer. 

“She’s a beaut, isnae she?” spoke a thick Scottish accent behind her. 

Levesque almost jumped out of her skin with a surprising voice. She turned around to come face-to-face with a man she quickly recognised. “Captain McCragg.” Levesque said, still sounding surprised to see her first commanding officer before her. 

“Aye lass, Captain Clifford McCragg at yer service.” He replied in a very charming manner. He extended his hand towards the younger woman. McCragg was in his early forties, had thick black hair on top which was complimented by a very warm friendly smile. 

Avoiding insulting her superior, Nicole quickly shook the man’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you sir, I’m Ensign Nicole Leve-”

McCragg interrupted her straight away, “Levesque,” He finished. “Aye, ah know who you are Miss Levesque. Yoo’re one of mah new armoury officers, ah picked ye me-self.” 

Levesque blushed at her apparent inexperience demeanour towards him. “Sorry sir, I didn’t mean to cause any offence.”

Brushing her comment off with a wave of his right hand and shaking his head once, McCragg put her nerves at ease. “Ye didne do a thin’.” He paused for a second before talking a bit more. “Ye didne answer mah question though ensign. Th’ Juno is a beauty, isnae she?”

Nicole turned to look back at the ship and then back to the captain. “She is sir.”

“Glad ye think so.” McCragg quipped with a wink. “Are ye comin’ on board?”

Attempting to avoid looking like a nodding puppy, Nicole bobbed her head once. “Yes sir.”

“Good, I’ve heard a lot of good things about ye an’ Ah cannae wait to get underway to start our work.” McCragg remarked as he escorted her towards the docking hatch. 

Levesque smiled at her captain’s friendly approach. She noticed that he walked with his head up high, but he was not rushing to get to his destination. It was almost like he was enjoying the scenery as they made their way through the dry-dock towards the airlock. She had attempted to find out more about her captain; she knew he was originally an engineer at heart but had served on some of the early ships built by Starfleet and the United Earth Space Probe Agency. Having his own doctorate in applied physics, he was highly knowledgeable. The man had even taught at Starfleet Training Command in the engineering faculty for two years. Levesque was not sure if she should start a conversation, this type of thing was never covered during her training. Social etiquette with her new captain was not a course that was offered to its students. 

Eventually it was Captain McCragg who broke the uncomfortable silence. “So, can ye explain to me why ye didne apply for a science position? Yer trainin’ is in tactical operations wi’ stellar science as yer secondary, but yoo’ve got a degree in astrophysics.” 

Smiling at the question, one that had been asked of her many times by her fellow trainees and trainers, Nicole answered the man. “Everyone wants to be an explorer, as a result that’s become the norm with graduates and I know many skippers don’t just want another normal officer who wants to see the stars. I want to live in them sir, so if that means I have to do it another way, then so be it.”

McCragg’s smile got wider after hearing her reasoning. “Ah I like yer thinkin’ ensign.”

They approached the airlock and after getting clearance to board the ship, Captain McCragg led his latest recruit on to his new ship. Nicole was finally back in space, a feeling she missed back when she travelled with her aunt on her old cargo ship. She would now get to resume her life learning among the stars.

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2155

Lake Berryessa, Napa, California, United States of America, Earth

After returning to their holiday home late last night, Nicole was finally able to enjoy the time off and this little retreat her family had gathered for, even if it was last minute! They had spent most of the day on the lake, enjoying a number of water sports and games. Slowly the evening approached, they had made their way back into the house and were relaxing around in the living room while Anneliese was cooking dinner for her family. 

From the distance they could hear her telling her husband off and in no-time he was entering the living room, with a cold glass bottle of beer in one hand. 

“What did you try to pinch this time dad?” asked Hadrien from where he sat on one of the large charcoal coloured sofas. 

Anthony ignored his eldest, he didn’t like the fact he had been caught red handed by his wife and sussed out by his children. “Can’t a man try a small sample of what his beautiful wife is making?” He eventually said as he sat in one of the armchairs.

“No!” shouted his wife from the kitchen. 

The response caused a round of chuckles from the adults in the room. Adjacent to the main living room was a long games room that all of the grandchildren, besides the youngest, were all playing in. Engaged with a virtual reality game where they were all attempting to capture and grow different creatures of all sizes; they had not made too much noise – except for the slight scream and laughter out of excitement. As a result, this gave the adults time to relax. On the main wall was a large screen, currently it had the evening news on it. The sound was pretty low and was not interrupting everyone else. 

Nicole was sitting on the main sofa, next to Hadrien reading one of her favourite books: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. The book had always intrigued her; she had first read it when she was on the Juno as part of the ship’s small book club that had naturally formed. Some of the crew would get together, swap their favourite books and share their best parts. This all happened in between their missions, along with a number of other social activities, including a group that would get together and just paint. She preferred the latter to the former, but when she didn’t want to think too hard, she did find some enjoyment in escaping from reality being the best approach. Unlike her nieces and nephews, the use of a games console was not appealing to her. Reading about fictional characters was.

On the other side of Hadrien was his wife Julia, who had arrived only a few hours ago after finishing her work in New York. The only two left to join them were Caitlyn and Scotty, who would both arrive on Saturday, something their son was very excited about. Sat on the opposite sofa with his left arm around his husband was Elijah. He had Thomas leaning against his shoulder who in turn had their four-year old son, Thomas, napping on his chest. Elijah was also reading, while Thomas was fixed on watching the screen before him. 

Claudia, who had a glass of wine in her hand, was positioned on one of the larger armchairs with Cooper also with her. They were playing a small card game when she gave out a large groan after looking up at the screen. 

“Can we please turn it over; I do not want to see that man before I eat my dinner.” She remarked, gesturing towards the images currently being shown.

Nicole looked up at her book, intrigued at who her sister found distasteful to interrupt her game and drinking. “Who is he?” She asked the room. 

“Bud Wilson,” answered Thomas. “Have you not heard of him?”

Nicole shook her head as she put her book down and leant over to the coffee table to grab the glass of water she had placed there earlier. Picking up the glass she spoke, “Should I?”

“He’s the epitome of some right-wing-” Claudia started but was stopped by her brother Hadrien’s loud coughing as he indicated to their nephew who was sleeping on Thomas. “Anyway, as I was saying,” She said in a lower tone, now looking at her sister, “he’s the new Member of Parliament for the Upper Midwest of the United States. He’s a complete jack-ass.”

“How come? What’s he done?” Nicole said, intrigued with why her sister had such a displeasure for the man. 

“He’s the leader of the Isolationist Party.” Cooper answered. “They’re a minority party that has only come about since the Xindi attack.”

Julia, who hadn’t said a word for a while, now spoke up. “I’ve heard they supported the Terra Prime movement. Paxton was once a close business partner of Wilson’s.”

Nicole was still confused by all of the facts flying around the room. Thomas quickly explained further about the guy that was taking a press conference outside of the Tour des Unis – the headquarters of the United Earth Parliament in Paris. “This guy won the recent by-election, after the previous MP for the Upper Midwest resigned in protest over the war with the Romulans.”

Nicole exhaled loudly, “I take it they knew it wasn’t us who threw the first punch?”

“And that’s one of Wilson’s main points and what his party stands for.” Thomas continued to share. “The Isolationist Party are highly conservative in their politics to the point they’re almost xenophobic. They want us to pull out of the Coalition of Planets, hammer out a peace deal with the Romulans and focus our efforts inwardly by building the Commonwealth up, one-member state at a time.”

“And they’re not big fans of Starfleet either.” Cooper supplemented with. 

“What did we do to them?” Nicole asked in defence of the organisation her and Cooper worked for.

“Bud and his cronies believe that Starfleet caused the war and the Xindi attack. They believe that the budget for Starfleet needs to be cut and focussed on other matters. Starfleet’s explorative program would be ended if he became Prime Minister. He also supported a notion to have Jonathan Archer tried for crimes against humanity.” Thomas replied, his tone of voice becoming quite serious and angry.

Elijah tapped his husband on the chest as he kept on reading his book. “Calm down Tom before you get too high on your horse.” 

Looking at his husband with a frown, Thomas responded. “You should take more interest in this; I don’t want our son growing up in a galaxy where our world is so backwards in its politics.”

Elijah, who had been wearing his glasses, put his book down on the arm of the sofa and pulled his glasses off. “Babe, I love how much you care for our son, but at the moment he is only one man and the only member of his party in Parliament right now. On top of that his proposal regarding Archer’s trial was shut down not only by the Prime Minister, but by the President herself. The Attorney General and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Courts all came out saying how preposterous the idea was.”

“Yes, I get that Eli, but with all of these protest rallies he keeps organising and some of them are not even orchestrated by his party. People are marching out in the streets and protesting against a lot of what is happening, and Bud Wilson is quick to jump on the bandwagon. Opinions can change and what happens if anyone else from his party gets elected?” Thomas said in a frustrated tone. 

“Then we will immigrate to Vulcan!” Elijah said in a jovial tone. 

Nicole was still intrigued by all of this. Since her return to Earth she had not got herself up to date with the latest news or politics, besides what she knew about the war efforts. “What type of rallies have been held?”

Hadrien answered, leaving their younger brother to continue bickering with his other half. “Rallies against the war, our involvement with the Coalition as well as the use of certain technologies that remove humanity from being rooted from their traditions like the warp drive and transporters.”

“Don’t forget that one from the other week that included them protesting against the xeno-marriage act.” Julia added.

“The xeno-marriage act?” Nicole repeated.

“Oh yeah, there was a high number of people who pushed forward for Parliament to debate the issue of marriage between humans and aliens being legal within the Commonwealth. The Isolationist Party came out against it and there was a massive protest rally in Paris, New York, Cairo, New Delhi and Seoul about it. Wilson spoke in favour of the rallies and spoke harshly against the issue. He sounded like Paxton with a whole line about ‘humans for humans’ garbage!” Julia said. 

“He sounds like a barrel of laughs then.” Nicole sarcastically commented on it. 

“I wouldn’t worry about him, Nicole.” Anthony now chipped in with. “My money is on him being voted out of office by the next general election.”

“Are you planning to run against him dad?” Claudia quipped back. 

Their dad gave out a quick chuckle. “And give your mother a heart attack worrying about where I am? Never in a million years!”

The group laughed and at that moment were called away by their mother with dinner being ready.

As Nicole got up from the settee, she looked at the screen one more time. Bud Wilson looked like any typical politician from the past century. He appeared to be in his sixties, with slick black hair gelled down against head, he appeared a bit overweight and had an aura of self-righteousness about him. Everything he was harshly criticising about, even shouting out, was everything that Nicole stood for. It was completely against everything that Earth had fought so hard to remove from its cultures. This wasn’t how humanity had risen from the ashes from the Third World War. The way he stood at his podium, as if he was the only one who knew best, that he had the answer to everything, he also appeared to be revelling in the people that appeared to be misguided in supporting him. He had a smug smile across his face that reminded her of an Orion slave master who was enjoying torturing his captives. Shaking her head in disbelief, she said a silent prayer: sharing sentiments from her brother-in-law that their children did not grow up in a world that ran away from progress as a productive member on the intergalactic stage. 

Exhausted, tired, frustrated, Nicole was not enjoying the inability to sleep. It was now oh-two-hundred hours and her pregnancy had decided to make her feel so uncomfortable that she could not rest. Deciding to get out of bed and head to the cabin’s kitchen area. Quietly like a mouse, she left her room and made her way so she could make herself a soothing cup of tea. While the water was boiling, she had positioned herself on one of the breakfast bar stools. She had brought down with her the novel she had been reading before dinner, as the water started to whistle through the kettle she had left on the hob, she placed her book down on the pages she was reading. 

“Hey.”

Nicole was startled slightly by the voice just before she was about to pick up the kettle. She looked around and saw her baby-brother standing there, wiping the sleep out of his eyes as he put his glasses back on. “Elijah, sorry did I wake you?”

Shaking his head in response, Elijah answered his sister. “Oh god no. Luke had a bad dream during the night and ended up getting into bed with Thomas and me. He was moving so much in his sleep that I decided to give him some space while he settled down. Are you okay?”

Nicole nodded. “Yeah, just unable to get comfortable to sleep. You want a cup?”

“Yeah thanks.” He replied, “So when did my sister become such an avid tea drinker?!”

Smirking at his remarks, Nicole poured the hot water into two mugs after placing the teabags in them. “You’ll need to blame my skipper for that.”

Elijah smirked at how fondly she spoke about Burton. “That’s not the only thing I have to blame him for!” 

Nicole rolled her eyes and sighed at her brother. She took out of the milk from the refrigerator, “He’s a really nice guy Elijah.” She said as she poured the milk before stirring the tea, hot water and milk together. 

“I’m sure he is. He’s gotta put up with you nagging him as his first mate!” Elijah said, still in a jovial tone. 

“First Officer, not first mate.” Nicole said, correcting him as she passed him a mug of tea.

Raising his hands apologetically, Elijah spoke as he took the tea. “I do apologise Miss Starfleet.”

Nicole brushed off the comment and sat back down at the breakfast bar next to her brother. “Anyway, tell me about you guys. I feel like we haven’t had any time to catch up, just us two.”

He smiled at her. “Everything’s going well, thanks. We seem to have got Luke settled in well now. It’s only the odd nightmares, like tonight, that we have to deal with.”

“That’s good to hear and how are things between you and Thomas?”

“Perfect.” Elijah flatly answered. He smirked in between sips, “I know he got a bit excited earlier over all of that politics stuff but he’s just like that when he’s watching soccer or basketball!”

She smirked at him; she had seen how enthusiastic Thomas would get with sports – when they were younger, she had gone with Elijah to watch him in his soccer matches. “Don’t worry about it. It’s nice not to think about what happens out there in space.” Nicole winced her head upwards, gesturing towards the big void that was space.

“If I tell you something, promise not to share it with anyone – especially Julia and our parents?” Elijah said after placing his mug down on the counter. 

“Of course.” Nicole reassured. She was now wondering what he was about to say. 

“We got asked to join the Foreign Office’s counsel, here in California.” Elijah shared in a very low quiet tone. 

Nicole was impressed at the revelation. “Wow, that’s great news Elijah! Are you going to accept the offer?”

Elijah shrugged his shoulders. “I would love to move back to California. New York isn’t a great place to raise Luke, but we both love working with Julia. However, the opportunity to help shape policy and help others is really appealing. Plus, who knows where it would take us?!”

“So, is that why Thomas appeared more interested in politics earlier?” Nicole wondered. 

Elijah just nodded twice. “Yeah, he’s been getting his head around the current political climate.”

“I’m sure Julia won’t be upset with you guys doing work that’s worthwhile. Isn’t that what she’s always saying? Isn’t her famous phrase: ‘if it’s work worth doing then do it’?” She said, trying to assure him he wouldn’t upset their sister-in-law and boss. 

“You’re right. Plus being close to the family would help Luke feel more belonging.” 

Nicole laughed slightly. “You know mom would fuss over him more if you guys were closer to her and dad.”

“Hmm, maybe I could get a restraining order out on her not to approach us during the week?!” He jokingly said. 

Nicole smirked as she took a sip of her tea. She missed being candid with her youngest brother and talking about anything and everything. “You know she would find a way around it!” 

“What about you?” Elijah asked as he kept his mug in between both of his hands. 

 Shrugging her shoulders too, Nicole answered honestly. “At the moment I haven’t quite thought it through. If I had my way I would carry on with my assignment on Challenger, but I know that won’t be possible once I get closer to my due date.”

“Are you going to resign your commission?” Elijah enquired as he took another sip.

Shaking her head quite a bit, Nicole was quick to answer. “Absolutely not. I’m still planning to have that fourth pip and centre chair one day.”

“But you’re not going to the frontlines, are you?” He probed and for the first time he appeared genuinely worried about his sister’s safety and wellbeing. 

“I’ll go wherever Starfleet sends Challenger.” She responded.

Elijah sighed a bit, it sounded more like a quiet groan. “Really? Can’t you put in a request a little bit closer to home and which didn’t have a warp drive?”

Nicole smiled at her brother’s care for her. “I dunno Elijah. With this horrendous war going on, the more I think about my options, well let’s just say I don’t like the idea of sitting behind a desk at Starfleet Command Headquarters doing nothing while others are out there putting their lives on the line.”

“I get that, I totally do,” Elijah said in a thoughtful tone, “but don’t you have three other lives to consider?” He gestured towards her stomach. “I don’t want to be raising my three nephews saying that they lost their mother before they’re able to walk.”

That image got to Nicole a bit. She did have to start thinking about her children first. But how could she give up everything she had worked so hard for? It was like Elijah was almost reading her mind when he spoke up again.

“You always said you wanted a doctorate, why don’t you see if you could help with training new recruits for Starfleet while working on that and raising the boys? Or could you not join one of the research bases? They said in the news the other day that Starfleet and the United Earth Space Agency are building a fifth Yosemite Station in orbit. I’m sure someone with your experience and credentials could get a position.” Elijah suggested. 

“You’re probably right Elijah.” She said with a proud smile. “When did my baby brother grow up so much?” 

Elijah was about to answer when he was interrupted by a little voice calling out for him from the corridor. “When that little man entered my life.” He said as he stood up to see Luke, standing with a teddy bear in his arms as he rubbed his eyes. “Duty calls.” Elijah said as he made his way over to his son. 

Nicole watched him pick up Luke in his arms and take him back to bed. She smiled and inwardly knew she had to make a similar life changing decision, just like he had. She would need to give up her role on Challenger and enjoy a new chapter in her life. She wondered if Lloyd had considered the same thing.

Celebrating almost two weeks on the Juno, Nicole was enjoying the small gathering the crew had put on in the mess hall. With a small glass of a fruit punch, which she was sure had vodka in it, she was moving around the room when she caught the eyes of her fellow cabinmates. Ensign Abigail Cornwell, who was her bunkmate, was the Juno’s nurse, sitting on one of the rounded tables. She held a similar glass to Nicole’s with the punch in it too. Not alone, Cornwell was surrounded by other crewmates including the two others that shared their spartan like cabin: Crewmembers Christopher McKinnies and Andrei Rykova. McKinnies was the ship’s historian while Rykova was a member of the engineering department. They were all smiling and enjoying each other’s company, it was Cornwell who called Nicole over with a wave of a hand. 

“Well Nic, I’m glad I’m not the only one who was brave to try the chef’s punch!” Abigail mentioned as she clinked glasses with Nicole’s. Abigail was almost the same size as Nicole. She had dark brown hair, which was dyed blonde at the ends. She kept her hair tied up in a bun. Coming from New York city, she had a very friendly, calm and open-minded approach to all situations. It was what, as Nicole had observed, made her such a great nurse. The two of them had instantly became good friends once they had found out they were bunkmates (Nicole sleeping on the top with Abigail on the bottom). It also helped that they both shared an interest in baseball. Nicole being a San Francisco Giants fan and Abigail being a Yankees fan, they would end up watching games together.

Smiling at Abigail’s comment regarding the punch, Nicole took a sip from her glass. It was extremely strong, whatever was in it. “Who would have thought we would have survived two weeks?”

Christopher grinned, “Here’s to another two weeks then!” He raised his glass one more time and quickly took a large gulp from his glass. Christopher, just like Nicole and Abigail, came from the United States too. Born and bred in Bakersfield, California – he too shared some of Nicole’s interests, especially with music. He was a violin player, just like her. In fact, he played a number of instruments, including the piano and guitar. The two of them had agreed to find other musically talented crewmates and attempt to put a ship’s orchestra together. He was quite the confident young man; he was a couple of years younger than her. His thick, almost black hair was curly on top and swept backwards on the sides. His boyish charm gave him a sense of naivete when he was dealing with some situations, however he was an extremely bright man and knew his field of expertise.

Nicole winced at the moment he watched him swallow the contents of his glass. She wasn’t as brave or as gutsy as Chris was.  On the other hand, she had found that Chris normally got his fearless side by the encouraging words of his new best friend, Andrei. The Russian engineer, who was of a similar age to Chris, had grown up in Minsk and had one of the thickest Russian accents that Nicole had ever known. He was average size, had sky blue eyes that almost sparkled and shared a similar boyish grin like Chris. He too was an excellent engineer but did not have the qualifications to attend Starfleet Training Command to become an officer. He wanted the experience of being out in space and found himself enlisting and not wanting to be waiting around to leave Earth any longer than he wanted to. 

Nicole had enjoyed spending time getting to know them. They were quickly forming a tight group, one she hoped would last for the rest of their time on the Juno. 

Before Andrei was able to say anything, he was interrupted by the ship-wide intercom going off. Captain McCragg’s voice soon followed. “All hands prepare for warp jump.” 

The crew all braced themselves as the Juno leapt to warp. Once it had completed its jump, everyone looked at each other. Nothing had been shared about any scheduled warp jump while they undertook their patrol of the Alpha Centauri system. The ship had been assigned to assist in research and exploration of the Nyrian Pyramids on Alpha Centauri IV. Nicole and Chris had only returned that afternoon with one of the landing parties who were assisting a number of civilian scientists, especially archaeologists and geologists, in understanding their natural formation. 

“Dis is not a planned trip?” Andrei remarked to the group after letting go of the arms of his chair once the ship had passed the warp barrier.

Again, they were interrupted by the voice of Captain McCragg. “Aw senior staff report tae th’ situation room at once.”

Nicole looked around the room and noticed the ship’s first officer, chief science officer and her superior officer, the chief armoury officer all leave. “Something is up.” She said with a concerned expression.

“Why do I get the impression this party is about to end?” Abigail said as she highlighted the sudden change of the mood in the room. 

It wasn’t long before the captain’s voice was heard again over the intercom. “Aw hans tae battle stations!” 

Hoping she hadn’t drunk too much of whatever was in the punch, Nicole put her glass down and left the mess hall with her shipmates. Something serious was happening and now the crew would be tested. 

She headed down the deck and towards the main armoury, however she had received a call from her department head to report to the launch bay. Making her way she soon entered the launch bay and was slightly shocked to see Commander Ellen Hammond, the ship’s first officer and chief engineer, waiting for her along with Lieutenant Josh Cregg (her department head). 

“Ensign Levesque,” Hammond spoke as she saw Nicole entered the room. “We’re heading over to the ECS Polaris, they’ve been attacked by pirates and we’ve picked up their distress call.”

“The Polaris?” Nicole repeated with shock and a sense of worry, “That’s my aunt’s ship.”

Cregg nodded in acknowledgement, “I thought you would like to be one of the first over there Nicole. Is it going to be a problem?”

Nicole quickly shook her head. “No sir, not at all.”

“Hang on! I’m coming!” A familiar voice said from the other end of the launch bay. 

Nicole turned around and was grateful to see her friend, Abigail, carrying her medical kit, making her way over to them. “Sorry sirs, Doctor Young wanted to ensure I had everything I would need.”

Hammond ushered them all into the shuttlepod, “Not to worry Ensign Cornwell, we’re just leaving now.”

The shuttlepod flight over to the Polaris happened quickly the moment the Juno dropped out of warp. Captain McCragg had given them the all clear to depart. Nicole had taken in a massive gulp the moment she had seen the old freighter adrift with scorch marks all over its body. She could see a considerable amount of damage had been sustained to the ship’s outer hull, especially around its cargo modules. She had whispered a prayer to herself, hoping that she didn’t find anyone over there she knew dead. Hammond had piloted the shuttlepod over and within a blink of an eye they were docking with the ship.

ECS Polaris ECS-1839

Nicole, knowing the access codes for the Polaris, hastily opened the hatch once the Juno’s shuttlepod had docked and led the team onto the ship she had known as home for a few years. 

“Oh my god, Nicole! You’re a sight for sore eyes!” said a familiar voice from down one end of the corridor.   

Turning to look towards the direction of the voice, Nicole almost ran towards her aunt. “Aunt Teresa,” She said as she grabbed the older woman in her arms. “Am I glad to see you.”

“Likewise.” Teresa said after letting go of her niece, “I would say let’s have a catch up, but we’ve got wounded who need help and a ship to stabilise.” It took almost a second for Nicole to completely witness what was happening around her. The ship that she had spent an earlier part of her life on was almost wrecked beyond belief. She barely recognised it, and she barely recognised her aunt. Her clothes were ripped in a few places and she was covered in dirt. Her hair, which was normally tidy, was a mess. Aunt Teresa looked like she had been through hell and back. A sudden wash of guilt and sadness filled Nicole, she tried hard to ignore it. She had a job to do and she wanted to impress the woman who had encouraged her to explore the stars. 

“Aunt Teresa, this is Commander Ellen Hammond,  Juno’s first officer and chief engineer. Commander Hammond, this is Captain Teresa Johansson of the Polaris.” Nicole said abruptly after realising in that moment she had not introduced her superior officer and the leader of their landing party to her aunt yet. 

Hammond extended her hand out towards Nicole’s aunt. “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances ma’am.” She said, trying to sound supportive. 

“Thank you commander, and welcome aboard the Polaris. I promise you the ship has never looked this bad in its life.” Aunt Teresa said in a more formal tone. “I hear you Starfleet types are pretty good at your jobs, so my crew and ship are in your capable hands. I would appreciate any help you can provide!”

“We’ll sort this out ma’am, I promise.” Hammond assured. “Ensign Levesque, if you and Ensign Cornwell assist with the injured then I’ll head to engineering. Lieutenant Cregg please liaise with Captain Johansson in securing the Polaris so we can dock the Juno for easier access.”

A round of aye ma’ams followed and Nicole smiled one more time with her aunt before she joined Abigail in helping those who were hurt. She had not expected this, especially with her aunt’s ship. However, she had been told through her training to expect the unexpected and to be rushed into a dangerous situation at the drop of a hat. It certainly would be a moment in her career she would not forget.

Saturday, October 5th, 2155

Tel Aviv University, Israel, Earth

The private waiting room that they had given Nicole was very clinically looking, in her opinion. It was mainly white: white walls, a white carpet while the furniture was a white sofa with a glass coffee table in front of it. A potted plant sat in the corner while glass walls and a door gave her a view of the corridor from one end and at the opposite end of the room was a large oval shaped window that gave her a view of the campus. 

Nicole had decided to use the spare time she had before her appointment with Professor Lin took place. This time she had come alone, even with Claudia insisting she came, Nicole needed some head space of her own. She loved her family a lot, but she enjoyed her own company sometimes. While she waited for Ben-Ami’s mentor to arrive with the results of her tests, Nicole had decided to write her letter to request a transfer from off Challenger. It wasn’t an easy one for sure. She had spent the day before, while everyone was out of the cabin to do some research on what she could do that wasn’t on a starship. Eventually she was interested in two posts. One was a professorship at Starfleet Training Command in San Francisco, while the other was a bit more of a risky one to apply for. Starfleet Science were looking for a new deputy director. She had pondered about the latter, could she do it and be a single mother raising three children at the same time? While the professorship would be the more logical choice as she imagined it to be less paperwork, the idea of helping shape the future of Starfleet and its research within the scientific community excited her. If she was not going to be on the bridge of a starship making a difference, then she wanted to make an impact elsewhere. 

She looked down at the data tablet in her hands as she sat on the sofa. She kept on reading her opening paragraph, explaining her reasons to Lloyd for the request.

Dear Captain Burton,

Over the last year or so, it has been an honour to serve with you as your First Officer and Chief Science Officer. I’m deeply grateful that you placed your trust in me to be your right-hand and, I hope, your closet confidant. You have allowed me to be a first-hand witness to historic events that have befallen our ship, I wouldn’t change any of it. On the Challenger, leading the science department has been a joy. It is staffed by the most intelligent, dedicated and loyal people I know. The same can be said for the rest of our crew. In my years as a Starfleet Officer, I have never witnessed a group of people who started with a tragic loss to quickly form such strong family ties with one another. 

I set certain goals for myself when I accepted this job. I’m proud that in my first year I accomplished most of them. Sir, I deeply regret this, but as you are fully aware of my current status, I do not feel I can no longer serve this ship, it’s crew and captain. Therefore, I formally request for-

“Commander Levesque, it’s so good to see you.” Professor Lin said, intruding on Nicole’s thoughts. “I do hope you’ve not been waiting too long.”

Nicole looked up after switching off her tablet. “Professor,” She greeted warmly as she stood up and shook the older woman’s hand. “No, not at all.” She added, replying to Lin’s concern.

“Kefira is just collecting the results and will join us in my office. I think it’s best we go there as it is more private.” Lin suggested.

Nicole was a bit worried. “Should I be concerned that we need to talk privately?”

Shaking her head profusely, Lin calmed Nicole’s nerves down with a simple “No,” she led the way out of the waiting room and down the hallway. “Call me traditional, but I prefer to speak to my patients in a place that is less, well public. Plus, this is quite an interesting topic, one that if it got broadcasted could cause some concerns.”

Understanding her point, somewhat, Nicole followed the Malaysian medical professional towards her office. Once they were in and the door was closed behind them, she had offered a hot beverage to Levesque who politely declined. While they waited a bit longer, Lin had started to remark to Nicole how she envied the opportunities that she and Kefira had on board the Challenger. Asked why she didn’t join Starfleet herself; Lin had replied that in her day it wasn’t as glamorous as it was now. However, she did not support the notion of war with the Romulans. 

“The need for us to be getting involved in galactic politics is beyond me.” Lin had said, just as Kefira walked in. 

“Sorry I took my time,” Challenger’s CMO said as she made her way in. “Some of the technicians who should have been on duty were not there and I had to ask someone else from the laboratory to help me.”

Lin rolled her eyes. “That’s because a majority of the student body and a good number of the faculty are on the other side of the campus at this stupid war rally.”

“War rally?” Nicole questioned.

Lin nodded in acknowledgement. “There’s a number of rallies taking place across the planet at higher education institutes.” She explained. “Originally, they were started by those who were against the war, but some fanatics who follow the Isolationist Party, have made it a bigger thing. That said, there’s also those on the opposing side who are supportive of Starfleet and the Coalition’s efforts to stop the Romulans.”

“Well I must say, the lack of people in the corridors gives the university a spooky feeling.” Kefira remarked as she sat down in the armchair next to Nicole’s and opposite to Lin’s desk. 

“Let’s get down to business,” Lin said, trying to change the subject of conversation.

Nicole welcomed the change with a smile. She had enough of thinking about the war and the politics behind it. “Please do, is everything okay with the babies?”

Kefira, who passed the data tablet over to Lin, just smiled. Lin switched on the device, quickly scanned it and nodded again. “Absolutely Nicole. One-hundred percent everything looks good with you and the boys who are growing in there!”

Giving out a sigh, Nicole did her best not to cry with joy. “That’s great news.” She paused, “did you get to speak to Lloyd then?”

Kefira answered that question. “He returned from Mars only a day ago, but I was able to convince him to swing by for the scans.”

“Is he okay? Does he know the results?” Nicole shot out with.

“Captain Burton is a healthy young man and we haven’t shared the results. We felt it would be best for you-” Lin was stopped from talking when a humongous explosion erupted from behind her. 

The professor was pushed from her chair forward, across her desk as the glass from the windows behind her were smashed inwards into pieces. A shockwave had hit the building, knocking everything over including both Kefira and Nicole out of their chairs. Automatic alarms went off and the fire-suppression system was activated.

Dazed from what had just happened, Nicole who had landed on her back tried to get up from where she was, however her eyesight was completely blurry. She couldn’t distinguish between shapes and colours. Her mind began to go dizzy further, she looked over to where Kefira had been and saw her lying on her back, presumably unconscious. 

Trying to call out to her fellow shipmate, Nicole couldn’t tell if she was screaming or whispering as the ringing in her ears was excruciating. Wincing further, she looked to where the professor had been. She was now on the floor, by Kefira’s feet while a ceiling beam had crushed on top of her desk and another fell a second later in front of the door. Attempting to reach into her jacket pocket, she did her best to pull out her communicator. She was in so much pain, she couldn’t tell if she was holding it at first. She flipped it open and pressed the red button on the side. Instantly it activated her distress beacon, she hoped someone in Starfleet Communications would pick it up and find them. Before she lost consciousness, she placed her right hand over her stomach and prayed that her unborn children were safe.

Sunday, October 6th, 2155

Starfleet Medical, San Francisco, California, United States of America, Earth

“Welcome back.”

Fluttering her eyelids sluggishly, Nicole took in a deep breath and within a shot tried to get up but was pushed back down by warm hands on either side of her shoulders. She tried to resist however she didn’t have the energy.

“You’re safe.” Said the friendly voice again.

The calm, soothing tone was familiar to Nicole, yet she could not work out who it was or where she was. All she recalled was lying on the floor of Professor Lin’s office and then she remembered nothing. Attempting to prop herself up, Nicole found herself being helped up by the same hands that had just prevented her from getting up so quickly. 

“Where am I?” She requested as she started to see a bit more clearly.

“Starfleet Medical.” Was her answer. “It’s good to see you Nic, but I wasn’t expecting a reunion to be in this manner.”

Instantly, Nicole remembered who that voice belonged to and smiled as she soon saw a face that she hadn’t seen for almost seven years now. “Abigail?” She mumbled out.

“The one and only.” Came the cheerful response from Abigail Cornwell. “And that’s Doctor Abigail Cornwell, now Commander Levesque.”

Nicole smiled; it was good to know she was in capable hands with an old friend. “What the hell are you doing here?” She said as she tried to get herself more comfortable as she looked around the unfamiliar room.

Abigail pulled a stool over to sit next to Nicole. “I was part of the Starfleet search and rescue team that rescued you shortly after you activated your distress beacon. You, Doctor Ben-Ami and Professor Lin were all brought here.”

Like an asteroid hitting a planet at full speed, a wave of panic overwhelmed Nicole and her hands (which were connected to a nearby life-support system that was monitoring her vitals and injecting her with pain relief of some sorts) soon moved to be on top of her stomach.

It was like Abigail could read her mind and Nicole was grateful for it. Five years together, they had built up a strong bond so when she assured her it was a welcoming sign. “They’re okay, I promise.” She whispered.

“You know?” Nicole asked.

A simple affirmation with her head was all Abigail answered with. “I would say congratulations are in order. I picked them up when I did a scan of your vitals. Also, I was asked by Starfleet Security to review one of the data tablets they found by you that had your latest medical examination on it. An examination that hadn’t been shared with Starfleet yet.”

“Please, don’t start Abigail.” Nicole said, feeling guilty that she had yet to inform Starfleet of her pregnancy. 

“I’m not and I haven’t shared it with them as it’s privileged doctor-patient information. Nonetheless, I’m assuming the reason why you and your Chief Medical Officer were with one of Earth’s leading physicians was to get a better understanding about it all?” Abigail asked for clarity.

“Yeah.”

Abigail leant over and picked up the tablet. “The tablet was pretty badly damaged and from what Starfleet Security told me, that once they got rid of some of the rioters away from the office…”

“Rioters, from the office?” Nicole enquired to understand. 

 Abigail nodded, “The rally had turned violent and somehow the protestors had got into the university. Instead of helping you, they started to trash Professor Lin’s office. Starfleet Security had turned up in time to prevent them from trying to kidnap Professor Lin.”

Nicole tried to sit up further. “Is she okay? Is Kefira okay too?”

Abigail assured her again and took hold of Nicole’s hand. “Yes they’re okay. The security team were able to apprehend the rioters by stunning them. Our teams moved in to assess you all before you were moved here. Kefira suffered a concussion while Professor Lin has a few broken bones. Both of them are recovering now.”

“Do they know why they were after Lin?” Nicole asked.

“From what I’ve been told, she had been receiving death threats for some time now from groups who were associated with Terra Prime due to her close ties with the Interspecies Medical Exchange.” Cornwell answered. “She’s under protective custody at the moment.”

Sighing heavily, Nicole shook her head in disbelief. “Has the whole world gone crazy while I was away?” She asked rhetorically.

“Unfortunately, it has just a bit.” Abigail replied, knowing that Nicole didn’t want to hear such things right now, but she had always been upfront and honest with her friend. “The most important thing is that you are all safe. If you hadn’t sent that signal, well God only knows what state you would have been in.”

“So, you’re a doctor now?” Nicole said, smiling faintly at her friend.

“And a lieutenant commander now.” Abigail acknowledged, showing off the three pip-insignia on her right shoulder. 

“Congratulations.” Nicole replied. “I didn’t realise you were posted here. I thought you were still on the Viking?”

“Nah, I left Captain Hammond after she finally married Chris and Andrei’s off about two years ago. When she made Chris her chief science officer and Andrei her chief engineer, I knew she was in safe hands and I could try something different. I had enough of being out in space.” Abigail answered. “Who would have thought these two would have passed their officer training?”

“Captain McCragg insisted on it with them both and several others.” Levesque remarked. “Is it true my first department head is now the skipper of the Murray?”

Abigail nodded. “Shortly after his short tenure as Hammond’s first officer on the Viking, Cregg was offered the Murray. He attempted to take Andrei with him, but Hammond put her foot down and said no.”

Trying not to laugh, as it would hurt her, Nicole instead grinned at that revelation. 

Abigail cleared her throat before she spoke further. “You should know your folks and the billion brothers and sisters you have visited. I’ve kept them in the loop of your condition.”

Nicole gradually grabbed Abigail’s hand to say thank you to her old friend. “I apologise now if they gave you a hard time! They mean well!”

“Are you kiddin’ me?!” Abigail returned with. “I love your mother; I’m considering sending her to the front line to fight the Romulans. They may actually consider surrendering once they’ve faced against her determination to do whatever she deems right in her eyes. I finally see where you got your strong convictions from!”

Chuckling a bit more, Nicole enjoyed the light heartened reply from her old friend. “She is a force to reckon with.”

“You also had another visitor,” Abigail said in a more serious tone. “Your skipper.”

“Lloyd?” 

Bobbing her head in as a reaction, Abigail spoke up. “He seems really nice. I can see why Starfleet Command speaks so highly of him.”

Agreeing with her friend, Nicole replied. “You know he’s the father?” She inclined her head downwards.

Looking almost sheepish in knowing, Abigail shared what she knew. “I read Professor Lin’s notes and it didn’t take much to work out. I have told him that what happened to you both needs to be updated in your records, but he was more bothered about you and the babies. He’s a keeper, Nic!”

Shaking her head in defence, “We’re not together like that Abigail.”

Abigail shrugged her shoulders, “Well I may be becoming an old spinster who loves her cats and dogs perhaps a bit too much, nevertheless I’ve never known any commanding officer to sit by the bedside of their injured first officer holding their hand.”

“What?” Nicole said confused and unsure what Abigail was implying about Lloyd.

Abigail stood up and let go of her friend’s hand. “All I’m saying Nic, is when he was told about the attack, he was quick to get here to see you and was with you and your family. He even slept by your side last night.”

Embarrassed, worried, nervous – were all the emotions that Nicole was now feeling after hearing all of that. “Oh, dear god,” She responded. “Is he still here now?”

“No, he got called away to Starfleet Command Headquarters.” Abigail pulled Nicole’s covers further over her. “Now, as your attending physician I am ordering you to sleep as it is late,” She indicated to the small window behind her right shoulder that showed the darkness of the San Francisco nightline, “Rest tonight and we can talk more in the morning.”

Nicole couldn’t argue with her. She was exhausted and her eyelids felt heavy. “Thanks Abigail.” Eventually sleep swept her away, her last thoughts were over how embarrassing it must have been for Lloyd to meet her family while she was unconscious. It wasn’t how she wanted him to meet them, but then fate had made that choice without her.

Hearing the muttering of more than one conversation, woke Nicole up from her deep sleep. Once her vision was clear, she slowly sat up in her bed. Like a flash of bolting light, her sister Claudia (who had been talking to a tall silhouette that Nicole couldn’t quite workout who it was) moved to help her sister. 

“She’s awakes!” Claudia said in her normal jovial manner. 

Smirking at her sister’s attempt at keeping the atmosphere light, Nicole appreciated her sister being there. “It’s good to see you too.” She threw back. 

“Oh honey, we were worried.” Her mother said from the other side as she moved across the room, her father just behind her smiling down at his daughter. 

“I’m fine.” Nicole reassured her family.

“Oh, then you could report for duty!” The silhouette spoke with a familiar voice. 

Almost instantly, Nicole’s smirk turned to a smile. It was Lloyd that her sister had been talking to. Inwardly she was worried about what they had been talking about (knowing her sister, she was probably sharing an embarrassing story) but was pleased he was here. “Not yet sir.” She answered back as he stepped away from the window where he and Claudia had been standing. “Is everything still okay?” She asked her audience. 

“The world hasn’t ended.” Her father answered, he now stood at the end of her bed with his hands in his pockets. Still he smiled, showing his daughter that he was not worried and was pleased to see his middle daughter healing. 

“And we haven’t surrendered to the Romulans yet.” Lloyd added, trying to lift the mood. 

“We won’t need to surrender.” Anneliese remarked.

“Not if President Littlejohn follows Doctor Cornwell’s advice of sending you to the frontline mother.” Claudia joked further. 

A round of chuckles came from the small group. Nicole appreciated the light humour. She didn’t feel the same pains she had from the day before, but she knew she wasn’t one hundred percent either. Could that be from her injuries or pregnancy or both? She didn’t know. 

“Doctor Cornwell said you could go home tomorrow.” Her father said.

“Oh, that’s good news.” Nicole replied with. She wasn’t a big fan of staying at Starfleet Medical any further, but she hated that this was impacting so much on everyone around here. 

“You can move in with Mack and I while you recover.” Claudia said flatly. She leaned her head against her mother, who was sat on the edge of Nicole’s bed now. “We’ve already discussed who you’ll live with and I won flat out! Plus, with Cooper leaving soon, I’d appreciate the adult company.”

Anneliese gave out a typical motherly sigh while Anthony chuckled slightly to himself. It was obvious that whatever had taken place between them must have been comical to witness. Nicole could imagine her sister telling her mother that however much they all loved her, Nicole would be best suited relaxing in her house then with her parents. On some level, Nicole would have loved staying with her parents but then she could imagine her mother being overly protective and overly caring and that would have annoyed her slightly. But knowing her mother, Nicole was sure that Claudia had to compromise on the fact that their mother would be allowed to visit on a daily basis. 

“That sounds great, thank you Claudia.” Nicole said. 

And just on cue, her mother spoke up. “Your father and I will visit daily to see you and we can get you anything you need.”

Still smiling at the generosity of her family, Nicole took hold of her mother’s hand and gripped it gently. “Thanks mom.” 

“Anytime sweetie.” Anneliese leant forward and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead. “Anything for my next set of grandchildren!” She looked up at Lloyd and gave him a smile and a wink. 

Clearing his throat, Anthony moved to be behind his wife. “Honey, why don’t we leave Nicole to catch up with her captain?” 

“Yes, yes of course.” Anneliese got the hint, got off the bed and picked up her coat and bag that was draped over a nearby armchair. “We’ll go get a coffee.” She suggested and then hinted at Claudia to join them.

Claudia got the hint and began to follow her parents out. As she approached the door, she turned to look at Nicole and gave her a cheeky wink, a thumbs up as she indicated that she approved of Lloyd. Nicole only rolled her eyes at her sister’s teasing. 

As they left, Lloyd perched on the edge of Nicole’s bed and chuckled a bit at Claudia’s antics. “Your family is a great bunch.” He said once they were alone. 

“They’re something.” She answered back as she sat up further in her bed. 

Lloyd, who was not in his uniform and in civilian plain clothing looked different. He was wearing a navy-blue sweatshirt, with a white top underneath it along with black jeans and black shoes. Appearing more at peace since she last saw him, Nicole was pleased to see the former Lloyd she knew before he heard the news of his father’s passing. 

“How are you doing?” Nicole asked him. 

Wobbling his head somewhat, he answered her. “Better thanks. I got some closure over my dad.”

Nicole grabbed his hand and gripped it. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Appreciating the support, Lloyd put his other hand over hers. “Thanks Nicole. It gave me some time to think about things.” He said, remarking towards where their children were growing in her. 

“The last few days have given me time to think about that and everything else too.” Nicole stated. “And,” She paused as she let go of his hand and placed it over her forehead as she tried to work out how to say what she was about to say. “The thing is Lloyd, with everything going on…well I just don’t know if…”

“It’s okay.” He said, taking her hand away from her forehead. “I got the message.”

Perplexed, confused, puzzled, Nicole looked at Lloyd. “What do you mean? What message?”

“Well, part of your message.” Lloyd answered with. “I got your request for a transfer. It must have been sent by mistake after the university attack.”

“Oh my god.” Nicole said, almost instantly she regretted starting it there. “I’m so sorry Lloyd. I wanted to talk to you first before I sent it. I just needed to write a draft first and get how I feel into words.”

Lloyd raised his hands to show it was all okay. “Nicole, it’s fine. I totally understand.” 

“Are you mad? Angry?” Nicole questioned. 

“Oh god no!” Lloyd quickly replied. “I get it.”

“And listen, I don’t expect you to give up the Challenger for me.” Nicole rapidly said. “I’m happy to give birth to the boys and raise them here on Earth. You can be involved as much and still be a Starfleet captain.”

Lloyd smiled at that. “I do appreciate that. I’ve not quite yet worked out what I’m going to do next, but for the moment I do want to remain with the Challenger. In fact, I need to.”

Nicole wondered if something else had happened to Lloyd, but she didn’t want to pursue it. She had a nagging feeling in the back of mind that there was more to his words then he was sharing but she didn’t want to push it. “That’s fine Lloyd.”

“And take your time in recovering and making your decision on what you want to do next. None of the crew need to know this until you’re ready. Michael can step up as acting first officer for a while.” Lloyd said, assuring her. 

“That’s the thing Lloyd, I want to apply to become the deputy director of Starfleet Science.” Nicole shared. “I’ll need a letter of recommendation from my current Commanding Officer.”

“Then you’ll have it.” 

“Thank you.” She answered with relief. “I think living back on Earth would be the best thing for me and the boys.” She rubbed her belly a bit. “You’ll always be a part of their lives. I promise. I just know I can’t raise them on a starship or be pregnant while on the frontlines.”

“Well actually, I think now that Starfleet Medical knows you’re pregnant, they would have put pressure on you to take a re-assignment elsewhere.” Lloyd remarked. “It won’t be the same without you.” He added with a sad smile. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you find a new science officer and first officer.” Nicole offered. “Well in fact, I think you should offer it to Michael. Don’t make him an acting first officer.”

Lloyd smiled further. “I appreciate the input and picking someone to replace you to head up our science department won’t be an easy task.”

“Find someone off from the ship.” Nicole said. “Don’t promote internally, unless you have no other choice.”

Lloyd laughed a bit. “Thank you Commander Levesque, but let’s not worry about this at the moment. You need to rest and not worry about your successor.” He took hold of her hands one more time. “Focus on getting yourself better so you can look after the three newest members of the Burton clan you’re carrying.”

“You mean the newest members of the Levesque tribe?” She threw back with a smile. “You’ve met my mother; she won’t have it any other way.”

“Wait ‘till you meet mine. She’s exactly the same.” Lloyd countered with. “Maybe we should hyphenate?”

“Burton-Levesque does sound regal.” Nicole mentioned.

“It sounds perfect to me.” Lloyd said, he leant in and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll let you rest and I’ll come see you before you move in with Claudia.”

Nicole smiled at that promise. “Thanks Lloyd.”

Lloyd stood up, walked over to another armchair and picked up his black leather jacket that had been sitting on the chair. As he put it on, he smiled one more time at her. “We’ll make this work. I promise.” 

“Definitely.” Nicole said, feeling more confident and happier with their situation. 

He smiled one more time before he left the room. Sighing to herself as she looked out of the window at the sunny view of San Francisco, Nicole relaxed knowing that as long as the planet wasn’t invaded by the Romulans she could start the next chapter of her life without any major issues. 

So she hoped…

Walking into the small office just down the corridor from where he had left Nicole, Lloyd was met by Doctor Cornwell who was talking to Doctor Ben-Ami and Professor Lin. Both women who had been involved in the same attack as Levesque, looked a lot better than his first officer. The office itself was almost box-shaped with a small square window looking out at the city of San Francisco. There were no artificial lights on, so the only source came from the natural sunlight. 

“How is she?” Kefira instantly asked.

Nodding to answer, Lloyd spoke up. “In good spirits.”

“That’s good to hear.” Cornwell said. “Moving in to be with her sister is the right move for her.”

“And she knows nothing else about the attackers?” Lin asked.

He shook his head. “I didn’t bring it up. She only knows what Abigail told her.” 

“Good, because if she found out what Starfleet Security told us about their motives then she would freak out.” Cornwell remarked. 

“Indeed.” Kefira agreed. “We need to keep how she became pregnant a secret for the moment.”

Lloyd shook his head in disbelief. He took a seat in one of the armchairs. “I can’t get over how they got their hands on all of this.”

“It would seem this splinter group of Terra Prime are a lot more organised than we thought.” Spoke a familiar voice behind Lloyd. The voice’s owner had remained in the corner, listening in on the conversation. “Along with everything else that Starfleet has to deal with, a political activist group is one stress we could do without.”

Lloyd looked over his shoulder towards the spot the voice came from. “You think you can protect her, Alexa?” 

Commander Alexa Hanson walked forward and stood to the side of the captain. “The new team that Admiral Hathaway has given me will work hard to do so. We’ve already identified suspects who got wind of Commander Levesque’s condition and how she became pregnant.”

“I’m still horrified that I have members of my faculty who are members of such a group. The whole concept of doctor-patient confidentiality is a sacred one. It goes against everything I’ve ever taught” Lin added. “I’m so sorry, I should have done more to protect her records.”

Kefira spoke up, “Professor you did everything above and beyond of what is expected, especially in dealing with such an unusual case. I should have done more too in how I secured her records on the Challenger.”

“Look, we all could sit here and point blame at many things. The important thing is we move forward.” Cornwell stated. 

“Agreed,” Hanson said. “Can we trust her family to keep this within their inner circle?”

Nodding twice, Lloyd answered for Nicole’s family. “I believe so. Her father is a former sheriff, and her mother is highly protective of the family. It’s a done deal.”

“I’ll finish briefing her brothers and sisters about the situation and issue the paperwork for them to sign the secrets act, just like Professor Lin.” Hanson shared. 

The room went quiet before Kefira spoke. “If your team hadn’t found Nicole’s records on Mars and the subsequent scans we had taken in Tel-Aviv then who knows what would have happened.”

“God only knows.” Cornwell remarked. “But I still don’t understand why this splinter group is being aided by rogue Starfleet officers. And what impact would it be if they had shared Nicole’s pregnancy to the public?”

Lloyd glanced up to Alexa before shrugging his shoulders. “As you said, God only knows.” He stood up. “I just want to say I appreciate everyone’s help and matter with this.”

The three doctors all replied with a round of “your welcome”. 

“I’m going to head back home,” He looked over to Hanson, “Alexa do you need a ride?”

Hanson took her cue and nodded. “Yes, that would be great, thank you Captain Burton.”

Lloyd smiled at the others and said his goodbyes along with Hanson. Walking out of the Starfleet Medical complex, the two Starfleet officers made their way across the courtyard until they approached the small car that he had hired to use while he was back in San Francisco. Once they had got in and no-one else was in earshot, he spoke further to the security officer. 

“If Section Thirty-One are really trying to come after me, to somehow shame me and smear my reputation in a public way, then they’re a lot more dangerous than we thought Alexa.” He hadn’t even turned the car.

Hanson nodded in agreement. “I do not believe finding Commander Levesque’s medical records at Utopia was not a fluke. I think it was calculated, possibly put there to scare you off. A warning perhaps.”

“Or revenge for disrupting their plans on Utopia.” Burton countered with.

Hanson shook her head at that. “I don’t think so, you said it yourself sir. Captain Karim is a clever woman. She must have known before you arrived on Mars that you two would eventually meet. It seems all too well played out that we ended up discovering their base. I feel we are missing a piece to this puzzle, but this move that Karim or whoever is running this operation has made is definitely a warning. Not only to you, but to us all.”

“You sound so certain of that, Alexa.” Lloyd said, almost sounding worried at her strong conviction.

“If they truly believe in doing whatever it takes to protect the state, then I believe they will follow through by doing whatever it takes. That almost means scaring off those who are after them. Using the Terra Prime splinter group as a third party to do their bidding was a show of their force and ability. We shouldn’t underestimate them.” Hanson replied. 

“Well Agent Minerva, I hope you have a good enough team helping you bring them down. Humanity has fought too hard to survive and to reach the stars to have a group try and bring it down.” Lloyd said.

“Or maybe they’re trying to help humanity achieve its dreams.” Hanson stated. “We can’t just assume they’re the enemy sir. Who knows what else they’ve done to protect the human race? Especially against the Romulans.”

Lloyd understood where Alexa was coming from. He just wondered if by hiding this from Nicole to protect their sons would be enough. Starting the engine up he drove them away and only wished he could be back on Challenger and far away from dealing with this Pandora Box that he and his siblings had now opened.

“We’re gathered here today, not as comrades-in-arm, but as friends and family, to celebrate the marriage of two of Starfleet’s finest.” Captain Frank Müller announced before the crowd that was assembled in the crew lounge of the Discovery. He could see everyone from his crew, for the first time in weeks since their launch, actually smiling. The sense of joy just filled the room. It was sweetly nice, and it was a welcome change instead of the regular combat duty the ship had endured recently. Clearing his throat, he carried on going through his speech, “As Captain, the honour of joining these two people has fallen to me. But before I declare them married, Alex and Michael have prepared their own vows.” Müller looked to the man to his right and just smiled with a single nod for him to take over.

Alex Rodham, Discovery’s first officer and chief helm officer, took his cue from his captain and returned the smile before looking back at the man that stood before. His smile turned into a grin and he couldn’t stop. (Inside he felt like a giddy school kid, he was so happy and couldn’t believe he was going through with this). “Michael, I still don’t know what I’ve done to warrant you being in my life. But whatever I’ve done to deserve you, I’ll do my best to prove to you every day that us being together forever was the best choice we made.  And I promise to stand by you, to honour you, till death do us part.” Instantly, Alex took the hands of the man that he had just pledged to live the rest of his life with. Still smiling. Behind him, Lieutenant Commander Nathan Wallis (Discovery’s chief armoury officer) handed him a silver-platinum ring. Alex took the ring and placed it on the man he would be calling his husband any moment. “May this ring be the symbol of our eternal love.”

Taking in a deep breath, Michael Stanton followed through with his own vows. “You stood by me when most people would have ignored me or not realised that I was in the room. You were willing to see past my shortcomings and you made me a better person, even when I didn’t know it at first. I look forward to our journey together.” Stanton received the ring he would give to Alex; it was exactly the same design as the one he had just been given. “Alex, I promise to stand by you, to honour you, till death do us part and may this ring be the symbol of our eternal love.”

Both of them remained smiling and looked back at Müller. Realising it was his cue, the captain spoke. “Commander Alexander Wesley Rodham, Commander Michael Zachary Stanton, With the power vested in me by Starfleet Command and the United Earth Commonwealth, I now pronounce you husband and husband.” He looked at his first officer as the cheers and applause erupted in the room. “Now you can kiss him Alex.” 

Rodham smirked at his superior officer and pulled his husband in for a deep kiss. They both smiled as they embraced each other, further cheers filled the room as confetti was thrown in the air over them. 

The crew lounge’s atmosphere remained buzzing as the celebration of the marriage of their first officer had brought a welcome change to the crew of the Discovery. Michael was now leaning against one of the circular windows with a glass of champagne in one hand. The shotgun wedding that they had put together had happened so fast, he hadn’t expected it when Challenger had pulled into the Obama Repair Facility. Something about seeing Alex almost instantly once he had arrived home had made him realise how precious life was and he didn’t want to wait anymore. He needed him to know how much he loved him, and this just seemed right. If it hadn’t been for Levesque almost kicking him off Challenger, if he hadn’t waited for Alex to return home, if the war was not on, then he didn’t think he would be standing on the Discovery now a married man. 

Looking around the room, Michael couldn’t get over how on some level the Discovery was so similar to Challenger. The design and layouts of both NX-class ships were the same, however Captain Müller had used his own command discretion to give Discovery its own personalised look. Unlike Challenger, which had its own décor of blues, turquoises, greys and silvers, Discovery’s themed colours appeared to be a range of golds and burgundy red (the latter on the doors and most of the chairs). Michael quite liked the look that Müller had gone for, but then he had always liked the way Challenger was decorated. 

Even though it was a Starfleet vessel, filled with some of Starfleet’s finest, he still felt like a stranger. This wasn’t his home, it was Alex’s. As a result of this, he didn’t really have anyone here from his side, however that didn’t completely bother him. He didn’t want to interrupt Captain Burton (who was dealing with father’s death) or Commander Levesque (who was dealing with her unexpected pregnancy). The rest of his colleagues were all enjoying their break. He slightly regretted not getting his family to attend, but there was just no time to get them clearance and up to the ship before it left. 

Distracted by his own thoughts, he hadn’t noticed his husband (that was weird to say that to himself, he thought), approach him. It wasn’t until Alex leant down to kiss him again. Michael kissed back passionately. He loved this man so much. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Alex asked as he placed his arms over Michael’s shoulders.

Shaking his head to shrug his expression as nothing important, Michael responded. “Just thinking this was not how I saw myself using my time off.”

“I don’t detect a hint of regret there Mr Rodham-Stanton?” Alex teased him as he pulled Michael into him further.

“Absolutely not.” Michael hastily said back.  “I’m just glad we were able to do it before you leave.”

“Me too.” Alex said, “Although I have a strong inkling that Captain Müller is going to expect a favour in return.”

“Well since he made you his first officer, I’m sure he owes you with the amount of work you’ve had to do.” Michael replied. 

“Are you going to defend my honour against the man who oppresses me under paperwork then?” Alex wondered with a smirk. 

Nodding a bit, Michael responded with a similar smile. “Absolutely and I’ll be happy to ride you out of your misery on the back of a white horse – like any knight in shining armour!”

Both men chuckled at the possible image of Stanton in such apparel. 

“My hero.” Alex whispered as he leant in for another kiss.

Their romantic encounter was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Standing near to them, with an almost embarrassed look, was Lieutenant Commander Wallis. 

Alex pulled away from Michael and looked to the armoury officer. “You okay Nathan?”

Nathan Wallis looked and sounded apologetic as he spoke, “Sorry sir, but the captain just got called to the bridge. We’ve been ordered to launch.”

Alex looked to Michael quickly and then back to the armoury officer. By the way Wallis was appearing, the order for launch wasn’t for a good reason. “What’s happened?” He asked.

Whispering, Wallis answered, “The farming colony of Gault has been attacked by the Romulans.”

Shock just appeared across the recently happily married couple. Michael cleared his throat after the initial shock dissipated. “Where’s Starfleet sending Discovery?” he asked.

Wallis ushered for them to follow him outside of the crew lounge and away from the crowd of crew that could hear them. Once they were alone in the corridor, Wallis answered the question. “The captain just said that Starfleet wants us to lead the relief efforts. There’s multiple distress calls coming from the colony.” He paused, “The captain wants you on the bridge with him Alex, sorry.”

Alex’s entire posture changed further; his shoulders almost slumped further. “Okay thanks Nath, will you give me a moment with Michael? I’ll be up there in a moment.”

Wallis nodded in acknowledgement and excused himself away from the married couple. Once he was away from them Alex turned to his husband. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Michael said instantly as he took Alex’s hands into his. “This comes with wearing the uniform.”

“I know, but I was hoping for us to have a bit more time together.” Alex said, leaning in as he started to kiss the neck of his husband.

Michael smirked at Alex’s last-ditch efforts of trying to be romantic. “Alex you are in your dress uniform, if anyone catches you then you won’t be setting a good example to your crew.”

Alex moaned into Michael’s neck as he placed gentle kisses on his neck and pulled him into him further. “I don’t care.”

“I do.” Michael said and lightly pushed his husband off him. “You’ve got a job to do.”

Almost deflating further, Alex surrendered to the idea that he could no longer enjoy himself. “Do you need a hand in packing your stuff up?” He asked, knowing that Michael would have to leave Discovery quickly. 

Michael shook his head. “No, you go, and I’ll see myself off the ship.”

Sighing one more time at the bad timing of this all. “I promise that when I get back, you and I are going to enjoy our honeymoon.”

“Oh, don’t you worry, I will have everything ready for our trip to Miami when you return.” Michael leant in one more time and planted a long kiss on his husband’s lips. “I love you Alex Rodham-Stanton.” He said after breaking away.

“I love you too Michael Rodham-Stanton.” Alex replied as he looked at his partner. He smiled at him. “How the hell was I so lucky to land a catch like you?”

Michael shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say? I’m a hoot!”

Alex smirked and then released Michael and followed in the footsteps of Wallis towards the bridge. As he entered the lift, he took one more look at his husband, blew him a cheeky kiss followed by a wink. He hoped this wasn’t going to be their last time together.

Friday, September 1st, 2141

Starfleet Training Command Campus, San Francisco, United States of America, Earth

“Don’t be nervous, don’t be shy, don’t be nervous, don’t be shy.” Were the words that Cadet Michael Stanton kept on repeating to himself as he made his way toward his hall of residence. It was his first day at STC and his anxiety was getting the best of him. He had said his goodbye to his parents and sister back in Boston. He had taken the journey across the country by himself as this was a brand-new chapter in his life. Wanting to prove to his family and more importantly himself, that he could do this. 

For most of his childhood, Michael had been extremely shy which impacted on his social life greatly. He barely had any friends at school, the only person he would identify as being close to was his younger sister. If anything, his father and mother had always said he was the exemplary older brother. Looking out for her, supporting her and encouraging her – had been how Michael and Rachel had become so close. From an early age, she idolised him for always being there for her. As they got older the tables became more equally balanced as she began to recognise how reclusive her older sibling could be around others. She had always allowed him to join her mixed group of friends, even though they were younger than him, when they were over. However, none of that had helped him go further in making his own friends. 

On the other hand, Michael was extremely bright. He left high school as valedictorian and he had been helped by his sister with his speech to his graduating class. Being a public speaker was not something he was interested in. It was pure science and mathematics that interested him. Being able to solve problems as quickly as possible was what got him out of bed every day. He enjoyed taking things apart, repairing them and even improving them. As a result of this he had shocked his parents when he had said he wanted to join Starfleet. Having access to the latest frontier technology was too much of a tease for him to ignore. He craved the adventures of seeing what was beyond Earth through science, technology and mathematics. 

After successfully passing the admission exams and just scraping by with the physical endurance tests, Michael was finally on his way to living his dreams. Entering the main entrance to where he would be living for the next four years, he was guided by a fourth-year cadet to his room. With a large suitcase on wheels that he dragged behind him, a rucksack on his back and duffle bag over his right shoulder, Michael Zachary Stanton had finally arrived at Starfleet.

Looking at the room he was surprised to find it quite spacious and accommodating. It had a massive balcony that looked over the Presidio. Obviously, Starfleet wanted their officers in training to feel relaxed. The room itself was divided into different areas. Entering through the main door, which was almost central along the wall it was located, Michael saw something he dreaded instantly. Two beds. He had spoken to the recruitment officer in New York about this and had been assured that for some cadets they got a room by themselves. He had requested that, but it looked like that had fallen on deaf ears. Both beds were facing parallel to each other and had bedside cabinets on either side of them. There were lamps also situated on them too. At the end of the beds were chests of drawers. Two large four-door cupboards then faced towards the beds (one for each occupant). Their location allowed them to separate what would have been the bedroom area away from the rest of the dorm. Behind the right-hand cupboard appeared to be a small kitchenette with a sink and other appliances and utensils for some meals to be made there. A breakfast bar with two stalls was situated next to it, looking towards the balcony. On the left-hand side was a living area space which included a single two-person sofa and one armchair with a small glass coffee table. A side door with a sign saying bathroom on it was also located in this corner of the room. 

Placing his bags down near the entrance to his new place, Michael continued to look around. He hadn’t realised that he was on the top floor of the complex, this had only dawned on him once he had seen the skyline windows that sat within the high ceiling. 

“Impressive huh?” spoke a deep masculine from the other end of the room. 

Michael automatically snapped out of gaze and looked to where the voice had come from. Standing in just a towel, with water dripping off his hair, face (practically his whole body) was a man who appeared to be of a similar age to him but just slightly taller. Not realising he was almost gawking; Michael once again shook his head to regain his concentration. “Erm, hi!” He said almost sheepishly. Inside he was kicking himself for being such an idiot. 

Without warning, the tall, muscular guy walked across the room. With one hand holding his towel, he used the other to extend a handshake towards Michael. “I’m Alex Rodham.” He spoke as he shook Michael’s right hand. “I guess we’re roomies!” He added with a warm smile. 

Michael just replied with a “uh huh” at first. He couldn’t get over how attractive this fella was. He had short black hair that had a brushed up spiky fringe. A one- or two-day old growth of stubble sat around the edge of his almost chiselled chin that was complimented by dimples as he flashed his perfect white teeth smile. 

It was obvious that Alex had noticed Michael’s lack of response as he chuckled slightly to himself. “And you are?” He asked.

Instantly Michael blushed. “Michael,” He blurted out. “Michael Stanton” He said again, this time with a bit more composure. “I’m sorry. I’m just a bit tired from my journey.” Michael said, trying to cover-up his faux pas. 

Alex continued to flash him that same smile. “Oh, no worries at all.” He looked around the room and picked up what was his cadet jumpsuit uniform. “Let me go dry myself and get changed and then we can properly get to know each other.”

“Yeah sure.” Michael said. He watched Alex walk back the way he came in, as he approached the bathroom door, Alex turned around and flashed him another smile and wink before closing the door behind him.

The moment he was by himself he groaned inwards at how ridiculous he had been. Glad he had yet to put his own jumpsuit on, he went towards the bed that had been unclaimed and sat down on the edge of it. Instantly he fell backwards and groaned again to himself. He didn’t want to start this new chapter in his life so awkwardly. 

“So, when my parents got home from their dinner, they couldn’t get past the security lock!” 

Alex burst out laughing at Michael’s recount about the time he had rewired his home’s computer network that led to him being banned from using any form of technology for a week. The two of them were just re-entering their dorm after spending the evening out with other first year cadets at a local Italian restaurant called Fiorella’s. They had all grabbed dinner there which had been followed with quite a bit of wine. Both Alex and Michael had decided to walk back to their halls, while saying good night to the others who had all shared a hover-cab back to the campus. While walking back they had started to share different stories from their backgrounds. On some level Michael was grateful for Alex giving him almost a second chance. He hated the fact how shy and nervous he had come across in their first encounter. 

“Did your parents tell you off?” Alex asked as he took off his leather jacket and just threw it on the floor beside his bed. 

Nodding in reply, Michael had continued walking past their sleeping area and towards what they had nicknamed earlier their galley. He took out a glass from one of the cupboards and began to pour a glass of water for himself as he elaborated on his story. “My sister, being the saint that she is, tried to take responsibility for it.”

Alex had made his way over and nodded in acknowledgement when Michael offered him a glass of water too. “Why did your sister do that?”

Michael rolled his eyes, showing how embarrassing the story was on some sort of level. “I had only rebuilt my mum’s hovercar the week before after I had crashed it.” He took out the extra glass and filled it with water.

Further laughter erupted from Alex as he took the glass from Michael. “Oh my god Michael, you are a terror! Remind me never to leave any of my electrical devices out when I go to classes!”

Michael chuckled, “Don’t worry I’m over pulling those types of things apart.”

“Ah a man after the same thing I am then?” Alex questioned. “However, whereas I want to fly a warp drive, you probably wanna take it apart and rebuild it from scratch?”

Shrugging his shoulders to indicate Alex may be right, Michael only smiled further as he took his glass and laid across the small sofa in their living room. “What can I say?” He added as he stretched out, “Just call me the next Zefram Cochrane!”

Alex tittered further as he moved from the galley and towards where Michael laid. Picking up Michael’s legs, he sat down on the sofa and placed Michael’s legs on top of his lap. “I wouldn’t have expected you to be such a rebel when I first met you.”

Feeling a little bit uncomfortable with how close Alex was to him, Michael sat up slightly. “I promise you, I’m not that exciting.”

“Well as long as we survive STC, then I’ve got the next four years to find out!” Alex said as he raised his glass towards Michael.

Smiling at the gesture, Michael lifted his glass of water and clinked it with Alex’s. Perhaps this new chapter in his life wouldn’t be so bad, he thought.

Monday, October 7th, 2155

Discovery NX-04, docked at the Obama Repair Facility

“Danke chief.” Captain Müller said as he nodded to the tall Indian man as he took the tablet from the quartermaster and made his way around the engineering section of his ship. 

In a past life, Frank Müller had been a chief engineer before he had been thrust into the middle chair of Starfleet’s fourth NX-class ship. As a result, he had come to enjoy the time he spent in Discovery’s engine room. It reminded him of the good old days back when he served on his previous assignments. He only wished that these days he had time for nostalgia. Since the declaration of war with the Romulans and the launch of his new ship, he had yet had the privilege to spend any decent time in the ship’s engineering department. However, his chief engineer was one an up and coming officer with impressive skills and talents. That he said he currently didn’t have his chief engineer to go over everything that needed to be done before they left Earth and headed to Gault. Deciding to take it upon himself to undertake such duties, Captain Müller was dashing around trying to get his ship ready for launch.

“Captain Müller, do you have a moment sir?” Spoke a calm voice among the sea of chaos that surrounded Discovery’s skipper. 

Müller quickly glanced up from the tablet he was reading and was surprised to see his first officer’s husband standing in the doorway of the engineering room. “Are you lost Commander Stanton?” He asked through his German accent. 

“No sir,” Stanton said as he walked over to him. “Quite the opposite actually.”

Looking back down at the tablet before signing it with his thumbprint, he replied back to Stanton’s confusing remark. “I don’t think I quite understand you commander and along with that I really don’t have the time.”

“Yes, I know sir, I wanted to see if I could help?” Stanton offered him as he started to follow Müller around the room. 

“What do you mean Michael?” Müller asked as he stood still for a moment.

Stanton seemed pretty serious as he answered. “I know you don’t have Commander Burton back as he is on leave plus from the looks of things, you’re pretty thin on the ground around here.”

“Your point Michael?” Müller now insisted that the engineer before him stopped talking in riddles. 

“Sir, I mean to say that if…” Stanton stuttered slightly. “What I want to say is…” He took a breath. “Let me join Discovery.” 

“Pardon me?” Müller responded with, still perplexed at the man before him.

“You need a chief engineer, someone who knows their way around a warp five engine and someone who can handle an engineering department on a NX-class. I’m your man!” Stanton said, trying to sound quite clever. 

Müller shook his head and went back to the work he was undertaking. “That’s very kind of you Michael but for one I don’t have the time to fill out the paperwork for a transfer and two, I already owe a massive debt to your skipper. I don’t think Lloyd will be happy with me if I steal his chief engineer.”

“He has your chief engineer right now, doesn’t he?” Stanton countered with. “Plus, this would only be temporary, at least until Roman returns.”

Müller considered his options and stopped walking to do so. He turned to look back at the engineer. “Have you spoken about this with Alex?” He wondered.

Shaking his head once, Stanton explained himself further. “No not really, he was busy on the bridge and I didn’t want to disturb him.”

Leaning up against a railing, Müller crossed his arms as he considered the offer of help from Stanton. “Alright Commander Stanton. This is a temporary assignment, but if this becomes an issue with either your husband or skipper then I hold you responsible!” He pointed finger at him as he spoke. 

“Understood sir.” Stanton said with a friendly and uneasy smile.

Müller handed him the tablet in his hands, “Don’t make me regret this.” He added as he let go of the device and it landed in Stanton’s hands. 

Almost a quarter of an hour had passed since Michael had taken over the reins of Discovery’s engineering room from Captain Müller when the main hatch opened. The moment it did it was followed by a familiar voice asking him, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Michael, who was standing by the compartment that held the main plasma injector assembly, didn’t bother to turn around as he knew he could feel his husband’s presence before he spoke. “I’m re-aligning the plasma injectors.” In his hands he held a coil spanner while in between his teeth he held a flux coupler. “What can I do for you Commander Rodham?” He dropped the coupler out of his mouth and into his spare empty hand. 

Infuriated by his husband’s response, Alex stood closer to him. “You know what I mean Michael. Don’t play smart with me.”

Michael, deciding to wind up his other half a bit further, carried on with the pretence. “Well then you know that without the injectors you can’t press that pretty button up on the bridge for this ship to fly at warp. So, for you to do that I need to finish this work.” He carried on with his work and soon felt Alex’s body up against his.

“No,” Alex said in a low voice, doing his best not to make a scene in front of the crew. “What the hell are you doing staying on board Discovery?” He asked. “You’re meant to be off the ship by now.”

“Well I noticed that Commander Burton hadn’t returned, and you were short of engineers.” Michael began to explain. “By the way, your second engineer still hasn’t reported on board. Lieutenant Mulgrew is it?” He paused to take a breath, “Sounds like a good guy but the other engineers said he was visiting a relative who lived on the Moon. I don’t think he will be back in time before you head out to Gault. So, you are faced with a slight crisis in your engineering department. Luckily for you, a handsome chief engineer from your sister ship has arrived to save the day. I’m here, so use me.”

Sighing hugely at the situation they were in; Alex knew there was no way he could get past Michael’s stubborn side. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the gesture Michael, I just don’t want to…”

“Be worried if I’m still alive the moment you fly this ship into battle?” Michael finished for him. He stopped his work and put his tools down. Taking Alex’s face into both of his hands he pulled the man he had only just married a few hours ago closer to him. “I have the same dread for you, whether I’m here or on Challenger. I love you and I want to be with you.”

Giving up in trying to convince him to leave, Alex took both of Michael’s hands. “Damn you Michael Rodham-Stanton.”

“Damn you Alex Rodham-Stanton.” Michael replied and kissed his husband on the cheek. “Now get the hell out of my engineering room!”

“Hey, remember I’m your superior officer right now.” Alex protested back. “That’s no way to speak to a first officer.”

“And I hold the rank of commander a lot longer than you did darling, so I’m your senior officer.” Michael responded with. “I suppose we cancel each other out on our pulling of rank argument.”

Alex chuckled, “I’ll leave you to give me all the power I need to fly this tin can into oblivion.”

“That’s right, fly-boy. Let the grown-ups sort this mess out while you do some fancy manoeuvres.” Michael added as he turned back to his work.

Leaning in one more time, Alex kissed the top of Michael’s head before leaving engineering. 

Smirking to himself, Michael carried on with his work, safe with the knowledge that he had just won his first domestic fight with his new husband.

Stressed, tired, frustrated were some of the words to describe how Cadet Michael Stanton currently felt in regard to his work. Taking a bachelor’s degree in engineering science as well as undertaking his officer training was tougher than making a Vulcan smile. They were all in the same boat; a majority of officers in training were doing the same thing and he knew he shouldn’t complain. He had always enjoyed a challenge; this certainly was one of those. What he found to be the most nuisance was the non-engineering elements of his education.  The constant physical drills as well as combat training just seemed overkill in his mind. As a result of this he knew he was struggling with that element. Fortunately for him he had help in the shape of his roommate. Alex had helped him through the physical elements, this included extra training, morning and evening jogs during the week, going to the gym together, etc. In return Michael was supporting Alex through the academics. Tutoring the pilot-wannabe hadn’t been too difficult of a task. It had kept Michael’s own wit sharp. In fact, this collaboration developed a strong friendship between them. 

Within most of their social circles (Michael still couldn’t believe he had a growing number of friends and this was all down to Alex’s influences) the two of them were inseparable. Their friends had even called them THE power couple at STC. The constant idea of them taking their relationship to the next level was constantly part of the regular banter issued out. However, it hadn’t bothered either of them, that said they had never spoken about it. After his first disastrous encounter with Alex when they moved into their STC accommodation, he had come to terms that Alex perhaps didn’t see him in that way compared to how Michael had first felt. Within the past year or so, Michael had pushed those thoughts and feelings to the back as he didn’t want to jeopardise the friendship he had with Alex. 

Hastily, he was making his way back to the ‘loft’ (the name they and their friends had named their accommodation as it was considered one of the best due to its views). The San Francisco rain was battling down hard against the evening sky with thunderclouds rumbling overhead. When Michael had left for his morning lectures it had been almost clear with some sunny spots through the day, consequently he hadn’t taken his hooded coat with him. He wore only a light jacket and his STC hoodie. Both were soaked through to his skin. In fact, his entire body, head to toe, was sopping wet. Holding his rucksack, that had his computer tablet in it, close to him he darted across the pedestrianised street towards. Approaching the main doors to his halls of residence, he reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet and took out his key-card to let him in. The electronic lock bleeped and a small green light appeared to the pad where he had tapped his key-card against. Pulling the main door open, he quickly got inside and tried to shake the rain off from him. 

Seconds later he was squelching down the corridor towards the loft, he eventually reached his door. Again, he took out his key-card and just like routine he expected the door to automatically open. It didn’t. He tried it again and tried pushing against the door. It wasn’t allowing him in. Giving out a huge sigh, he tapped the door chime and was pleased to hear Alex’s footsteps (he presumed it was Alex who was inside) approaching the front door. Within a moment the door opened, Alex stood there with a smile on his face and in one hand he held a black towel. Instantly Alex offered the towel to his roommate and suppressed the sight before him. 

“Someone forget something today?” Alex mocked as Michael took the towel.

Michael smirked at Alex’s teasing and began drying himself. “Something like that.” He mumbled underneath it as he rubbed his face and hair. 

Almost like clockwork, Alex helped Michael by taking his bag and wet jacket. As Michael began to take his shoes off, he looked around the loft and realised it was darker than normal. He also heard faint music being played. Sniffing the air, he noticed that something was being cooked. Eventually he saw beyond the bedroom area that the dining table, that they had bought last year, was in the middle between the galley and living room. On it was a fully laid out table with plates, cutlery, glassware and candles…candles that were lit. 

Michael started to almost rip off his wet clothes as he looked at the scene before him. Still confused. “What’s that for? Have you got someone coming over? Shall I leave?” He quickly said. Part of him was now worrying about what he had just walked into. 

Alex, who had walked over to grab Michael some dry clothes from the tall wardrobe that was near to Michael’s bed, swiftly turned around. “Oh god, no, no, that’s not it.”

Like a stray puppy in New York City, Michael was still unable to understand what was happening. “Then what is this?”

Handing him the dry clothes, Alex answered as he turned around to give Michael some privacy as he changed out of his wet clothes and into the ones that he had picked out for him. “It’s…” He stuttered (for the first time since he had met Michael), “It’s for us.”

“Us?” Michael repeated, not knowing what Alex meant by that. “Have I missed your birthday or something?”

Chuckling to himself at how Michael was when he didn’t understand what was going on, Alex spoke up. “No, it’s not my birthday. You know my birthday was back in August.”

“Then what’s it for?” Michael asked again as he finished pulling the navy-blue sweatshirt over his head. Once his arms and head were through the holes, he walked around to face Alex. “What’s going on Alex? You’re freaking me out and you never stutter.”

Rubbing his face with both hands, Alex took in a breath. Before he could answer, Michael jumped in again as he became nervous with how hesitant Alex was becoming. 

“Are you dying?” He almost shouted out.

“No!” Alex snapped back as he tried to stop himself from laughing. He took Michael’s hands and insisted that they sat down on Michael’s bed. Michael hadn’t flinched when his hands were taken by Alex’s and just complied in moving. “Michael, I need to tell you something and I feel if I don’t say it sooner then I may end up regretting not saying anything.”

“Okay?” Michael replied warily, waiting for Alex to shed light on what was happening.

“I was in the simulator today,” Alex started with, “My squad and I were taking the new no-win scenario, which by the way they need to change as we won it, but during it all I had this sudden urge of realisation.”

“Okay.” Michael remained cautious, still not sure where Alex was heading with this speech.

“I realised as one of my teammates dramatically fell to the ground that one day I could be on a ship and in a fight for my life. I don’t want to be alone if that happens.” He explained. “And before you say it, I know I will be part of a crew.”

“Well that’s the obvious there.” Michael sarcastically remarked and noticed suddenly that Alex didn’t appreciate that comment. “You were saying…”

Alex re-started, “I want someone with me, someone who I love being there for me and gets me, someone who makes me laugh and respects me. Someone who is caring and will drop everything to be with me.” He paused as he took in a deep breath. “Michael Zachary Stanton, I should have said this sooner, but you rock my world and I can’t stop thinking about you. I’m in love with you and I need you to know that.”

Gawping in shock at that realisation, Michael at first didn’t know what to say. No-one had ever told him that they loved him. That thought was soon overwhelmed by butterflies in his stomach. Smiling now at Alex he just leaned in and kissed him. He didn’t know what overtook him in that moment to do such a thing, but he just had the urge to do it. He was surprised when Alex kissed him back with so much passion. Michael returned it by pushing Alex backwards onto the bed with his body, still pressing his lips against his. 

The moment Alex fell backwards with his arms around Michael, he pulled away from their kiss. “I take it this is your way of saying you feel the same?”

“Bloody hell yeah.” Michael said between breaths. “So, I take it I’m your no-win scenario?”

“How’d you work that one out?”

“Well if I said no that I don’t feel the same you’re still stuck with me for another two years, but if I said yes I feel the same then you’re still stuck with me.” Michael answered.

Alex pulled him in for another kiss before talking further. “Then damn Cadet Stanton, I’ve definitely gotten lost with you!”

Michael sighed at the cheesiness of Alex’s statement. “Please don’t say that anymore.”

“Then the only way for it to end is for you to kiss me again and then join me for a great dinner I’ve prepared for you.” Alex countered back with.

“Deal.” Michael said as he leaned in to kiss Alex further.

Tuesday, October 8th, 2155

Discovery NX-04, en route to Gault Colony

Looking up at the man who stood next to him in the lift, Michael couldn’t help but smile. It was almost weird to be feeling so giddy, especially as they may just be going into battle. He hadn’t felt this since the day he and Alex had decided to become more than roommates and friends. Since that day he knew that this was it, even when they took a break from each other to concentrate on their assignments. They always ended up back together. Being on Discovery with him was the first time in ages that he felt that their relationship was normal. 

“Whatcha’ thinking about?” Alex asked when he noticed Michael looking at him smiling like some lovesick fool.

“That for the first time in years this may actually work.” Michael answered, gesturing to the two of them. 

Alex grabbed Michael’s hand and intertwined his fingers with his as they felt the lift change direction as it headed upwards towards the bridge. “I know what you mean. It feels good, doesn’t it?”

Nodding a yes, Michael smiled more. “It does.” He clenched Alex’s hand a bit more. “You sure you’re okay with me being here?”

“Yeah, I’m over it. I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to…” Alex paused. “I just needed time to process the idea of you and I serving together.”

“It’s temporary, I promise.” Michael assured him. “Lloyd is going to kill me for doing this.”

“Not unless the Romulans get you first!” Alex joked back.

Elbowing his husband in the ribs, Michael just laughed off the idea. Although he would prefer to take on a Romulan bird-of-prey instead of explaining to Lloyd why he joined Discovery on his time off. Noticing they were almost on the bridge, Michael let go of Alex’s hand and composed himself to be a bit more professional. Captain Müller had called them and the rest of the senior crew to the bridge as the ship was finally approaching the Gault Colony. It had only just gone past midnight on the ship and both Alex and Michael had only been able to catch two or three hours of sleep. It was fortunate enough that Alex’s quarters had a bed that would pull out to be a double-bed, otherwise Michael would have ended either in a guest quarter or on a bunk bed sharing with some of the enlisted engineers. The guest quarters did sound nice, however unlike on Challenger where they had recently been upgraded to house Foreign Secretary Campbell and her staff, Discovery’s guest quarters were currently filled with MACO equipment. The idea of sharing a room with some phase rifles and stun grenades wasn’t appealing. 

The lift stopped and the doors opened. Michael let Alex step out first and watched for a second as he headed towards the helm. Again, Captain Müller had almost re-designed and re-shaped the bridge. It carried on using the same red and golden colours on the walls and doors while a greyish-purple carpet was present on the bridge. Along with this, the bridge layout was far different to the other NX-class ships. Besides the captain’s chair, the helm and the situation room, every other station was located. Whereas on Challenger the engineering station was located on the starboard side of the ship by the front, this was where the science station was located. Behind it was the communications post (this would have been the tactical station on Challenger). In fact, the communication officer sat with their back to the captain as there was no console facing in towards the middle of the bridge. Where Challenger’s science station was located, this was where the engineering station was, again there was no inwards facing console and the engineer had their back towards the captain. Finally, the tactical station was located where the communications console would have been on the other three NX-class ships. Michael had asked Alex why Müller had the bridge laid out differently to everyone else, but all he said was this was how the captain wanted his bridge laid out. 

When they had arrived on the bridge, Müller was standing in the centre of the bridge, one arm across his chest and the other raised to lips with a sincere expression of concern expression. As he heard the lift open, he instantly dropped his hands and smiled at the arrival of his first officer and temporary chief engineer. “Sorry for the early morning call gentlemen, but I didn’t want you to miss the show.”

Alex waved his captain off as he took over at the helm from the night shift officer and Michael raced over to the engineering station, which was currently unoccupied. He quickly took a glance over the monitors and was pleased to see the ship was running without any issues. 

There was a ding noise over at the communication station, a young ensign called Greta Russo responded and placed her earpiece in. A few seconds later the Italian communications officer turned around. “Sir, we’re being hailed by the colony. It’s Governor Luka Kharkov.”

Alex had turned around to listen in to the conversation and gave Müller a surprised and concerned look. Müller had also mirrored him with his own reaction. Earth had lost contact with Gault after it had received its standard distress call. It had not responded to any calls until now.

“Put him up Greta.” The captain ordered, it was apparent he was eager to find out the status of the colony and what they were just about to ride into. 

The main screen beeped and came to life with the image of a middle-aged man. He had short black hair that was swept to the right. He didn’t look like many politicians that Michael had seen before. Instead of wearing a suit, the man wore a black top and he looked like he had been dragged through hell and back. Exhaustion appeared over him too. The link between the ship and the colony wasn’t great as distortions kept on interfering with its quality.

“Governor Kharkov, it’s good to hear from you. I’m Captain Müller of the Discovery, we’re on our way and will be with you very soon.” Müller stated in an almost rushed tone. He wanted to let the governor know they were on their way before the link was lost again.

In a thick Russian accent, Kharkov spoke up after clearing his throat. “Captain, it is good to hear that. We’ve just been able to re-establish our short-range communication array.”

“What’s your status sir?” Müller asked with concern.

Kharkov looked off screen and nodded to someone. It must have been an aide as around him it looked like people were moving quickly. He looked like he was in a room, possibly his office, but the image wasn’t one-hundred percent clear. “We’ve got injured here. I don’t think the Romulans know we are just a simple farming colony that possesses barely any technology. Our orbital sensor relays and long-range communications array were destroyed by the Romulans. We were able to retrieve the logs from our sensors before we lost them. The relays detected one bird-of-prey in the system. They proceeded to launch six attack fighters that took out the colonies primary power generators as well as other key facilities. We’re running on emergency power; I have given the order to evacuate.”

Müller winced at the news. He had hoped that no one was seriously injured or worse dead. “Hold on sir, we are on our way.”

“Captain Müller there is one more thing.” Kharkov said quickly before the channel was closed. “There’s two habitable worlds in the system. One small moon that orbits the eighth planet, but the fifth planet is Minshara class.” 

Nodding to confirm he knew this, Müller attempted to find out where the governor was going with this. “Yes sir, we are aware of it. I believe I read somewhere that the Serbian Collective had petitioned Starfleet last year to assist them in setting up a settlement on the fifth planet.”

“They’ve bombed the planet.” Kharkov said and the channel abruptly closed. 

Müller turned to Russo, “Can you get him back, ensign?”

Russo worked hard to try her best, even Michael checked over the communication array and was relieved it wasn’t at that end the problem was coming from. 

“Negative sir.” Reported Russo. “The signal was cut off at the governor’s end.”

Sighing as he sat in his chair, Müller looked over to Lieutenant Commander Wallis who had been sat quietly at the tactical station. “Nathan, take us to tactical alert and Greta, inform the rest of the task group to do the same.”

Both officers replied in acknowledgement and Discovery went on its war footing as the lights dimmed and the flash scarlet alarm went off. 

Discovery soon dropped out of warp flanked by four other ships, two on each side. The five-ship task group was led by the NX-class ship with the Ganges-class ships Avon and Murray, the Daedalus-class vessel Pathfinder and the Sarajevo-class Canberra. 

“Entering the Barnard’s Star system.” Alex stated from the helm. His fingers were almost dancing across the flight controls of the ship as he eased the vessel out of warp and into sub-light speeds.

“Commander Rodham, full impulse to Gault.” Müller ordered. He looked over to his science vessel, a woman named Maria Nuñez who held the rank of lieutenant. She had recently joined Discovery after Müller had lost his previous first officer and chief science officer to gain their own captaincy. Lieutenant Nuñez had been the ship’s second science officer and appeared to be quite the capable officer to run such a department. “Maria, start scanning for our unwanted visitors as well as anything else.” Müller commanded.

The science officer just nodded as she worked on her controls before looking through the scope she had just activated. After a moment she spoke, “I’ve got them sir, they’re in orbit of the fifth planet and they appear to be firing on it.”

“Can we see them?” Müller asked her.

She turned away from her scope and then looked up at the main screen as she showed what the visual sensors were recording. A Romulan bird-of-prey sat over the top of the small habitable world and was firing at it. A mixture of fire was coming from its forward plasma cannon and it appeared to be launching missiles too. 

“They’re firing nuclear missiles sir.” Nuńez reported as she checked over her readings.

“Again?” Michael whispered as he watched the Romulans continue with their barrage.

Müller looked at the engineer. “What do you mean Commander Stanton?”

Stanton looked from the screen to the captain. “Sir, I’ve seen the Romulans employ this tactic before. The use of nuclear warheads is their cheap way of removing worlds from being used by us.”

“Or them.” Alex added. “Why attack an uninhabited world? Why not destroy Gault?”

“Maybe they don’t have the resources to capture it and as the Governor said, it’s a small farming colony on a moon. That’s a larger planet that we could eventually colonise.” Stanton suggested. “We need to stop them sir.”

Supporting his temporary chief engineer’s thinking, Müller stood up and pulled on his jacket. “I couldn’t agree anymore with you Michael. Ensign Russo, inform the Pathfinder and Canberra to take orbit over Gault while the Avon and Murray join us. Commander Rodham, take us within weapon’s range.”

Discovery lurched forward and was followed closely by the two smaller ships. 

Michael quickly tapped away at the engineering station, he started to bring up the program he had been working on to defend Challenger when the Romulans attempted to take her overusing the telepresence unit. He had been able to create some firewalls but had yet to test them. If the Romulans tried to pull such a stunt with them then he would be ready for them. He activated the software and kept the status of it on one of his monitors. 

Nathans soon spoke up from the tactical station, “We’re in weapon’s range sir.”

“Photonic torpedoes, full spread.” Müller commanded.

Eight bolts of golden light flashed from the ventral side of Discovery’s saucer section while the Avon and Murray began opening fire with their forward phase cannons. 

The Romulan ship broke orbit, flew into high speed and began returning fire on the three Starfleet ships as it took a battering from the firepower it was now under. It was highly manoeuvrable. As soon as it was far enough it launched a number of its nuclear warheads at the three ships before going to warp. As it bolted away the missiles all detonated behind it. The multiple shockwaves grazed the hulls of the fleet but hardly did any damage. 

“Status?” Müller asked his team.

Stanton pulled out the damage report, “They barely scratched us sir. No major damage from what I can see to any of our ships.”

“They were hiding their tracks.” Wallis reported from the tactical station. “The detonation of those warheads scattered our sensors. We don’t know which way they’ve gone sir.”

Müller shook his head. “It doesn’t matter Nathan; we’ve scared them off.” He looked down at his pilot and first officer. “Commander Rodham, take us back to Gault. Let’s go see what’s happening down there.”

Müller had insisted on taking his new chief engineer with him along with their MACO Detachment Commander, the Chief Medical Officer and two more MACOs. Alex had protested about being left behind to command the ship, insisting that the captain should remain on the bridge while he led the landing party. Overruling his first officer, Müller had said he needed to see what the Romulans had done to the planet and speak with Kharkov directly about this evacuation. 

Stepping out of the locker-room with his field jacket zipped up, a phase pistol strapped to his right thigh and a scanner in his pocket, Michael was trying to work out how many planets he had been on now when his train of thought was interrupted by a cough. He looked up and saw Alex standing there.

“Come to wave me off?” He asked his husband.

Alex smirked and walked by Michael’s side as he headed to the launch bay. “Well yes, but also I thought you may need these.” He handed Michael a neck gaiter, a pair of gloves and a trapper hat. All Starfleet issued with Discovery’s insignia on it. “The temperature down there is pretty cold; I’m surprised you guys aren’t going down in your artic gear.”

“It’s not that bad,” Michael retorted as they turned the corridor and approached the launch bays doors.

Alex pressed the button to open and the door and went in first. “It’s cold, please don’t be heroic, just wrap up!”

“You love me so much!” Michael cheekily said.

Alex rolled his eyes as they approached the place where the rest of the landing party were gearing up. Major Leona Danvers, the MACO Detachment Commander, was zipping up her field jacket. Danvers had a pixie hairstyle that was mostly platinum blonde. She had a serious demeanour about herself. She had attended Michael and Alex’s wedding; she hadn’t said much but Alex had assured Michael that she was an impressive woman and MACO. The two of them had become sparring partners in recent weeks.

Next to her was Doctor Melanie Reyburn. Originally from South-East London, Michael had found out from Alex that the lieutenant had grown-up from a strict West Indies background – one that she was truly proud of. Her hair was braided close to her skull, with it all swept to the left side of her head. She had green eyes that were complimented by her almost cheeky, friendly personality. Reyburn had gone out of her way to speak to Michael at their wedding reception and kept him company for a bit of it. 

Working behind the major and doctor were the two MACOs who would be supporting the landing party with security and protection. Michael didn’t recognise them but got a glimpse of their ranks and name labels attached to their uniforms. The woman nearest to Major Danvers had the name of A. Salah and the rank of corporal – she appeared to be of Afghan descent. She was checking over a phase rifle before she gave it to Danvers. The man next to Salah was a private with the name of M. Gomez. He was speaking to Salah in a quiet Mexican accent and whatever they were discussing she was nodding along to. 

“Okay everyone, are we ready?” spoke Captain Müller as he entered the launch bay via the same door that Michael and Alex had come through. He was answered by a round of ‘aye sirs’. He looked to Alex, “The ship is yours Commander. Wait for our word and once we know what’s happening, we can work out what to do from there.”

“Aye captain.” Alex said, still showing his unhappiness with the captain’s decision to go. “I’ll make sure the fleet is ready to assist with an evacuation if needs be.”

“Excellent, see you shortly.” Müller said and he gestured for everyone to climb down the extended metal staircase to get into their shuttlepod. 

Once they were in, they had all taken their seats and had strapped themselves in. Michael had been given the privilege of flying the shuttlepod, so he was at the front with the captain and doctor behind either of his shoulders. The MACOs had taken their seats on the benches in the back. 

“All systems are good to go sir.” Stanton had announced after he brought their small craft to life. 

Pressing the button on the keyboard in front of him, Müller requested permission from the bridge to leave. It was Lieutenant Commander Wallis, who was currently sitting in the centre chair while Rodham watched them leave, who replied and gave them clearance to go. 

Opening the launch bay doors, Michael lowered the shuttlepod down and once it was detached from its umbilical tower, he activated the thrusters and took them down towards the planet.

Shuttlepod One

“What should we expect of the colonists once we land?” Doctor Reyburn asked aloud to the group as they entered the atmosphere.

“I would imagine there’s a lot of frayed nerves down there.” Müller replied. “A majority of them are farmers, they reject most technologies.”

“The colony is one of Earth’s oldest too. Didn’t they leave Earth before the turn of the twenty-second century?” Major Danvers remarked from where she sat. 

Müller nodded, “The settlers called themselves at the time the Serbian Collective, they wanted to return to an agrarian way of life in the wake of the third world war. I’d imagine many of them are scattered across the north eastern continent.”

“So, if we have to assist them in getting off this planet, it’s not going to be easy is it?” Reyburn asked – already knowing the answer to that question.

“And it looks like it’s going to get a bit harder.” Stanton announced from his controls. “Sensors are picking up a large weather front over …” He paused as he wasn’t sure what to call the place they were heading towards, “their capital settlement.”

Pulling up the same telemetry, Müller sighed in frustration. “That may be the reason why we lost contact with the governor. I’m detecting torrential rain, high winds, thunder and lightning over their capital settlement. Commander Stanton, place us close to the governor’s residence.”

Stanton nodded in acknowledgement. “I’m glad Alex gave me those little extras to keep me warm.” He muttered to himself. 

It was obvious Reyburn had heard him, “Isn’t that what a good spouse does? They look after you?” She asked him. 

Smirking at her comment, “Yeah, I just think he wanted to look like the good guy in front of you all.”

“Perhaps we can buy you a beer later commander and you can share some old stories about our first officer?” Danvers propositioned in a friendly manner. 

Her offer came as a bit of a shock to the engineer. He had yet to see Danvers in such a calm, friendly way. Maybe she and Alex were closer than he had given credit. “That sounds like a deal major.” He answered with. 

The shuttlepod started to shudder under the pressure of the adverse weather that was battering it now. Michael told everyone to hold on as he tried his best to get them through it. Concentrating hard, Michael couldn’t remember the last time he had flown a shuttlepod through bad conditions. In the back of his head he could hear Alex telling him to breathe and focus on what was ahead of him, while keeping one eye on the readouts. 

Eventually they came through the other side and soon approached the main settlement. It was quite dark and the shuttlepod’s landing lights all came on. The captain had even activated its searchlight. 

“I’m not detecting any life-signs captain.” Reyburn announced as she looked over the sensor readings. “I’m switching to thermal imaging, but I don’t think it will be much help in this weather.”

“Where did they all go?” Danvers asked aloud. “There’s no way they’ve left the colony.”

“Perhaps they haven’t left.” Stanton said. “When we dealt with the Malurian-Nausicaan invasion of an Andorian colony, a good number of colonists took refuge in nearby caves and mountain sides.” He tapped a few buttons on his keyboard and brought up the topography. This settlement sits in the middle of a large valley, the nearby cliff edges have caverns they could have gone to.”

“I see it.” Reyburn said as she started to direct the shuttle’s scanners towards the cliff edges. “My scanners are being blocked.”

“Docana,” Stanton mumbled to himself as he looked at the same readings that the doctor had been trying to work on.

“Pardon commander?” Müller asked. 

Stanton looked to the captain over his right shoulder, “The Andorian colony I spoke about was called Docana. What I said on the bridge earlier with how the Romulans are trying to remove planets from our control, this situation is just like Docana. They did it there as well as at Coridan.”

“You may be right Commander Stanton, but what’s that got to do with my sensors being blocked?” The doctor wondered.

Stanton answered, “The colonists on Docana did the same when they were attacked. They hid in caves that were enriched with an unknown metallic ore that could block sensors. Maybe the Gault colonists have done the same.”

“Great, so where do we start?” Müller asked. 

“We don’t head to the nearest one.” Michael said, “If the colonists are smart enough, they wouldn’t go to the nearest place to hide. That would be too obvious.”

“I’m picking up a small cavern entrance at the end of the valley, near a large waterfall. There’s plenty of space for us to land too.” Reyburn reported.

“What if they’re not there? Are we really going to be searching every cave?” Danvers questioned. “Could we not launch a series of probes and hover drones to help?”

Müller considered their options. “Let’s do that first, but I want to return to the main settlement. See if there’s any clues as to where they’ve gone.” He said and then he tapped another button that opened a channel between them and their crewmates. “Shuttlepod One to Discovery.” 

The familiar voice from Rodham filled the internal speakers. “Go ahead captain.”

“Commander, we can’t find the colonists and we think Governor Kharkov’s comments about evacuating meant they’ve left the main settlement.” Müller stated. “I want you and the other ships to launch a number of probes and hover drones to determine where they’ve gone as the weather down here is causing havoc to our sensors.”

“Understood sir.”

“In the meantime, we are going to land and search the capital settlement. Müller out.” He closed the channel and looked over to Stanton. “Commander, find us a nice landing site so we can hunt for clues.”

Stanton nodded in acknowledgement and moved their small craft towards the centre of the settlement. Landing it near a column that had a tall column and a flame flickering on top of it. The pillar had writing around the side which was hard to make out against the rain. As everyone got themselves ready to leave the shuttlepod, Stanton shutdown the craft and locked out the computer controls. Pulling on the extra clothing that Alex had given him, Michael made a mental note to himself that he would show his gratitude towards his husband at a later stage. He yanked the hood from his long field jacket over his hat and saw that everyone else had done the same thing.

Müller gave the order for them to depart, the MACOs went first and Müller followed with Reyburn and Stanton behind him. All of them had their weapons out while Müller led them towards the main central building. 

With only a few metres away from the structure there was a loud noise coming from above them. The sound of engines got louder as it got nearer. Stanton looked around and saw several green dots getting closer and closer towards him and the landing party.

“Move!” He shouted to everyone as he realised it was the Romulan attack fighters that the governor had spoken about. 

Instantly the team sprinted heading for cover, as they darted through the rain the fighters began opening fire. First targeting the shuttlepod which erupted into flames and then they attempted to take out the landing party. Stanton heard the plasma cannons from the fighters and noticed that the captain was in the firing range and quickly pushed him over and out of the way. As he hit the ground with the captain in an almost rugby tackle, an explosion went off from around them. Both men were covered head to toe in soaking mud. 

“Thanks.” Müller said after he took a breath and they watched the fighters fly over. “Let’s move people!” He shouted as they got up and carried on heading towards the central building. 

Once inside they got away from the main doors. Eventually the building started to shudder under the stress of fire from outside.

“We can’t stay here.” Danvers stated as she led the team to a safe place away from the main doors. 

“I can’t get through to Discovery.” Salah spoke after closing her communicator down. The MACO soldier placed it in her pocket and raised the phase rifle she had hanging from her left shoulder up. 

Müller, who had his scanner out, was searching for an alternative option they could take. His scanner beeped, “This way.” He ordered.

“Where are we going?” Doctor Reyburn asked as they headed down a corridor.

“There seems to be a basement level, we might be safe down there.” Müller said. 

More explosions, more shudders filled the structure. From what Stanton could work out, this not only was the main government building in the settlement, but it also doubled up as a farmers’ market due to the large hall in the main entrance. There were locations for stalls to be setup all around it. 

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, they came across something they were not expecting to see. There was a large section of a wall missing, with the debris from what must have been an explosion to create it all on the floor. Almost automatically, the entire team took out their scanners and began trying to work out what had happened. 

“I’m detecting a tunnel behind this mess.” Stanton remarked as he played with his scanner to see if he could see any further with it. 

Reyburn closed her scanner after a second, “I’m still not picking up any life signs, but my scanner doesn’t seem to be able to see anything beyond two metres.”

“Why would there be rubble here?” Müller asked aloud. “There’s no way the Romulans have attacked this far down.”

Major Danvers was still scanning and spoke up as she kept her concentration on what her readings were telling her. “I may have to disagree sir. This was a huge door or maybe an airlock of some sort. There’s multiple inter-locks and joints that have been blasted to bits here.”

“So, we’ve got a huge doorway, but heading to where?” Reyburn wondered.

Playing with her scanner further, the major eventually looked back at the others. “I think it’s safe for us to remove this debris with some well-placed charges.” 

“I agree.” Stanton said. “If we want to know what’s beyond this then we need to get rid of this.” He gestured towards the rubble that sat next to them. “The structure of the frame is made out of an extremely thick metallic ore. I would say the colonists refined it from the planet as it doesn’t appear to be anything that our scanners recognise.”

Müller pondered for a moment and then the building jerked suddenly after the Romulans bombarded it again. Debris from the ceilings and walls started to crumble over them. The building was about to become a large set of rubble. “Okay, let’s do it as there’s no other way we are getting out of here alive. Major, set your charges.”

Danvers, with her fellow MACO soldiers, strategically placed their explosives around the debris while Stanton double checked the calculations to ensure the entire building didn’t collapse from what they were about to do. Satisfied that it was safe to proceed, the landing party moved away from the debris and back around the corner. The major shouted out a warning and pressed her detonator. A second later and an explosion erupted. 

Once the dust had partially settled, the Starfleet team moved to examine the wreckage they had just caused. Fortunately for them, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. They now had a clear path to explore what was ahead of them. Reaching for the handheld torches, Müller led his officers into a long dark corridor.

The more time went by, the more Commander Alex Rodham’s concerns grew. Trying to keep himself pre-occupied and not worrying about the landing party, Alex had decided not to sit in the captain’s chair. Instead he had returned to the bridge, after seeing them off, and had taken his position at the helm. This had helped keep his nerves at bay, he knew he had to keep calm in front of the crew. He was now in command. 

The bridge was silent, silent because nobody had anything to report. This only added to Rodham’s anxiety. Taking a breath to calm himself, the pilot and first officer took a moment to adjust the ship’s heading slightly while it orbited the small farming colony. It had amazed him that when the original colonists had left Earth, they had picked this moon that orbited a gas giant to land on. There was a perfectly good Minshara class planet in the system, however reports state that the settlers felt the moon of the eighth planet in the Barnard’s Star system reminded them more of home. Sentimental fools Rodham thought. 

There was a beep, followed by another beep and as each one happened, they began to sound urgent. Looking up from his controls, Rodham worked out they were coming from the tactical station to his left. “What is it Nathan?” He asked the armoury officer. 

Lieutenant Commander Wallis rushed to get his response. “The proximity alarm has picked up six sub-light ships rapidly approaching us sir.” He paused as he looked further at the readouts. “They’re Romulan attack ships sir and they’re weapons are hot.”

“Sound battle-stations.” Rodham hastily ordered as he rose from his chair. It finally dawned on him that he knew he couldn’t command the ship during a fight from the helm. Looking at Captain Müller’s chair, he took a breath and sat in it. Since being made first officer he had rarely sat in it. He looked at his second helm officer, Ensign Jenson Hurst, who had stepped forward after standing behind them in the situation room. The young Canadian man got himself comfortable. “Jenson, bring us towards our target.”

“Aye sir.” Hurst replied and brought the ship around towards the incoming Romulan ships. 

Wallis spoke up, “Sir, those ships are only slightly bigger than a shuttlepod, I would say they’re more like fighters. Highly manoeuvrable and armed with plasma cannons. Their armour plating shouldn’t be an issue with our weapons.”

“Then taking them out shouldn’t be an issue then. Fire at will.” Rodham commanded. The Romulans had devastated too many allies that they didn’t deserve the compassion of the Earth fleet trying to prevent hostilities. He wasn’t going to give them the chance to open fire first. They would deal the first salvo and take it from there. 

Discovery began its attack run as it fired its phase cannons and unleashed a barrage of photonic torpedoes. The attack fighters dodged in-between the fire at high impulse and began spewing out their green plasma fire from their forward cannons. The rest of the Earth fleet joined in the battle. Wallis had set the ship’s torpedoes to detonate in proximity to the Romulans if they evaded them. The multiple shockwaves were causing havoc for the Romulans to keep their momentum going for long. Discovery took out two fighters while the Avon and Murray took out another one that was trying to evade them through a round of loop-the-loop manoeuvres. The remaining three fighters all peeled off and re-grouped as they began their final attack run. 

“Sir, they’re lining up to take on the Canberra.”  Lieutenant Nuñez announced from her science station.

Wallis soon followed her after he worked out what the Romulans were up to. “It’s a kamikaze attack sir!” 

“Jenson, quickly move us between the Romulans and the Canberra. Nathan, fire everything we’ve got!” Rodham ordered. 

Turning a full rotation to port, Discovery attempted to chase the Romulans as they began firing on the Canberra which was already attempting to move away the three ships. Avon, Murray and Pathfinder began opening fire as they followed Discovery. One Romulan ship exploded after a lucky hit from a phase cannon, followed by a second. The third one somehow increased power to its engines as it sped across space, passed the wreckage of its dead comrades and smacked into the side of the Canberra. 

“Report!” Rodham bellowed, wanting to know the status of the Sarajevo-class ship. 

Nuñez answered first. “The attack ship rammed the Canberra’s cargo holds sir. They’ve lost main power; hull plating is gone but they’re safe.”

“Ensign Russo, send a message to Captain Vaughn that we’re sending over teams to help out with repairs and injuries.” Rodham told his communications officer. 

“Aye sir.” Russo replied as she began putting their message together.

“Any other Romulan ships?” Rodham asked Wallis.

Wallis shook his head. “I’m not seeing any more out there.”

“Commander, just before the Romulans attacked I detected an explosion near the central settlement of the colony.” Nuñez stated. She was reviewing the sensor logs. “Sir, I think they hit our shuttlepod.”

Rodham’s heart had stopped for a moment after he heard her say that. Determined to find out what was going on he looked at his helm officer. “Ensign Hurst, get us back into orbit of Gault.”

“Commander, you may not like this.” Russo spoke up. “Captain Hollander is sending a message from the Pathfinder to all ships. He’s stating he’s taking command of the task group. He’s ordering us to stand down our teams to Canberra as he’s crew will deal with it. He also wants us to know why we’ve lost contact with Captain Müller’s landing party.”

Almost huffing aloud, Rodham sat back down in the captain’s chair. “Tell Captain Hollander that we are about to investigate why.” He replied in an annoyed tone. “Nathan, prep shuttlepod two for launch and Maria, will you please get those probes and drones launched. I want to know what’s going on down there.”

He got a response of “aye sirs” from his crew. Not knowing what had happened was frustrating him, while he tried to contain it, he prayed that none of the landing party were dead, especially his husband.

Friday, May 14th, 2145

Starfleet Training Command Campus, San Francisco, United States of America, Earth

“And that should be the last one to go into storage.” Michael remarked as he sealed the lid of the box and then activated the lock on it. “The rest will come with me to the Miranda.”

Alex stood looking around the “loft”, wondering where the past few years had gone. No longer were him and Michael freshmen at Starfleet Training Command, but graduated officers both of whom were about to start their first assignments. 

“It’s funny how big it appears with all of our stuff gone.” Michael remarked when he noticed Alex staring. 

Nodding in agreement, the young pilot couldn’t believe this was it. “Can you believe it? It’s strange to think that by this time tomorrow we won’t be waking up here.”

Michael sighed; it was a bittersweet moment for them. “You’ll be on the Rhine, flying around on a brand-new Ganges-class while I’m keeping a recently new Intrepid-class from breaking down anymore.”

Smirking at the fact that he felt he got the better deal out of them; Alex walked up to Michael and placed his arms around his neck. “Don’t be jealous about being an engineer.”

“Urgh,” Michael said in disgust at the thought of him ever changing his career path, “Why the hell would I wanna be a flyboy? And what’s wrong being a comical, hard-working, genius, engineer who has got the best boyish grin in the fleet?”

Snorting at Michael’s humble description of himself, Alex pulled his boyfriend closer to him. “You missed something.” He threw back.

“What?”

“Handsome.” Alex flirted with and gave Michael a peck on his lips. 

Rolling his eyes at that comment, Michael didn’t mind the kiss. “Well, just make a promise. No foolin’ around with any alien eye candy out there, okay?”

“Right back at ya’!” Alex remarked. “Can you believe this is it?” He asked again.

“For the tenth time today, yes.” Michael answered back with. He took one more glance around the place they had come to know as home while they undertook their training. They had packed up their shared items and put them into long-term storage, while what they would need on their new ships had already been shipped off and would be waiting for them when they arrived. Smiling at the many great memories they had here, he really did not want to go. Leaning down he picked up the rucksack that was sitting on the floor and put it on his back and then picked up the other satchel bag that was next to it. “Ready to go?” He asked Alex. 

Alex took one more glance around as he picked up his belongings and nodded. “Yeah, let’s do this.” He took hold of Michael’s empty hand and the two of them walked out of the loft for the final time. 

Walking across the campus, the two newly minted Starfleet officers smiled at the other cadets that were out and about undertaking training or heading off to their next lectures. Still hand-in-hand, they made their way past the gardens that were kept up by the groundskeeper, she was a fanatic gardener and often chased the cadets if they were stepping on areas they weren’t meant to. 

Eventually they reached the docking port, where a number of Starfleet transports were being boarded by various officers. The nearest one was heading to the Rhine, Alex’s ship. Approaching it, still holding each other’s hand, the two young ensigns stopped just before the small set of steps. Alex put his bag down and pulled Michael in for one more passionate kiss.

Once they let go of each other, the young engineer smiled. “I’m expecting it to be still that intense when we see each other in a few months’ time.”

Nodding in agreement, Alex pecked him one more time. “Remember the moment we go out of range to each other we will write to one another every day!”

Michael now nodded. “Yes, I promise.” He said. 

Picking up his bag, the pilot turned around and walked up the steps and got inside the transport. He looked over his shoulder, smiled at Michael and mouthed the words “I love you”. Michael returned the gesture and gave him a cheeky wink before making his way towards his transport to the Miranda. For the first time in years, since starting his training, a wave of nerves washed over him. Maybe it was because he was sad to leave Alex, STC and begin a new chapter in his life. He desperately wanted to know if he and Alex would survive this break from seeing each other. 

God, I hope so, he thought.

Tuesday, October 8th, 2155

Gault Colony

The tunnel they had found seemed to go on for a long time – well so Stanton thought. His hand was starting to hurt from holding the torch in his left hand while he held his phase pistol in the other. He took a mental note to consider designing a torch that would give him the ability to use both hands. Not keen on wearing a torch on his head, he wondered what it would take to make one that could wrap around his wrist. Distracted by his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed everyone else had stopped until he almost bumped into the captain. 

“Well, well,” Müller muttered, “what do we have here?”

Instantly, Stanton put his pistol back into his side pocket and took out his scanner. Before the group was a huge metallic circular object. It was obvious from sight that it was a hatch of some sort. “I would say sir from the way it is constructed this is a blast door. It’s similar to the type they used to use for underground bunkers in the Third World War. The door has a number of locks and safeguards to keep people out of it.” He indicated towards a nearby lectern that had a computer screen and a keyboard under it. “Wow, this is some retro gear here.” He remarked as he walked over and began looking over it.

Müller made his way over behind Stanton. “Can we use it to get in?”

Stanton began trying to activate the console and see what he could find. “There seems to be a lockout in place. The technology may be older sir, but the security behind it is impressive. I may be able to break the encryption if we can get in touch with Discovery and use its computer to do the work via an uplink with my scanner.”

Liking the engineer’s idea, Müller told him to do it. Michael placed his torch down beside the keyboard, took out his communicator and spoke into it. “Stanton to Discovery, anyone up there?”

The communicator only responded with static. He fiddled with its controls and tried to call them again. His efforts were met with the same response. Müller and the others took out theirs too and none of them were able to get through.

“Michael,” Müller started, “did you mention that you encountered a metallic ore that blocked Challenger’s sensors on that Andorian colony? Could that same source be interfering with our communicators?”

Stanton considered it for a moment. They had never tested the communicators in such a manner. “It’s a possibility sir.” He answered. 

Müller looked towards Major Danvers, “Leona, you and Private Gomez return to the entrance of the tunnel. Along the way keep trying to hail the ship. If you can’t get a signal, scout beyond the tunnel to see if it’s safe for us to return to the surface. If we can’t get past this lock, then we may need to attempt a new strategy of eluding the Romulans.”

Danvers nodded in acknowledgement and she left straight away with Gomez. 

Stanton continued to work on the problem, he was pretty good with maths and cracking a lockout would be a great challenge for him.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Reyburn offered to Stanton.

The engineer shook his head, “I’m good thanks doc.” He politely declined with. “Unless you know the password to unpick this lock?”

Reyburn smiled and countered back with a quip, “I’ve got a hairclip if that helps?!”

Smirking at the doctor’s joke, Stanton returned to his work while she and the captain with Corporal Salah guarded his position. The tunnel was almost pitch black, which made attempting to by-pass the lock with just his scanner testing for the engineer. The old fashion keyboard, with its individual letters, numbers and various punctuation marks, was almost alien to Michael. The computer screen appeared ancient too. It was a flat screen and the operating system had a black background and a basic image requesting for a twelve alphanumeric password. To add insult to injury, the image itself was flashing and was becoming a nuisance. 

“Danvers to Müller,” came the voice of their MACO leader over their communicators. 

Instantly Müller took out his device, “Go ahead major.”

Danvers spoke up, her voice having a sense of urgency and concern within it. “Sir, I don’t know how we missed it, but Private Gomez and I have discovered a body halfway up the tunnel. It’s not human and our scanners can’t register it. But my gut instinct is saying it’s a Romulan.” 

The news of a dead Romulan wasn’t something any of them were expecting to hear. In fact, since the war had started no-one in Starfleet knew what a Romulan looked like. Müller looked up at Reyburn as he spoke back to Danvers. “Hold your position, the doctor and I are going to join you.”

“Aye sir, Danvers out.” 

Looking towards the engineer, “Michael,” Müller said, “I’m leaving you and Private Salah here to get this door open.”

Stanton nodded in acknowledgement. “No worries sir.”

The captain and doctor soon jogged off to join the major. Stanton could only wonder what they would find, he shuddered the thought of seeing an alien corpse and returned to working on the lock

Discovery NX-04, in orbit of Gault Colony

“So, as you can see,” said Nuñez, “our scanners and probes confirm that the Romulans did destroy Shuttlepod One.” She was pointing to the live scans that were currently being sent back to Discovery. 

Rodham, along with Wallis and Russo, were all listening to the science officer as she briefed them on what they knew so far. The commander, who was at the head of the large rectangular table, crossed his arms as he heard the news. “Any life signs?” He asked her. 

“No sir,” Nuñez reported. “That said sir, we’re picking traces of a metallic alloy that is interfering with our scanners. From what I can tell, it is natural to the planetoid and the colonists have used it to construct their buildings.” 

“Sir,” said Wallis, “Let me take a heavily armed team down there to see if we can find them.”

“I appreciate the offer Nathan, but right now I don’t want to send anyone down until we know more.” Rodham replied. “I can’t risk any more lives.” It felt wrong adding that remark at the end, but he knew he had to. He couldn’t be sure they would get the answers they wanted or if it was safe. 

Wallis, who sounded frustrated, had unfolded his arms and gestured towards the screen before them. “Sir, I think the colony is safe for us to carry on investigating. Looking at the attack patterns, I think the Romulans were attacking the central settlement’s government building. That’s where we should start.”

Russo cleared her throat, “Along with that sir, how else are we to know how the captain’s landing party is? They’re not responding to our hails. We need to send people down, plus I would recommend we send them down with radio amplifiers so we can establish a stronger signal with them.”

“Sitting up here isn’t helping anyone, plus we need to find the colonists.” Nuñez added her own two cents in. 

Rubbing his chin, Rodham gave in to the pressure. “Okay, but I want two teams to go down. One in Shuttlepod Two and let’s bring Shuttlepods Three and Four online. We’ll take Three down and keep Four up here.” They all seemed to appreciate the commander’s orders. “I’ll lead one team who will determine where the captain has gone while Maria leads the other to find the colonists. Nathan, you’ll remain here in command. Any questions?”

Wallis cleared his throat. “Sir, with all due respect, I don’t think you should be leaving the ship.”

Looking at his armoury officer, Rodham asked him: “Why?”

“Commander, it’s inappropriate for you to lead the team. We’re at war and with the captain gone along with other senior members of staff, your place is here on the bridge. If the ship has to engage the Romulans again, you should be commanding the ship.” Wallis took a breath after speaking. 

Rodham considered his words. “Very well Nathan.” He replied with a sense of frustration in his tone. “You’ll command the landing party that goes for the captain. Are we all happy with that?”

No-one said a thing. 

“Good, dismissed.” Rodham ordered. He was annoyed that he wouldn’t be leading the team to find his husband. But then that was probably the real reason Nathan made his opening remark. It was inappropriate for him to leave the ship due to his emotional attachment with Michael. Would he’s judgement be slightly biased or even impaired by the notion that he was worried for Michael’s safety and wellbeing. Deciding not to think anymore into it, Rodham watched both Nuñez and Wallis leave the bridge while Russo returned to her station. 

Following in his communication officer’s footsteps, he made his way over to the captain’s chair and sat in it. Earlier on, during the battle, he had found himself actually getting comfortable in it. However now, he couldn’t sit in and relax without knowing if Michael was okay. While at the back of his mind, something was telling him that he and Michael needed to talk about this. Both of them serving together was not working for him. He felt horrible for feeling it, nevertheless he knew he couldn’t go on like this.

Gault Colony

Unfortunately, for Stanton his prayer not to see the dead alien had not been answered. Only a few moments after the captain left him, he had called the engineer down to assist Doctor Reyburn. Once he and Salah had arrived, they found Reyburn on knees hovering her scanner over a body that was partially covered in rocks (hence why they hadn’t seen it earlier). 

“You called for an engineer?” Stanton said as he moved to be near the captain. 

Müller turned to look at Stanton just as Major Danvers was cracking some UV sticks to light up where they were standing. “The doctor has come stuck in identifying our friend.” He gestured towards the body on the floor. 

“Oh?” Stanton said as he looked over to where the captain was pointing. He flashed his torch in Reyburn’s direction.

The good doctor clarified her problem from where she sat. “I’m detecting high levels of a poison in the body that is quickly decomposing it from the inside out.”

“That sounds disgusting.” Stanton remarked. 

Reyburn nodded in agreement. “I’ve got a feeling, from the chemical make-up I can detect, it could be the Romulan’s version of a cyanide pill.” She then moved her scanner to where the head was, but as Stanton looked closer, he noticed it wasn’t a head but a helmet. “However, this helmet seems to be infused with the uniform. There’s a release button here on the side, however I am also detecting a small explosive device linked to it.” She stood up. “If we open it then I am sure it will go off.”

“Do you think you could deactivate it?” Müller asked Stanton.

Stanton scrunched up his face as he considered what he could do as he took out his own scanner. “I’m not sure sir.” He answered as he detected the explosive device on his device. It was connected to the release mechanism and was definitely active. He could detect the power cell. 

“Do we really want to see what’s underneath the helmet?” Major Danvers asked as she had set the last of her cracked UV sticks.

“Wouldn’t it be helpful if we knew who we were fighting?” Reyburn countered back with. “Do we even know that this was a Romulan?”

“Well, I’m assuming that a small farming colony rarely has alien visitors to it. Along with that the poor guy, if it’s a guy, was shot dead by a MK-thirty-four. Those are weapons that the original colonists had brought with them.” Müller announced as he pointed to the bullet wounds in the suit’s shell. 

“Sir, I think I can create a low level EMP shockwave that would deactivate the power cell in the helmet. The helmet is heavily damaged, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” Stanton said, disturbing the discussion that had been taking place. “I can match the cell’s power frequency and disrupt it long enough for us to open the helmet and complete the removal of the explosive device.”

The captain gave the all clear to do it with a simple nod. As Stanton reconfigured his scanner, the group all stood back (just in case). Activating his scanner, a small wave left it and struck the helmet. A small discharge of smoke came out of the helmet and its release button hissed which was followed by the helmet’s front section splitting apart in half. It may have been Stanton, but he was certain they all took a breath as he peered to see who was behind the mask.

Watching quietly with no-one else by, Commander Rodham felt relief wash over him once Shuttlepod Two had finally returned to the ship. Standing in the control room in the launch-bay, he watched as the dorsal hatch to the small craft flung open and the ladder, attached to the upper gantry, fell down to connect to it. Within moments the landing party that he had sent out climbed out of their craft with the captain’s group mixed with them too. The moment he saw Michael among his crewmates, a huge smile appeared on his face. 

“Welcome back.” He said as he greeted everyone after activating the intercom. 

Müller, who was pleased to see his first officer, grinned at Rodham’s greeting. “Commander, we weren’t away for that long.”

Rodham appeared to blush a bit in response before speaking. “No, I understand sir, but we feared we had lost you when we saw what the Romulans did to your shuttlepod.”

Tugging on his right lobe at the reminder of losing the craft, Müller winced at the idea. “Regrettably we’re going to have to request a new shuttle when we get home. However the hunt did return something in our favour.”

Rodham was trying his best to listen to his captain, who was leading the team through towards the away team locker room, however he was a little bit distracted by the smiling face of his husband. Stanton was returning the gesture back as they followed the captain off the gantry and into the small room with everyone else. 

“We bagged ourselves a Romulan Alex!” Michael explained as they left the launch bay. 

Taking the exit out of the control room and towards the decon-chamber, Stanton was confused with the remark made by his husband. Walking down the corridor a few steps, he soon approached the window that allowed him to look into the decon-chamber. He activated the intercom again once he saw the team moving through it. “What do you mean you bagged yourself a Romulan?”

The captain turned to look at his first officer while Doctor Reyburn scanned them all with her portable scanner. “We found a decomposing dead body under the colony. We think it’s a Romulan because it had the Romulan emblem on its uniform.”

“Oh…” Rodham replied with, slightly disgusted at the thought of finding a rotting corpse. 

“Commander, once we’re clear here, have the stiff moved from the shuttlepod and taken to sickbay for Mel to be able to run an autopsy.” Müller ordered.

Rodham nodded in response. “Aye sir.”

“I don’t think any of us will be leaving here anytime soon.” Reyburn interrupted as she finished her scans. “I’m detecting a protocystian spore within our systems. We’ll need to undergo treatment in the decon-chamber, but it’s easily sorted.”

Frustrated at the news, Captain Müller looked towards his first officer. “Alex, where do we stand with finding the colonists?” He asked as everyone started to fill into the chamber behind him. 

“Our probes and drones have found some of them in one of the caverns, but no signs of Governor Kharkov. We’re working with the rest of the task group to find him and the others.” Rodham answered as he remembered that before the shuttlepod had docked he had heard from the bridge about the news. 

Müller smiled at that update. “That’s good to hear. Once we’ve found them, I want to begin the evacuation of the colonists. The sooner we do that the sooner we leave this system.”

“The colonists may not want to leave sir.” Rodham remarked as he caught his husband step into the decon-chamber behind the captain. 

“We’ll deal with their protests another time, commander. Find the governor and the others, that’s an order.” Müller stated as he noticed their doctor giving him a look to move into the chamber. 

Rodham just nodded as he watched the doors to the chamber close behind his captain. 

Returning to the bridge, Rodham stepped off the lift and spoke up. “Report Maria?” 

Standing up from the captain’s chair, Lieutenant Nuñez turned to look at her superior. “Sir, three Vulcan ships have just dropped out of warp. All of them are D’kyr-class.” 

Curious as to why a heavily armed Vulcan task group would be arriving, Alex stepped towards the centre of the bridge as Nuñez took her place at the science station. Straightening his uniform jumpsuit, Rodham looked over to Ensign Russo at the communications console. “Greta, open a channel.” He told her. 

The female linguist did as she was told but stopped mid-work and turned to her superior. “Sir, they’re hailing us.”

“On screen then.” Rodham ordered. 

The main screen changed to show the image of a female Vulcan in a Vulcan High Command uniform with the insignia rank of captain. “I am Ly’ta, commanding officer of the Sakra. We recently intercepted a distress call coming from the Earth colony of Gault. We have arrived to provide assistance.” Captain Ly’ta had strong brown hair that was bobbed around her right ear, while the left side was cut short and showed her pointed Vulcan ear. Her piercing blue eyes only added to her formidable presence that she projected from where she sat in her chair on her bridge. The woman appeared to be a seasonal officer, the way she spoke was calm and collected. 

“Captain Ly’ta, thank you for responding. I am Commander Alex Rodham, first officer of the Discovery.” Alex answered with. “We are grateful to any assistance you and your fleet can provide.”

Tilting her head slightly to the right, the Vulcan woman remained composed still. “We have just engaged a nearby Romulan vessel, who we believed was escaping from this system. When we picked up your colony’s distress call we logically assumed where the enemy ship was coming from. We can assure you that the threat has been dealt with.”

“Poetic justice.” Mumbled Lieutenant Nuñez. 

Ignoring the science officer’s comment, even though he agreed with it, Rodham continued to build a rapport with their Vulcan ally. “We appreciate you finishing off what we started then.” He said. “Captain, would you mind assisting us in locating our colonists? They went into deep hiding among the mountains and underground when the Romulans attacked. The extra sensors would speed up the process. My captain, who is currently indisposed, would greatly appreciate your help as will I.”

Ly’ta just nodded. “We will assist, commander and if you require us to send any teams to the surface then we can provide that service as well.”

“Thank you, I will have my science officer coordinate our efforts with you shortly.”

Bowing to end the conversation, Ly’ta closed the channel from her end and Rodham turned to his crew. “Maria, start working with the rest of the fleet and our new Vulcan allies to find the colonists.”

Nuñez replied with an “aye sir” as she undertook her assignment. 

Turning to his communication officer, “Greta, inform the rest of the fleet the Vulcan task group is joining us with our efforts. Let’s see how quickly we can get this job done.” Rodham said as he took the captain’s chair. Looking out at the main viewer, it had changed to show the Gault colony below as they orbited it with the other Starfleet ships and new additions: the Vulcans. 

Within the almost cramped confines of the decon-chamber, Commander Stanton found himself standing on one side of the chamber, while a curtain had been dragged across the middle to separate the space. He was with Müller and Wallis while on the other side were the female members of the landing party. Doctor Reyburn had picked up a protocystian spore in their system. After rubbing the appropriate gel into their skin (a quite sensual experience Stanton had yet to experience since joining Challenger) the Starfleet and MACO officers were all sat while the decon-chamber hummed under the range of ultraviolet radiation being pumped in. The range of waves made the whole thing relaxing of sorts, but Stanton had wondered just how much longer he had to sit in his boxer shorts. He felt quite exposed. 

Sat on one of the benches, Captain Müller had closed his eyes soon after they had applied the gel and appeared to be relaxing under the various tones of purple and blue hitting against his almost naked body. He wasn’t asleep and while the women on the other side of the curtain were chatting among themselves, none of the men had spoken. 

“Captain, may I ask a question?” Stanton requested in hush tones from where he sat on the central bench with Wallis next to him. Discovery’s chief armoury officer had his back to Stanton’s right shoulder with his head hanging low while they underwent their treatment. 

Müller, opening his left eye slightly, spoke up. “Go ahead Michael.”

“You mentioned earlier that you owe a massive debt to Captain Burton, what did you mean by that?” Stanton knew he may be pushing a boundary here but ever since he had heard that from Müller, he was eager like a fox on a hunt to know more. 

Smirking and sniggering somewhat, Müller opened both eyes and sat up. “We were roommates together at Starfleet Training Command and like most eager cadets at that time we thought the galaxy was our treasure chest. But Lloyd was the sensible one of the two of us. He worked hard, while I played hard. He tutored me to ensure I got the grades I deserved. Along with that he saved my life once. Between our second and third years we took a vacation climbing Mount McKinley. I was showing off and didn’t put my harness on properly. Fortunately for me he noticed it quickly, was able to pull me off a ledge before I fell to my death.”

“Wow, he’s never shared that story with me.” Stanton replied. “I never knew he was into rock climbing.”

“When Lloyd was a young cadet he was into a lot of physical sports. I watched him captain the rugby and lacrosse teams in our final year at STC and saw him compete in the annual sparring competition.” Müller recalled. “He’s someone you always want to watch your back. I was surprised he wasn’t offered a command a lot sooner.”

Wallis cleared his throat and sat up to look at his captain, “What do you mean sir?”

Rubbing his face, Müller answered. “Burton was the valedictorian of our class, I only got salutatorian but I was picked to command Discovery above him.”

“But sir, you were the chief engineer on several ships before being made the first officer on the Pioneer. You’ve had more active command experience than Captain Burton.” Wallis stated in defence of his captain’s remark.

“Maybe so, but Lloyd should have been shortlisted for Discovery before me. I only got this job because Captain McKinnies pulled in favours to have my application pushed forward to the admiralty.” Müller countered with. “Not that I am not grateful to my former CO for his efforts.”

Stanton nodded in acknowledgement. “I understand how you feel sir.”

“Exactly, in fact if I remember right before my promotion was announced I read somewhere you were meant to be on Discovery?” Müller questioned Stanton.

“That feels like a lifetime ago now.” Stanton replied. “But yeah, I was meant to be stationed here on Discovery, not Challenger. The admiralty had other plans for me after Captain Karim’s death.”

“Well at least now you can say you had the opportunity to serve on two NX-class ships as its chief engineer.” Müller stated with a smile. 

“That I can.” Stanton agreed. 

“And have you decided which ship is the best yet?” Wallis wondered.

Stanton just chuckled, deciding not to answer that question. 

Changing the subject, Müller recognised that the engineer wasn’t going to betray Challenger or upset the crew he currently worked with. “You’re a true diplomat Michael, talking of which, are you able to share with us exactly how you ended up making an honest man of our first officer?”

Before Stanton had the chance to answer, the curtain that split the room in half, was pulled back to show Major Danvers and Doctor Reyburn’s faces. 

“We want to know details!” The MACO Detachment Commander demanded. 

“Well we met at STC, we were roommates as well and fell in love. We were complete opposites to each other but complemented one another so much.” Stanton answered. He didn’t want to say too much as he didn’t want to embarrass Alex. 

“Wow, you guys have been together that long?” Wallis enquired. 

Shaking his head once, Stanton replied to the armoury officer. “Actually after graduating and a few months into our first postings we called it quits. We were separated by a huge distance. It wasn’t the same.”

“What changed?” Doctor Reyburn questioned.

“For us to get back together?” Stanton clarified.

She nodded in response. 

“We never actually lost what connected us, I suppose.”

Saturday, 19th June 2151

 Luna NV-05, docked at Oakland Shipyard

“All hands this is Captain Proulx, I am happy to say we are home and you may leave to begin your two-week vacation, bon voyage.” The voice of the Luna’s commanding officer echoed through the corridors of the NV-class. Finally home after a number of years patrolling the space lanes and supporting the colonies in the home territories, the Luna would receive a number of updates before heading back out. However once it left dry-dock, things would be different. Her chief engineer, one Lieutenant Michael Stanton, would no longer be on her. 

Walking down the corridor, finally out of his uniform and in a comfortable grey hoodie and black jeans, Stanton carried his gear towards the docking port ready to start his new career as an assistant professor of Engineering at Starfleet Training Command. He would miss his crewmates but being planet-side would be a welcome change. 

Turning down the T-junction, towards the docking port he was surprised to see Captain Proulx standing there waiting with her arms crossed. Proulx was a tallish woman, with thick dark hair and hazel coloured eyes. A formidable woman, she was a former pilot turned captain who had the respect of everyone who served under her. Stanton included. She had shaped him into the officer he had become and was gutted when he told her of his plans to leave the ship and join the engineering staff at STC. 

“Did you think you could leave without a final au revoir?” She asked, sounding with a mixture of annoyance with a dash of teasing. “You must request permission to disembark from your captain Lieutenant Stanton.”

Grinning at her, Michael stopped just before her and the doorway to his next adventure. “I apologise ma’am, I thought at my goodbye party last night you gave me permission to leave the ship?”

“Non,” She replied in her French accent. “You know I do not wish to lose you Michael. Not many engineers get how to sort out an engine and keep their captain happy like you do.”

Appreciating her comments, Michael took a breath and requested permission to leave.

Sighing, she nodded. “Oui Monsieur Stanton. Bon voyage!” She pulled him for a brief hug before letting him go and watching him leave her ship.

As he stepped through the threshold, Michael felt a sense of relief that he had not felt for a long time. Walking through the connecting docking tunnel he made his way through and on to the dry-dock’s observation deck. He turned around to take one more look at the Luna and said his final goodbye. As he made his way towards the lift he saw a figure standing on the raised deck that he recognised instantly. Standing with a smile on his face, still looking as handsome as ever was Alex Rodham. 

“Hello stranger.” He said towards Stanton as he approached him. “I heard a rumour you were back in town.”

Stanton was shocked and was sure he could feel his legs turning into jelly as he tried to register that his former boyfriend was standing before him. A million questions were running through his mind at that point, like what was he doing here? How did he know he was leaving the ship? Was he dating anyone? 

“Alex, it’s good to see you.”

Rodham nodded in agreement. “Likewise, fancy a drink?”

Without hesitation, Stanton said yes and Rodham offered to take one of his bags as they took the lift down to the transport that was planned to take Stanton down to Earth.

Sunday, 20th June 2151

Starfleet Training Command Campus, San Francisco, United States of America, Earth

Waking up in a strange bed and in a strange location that wasn’t a ship, was unusual for Michael. Seeing bright sunshine beaming through windows also felt alien to him as well. The past six years he had been used to seeing the stars twenty-four-seven. Being home felt good though. Within a few seconds of opening his eyes though he felt a massive twinge of regret rush through his head like lighting. The worse headache overwhelmed him and his stomach grumbled from the pain he had put it through the night before. After settling into his new apartment at STC, he had gone out to have drinks with Alex. They had spent the entire night drinking and catching up. Slowly he got himself out of bed as he tried to deal with the hangover that now loomed over him, he left the bed he found himself in and soon realised he wasn’t in his apartment. In fact the place he discovered himself to be appeared to be lived in, compared to his spartan home he had moved into yesterday. Instantly he remembered coming back to Alex’s residence once the bar they had been in had closed. 

“Oh my god,” He whispered to himself. “What have I done?”

A sense of regret now flooded him. He can’t remember what they did once they got back to the flat, but with most of his clothes besides his underwear all on the floor mixed with what Alex had been wearing, he could only infer one thing. They had slept together. After they had split-up all those years ago, Michael had vowed never to get back with his ex. It would be too painful, but now…well now he didn’t know what to think or feel. 

“You’re awake!” said a chirper voice from behind. Walking in through the only door in the room (besides the balcony one) was Alex. He held in one hand a hypospray and in the other a glass of water. “I thought you might appreciate these.” He offered both items. 

Michael just nodded in gratitude and took them both. Instantly he started to feel better and sipped on the water quite a bit. “Listen Alex, what happened last night…I’m sorry if-”

“If it complicated our breakup?” Rodham finished. 

“Yeah.” Stanton whispered.

Rodham shook his head. “I don’t think it did, it felt good to have you back in my arms again.”

Stanton smiled at that remark. He wished he could remember that feeling. “Alex, I’ve got this new job at STC and I’m not sure if starting-”

Again Rodham interrupted him, “where we left off from is a good idea?” He paused to look at Stanton and then sat on the edge of the bed. “Michael, all I can say is that these past five years have been hell without you. Now you’re here, I don’t want to lose you again.”

“Yeah but you’ll be flying off on your starship soon and we’ll be back to where we were before.” Stanton said as he sat down next to his ex.

Shaking his head in disagreement, Rodham explained his situation. No longer was he starship bound, like Michael he was joining STC to help train the next generation of cadets in flight school while also working for Starfleet R&D with a range of projects. “You see,” He added, “We can take off from where we left it last time.”

Michael looked into Alex’s eyes, no longer was he feeling sick, but he finally felt he was home and it felt good to be with the man that he fell in love with when he was an eager cadet. Leaning in he just pulled the pilot into a tight kiss and didn’t want to let go of him.

Tuesday, October 8th, 2155

Discovery NX-04, in orbit of Gault Colony

“And I’ve never let him out of my sight for too long since.”

The entire group were all surprised at the voice of their first officer over the intercom from where he stood behind the observation port looking into them. “Sorry for the ear-drop.” Rodham said as he looked at the landing party who were all listening to Stanton’s story of how the two of them had reconnected and had not let go of each other subsequently.

Embarrassed he had been caught; Stanton blushed at being caught by his husband. “Sorry.” He mouthed.

 Standing up, Captain Müller looked over to his first officer. “What do you have, Commander?”

“We’ve found Governor Kharkov; he was in that bunker you originally found and he has agreed to the evacuation of the colony.” Rodham reported from where he stood. 

“Excellent news.” Major Danvers said.

Rodham continued to talk, “We’re also receiving help from three Vulcan ships. The task group will be able to leave and head back to Earth in the next twelve hours as long as the colonists leave without any more issues.”

Looking towards his chief medical officer after listening to his first officer, Captain Müller was eager to return to duty, “Doctor, are we able to leave the decon-chamber now?”

Reyburn had her medical scanner already in her hands and was using it to find out if they were free of the alien spores. She nodded after switching it off. “We are free to depart sir.”

“Brilliant,” Müller said and looked back at his first officer. “Carry on with the work, Commander Rodham and we’ll be with you soon. I want to speak to the other captains in a moment too. Set it up.”

“Aye sir.” Rodham replied. 

The landing party all soon started to leave the chamber with Stanton being the last. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Rodham still standing there, checking him out. Rodham gave him a cheeky wink followed by blowing a kiss. Stanton rolled his eyes at his husband as he made his way out and towards the locker room to shower and put on a clean uniform. 

Walking down the corridor of Discovery, Captain Müller and his first officer, were heading towards sickbay. The ship was currently at warp three heading back to Earth with the rest of the fleet after they had successfully evacuated Gault. It had taken just under twelve hours to find everyone and get them off the planet. With them now successfully underway, the crew were now playing host to government officials from Gault. Both Müller and Rodham had just finished dinner with the governor and his lieutenant-governor with several other officials when they had been called to sickbay by Doctor Reyburn. 

Once the doors to the ship’s infirmary had opened, both senior officers were surprised to see not only their doctor present but their chief engineer and chief communications officer.  

“I had wondered where you three were for the governor’s reception.” Müller remarked to them three.

“Sorry captain, but I needed both Commander Stanton and Ensign Russo to assist me in the mystery of the dead corpse we recovered on Gault.” Reyburn stated from where she stood in the centre of the room.

Originally the three of them were all standing in a semi-circle before the arrival of the captain and first officer. All of them were working on the larger flat screen that hung above the imaging chamber. When they had been joined by their superior officers they had turned around to let them in. 

“What have you discovered about our dead Romulan soldier?” The captain asked instantly. He assumed it was the reason why they had been called down. 

“Actually sir, we do not think it’s a Romulan.” Reyburn announced.

“How can that be so?” Rodham asked as he crossed his arms against his chest. “I thought you said the uniform had a Romulan emblem on it?”

“It does have the Romulan cress, the one we’ve encountered on the bows of their ships and other equipment,” Stanton remarked. “However after we examined his uniform and other equipment further we found something else that makes us reconsider our original hypothesis. Hence why we called Ensign Russo down.”

“What did you find then?” Müller asked his communications officer.

“The Romulan cress only appears once on the uniform, whereas this emblem appears in multiple locations.” Russo stated as she tapped a button on the tablet she held in her hand and showed it on the larger screen.

Appearing on the screen were several screenshots of the same logo which looked similar to a disfigured X with small blades coming out from its central point in a horizontal fashion. 

“We found it tattooed on the back, along with being either side of the helmet, central to the belt and carved into the dagger.” Reyburn added. 

“How do we not know this is not an emblem for the unit this soldier belongs to?” Rodham pondered aloud. “We wear both the Starfleet logo and our ship’s emblem on either side of our arms. Why can’t it be that?”

“It’s a possibility of it being that too, but when we found what we believe to be text Russo ran a linguistic comparison to what we know of written Romulan and it does not match anything we have on file.” Stanton responded. “Also when I investigated the helmet I found something that made us reconsider.” The chief engineer walked over to where the alien’s helmet was sitting on a nearby bed and picked it up. “My scans of it show that there’s a filter added to the visor section that drastically reduces light from entering the helmet. From what we know of Romulan technology when two of Enterprise’s officers boarded one of their crafts during the marauder incident earlier this year, Romulan ships are well lit. Starfleet Corps of Engineering hypothesised they were not a photosensitive species.”

“From the ocular remains that were left, I was able to determine that this species has sunken eyes that are photosensitive.” Reyburn interjected in their case. 

Müller copied his first officer and crossed his arms as he looked at the data that the three of them were now presenting. “What else have you found?” 

Reyburn carried on with their findings and described how she believed that this species had inner eyelids, copper-based blood, was hair-less and had a larger cranial capacity which made her believe they may possess limited telepathic abilities. 

“You still haven’t convinced me that this isn’t a Romulan.” Rodham declared after the team had finished sharing their discoveries.  

“Alex, you’ve got to remember that during the marauder incident, the Romulans had kidnapped an Aenar to use their telepathic abilities to control their ships. If this was a Romulan, then why didn’t they use their own abilities to control these ships? Why go to all the trouble of capturing an Aenar?” Michael countered with. 

Rodham shrugged his shoulders. “Probably because Aenars are better telepaths?” 

“Unfortunately what we have here is a lot of speculation. We know they must be part of the Romulan Star Empire due to the emblem on their clothing” Müller chimed in with. “But what else we have does not give us the answer we seek. We’ve got no proven facts to confirm that this is a Romulan or a…” He paused, “What else are we calling it?”

No-one spoke for a moment until Russo cleared her throat. “A Reman.”

“A what?” Rodham clarified. 

“Reman.” Russo repeated. “Whatever the Romulans actually call themselves in their language translates to Romulan in ours. Starfleet has already named their homeworld Romulus, after the legend of King Romulus, why can’t we use the name of his twin brother, Remus, to name this individual?” She asked aloud. 

Müller considered it for a moment and agreed. “Reman it is, for now.”

Reyburn looked towards her captain. “Sir the actual body of the Reman completely decomposed an hour ago. All that is left is their equipment, armour and helmet. What shall we do with it?”

“Have Commander Wallis lock it up and we will share it with Starfleet Intelligence when we get home.” Müller answered. “I’m also ordering all of you to keep all of this to yourselves. I’m sure Starfleet will classify this until we know more information.”

All of them nodded in agreement and understood how important it was to keep this information a secret for now. If word got out they had captured a Romulan (or a Reman as Russo had named it) then it may cause more problems for Starfleet. They couldn’t share anything yet until they knew what it was. If they ever discovered that out. 

“Dismissed.” The captain ordered the group and they all soon left sickbay, leaving just him behind to consider what they now knew about their enemy, or at least this soldier that fought for the Romulan Star Empire.  

After leaving sickbay, Stanton and Rodham had decided to call it a night and headed to Rodham’s quarters. Hand in hand they slowly made their way through the ship. 

“Well this is one honeymoon that will go down the history books.” Rodham suggested. 

Chuckling at his comment, Stanton looked towards his husband as they turned left down a corridor. “You’re so romantic Alex Rodham.”

“Thanks, I try!”

For a moment neither of them said anything as they carried on their walk. 

Rodham cleared his throat as they both entered his quarters. “When we get back to Earth, what will you do?” 

Stanton sat on the edge of the bed. “I suppose I will return to Challenger. Why?” He asked as his husband sat down next to him.

“I just wondered if you would consider making this a permanent thing?” Rodham said.

“Us two serving on the same ship?” Stanton asked, looking for clarity.

“Yup,” Rodham answered. “We make a great team and I love working with you.”

Stanton agreed, “We do and I love it as well, but I can’t see either captain allowing that.”

Slumping back onto the bed, Rodham seemed defeated. “I hate this. I hate not having you with me all the time.”

“I’m always with you.” Stanton responded as he climbed on top of his husband. He kissed his cheek. “I’m here.” He said pointing to the pilot’s heart before taking hold of his hands.

“You are and you will be forever, but I just want you with me Michael, can you blame me?”

“No I can’t, but with the war on, can you actually see Starfleet approving my transfer off Challenger and joining Discovery when it already has a competent chief engineer?” Stanton said again. “We know what we were getting into when we started this again and made our vows.”

Reluctantly, Rodham agreed. “Fine, fine, fine.” He surrendered with. “I suppose I can make the most of our time together for now. But the moment we have the opportunity to be together, I want us to take it.”

Not hesitating, Stanton nodded. “Agreed.” Once again he leant in and kissed his husband passionately without a second thought. Alex was his home and it felt good.

Still staring at the tablet in her hands, Sub Commander T’Plau was unsure of how to proceed with the news she had just received. Curious as ever, she wanted to understand the thinking behind the Vulcan High Command’s decision to promote her and remove her from Challenger. She had only been with the ship for a short amount of time, less than a year in fact. She was the first Vulcan to serve in the new Coalition office exchange programme, in fact she was the highest ranking official in the programme. With this new assignment she would no longer carry on in this capacity. Part of her was interested to see what her new promotion would entail while another part of her considered the ramifications of leaving Challenger during a time of war. Even though loyalty was an emotional state of mind, she had found herself becoming used to the crew of Challenger. She respected Captain Burton’s leadership and found him to be very reasonable and in some cases logical. He and his crew had become a recent constant in her life and she found her daily interactions to be fascinating. The work was also rewarding, not in the sense she took pride in her work but she knew that her impact was making a difference. One where she was advancing the interactions between Vulcans and Humans as well as being a symbol that the Vulcan people took the new alliance seriously. That last section made her reconsider if her government’s position on the Coalition of Planets had changed. Her thought process on the whole matter made it difficult for her to come to a logical decision with what she would do next. The investigator within her forced her to conclude she required more data, more evidence, to help resolve this matter. 

Walking across her bedroom, she sat down at her desk and activated her computer terminal. She knew there was only one person on Earth who would be able to provide further clarity on the issue. After inputting her username and security clearance, she made a request to open a secure channel to the Vulcan Embassy in Sausalito. Once the call had been authorised she was soon put through to an assistant who booked her in to meet with Ambassador Soron in two hours’ time. She would speak to the Vulcan ambassador to Earth to understand what was happening. As the highest ranking government official, as well as someone she had worked with before, T’Plau felt that visiting Soron would benefit her greatly. However, his assistant had said that she would need to travel to Sausalito to meet with the ambassador in person. Knowing that the two-hour gap between now and seeing the ambassador would be sufficient time for travel, she agreed to see him. She believed she had no choice in the matter either.  Closing the channel, T’Plau sorted out her belongings and ensured that everything was packed just in case she was not able to return to the ship. If Soron felt that she needed to accept her promotion on the spot, she would not have the opportunity to return to Challenger and she was not going to accept her private belongings being touched by one of the stewards to pack. 

The entire process of packing her stuff away was not stimulating. Once she had finished she gazed around the room. It now appeared almost naked and extremely sterile. Being used to this place where she had rested in as well as worked in was something she found difficult to suppress. Knowing that she may not return to the ship, she found herself wondering if she should contact the captain now or later. Eventually she chose the latter, as she had summarised earlier she needed to know more.

Vulcan Embassy, Sausalito, California, United States of America, Earth

It was late in the evening and Sub Commander T’Plau found herself walking the dark streets of Sausalito. Her destination was just around the corner. Wrapping her field jacket around her, she had begun to consider whether she actually needed to wear it or not due to the warm evening air. Her shuttlepod ride down to the planet from the Obama Repair Facility had gone without incident and she had taken a small ground vehicle journey from Starfleet Headquarters across San Francisco and into Sausalito. The coach drive, like her shuttle trip, was uneventful, with her only encountering twelve other individuals – besides one being a Denobulan the others were all Humans. Following on from when she had arrived at the last stop for the coach, she had departed the long vehicle and had walked the rest of her journey. 

Approaching the main entrance to the embassy, she stepped in and showed the guard at the post her clearance. Once he had confirmed her identity through the computer terminal and her appointment with the ambassador, the Vulcan officer (a Sub Lieutenant) gave her entrance.  The Vulcan Embassy (sometimes referred to as the Vulcan Compound) was the largest of the diplomatic missions on Earth. Most Vulcans who travelled to Earth took residence within the walls of the consulate. It took up a large, wide space and was of Vulcan design on the outside as well as on the inside. The familiar different shades of brown and dark reds were used on the buildings, just like the government buildings on Vulcan. The tall arching architectural designs were similar to those used back on Vulcan too. Between buildings were a range of gardens with water fountains, streams and plants native to Vulcan as well as Earth. The whole scene was tranquil and peaceful.   

T’Plau was escorted by another security officer with the rank of Uhlan towards the Ambassador’s residence. The Ambassador’s home was the largest building in the centre of the compound. It was Vulcan in design and not only contained the household of the Vulcan representative, but the offices for his staff too. Entering the west-wing of the building, T’Plau was marched down a corridor before once again being taken outside and past several doors. The outdoor corridor had a pathed pavement which had a number of planted pots on it while other planets hung from the walls as well as columns. Eventually they reached the end of the building and a glass balcony-like door was opened for her. Stepping into the room that was on the other side, she found herself in the circular shaped office that the ambassador used on a day to day basis. The office was decorated in deep maroon and purple colours. It was laid out in the same design used by all high-ranking government officials. The logical design was functional and was similar to the office used by the First Minister of the Vulcan Confederacy. A number of artefacts, including miniature statues of Surak and the IDIC emblem were dotted around the room. In the centre of the room was a large oval shaped computer console that would be used by the Ambassador when he conducted meetings with his staff and other visitors. The view of the compound gardens could be seen through three large oval shaped windows along one wall too. It was an impressive room, one that could only be rivalled by the office that the President of Earth had. 

Kneeling on top of a dark red cushion (which was on a huge golden and dark purple rug) was Ambassador Soron. A number of candles were lit and dotted around the room while the diplomat was deep in meditation. With his eyes still closed, Soron spoke up, “Join me T’Plau.” He instructed. 

T’Plau welcomed the opportunity to meditate, an exercise she had yet to do since the ship had returned to Earth. She knelt down and almost mirrored the same pose the ambassador took. Taking a number of deep breaths, she found herself beginning to relax and feeling calmer. Her suppression of emotions became stronger and she felt a sense of being refreshed. Opening her eyes, she was faced with Ambassador Soron with his own friendly eyes opened. Soron had been in the diplomatic corps for most of his life. Achieving the position of Ambassador to the United Earth Commonwealth had happened after the civilian government of Vulcan had been re-established. The Vulcan Council had been reinstated as the legitimate ruling body of the Confederacy after the revelation of Surak’s teaching had been shared, which in turn forced the collapse of the V’Las administration and the High Command’s strong grip on the Vulcan nation. T’Pau had been elevated to the position of First Minister of the Vulcan Council and Administrator of the High Command. As a result of the change in leadership, T’Pau had disbanded a majority of the High Command’s influence on governmental departments and agencies. It had caused a lot of issues in the beginning, but she had installed a new civilian minister in key positions, one of them being Soran’s predecessor, Soval. He had been made the Foreign Minister by T’Pau after he had been instrumental in maintaining strong relations with Earth and assisting in the prevention of war with the Andorian Empire. Now Soval, who had become well-known in the coalition, was focussed on maintaining good relations on behalf of the Vulcan people with not just Earth, but Andoria and Tellar as well as many other words that were considered trading partners, friends and allies. As a result of this, Soval had suggested that his chief of staff, Soron, who had a range of diplomatic experience and skill, be appointed as his successor as the Ambassador to Earth. Soron’s elevation had been quickly agreed by the Vulcan Council and now Soron continued where Soval had left off. 

His silver coloured hair and faded blue eyes made him a man that many felt was approachable, fair and open-minded. His actions had also reflected those qualities, but T’Plau also knew that Soron was a formidable diplomat and negotiator. He had worked under Skon, the first Earth Ambassador and was once married to Ambassador V’Las before she had separated from him when she had taken up the position on Mazer as the Vulcan Ambassador. Since it was revealed that her posting to Mazer had been to help remove corrupted officials, there had been no confirmation of V’Las and Soron resuming their marriage. Many had speculated that she had separated from him to avoid him sharing the burden if her activities had been deemed ‘criminal’ (which by some on Mazer they had been). 

“Tea?” He offered her, indicating to a table by the side that had a steaming pot on it with two cups on it. 

“Please.” T’Plau replied as she stood up after he did. 

Soron went over and poured the Vulcan spice tea and handed one of the cups to T’Plau once he was finished. “I assume you are here because of your promotion?”

T’Plau nodded after taking a sip of the tea. “I am, I was hoping you may be able to share with me why I am being removed from Challenger?”

Soron offered her to join him on the small cushioned stools that were dotted around his office. As he sat down he answered her. “I was as perplexed with the orders and understanding them at first myself, however from what I was told your promotion was inevitable.”

Pushing a strand of her auburn-brown hair back behind her pointed left ear, T’Plau remained perplexed with his answer. “I do not follow your logic Ambassador. I was informed my placement on Challenger would be a long-term one. This is now not going to be the case.”

Soron’s left eyebrow raised. “Regrettably the intention of such an assignment is now incompatible with the current political situation the Vulcan Confederacy finds itself in.”

Almost mimicking his reaction, T’Plau raised her own eyebrow. “Please elaborate Ambassador, as I fail to see why removing me from Challenger has anything to do with the war.”

Following him taking another sip of his tea, Ambassador Soron expanded on his comments. “It is quite clear that your duties on Challenger are now incompatible with the interests of the Vulcan Confederacy and your services are required elsewhere.” Soron paused as he considered her reaction further. “I must say I am quite alarmed that you do not see this as a reward for your years of hard work. You are to be made a commander of a brand-new starship.”

T’Plau placed her tea down. “I am not ungrateful for the new opportunities that are being passed my way, however I am fully curious as to why our government is removing one of its senior officers from a programme it engaged in good faith with our new allies only a few months ago.”

“Our new allies do not require us to supervise them T’Plau. They do not require our assistance in being part of their crews.” Soron remarked. 

Curious with the ambassador’s words, T’Plau quickly argued back in her soothing calm tone. “I do not believe the exchange programme was meant to be a way of us supervising our allies? It was to share knowledge, experience and further foster relationships between our peoples. What message does it send to them, especially Earth who has worked extremely hard to ensure that an alliance can happen between our people, the Andorians and the Tellarites?”

Taking a breath, Soron reacted in his calm tone. “T’Plau, I think you are analysing this situation into too much detail and finding results that are non-existent. Whatever way you look at it, you will be promoted and be giving command of your own ship.” Soron placed his cup of tea down and stood up. “I must return to my quarters to finish a reply to a respondent my son had sent before I retire for the evening. I also have a meeting in the morning with the Andorian ambassador.”

T’Plau, unsatisfied with the lack of answers she had been given, stood up too. “Thank you for your time Ambassador Soron.” She bowed to him in gratitude. 

Soron raised his left hand and displayed the Vulcan V-shaped gesture towards her. “Live long and prosper T’Plau.”

Repeating the motion back to him, T’Plau began to walk towards the door she had entered in from. Before she reached the exit, Soron called back for her.  “T’Plau, you and I have a long-standing relationship since what you did for saving Sestrul from the Andorians. So when I say accept this promotion and move on with your assignment, please heed my advice. You will do a great deal of service to our allies if you did.”

Mentioning his son, one of the missing agents from the Security Directorate that she had rescued over twenty years ago, was an unusual comment for the ambassador. Back then Soron was only an envoy under Ambassador Solkar, the first Ambassador of Vulcan to Earth. Soron had been eternally grateful to T’Plau for finding his missing son and bringing him back to his family. Soron had said he would never forget the debt he and his wife owed her. Leaving the ambassador’s office, she had more questions that she could not answer and felt there was only one place she could go to find them: home to Vulcan. 

As she walked out of the Vulcan compound and past its security checkpoint, T’Plau was startled to see one person she would never have predicted would be visiting Earth. Muroc – her husband. There he was walking towards the entrance of the embassy with his hands held tightly behind his back.

“Muroc,” She said, her tone of curiosity was evident as she greeted him. Wanting to know what he was doing here and what were his intentions, she approached her husband in a slower fashion. 

“It is agreeable to see you, my wife.” Muroc said in his deep masculine voice as he extended his two fingers towards her. Her husband was a tall and muscular man. Sharp blue eyes glinted from his short, cropped black hair. He stood before her wearing his metallic-brown uniform. On the high collar was his rank pip of captain. Running from the collar from the left shoulder across the chest was a wedge-shaped accent. The entire ensemble was supported by a belt with an elaborate buckle showing the Vulcan IDIC emblem. Muroc had been an officer for years, ever since he was old enough to join the military. As both of them had been career officers, neither of them had considered starting a family, something which was not approved of by either of their parents. Nevertheless, both of them were happy with their arrangement with their marriage. It worked for them. 

Returning the gesture, she touched her two fingers with his. “What is the purpose of your visit here?” She enquired. 

“I am here to see you.” He said bluntly. “It has been many years since we last saw each other.” He gestured for them to walk away from the compound and down the street. 

Agreeing to his suggestion, T’Plau followed her husband’s idea and walked side by side with him. “I was not under the impression you started your pon farr?” She countered with. If anyone else had heard the conversation, one would have considered her question carried a hint of sarcasm in it.  

“That is not for another year T’Plau.” He answered back as they continued their walk. “As you fully know.” He added.

“Yes of course, how could I make such a mistake.” She responded as she grasped her hands behind her back. “So what are your intentions here on Earth?”

“I was attending a meeting at Starfleet Command when the T’Shear was sent to transfer supplies to the Sakra. They will return in fifteen days.” Muroc answered. “I was informed of the Challenger’s return to Earth shortly after my meeting had concluded. When I tried to call you on Challenger, I was informed by your deputy communications officer you were no longer on board and were heading to the Vulcan Embassy.”

As it was pretty late, the Vulcan couple were not interrupted by many passers-by as they walked along the sidewalk. Every two point five metres was an overhead lamp that lit their path. The noise of city life was low too which aided in either of them being distracted by their surroundings.

“I have yet to eat this evening, would you join me for a meal?” T’Plau offered as they went down a long road. 

“That would suffice my wife.” Muroc replied after considering her proposal. 

T’Plau suggested they try a nearby Earth restaurant that she had heard from her crewmates in providing quality food that would be acceptable for Vulcans. After walking for almost twenty minutes and taking a shuttlebus across the city, they soon found themselves sitting in a small quiet restaurant. Based on what she had eaten on Challenger, she ordered two plates of satay sweet potato curry, requesting for the chef to use mild spices in it. 

“Your palette has expanded since we last had a meal. I did not realise it now included a range of Earth cuisines.” Muroc witnessed. “Has your time on Challenger widened any other habits or interests of yours?”

T’Plau considered her answer after the waiter returned with a plate of two slices of plain naan-bread. She used her knife and fork to take her slice, placed it on her side dish and cut off a piece for herself. “I have found myself intrigued in reading some of Earth’s classical literature and I have attempted to understand my superior officer’s interest in certain sports. Besides that, my work has kept me extremely busy.”

“Fascinating.” Muroc stated as he copied her actions with the naan-bread. He raised his eyebrow after taking a bite off the bread and appeared to accept it as edible. “A curious meal.”

“This range of food is known as Indian cuisine; it is one of Captain Burton’s favourites. Chef Lawson has an Indian meal on her menu once a week. The aromas can be quite pungent, but the tastes and textures are fascinating.” T’Plau shared. “Are you aware of my promotion and new assignment?”

“To command the Jarok?” He replied in between mouthfuls. Nodding he elaborated more once he had taken a sip of water from the glass in front of him. “Captain Ly’ta had relayed the information to me after she had been requested to present her thoughts on the matter.”

Ly’ta had served as one of T’Plau’s previous commanding officers before she joined Challenger. Knowing that Ly’ta had confidence to support her promotion was another interesting notion for T’Plau. “And what are your thoughts on the issue?”

“I did not realise advancement in rank was an issue to be concerned about T’Plau?” Muroc spoke back. “I do not understand why you appear dissatisfied with it too?”

“The only dissatisfaction I am aware of is not knowing how well I have performed in my current posting and why we are no long faithfully engaging in a programme with our allies we fully supported.” She returned as the waiter arrived with their main course. As soon as they had placed their dinners down and had left the table, T’Plau continued the conversation. “I object to the transfer when I have not been in my current posting for a sufficient amount of time. I cannot understand the logic behind the reason for my promotion. If my services would have been assessed as inadequate then I would have suspected I would have been removed sooner, instead I am given a promotion. I must then assume that my work is of a good standard to warrant such a position but the longevity of that work now quickly comes to a close. Do you understand the puzzling position I find myself in?”

“You sound as if your logic is stuck in a never-ending cycle.” Muroc observed. “Nevertheless, commanding a brand-new ship is worthy of your talents, skills and experience T’Plau. I recommend you take what you have learnt from your stay on Challenger and apply it to your new command. You may even be able to request that members of your new crew are part of the exchange program as well.”

“Intriguing,” T’Plau said after finishing her mouthful of rice. “I never considered that notion.”

“Along with that, I do not believe you understand the full situation of what has happened since the declaration of war.” Muroc stated.

“Please explain yourself.” T’Plau requested with intrigue. 

Muroc took a breath as he went on to share with her how the Vulcan fleet was vulnerable to the weapon the Romulans had been using to take control of foreign ships’ computers. It was the same weapon that was used on the Carreons and it would appear that Vulcan technology was the most susceptible to it. First Minister T’Plau had created an alternative strategy which re-arranged a bulk of their off-world assets away from the frontlines. Once he had finished, T’Plau had considered that she was one of these off-world assets that was being moved too. 

For the rest of the evening, T’Plau and Muroc changed the topic of their conversations and continued their exchange of ideas on other matters as well as updating each other with news regarding their family members. Nevertheless, in-between it all T’Plau was pondering how she would manage informing Captain Burton and her current crewmates of her change in circumstances. Alongside this her original plan to return to Vulcan was still strong in her thoughts. She had a sense of determination to return home to face this issue, straight on.

Waiting in the lobby of Starfleet Headquarters, T’Plau wondered how much longer she would have to wait to see Captain Burton. She had sent a request to see him, even though she knew he was on personal leave to deal with his father’s death. As the repairs to Challenger would be completed soon, she felt it was appropriate she spoke to him sooner rather than later. He would then have time to consider her replacement. 

The lobby was a large open area, with a number of leather sofas and armchairs for seating too. Plant life which were in an array of pots were also arranged near to the seating. Several humans, mostly Starfleet officers, walked past her where she stood in reception observing the room. None of them took any notice of her. 

Eventually, Burton walked from one of the elevators behind the security barriers that led to the main offices within the building. Once he was cleared by the guards he smiled in the direction of his armoury officer. It was his usual way of greeting someone from a distance, something that T’Plau had noticed in her early days of joining Challenger.

“Captain, it is agreeable to see you again.” T’Plau greeted with as she bowed her head a bit as a mark of respect for him. 

Still smiling, Burton seemed happy to see her. “Likewise Sub Commander.” He answered. “I apologise for my lateness, but I was finishing my debriefing with the admiralty. Suffice to say they are happy with how we dealt with the Deltans, Carreons and Ardanans.” 

“That is good to hear.” T’Plau responded with. “Have they informed you what will happen with the two Ardanan boys that we rescued as well?”

“Well besides getting a slap on my wrist for allowing it to happen, they have agreed for Sergeant Iyer and Ensign Hathaway to become their legal guardians.” Burton answered. “I’m pretty certain Angela has spoken to her aunt about it.” He said referring to their second helm officer’s relationship with the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief. Placing his hands in his pockets, he looked at his Vulcan officer, “Now your message was short, you said you wanted to talk about something?”

Nodding once to show she understood why he was late and confirming his question, T’Plau indicated for them to depart from the building. As they left the lobby, T’Plau began to speak to Burton. “I was informed of the bombing that Commander Levesque was involved with. How is she?”

“I saw her earlier today. She’ll be fine, thank you T’Plau. Nothing a lot of rest will do to help” He replied as the sunshine caught his eyes. As he was wearing his uniform jacket over his jumpsuit, he reached further into his pocket and pulled out his sunglasses. “Unfortunately though I am not sure she will be returning to duty on Challenger anytime soon.” He said as he put the protective eyewear on. “She’ll be staying on Earth as she’s applying to become the Deputy Director of Starfleet Science.”

That news semi-surprised T’Plau. Partly as she had wondered how long Levesque would remain on the ship since it was announced recently she was pregnant (with the captain’s children) and now with her injuries sustained in the bombing. On top of that the news that she will be taking a job at Starfleet Headquarters was not something she was expecting to hear. “I am confident that Challenger’s crew will work hard to ensure her lack of presence is not detrimental to their productivity.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Burton said as they continued on their walk away from Starfleet Command Headquarters. “Now back to the issue at hand. What did you need to see me for?”

T’Plau paused before she answered in full. If she had been a human, then someone would think she was cringing inwardly as she found the nerve to share her news with Burton. “Unfortunately for you, Commander Levesque is not the only member of the crew who will be leaving you. The Vulcan High Command has promoted me, sir.” She announced bluntly.

Burton stopped in mid-walk and looked at her with a huge smile on his face. She too stopped to look at the man’s reaction. “Wow T’Plau! That’s great news! Congratulations!” He added. 

“I appreciate your sentiments captain, however with my new promotion it comes with other responsibilities.” She said looking at him. “Ones that will be incompatible with my work on Challenger. As I mentioned I will be leaving the ship to take on my new post.”

Burton realised he would be losing another fine officer but smiled still for the good news. “I’m sure we will work hard to ensure your lack of presence is not detrimental to our productivity.” He said, repeating her sentiment from a second ago. “Can you tell me more about it?”

Remaining as still as a statue, besides her lips moving to talk, T’Plau explained her new assignment in command. “The Jarok is a recently built Suurok-class combat and science cruiser.” She added, as she tried to justify the reason to the Human captain, “The High Command believes my experiences make me a worthwhile candidate to be the commanding officer for the Jarok.”

Appearing to accept the news in good grace, Burton shrugged his shoulders as to say he knew there was nothing else he could do. “Well I’ll be sorry to lose you T’Plau, you’re a fine officer and I have enjoyed our time serving together. And I would agree with the High Command’s assessment, you would make a fine C-O.”

T’Plau appreciated his remarks. “Thank you sir. It has been an honour serving under you and getting to know the crew too. I apologies that before the end of your first year in command you would have gone through three chief armoury officers.” She said in a despondent manner. 

“Do not worry about that,” Burton consoled her, “however I may be hearing you wrong on this but your tone suggests you’re not happy about leaving us? Am I wrong T’Plau?”

She was impressed that he was able to deduce such a thing as well as be partly right. “The only dissatisfaction I have about these new orders is not having a longer term of duty on board Challenger. I believed my presence would only enhance relations between our people. It is why I applied to join the Coalition’s Officer Exchange Programme.” 

“That’s understandable,” Burton said as he suggested they carry on with their walk with a hand gesture, “you have become accustomed to us as we have with you T’Plau. I know many in the armoury department will miss your mentoring and your counsel. You have been invaluable to us. In fact I would go to say I consider you one of my best advisors on the ship. Surely though you have the choice to accept or not?” 

T’Plau considered her reply carefully. “I do sir, but I feel as we are at war, I should not turn down the offer. There is a logical reason for my promotion and transfer, one I must should accept up front.”

Smirking somewhat at how she could easily dismiss her emotional response to the situation, Burton looked to his tactical officer. “If I didn’t know you any better T’Plau, I would call you sentimental and would advise you to fight this. If you do not think taking command at this point of time in your career is right, then turn down the offer.”

“I would not be offered a command again if I did such a thing.” T’Plau replied. 

Burton cleared his throat, “There’s always an alternative service you could join and eventually command your own starship in it.”

Frowning at his words, T’Plau thought for a moment before she realised what he was hinting at. “Are you suggesting I leave the High Command and join Starfleet?”

“It’s not as if you’ll be the only Vulcan in Starfleet.” He remarked back. “Commander T’Pol is an excellent first officer to Captain Archer.”

She considered his words sensibly; she had never thought about following in the footsteps of the only other Vulcan who had served on a NX-class ship before. “I will consider your opinion carefully, captain, but after I found out about the alternative strategy that First Minister T’Pau has put into place I believe I may have to decline your suggestion.”

Burton nodded to show he understood. “Yeah I was briefed about how the Vulcan fleet has been re-deployed away from the front lines. I’m sure Challenger will be sent out to help pick up the slack there.” The captain didn’t have a chance to say anymore when the communicator in his jacket’s right arm pocket went off. He zipped it down and took it out. Flipping it open he answered the call. “Captain Burton here.”

A female voice followed, one that T’Plau was unaware of however the captain appeared to know her. “Sir, this is Commander Astley at Starfleet Commander.”  

“Good day Commander Astley, how can I help you?” Burton replied.

“Fleet Admiral Hathaway would like you to join her in The Hub immediately. There’s been a Romulan attack.”

Burton gulped at the news, “Where?” he asked. 

“Against the Vulcan colony on Merak.”

When she heard the news, a sense of concern swept across T’Plau. “Captain may I join you?”

Burton just nodded and led T’Plau back to Starfleet Headquarters as he carried on talking to Astley to find out more information. 

Prior to her posting on Challenger, T’Plau had been told by others at the inferiority of Humans and their efficiency. Nevertheless her short time on the third NX-class ship contradicted those statements, even more so now. Standing within the main area where the day-to-day operations of Starfleet were conducted, she was highly fascinated with how quickly and promptly her allies worked in times of great crisis.

Like a strong statue standing among chaos, the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief (with other noteworthy admirals and captains), dealt with the news about the recent Romulan attack. 

T’Plau was still amazed that the Romulans had been so courageous to attack one of the first systems that the Vulcan race had colonised after achieving warp-capability. Merak II was a Minshara class world, one that was filled with a range of tropical climates that was rich in radioactive and industrial crystals which were used to run power plants. It was also home to one of the biggest starship construction facilities in the Vulcan Confederacy (it almost rivalled the shipyards in orbit of Vulcan). Located close to Andorian space, it was also used as a stronghold to monitor their former enemy and newest ally. 

The Romulans had somehow avoided detection, had circumvented the outer worlds in the Merak system and launched an assault against the Vulcan fleet and some of the dry-docks. Their attack hadn’t lasted long, but it resulted in heavy casualties for the Vulcan people after the Romulans had launched kamikaze attacks after they inflicted high damage. The news of the attack had come after the Atlantis had responded to a distress call from a Vulcan civilian transport stuck in the battle. Captain Carter had reported they had engaged two Romulan ships, both of whom had crashed into a Vulcan ship mid-battle. Atlantis was now assisting with recovering survivors and helping where they could. 

“Any word yet?” Hathaway had spoken loudly across the room towards her aide, the infamous Commander Astley that T’Plau had been introduced to when she and Burton had arrived. 

Astley shook her head, “Still no word from Ambassador Soron.” 

Burton, who was standing next to T’Plau, turned to her. “Sub Commander, why is the ambassador being difficult to contact? Any idea?”

T’Plau raised her left eyebrow as she considered possible reasons. “I would assume he is currently being briefed on the situation by Minister Soval. That would be the standard protocol here.” She answered. “However , the attack took place over six hours ago. I cannot comprehend the Foreign Minister taking so long to brief the ambassador.”

“So what do you actually think is happening? Do the Vulcans not want assistance from their allies?” Burton enquired. 

“I was thinking the same thing.” Admiral Hathaway said as she approached the two Challenger comrades. “This is a major attack on a coalition member at a critical location. We need to know what your government is thinking Sub Commander.”

T’Plau could not disagree with the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief at all. “Then I will find you some answers. Admiral if you would excuse me, I will head over to the consulate now and discover what is happening.”

“Of course Sub Commander, we welcome any requests where we can help our Vulcan allies. Please pass that on to the ambassador when you see him.” Hathaway said in a diplomatic tone. 

T’Plau bowed her head in respect to the flag officer and to her captain. “I will convey your offer as soon as possible.”

Walking out of the large building, T’Plau would find out why their allies were being shunned from answers. She even found it difficult to understand, especially as T’Pau had declared prior to the formation of the coalition that she wanted a more open relation with Earth. Deciding she would contact her husband as well, T’Plau would take him with her to find the answers she and their allies needed to know.

Vulcan Embassy, Sausalito, California, United States of America, Earth

Almost instantly when she had called him on her journey to the Vulcan compound, T’Plau had been able to get in touch with Muroc. He said he would meet with her at the main entrance and together they would attempt to see Ambassador Soron. T’Plau had been thankful that Muroc supported her decision to find out what was happening at Merak. 

The two of them had decided to wait on Earth until his ship, the T’Shear, returned to take them home to Vulcan. Until its return to Earth, they decided to use their time while off-duty together. It was a logical choice as they had not spent a long duration of time together since the earlier days after their wedding. Deciding to stay within the compound, as it was the most logical choice for them, they spent the past eleven days in joint meditating while also visiting a number of locations on Earth. They had been based on recommendations from colleagues of theirs and Muroc was interested to understand more of Earth’s history and the myriad of cultures that existed on the Minshara class world. They had spent a day visiting the Sistine Chapel as well as four days climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. This had been followed by visiting the Great Pyramids at Giza and walking across the Great Wall of China. Before returning to the Vulcan Compound they spent a day visiting Captain Burton’s home nation and seeing the ancient ruins of Stonehenge. Each site was impressive and intriguing to understand their history. During their time together, T’Plau had come to accept the inevitable with her promotion. Muroc believed she should still return to Vulcan to fully understand the reason. Once the T’Shear had picked up its captain and his wife, then finding those answers was not far away. 

“Husband,” T’Plau greeted Muroc as he approached her from the front gates. She had just signed in and was let through the security checks to come face to face with her husband. “Have you been able to secure a meeting with the ambassador?” She asked as they walked side by side. 

“The ambassador’s aide has informed me that we can meet with Soron once he has finished talking with other officials.” Muroc answered. 

Raising her left eyebrow out of curiosity, she walked by his side through the various gardens within the compound. “From what I have been able to summarise, no-one in the Vulcan government has spoken to anyone from the United Earth Commonwealth. Before I left Starfleet Headquarters, I was informed that Foreign Secretary Campbell had been ignored too. The silence from Ambassador Soron and others may cause unnecessary diplomatic tension between coalition members.”

“That is quite possible.” Muroc agreed. “However we both know that Soron would not cause offence to any of our allies by delaying to speak to them. That is highly uncharacteristic of him. It is more than conceivable that he is actually coordinating with officials what is happening in regard to the aftermath of the attack on Merak.”

“I hope your hypothesis is correct Muroc.” T’Plau responded as they approach the governor’s residence and offices. 

Before they fully entered the building, Muroc looked down at his wife. “What were Captain Burton’s remarks in regard to your promotion?”

“The captain’s answers were…” T’Plau paused to consider her summary of Burton’s reaction, “…complicated as well as insightful.”

“Perhaps you can share them with me after we have met with the Ambassador.” Muroc offered as they approached the front door.

Nodding in agreement, T’Plau thanked him for the time to further explore the issue. 

Returning to the ambassador’s office, but this time with her husband who was a high-ranking military officer, was an unusual experience for T’Plau. 

“Ambassador.” She said as soon as the escort that had taken Muroc and her into the room had left. “We appreciate the time you have put aside to meet with us.” 

Soron stood over the large oval shaped computer console/table with his hands gripped together. “As two of the most senior officers here on Earth from the High Command, it was logical that you both met with me.”

“Indeed.” Muroc stated as he and T’Plau walked across the room to be closer to the diplomat. 

T’Plau, instantly spoke up. “Ambassador, I have been asked as a professional courtesy from the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief to discover why our government has ignored repeated calls from our allies here on Earth in response to the attack on the Merak system.” She paused as she noticed the ambassador did not appear so forthright in his response. “Our allies are concerned that this latest battle in the war with the Romulans could mean a change in their strategy. I believe our allies here on Earth would like to respond jointly with us.”

Soron, signalled with both of his hands for them both to sit down on the stalls before them as he took one on his side of the computer table. “First Minister T’Pau will be talking to President Littlejohn, Chancellor Margerit and Speaker Joma and explaining the Confederacy’s response to this attack.”

“And what is the response from our government?” T’Plau asked as she sat down next to her husband. She was not surprised that the leader of the Vulcan people would speak to her counterparts in the coalition first. 

“I am assuming that the first minister would be requesting a joint response, perhaps a new offensive strategy to be undertaken?” Muroc enquired. 

Soron sat up straight from where he was. “I am unable to officially share with you what First Minister T’Pau will be sharing until she has had that conversation with the other leaders.”

T’Plau and Muroc both looked at each other, perplexed expressions plastered across their faces and then together gazed back at the ambassador. 

“Ambassador, I am assuming then once that conversation has taken place that those leaders would feed that information to their respective military branches?” T’Plau asked. She was hoping that Starfleet would know soon, she did not want to seem ineffective to Fleet Admiral Hathaway.

“Indeed.” Soron answered.

Muroc, who was now becoming unsatisfied with the short and sharp responses they were getting from the ambassador, quickly interjected. “Ambassador surely you agree there needs to be a formal response to this attack? From what I have heard, hundreds of Vulcans have been killed and a good number of our ships have been destroyed or heavily damaged. The defence of Vulcan is at stake here.”

Soron glared at Muroc for his boundless repetition of questions. “Captain, I am quite aware of the situation and what it means for our homeworld.” The ambassador paused as he recomposed himself. “There is no need for further discussion on this matter until the First Minister has completed her tasks. In the meantime I want you both to assume command of all of our forces stationed here on Earth. We must review all of our current security precautions.”

“You are in-error Mister Ambassador.” T’Plau said bluntly. “Both the captain and I should make haste straight away to assume our postings.”

“Challenger is still being repaired, Sub-Commander T’Plau.” Soron snapped back with. 

T’Plau pivoted her head slightly, “That’s Commander T’Plau of the starship Jarok.”

In that moment, T’Plau had made her decision. She would return to Vulcan and defend her homeworld on her new ship. Whatever it took, she would not let the Vulcan Confederacy fall to the Romulan Star Empire. 

Journeying on an Andorian warship was not how T’Plau had expected her journey to commence to return home. That said she never would have predicted that she would achieve command of a state-of-the-art ship as rapidly as she had. The attack on Merak had forced her hand, she could no longer debate the logic behind her promotion or to understand why. She knew she now had a duty to return home, assume command of the Jarok as ordered and defend the borders of the Confederacy from any more invaders. Journeying on the Avenkerev was only a means to justify her end results. Fortunately for her and her husband, her relationship with Commander Anthi was on good terms due to her interactions with her and her crew from Challenger’s previous mission. 

“And here are your quarters.” Anthi had stated as they approached twin doors which soon opened after Anthi had tapped the open button on the wall console.  The Andorian officer had agreed to take both T’Plau and Muroc on some of their journey home. The Avenkerev was recalled to Andoria to join a new task force that would be assigned to protect Weytahn and other outlying Andorian colonies. They would rendezvous with the T’Shear who would meet them near to the Deneva system (one of Earth’s outlying colonies). 

Showing her guests in, Anthi activated the light switch to reveal she had provided them with her VIP quarters. 

“Aren’t these quarters normally reserved for high ranking officials and visitors?” Muroc questioned as she placed one of the holdalls he had in his hands down on the floor.

Agreeing with her husband’s assumption, T’Plau spoke up. “In fact I believe these are the quarters that you gave to Captain Burton for a short amount of time while you assisted us with repairs to Challenger after our last engagement with the Carreons.”

“They are,” Anthi said smiling and her antennas twitched to show her joyful response, “do not worry I have had my people check it over to ensure there are no odours that may offend you. However both of you are high-ranking Vulcan officials and the first I have had to host since assuming command. I also know from the time we spent together Commander T’Plau, however brief it was, you do enjoy your space to meditate. I assumed your husband may have a similar trait.”

T’Plau bowed in gratitude. “I very much appreciate your hospitality Commander Anthi.”

“Indeed.” Muroc added. 

“Then please join me for dinner this evening.” Anthi requested as she placed her hands behind the bottom of her spine, grasped tightly. “I would love to be able to say that I had two Vulcan commanding officers join me for dinner, a first for our kind in a long time I would say.”

“We would be honoured to join you.” T’Plau agreed. 

Anthi smiled further at their acceptance. “Then I’ll see you both this evening, if you need anything please do not hesitate to contact the bridge.”

“Thank you Commander Anthi, you have been most gracious in your hospitality and agreeing to ferry us on our way.” Muroc said in gratitude. 

Bowing to them now, Anthi left her guests to get on with their own business and departed their company. Once the door was closed behind them neither Vulcan spoke as they began to unpack some of the gear and into the storage space left for them. Once they had finished, T’Plau had decided that she would write to Captain Burton, explaining her decision. Pulling Vulcan designed computer tablet out of one of her bags, she switched it on and began writing her message. 

For the attention of: Captain Lloyd Burton, Commanding Officer, Challenger NX-03

From: Commander T’Plau, Commanding Officer, D.F.C. Jarok

Captain Burton, further to our interrupted conversation we had yesterday, I am now writing to you with my decision regarding my career. Since the attack on the Merak colony, I have decided to assume my new post as Commander of the Jarok at once. Therefore I will not be returning to Challenger as its chief armoury officer and your third officer. Please convey to the rest of the crew my regret in not being able to remain on board any further. I have confidence in your command abilities that you will be able to choose my successor promptly to avoid any detrimental effect to the operations of the ship. I would highly advise you to consider Ensign Cortez’s candidacy for the position. She is a talented officer and would serve you well in this position. 

Live long and prosper Captain Burton and to the crew of Challenger.

T’Plau

Staring at the message for some time, she wondered just how Captain Burton would react to it. She speculated that he would be highly disappointed with her decision, especially as he had expressed to her that she could resign from the Vulcan Defence Directorate and join Starfleet instead. Knowing that one other Vulcan had done it before, did make her consider the decision. That said, she had not been around humans long enough compared to Commander T’Pol of Enterprise to consider that decision as a viable choice. Certain that Captain Burton would support her application, she found the choice to be illogical of her to take. It made no sense to her. Nevertheless, the decision to proceed with accepting her promotion had been spurred on during her heated meeting with Ambassador Soron. Not knowing what was going to happen to the defence of Vulcan had forced her to conclude that she needed to leave her current posting and take up her new one. That way she knew she could make more of a difference to Vulcan from the command deck of a Vulcan combat cruiser compared to the bridge of an Earth ship. Was it a sense of loyalty, patriotism or devotion to her homeworld? She did not know, but something inside her felt like she had to be in a position to ensure that the high number of Vulcan casualties during this war would never be repeated again. Her conviction to ensure that the Romulan Star Empire was stopped was strong for her. 

“Would you like some tea?” Muroc offered after he had finished unpacking his belongings. 

Nodding towards him, T’Plau accepted her husband’s suggestion. Not knowing what type of tea she would be given intrigued her. Had the Andorians truly provided for their Vulcan guests or had they decided to force them to drink only what they had on offer. 

“I am surprised to find that Commander Anthi has green tea.” Muroc remarked as he stood by the small kettle and tea-set that was on one of the sideboards. 

Knowing the answer to that observation, T’Plau quickly spoke up. “Captain Burton gave Commander Anthi several boxes of it after she had stated she enjoyed the taste.”

“A diplomatic gesture?” Muroc pondered aloud as he boiled the kettle. 

“A gesture of friendship, I believe is how he phrased it.” T’Plau countered. 

Muroc made the tea in silence and brought it over to his wife. He sat down next to her on the large grey settee that sat under the arching bay windows. Outside the view of the ship being at high warp showed a hundred stars whizzing past them – all stretched so thin. “I am still surprised at what you said yesterday.” He commented. “The Ambassador was not being accommodating with the situation at hand. I was not expecting it to force your hand into making a decision that I thought would require more contemplation on your part. What changed my wife?”

T’Plau took a sip of her tea, placed it down on the glass coffee table before them and looked to her husband. “His inaction is not doing anything. I believe that if this war is to be ended sooner, it requires more action and involvement of our people.”

Nodding in agreement, Muroc continued to press on his wife. “You may be right T’Plau, however if we have learnt anything about the Romulans since the attack on Merak and every other engagement, it is quite simply this. They are ruthless and resourceful to ensure they achieve their end goals. I believe the human phrase of whatever it takes is suitable.”

“Indeed.” T’Plau said, “And I firmly believe we must do whatever it takes to ensure they are not victorious anymore.”

Muroc took a sip from his tea as he deliberated further on T’Plau’s words. 

“All hands this is the command deck, report to Code Blue stations,” spoke the voice of Commander Anthi. 

The mention of code blue, which was the Andorians’ highest alert status, meant the Avenkerev was heading into a dangerous situation. Placing both of their mugs down, husband and wife soon left their quarters and headed to the bridge of the ship to see what assistance they could provide. 

If anything that T’Plau could appreciate about Andorian design compared to Human design, was that their bridge (or command deck as they called it) layouts were more spacious and more efficient. Very similar to their Vulcan counterparts. Commander Anthi was sat in the middle of her command deck, raised high in her chair. One leg was crossed on top of the other while her hands were resting on top of her chair’s arms. Barely moving at all, with ease and grace she gave out commands and listened to what her bridge crew were telling her. They worked extremely effectively. 

“Commander Anthi,” spoke Muroc as they approached the Andorian commanding officer from behind. “Is there anything either T’Plau or I could do to assist?”

Anthi spun her chair round to race them. “That offer is generous, but right now we have the situation under control.”

“What is happening?” T’Plau asked. 

Anthi turned her chair back around to face the main viewer. “We have received a general distress call from an Earth cargo convoy. They report they’re under attack.”

Stepping forward, T’Plau was interested to know more. “Which convoy?”

“Convoy Vega Eighteen-Alpha, the lead ship is the E-C-S Polaris.” Answered Lieutenant Thom, the Avenkerev’s first officer and communications officer. The tall Andorian was using an earpiece, slightly longer than the one that Ensign Hennessey used on Challenger, to decipher the distress call. “I’m just able to get most of their call.” He added as he tried to work on it from his station behind Anthi’s chair.

Looking over her shoulder to him, Anthi gave out her orders to place the call on the bridge’s speakers. 

“This is Captain Teresa Johansson, of the Earth Cargo Ship Polaris. Our convoy from Ve…attacked by Romulans…damaged sustained…fifty-one de…” The message suddenly cut off. 

The sound of the woman’s cry for help was eerie, erratic and alarming to hear.  T’Plau recalled that her former shipmate, Commander Levesque, had a relative that commanded a cargo ship and she was certain her memory of that conversation included the name Captain Johansson and the ship was called Polaris. 

“Helm, increase our speed to maximum warp.” Anthi ordered as soon as the speakers went dead. 

“Ma’am they’re already at maximum warp.” Replied the helmsman that T’Plau was unfamiliar with. 

“Faster damn it.” Anthi said, “I won’t let the Romulans shed any more blood from our side. As Captain Burton once said, it’s time they got a piece of their own medicine.”

“Taste.” T’Plau said correcting the Andorian commander, without realising how inappropriate that was for her to do on the command deck of the Avenkerev. “I apologies commander, but I believe the saying is a taste of their own medicine. It is a human phrase when seeking revenge.”

“I thought I said it wrong.” Anthi said with a smile of gratitude and winked at T’Plau. She tapped the intercom to open a channel to her engineering deck. “Lieutenant Dreu, I need more power to the warp drive.”

“I’m opening up the plasma injectors to another twenty-five percent commander. Anymore and we will risk breaching the core.” The chief engineer replied.

“Thank you Dreu.” Anthi replied and closed the channel. “Vice-Lieutenant Shev, increase our speed.”

“Yes commander!” The pilot responded.

T’Plau felt the Avenkerev’s warp speed increase as the deck plate began to rumble slightly from the higher speeds applied. “Are there any other ships nearby?” She then asked aloud. 

It was Thom who answered her. “I am picking up Coalition warp signatures. A combined Starfleet-Vulcan task group is coming into range but will arrive almost thirty-two-point-six seconds after we drop out of warp.”

“Can we identify which ships they are?” Anthi questioned her executive officer.

He shook his head and said no. Muroc offered to see if he could recognise the Vulcan ships from their warp signatures. However the ship was making its final leg of their dash towards the convoy. 

“Dropping out of warp.” Shev called from the helm. 

“Get me a weapon’s lock on any Romulan ship and open fire.” Anthi ordered her tactical officer. The young woman just nodded in response while Anthi carried out giving out commands. “Shev, attack pattern Therin-One. I want a full spread of torpedoes heading towards the Romulan ship.”

“Ships.” Shev called out. “Commander, I am picking up three Romulan Birds of Prey!”

“On main visualiser.” Anthi ordered.

There before them were three Romulan ships pounding the Polaris and her fellow cargo ships with their plasma cannons. The small ships all appeared disabled and heavily broken. T’Plau felt like she recognised one of the Earth ships but couldn’t be quite sure. Her thoughts were interrupted by the shouting produced by the Andorian commanding officer. 

“Fire!” Anthi commanded at the top of her voice. The Avenkerev went in firing all of its weapon ports. 

Twisting and turning, evading and skirting, the Avenkerev was laying down fire to the Romulan trio as it engaged them. The Andorian Kumari-class battlecruiser took a number of hits from the aggressors, but every weapon it had was blasting out against them. Each time scoring a direct hit on the green Romulan ships. On the command deck of the Andorian ship, Commander Anthi continued to give out orders as her crew worked diligently to face off their opponents. Even with the odds stacked against them, their resilience to get the job done was unwavering. 

The ship was hit hard by multiple hits from the Romulan ships which resulted in the ship spinning on its axis to starboard and a number of explosions erupting across the Avenkerev’s command deck. T’Plau automatically knelt down to shelter herself from the flying debris and the moment she looked up she saw the command deck in flames. Commander Anthi was pulling herself off from the deck plating and was shouting out for a report, barely anyone was answering her. T’Plau looked around and saw the reason why. A number of her crew were laying on the floor too, most of them appearing lifeless. Her helm officer was trapped dead under a fallen beam. Noticing her husband moving across the hellish scene, she noticed he tried to get a pulse from Vice Lieutenant Shev but was unfortunate and just shook his head towards Anthi who bowed her head and antennas at the loss of her pilot. Muroc dashed towards the helm controls. 

“We’ve still got thrusters and impulse engines, but warp drive is down.” He announced after reviewing the control interface. 

Anthi, who appeared slightly dazed, was now pulling her first officer off from the floor too. Lieutenant Thom was almost a mirror for his commanding officer in the state he appeared. A massive cut added to his disheveled look. The wound was allowing his cobalt coloured blood to pour down the side of his cheek. “Evasive maneuvers if you please Captain Muroc.” Anthi requested as she held on to Thom. 

Almost instantly T’Plau felt that the ship’s inertial dampeners were not working fully as her husband turned the ship. He had been a pilot previously before becoming a command officer. She recalled he was quite skilled in that past position too. Blinking several more times, she pulled herself up from the floor and noticed that Anthi’s tactical officer was also dead on the floor. Taking the tactical station she soon pulled up the status of the Andorians’ defensive and weapons systems. Their shields were down to forty-seven percent, two of their particle cannons were offline. 

“Commander T’Plau, where do we stand with weapons?” Anthi shouted across the room as the ship continued to shudder from repeated attacks from the Romulans. 

T’Plau found herself being able to quickly access the Andorian controls, she noted how similar they were to Vulcan technology, and was able to tell the captain their status. Anthi had her continue to fire at the Romulans as best as they could. 

“Commander Anthi, we have a new problem.” Announced Thom from the science station. His own station had been destroyed and their science officer had been dragged off to the infirmary. “I am detecting a number of our systems going offline.”

“Explain more Thom.” Anthi demanded as she sat back down in her own chair. 

Shaking his head, the executive officer appeared to be unsure what to make of his readings. “None of them are damaged, they’re just going offline and then back online and then off. The pattern continues to repeat. We’ve just lost gravity on deck four.”

Realisation suddenly dawned on T’Plau on what was happening and why the Romulans hadn’t completely destroyed them yet. “Commander Anthi, we must disconnect your subspace radio from the rest of the Avenkerev’s computer systems. We are being hacked by the Romulans!”

Anthi, knowing what other allied ships had encountered with the Romulan’s new approach in using the telepresence system to capture alien vessels. Challenger had determined that this new strategy, one that Captain Burton’s crew had named the telecapture system, was how the Romulans were trying to destabilise the local galactic scene between space faring species. “Quickly Lieutenant Thom, disable our communication grid at once!” She ordered.

Thom worked hard to carry out his commander’s orders. “It’s not responding to the conventional way of shutting down.” He answered with frustration. 

“Then destroy it!” Muroc suggested.

Thom pleaded for ideas. “How?”

Knowing what her husband was suggesting, T’Plau answered for him. “Overload it with a power surge lieutenant.” 

Thom looked to Anthi who just nodded in agreement. Thom worked quickly and did exactly what he was told to do and a second later more sparks flew across the bridge from the excess power sent through. “Done! We no longer have any comms.” He announced. “The rest of our computer systems that are left are no longer malfunctioning.”

“The Romulans are still pressing with their other attack.” T’Plau added. 

“Then let’s show the Romulans what we are made of. Bring us about and target the lead ship. Fire everything we have against them!” Anthi ordered. 

As the Avenkerev spun a full one-hundred-eighty degree while turning a full three-hundred-sixty degree, T’Plau made the ship’s weapons (that were still working) open fire against the middle Romulan ship. While it made its attack a number of ships soon dropped out of warp, all of them Coalition ships that joined in the fight. The lead Romulan ship was soon obliterated.

“I would say open a channel to the lead ship, but we can’t!” Anthi remarked as the news of their allies arriving was a welcoming sight. 

“I am detecting the T’Shear with several other Vulcan ships, alongside them are a few Earths ship led by the Discovery.” Stated Muroc. 

It did not take long for the coalition ships to destroy another Romulan vessel, however they were not quick enough to get the third and last one. It attempted to evade their fire as it dashed around the ships while its port nacelle spewed out dried plasma from being damaged. 

“I want that ship destroyed now!” Anthi screamed with irritation.  

 “I agree totally Commander Anthi.” T’Plau added as she tried her hardest to get a weapon’s lock on the remaining ship. All of a sudden she noticed that the readings had told her it had sent all of its power into its sub-light engines. “The Romulan ship has increased its power to its impulse engines. I am struggling to lock on to it.” She said. 

“I recognise what it’s doing.” Muroc said as he pushed the Avenkerev’s engines further. “I believe it will attempt to collide with the Polaris.”

“Stop it!” Anthi said. 

The entire coalition force was opening fire on the Romulan ship but as it took multiple hits and was damaged, it blew apart as it smacked into the side of the Polaris. T’Plau watched in dismay as the Romulan ship was destroyed by its suicidal antics as it rammed the Earth civilian ship. Within seconds of it happening the Polaris appeared to shudder before it blew up itself. The exploding ship wreckage flew across in all directions, a number hitting allied ships, while a large chunk of it went into the side of the other cargo vessel that was there. Sensing the damage, Muroc piloted the Avenkerev out of harm’s way, just in time as the second cargo vessel (the one that T’Plau recognised) went up into flames. 

“Oh my,” Anthi said after the tragedy appeared to end. On the main viewer, the scene that just transpired was coming to a close. “Any survivors?” The Andorian skipper asked.

Thom just shook his head. “I’m not detecting any.”

“How many souls were on those ships?” Anthi queried. 

“On those classes of freighters, there would be at least eighty-six crewmembers combined.” T’Plau answered. “However that does not count for the children and other passengers who would normally be on board. I believe we would be looking at figures being in the three-digit form.”

Anthi just shook her head in sadness, once again her antennas lowered themselves to reflect her mood. Still looking at the screen, she gave out her orders. “Thom, work with Dreu to get me a full damage report.” She looked at both Vulcan officers. “I cannot thank you both enough for helping us today.”

“It was the logical choice to make.” Muroc offered.

“Even if the outcome was a tragic one.” T’Plau added.

“Indeed.” Anthi said, still in a solemn mood. “We need to make sure those we lost today are revenged.”

“Agreed.” Muroc said bluntly as he turned to look at the main viewer.

T’Plau copied her husband and said in a lower tone as she gazed at the aftermath of the battle on the main viewer, “agreed.”

Commander T’Plau meditated while sitting in the shared quarters she shared with her husband while on his ship. A lot larger than the quarters she had come used to on Challenger, being a D’kyr-class cruiser gave the crew of the T’Shear a lot more space. She knew from her own experience on the Sakra, that these classes of ships gave their officers their own private quarters. Only two barracks existed on this class of ship when they were transporting troops. Right now T’Plau knew that her husband’s ship had used those barracks and its cargo bays to rescue the settlers from the Earth colony of Gault. After dropping those that they had rescued with their Earth allies, the entire Vulcan task group that Muroc now commanded was heading back to Vulcan at top speeds. 

Even with the Romulans attacking Merak, First Minister T’Plau had used her powers as the Administrator of the Vulcan High Command (the counterpart role of Earth’s President being the Commander-in-Chief of all of its forces) to redeploy a number of assets. T’Plau, earlier on in the year, had enacted an alternative strategy that brought a bulk of the Vulcan fleet away from the frontlines. This redeployment of Vulcan’s offworld strategic assets had forced the United Earth Commonwealth to pick up the slack and deal with the Romulan brutality on their borders. T’Plau had later understood why the Vulcan leader had made such a move, especially after she had discussed the matter further with an unlikely and new friend, Commander Anthi. The Andorian skipper had explained to her and her husband that she had been told that the use of the Romulan’s weapon (the telecapture system) was more effective on Vulcan technology than Earth’s technology. Anthi had also added that due to them copying each other’s technology over the past decades, the Andorians were also easily susceptible to the weapon. The Tellarites did not have the fleet to easily defend their own borders along with other borders from members of the Coalition.  Earth had been left alone. Anthi said that engineers from across the Coalition of Planets had speculated that Earth’s lesser advanced technology somehow made it more difficult for the Romulans to use their new weapon on Earth vessels. Compared to Vulcan, Andorian and Tellarite computers that all relied on touch screen displays, interconnected systems and voice recognition software, Earth technology was designed differently. Earth computer systems (known as monotronics) required touch type controls and networks that had sub-networks that slowed access from one system to another. Already Vulcan, Andorian and Tellarite engineers were looking at how they could adapt similar approaches in their technology on board their ships. It would take time though. 

On some level the injustice of this war had disturbed T’Plau. None of them knew why the Romulans were so focussed on annihilating them all. That was partly why she was so determined to be part of the cause that stopped them. She had wanted to return to Vulcan, to assume command of the Jarok, and to carry on the work she had started in building strong relations with those in the coalition. She now assumed that this type of thing would no longer happen since, what their Earth allies were calling, the Vulcan withdrawal may prevent stronger relations.  

The candles in the quarters were slightly disturbed, as well as the darkness, when the doors opened and her husband walked in. 

“Do not be alarmed T’Plau,” the familiar voice of her husband said. Muroc, dressed in his formal captain’s uniform, stepped through the threshold from the corridor and into the darker room. “We are approaching Vulcan and I wondered if you had come to a decision yet?” 

T’Plau nodded, as she rose from her seated position on the floor. She had been on a cushion during her time of reflection. “I have.” She went towards their shared bed chambers and started to retrieve her belongings in the several holdings they were now packed in.

“And will you still assume command of the Jarok?” He questioned as he watched her sort out her baggage. 

“I will.” She answered. 

Bowing his head in acknowledgement of her decision, “I am intrigued what you plan to do in regard to your work with the coalition. You have not spoken about it since your long conversations with Commander Anthi.”

“I have given it much thought, especially since we departed from the Avenkerev, and I believe I can make a difference from my new posting.” She said as she finished sorting her possessions out. “After speaking to Commander Anthi, who is a strong supporter of the Coalition too, we both plan for our ships to become part of the officer-exchange programme.”

Muroc raised his left eyebrow, “I am aware that a commanding officer, or one of their superiors, can make that decision without consent of their government, but is the programme still in effect?”

She nodded, “Nothing has changed with it, so we plan to undertake the task at hand together.”

“Together?” Muroc repeated, captivated by his wife’s decision. 

She nodded once, “Yes, I will have Lieutenant Thom join me on the Jarok as my first officer and communication officer. While I have already discussed with Commander Anthi that I will return the gesture with my own communication’s officer joining her ship.”

“I was not informed you had a communication’s officer picked?” Muroc probed. 

“I made the request two days ago and it was agreed by their superior,” T’Plau replied, “The officer was more than pleased with their newest assignment.”

“Do I know this individual?” Muroc asked, curious as to why his wife appeared so satisfied with this revelation.

“Yes, I believe he was the one who told you where I was back on Earth,” she replied shaking her head, “Ensign Erik Larsen was the second communication officer, I served with him on Challenger and he is a talented young individual who would do well with this experience. Commander Anthi and I have agreed to trial this approach for three months exactly, both men are in agreement with it too.”

“The Challenger’s deputy linguist? Why not offer the position to the senior most officer?” Muroc speculated. 

“Logically speaking I cannot ask that from Captain Burton. He has already lost his executive officer who is also the ship’s chief science officer and with my departure too he is in need of replacing two members of his senior staff. I did not believe a third would be just.” T’Plau said as she started to make her way towards the door. “Will you be joining me on the Jarok before it launches?”

Muroc shook his head. “The T’Shear is being sent to provide relief aid and further troops at Merak, once we have achieved orbit and received our supplies and additional soldiers we will be departing expediently.”

“Then there is no logical reason for us not to say goodbye to one another now so you can return to your duties on the bridge.” T’Plau said and extended her two fingers towards her husband, “Goodbye husband”

Placing his index and middle finger together and slowly caressing hers, Muroc said his goodbye too. He then raised the same hand and parted his fingers into the typical Vulcan V-shaped gesture. “Live long and prosper Commander T’Plau, my wife.”

She copied his act and bowed her head before leaving his presence. She would take a shuttle across to the shipyard where her new ship, her new assignment awaited her. Determined to make a difference, T’Plau would not allow her time with Challenger to go to waste. Even if her own government appeared less supportive of their allies, it did not mean she would treat them the same. The loss of life from the Earth cargo ships, the Polaris and Raven (the second ship that was destroyed by the Romulans) remained green in her memory. She had checked in with Captain Burton and he had confirmed that Polaris had been Commander Levesque’s aunt ship along with that, she had recalled the Raven being the cargo ship that had assisted when she had joined Challenger earlier on in the year near to the former colony on Archer Four. Knowing how many civilians had died and who they were had fuelled her intentions to follow in the same manner that Captain Burton had worked. She would stand for justice and for what is right, deep down she even knew that sometimes to do that her decisions could not always be logical and that was where having Lieutenant Thom, the first Andorian to serve on a Vulcan ship, would come. She knew she may receive complaints for that decision, but it felt right to her to try it. Not knowing what her superiors thought about it did not intimidate her either. They were all too preoccupied in dealing with the Merak attack, it would give her some room before they decided to address her decision. In some way she had made her mind up based on considering the idea: what would Captain Burton do? She felt he would have made the same choice too. That was enough for her and it was a sentiment that she was fascinated to explore in this new chapter in her life.

The October moonlight dazzled against the dark water of the English Channel without a care in the world. Sat at a table under an outdoor heater and canopy, Lloyd Burton was enjoying the quietness that surrounded him while sipping on a cold beer. It had been an eventful day. In the earlier hours of the morning he had inspected Challenger with Stanton. Both of them were very happy with the repairs and the ship would be leaving the Obama Repair Facility by tomorrow evening. Then earlier on in the day he had performed the wedding ceremony of Corporal Jenkins and Ensign Stewart. Jenkins’ parents (two really welcoming people) owned the hotel and pub that the ceremony and reception had taken place in. They had decorated the garden behind the hotel with a range of candles, twinkle lights and fire pits to make it extra special for their son and his husband. A local band had been pulled in to provide music and now with the evening on, the party had soon followed. Not only were both men’s families there but a majority of the Challenger crew had turned up to celebrate their day. It was nice to see his crew back together and enjoying themselves. It appeared the two weeks break was exactly what they all needed. He certainly did. Coming to terms with what he had to deal with on Mars and his father had made him question quite a bit. However he found no answers and felt he would carry on until he found them. Along with that with Nicole now leaving the ship to see out her pregnancy on Earth to their children, his entire view on life just seemed to have changed. 

Sighing loudly, he unzipped his dress uniform jacket a bit more. The long blue three-piece suit with its unusual white undershirt (the collar was a bizarre design Lloyd felt) wasn’t the most comfortable formal wear it was meant to be. Under the suit jacket was a waistcoat, again the same blue colour as the jacket and trousers. Black boots then complimented it. 

“There you are Lloyd.” Spoke Stanton’s voice after Burton heard the wooden doors from the hotel open behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Stanton walking over with a bottle of beer in each hand. Stanton had looked extremely smart earlier where he wore his dress uniform for the wedding. Now that the party was in full swing, he had undone his top collar button similar to Burton. 

“Sorry, am I needed for something?” Burton asked his chief engineer, who sat down opposite to him at the table. 

Shaking his head in answer, Stanton passed one of the beers to his captain. “No sir, I just wondered where you went.” He took a sip from his own beer, “It’s quite a party in there.” He added with a smile.

Agreeing with him, Burton thanked him for the beer by clinking it with Stanton’s. “Yeah, it’s nice to see something else happening in people’s lives besides worrying about this goddamn war.”

“Amen to that.” Stanton stated, “It’s a shame Nicole couldn’t make it.”

“Yeah,” Burton said, “but she’ll be back on her feet in no time and I am sure plenty of photographs from today have been taken that she will demand to see.”

Chuckling at knowing how insistent the science officer was, Stanton spoke up as he raised his beer towards the captain’s. “To the Challenger, may she fly out of dock and back to the frontlines.”

Almost smacking his bottle on to Stanton’s to celebrate the sentiment, Burton took a swig from his beer. The cold beverage slithered its way down his throat. “Michael, there is something I wanted to ask you.”

“Oh?” Stanton said, sounding slightly surprised. 

“With Nicole now leaving Challenger, we’re in need of a new first officer.” Burton said, “I want you to be my new right-hand man. What do you say?”

Smiling at the offer, Michael nodded. “I would be honoured sir.”

“Excellent, because with T’Plau’s promotion I was starting to run out of people to ask!” Burton remarked. “Talking of which, I want to promote Cortez to chief armoury officer. T’Plau insisted that I seriously consider her candidacy before I looked at anyone else and I think she’s right.”

“Sounds like a good replacement,” Stanton said. “What about chief science officer? Are you going to ask Habiba?”

Looking into the hotel where the party was happening, Burton considered his response to Stanton. He looked back towards his engineer, knowing that Ensign Habiba had decided not to attend the wedding. Stanton had told Burton that he heard rumour that she had fallen out with some of her fellow junior officers and had broken up with Conrad too. “She can remain where she is and act up for now. We’re at war and I think the chief armoury officer is the most important position to fill in right now. Let’s see how well she does and then consider our decisions at a later time. That said, Cortez deserves a promotion to lieutenant junior grade as well.”

“Agreed,” Stanton said, “and as your new first officer can I suggest you promote some others too?”

Interested in who Stanton had in mind, Burton nodded for him to proceed. “Who?”

“Conrad and Hennessey for starters both to lieutenant junior grades as well.” Stanton said. “Both of them proved themselves back on Ardana to be level-headed and extremely good leaders. They bring strength to our senior staff.”

“That they do.” Burton said as he took a sip. “Okay, you’ve convinced me on them. Anyone else?”

“Two more; Stewart and Masuko. Nicole said it herself, she couldn’t have been successful with the Deltans without Stewart and Masuko is ready to be a chief engineer. Starfleet will snap her up if we don’t keep her interested.”

“Then let’s do it. Anyway, I’ll need you focussing on more things as first officer, she could run engineering more for you and I’m sure Ben-Ami will agree with Stewart’s promotion too.” Burton said, pleased that they would be rewarding their crew.  “I have sent in a recommendation to General Casey for Yu to receive a commendation for Ardana too.”

“Shame we can’t decide on MACO promotions.” Stanton said, “I would make her a lieutenant colonel now.”

Burton smiled at that idea, “Yeah, but she’s only been a major for under a year now. They won’t bump her up, just yet. They’ll probably promote her without us knowing too.” Burton took another sip before realising there was something he had wanted to say to Stanton all day but did not have the opportunity to mention it in private until now. “Talking about doing things quietly,” Burton said as he sat up and pointed to Stanton’s left hand. “When were you going to share your good news?”

Stanton looked down at his wedding ring, it was still new and since returning from the Discovery he was starting to miss his husband. Following on from saving the colonists on Gault, the two of them had spent a long week on the sunny beaches of Miami. Discovery had left Earth this morning, heading to Deneva. “I didn’t want to spoil Liam and Niall’s day.”

“Congratulations Michael, Alex is a very lucky guy!” Burton cheered his new first officer as they clinked beer bottles again. “Oh and I did hear that Müller owes me again!” 

Wincing at the fact he tried to keep his time on Discovery quiet from his boss to avoid any issues between him and Captain Müller, Stanton nodded while cringing to confirm. “However sir I must add that your brother isn’t a very clean engineer. His engine room wasn’t the tidiest I’ve seen!” 

Laughing at the comment about his brother, Burton quickly responded to Stanton’s comments. “That doesn’t surprise me about Roman. So you weren’t tempted to stay on Discovery?”

“I’ll be lying if I said no, but then both Alex and I discussed it over and right now we weren’t sure if it would be allowed. We didn’t want to put any pressure on anyone about it. The war effort is our priority, plus I couldn’t deal with him being my superior in position!” Stanton said with a smirk still on his face. 

“Well at least you both are now first officers.” Burton said, “You can’t argue over that.”

“You wouldn’t believe how much you’ve saved my marriage!” joked Stanton. 

“Glad to help out!” Burton said and he clinked his bottle with Stanton’s again.

They were both interrupted by the arrival of Doctor Ben-Ami. She was wearing the female variation of the Starfleet dress uniform that had a skirt attached to it. “Looks like you two are plotting something out here!” She stated as she joined them. Sitting on the bench next to the captain, the doctor placed her glass of white wine down. “How come you both aren’t joining in with the partying?”

“I’m tempted Kefira,” Burton answered, “But this view of the English Channel at night is just as amazing.”

“It’s only water captain.” Ben-Ami answered.

Stanton grinned, “Ah you see my good Ro-fa, the English Channel is home to the captain. He grew up along the south coast of England.”

Burton nodded in confirmation. “That I did, but it’s not my home anymore.”

“So what is?” Ben-Ami probed. 

“Challenger.” Burton said as he stood up. “And while it sits up there,” He said pointing to the stars. “Our crew is in there, waiting for us to join them!”

Stanton stood up too, “Well we best not let them down.” He looked down at the doctor and extended his hand. “Join me for a dance Kefira?”

“As long as you don’t drag me around the floor like Ned did earlier, then you’re on!” She replied as she took Michael’s hand and also noticed the ring on his finger. “While there you can tell me when this happened and don’t miss out any details!”

The three senior officers joyfully went back into the hall where the party was happening and joined their crew for the celebrations.

Feeling more at ease since the incident at Gault where they uncovered the remains of a dead soldier working for the Romulan Star Empire, Captain Müller was enjoying the distraction of paperwork. Sat at the back of the bridge with tablets on top of the situation table, the German officer was focused on reading the latest updates since the Romulans attacked the Vulcan colony on Merak. He wondered if it would change the Vulcan’s approach to the war effort, he hoped they would find a way to re-join the fight. They needed the numbers. 

There was a beep from the helm station and he looked up towards his pilot and first officer. “What is it, Commander Rodham?” Müller asked as he dropped the tablet down and made his way over. He knew the beep was from the proximity alarm. 

Rodham was reviewing his readings and looked over his shoulder to answer. “I’m detecting fifteen separate warp signatures heading straight for us.”

 “Fifteen?” Müller repeated as he looked at the commander with surprise. They were not expecting any reinforcements. Currently Discovery was leading a task group of eight ships, all of whom were heading to help with the defence of Deneva. 

Lieutenant Nuñez spoke up from the science station after she turned around from the sensor scope. “Sir those are Romulan warp signatures.”  

“How far away are they?” Müller asked as he took his seat in the centre of the bridge.

Rodham answered for him, “Distance two point one light years and closing.” He finished with a gulp.

“Hull plating to maximum. Standby all weapons!” Müller commanded as the ship was brought to tactical alert. 

At the armoury station, Lieutenant Commander Wallis spoke up. “They’re in visual range.”

Hearing those words made Müller shiver slightly as he ordered his armoury officer to show them all. “On screen.” 

“My god.” Rodham uttered at how fierce the imagery looked of the incoming aggressors.

“Ensign Russo, send a message to the Armstrong to breakaway and head back to Earth. Tell them to inform Starfleet that we have engaged the Romulans by Denver.” Müller said as he turned to look back at the oncoming force of Romulan ships. He was outgunned two to one and he wondered if any of them would actually survive this day.