Entering the ready room, Hok was surprised to see another man there with Captain Kirby; Commander Perry from Starfleet Intelligence, the same man that briefed him and Doctor Weaver for their undercover mission to Lextis III.  He was Hewmon, tall and muscular, with short brown hair, a clean-shaven face, and looking to be about forty.

The Eagle rendezvoused with another ship off the standard travel routes, so Perry must have beamed directly into the ready room.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” said Hok.

Kirby motioned toward the couch along the wall.  He sat at his desk, but Perry remained standing.

Sitting, Hok looked back-and-forth between both men, wondering why he was there.

“Time isn’t on our side, so we’re going to get to the point,” said Kirby.  “Commander Perry?”

“Have you heard the news reports that there have been Breen attacks in the Deneb sector using old Jem’Hadar ships?” said Perry.

“Yes, sir.  Everyone is talking about it,” said Hok.

“Those reports are partially true.  The Breen are involved, but in reality…”  Perry paused.  “The Jem’Hadar and the Dominion are back.  The Federation Council is trying to keep this information from spreading.”

It took several seconds for Hok to process what he just heard.  He was a young child during the Dominion War, so it was a shock to learn they were back.

“That’s… bad,” was all Hok could say.  How did this happen?  Was there going to be another devastating war?  He felt sick.

Perry gave Hok a few more seconds before continuing.  “Have you heard of Daimon Klunt and the Bunnicorn’s Foot?”

“Yes, sir.  He’s a very successful and influential man, the envy of many that strive to acquire as much as he has,” said Hok.  “The Bunnicorn is a high-class resort on a moon he owns.”

“What I’m going to tell you next is classified.  You don’t speak of it to anyone without clearing it first with Captain Kirby.  Understood?’

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ve learned that Klunt has star charts of Breen defenses and ship movements along our border.  We don’t know how or why he has them, but it’s vital that we get them,” said Perry.  “We’re sending the Eagle to negotiate with Klunt, but we’re also sending in undercover personnel because we don’t expect him to sell.  You’re Ferengi and you’ve also worked UC, so we want you to be on the team.”

Hok’s shoulders slumped and his jaw clenched.

“Mister Hok?” said Kirby.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t,” said Hok.

Perry started to protest, but Kirby held up his hand.  “Hok, I know you left Ferenginar under a difficult situation, and I know you haven’t revealed the full story, but we wouldn’t ask you to do this if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.”

“Captain, sending me could put my life in danger and risk the safety of the rest of the team.  It could also jeopardize the mission.  I won’t be responsible for endangering my shipmates.”

Perry scoffed.  “We’re Starfleet.  There’s risk in everything we do.”

Kirby looked at Perry, but didn’t say anything to him.  “You’re entitled to your privacy, but when it interferes with your duty…”  Kirby’s voice trailed off.

“Ensign Hok,” said Perry.  “I assure you, we’re very good at creating cover identities.  Yes, there are risks, but whatever your…”

“With respect, Commander, a man like Klunt, with his resources and connections, won’t have a problem discovering who I really am if he digs deep enough.  I can’t do this.  If you discipline me over it, I’ll accept what comes.”

There was a heavy and uncomfortable silence filling the room.  Hok sat silently waiting.  Kirby’s face showed concern.  Perry was boiling.

“Captain Kirby, I must insist you do something about this,” said Perry.  “There’s more at stake here than just one person.”

“So I’m expendable?” said Hok.

“That’s not what I meant,” said Perry, clearly angry.

“All right, gentlemen, that’s enough,” said Kirby.  “We can work out something later.  We still need to talk with the others.”

Perry sighed deeply.  “I’m going to report this to my superiors.”

“That’s fine,” said Kirby.  “Do what you need to do.  Mister Hok, you’re dismissed.”

Hok was quiet for a few seconds.  “I’m sorry if I let you down, Captain.”

“We’ll talk later,” said Kirby.

Hok got up and moved toward the exit, feeling both relieved and guilty.  Why couldn’t he just be who he truly wanted to be?

Lieutenant Commander Roger Allen moved to the side and let Lori enter the captain’s ready room first.  With a smile of appreciation, she walked in, but upon seeing Commander Perry from Starfleet Intelligence, Lori stopped.  Her shoulders slumped as she let out an audible groan.

“Nice to see you, too, Doctor,” said Perry.

“Please sit,” said Kirby.

“What’s going on?” said Lori, irritation filling her voice.

“Have a seat and we’ll explain,” said Kirby.

Lori studied Matt’s face.  On it she could see concern, but his eyes showed his true feelings.  He was sorry.  Resigned to whatever was coming, she sat and crossed her arms.

“We need you for another undercover assignment, Doctor.  We need you both,” said Perry.

Lori drooped her head and sighed.

“What assignment is that?” said Roger.

Perry paused, apparently waiting for Lori’s full attention.  After a moment, she realized the commander hadn’t replied.

“I’m listening.”

“You’ve heard about the Breen attacks?  Well there’s much more than that.”  Perry explained the situation with the Dominion.

Shocked, Lori glanced at Roger.  The expression on his face showed he was just as stunned.  She followed that by looking at Matt, hoping to find comfort from his presence.  No matter the stress of the situation or predicament they faced, her captain and friend was always a pillar of strength.

“What do you need us to do?” whispered Lori, her mind still tumbling like leaves blowing across the ground.

“We’re bringing back Kavi Rozen,” said Perry.

Though Perry told her there was another undercover assignment, that name was the last thing Lori expected to hear.  Her heart pounded and she became short of breath.  It was like someone punched her in the stomach.

“Lori, you okay?”  Roger slipped his arm around her shoulder.

Matt stood up.

“I’m okay,” said Lori after forcing herself to relax.  She saw how Matt was looking at her.  “Really.  I’m fine.”

Matt stood for a little longer, but once he was satisfied she was indeed okay, he sat back down.

“Doctor, I understand how difficult this is for you,” said Perry.

“No, you don’t.”  Lori gave the SFI agent a cold and icy glare.

“Of course I do.  You don’t think I’ve done undercover work?” said Perry, his voice stern.  “You don’t think I’ve had to be someone I’m not or betrayed a person that trusted me?  You’re not the only one that’s gone through this.”

“All right, Commander, that’s enough,” said Kirby.  “You made your point.”

“You’re right of course, Captain.  My sincerest apologies, Doctor Weaver,” said Perry.

Lori continued glaring, but her countenance softened.  “Tell me what you need me to do.”

“Your backstory is that Kavi Rozen made a power move, taking over the entire Red Heaven organization.  She caused Dex Watson and Nessa Trennel to be arrested by local law enforcement.”

“Stop,” said Lori.  “You shut down the entire group.  You stopped the drugs from coming in.  You sent a ship to destroy the processing facility.  How can I be Kavi again?”

Perry smiled.  “Doctor, we know how to do things without making it look like we did anything at all.  I give you full assurance that your cover story is secure.”

“That’s comforting.”

Perry ignored the quip.  “I’ll give you the information you need.  You know the drill.  Study it.  Learn it.  Become it.”

“What’s my part in this?” said Roger.

“You’re Kavi’s bodyguard and lover.”

Hearing that, Lori closed her eyes, her cheeks warm with embarrassment.

“Obviously we don’t expect you to actually go that far,” said Perry, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Keep the briefing moving, Commander,” said Kirby.

Lori could see Matt was getting frustrated.

“We’re sending you in before the Eagle arrives so your presence is established and to make sure you’re not connected,” said Perry.  “We have a runabout registered to Kavi.  It’s been renovated for someone of her status.”  He focused on Roger.  “I can’t emphasize enough that you become your new persona.  Both your lives depend on it.”

“I understand,” said Roger.  “We’ll get it done.”

Perry nodded.  “Do you have any questions?”

Lori glanced at Roger who shrugged.  “Just give us the information we need so we can prepare.”  Her eyes locked with Matt.  “We’ll be okay, Captain.  You and the Eagle will be watching over us.”

Undercover work was challenging and dangerous, but knowing that her captain and shipmates were there for her, truly gave Lori comfort.

“Let’s go, Lover.  We have work to do.” 

The ready room door opened and Hok started to enter, but Chief Engineer Nick Saunders walked out.  Stepping aside, he let the lieutenant pass.

“Have a seat, Mister Hok,” said Captain Kirby.

Hok sat in the chair across from the captain.  He wasn’t comfortable because he knew what was coming.

“We need to discuss why you were so adamant about not being part of the undercover mission,” said Kirby.

“Yes, sir,” said Hok.

“I read your file before you came on board,” said Kirby.  “I had the final say if you did.  You may not know this, but there were very few postings available to you.  Most COs were skeptical about having you on their crew.”

Hok didn’t know that, but he shouldn’t have been surprised.

“You were facing being assigned to a remote science station in the ass end of Federation space,” said Kirby.  “I didn’t think that was fair, so I decided to give you a chance.”

“I appreciate that, sir.”

“Now I’m not saying this to make you feel you owe me,” said Kirby.  “I just wanted you to know the truth.  I believed you had something to offer and so far you’ve done well.”

“Thank you, sir.”  Hok knew he was being redundant, but he was waiting for the proverbial hammer to drop.

“I know what happened to your family and I’m sorry.”

Hok nodded.

“I know you left Ferenginar and went to Earth because you lost your business license.  You lived there five years, started a business, then lost it because of a fire.  Right after that, you enlisted in Starfleet.”  Kirby paused.

“Sir, I don’t know…”

Kirby held up his hand.  “I just want you to be aware of what I know and what I suspect.”

Hok frowned.  He knew, if someone cared to try, they would figure out he was hiding in Starfleet for protection.

“Whatever happened and whoever is after you, don’t you think you can trust your captain?” said Kirby.

How could Hok explain?  How could he say, if the misunderstanding with the Orion Syndicate was resolved today, his name was cleared, and his license was restored, he would resign his commission and go back home to be a true Ferengi?

It isn’t that simple, sir.”

“I get that, but this is an extremely important mission and the Eagle was chosen to do it.  Not because I’m a good negotiator, but because of you,” said Kirby.

Hok rolled his eyes.

“Ensign?”

“If there weren’t any Ferengi in Starfleet, would someone still be assigned to this?” said Hok.

“Yes.”

“Then maybe we should consider why it’s so important for me to be included.”

By the expression on Kirby’s face, Hok could see the captain was caught off guard.

“Sir, Commander Allen and Doctor Weaver can handle what needs to be done on the resort.  I’m more valuable helping you negotiate with Klunt.  Why didn’t SFI or Commander Perry realize that?”

The captain’s forehead wrinkled and the room fell silent.

“All right, Mister Hok, you’re staying here.  I’ll contact Commander Perry’s ship and let him know.”

“Thank you, sir.”  Hok was visibly relieved.

“You’re dismissed,” said Kirby.

As Hok was leaving, he saw the concern in Kirby’s eyes, but that dwarfed the concern of his own.  Something was afoot and he had to figure out what it was.

Entering sickbay, Izi stopped for a moment to look for Lori.  Seeing her sitting on a biobed, staring at herself in a mirror, Izi waited before approaching.

“Hey, Iz,” said Lori, not looking away from the mirror.  Her voice was sullen.

“Hey, Lor,” said Izi, moving to her friend’s side.  “How are you doing?”

“I suppose the captain filled you in?”  Lori was still looking at her reflection.

“Yes.”

There were a few moments of an awkward silence.

“Look at me,” said Izi.  “I wasn’t here the first time you went undercover.”

Lori faced Iziraa, setting the mirror next to her on the bed.

Izi made a show of studying Lori.  “You look hot with all black eyes.”  She smiled.

Lori smirked.  “I look hot all the time.”

“Oo baby,” said Izi.

Both women laughed.

“So how are you doing?” said Izi.

Before Lori replied, the EMH joined them.  “Are you satisfied, Doctor?”

“Yes.  You did good work,” said Lori.

“Of course I did,  If you need me to fill in a page in a coloring book, I can do that, too,” said the EMH.

“Computer, deactivate EMH.” said Lori.  “Classified mission, so my nurse couldn’t be involved.”

Izi understood.  “So, how are you?”  It was the third time she asked.

“I have mixed feelings.  I really don’t want to do this, but there’s also something thrilling about undercover work,” said Lori.

“I can see that,” said Izi.

“The first mission was dangerous.  I suppose there’s risk here as well, but the more I think about it, I’m going to be spending a few days at a luxury resort,” said Lori.

“As a powerful drug lord with her handsome lover.”

Lori’s eyes went wide as she gasped.  “I can’t believe you said that.”  She smiled.

Izi smiled.

Lori let out a sputtering giggle that morphed into a hearty laugh.

When Lori was finished, her face turned more serious than Izi had ever seen.

“How am I supposed to do this, Iz?  I don’t think the captain or SFI realize how difficult this is.”

“What do you mean?”

“Klunt is powerful and influential.  Even if he believes me, how can we get to the vault below his casino?  I can only imagine the layers of security he has.  This is ridiculous.”

Deep down, Izi knew Lori was right.  “You and Commander Allen will get the file because there’s no other option.”

Sickbay fell silent again, the two women the only occupants.

Lori squeezed Iziraa’s hand.  “Thanks, Izi.”

Science Lab

“I’m sorry to disturb you, Haia.  Do you have a few minutes?”

“No.”

Hok frowned.  “Can you make the time?”

“Linear or tenseless?”

“What?” said Hok, his frown growing deeper.

“Science humor,” deadpanned Haia.  She turned off her computer and sat down, motioning for Hok to also sit.  “What do you want?”

Haia was a child prodigy genius and filled with quirks, most of them making her socially awkward.  She didn’t really have friends on board, which she seemed to not mind.  Hok appreciated that she was easy to understand.

“Captain Kirby briefed you on our assignment?” said Hok.

Haia frowned.  “Why do people ask questions when they already know the answers?”

“I’m sorry.  I need your help.”

“Obviously.”

Hok rolled his eyes and sighed.  “Originally, I was supposed to be part of the undercover team, but I couldn’t because, well…”

“It would be bad for you to go back into Ferengi space,” said Haia.

“Exactly.”  Hok was relieved he didn’t need to tell more than that.

“What do you need me to do?” said Haia.

“Do you get along with your grandmother?”

Haia frowned.  “I’ve never gone to her for anything.  All my accomplishments are my own.”

“That’s admirable, but there’s more to this than just me,” said Hok.  “Will you help?”

Ready Room

“The runabout is prepped.  We can transfer it to the Eagle when you’re ready.  Is there anything else you need, Captain?” said Commander Perry.

“No, that will be all,” said Matt.

Perry nodded.  “You have my number.  Keep me updated.”

“I will,” said Matt.

Perry tapped his comm badge calling his ship for a beam out.

When he was gone, Matt leaned back in his chair.  Briefings had been given.  Duties were assigned.  Now it was time to get the job done.

Runabout Tigress Paw

Roger stepped into the cockpit, sitting in the pilot’s seat next to Lori.

“Can you believe this thing?  It has a fully-stocked bar, a small theater room to watch holo vids, and the bedroom…”  Roger stopped when he saw Lori staring blankly.  “Doctor?”

Lori sighed.  ”Sorry, Commander.  I was going over the mission details in my head.  I need to get myself back in character.”

“Let’s go over them together.  We can start by you calling me Ryan and not Commander.”

“We did the drill with Perry before we left the Eagle,” said Lori.  “Several times.”

“Let’s do it again.  Pretend you’re back in medical school pulling an all-nighter to study for finals.”

Lori looked at Roger, a tiny smirk on her face.  “Try to keep up, Ryan.”

Roger harrumphed.

“We’re on our way to the second moon orbiting Lappa IV.  It was terraformed to mimic Risa, so it’s become a popular resort with its main attraction a huge and opulent casino owned by Daimon Klunt called the Bunnicorn’s Foot,” said Lori.  She eyed Roger for a few moments.

“Doctor?  Um, Kavi?”

“Ms. Rozen to you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Roger saluted.  “So why did you give me that look?”

“I’m the one with undercover experience and you’re the rookie,” said Lori.  “Perhaps you should be the one reciting the mission.”

Roger considered that for a moment.  He could tell Lori was being humorous, but she was also right.

“Klunt has star charts containing Breen ship deployments along our border.  We don’t know how or where he got them, but we need them.  Klunt served in the Ferengi military and he has connections and influence in government.  He’s rich beyond avarice and the envy of his people.”

“Go on,” said Lori.

Roger smiled inwardly before continuing.  “The Eagle will arrive after we do to try to negotiate a deal, but in case the captain can’t, it’s up to us to find a way.  Initial SFI recon puts the charts in a vault beneath the casino.”

“Any ideas?” said Lori.

“You’re the boss,” said Roger.  “What do you think?”

Lori rolled her tongue around the inside of her mouth.  “I have an idea.”

USS Eagle Ready Room

“All right, Mister Hok, how do I get Klunt to sell?” said Matt.

“You probably won’t,” said Hok.

Matt didn’t expect that.

“Klunt is smart, clever, manipulative, and his experience at negotiations and dealing with business and people makes you look like a rank amateur, which you are.  Sir.”

Matt frowned.  “Tell me more.”

“He has more wealth than he could spend in a dozen lifetimes, so you can’t offer anything there,” said Hok.  “He has power, influence, and prestige, so you’re out on that as well.  He’s at least on good terms with the Breen.  Lappa IV is in Ferengi territory, so he’s not subject to Federation law, and you probably don’t want to create a diplomatic incident with the Ferengi Alliance.”

Matt almost threw his hands in the air in frustration.  “Then what am I supposed to do?”

“You’ve got to figure out something he wants that he doesn’t have or can’t get on his own,” said Hok.  “If you can learn how he got the Breen deployment charts and it was through underhanded means, you might be able to blackmail him.  Of course, there’s always the possibility he’ll sell them to you then hand over fake charts.”

A long, heavy silence passed.

“Sir?”

“What would Klunt want that he doesn’t have?” said Matt.

“That I don’t know, but you might be able to learn something once you’re talking.”

“Will he come here to negotiate?”

“It depends on how curious he is to see the ship and how much he trusts you,” said Hok.  “He definitely won’t let you beam down.  The presence of a Starfleet officer could reflect badly on him.  Our ship in orbit could be a strike against us, but I’d bet latinum he’ll find a way to use that for his gain.”

“A shrewd and clever man.”

“Yes, sir.  You’re at more of a disadvantage than you think, even with me helping.”

Matt leaned back in his chair and sighed.  “I think that’s all for now.  Let me think on this and I’ll let you know if we need to talk again.  In the meantime, get with engineering to rig an earpiece I can use so you can talk to me.  We don’t want Klunt to see you.”

“I can do that, sir, but if he ends up coming on board, he might hear my voice coming through the earpiece. ”  Hok pointed to his right ear.  “These are a lot more sensitive than people think.”

Matt frowned.  “Thank you, Ensign.  You’re dismissed.”

This was going to be much harder than Matt imagined.

“Sir, sensors are detecting a Ferengi ship.”  Iziraa tapped the tactical console.  “It's a D'Kora class.”

A warship?  Matt was curious about that.  “Mister Hok.”

“Yes, sir.”  Hok got up from the secondary tactical station, moving into the observation lounge.

“Hail them,” said Matt.

“They're hailing us,” said Iziraa.  “It's Daimon Nesh of the Bartan.”

Matt stood up, moving closer to the view screen.  “Daimon Nesh, I'm Captain Matt Kirby of the USS Eagle.”

“You've been calling us, Captain?” said Nesh.

Direct.  Matt appreciated that.  “We've been on your border five hours…”

“We're here now.  What do you want?” said Nesh.

“We'd like to enter your space so we can travel to the Lappa system,” said Matt.

“You're planning on spending your leave time on the resort moon?”  Nesh chuckled.

“Something like that,” said Matt.

Nesh frowned.

“The Federation and Ferengi Alliance are on good terms,” said Matt.  “Many of your people have earned profit from our association.  I'm sure there's no issue here."

“What's it worth to you, Captain.”

And here we go, thought Matt.

“Let him make the first offer,” said Hok through Matt's earpiece.

“Clearly it's important, Daimon, so let's just get to it.  What's the fee for letting us in?”

“Ten bricks of gold-pressed latinum.”

Matt had to force himself to keep a straight face while hearing Hok laugh.

“Sorry, sir.  I wouldn't offer more than ten bars,” said Hok.

"Daimon, we both know that's not realistic.  Five bars."

"You insult me, Captain," snorted Nesh.

"Wait for him to counter," said Hok.

The two commanding officers stared at each other.

"Fifteen bars," said Nesh.

"Seven."

"Twelve."

Nine."  Matt was enjoying this.

"Ten."

"Take time to think about it," said Hok.

Matt did as he was instructed.  "I'll agree to ten, Daimon, if you escort us to Lappa and give us a favorable reference when we arrive."

It was Nesh's turn to consider.  Matt watched Iziraa's antennae move in slow circles as the seconds ticked past.

"Eleven and the reference," said Nesh.

Matt was going to object, but stopped when Hok spoke.

"Captain, Nesh needs to appear before his crew as the winner.  Don't let one bar of latinum get in the way of our mission."

Hok was right, of course.  "I agree Daimon."

"Once you send me the latinum, we'll go.  Try to keep up."

=====

"How did I do, Mister Hok?" said Matt.  He heard Iziraa chuckle.  "Lieutenant?"

"Just clearing my throat, sir," said Iziraa.

"If you're coming down with something, I can send you to sickbay," said Matt.

"I'm fine, sir."

Matt smiled.  "Hok?"

"Compared to Klunt, negotiating a passage fee with a ship captain is like talking to a child," said Hok.

Matt knew this, of course, but did he truly know it?

"Take your station, Ensign."

"Yes, sir," said Hok.

It wouldn't be long before they arrived at Lappa and Matt's thoughts moved to Lori and Roger.  He hoped they were doing well.  Only time would tell.

Roger clapped his hands.  “Okay, Kavi, this is game point.  Ram it down their throats!”

Lori glared at her two opponents, concentrating on where to send her serve.  Tossing the ball into the air, the bikini-clad woman leaped, warm sand spraying from her bare feet.  Punching the white sphere, it soared over the net.

With a diving save and another hit, the other team returned the volley, but it was too high.  Roger leaped and with a powerful stroke, spiked the ball.  It streaked between the opposing players, slamming into the ground.

“Point!  Match goes to Ryan and Kavi!” shouted the judge.

Lori squealed in delight and ran to a smiling Roger.  “Kiss me,” she whispered.

“What?” said Roger, shocked that Lori said that.

“We’re lovers.  Kiss me.”

Without thinking, Roger pressed his lips to hers.  Lori’s mouth opened, she wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled against him.

His hands on Lori’s sides, Roger couldn’t believe how much she was throwing herself into the role.

“All right, you two.  Get a room.”

Taking a step back, Roger waved to the other team.  “We’ll see you tonight at the casino.  We have some celebrating to do.”  He smiled as he draped his arm around Lori’s shoulders.

She leaned into him, placing her hand on his shirtless chest, kissing his ear.  “See you later, Erica.”

Going back to the hotel, the couple held hands as they made their way across the beach.

===

Lori turned off the tricorder.  “The room is clear.”

“We’ve been here two days and nothing has happened.  Why do you keep checking?” said Roger.

“Prominent people come here everyday: government officials, business executives, criminals.  I wouldn’t put it past any Ferengi to do whatever it takes to gather information they can use to gain profit.  We can’t risk blowing our cover.”

Roger didn’t admit it, but he was embarrassed for not being more careful about this.

“I’m going to take a shower.”  Lori tossed Roger the tricorder.

“Wait.”

Lori looked at him, but didn’t say anything.  She was gorgeous, so it was difficult to not be obvious about looking at her.

“We need to talk,” said Roger.

“About…?”

Was it possible Lori didn’t know?  Roger found that hard to believe.

“The kiss.  The hugging and the touching.  The kiss.”  Roger had to work at not fumbling over his words.

Lori didn’t answer right away.  Roger could only wonder what she was thinking.

“It was for show to everyone watching,” said Lori.  “If we’re going to make a connection with Klunt, we’ve got to play this 100%.  He needs to believe we’re who we say we are.”

“Yes, I know all that.”

“Then what’s the problem?  You’re reading too much into this.”  Lori paused.  “Is there anything else?  I need that shower.”

“No.  No, there’s nothing else.”  Roger watched Lori until she disappeared into the bathroom.  Going out onto the balcony, their room was on the fifth floor, he stared at the sky, the bright and shining sun contrary to how he was feeling. 

Bunnicorn’s Foot

Roger was in awe of the casino.  The place was huge, with multiple levels.  There was every game of chance imaginable from dozens of worlds.  Circling the main area were private gaming rooms, bars, restaurants, dance floors, theaters for shows, and holo suites.  The cacophony of lights and sound should have overwhelmed the senses, but some sort of architectural genius dispersed things to ambient noise, creating an inviting gaming environment.

Roger was wearing a traditional, button-down dress shirt, slacks, and dress shoes.  He didn’t take long to get ready, but had to wait… and wait… in the hotel room for Lori.  It was worth it when she emerged from the bedroom wearing a blue evening gown that bared her right shoulder, with a slit on the left revealing flashes of leg as she moved.  Around her neck was the Betazoid pendant for strength hanging on a gold chain.  She made a complete circle, and stopped with her hand on her hip.  “What do you think?”

Roger got up from the couch, staring just a bit longer than he should have.  “You look amazing.”

“Ryan, you okay?”

“Hm?” muttered Roger.

It was Ted.  Ryan and Kavi had befriended Ted and Erica who were on vacation.

“Sorry.  I was taking it all in.”  Roger made a sweeping motion with his arm.

“It’s awesome,” said Erica, excitement in her voice.  “Where should we start first?”

“I’ve always wanted to try that Bolian dice game, fzbzbm something,” said Ted.

Erica giggled.  “You never could pronounce it.  How about you guys?”

“I want to walk around and see everything first,” said Lori.  “There’s a lot to take in.  Meet you for dinner in a few hours?”

“You got it.”  Ted smiled at Erica.  “Let’s find fzbzbm something.”

Erica waved as the couple went on their way.

“It’s time to party,” said Lori.

Kicking into bodyguard mode, Roger followed her.  It was for real now.

=====

“Full house.  Jacks over fives.”  Lori smiled, adding her winnings to the largest stack of chips on the table.

Lori had played Texas Hold ‘Em for about an hour and Roger didn’t know how she got so good at it, but she was cleaning up.  Most of the other players were taking it in stride; they appeared to be wealthy enough to not care, but the only other woman at the table had been scowling for twenty minutes.  Roger watched her finish her drink, signal a waitress, and order another.

Two hands later, Lori won again, the dealer drawing a one in a thousand card on the river.  Laughing, she reached for the chips.

“I think you’re cheating.”

Lori stopped and looked at her accuser, the other woman.  ”Excuse me?’

“I said you’re cheating.”

“Ma’am, I assure you no one is cheating here,” said the Dealer.

Roger watched Lori gather her chips, while she ignored the woman.

“Are we okay now?” said the Dealer.

Roger watched him reach under the table and press something.

The two women glared at each other.

“Okay.  Here we go,” said the Dealer.

The game continued, with Roger alert that something could happen.  He didn’t have long to wait.  Lori drew a flush and the other woman had a straight.  Lori reached for the chips.

“Wait!  Those are mine.  I win,” said the woman.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but a flush beats a straight,” said the Dealer.

“No!”

Roger could see the woman had too much to drink, which was causing her bad behavior.

“I think it’s time for you to step away, ma’am,” said the Dealer.

With an angry growl, the woman stood up and tried to grab the chips.  With speed that surprised Roger, Lori grabbed the woman’s wrist, pulled her, slamming her down onto the table, her other hand pressing on the woman’s neck.  “You really don’t want to mess with me.”

Two Ferengi men from casino security appeared.  “Ma’am, let us handle it.”

Lori glared at the security man, a fire in her eyes Roger never saw before.  He was both surprised and proud.

“Ma’am.”  The security man was more forceful.

Roger shifted his position so he was in Lori’s direct line-of-sight.  “Kavi!”

Lori smirked and let go of her adversary.  As security escorted the woman out, Lori looked at Roger, a twinkle in her eye.  He moved closer to her and gave her a quick hug.  He was seeing the rush of working undercover.

Bunnicorn’s Foot

“It was my last turn and I barely made any latinum, so I decided to go for it all,” said Ted.

“I couldn’t believe he did that,” giggled Erica.

“I rolled a 57!  Doubled my money.”  Ted smiled.

“Congratulations,” said Roger.

“Did you guys hear about the fight at one of the poker tables?  Two women were punching each other and security had to pull them apart,” said Erica.

“Yeah, we missed a good catfight,” said Ted.

“Behave, Teddy,” said Erica, slapping his arm.

Lori set her fork down onto her plate.  “It wasn’t a fight and they didn’t need to be pulled apart.”

Roger eyed Lori.

“Yes it was,” said Erica.  “It’s all over the casino.”

Lori looked directly at Erica.  “It wasn’t a fight.”  She emphasized each word as she spoke.

Erica gasped and Ted laughed.

“Oh, my, it was you!” said Erica.

“That’s my girl.”  Roger smiled as he caressed her back.

Ted gave her a thumbs up.

“Oh.”

Erica was a talker, so it was funny that she didn’t know what to say.

For another minute or so, the two couples ate silently.  Though relaxing, Roger was still vigilant.  When he saw three Ferengi security approaching, he got Lori’s attention and motioned towards them.

Sir, ma’am, would you please come with us?” said the largest of the three from security.

“”Why?  Where are you taking us?  We already gave our statements,” said Roger.

“We need to talk with you again.  Please, sir, we don’t mean any trouble.”

“We haven’t finished our dinner,” said Roger.

“We’ll comp you a meal for tomorrow.  All four of you.”

Roger was impressed over how easily a Ferengi offered someone something free.  “All right.”  He got up.  “Kavi?”

Lori slowly chewed and swallowed her last bite.  Grabbing her glass, she finished the last of her synthehol.  Making a show of taking her time, she got up, Roger holding her hand.  “I’m ready.”

“This way please.”

Roger addressed Ted and Erica.  “We’ll see you later.”

“Be careful,” said Ted.

Erica sat silently, her face almost as white as the tablecloth.

Roger let Lori go ahead of him so he could watch her back.  As they left the dining area and began meandering through the gaming section, he noticed people looking at them, pointing, or whispering.  It seemed they were the talk of the town.  He wished he could see Lori’s face, but he could tell by her bearing she was confident and not worried.  How much had her first undercover mission affected her?

The trek continued and Roger noticed they were closing in on an elaborate, ornate wooden staircase leading to a separate mezzanine between the first and second levels.  Its shape was curved, with large, mirrored windows that blocked viewing inside, but didn’t reflect the lighting; probably holographic windows.  It extended out like a balcony, providing a wide view of the floor below.

It was obviously for someone important.

“Sir, ma’am.”  The Ferengi motioned for them to go up the steps first.

Roger wondered how it was possible for Lori to so easily ascend while wearing high heels.

Reaching their destination, the security man told them to wait.  He tapped a code into a keypad next to the door, walking inside.

Roger and Lori were alone as the other two from security had remained on the lower level.

“Are you okay?” said Roger.  “You know we’ve been summoned by Klunt, right?”

Lori didn’t answer right away.  “Compared to Nessa Trennel, Klunt is an amateur.”

Roger could sense the hardness in her voice.  At that moment, he realized she truly was Kavi Rozen, head of the Red Heaven syndicate.

“You can go in now,” said Security.

“Let’s go, Lover,” said Lori.  “Time to talk business.”

Bunnicorn’s Foot, Daimon Klunt’s Office

Roger and Lori sat quietly, waiting for Daimon Klunt to finish reading something from his computer.  Roger studied the man, though there wasn’t really anything he could discern yet.  Eyeballing the room, he couldn’t see any cameras or other devices, but it was certain they were being recorded.

Klunt was about middle-aged for a Ferengi, with the typical features of his people, though his ears were slightly bigger, and he appeared to be a bit overweight.  He was wearing a garment of fine material, and had a ring on his left hand with an unnecessarily large diamond setting.  Roger personally knew only one other Ferengi and Klunt didn’t appear to be anyone special.  He knew not to underestimate him.

Klunt switched off his computer and leaned back in his chair.  “I’m sure you know this already, but I’m Daimon Klunt.  What do you think of my casino?  Are you enjoying yourselves?”

Roger wanted to answer, but Kavi Rozen was in charge.

“Let’s get to the point, Daimon.  Why did you have us brought here?” said Lori.

Klunt chuckled.  “All right.  To the point.  I make it my business to know when… special people come to my moon, especially when they arrive in fine ships.  The Tigress Paw is registered to Kavi Rozen; I’m sure there are some nuances there I haven’t realized yet.  To learn who you are, it took time, spending more latinum than I care to admit, and calling in several favors in the Federation.”

“And who am I?” said Lori.

“This is the dance we’re doing?” said Klunt.  “Fine.  You were the number three in the Red Heaven syndicate, but after numbers one and two met with unfortunate circumstances, you took over.  After some turmoil, in-fighting, and eliminating those that opposed you, things are up and running again.”

Roger was impressed that Klunt was so resourceful, though to be fair, Starfleet Intelligence wanted him to learn all this.  He also began to wonder what dark things Lori had to witness or even do, in her first UC assignment.

“I know who you are, what you are, and what you do,” said Klunt.  “I just don’t know yet why you’re here.”

“Yes, we’re enjoying ourselves, thanks for asking, but my main reason for being here was to meet you,” said Lori.

“Oh?”

Roger got the feeling Klunt wasn’t easily surprised, but he seemed to be now.

“Because of the changes in my organization, local authorities have been poking their noses where they don’t belong,” said Lori.  “Bribes and threats go only so far, so I need a secure place to stash some of my resources.”

“I see,” said Klunt with a thoughtful expression.  “It’s fortunate you got into a fight with a drunk patron.  That piqued my curiosity into wanting to meet you.”

Lori smirked.  “That wasn’t fortunate.  It was planned.”

Klunt’s eyes widened and he laughed.

Roger was taken aback, as Lori hadn’t told him the fight was a set up.  It took all his effort to act as though he knew.

“Well played, Ms. Rozen.”

Lori nodded.

“Since we’re being direct, why should I care to help you and why would you trust me?” said Klunt.

“You’re going to help me because I pique your curiosity.  As far as trust, if you betray me, I’ll have you killed.”

The room fell into a heavy silence.  It was like they were about to be smothered in a blanket.

“No one talks to me like that, Ms. Rozen, but yes, you do intrigue me.  You’re in the lion’s den, but I suppose a tigress doesn’t fear a lion.”

Roger was concerned, as Lori was walking a fine line, but once again, what had she done last time?

Klunt was about to say something, but the door buzzed and clicked open.  The Ferengi from security stepped inside.

“I told you I wasn’t to be disturbed!”  Klunt was clearly angry.

“I’m sorry, Daimon, but I have important news.”

“Then tell me and get out.”

The newcomer looked at Roger and Lori.

“I’m waiting,” said Klunt, still irritated.

“A Starfleet ship arrived.  The Eagle.  It’s in orbit now and the captain, Matt Kirby, is asking to speak with you.”

Roger gave Lori a sidelong glance, but her posture showed she didn’t care.  She was damn good at this.

“All right.  Get out.”  Klunt waited until it was just the three of them again.  “As you can see, I have other demands on my time.  I’ll think about your proposal.  You know the way out.”

“Of course, Daimon,” said Lori.

Back outside the office, Roger studied Lori.  “We need to talk.”  He was not happy about being left in the dark.

“Greetings, Captain Kirby.  It isn’t everyday we’re visited by Starfleet.  What can I do for you?” said Klunt.

“I’d like to meet with you privately to discuss something,” said Kirby.

“This is a secure channel and my time is valuable.  We can talk now,” said Klunt.

“It is secure, sir,” said Hok through Kirby’s earpiece.  “Klunt doesn’t want to risk anyone else hearing what you have to say.”

“Getting right to it since time is important, Starfleet knows you have star charts of Breen ship deployments along our border,” said Kirby.  “I’m here to acquire them.”

“It seems I might need to reassess my security staff,” said Klunt.  “It’s disappointing you came all this way, but the charts aren’t for sale.”

“Rule of Acquisition 98, Every man has his price,” said Kirby.

Klunt chuckled.  “I’m willing to bet that’s the only rule you know.”

“I may surprise you,” said Kirby.  “Perhaps you should eat something before we begin negotiations.”

Klunt laughed.  “Good one, Captain, but the answer is still no.”

“I’ll throw you a bone, Daimon, but the skirmishes in the Deneb sector where the Breen are using old Jem’Hadar ships isn’t what’s actually happening.  The ships are twenty-five years old, but the attacks are by the Jem’Hadar.  The Dominion is back.”

Matt suspected a man like Klunt didn’t surprise easily, so the shock on his face told Matt that Klunt truly didn’t know.  The Daimon quickly recovered.

“I need to confirm this for myself.”

“Why would I lie about something like that?”

“Everyone lies about something when it’s to their gain,” said Klunt.

Hok quoted another rule.

“Daimon, only a fool passes up a business opportunity.  Rule 110,” said Kirby.

“All right, I’ll give you a chance to win me over, but not now,” said Klunt.  “I have other matters that need my attention.  I’ll call you.”

“Daimon!”

The screen shifted back to an image of the Lappa moon.

“He closed the connection, sir,” said Iziraa.

Matt swore under his breath.  “Now what, Hok?”

The door to the observation lounge opened and Hok stepped onto the bridge.  “I believe you won round one, sir.”

“I won?  How?”

Klunt wasn’t going to negotiate with you, but by besting him with our rules of acquisition, you left him no choice.  He’ll talk with you again, but you still need to make him want to give us the charts.”

“When will he call?”

Hok shrugged.  “It depends on what needs his attention.  Of course, that could be a ploy.  Make you wait.  You get impatient.  He beats you on any deal you make.”

“Sir, we can always go with my plan,” said Iziraa.

“We’re not kidnapping an influential Daimon, Lieutenant.”

“Just saying, sir,” said Iziraa.

“And I appreciate your perspective.”  Matt wouldn’t admit it, but if things went sour, that was something he would consider, though were having the charts worth creating a huge diplomatic incident with a neighboring power?  Maybe.  “I’ll be in my ready room.  Get me immediately if Klunt calls back.”

Three scans later, Roger set the tricorder on the coffee table.  “The room is clean.”

“Three scans?” said Lori.

“Like you said, we don’t take chances, especially now that we’ve talked with Klunt.”

There was an awkward silence as the two stared at each other.

“Sit, Doctor.”

Lori kicked off her shoes and sat on the couch, her hands resting in her lap.

“The fight was a set up?  Explain yourself.”  Roger was angry, but he kept it inside, for the most part.

Lori didn’t say anything.

“Doctor Weaver.”  Roger’s voice was stern.

Lori brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes.  “While you were in the shower getting ready to go out with Ted and Erica, someone knocked on the door.  When I opened it, there was someone from housekeeping..  She offered me clean towels.  I said we didn’t need any, but she insisted, shoving them into my hands.  When she was gone and I closed the door, I found a hand-written note folded in one of the towels giving me instructions about the fight at the poker table.  SFI knew Klunt found my file and they felt Kavi winning a fight would be an incentive for him to reach out to us.”

“Our handler sent you that information and you didn’t tell me?” said Roger.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because Kavi Rozen doesn’t tell things to her underlings unless they need to know and you didn’t  need to know.”

Roger was so taken aback by her answer, it took several seconds before he could say anything.  “Kavi is the lead on this op, but I’m still the ranking officer.  We’re in this together and I need to know as much as you do.”

Lori seemed to be considering his words, but there was a look of defiance on her face that made Roger feel queasy in his stomach.  He was beginning to wonder if she was losing herself to her undercover persona.

“Do you still have the note?”

“No.  I recycled it through the replicator.”

Roger crossed his arms over his chest.  “What’s happening here?  Is there something you need to tell me?”

“Sir?”

There was a tiny bit of snark in Lori’s voice.

“Do we need to end this?” said Roger.

Lori leaped off the couch, almost stumbling over the length of her evening gown.  “No!  This is an important mission.  We have Klunt’s interest.  Nobody is pulling me from this!”  Her eyes were lit up like phasers.

“All right, Doctor, we keep going.”  There was so much more Roger wanted to ask, but their mission was so important, they couldn’t stop, even if one of them lost their true self along the way.

Observation Lounge

“Daimon Klunt is one of the most successful businessmen in the Ferengi Alliance,” said Iziraa.  “His portfolio is diverse, but his primary source of income is a series of casinos along the Federation border, with the Lappa moon being the largest.”

“SFI knows Klunt is involved in black market activity in Federation space, but there’s never been enough evidence to arrest him.”

“Politically, Klunt has friends and connections throughout all levels of government.  He’s basically untouchable.”

“Klunt served in the military and he still has possession of his flagship, the Jrayton.  It’s completely gold-plated and on display as a symbol of his success.  He’s the envy of every Ferengi.”

“Mm, yes,” said Hok, admiration in his voice.  Everyone looked at him.  “Sorry.”

Iziraa continued.  “He has wealth, power, influence, prestige, and the only thing I can think of that he might want, is to become Grand Nagus.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” said Kirby.

“His business.  That’s what he wants.”

It was Science Officer Haia Ohtani.  She usually didn’t say much at briefings, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear her blurt out something.

“Haia?” said Kirby.

“Klunt wants to keep his business ventures in Federation space.  If the Dominion gains a greater foothold, he could lose significant parts of it.  Perhaps we could convince him that giving us the Breen ship deployments…”

“Selling,” said Hok.

“Selling us the deployments,” said Ohtani, “is in his self-interest.”

The room fell silent as everyone looked at the captain.

“Until a better idea comes along, that’s the angle I’ll go with,” said Kirby.  Before saying anything else, a call came from the bridge.

“Captain, Daimon Klunt is hailing us.”

“I’m on my way.  Hok, you stay here.”

Bridge

“Captain Kirby, I’ve confirmed through my network that what you said about the Dominion is true.  I must say, it wasn’t easy, as your government has done an admirable job of containing it.”

“Then we have a common purpose here,” said Kirby.

“And that is?”

“It’s bad for us both if the Dominion expands,” said Kirby.

“Maybe for you, Captain, but a wise man can hear profit in the wind.  I’ll be fine,” said Klunt.

It was difficult for Kirby to hide his frustration.  “I don’t care how or why you have the deployment charts, but it’s important for us to have them.  Surely there’s something we can offer you.”

“Nothing comes to mind,” said Klunt.  He scratched his nose.  “I just wanted to let you know what I learned about the Dominion.  I’ve got to go, so if you change your mind about letting your crew have some shore leave, we have a three-day special coming up.”  He chuckled and closed the channel.

For the next thirty seconds, the only sound was Hok coming out of the observation lounge.

“I’m losing badly, aren’t I, Mister Hok?” said Kirby.

“Losing?  Sir, Klunt is kicking your…”

“Hok!” shouted Iziraa.

“No, he’s right.  I’m out of my element,” said Kirby.  “We need another plan.  Someone please think of something.”

Ready Room

The door chime rang.

“Come,” said Kirby.

Chief Engineer Saunders stepped inside, a PADD in hand.

“What’s up, Nick?”

“Sir, we all felt bad about what happed.  Knowing how important this is, Haia, Iziraa, Hok, and I started doing extensive research into past Starfleet missions and log entries.  The hope was we’d find a similar situation, along with a solution.”

“You found something?”  The hope in Kirby’s voice was obvious.

Saunders set the PADD on the desk.  “Maybe not a solution, but the first step.  It’s from stardate 4041.2, the Enterprise under Captain James Kirk.”

Kirby tilted his head to one side before picking up the PADD and reading it.  “How long until you can have this ready?”

“Haia is in engineering now helping with the scans, calculations, and adjustments.  We should be ready in a few hours.”

“We’ll need to get word to Allen and Weaver.”  Kirby finally got some good news.  “All right, Nick.  Keep me updated.”

“Yes, sir.”  He nodded and left the room.

Kirby got up and stood before the window, gazing at the Lappa moon below, wondering how Roger and Lori were doing.  The Dominion.  The Jem’Hadar..  The Breen.  It was amazing how quickly the tide of life could turn.

“After thinking about it, I’ve decided to work out an agreement with you,” said Klunt.

“I’m glad you saw things my way, Daimon,” said Lori.

Roger and Lori had been escorted by a Ferengi security guard to an isolated corner of the Bunnicorn casino.  Waiting at a door was Klunt and another security guard, this time a large Romulan man.  Roger felt uneasy, but he supposed showing them the vault area required caution on Klunt’s part.

The Daimon pressed his right hand against a panel next to the door, causing it to slide open, revealing a short, empty corridor.

“Once you sign the contract, we’ll take a reading of your handprint,” said Klunt.  He motioned for them to enter.

Moving to the end of the hallway, there was the whoosh sound of a holographic image changing.  Where there was a solid wall was now another door.  It opened to a turbolift.  The five people stepped inside and the door closed.

Klunt pressed another wall panel.  A light beamed from a port in the ceiling.  “We’ve been scanned.  If it doesn’t detect an authorized person, you’ll be sealed in until security comes to arrest you.”  The lift began moving downward.

“Impressive, Daimon,” said Lori.  “It makes me feel better about coming to you.”

“You haven’t heard my terms yet.”  Klunt chuckled.

After a short ride, the lift stopped and the door opened.  They were now in a room twenty feet by twenty.  Sitting at a desk with a computer was an armed Ferengi security officer.  A large vault door was behind him.

“This is it,” said Klunt.  “My most valued items are here, as well as those of others doing business with me.”

“This will do just fine.  What are your terms?” said Lori.

Something in the demeanor of the Romulan guard set off an internal alarm in Roger, but before he could act, the three guards had all drawn their phasers.

“Please don’t move.  My guards haven’t shot anyone for awhile, so they might be a bit overeager,” smirked Klunt.

“What are you doing, Daimon?” said Lori.

Roger was angry at himself for not sensing this.

“Let’s not play games anymore,” said Klunt.  “You had me fooled at first, but there were too many things that just didn’t add up.  So who are you really?  Are you working for one of my rivals?  Orion Syndicate maybe?  Starfleet?  Is that ship in orbit yours?”

“Klunt, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Lori.

“Why would a powerful and dangerous tigress such as yourself, after what you accomplished, want to come all the way here to stash your wealth when there are so many other places you could go?  Why would you ever trust me?”

Roger was trying to think of a way out of the mess they were in.  Maybe they should just admit they were Starfleet.  Though on Klunt’s turf, he surely wouldn’t risk a huge incident with Starfleet by harming them.

“I must admit setting up a fight at the poker table was a good way to make me notice you, but after thinking about it, and after interrogating the other woman, it seemed too suspicious.  You could have bribed someone and gotten an appointment.”

“I needed to show my strength,” said Lori.

Roger marveled that Lori still wouldn’t break character.

“Perhaps, but what finally got you, was using the woman from housekeeping to pass messages hidden in towels.  I never realized someone could need so many.”

“If you harmed her…”  Roger took a step forward, but was halted by a scowl from the Romulan.

“No one has been harmed.  Yet,” said Klunt.  “If you want to keep it that way, you amateurs will tell me who you really are.”

The tone in his voice told Roger he meant it.  Not seeing another way out, and being the ranking officer, he decided to tell the truth.

“You’re right, Daimon.  You have us cold,” said Lori.  “I made a deal with the Orion Syndicate.”

Roger’s jaw literally dropped.  Was she trying to get them killed?

“It’s all right, Ryan.  I should have told you, but you’ve known all along you were just a temporary plaything to amuse me,” said Lori.

“I… I don’t know what to say, Kavi,” said Roger.

“Handsome and not too bright.  Just the way they should be.  Right, Daimon?”

Klunt studied Lori’s face for a very long time.  Roger could tell the Daimon was using all his instincts to decide what to believe.

“I could have you killed, but I wouldn’t want to make the Orions angry,” said Klunt.  “I should have you sent back, failing your mission and let them take care of you.  With either one, I end up not knowing why you’re here.”  He scratched his nose.  “No, you’ll remain here as my guests.”

Roger was surprised that Klunt believed Lori’s story about the Orions.  He supposed criminals all thought everyone else was just like they were.

“You’ll be taken to your hotel room where you’ll stay, under heavy guard of course,” said Klunt.  “I’ll decide what to do with you soon enough.”

“Make sure you’re very careful, Klunt,” spat Lori.  “You’re an influential man, but not even you can cross the Orion Syndicate.”

Klunt scoffed.  We’ll see.  Take them!”

Bridge

Sitting in his command chair, Kirby could sense how the bridge crew was feeling.  He felt it as well, but didn’t show it as he needed to be their strength.  Iziraa’s antennae were moving in opposite circles.  Saunders was idly running through engine readings.  At science, Ohtani was reading the same PADD the last twenty minutes.  He mused at how each person dealt with the waiting.

His people had meticulously done everything to prepare.  The plan was risky.  No, it was probably foolish.  After receiving reports on battles with the Jem’Hadar, including Starfleet losses, Kirby was willing to risk his career to get the Breen deployments.  He ran it again in his mind….

Ready Room Flashback

“As you know, sir, the original idea came from the Enterprise under Captain Kirk,” said Saunders.  “While near planet 892-IV, they discovered wreckage of the SS Beagle, a merchant ship under R. M. Merik, that had been missing for six years.  It was determined survivors made it to the planet, a civilization like the old Roman Empire, but in the mid 1900s.  Making a long story short, a landing party was sent to find any Beagle survivors in an attempt to limit cultural contamination.  They were captured, but the chief engineer launched an EM pulse that disrupted power and allowed the Enterprise people to escape.”

“The chief engineer saved the day.”  Kirby chuckled.

“That’s what we do, sir.”

Kirby smiled.  “Go on, Nick.”

“We were going to do the same thing, but after conducting extensive scans of the Bunnicorn casino, we discovered Klunt has an extensive EMP shield system protecting the complex, so we needed another plan.  Doing more digging, we found something from the Enterprise NX-1 under Captain Jonathan Archer.  They were captured by Orions and were being towed.  The chief engineer sent a positron burst through its navigational deflector.  This broke the tether and knocked out the power on the Orion ship.”

“You can do that to the casino without harming any of the people?” said Kirby.

“Yes, sir.”

“So all we need is the right time to do it so we can…”  Kirby’s voice trailed off.  “Thank you, Nick, you’re dismissed.”

Bridge

Still waiting.  For some reason, it was always said to be the worst part.  Kirby could see the reasoning, but he felt waiting for a bad situation to happen really was better than being in one.

The tactical console beeped.

“Iziraa?” said Kirby, moving forward in his chair.

“Checking…  Confirmed, sir.  It’s them,” said Iziraa.

“Nick.”

“Sending the pulse now,” said Saunders.

“Scanning,” said Ohtani.  “It worked!  The casino  is dark.”

“Transporter room, now!” said Kirby.

“Transporter room acknowledging.  Beaming now, sir.”

“Iziraa, go take charge of the security team,” said Kirby.

“Aye, sir,” said Iziraa.

“Transporter room to bridge.  Mission accomplished, sir.”

“Lieutenant Iziraa is on her way,” said Kirby.

It was time to see if the old saying about something hitting a fan was going to happen now.

Hok stepped into the small interrogation room, a dull gray place barely ten feet on all sides.  The bright light left no shadows on the metal walls.  There was a desk with a chair on each side, but the lone occupant, Daimon Klunt, was pacing, his lobes red from fury.

Hok was wearing a plain blue jumpsuit.  Following behind him was Iziraa.  She was dressed in a black leather jacket, slacks, and combat boots.  A disruptor was on her right hip.  In her hands she carried an ushaan-tor.  Her antennae leaned forward over her scowling face, blue eyes glaring at Klunt.

For a few seconds, there was a stare-down.

Klunt burst forth with a string of obscenities in Ferengi that almost made Hok blush.

“Who are you?  What are you doing?”  Klunt was livid.

“My name is Bral.  I’m an associate of Kavi Rozen.  I’m here on behalf of our friends,” said Hok.

Klunt was certainly a man that wasn’t easily intimidated, but for a fraction of a second, Hok could see concern, and maybe fear, on his face.

“Please sit, Daimon.”

Another stare-down.

Hok motioned towards the chair.

Looking at Iziraa, or perhaps at the deadly blade she held, Klunt begrudgingly sat.

“Can I get you something?” said Hok after he had also sat down.

“Where am I and why did you bring me here?  I warn you, I’m not someone to be trifled with.”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure that’s true,” said Hok.  “We just need a small favor from you and you can go back to ripping off your customers in your casino.”

“A favor?”

“You recently acquired some information about the Breen.  That was actually supposed to go to us.  Kavi was sent to get it, but she failed, so I’m here now.  Simply hand it over for a modest finder’s fee and you can go,” said Hok.

“This is outrageous!  I promise you’ll regret this,” said Klunt.

“We knocked out the power in your casino and beamed you here from your underground vault.  I’m sure we won’t regret anything,” said Hok.

“There’s a Starfleet ship in orbit.  They won’t let you get away with this,” said Klunt.

Hok scoffed.  “Starfleet has no authority here.  They’re no concern to us.  Out of respect to your accomplishments, we’re giving you the chance to cooperate.  That won’t last long.  Be reasonable so we can all get back to earning profit.”

“Why should I believe anything you say?” said Klunt.  “Why does the Orion Syndicate need Breen deployment plans?”

“Why do you?” said Hok.

“That’s my business.”

“Don’t you love irony?”  Hok looked back at Iziraa who continued staring at Klunt as she fondly caressed her blade.

“Time is running out, Daimon.  The way I see it, you really have no choice.”

Klunt stared at Hok, glanced at Iziraa, and scratched his nose.  “If I agree, what’s my fee and how will we do this?”

“We beam back to the vault, you open it, you get the files, and hand them over.  Your fee is ten bricks of gold-pressed latinum.”

Klunt laughed.  “Either you’re pretending to be from the Syndicate or they need to improve their recruitment practices.”  Klunt spoke in Ferengi, telling them what they could do with themselves.

Before Hok could reply, Iziraa stepped past him, her ushaan-tor swinging down and imbedding into the wood table with a dull thud that startled him..  There was a tiny rivulet of blood on Klunt’s right pinkie finger.

“I told you your time is running out,” said Hok recovering quickly.  “I won’t ask again.”

Klunt hadn’t moved, his eyes wide as he looked at the crazy Andorian.  When she pulled the blade out of the table, she wiped the bit of blood on his sleeve.

“All right.  You win.  Ten bricks of gold-pressed latinum and we go back to the vault,” said Klunt, his demeanor subdued.

“I knew you were a reasonable man,” said Hok.  He stood up.  “You’ll stay here while we get the latinum.”  As he turned to leave, Iziraa gave Klunt a smile.

=====

“What do you think, Hok?  Did he buy it?  Is he going to give us the deployments?”

“It’s hard to say, Captain.  Lieutenant Iziraa put the fear of the Blessed Exchequer into him, but Klunt is a formidable man.  We’ll need to stay alert, as the vault may be booby-trapped.”

Kirby nodded.  “Okay.  Let’s get to it.  Good work.  Both of you.”

While Kirby walked away from the holosuite, Hok looked at Iziraa.  “I hope I never get on your bad side.”

Bunnicorn’s Foot, Vault

“Take them!” shouted Klunt.

“Daimon…”

Lori started to protest, but Roger grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.

Though armed, the two Ferengi guards hesitated.  Looking to the Romulan, they let him move first.

The Romulan handed his weapon to one of the others and smiling, he advanced on Roger.

While the men were busy, Lori pressed the setting on her ring, activating a subspace tracker.  As seconds passed like minutes and Roger and the Romulan began to fight, the two Ferengi were making a bet on who would win.

“Fools!” yelled Klunt.

There was a vibration that was almost a sound and the lights went out.  An emergency light in the corner of the ceiling was the only illumination.  The Romulan paused in surprise, which allowed Roger time to launch a combination of punches that sent him reeling.

“Shoot him!” demanded Klunt.

There was the sound of a transporter, leaving Roger and Lori the only ones in the room.

“So far, so good,” said Lori.

Roger grunted in agreement.

“Are you okay?  You have a large bruise on your face,” said Lori.

“I’m fine.”  Roger didn’t want to talk about it.

Lori shrugged.  “Okay.”  She sat on the edge of the table and silently waited.

Later…

Hearing the transporter again, Lori got up.  Three people and a stack of latinum appeared.  “Bral?”

“Hello, Kavi.”

“So you’re the one behind this?  I was going…”

Hok interrupted Lori.  “We’ll talk later.”  He nodded towards Iziraa, who pushed Klunt to the vault.  “If I even smell the tiniest inkling of a trick, I’ll let my Andorian friend bloody more than your finger.”

“The power is out,” said Klunt.

“You’re resourceful.  Use the manual override,” said Hok.

Klunt looked at each of them.  Roger could see he was trying to find a way out of this.

“Klunt, just give us the charts and we’re gone,” said Hok.  “Your cooperation won’t be forgotten.”

“Fine,” said Klunt, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

USS Eagle, Ready Room

“Haia and Nick are analyzing the charts now and there’s every indication they’re real,” said Iziraa.

“That’s good news,” said Matt.  “We did what we came here to do.”

“Yes, sir,” said Iziraa.

“How did you like being the villain?” said Matt.

Iziraa smiled, her antennae bobbing.  “Any time you need an enforcer, I’m your girl.”

Matt nodded.  “How were Commander Allen and Doctor Weaver?”

“The commander was roughed up a bit, but they’re both fine, as far as I could tell.”

“Good.  You can change back into your duty uniform, but don’t head back to the bridge yet.  Dismissed.”

When Matt was alone, he felt relieved that they got the deployment charts, and he was certainly happy his people were safe, but he wasn’t looking forward to explaining what they had done to Klunt and his casino, but there was time to worry about that later.  The mission was accomplished, but there was still more to do.

USS Eagle, Bridge

“Daimon Klunt, I’m glad we were able to reach you.  Is there anything we can do to help?” said Matt.

“No, my people can handle it,” said Klunt.

“Are you sure?  I can send an engineering team to help fix your outage.”

“I said we’re fine, Captain.”

“All right, but if you change your mind…”

“I won’t,” said Klunt.

“Very well,” said Matt.  “I know you’re dealing with a situation, but we still need to talk about the charts.  ”I’m…”

“Stop, Captain.  That’s no longer on the table.  I sold them to someone else.”

Matt did his best impression of being shocked.  “Daimon?”

“A better offer came along.  Since there’s no reason for you to be here, you can leave now.  The Bartan is on its way now to make sure you do.  Good-bye, Captain.”

The screen went back to the image of the Lappa moon.

“We did it,” said Hok as he and Iziraa stepped out of the observation lounge.  “Congratualtions, sir, you beat one of the most prominent Ferengi there is.”

“We all did, Hok.  This is a win for everyone.”  Matt took some time to enjoy the moment.  “To make it look good, stay here until the Bartan is getting close, then head for the rendezvous point in Federation space.”

Hopefully, the part they played would help.

With the power back on at the Bunnicorn’s Foot casino, Roger and Lori packed their belongings, said good-bye to Ted and Erica, paid the bill, and headed to the spaceport.

It was time to go home.

Approaching the Tigress Paw, they saw two men waiting for them.  Giving each other a quick glance, the two Starfleet officers stopped about ten feet away.

Lori and Klunt looked at each other, while Roger and the Romulan security guard from the vault nodded in respect.

“Here to see me off, Daimon?” said Lori.

“Something like that,” said Klunt.

“What do you want?”

“You told me you needed a safe place to stash some of your wealth,” said Klunt.  “Though there were obvious holes in your story, I chose to believe you because you intrigued me.  In reality, you were here to steal my deployment charts.”

Lori didn’t say anything.

Klunt smiled.  “Well played, Kavi Rozen.”

Roger had been tense, wondering if there was going to be another confrontation.  Seeing Klunt was actually impressed with what they did, he relaxed.  A little.

“I did what I was told to do,” said Lori.

“About that,” said Klunt.  “Your masters can’t be happy they had to escalate things.  If you’re in trouble, you can stay here.  I can offer you a job.  Both of you.”

“I appreciate that, Daimon, but I can’t stay.”

“No, I suppose not.  The Syndicate has a long reach,” said Klunt.

“It’s a generous offer, surprising for a Ferengi.”  Lori chuckled.

“Generous?  Pfft!  I have my own reasons for asking,” said Klunt.

There was a brief lull before Lori spoke again.  “It’s time for us to go.”

Klunt nodded, motioning for his guard to let them pass.  “Maybe we’ll meet again, Kavi Rozen.”

Roger rolled his eyes.  Don’t count on it, he thought.

=====

Roger turned off the tricorder.  “Initial scan clear.  Computer, do a level 1 security check.”

“You don’t think Klunt tried something, do you?” said Lori.

“Probably not, but I want to make sure.  I don’t want to be vaporized because the runabout explodes.”

“Scan complete,” said the Computer.  “There are no security breeches of any kind.”

“There you go,” said Lori.

“Good.  Let’s get out of here,” said Roger

=====

“We’re officially in Federation space now.  We’ll be at the rendezvous point in about three hours.”  Roger looked at Lori, but she was staring off into space.  Literally.  “Doctor?  Lori?”

“Mm?”

“We need to talk,” said Roger.

“Why?  We’ll be debriefed when we get back.”

“That might be fine for you, but this was my first UC assignment.  I need to talk.”

Sighing, Lori turned the co-pilot chair to face Roger.  “Talk.”

Roger mulled that over before continuing.  “Aside from you practically making love to me on the beach after the volleyball game, I know we had to become our undercover personas.  In training, they emphasized the importance of not losing our true selves in the process.  I saw that happening with you.  There was more than once I wondered if Doctor Lori Weaver, Chief Medical Officer of the Eagle, was still there.  I’ve got to admit it scared me.”

Lori didn’t talk.  She didn’t move.  Her face didn’t show any reaction at all.

“Talk to me, Lori.  I’m your XO.  It’s my responsibility to watch out for you.”

Still nothing.

“Do I need to make it an order?  I’m willing to stop the runabout and sit here for as long as it takes.”

Lori rolled her eyes.  “What do you want from me?”

“Just tell me what happened.  Why did it feel like I was losing you?”

Lori seemed to be carefully considering her words.  “Maybe you were.”  She shrugged.

Roger didn’t expect that.  “Go on.”

Lori took a breath deeper than Roger thought possible, letting it out slowly.  “On Lextis, when Dex and Nessa began trusting me, they put me in charge of the street dealers.  Hok had it easy.  He was in charge of inventory and distribution, but I dealt directly with the people selling that poison.”

Roger thought about saying something comforting, but kept silent as he didn’t want Lori to hold back.

“Once a week the dealers would meet me in the back room of Dex’ club to hand over the money they earned and I would pay them their cut.  If someone didn’t make quota, I would warn them and give them more time.  When Nessa found out I wasn’t disciplining failure, she said I would be disciplined.  I got the message, so after that, any dealer that fell short, got a beating.  At first it sickened me, but after awhile, I liked it.  They were scum selling drugs, so I justified their punishment in my mind.”

Roger knew Lori was sent on a dangerous assignment, but he never understood what she endured.

“Part of my job was to take an enforcer with me and make surprise appearances on the street.  There was one time in particular…”  Lori’s voice trailed off, her eyes like she was gazing at something far away.  “A young girl was trying to make a buy.”

FLASHBACK

“Please, Chalkie, you know I’m good for it.”

“Go away, Mouse.  You know how it works.  No cash, no product.”

“What’s going on here?” said Lori.

Chalkie was surprised to see her.  “Nothing to worry about, ma’am.  Just somebody that thinks they don’t need to pay.”

“Come on, Chalkie.  We can go behind that building.  I’ll do whatever you want.”

“A street rat like you?  Ha!  Who knows how many diseases you have.”

The girl looked at Lori.  “How about you?  I know how to please women, too.”

Tigress Paw

“The girl was small, maybe 5′ 2” and not even a hundred pounds.  She was dirty, smelly, and in terrible pain from withdrawal.”  Lori began choking up, tears forming in her eyes.

FLASHBACK

“What does she normally buy?” said Lori.

“Ma’am?” said Chalkie.

“What does she want?  Powder or a capsule?”  Lori’s voice was harsh.

“Capsule.”

“Give her one.”

“But, ma’am”

“I’ll cover it for you.”

Chalkie looked like he was just told to jump off a cliff.  Reaching into his pocket, he handed Mouse a capsule.  Grabbing it like it was the last bit of food in existence, she ran over to a nearby tree and swallowed it.

“I will cover you on this, Chalkie.  Don’t worry.”

“Ma’am, I don’t mean disrespect, but you can’t fall for every hard-luck story out there,” said Chalkie.  “These people will sell their mother for their next fix.”

“It won’t happen again.  I felt generous today.”

“Um, ma’am?”

Lori looked at the enforcer, who was pointing at Mouse.

Tigress Paw

“Mouse was seizing from an overdose.”  Lori’s voice was a whisper.  A tear trailed down her cheek.  “Her eyes had rolled back in her head.  She was frothing from the mouth and there was blood on the sidewalk from hitting her head.’

FLASHBACK

“Ma’am, we’ve got to get out of here before someone sees us.”  There was panic welling in Chalkie’s voice.

“But she needs help,” said Lori.

“And what are you going to tell the police when they get here?  Sorry, Officer, we didn’t mean to give her drugs?”

Lori glared at Chalkie.

“He’s right, ma’am.  We can’t stay,” said the Enforcer.

Chalkie growled.  “I’m out of here.”  He bolted down the street.

Staring at the dying Mouse, Lori nodded at her enforcer.  “Let’s go.”

Tigress Paw

“Mouse died on the street, alone and left there like a piece of garbage.”

Lori could barely talk.  Roger saw the agony and guilt on her face.  More tears began to flow.

“I should have tried to save her.  All she needed was someone to care about her, to show her she was important.  I gave her the drug that killed her.  Like a criminal, I left her there to die.  That was when I truly became Kavi Rozen.  When we went to the Lappa moon, it all came back to me.”

Roger stepped out of the pilot chair and knelt beside Lori, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her into a hug.

“I don’t know who I am anymore.”  Leaning against Roger, all of Lori’s barriers broke and the burning conflict in her poured out.

Holding Lori in his arms and listening to her deep, aching, uncontrollable sobs, he knew the first step in her healing had begun.

Bridge

“What do you suppose they’re talking about?” said Hok, motioning towards the captain’s ready room.

“The mission, of course.  What else?” said Haia.

Iziraa chuckled.  “You know better than to ask her questions like that.”

Hok scowled.  Iziraa was right.  Haia had no patience for people asking questions when they already knew the answers.

The tactical console chirped, refocusing everyone’s attention.  “Haia, you have a personal message coming from Earth.”

The science officer swiveled in her chair to face Iziraa.  “I’ll take it in the observation lounge.”

“Transferring now,” said Iziraa.

When Haia was gone, Hok looked at Iziraa who shrugged.  Hok had an idea what the message was, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up.

Ready Room

“Perry, you’re getting ahead of yourself.  Commander Allen and Doctor Weaver are still on their way, so you haven’t heard their reports yet.”  Kirby wasn’t hiding how strongly he felt.

“Captain, we had operatives and a handler watching them, so we have a good idea how they did.  Once they’re fully debriefed, which will take place on my ship, Doctor Weaver will be transferred to Intelligence.  Orders have already been issued.”

“I’m fighting this as far as I need to go,” said Kirby.

“I’m thinking the captain that kidnapped a Ferengi citizen and lied to him about being threatened by the Orion Syndicate, may not have credibility.  I suggest, for the sake of your career, you let this happen.”

Kirby wanted to wipe the smug expression off Perry’s face.

Perry got up.  “I’ll be on my ship waiting for Allen and Weaver.”

The door chime rang.

“Come!”  Kirby said that more harshly than he should have.

Perry smirked.

“Mister Hok, we’re busy here,” said Kirby.

“Pardon my intrusion, sir, but this is important.”

“If you’ll excuse me, Captain, I’ll be on my way,” said Perry.

“Please stay, sir,” said Hok.  “This concerns you.”

Perry crossed his arms over his chest.  “Oh?”

“Hok?” said Kirby.

“Forgive me if I’m overstepping, Captain, but I have something important that needs to be said.”

“All right.  What is it?” said Kirby.

Hok looked at Perry.  “Captain Kirby did what he had to do to secure the Breen deployment charts, so he’ll be awarded, not punished, and Doctor Weaver won’t be transferred to Intelligence.  Sir.”

“Captain Kirby, your man is out of line,” said Perry.

“Hok?  This could be taken as insubordination,” said Kirby.  “I hope you have an explanation.”

“The Lorica Operation,” said Hok.

Perry went pale, his arms dropping to his sides.  “How dare you!”

Though his attention was on Perry, Hok could see Captain Kirby was intrigued.

The air in the room was more tense than anything Hok had felt.  Not knowing what else to say or what he should say, he silently stood his ground.

“All right, Captain, you win, but you made an enemy today.”  Perry tapped his comm badge which sent a silent signal to his ship.  In a moment, he had beamed out.

Kirby stared at Hok.  “The only thing I know what to say is, what the hell was that?”

Hok took time to consider his answer.  “Sir, I know this was not normal protocol, but I had to act.”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“Captain, with respect, it really is better if you don’t pursue this any further.”

The room grew tense again.

“All right, Hok.  I’ll let it go, for now, but if anything else comes of it, you’re telling me everything.”

“Yes, sir.  Thank you, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

Bridge

Iziraa and Haia watched Hok go from the ready room to his seat at the secondary tactical position.  Logging back in, Hok noticed the others.  “What?”

“Do I need to throw something at you?” said Iziraa in exasperation.  Her antennae were leaning slightly forward.

“I’m also curious,” said Haia.

“Everything went well.”  Hok smiled.

“Do you remember when you said you never wanted to be on my bad side?” said Iziraa, her arms crossed.

“Ah,” said Hok.  “Since you put it that way.”

Tactical chirped.  “This is the Tigress Paw to the Eagle.  Anyone home?”

“We’re here, Commander,” said Iziraa.

“We’re making our final approach now,” said Allen.

“We’re ready for you.  Welcome home, sir,” said Iziraa.  She sent a message to the captain that their people were back.  Finished, she glared at Hok.  “We’ll talk later.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Hok turned back to his station.  You did good, Hok, he thought.  You did good.

Observation Lounge

“Before the others arrive, I wanted to talk with you,” said Captain Kirby.

Roger Allen nodded and sat in his usual place to the captain’s right.

“While you and Lori were debriefing on Commander Perry’s ship, did he mention anything about either of you transferring to Intelligence?”

“No.  Why would he?”

“That’s interesting.”  Kirby paused to reflect on that.  “Before you made it back, Perry told me it was a done deal that Lori was being ordered to transfer.”

“What?  That’s ridiculous,” said Allen.  “She told me she was done doing undercover work.  What can we do to stop this?”

“Hok already did.”

“Captain?”  Allen seemed to be confused.

“While Perry was here, Hok came in and told him Lori wasn’t transferring.  While Perry was ready to charge him with insubordination, Hok mentioned the Lorica Operation.  Perry looked like he saw a ghost.  He backed down, said Lori could stay, and he was now an enemy.  I thought he was going to wet himself.”  Kirby chuckled.

“What’s the Lorica Operation?”

“I don’t know.  I looked into it, but it’s classified.  I’m wondering who got the alert that someone tried accessing the file.”

Allen hmphed.  “How did Hok know about the op or the transfer orders?” said Allen.

“That’s where it gets interesting.  Haia received an encrypted message from Earth that was replying to an encrypted message she sent when Perry first told us about the Lappa moon mission.”

“They didn’t tell you more than that?”  As captain, why didn’t you order them to tell you the whole story?”

“Hok said it would be better for everyone to not press the matter,” said Kirby.

“And you accepted that?”

“For now.”

Roger shook his head.  “I don’t know….”

Kirby shrugged.  “At this point I’m okay with it, but that could change.”

“I don’t like being left out of the loop,” said Roger.  “They’re expecting us to trust them when they’re withholding information the CO and XO should know.”

“I understand, Rog, but as long as things are quiet, I can take a step back.”

“As long as that step doesn’t hurt us in the long run,” said Allen.  “It may just have been bluster, but an enemy in Intelligence could be bad.”

Before Kirby could keep the conversation going, the door to the lounge opened and Saunders, Ohtani, and Iziraa entered.  They greeted their captain and XO and took their places at the table.

Kirby gave Allen a to-be-continued glance.

“All right, listen carefully.  This comes from the highest levels of Starfleet and the Federation,” said Kirby.  “The official report of what just happened is the Breen found old Jem’Hadar ships from the war and used them to try to gain some territory.  Any mention of the true nature of the Dominion fleet or what happened is strictly classified.  You’re not to speak of it or our casino mission.  As far as you know, it was some rogue Breen.”

Kirby expected someone would say something, but the room was silent.

“All right then.  We received our next assignment.”  Kirby sighed deeply.  “We’re escorting the freighter Luna Light to provide humanitarian aid along the border.”

Saunders chuckled.  Iziraa grunted, her antennae moving in slow circles.  Ohtani showed no reaction.

“Once we rendezvous with the freighter, we’ll get our destination.  Doctor Weaver will be taking some well-deserved leave time and will rejoin us when we report back to Starbase 93.  The EMH will handle primary medical duties.  Questions?”

Nothing.

“Anything to report?” said Kirby.

“Engineering has been running diagnostics and checking ship systems,” said Saunders.  “Nothing to report beyond routine maintenance and adjustments.  We’re good to go.”

“Thank you, Nick.  Iziraa?”

“Tactical and weapons are ready, sir.  We could take down a Borg sphere,” said Iziraa with a smile.

“I expect nothing less, Lieutenant.”

“Haia?”  Kirby wondered what amusing thing she might say.

“Nothing to report, sir.  If we ever do an actual science mission, I’ll have something for you.”

Kirby saw Saunders wince.  “Thank you, Haia.  We’ll get you something to do soon enough.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Okay, that’s it.  Return to your stations.”

Allen had a me-too look on his face..

Kirby nodded.  There would be time to talk later.

Mess Hall

Izi spied her targets and quickly moving through the mess hall, reached her destination, sitting at the table without asking.

“Please join us.”

With her antennae leaning slightly forward, Izi stared at Haia.  Did the science officer just make a joke?  Izi glanced at Hok who just shrugged.  “All right, you two.  Out with it.”

Haia continued eating her meal, a traditional Japanese dish Izi didn’t recognize.  Hok smiled like an innocent child.

“The captain might be okay with not knowing how you bested Perry, but I’m not.”  Izi looked back and forth between the two.  Haia acted like Izi wasn’t there, so her glare zeroed in on Hok.  “How did you do it?  What was in that communique from Earth?”

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant, but I’m not at liberty to reveal Haia’s personal message.”

Izi tilted her head to the side, a large frown on her face.  Hok was right, but he was being technical.  She also got the feeling he was enjoying flustering her.  “All right, Ensign.”  Izi hoped emphasizing Hok’s rank would cause him to relent.

“Would you like some tube grub stew?  The replicator can’t produce live grubs, but the flavor and texture are close enough.”  Hok held up a spoonful of the Ferengi delicacy.

Izi harrumphed and focused her attention on Haia.

“Would you like some oyakodon?  The replicator can’t produce real chicken meat, but the flavor and texture are close enough.”  Haia held up a spoonful of the simple rice dish.

Hok sputtered a laugh.

Izi drummed her fingers on the table, her antennae moving in slow circles.  “Fine.”  She felt like steam was coming out of her ears.  As she got up, she could see Haia and Hok grinning at each other.

Iziraa’s Quarters

Kicking off her shoes, Izi noticed a blinking light on the computer at her desk.  Wondering who sent her a personal message, she sat down and opened it.

“Keval!”

On the screen was a young, handsome, muscular, Andorian chan male.

Izi smiled and her antennae curved toward the image.  Touching the screen, she traced around the outline of his face.  Keval was one of Izi’s betrothed bond mates.  They had met when they were children and always had a connection.  If her people were like most races, with only two in a marriage, it would have been with him.  He was a scientist and she would have stayed on her home world to be with him.  That wasn’t the Andorian way, so they were two of a betrothed set of four and she was serving in Starfleet.

Still beaming, Izi started the message.

“Hello, Iz’i’raa sh’Solom’aa”

The tips of Izi’s antennae quivered after hearing Keval’s voice.  She loved how her full, formal name sounded when he spoke it.

“It’s been a long time, Sh’za.  Too long.”

“Yes.”  Izi’s voice was soft and her eyes began to water.  The tips of her antennae went from quivering to tingling.

“I have news, Sh’za.  The project my team has been working on, we had a breakthrough.  The Parliament agreed to full funding.  This is going to revolutionize medicine.”

Izi didn’t fully understand the technical aspects of the research, but she knew enough to be proud of him.

Keval went on to update Izi on friends, family, local and world events.  When he had finished, he chuckled.  “I know.  I tend to ramble when I get excited.”  He paused.  “Speaking of excited, I haven’t told you the real reason I called.”  He paused again.  “Zaya’s time in the Imperial Guard ended and she’s back home now, so you know what that means.”

Izi’s antennae went rigid, her jaw dropped, and her body went ice cold, like she was trapped in a terrible blizzard.  ”Computer, pause playback!’

Keval’s image stopped moving, Izi’s quarters now eerily silent.  She stared blankly, unable to move.

Zaya was the zhen female in the bond group.  They had never joined because of her commitment to the Guard.  It was always understood the four would marry when her term ended.  Was that what Keval meant when he mentioned the true purpose of his message?

Izi was trembling.

“Computer, resume message.”

“That’s right, Sh’za,” said Keval.  It’s time for the shelthreth.  It’s time for you to come home.  We’re going to be a family.”

Iziraa’s Quarters

“I’m sorry, but Doctor Weaver isn’t available.”

“This is important.”  Izi had been getting the runaround for nearly ten minutes as she was transferred from person to person.  Finally reaching someone that had information, the refusal to let Izi reach out to her close friend was maddening.

“I understand, Lieutenant, but I can’t help you.”

There was an awkward moment as Izi pondered her next words.

“Will you please tell Lori…”

“Lieutenant.”

“I just want her to know I miss her and hope she’s coming back soon.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”  The comm channel closed.

Izi sighed, rubbing her forehead, both antennae drooping.  The news from Keval that it was time to go home for the marriage bond had hit her like a stampeding herd of alneesh.  She loved her bond mates, but she also loved her life in Starfleet.  Going home now wasn’t what she had planned for her life.  Not knowing what to do, she tried reaching Lori.  Since that wasn’t possible, who else was there with whom she could talk?

Ultimately, Izi had to see Captain Kirby, but before doing that, she needed to call Keval.

=======

“Izi!  It’s wonderful to see your beautiful face!”

Izi felt her cheeks warm as they turned purple.  Keval always knew what to say.

“Have you called to say you’re coming home?”  Keval’s antennae bounced.

“I called to talk.”

Keval’s antennae stopped moving.  “Oh?”  His tone was flat.

“I wanted to ask about the shelthreth.  Why now?”

“I don’t understand.”  It was clear the joy Keval had in seeing Izi was no longer there.

“This really isn’t a good time for me.  I’m chief of security on a starship now.  We just had to deal with the rogue Breen.  I’m needed here.”

“And your family doesn’t need you?  What about your duty and loyalty to your clan?”  Keval definitely wasn’t pleased.

“I know, Ch’te.  I’m just asking if we can delay it for awhile.”

“I know how important it is for you to serve.  Zaya was in the Guard after all, but it was always understood that we would marry once Zaya came home.”

“Understood, not written in ice,” said Izi.

Keval hmphed.  “This isn’t a decision I can make alone.  The four of us need to talk.”

“Contact me when the three of you are together,” said Izi.

“No, Sh’za.  We need to be in one place.  You need to come home regardless of what you decide to do.”

Izi smirked.

“It’s not a trick.  This isn’t something to discuss over subspace comms.  There’s a lot at stake.”

Izi sighed, her shoulders slumping.  “I’ll speak to my captain.”

=======

Izi was studying Captain Kirby’s face after what she had told him about her call from Keval.  He was a good man, principled and always looking after his people.  She expected him to tell her to go be with her family, but was that what she truly wanted.

“Once we rendezvous with the Luna Light and they deliver their cargo, we’re scheduled to go back to SB 93.  We can take you to Andoria first,” said Kirby.  “Commander Allen can cover as chief of security until you come back.”

Until she came back?  Did Kirby not understand it was possible she wouldn’t?

“I know this was unexpected, Lieutenant, but whatever you decide, we’re with you and you always have a place here,” said Kirby.

“Thank you, sir.  I appreciate that.”  Izi felt better, but there was still a big decision to make.

Transporter Room

“Energize.”

When the transport sequence finished, Roger Allen turned to the operator.

“Please wait in the corridor.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Permission to come aboard.”

“Always, Doctor.”  Roger smiled as Lori Weaver stepped off the platform.  She stopped several feet from him, unslinging her travel bag and setting it on the floor..  Seconds passed while they looked at each other.

“How are you?” said Roger.

“I’m me again.”

Roger nodded, knowing what she meant.

Another few seconds passed.

“Sorek is back.” said Roger.

Lori’s eyes widened.  “Oh?  Are you okay?”

“I am.  Well, ninety-five percent.  He’s a good XO and I still have a lot of time to move up the ranks and command my own ship one day.  I’m Second Officer and Chief of Security now.”

“I wish I could have been there when you told Izi.”  Lori chuckled.

“Yeah, she wasn’t thrilled about it, but I assured her I’d be relying on her to run the department.”

Lori nodded.  ”How’s my sickbay?  Did the EMH change everything?”

“It’s still the same.  We were told you’re getting a new nurse soon.”

“Well now.  I’ll have someone to play board games with since we have the healthiest crew in Starfleet.”  Lori giggled.

Hearing her laugh stirred something inside Roger.  Quickly pushing it aside, he kept it to himself.  Picking up her travel bag, he gestured toward the door.

“M’Lady.”

Lori took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Roger could see she was very glad to be back.

Lori stepped into the mess hall, scanning the room until she saw Iziraa and Hok sitting together.  It took longer to reach them than she thought, as people along the way stopped her and welcomed her back.

It was a good feeling knowing she was missed and appreciated.

“Hey!”  Lori smiled.

“Have a seat, girl.  We’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” said Iziraa.

“Allow me.”  Hok got up and pulled out the chair for Lori.

Staring at the Ferengi security officer, Lori didn’t know what to think.

“What?  Can’t a gentleman show respect for a lady?” said Hok.

Iziraa hmphed.

“Of course, Hok.  Thank you.”

“Are you hungry?” said Iziraa.  “Gentleman, go get her something.”

“No, I’m fine,” said Lori.

“She’s been grumpy ever since Haia and I….”  Hok’s voice trailed off.

“Saved me from being transferred to Intelligence.”  Lori squeezed Hok’s hand.  “Thank you for whatever you did.  I’ll never forget it.”

“We were on a mission together.  You always take care of your partner,” said Hok.

“You’ll tell me what you did,” said Iziraa.  “One day, somehow, you will.”

Hok didn’t say anything, but Lori got the strong impression he was enjoying driving Iziraa crazy over this.  It was going to be interesting watching how it turned out.

“My break is almost over, so I’ll let you two chat.  It’s good to see you, Doctor.”

‘Thank you again, Hok.  I’m glad to be seen.”

When Hok was gone, Lori leaned in close to Iziraa and spoke in a quiet tone so no one else could hear.  “So, tell me everything.”  She was visibly eager, like a child expecting a treat.

“Everything what?” said Iziraa.

“Oh, stop that.  You went home and got married.  I want to know all the details.  I wish I could have been there.”

“Oh, that.  Didn’t happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“When we were on our final approach to the Andoria system, we were met by two Imperial Guard warships.  Because of the Borg attacks on Earth, they wouldn’t let us past.  They didn’t want to take the risk that we may have had Borg drones on board.”

Lori couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  “So you never made it home?”

“Captain Kirby tried to assure them we weren’t compromised, but they remained firm.  No one went to Andoria until the situation was resolved.”

Lori sat back in her chair, shoulders slumped.  “I suppose I can understand their concern.  What happens now?”

“I had a long talk with my bond mates.  I’m not ready yet to step away from Starfleet and begin a family.  For now, things are on hold.”

“That’ didn’t go well, did it?” said Lori.

“No.”

Based on the expression on Iziraa’s face and the quivering of her antennae, Lori knew her friend didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

“I’ve got to get back to the bridge,” said Iziraa.  “Let’s get together tonight.”

“My quarters, 1900 hours,” said Lori.  “Bring all the Andorian ale you have.”  She chuckled.

“Count on it,” said Iziraa.

Watching Iziraa leave, it was obvious she was upset and hurting.  Maybe getting good and drunk was something they both needed.

The door to the science lab opened and  Lori stepped inside.  She saw Haia Ohtani look to see who had disturbed her work, irritation already on her face.

“Lori!”  Haia paused her computer and got up, the expression on her face softening.  “I’m glad you’re back.”  She offered her hand.

Lori shook hands, amused that the normally socially awkward science officer was so eager to welcome her.

Haia sat back at her desk, motioning for Lori to sit as well.  “What can I do for you?”

Again, an unexpected reaction.  Haia was usually all business.

“I want to thank you for your part in keeping Commander Perry from transferring me.”

Haia shrugged.  “I didn’t do anything.”

Lori was confused.  “I thought you and Hok both did it.”

Haia paused a moment before replying.  “Technically, I helped, but it was all Hok’s idea.”

“Oh.  Is there anything you can tell me?” said Lori.  “It’s my understanding the captain and Commander Allen don’t even know.”

Haia’s eyes raised upwards like she was contemplating her next words.  “Yes.”

A silent moment passed.

“Yes what?” said Lori.

“Yes, there’s something I can tell you,” said Haia.

Lori didn’t know if she should sigh, roll her eyes, or chuckle, so she did all three.  Haia didn’t see things the way most people did, so in her mind, she answered the question.

“Will you tell me?”

Haia’s eyes moved upwards again.  “Okay.”

Lori was getting flustered.  “When?”

“I have a few minutes now, if you want.”

“Please.”

“My maternal grandmother is an executive assistant for an admiral at Starfleet headquarters on Earth.  I told Hok about her over dinner one day, so he asked me to reach out to see if there was anything that could be done to stop Perry from poaching you.”

Haia stopped like there was nothing else to say.  Lori wanted to grab her and shake the answer out.

“And?” said Lori.

“There was something we could do.  The admiral told my grandmother, she told me, I told Hok, and he told Perry and the captain”  Haia shrugged her shoulders.

“isn’t there anything else you can say?” said Lori.

“Of course there is, but you’re better off not knowing.  That’s what Hok told Captain Kirby and Commander Allen.  They wanted to know, but they decided to trust Hok and me.  You need to do the same.”

Lori was more curious than ever, but it was obvious neither Haia nor Hok was going to say anything more.  Since the captain was willing to trust them, she would as well.

“You know Izi isn’t going to let this go,” said Lori.  “I think her antennae are going to explode.”

Haia smiled.  “Hok is having fun messing with her.”

“He needs to be careful.  The last thing I need is to perform lobe reconstruction surgery.”

Haia gave Lori an odd look, but didn’t say anything.

“I don’t want to take up anymore of your time.”  Lori stood up.  “Thanks again.”

Haia nodded and went back to her computer.

Lori supposed that was it.  Sighing, she left the lab.  This was home, but there was still so much more she needed to know.