—- USS Luna Captain’s Skiff On The Surface of Hallavat —-

It might have been nice to have gotten a hotel, was a thought that Captain Adriana Cruz had as she entered the Captain’s Skiff which was acting as her home away from home on her recuperative vacation to the Romulan planet of Hallavat which had been described as Romulan Risa. As it was though she had to assume that the Romulans would be listening into her broadcasts back home, and staying at a Romulan operated hotel would have just made that easier. Besides it was nice to keep the skiff a bit cooler than the average temperature that Romulans seemed to prefer, particularly on a warm planet like Hallavat.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Rosa Flores stood as she entered the skiff, half to protect the skiff if anyone unwanted were to enter and half out of respect for the captain. 

“How are you feeling Ma’am,” Flores asked, eyeing the fading scar where Cruz had been stabbed on the senior officer’s abdomen. 

Realizing that a two piece bathing suit was not suitable to contact her ship the USS Luna, Cruz threw on a uniform coat over top of it, covering her wounds. She smiled at Flores, “Sun is helping. Rest is what the doctor literally ordered, and that’s been nice.“

”Priority communication from the Luna,” Flores said, ”they wouldn’t tell me what happened, so it’s for you only.”

Cruz nodded, “I’ll take it in my bedroom.”

In her room on the skiff she settled into her chair in front of her desk and contacted the Luna. Within a moment she was connected with a somber looking Chief Science Officer and Interim Captain Lieutenant Commander Gabriella Miller. The woman gave Cruz a tight smile, but it was clear that she was not happy.

”Miller, what’s up?”

”We’re on our way to Romulan Starbase 354 with the survivors of the attack,” Miller said.

Cruz blinked in surprise, “Whoa start at the beginning, what attack.”

”Klar woke up, and he contacted the Klingons. A three ship envoy arrived to pick him up and on their way back home they attacked and destroyed the Romulan scout that we were studying gaseous anomalies with. We have about a hundred Romulan scientists on board who survived but,” Miller trailed off.

Cruz inhaled and closed her eyes, her wounds throbbing as the rest and relaxation of the trip was rapidly fading, “But Klar, or his Klingon brethren committed murder.”

MIller nodded, “We attempted to position the Luna in the way to protect the vessel but it happened so quickly.”

Cruz nodded, “Don’t blame yourself. It was Starfleet command that gave us Klar, and he was a valuable member of the crew. Nobody knew this situation was going to kick off, and nobody could have anticipated that he’d betray us. Or that three Klingon warships could get so deep in Romulan space.”

Miller seemed unconvinced that it had not been at least partially her own fault but did not press the point. She nodded.

”Come and get us as soon as you’ve handed over the Romulans. We’ll be returning to Federation space immediately. We need to talk to command, need a new first officer and refitting for this new world,” the Captain said. 

On the screen Miller nodded and then was gone. There was a silence and a stillness that hung over the room now, Cruz felt very worried. A first officer was meant to be someone who had your back and whom you trusted and hers had betrayed her. She knew that the changing political landscape would mean that Klar needed to leave the ship, but not that he’d betray them all before he went.

As she exited her quarters she nodded at Flores again, “Keep scanning the skies, I want to know immediately if any Klingon ships arrive.”

Flores seemed surprised, “Do you anticipate any?”

”I don’t know what to anticipate any more,” Cruz said honestly.

—- Hallavat Beach, Hallavat —-

Cruz ran her hand over the sand that was still warm from the day’s sunlight and glanced at Sub-Lieutenant S’anra Navan. The Romulan officer sat on the sand beside the captain and looked out at the ocean of water before them.

”I was briefed on what happened with the Klingons,” Navan said simply. Cruz was not sure if that meant Klar’s role in the attack as well, or that the Romulans were listening in to her communications with the Luna but she nodded and also looked out at the ocean.

The two officers sat for a long while without anything being said. Though Navan was a member of the Romulan Free State Navy she had been supportive of the scientific interests of the Luna and its crew and Captain Cruz had felt that she had offered a lot to a leadership team that had included Klar. After the initial period of settling in both former enemies of the Federation had proven to be valuable officers and Cruz even thought of them as friends.

”When the Luna comes I will retrieve my belongings and depart,” Navan said. 

Cruz shook her head, “No, unless you’re needed now for the defense of the realm. Klar’s choice isn’t yours and doesn’t reflect on you. I still value your input, and unless either of our respective commands say otherwise I’d like you to remain on the Luna.“

”I assumed that you would not want to be… influenced by a Romulan my loyalty is to me people,” Navan said.

”And mine is to the Federation, that doesn’t mean we don’t work well together. If your government agrees I’d like you to stay on in an advisory capacity,“ Cruz said.

Navan nodded, “Very well. Thank you, I do not know Klar’s mind but he believed you had honor.“

”Just like we’re loyal to our governments, he was to his, or is,” Cruz said, “I’m sure he felt bound by that.”

”You would not have fired upon an inferior ship that was not a threat to you,” Navan said. 

There was a long silence again, stretching on as they both were consumed by their own thoughts. Navan shifted closer on the sand to Cruz’s position and the human put her head on the shoulder of the Romulan. The two had been exploring the idea of physical intimacy since their arrival, though they both understood that this was a temporary arrangement and neither woman was throwing her life and career away to join the other. 

“You are changing color,” Navan noted, “You humans call it a suntan.”

”I tan well, come from a hot region of Earth,” Cruz said, “Mexico City. This is temperature wise like that. Though not as populated.”

”Is that near San Francisco?” Navan said, knowing only the city of Starfleet Academy and the city of New York as Earth population centers. 

”Sort of yeah,” Cruz said not knowing the exact distance, “But not really. I went to the Academy, I was a unique entrant. Not a legacy student, and I had no previous plans to explore the universe. I was actually pretty lonely at first.”

”You seem socially well adjusted now,” Navan said.

”I’m a captain, everyone on the crew has to be nice to me. It‘s also a title that hides the street rat in me,” Cruz laughed.

”Street rat?” Navan asked.

”I grew up more hard scramble than most Academy entrants. If it hadn’t been for Starfleet I’d probably be dead by now,” Cruz said, not thinking that this was an exaggeration. She believed that she really did owe her life to the Academy and to Starfleet as a whole.

Navan nodded, “My father was in the navy. Romulans, even today, view service as an important part of holding our society together.”

“With the bit in between their teeth, the Klingons may make it more than just a symbolic sacrifice,” Cruz said. War was coming to the galaxy, and there would not be many more nights like this for Captain Cruz and Sub-Lieutenant Navan in the near future, that much was certain. 

“We’ll then us Romulans will make that sacrifice,“ Navan said, “we always have and we will once more step up.”

”You sound like a recruitment poster now,” Cruz teased, sitting up. She looked at Navan and then kissed her pushing her down onto the sand. War was coming, but it was not quite on Hallavat yet.