Tilana had been sitting in her ready room onboard the Triumph with coffee in one hand and a PADD in the other on the couch by the window. It had been a few weeks since they arrived back at Starbase 93 from Freecloud, and the prisoners had been exchanged. The rescued xBs were relocated to the Starbase and underwent medical and counseling. What happened after that was that she had no idea what would become of them or where they go from there.

She had been avoiding having the conversation with those who were with her during the mission. She wasn’t sure how to even start with such a conversation of the past. She now wanted to put in the past but, unfortunately, is now very much in the now. She took a sip of her coffee and began to read the reports on the PADD she had in her hand, putting the issue aside for the time being.

The door chime had gone off, causing Tilana to groan at the interruption. Taking a deep breath, she set the PADD on her lap and looked up. “Come,” was all that came from her mouth before the doors parted to reveal Commander Ritru and the few who had been part of the away team down on Freecloud. Raising her eyebrows, she had a feeling about why they were there.

They all walked in and took a seat, looking a bit nervous. They seemed unsure if they should be there but needed to know the truth and what she was hiding. “Please take a seat,” she said after they had already done so. “What can I do for all of you?”

Ritru pressed her lips together, thinking of how to approach a topic of someone who wasn’t her commanding officer. “It had been a while since we returned from Freecloud. We gave you space, but I think we deserve an explanation…” she began before being cut off by Tilana with a raised hand.

“You are right, and I do owe some kind of explanation,” Tilana replied with a sigh before standing up and turning towards the window momentarily. She took a moment of silence to view the station below and the ships’ comings and goings from the system. She also used silence to think about how to start the conversation.

The others sat there patiently, waiting for Tilana to start talking. It had been a tricky subject for Tilana to openly discuss, as she had hoped things of the past would remain in the past. Still, unfortunately, it had shown its ugly face again. “As you all know, I left Romulus many years ago and joined Starfleet,” she began as she turned back and faced them.

“I had originally gone the strategic operations route before Starfleet Intelligence contacted me to do undercover operations on Freecloud.” Tilana began, “I spent many years undercover as Riheela, bringing down many black market operations.”

The others continued to listen as she explained what she had done over many years on Freecloud. “Riheela consumed me to the point where I began to lose sense of who I was. I knew I had to get out of it, and it wasn’t until the attack on Mars that they pulled me.” She said before turning to look out the window again, “I was soon on the fast track towards command and haven’t looked back.”

“So, this mission had brought back so many bad memories from your previous time on Freecloud?” Ritru asked as she began to understand Tilana more.

Tilana nodded as she remained silent for a few moments. “I knew this had to be done, as having Borg technology in the wrong hands would be catastrophic. Seeing those I worked alongside many years ago, I still found it hard.”

“At least they are being brought to justice, and you did save all those xBs destined to be…” Llaxia began and paused for a moment. “Killed by Baela for their hardware.”

“Do you think they will remain locked up and answer for their crimes?” Ritru asked curiously.

Tilana pressed her lips together while looking out the window before blowing air out of her cheeks. “Truthfully, I am not sure,” Tilana said with a shrug. Silence filled the room again momentarily before she returned to the chair and sat down. Thoughts filled her mind as she looked locked towards the portrait on the wall above her desk past those who were in the room. 

“Though if they do, I am not sure for how long. I was surprised that Kodrak had been released and was back to his old tricks.” Tilana finally spoke up from the long silence.

“With Baela now out of the picture, do you think someone else will pick up where she left off?” Ritru asked, looking at Tilana and the others in the group.

“More than likely, though it will not happen over time, I am sure someone else will pop up in her stead. It is just a matter of time,” Tilana replied, chilling at the thought. She knew that Freecloud would have that kind of activity going on and that they wouldn’t be able to stop all of the black market activities no matter how hard they all tried. They could only keep an eye on things and act when needed.

Zhayva, who had been silent the whole time, just listening to the conversations. “Thank you for telling us your story,” she said softly while looking at the others. They all stood up as there wasn’t much more that needed to be said.

They all said their goodbyes before leaving Tilana to her thoughts. Tilana stood there for a few moments, looking at the door, which closed behind the last person who had left her office. Moments passed before she sat back down, picking up the PADD she had been reading before the interruption and rereading it like she hadn’t had anyone with her moments ago. She would spend the next few hours catching up on work before turning in for the night.