“You understand, we must have our payment.”  Jamison Wells had identified himself as the captain of Poly, the first Klingon Bird of Prey, and was on the main screen. “We provided a service and we expect to be paid.”

Helena drummed her fingers on the arms of the command chair.  She had been shocked at Halsey’s confirmation that Pandora Crawford hadn’t quite vanished as they’d thought.  The alt version of Carolyn Crawford was still haunting them, even in the Gamma Quadrant.  “I’ve seen your price, Captain Wells.  You have the Kolm who doesn’t want to pay and intends to steal – the only reason they’re not is we’re sitting in their firing path.  Then there’s the Ghenry, who seem to believe they’ve already paid you and are likely to make a deal with the Kolm to get their money’s worth.”

Wells shifted nervously in his chair.  “We did not anticipate the level of interest our initial offering garnered.  Mistakes were made.”

Dread scoffed out loud, “You didn’t think an obscenely minor house or even an avowed mercenary group, both fiercely Klingon, wouldn’t want to find a way to prove themselves to somebody?”  She would have been content to leave the Poly to deal with the consequences of their foolish actions.  Would have, could have…but she needed the body of Ambrose Harris back in her possession.  “You’re in a tough position, and those two ships out there outnumber you.” That gave Wells pause on the screen as he digested her words.  He muted the channel and turned to talk to his crew.  Dread did the same with Atega before she put her attention to her bridge crew, “My plan is to offer to throw some Latinum at him, get the body, and even up the score.  Alternative suggestions are welcomed.”

Ensign Athena, at tactical, replied, “We can take two Birds of Prey, Captain.”  She felt a rise of excitement.  The previous engagement with The Syndicate had given her a stark appreciation for the Douglas and her tactical prowess.  Athena mused that she may be an explorer, but she could punch hard when the need called for it.

Dread turned to Fowler, “Condition of the body?”  It remained the mystery – dead but not alive had been Halsey’s statement.  Reid had come to the bridge to sit next to the science chief and observe the readings they were able to get.

Sadie wasn’t sure what to report, “It’s…unusual readings.  The life sign readings from the ship are all standard, except for…,”  She had known Ambrose as her Captain, and Reid had known him as her boyfriend.  It was an odd moment for both of them.  Trying to work through the emotions that were just beneath the surface wasn’t easy.  She took a deep breath, “the readings coming from Captain Harris are unlike any I’ve seen – life signs are irregular – the computer isn’t quite sure what to make of it.” 

Jordan wrestled with her own emotions and pushed them down for now.  “Captain, whatever’s happened is outside of our known understanding.  I need to examine the…body to understand what whoever did whatever they did to him.” She swallowed the rising lump in her throat, “We need to bring him home, sir.”

Dread waited for others to pitch in, but there had been nods of agreement with Reid’s words.  Her crew had originally transferred together to the Olympic after the death of Harris on the Mackenzie, and she had stepped into the role of their XO.  They’d come with her to the Daedalus and now the Douglas.  They were more of a family than she sometimes realized.  The common thread running through most of them was Ambrose Harris.  She understood the silence – feelings unexpressed were still feelings.  “Then let’s bring him home.  Unmute the channel.”  

Atega tapped at the console, her own feelings clouded by the events playing out.  Ambrose Harris…alive?  Or undead?  What was happening?  She kept her thoughts to herself as the captain leaned forward in the chair and explained her intentions to the Poly captain.

He stared at Dread, “You are either crazy or far too sure of yourself, captain.  We’ll transport your officer to a location of your choosing.  You’ll transport payment to our transporter room.  And we’ll leave you to…whatever fate you’ve bought.”

“Make it so.”  She turned to Reid, who was already headed to the turbolift door, “Good luck, Lieutenant Reid.” She swung in her chair, “Now, let’s find out how pissed off our other two friends are going to be.”  At ops, Tir confirmed the transports were complete, and shields were back online.

Athena announced from her tactical station, “Poly has left the system.  The other two are powering weapons and targeting us.”

Dread chuckled, “Well, let’s get dangerous.  Evasive maneuvers – red alert.”