Q’orvha braved the bright lights of the Aquarius’s hallway, her hood once again fully drawn over her head to shadow her gaze, and made her way with a determined purpose and the long stride of a predator on the move. She caught several glances of curiosity and concern from the various crew members she passed by, some scurrying out of her way as she stormed through the corridors. She felt uncomfortable with their stares…but it was less to do with worrying about what they might think of her and had more to do with the fact that they were watching her at all.

Stealth had long been the watchword of the majority of her varied careers and held-positions over her life…and she being seen by so many people in casual passing provoked an instinctual tinge of anxiety from the former assassin. Even when she was in command as a Captain, her bird-of-prey’s bridge layout meant that most of the her officers were staring at screens away from her the majority of the time…and bird-of-preys were the go to stealthship for most of the Empire as well, and she reckoned she had relied on her cloaking device and stealth tactics more then most other Captains in the Klingon Defence Force.

In fact, one of the charges raised against her personally when the house she had served suffered it’s mass discommendation from the Empire, was cowardice and dishonourable conduct in battle, because of her ship’s recored use of such things to an extent beyond what most other Klingons did.

It was almost comical, Q’orvha thought, how what Klingons would espouse as pragmatic and sensible in most scenarios, would suddenly become a black mark and stain on your honour, when the need to politically remove someone arrived…but that was also another form of pragmatism…and also one that with the right evidence, had been shown itself to be dishonourable, stealing the honour from another Klingon…

…but alas, she had found no evidence in the past decades to exonerate herself or nor resurrect her damned and dismantled House from oblivion…and hence, as a “special asset” for Starfleet Intelligence, she now strode through overly bright halls of a Federation Starship, on a mission to complete some personal tasks, with no shadows to hide in and no escape from the staring of the bewildered locals.

She eventually reached her destination, and double-checked the writing on the door to make sure. CMDR. AKIYAMA MOKOTO, FIRST OFFICER’S QUARTERS.

Finding that to be acceptable for her purposes, the Klingon hit the side panel and elicited from the computer the sounds of a squawking door chime.

“Enter.” Aki said as she sat on one of her dining chairs with her left ankle perched upon her right knee, massaging the first of her swollen feet. It had felt like a long day, and she had anticipated getting out of her boots hours ago, but her immediate duties prevented such luxuries.

Looking up at the parting doors as they hissed open, she eyed the silhouette of the towering Klingon female backlit by the corridor lights whom she recognized as the ship’s Chief Strategic Operations Officer. “Commander,” she began, addressing her guest “What can I do for you?”

”I require your acquiescence to a change to the bridge duty schedule.” Q’orvha replied, stepping through the door which promptly closed shut behind her. “Specifically, to do with my duty assignments.”

Aki took a more relaxed position with both feet firmly planted on the floor and her gaze became more hesitant at the idea of having to change up the schedule, but for the moment gave the Klingon the benefit of the doubt, “What did you have in mind? As I’m sure you’re aware, the schedule is composed placing people with the necessary skillsets where they are needed most. If you can assure me that your changes won’t hinder the natural workflow of the bridge crew, I’m sure your request can be accommodated.”

“I cannot account for all variables, but the change would definitely improve my own input into the workflow.” Q’orvha replied. “Currently, I am assigned as the Watch Commander for Gamma Shift…I would like to switch for Delta, the so called ‘night shift’ instead.”

Aki listened attentively to Q’orvha’s request. It was not unreasonable, but there was still a reason lacking in the request. “Go on…” she replied, standing to walk to her cabin furnished desk with computer terminal, standard issue to senior officers.

”My eyes.” Q’orvha replied, pointing one of her razor sharp nails at the lavender orbs beneath the shade of her hood. “A curse of birth, my blood-coloured eyes are rather sensitive to the bright lights of the other 3 shifts…whereas Delta shift on the Bridge typically has dimmed ambience and a reliance on mostly just the ‘running lights’, to maintain an artificial sense of circadian rhythm and time.”

With the knowledge that the request was medical in nature, Aki pulled up the bridge duty schedule and studied it for several minutes. Lieutenant Whitmore was listed as the Watch Commander for Delta shift. Quite amenable according to his personnel file and therefore she did not foresee any issues in reassigning him to Gamma shift. It was unfortunately too late to make the necessary changes for the upcoming shift, but she had a plan if Q’orvha was open to it. “I do not see a problem in making the change, but given the timeframe of your request I can give you the choice of two options. You may either start the new rotation tomorrow night and take tonight off. I can have someone replace you on Gamma shift to accommodate your light sensitivity. Alternatively, You can begin the Delta shift rotation tonight alongside Lieutenant Whitmore. Whitmore would have the conn. However in the event of any emergencies, as the ranking officer, you would be in charge.”

“I do not see any issues with the latter as a short term solution.” Q’orvha replied with a nod. “It would also allow for me to observe the rest of the current Delta crew before taking command of them myself. I find this acceptable.”

“Very well. I will make the appropriate changes and inform Lieutenant Whitmore to expect you tonight. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

The Klingon woman went silent for a moment, as she gave the question a good long thought before finally answering. “No, I do not believe I have any other concerns or issues at this early into the mission…do you have any for me?”

“Not at this time. Since I did not sleep all that well last night, I am eager to get off my feet, crawl into bed with a good book and get some extra sleep. Have yourself a good night Commander. I will see you in the morning to relieve you.”

“Hah.” Q’orvha chuffed out a small laugh. “I am quite familiar with that feeling. Indeed, I shall meet you upon the morn. May you rest well, Commander.”