“I admit, Commander, I do miss this crew.”

Harris sat on the couch by the windows while Reid sat at his desk working on the report on the Major.  He gave her a smile, lifting his glass of chilled cider, “They’ve missed you too, Thasaz.  Sounds like the Journey is your new home, though.”

The Romulan swirled her cup of steaming green tea, “It has been an experience…being a captain and a governor at the same time.  They are an incredibly smart group.  The training officers left us early.  They are just that good.”  She smiled quietly, “It is still surreal to me that I found them, and they found me.”  A pause as she reflected on her journey, “I suppose we must speak of the Major.”

Reid stood from the desk and walked to the screen that covered the wall in the ready room, “Major Tulak is suffering from a neurological condition similar to the human Alzheimers condition.  His situation is different in that it can be treated and his life extended.  The parts of his brain that are impacted are the ones we need him to access, and the treatment to return his mind to him…will take far too much time.”  She tapped the screen, “He will improve with time, but it will be slow.”

Ambrose gave her a nod, and she returned to the desk as he mentioned to the PADD he had given Thasaz, “There are several locations he’s identified that we are able to ascertain what the probably real-world counterparts are – they are within various Romulan territories.  Starfleet has sent out communication that we’re going to be around the areas doing some support and science work.  So far, they haven’t had any pushback.  Trouble is…”

Thasaz finished it for him, “Once they identify what we are doing, they will be more inclined to..as you say, pushback.”  She held up the PADD, “I am aware of Tulak.  The Commander has been kind enough to send me what little they’ve given him…and I’ve been doing my own work on the Patra question.  Given what he told you, I think there’s a very good chance he’s not lying.  Early in his career, Patra made it a goal of his to build alliances with unlikely groups, governments, and operatives.  He continued to cultivate these things as he grew in power and influence.  His final actions with the outlying Klingons were a sample of his efforts.”  Shaking her head, she continued, “He was very good at shell games.  He would use intermediaries with Tulak and his group – making sure to keep enough of his fingerprints off while still moving and shaking.”

Harris asked, “Was he involved in the T’shalaith case?”

The former science chief tapped at her PADD, “It took me some time to, as you humans say, ‘shake that tree,’ but I was able to confirm that Patra had his eyes on the Vulcan woman and harbored a desire to put her into his service.  She operated in the shadows for so long that he found it easy to push some of the more extreme elements of the Vulcan science community to track her down.  Your good doctor was attacked on orders from Patra.  And he fully intended to capture her and bring her back to him.”

Reid raised her eyebrows, “And he didn’t succeed because…?”

Thasaz chuckled, “Bravo station has built a reputation of keeping the darkness at the gates, and Patra found out the hard way that he wasn’t going to get through the doors with anything short of an invasion.  He was close to actually contemplating doing just that – but you kept distracting him.  Truthfully, he would have lost that battle…but his mind had gone mad from fear and anger; he was going to try anything to retain his power and control.  You took a powerful player off the board, Commander.”

The CO replied, “We got lucky, and we sacrificed to get there.  The trouble is; apparently, his operations run on and on.”

She tapped at her PADD further, “Whoever is running it is very good at staying in the shadows.  With Major Tulak’s help, we’ve got a pretty good idea of where to start.  Some advice, Commander.  Patra was a bastard – through and through.  He was blinded by his vengeance at the end.  Whoever we may face now…there is an intelligence to how they’ve run the operation.  They won’t be baited by fear.”

Ambrose pushed off the couch, “It’s good advice, Captain Thasaz.  Keep giving it, even if I won’t listen.”

She stood and shook his hand, “Anything to put this nightmare into the memories of the past, Commander.”  She gave a nod to Reid and left for the bridge.

As the door closed, Reid gave him a look, “You’re not worried about this?”

He thought about her question for a moment, “You seem to be.”

Jordan grumbled and leaned back in his chair, “Something just doesn’t feel right.  The scans on the Major show this condition as a quickly developing situation.  I did my practicum work on Vulcan physiology in the Academy.  This kind of thing doesn’t kick off as fast as this did.”  She left the rest of her statement to hang in the air.

Harris picked it right back up, “You’re suggesting this was done to him?” A shrug was all she had.  “That’s a helluva thing, Jord.”

“I’ve got more work to do with him to figure out more details and confirm what I’m feeling…but like she said – I think we gotta be more careful this time around.”

She stepped out from the desk and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek, “See you later tonight, ‘Brose.”

The door closed behind her, and Ambrose returned to his desk, sitting down in a huff.  The twists and turns in the road built by Patra continued to trouble him.