A New Alliance

For two centuries, the diplomats of the Federation and its member worlds had created a great deal of noise about how peaceful their society was; how crime was virtually nonexistent and how all the allied races lived in harmony with one another. As beautiful a dream as that might seem, that was all it was; a dream. Four hundred years earlier, nation states on Earth had maintained federal militias and police forces whose job was to enforce the law and hunt down the guilty, hopefully bringing them to justice. At least one of these agencies had descendants within Starfleet. The name might have changed, but the remit of what had once been called Naval Criminal Investigative Service (and its counterpart the Judge Advocate General's office) remained the same.

 

Special agent Zhiva th’Zarath took pride in her position as 'agent afloat' aboard the USS Endeavour. Although the ship did not float, the historic term was traditional. Agent Th'Zarath... or Zhiva as she was more commonly known, since most people could not pronounce her family name... liked it.

 

The Andorian woman made her way down the corridors to the sealed off cargo bay that was now a designated crime scene.  Unsealing the doors, she stepped onto the cargo platform, Out of habit, she checked her pockets for the presence of the kit she always carried with her, tugging down on her uniform jacket as she did so. Its dark fabric made a stark contrast against her pale, almost ghostly flesh. Zhiva’s skin was not the vivid blue that was considered the norm for Andorians, rather it was a snow white, almost translucent colour, resembling the ice from which her people came.  She was of the Aenar race and as far as she knew, the only one in Starfleet.  It was rare for her kind to leave their homeworld, but she’d always been restless, always wanted to know what was out there.  The nomadic life of a shipboard SCIS officer suited her perfectly.

 

She sighed, her antennae drooping slightly as she studied the padd in her hand.  This was the most serious incident she had ever been called to investigate. The cargo bay around her still bore the indications of what had happened here. Multiple murder, sabotage, even mutiny. Her mind drifted back to her training. She couldn't recall anything similar ever happening on board a Starfleet vessel.  Justice would be done, she resolved.  She would find the killer or killers and ensure that they answered for their crimes.

 

Setting the padd into her pocket, she began to gather evidence, analysing and recording the scene.  Eventually, her gaze turned to the main control console. The survivors had reported seeing General Rustadh trying and failing to operate it. What if... the saboteur had interfered directly with the main console? The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.  The door mechanism was tied into that console.  Whoever disengaged the fail-safes had to have done so from here. Drawing out her forensic investigation kit, the Aenar woman got to work.

 

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On hearing the initial reports of the away team, Kreltek had reluctantly and with some ill grace, agreed to come on board the Endeavour with the Yautja ambassadors to discuss their findings and to decide what to do about it.  Still simmering with anger after the death of his commanding officer, he was nevertheless aware that with both Kehlan and Khetara out of the picture, their mission was in dire jeopardy.

 

Even though the briefing room was not filled to capacity, the sheer physical size and psychological presence of each of the Predator warriors made it feel overcrowded.  The chairs were large and comfortable, more than sufficient for both Klingons and Humans. However as Speares looked around the room, it struck him that the Yautja, especially Kihr'yende who was easily the tallest of the three, seemed uncomfortable. The Predator captain’s posture reminded Speares rather inappropriately of a father who had been forced to squeeze into a chair designed for an elementary schoolchild in order to attend a Parent/Teacher Conference.

 

Lying on display in the centre of the table was the corroded, dull piece of metal that had once been a Federation combadge. "You're certain it's Kehlan's?" Speares demanded as he stared at the fragments of gold that still clung to its outer casing.

 "We have run a DNA analysis" the Vulcan scientist said gravely, "The results confirm that the badge belonged to Captain Kehlan.  Our tests also show that the combadge has been there for approximately 800 years"

Kreltek grunted.  “Then we must go back in time to retrieve her.  The question is how?”

 

Vixis let out a growl of frustration as she considered the problem. "What about the slingshot effect? It worked for Kirk"

"The slingshot effect is dangerous and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed" S'ian said "It should be used only as a last resort.  We could possibly use the temporal eddy to reach Captain Kehlan. There is however a very real risk that doing so would simply strand the rescue team in the past, which would be counterproductive.”  He looked thoughtfully at the Predators.  "Have your own scientists ever found any way of reversing the eddies?"

 

"We have never tried" The Elder answered honestly. "It is not something we have ever needed to attempt"

"Come on people.... there's got to be any number of ways we can do this" Speares sighed in frustration. "Why do we have a Department of Temporal Investigations if that's not the case?”

"If you have such a department" the Elder enquired, "Would they not be willing to assist you?"

"They would do everything in their power to stop us" Rhiana snorted. "Whatever we do it will have to be secret" she tailed off, looking thoughtful.

Speares gave her a hard stare. He'd known the Romulan woman a long time and he knew when she was plotting something.  "What are you thinking?" he asked suspiciously.

"We need a method that the DTI are unaware of" she explained. "I think you should ask Security Captain Krang for his input"

A smile crept across the Welshman's face.  "Of course!"  He shook his head, wondering why he hadn’t thought of that himself.   It was the obvious answer.

"Explain" demanded Kir'yende.  “Who is this Krang?”  He growled the unfamiliar name.  “And how can he assist us?”

"This information is classified" Speares warned, "It must remain secret."  He glanced around the room, awaiting their agreement before continuing.

 "It will be as you wish" the Elder agreed.  The two younger Predators bowed their heads in acquiescence to their Elder’s wishes.

Kreltek also nodded, "Provided there is no threat to the Empire, I too will keep the secret"

 

"Anyone who isn't willing to remain silent may leave, now.”  Nobody moved and after a moment, Speares nodded in satisfaction. "Secure the doors please, Rhiana" he ordered. The Romulan woman obeyed silently and satisfied that all was secure he leaned into the centre of the table, instinctively lowering his voice as he began to explain.

A stunned silence answered him. A prototype time-ship in fully working condition?  It was unbelievable.  Such a thing did not seem possible, yet if it truly existed and worked as Speares claimed, provided they could gain access to it, it would be a very convenient solution to their problem.

 "G'dayt Imperial Intelligence" Kreltek almost laughed, shaking his head in both amusement and disgust. There was no love lost between Klingon Imperial Intelligence and the Defence Force.  They were hated, even feared by ordinary Klingons, yet their ruthless efficiency could not be doubted.

The Elder growled slightly as he considered the information.  "And this... Krang... He will assist you?"

 

Speares nodded.  On this one point at least, he could be sure.  "He is the head of Kehlan's House. He will help us"

"Then you should contact him immediately"

Speares got to his feet.  "I will do so at once." Giving a respectful nod to the Yautja, he strode through the connecting door to the ready room, wordlessly dismissing the meeting. Activating the emergency subspace channel, Colonel Speares patched in a tight beam secure transmission to Starbase 24, attention of FedKIN. Then he leaned back in the seat and crossed his fingers, waiting for it to connect.