Thanks to everyone especially cygirl1 for her reviews of my last story!! Funny note to cygirl1, that scene in Trapped Choices was actually toned down. I rewrote it a few times because I felt it was too rough LOL!! I don't know why that happens, I always over do the sex. Ahh well...maybe it'll tone down when my hubby gets home LOL. Sorry This new one took so long but I have been perfecting a few other stories and poems and of course my big book! Enjoy my dears!
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Star Date 5673.4
Captain's Log:
We will be hosting the Federation peace delegation to the H'lirken, a species from the Beta Quadrant who have developed a stronger more energy efficient dilithium crystal. We had to convert two cargo bays for the H'lirken to use as guest quarters and living space. For hosting this we will be receiving a dilithium generator. Lowell has been driving us all insane and will probably continue to do so until he gets his arms around the generator.
Alexandra was in the Dashae desert on Vulcan, it was a spot she knew well because the cliffs of Borna were near and she often went climbing there with Vorik. She walked the mile to the cliffs and there at the edge was her friend who was pacing back and forth and holding his fingertips together, Vorik looked agitated. She tried to ask him what was wrong but it was like she wasn't even there and before long he was speaking to himself but she couldn't understand him. He suddenly stopped pacing and looked down at the rocky surface he was standing on suddenly the rocks started shifting and forming a pattern. Before she could see what the image was, a loud piercing sound that made her ears hurt. Before she knew it Alexandra was turning over to turn off her alarm. She sat up and ran a hand of her groggy face, it was the fifth night she had had this dream and each time this happened she felt more tired then when she had gone to bed. It was beginning to get out of hand, she was slipping in her duties and she had to find a way to get these dreams out of her head before it became noticeable to the crew. Alexandra stepped into her sonic shower and wished the doctor could find a way to inject a massive dose of caffine into her veins but that would probably make the enormous headache she had worse. Once she was dressed she made her way to the command deck and ran into Vorik along the way, it seemed the only time the pain in her head subsided was when she was with him. Alexandra put it down to the fact that Vorik always had a soothing effect on her.
"Good morning captain. I took the liberty of bringing you a Rachtejino."
"Oh you wonderful Vulcan you." Alexandra grabbed the steaming mug of Klingon liquid and took a long sip. Vorik had never brought her coffee in the morning, what was he buttering her up for?
"Are we about to be attacked by an alien fleet or something?"
"No. Sensor readings this morning showed nothing in the area." Vorik looked surprised by her question
"You have never brought me coffee before so I just wanted to make sure."
"You look like you have not been sleeping well."
"I haven't. I have a bit of problem with insomnia. Usually it works itself out but it seems to be worse than usual. I'll pay a visit to the doctor this afternoon and get it straightened out."
Insomnia she thought was a lame excuse but it was the only one she could think to tell him. She certainly wasn't going to tell her Vulcan friend that she had been having disturbing dreams about him. Vorik would probably never speak to her again if he knew.
"Are you sure you should wait so long? Would it not be wiser to see the doctor before this morning's duties?"
"The H'lirken are due in an hour and if I am not there they will take it as a personal insult. These people are all about ceremony and protocol. I'll manage till I can get away." Alexandra said.
"Very well."
Vorik gave the appearance of being mollified but he was still concerned. She was not well he know that for certain. At first he was worried that he might have gotten her pregnant but then after quietly hacking into the medical records he found no such entry. When he discovered she was not pregnant, there was only thing that could explain her condition, he only hoped that she wouldn't find out till he had a chance to explain it to her.
They stepped onto the bridge and went about the normal routine of operations. Alexandra had to admit to feeling a little bit better, the Rachtejino had really hit the spot. Sometime later the sensors alerted the command staff that the H'lirken ships were approaching and preparing to enter orbit. Alexandra took position directly in front of the view screen and straightening her uniform so she looked impeccable.
"The lead ship is hailing us ma'am." Lt Moleto said softly.
"Patch them through." The view screen came to life and a gaunt man with a gray face and black markings on his face appeared on the screen. He wore a blue and gold cloak with a hood over the top of his head.
"Darkside base this is First Minister Ja'Har. Child of Hasha and Fa'Lor. I am requesting permission to transport the Chancellor and his part to your base."
"I am Captain Alexandra Torchescue, Child of Elena and Vladimir. I welcome you to Darkside and await the Chancellor and his people. We have prepared refreshments and living quarters for your people as well."
"Thank you Captain. Your hospitality is most welcome."
The view screen switched off and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The first diplomatic hurtle was passed now all they had to do was keep it up till the treaty was signed. Alexandra and the rest of the command staff made their way to the transporter room and arranged themselves according to rank, highest to lowest and the diplomatic team with Ambassador Torin stood directly in front of the transporter pads. The H'lirken lived in a monarchy and their king was only seen every 2 years yet his people revered him almost like a deity. They believed in the symbolism of ceremony and they held high regard for lineage. For instance, when the Chancellor stepped off the pad, Torin would present him with a gift and a family tree of Torin's going back at least three generations. Alexandra being the the ranking officer on the base would also have to do the same. The six people that materialized on the pads were all wearing the same blue and gold cloaks and the chancellor had a heavy silver chain around his neck. There were three males and three females and all of them were armed with various knives, the men had short blades while the females had thin rapier swords. Chancellor Ka'as stepped forward and Ambassador Torin made his speech.
"On behalf of the Federation I welcome you with this gift. A hundred year old pan flute from an island on our world called Greece. I prove my worthiness by giving you my lineage." Torin made a deep bow as he handed over his gift and the rolled piece of paper that contained his family tree.
"On behalf of Darkside base I welcome you with this gift. A balalaika that was made my ancestors when they settled on Graska 3. I prove my worthiness by giving you my lineage" After the presentation was made, the chancellor handed his gifts to one of the females and then looked at Ambassador Torin's lineage, after reading for a few moments he nodded and handed the paper to his First Minister. He started reading Alexandra and after reading a few lines he started to frown.
"You have a line for two fathers, is this normal for your species?"
"No, the first line is my birth father Vladimir Siprian, the second is my step father Gregori Torchescue. He adopted me after my birth father left my mother."
"You have no knowledge of your birth father's line?" He asked curiously.
"He left when I was very young. I know next to nothing of him." She said shortly.
Alexandra was beginning to get annoyed with the chancellor's line of questioning. It was none of this man's business what was in her past. She gave her lineage like she was supposed to, she wasn't required to give a detailed history. That was her business and hers alone. The chancellor seemed to consider the matter dropped and went on to introduce the other members of his party.
"These are my wives. My first wife, Yolane, my second Jusai and my third, Melai. My wives also serve as part of my security. This is my chief of security Gasfar and I believe you already know my First Minister Ja'Har."
"If you would please follow us, we have a great banquet to feed your weary travelers. It would do us an honor if you would dine with us." Torin said.
The chancellor bowed again and the entourage left the transporter room and followed the corridors to the hall. Vorik followed Alexandra watching her carefully, he knew she didn't like people asking her to many questions about her real father. They were in their second year at the academy before Alexandra told him that her father had left her and her mother when she was 12. It always seemed a sore spot for her so Vorik never pressed her for more information but he was always a little curious. The walk to the banquet hall was uneventful and Alexandra seemed to be back to her normal self and was even laughing with the Chancellor's first wife. The chancellor and his people nodded approvingly at the decorations and the selection of food that had been provided. Three cooks had been temporarily transferred to Darkside because the H'lirken did not eat replicated food. The chefs had been cooking for a week before their arrival, they had also fermented a special wine that was a delicacy on their home world. After everyone was seated ceremony dictated that Torin and Alexandra serve the H'lirken starting with the Chancellor on down. As Alexandra and Torin were filling up the plates, Torin started speaking quietly to her.
"You should have told me about your father. That little mess back there could have messed up the whole treaty process."
"I am sorry but I didn't see it as a problem. I think it would have been worse if I had omitted it altogether then they could accuse me of lying." She whispered.
"Before we go any further, are there any more little family secrets I should be aware of about you?" Torin's tone of voice was unfeeling and very nasty and immediately put Alexandra in a wicked mood.
"Actually there is one other thing."
"What? Your mother isn't actually your mother?" Torin was aiming to have his head smacked but she kept her cool.
"No. I am descended from Dracula." Alexandra gathered the flatware for the first minister with an evil smile on her face and left Torin with his mouth agape. She waited for Torin to gather his wits and serve the chancellor first then she served the minister. It went on till all of the H'lirken were served then they were allowed to take their seats. After a five minute blessing of the food by the chancellor, eating commenced and everything was going well when the Chancellor decided to bring up the matter of Alexandra's parentage again.
"Did you ever seek out your birth father Captain?"
Alexandra stood to address the question.
"When I was younger I did try to find him but he covered his trail to well. I was never able to locate him."
"What did your father do? What was his profession?"
"He was an atmospheric engineer. He worked on the weather grid on Graska 3 where I was born."
"So he was not a man of any great consequence?"
"His work was valued but he did not play a major role in the colony." Alexandra did not like where this was going and she really did not like having her personal business aired to so many people.
"Starfleet gave you command of this important base even though you have severe flaw in your lineage?"
Alexandra thought of several responses some of which were not at all polite but this treaty was very important and the new dilithium crystals could revolutionize ships engines. Alexandra would swallow her pride and answer his questions politely.
"I have worked hard to attain this post and Starfleet felt that my deeds outweighed my stain."
"Chancellor I understand how uncomfortable it might be for you to be working with someone of unworthy lineage. I will have Captain Torchescue excused from the treaty negotiations." Torin said.
"Would you accept this Captain?" The chancellor asked quietly, never taking his eyes off her.
"Yes." Alexandra said meeting his eyes.
"I appreciate that. You are proving yourself beyond your stain. I approve. We will speak again after the negotiations."
"I look forward to that."
Alexandra took her seat and finished her meal. The food was spicy but she could barely taste it, she felt humiliated and all she wanted to do right now was pummel someone badly. Getting through the lunch was one of the hardest things she had to do and the calmer her face looked the more rage that was boiling underneath. The delegates were escorted to their quarters and a few ceremonies later Alexandra and her officers were allowed to leave. While most of the staff left to see to their various duties Alexandra decided to pay a little visit to the gym. It was two hours later when Vorik walked in to the gym and saw an extremely sweaty and still highly angered woman beating on a punching bag. Vorik waited patiently till she reached a stopping point and noticed him.
"Vorik, so glad your here. Pull up a bag and start swinging."
"I came to see if you wanted to talk."
"Talk? No. Kill someone, that might be a possibility." She said with a laugh.
"You should have gone to the holodeck for that." Vorik sat down on a nearby bench. "I believe I could make a reasonable facsimile of the Chancellor."
Alexandra laughed again and sat down next to Vorik, she grabbed a towel and dried her face. Everyone assumed Vulcans had no sense of humor and most of them didn't but Vorik possessed an extremely dry wit that Alexandra found comforting. It was strange, she knew when Vorik walked into the room because she started calming down almost immediately. Sighing she got back up and started walking towards the showers when she suddenly turned around and looked at Vorik.
"You aren't going ask me are you?"
"Ask you what?"
"About my father."
"No."
"You are one in a million even for a Vulcan. Want to play Kal'To this evening? I know I won't win it's just amusing to see how fast you can beat me." She tried to convince herself that if she weren't so stressed she wouldn't have made the invitation.
"Of course. I will meet you at 9:00"
Alexandra smiled at him and went to the showers and when she came out, dressed and ready to resume her duties, Vorik was waiting for her. Once they reached the command deck, Lt Nosea told them that the two H'lirken escort ships left orbit and only the chancellor's ship remained. The day progressed normally and the hours led to the evening when suddenly alarms went off.
"What the hell is going on?" Alexandra asked her science officer.
"The chancellor's ship is reading a massive overload in it's warp core. 2 minutes till warp core breach."
"Torchescue to H'lirken ship. Your warp core is nearing overload. Do you need assistance?"
"We are aware of the malfunction and are making repairs. Your assistance is not required. Qu'Lar out."
Alexandra ran over to the science station and looked at the readings. Whatever the H'lirken were doing it wasn't working and now there were indications of minor explosions on the ship.
"Torchescue to Qu'Lar! You need to jettison your warp core now!"
Whatever the H'lirken might have said or done was lost when the ship exploded in a mass of fire and shrapnel.
"Raise shields and brace for impact!" Alexandra yelled.
Jeyla had barely gotten the shields up when large pieces of the H'lirken ship crashed against the shields and shook the base to it's foundation. Everyone was holding on to their consoles for dear life until the massive vibrations stopped.
"Damage report!"
"Minor structural buckling but other wise no damage." Vorik was quick to respond.
"Torchescue to Lowell, I want you to gather as much of the debris as you can. I want you and Lt Moleto to make a full analysis ASAP. "
"Aye Captain." Moleto left immediately to join Lowell in gathering the debris.
"Vorik I want you to go over the sensor readings leading up to the explosion. I want to know what was happening. Dr Baran meet me at the H'lirken quarters just in case someone bumped their head."
Alexandra stepped into the turbo lift and watched the flurry of activity as the doors closed, she ran her hands over her face and thought about how best to tell the chancellor that his ship just exploded. She stopped by Ambassador Torin's quarters first thinking it might go down better if he were there as well Torin did not take the news well and as soon as the words came out of her mouth he pushed past her and went directly to the chancellor's quarters, Alexandra was close on his heels and decided to make her job easier by letting the Ambassador run his mouth off first. Alexandra wanted to be back on the command deck over seeing the investigation, her mind was awash with details and theories and she found it hard to focus on the people in front of her. Dr Baran came up behind her and touched her shoulder when she didn't respond to his greeting. Alexandra jumped and looked behind her.
"Oh sorry Doctor. I was just thinking."
"Any ideas what could have happened?"
"There was a surge in their warp core before the explosion. I feel we will have more pertinent information after analyzing the sensor readings."
Baran looked at Alexandra curiously and shook his head.
"What?"
"I thought I was talking to Vorik from the way you were speaking. Have you even thought of spending your time with someone other than a Vulcan?" He said with a chuckle.
"He does rub off after a while." She said with a half hearted laugh. Alexandra was led inside with everyone else and while the doctor saw to the second wife who had a broken arm from a fall.
"Ambassador Torin has told me my ship has been destroyed. Do you have any explanation for that?"
"We detected an over load in your ship's warp core before it exploded, we offered assistance but the they declined saying they would handle the situation on their own. Communication was closed and we were about to render assistance when the ship's engine went critical and exploded."
"Whom did you speak with when you contacted the ship."
"A man named Qu'Lar."
"I see. And what was your plan of action captain?"
"I was going to transport a team of engineers over to help correct the problem." Alexandra was beginning to feel like the official inquiry had already begun.
The chancellor turned to talk to the ambassador again while Alexandra had an unusual thought.
"I apologize for interrupting Chancellor but did you receive any communication from your ship in the last 2 hours?"
"No I didn't. Is that important?"
"It might be. It was made clear to me that you would be receiving regular communications from your ship. You were due to receive one 5 minutes before the explosion."
"Please keep me informed of your investigation. You may leave."
Alexandra felt like she was being dismissed as a like an embarrassing guest and it rankled her. She felt the doors close behind her and went directly to the command deck. When she got there is was still a buzz of activity, she walked over to Vorik and he gave her what information he had.
"Captain, I don't think the explosion was an accident."