CHAPTER FOUR
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McCoy paused when he walked into Sickbay and saw Commodore Ramsey with Nurse Chapel. The Commodore hopped off one of the diagnostic beds as Chapel finished running a scan. "Well, I see it, but I don't believe it. A starship captain who came in voluntarily for her physical," McCoy said. "Which tests are left, Christine?" He turned toward the tall, platinum blonde in the blue medical uniform.
"Just the psychological evaluation, Doctor," Chapel said.
"Doctor McCoy, could we put that off until a later time? I would like to get a little more settled in before the change of command ceremony," Ramsey interrupted.
"Well, since I didn't have to badger you to get you in here, all right," McCoy said. He glanced at several of the readouts from the Commodore's tests. "This time only."
"Thanks. I'll get with you for the psyche eval within a couple of days." Ramsey headed out the door.
McCoy frowned slightly as he watched Ramsey leave. "Nurse Chapel, have we received the Commodore's records yet?"
"Yes, Doctor. I put them on your desk."
"Thank you." McCoy headed to his office. In a way, he was glad the Commodore had asked to wait on the psychological tests. This would give him a chance to review her medical records and compare notes with Kirk before the evaluation.
#
When she returned to her quarters, Ramsey began unpacking. Since her orders had been changed abruptly, she hadn't brought much with her. After putting her uniforms and other clothes in the wardrobe, she laid her weapons out on the bed. Rummaging through one of her bags, Ramsey found the weapon hooks and began hanging her collection on the wall behind the bed. All of the weapons except the bat'leth went there. The Klingon sword went in the office, over her desk.
Other than her weapons and clothes, she had only brought along a few other items, one of these a bronze colored statue of two humanoid men locked in physical combat. She carefully placed the sculpture on her desk.
Ramsey glanced around the two rooms again and decided to move the lounge chair from the bedroom into the office. This would leave her a larger area for her morning exercises. It would also put both of the guest chairs in the office, where she expected to use them.
Ramsey was hanging a picture on the wall across from the bed, when her door chime rang. "Come in," she called.
"Yeoman Michael Kraus, reporting. I've been assigned as your personal yeoman," the young man said, as he entered the room.
Ramsey glanced at the picture then turned to stare at Kraus. "Warren?" she said softly. She put a hand on the wall to steady herself.
"Commodore, are you okay? Should I contact Sickbay?" Kraus asked, reaching for her.
"No, I'm fine. Seeing you was like seeing a ghost from my past. I'll be okay."
Ramsey looked again at the picture, then back at Kraus. The resemblance between the young man now in her quarters and the officer in the picture was incredible. "It's been a long time, Michael."
She offered her hand to Kraus who clasped it warmly. "You may not remember me. I served on board the Excalibur with your father," she said.
"Of course, I remember you. That's why I volunteered for this position." Kraus studied the picture on the wall.
"You...volunteered?" Ramsey stared at Kraus remembering the last time she had seen him. It had been almost seven years ago, after his father's funeral. It was hard to picture the angry young man who had blamed her for his father's death, as the calm yeoman standing in front of her now.
"I did. Since mom's death last year, you're the closest thing to family I have left." Kraus frowned and turned away. "You know, it really hurt her that you never visited us again after the funeral. She and dad both thought of you as a sister," he said.
"Michael, I'm sorry." Ramsey laid her arm across his shoulders and gave him a slight hug. "All things considered, I thought it was for the best." She released the hug. Considering your mother's telepathic abilities I couldn't take a chance on her finding out who I was.
Kraus turned to look at her, an expression of worry crossing his face. "If it's going to be a problem, you can request someone else be assigned. I'll understand."
"I don't think that'll be necessary. It was just the shock of seeing you again after all this time. That—and your resemblance to your father. You could almost pass for his twin. Now, about why you're here. You're assigned as my personal yeoman. As far as I'm concerned that means you're only required to keep me straight on ship's business. I don't agree with those commanders who use their yeomen as personal servants. I may occasionally ask you to do personal errands, but you need to remember I am asking. Feel free to refuse any such request if it interferes with your own plans. In addition, just in case you can't resist, I'll give you advanced warning; I hate coffee—don't deliver any.
"Be here at zero eight hundred tomorrow, ready to go over personnel files and ship's records with me."
Kraus grinned. "Yes, Sir."
Ramsey returned the grin and waved her hand at Kraus' collar length hair. "You are definitely Warren's son. I see you're keeping your hair the same way he did; barely within regulations."
"Begging your pardon, the same could be said of you, as well," Kraus said, pointing at her ponytail. "Sir."
Ramsey straightened the picture, and ran her hand lightly over the depiction of the USS Excalibur amid a large starfield. For a brief moment, her fingers rested on the small inset picture of herself and Captain Warren Kraus when he presented her with her promotion to commander. On it was written, "Congratulations, Kitty Kelli—Warren."
"Your father's attitude as well, I see."
"I learned from the best." Kraus reached over and touched the picture of Ramsey and his father as he turned to leave.
"Michael," she said, suddenly. "Don't expect any special treatment because of our past relationship. I will treat you the same as I treat everyone." Her words came out harsher than she intended, and she regretted them immediately.
"Yes, Sir. I wouldn't have expected anything else." Kraus spoke without facing her and his back stiffened as he stepped through the door.
Ramsey stepped into the office and looked at the bat'leth. Earlier she had proudly demonstrated the weapon to Kirk. Now, glancing at the picture of Warren, it was a reminder of her guilt and the secret she had worked to keep so carefully hidden.
"Damn it! I'm a warrior. I should have better control than this. Get a grip on yourself, Kelli Ramsey. You have a job to do. Do it!"
"Computer, time!" she demanded.
"The time is fifteen hundred hours," the voice of the Enterprise's computer said.
Ramsey took a deep breath then reached up and loosened her ponytail as she headed for the shower.
#
Kirk entered his quarters, pulled the computer tape from his waistband and tossed it on the desk.
"Computer, record personal log entry," he said.
"Recording."
"Personal log. It has been over five months since the Enterprise returned to Earth. My crew was given extended leave time and Enterprise was being prepared for refit. With my upcoming promotion to admiral, being here, on the Enterprise, was the last place I expected to find myself.
"Now, my crew has been recalled from leave and I find myself back on board. To complicate matters, Admiral Cartwright has placed Commodore Kelli Ramsey in command and given me a separate assignment." Kirk paused and paced the floor of his office for a few minutes trying to figure out exactly what he wanted to say.
"Admiral Cartwright is concerned Commodore Ramsey may be a Klingon agent. He told me he is the only member of the Admiralty who has suspicions regarding Ramsey. From what else he said I believe he may have pulled strings to put me in this assignment. The Admiral has ordered me to watch Commodore Ramsey and report anything I find back to him. One thing is bothering me in all this—he all but guaranteed me the Enterprise back if I proved his accusations.
"I'm sure Admiral Cartwright knows how hard I fought to keep the Enterprise. I'm concerned he might be trying to manipulate me into proving the accusation. Although, why he would want to do that, I don't know.
"End log."
"Recorded."
Kirk sat down, placed the computer tape into the slot on his desk, and started scanning the material provided by Admiral Cartwright.
Ramsey's record at the Academy, academically at least, had been outstanding. Kirk did notice several reprimands in her disciplinary records. One of these was for destroying the Kobyashi Maru during that test.
Despite the disciplinary problems, she had graduated in the top two percent of her class and had been allowed to pursue dual career tracks. Ramsey spent an extra two years at the Academy and graduated from both the command and engineering schools.
Because of having demonstrated an above average understanding of Klingon tactics as well as speaking fluent Klingon, a recommendation was made to assign Ensign Ramsey to one of the Constitution Class ships along the Klingon border. She was assigned to the Excalibur and in less than nine years had been promoted to first officer.
Three years after her promotion to first officer, Commander Ramsey fell ill with a disease the Chief Medical Officer of the Excalibur couldn't identify. She was taken to Starbase 16 for treatment. After she was left at the starbase, a Klingon ship attacked the Excalibur, and Captain Warren Kraus killed.
While the doctors at Starbase 16 couldn't identify the disease, they felt the virus was Klingon in origin and it was her mixed genetics which made it so life threatening. Admiral Cartwright had added an additional note: "Where and how did she get this?"
When Commander Ramsey returned to the Excalibur, she assumed temporary command and returned the ship to Earth for repairs. Her annual physical was completed while en route, and several parts of her psychological evaluation didn't match up to her previous tests. She requested an extended leave on Vulcan, claiming stress and severe depression as the reason. Starfleet Medical agreed, and her leave was granted. When she returned from Vulcan, Ramsey was promoted to Captain and placed in command of the Excalibur.
The Excalibur was assigned back to the patrol routes along the Klingon border and within six months of Ramsey taking command, all Klingon challenges of the starship stopped. After Ramsey's assignment to Starfleet Headquarters, the Excalibur was assigned to participate in the M-5 war games. She was all but destroyed in that exercise.
Kirk closed his eyes for a moment, remembering that disastrous event and the role the Enterprise had played in it. Three Constitution Class Starships had suffered heavy damage in the exercise, leaving the patrol routes along the Klingon border under manned. The Klingons had quickly taken advantage of the situation.
The last thing to catch Kirk's eye was in the awards list. Commander Ramsey had received something called The Order of the BatleH. Emperor K'Lyion of the Klingon Empire had presented this award to her. Again, Admiral Cartwright had added his own note. "According to the mission logs, Ramsey received a formal reprimand from Captain Kraus and Starfleet Command for disobeying orders, a direct result of the actions which earned her this award from the Klingon Emperor."
Kirk leaned back in his chair, looked at the computer screen and frowned. Something told him Admiral Cartwright was doing this for personal reasons, not because Commodore Ramsey was a Klingon agent. He knew the Admiral hated Klingons, but couldn't bring himself to believe Cartwright would be doing all this just because Ramsey was half Klingon. It didn't make any sense. Still, the file raised questions. Questions to which he knew there would be no easy answers.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his door chime. "Come," he called.
"Hi, Jim. Thought you could use a drink." McCoy entered the room carrying a decanter filled with an amber fluid and two glasses.
"Saurian brandy?" Kirk asked, as McCoy set the decanter and glasses on the desk.
McCoy nodded. "Of course. Only the best for the former Captain of the Enterprise." McCoy filled the two glasses, picked up one then sat down. "I see you didn't give up your old quarters," he said.
"I offered to move out, but Kelli said the VIP cabin was fine for her." Kirk picked up the glass McCoy left on the desk and took a sip of the brandy.
"How do you feel about this assignment, Jim?" McCoy asked after almost a minute of silence.
"I don't like it. I don't like the way Admiral Cartwright pulled strings to set up it up. I don't like the idea that a Starfleet officer could be a Klingon agent. I especially don't like the idea that same officer is in command of the Enterprise."
"So you think she is a Klingon agent?" McCoy asked.
"I don't know. I'll admit her records do bring up some questions that I don't have ready answers to. But, I'm not sure I would have those questions if I hadn't heard Cartwright's accusation." Kirk set his glass down and paused for a moment.
"Bones," Kirk finally said. "There's something about all this that's bothering me. I don't know if it's something about Kelli or something about this assignment in general."
"Then why did you accept this assignment?" McCoy asked. "I bet Nogura or Ciana would have backed you if you refused. Tell you the truth, I never thought of you as the cloak and dagger type who would spy on a fellow officer."
"Never thought I was, either. I'm not sure why I accepted. One last chance to be on the Enterprise before taking that desk job in Admiral Ciana's office, I guess."
McCoy stood up, drained his glass and set it on Kirk's desk. "Something you might find interesting. While we were on the bridge, Commodore Ramsey actually reported to Sickbay for her physical. She asked to hold off on the psychological evaluation though."
"When you get her records, compare her psyche profiles from before she became Captain of the Excalibur with those from after. Before you say anything, I know how you feel about doctor patient confidentiality. I don't want to know every little medical detail of her life, but I do need to know anything that could possibly have any bearing on Cartwright's accusations."
"Okay, Jim. You'll get my report after I complete my evaluation."
Kirk nodded. "Thanks for stopping by. I'll see you at the ceremony." He picked up his glass and drained it as he watched McCoy leave the room.
#
Ramsey frowned when she saw the dress uniform laid on her bed. The note attached to it, however, brought a brief smile. "Welcome to the Enterprise, Aunt Kelli. You will find that we like to do things our own way. That includes giving you the perks accorded to starship captains. Besides, after your speech about personal servants, I couldn't resist."
After dressing, she went up the observation deck to relax during the few minutes she had left prior to the ceremony. The room was bare and gray. There was nothing to distract the observer from the view offered from the dorsal area of the saucer section.
Ramsey was watching the cloud patterns of Earth swirling over the blue of the oceans when she heard footsteps approaching.
"Commodore?" a voice said behind her.
She turned to see Yeoman Kraus escorting a Vulcan wearing the black uniform of the diplomatic courier service. "Yes?" she asked.
"Commodore Kelli Ramsey?" the Vulcan asked.
Ramsey nodded and the courier handed her a sealed diplomatic pouch. The IDIC symbol on the seal was inlaid over another design resembling a diamond pierced by a dagger. "There will be no reply. You may go."
The Vulcan nodded, turned and left.
Inside the pouch, Ramsey found a short hand written note. "K'Lyssia, you are in a great deal of danger. Be careful and watch your back. Qapla'—Ta'les."
She felt her breath catch in her chest and a sudden chill surround her heart as she reread the message. "Damn!" she said, softly.
"Commodore, is something wrong?" Kraus asked.
"Just some bad news from a friend." Ramsey walked over to a disposal unit, shredded the message and dropped the pieces into the unit. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she regained her composure. "I believe I have a ceremony to get to, don't I?"
"Yes, Sir."
#
The change of command took place on the main cargo deck, the only place on the Enterprise large enough to accommodate the entire crew. The area had been cleared of all equipment and cargo. Banners representing the homeworlds of the crew hung on the walls, along with banners showing the emblems of the Enterprise and the Federation.
On the far end of the deck, a dais was set up. Currently in position were Ensign Chekov as Honors Officer of the Deck and Chief Kyle as Honors Petty Officer of the Watch. Also on the dais were Yeoman Kraus and Yeoman Conrad, standing by the ship's flag at the back of the platform.
Kirk nodded politely as Ramsey joined him in the alcove they had been asked to wait in before the ceremony began. He noticed a large gray badge standing out at the neckline of her dress uniform. "That's the Order of the BatleH, isn't it?" he asked, indicating the badge.
Ramsey reached up and rubbed the triangular shaped emblem. "It is. Been reading my file, have you?" She grinned.
"Out of curiosity, why is it worn there, and not with the rest of your awards?"
"This is the normal position for it on the Klingon uniform. Think of it like a knighthood emblem." Ramsey paused as a bell began ringing out. Eight times it rang out followed by Chief Kyle's announcement, "Vice Admiral Ciana, arriving." There was a pause of several seconds and again the bell rang out eight times. "Admiral Cartwright, arriving," Kyle announced. Another pause and another eight rings. "C-in-C Starfleet, arriving." Another ring.
"Detail, attention," Chekov commanded, as Admiral Nogura proceeded to his seat at the front of the formation.
At a signal from one of the crew in the back of the ranks, Kirk nodded to Ramsey and they moved to the dais. As soon as they took their positions, the Federation anthem began playing. As the last notes of the music faded, Chekov brought the crew back to parade rest and the guests took their seats.
Kirk had opted to not speak to the crew at this ceremony. He had lost command of the Enterprise five months ago. He was only part of this ceremony at Admiral Nogura's insistence. Besides, he had already given his farewell speech once; he didn't want to go through it again.
As acting First Officer, Ensign Chekov stepped forward with a copy of the orders. "Per Starfleet order zero nine two seven two two six nine dash alpha two zero, Commodore Kelli Jolynda Ramsey you are requested and required to take command of NCC-1701, USS Enterprise. Signed Admiral Nogura, Starfleet Command, Commanding."
Ramsey turned to face Kirk and snapped a sharp salute. "I am ready to relieve you, Captain."
Kirk returned and held the salute. "I am ready to be relieved." He repeated the traditional words of the ancient ceremony, which dated back at least three centuries.
"I relieve you, Sir." Ramsey replied.
"I am relieved." Kirk dropped his salute and Ramsey copied the movement.
"Transfer the pennant," Kirk ordered. Yeoman Conrad carefully removed the ship's flag from the stand and presented it to Kirk.
Kirk handed the dark blue standard with the gold Enterprise emblem on it to Ramsey; his mind racing back to the day he had accepted it from Captain Pike. He finally understood how hard it had been for Chris to give up command of this ship. Until this moment, he had been able to continue thinking of the Enterprise as his. He had even hoped that one day he would get her back. Now, the Enterprise was going off on a new mission, with a new captain in the center seat, and would do so again after Commodore Ramsey left.
Ramsey accepted the flag then passed it to Yeoman Kraus who placed it back into the stand.
"The Enterprise is yours, Commodore," Kirk said quietly.
Kirk noticed a sad smile on the Commodore's face as she looked out over the assembled crew.
"I'm not going to bore all of you with a long speech," she said. "I only want to say I'm very honored Starfleet has given me the chance to command the ship and crew which have the reputation as the finest in the fleet. Thank you."
As Ramsey stepped back, Chekov again called the crew to attention. The boson's whistle sounded and Kirk stepped off the platform. The bell rang four times and Kyle announced, "Captain James T. Kirk, departing." Another bell ring followed.