CHAPTER SEVEN

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"Commodore, we have a transmission coming in from Admiral Cartwright," Uhura said, as Ramsey stepped onto the bridge.

Ramsey took a deep breath as she sat in the command chair and faced the viewscreen. "On screen," she said.

"Commodore, the conference arrangements have been finalized. You will be transporting the senior ambassadors from the Federation, the Romulan Star Empire and the Klingon Empire to Khitomer. The ambassadors, and their aides, will transport up at seventeen hundred hours. By the way, the Klingon Ambassador is very sensitive about his personal privacy. He has filed a formal request for the transport scanners to be disabled; this includes the weapons scanner. Your orders leave it to your discretion. Cartwright out."

Ramsey stared at the screen for about a minute after Cartwright's image had faded to be replaced by a view of Earth. "Have Commander Hilte report to the bridge," she finally said.

"Yes, Ma'am." Uhura turned back to her board and began paging the security chief.

"Mister Chekov, have you managed to bring Commander Decker up to speed on Enterprise protocols and routines?" Ramsey asked, after a few minutes.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Do you feel confident in relinquishing the duties of first officer to Commander Decker?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Very well. See the appropriate annotations are made in the ship's logs, then resume your post at weapons and navigation."

"Yes, Ma'am." Chekov turned to the science station computer and began entering information.

"And, Mister Chekov," Ramsey said suddenly. "Excellent job. Thank you."

"Thank you for the opportunity, Sir," Chekov said.

Ramsey cocked her head and smiled at Chekov who returned it with one of his boyish grins. Maybe, just maybe, this assignment will work out after all, she thought, watching Chekov take his seat at the navigation console.

Ramsey heard the turbo-lift doors open and looked over to see the security chief step onto the bridge.

"Commander Hilte reporting as ordered," he said, with a crisp nod.

"Commander, we have received our final orders from Starfleet. The Enterprise is scheduled to transport a group of delegates to Khitomer. We will be carrying the senior ambassadors from the Federation, the Romulan and the Klingon Empires. I want you to detail two of your best officers to both the Klingon and Romulan Ambassadors. We have also been advised the Klingon Ambassador is very sensitive about his privacy. He has made a formal request that the transport scanners, including the weapons scanner, be disabled," Ramsey said.

"You're not seriously considering that request, are you?" Hilte blurted. The security chief quickly regained his composure, looking slightly embarrassed.

"In the interest of diplomacy, yes I am. However, we can safely assume the Klingon Ambassador will have some kind of weapon on him. In the interest of ship's security, I want you to disable the weapon's indicator on the transporter console and reroute the scan information. Also, get with Commander Scott. Let's make sure the Ambassador isn't able to detect the scan."

"I'll get right on it," Hilte said with an agreeing nod.

"The ambassadors will be transporting up at seventeen hundred. I expect you and the security escorts to be in the transporter room at sixteen-fifty. Full dress for you, Commander."

"Yes, Sir." Hilte snapped to attention, nodded, then turned and left the bridge.

"Commander Uhura," Ramsey said, trying to hide a grin as she watched Hilte leave. "Contact Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy. I would like them to be present when the ambassadors arrive." She turned to face Uhura and Decker. "Mister Decker, your presence is required. I want a formal reception scheduled for twenty-one hundred tonight and an informal reception for later this week. Having both the Klingon and Romulan Ambassadors on board is sure to create tension. Instead of the normal concert or play, I would like something more relaxed. Something to relieve some of that tension. Suggestions?"

"I have one, but I'm not sure if it is appropriate," Uhura said.

"Let's hear it," Ramsey said.

"Since this is the month of October, how about a masquerade ball?"

"October?" Ramsey asked. "Oh, I get it...Halloween." She paused for several seconds. "I like the idea, but the ambassadors might not. Check with them first. If they're agreeable, go ahead and make the arrangements."

"Yes, Ma'am." Uhura gave Ramsey a smile that lit up her delicate features.

You're welcome, Ramsey thought, then turned her attention to Decker. "Mister Decker, make sure all personnel are notified shore leave is canceled. I want everyone back on board no later than nineteen hundred. We'll plan on breaking orbit as soon as transports are completed," she said.

"Commodore," Uhura interrupted. "We're receiving notification from Starfleet that our new Science Officer is ready to beam up."

"Notify the transporter room. Mister Decker, you have the bridge." Ramsey started whistling an old Irish drinking song as she entered the turbo-lift.

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Chief Kyle nodded to her as Ramsey entered the transporter room.

"Complete transport, Chief," Ramsey said, stepping to the front of the console. As the hum of the transporter began, she turned her back to the platform.

"Commander Andrew Moore reporting. Permission to come aboard?" a voice asked behind her.

"Only if you have the blood wine you owe me, Commander. I always knew you would do anything to get out of paying a bet. Don't you think you went a little too far this time? Having Admiral Nogura send me a notice of you being presumed dead after the M-Five war games wasn't funny in the least little bit!" Ramsey turned to face the newcomer, her hands on her hips and an attempt at a frown on her face.

"Damn, it didn't work. It's good to see you, too, Kelli. By the way; congratulations on the promotion. And, yes, I do have the wine. Do you have any idea what it took to get this across the Klingon border?" He smiled as he handed her a pewter decanter.

"I can only guess," she said with a laugh. "It shouldn't have been too hard, considering I told you who to contact."

Moore ran his hand through his black hair and smiled again. Ramsey frowned at the lines she saw around and under his dark blue eyes. His skin was paler than she remembered and he appeared to have lost weight.

"You're right," he said. "But I had to harass you about it. After all, we haven't seen each other in two years."

"True. By the Fek'lhr, I'm glad to see you again." Ramsey gave Moore a quick hug. "Come on, I'll show you your quarters."

#

"Here you go, home sweet home, for now at least," Ramsey said, as the door to Moore's quarters opened. "Now, I want to know why you haven't contacted me in the last two years. It would have been nice to know the killed in action notice was only your idea of a sick practical joke."

Moore studied her for a moment and saw the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"To tell the truth, Kelli, I forgot. I stayed with the Excalibur while she was towed back, which took a while at impulse speeds. The repair work was started en route, and we're finishing up now at the new shipyards at Utopia Plenitia. If I had gotten a chance to come to Earth, I would have told you when I saw you. I started to ask Admiral Nogura if I could attach a note to the personnel record they transmitted, but I decided to wait and apologize in person." Moore sat down on the bed and motioned to one of the chairs.

Ramsey sat down, still holding the decanter. Moore grinned as he rummaged around in one of his bags. "Here, catch." He tossed her a pewter cup. "That came with the wine."

"Thanks. Got another, and I'll pour you one also," Ramsey said, filling the cup.

"No thanks. Never developed a taste for that stuff." He watched as Ramsey took a long drink of the dark red wine.

"Okay, it's your turn. I want to know what's going on. You were supposed to be taking command of the Excalibur when her repairs and refit were completed. Now, you're here, and to top it off, the rumor mill says Kirk is still on board," he said.

"Rumor mill's correct. Cartwright put Kirk on board."

Moore watched Ramsey closely for a moment, but she was using the cup almost as a shield, as she watched him from over the rim.

"Any idea why?" he asked.

"No. Kirk told me he was under sealed orders, but shouldn't get in the way. I have a feeling Cartwright's up to something, but I don't know what." She took another swallow of the wine and Moore saw her hands trembling slightly. The whiteness of her knuckles told him it wasn't from fear.

"Cartwright told me at the beginning of the month, I would be taking command of Excalibur. Then without any warning, those orders are changed to Enterprise. Funny thing is, even with all these changes, our orders are for nothing more than a simple ambassadorial transport."

"I agree; there's something not adding up here. I found out you were taking command of the Enterprise from Admiral Nogura when he inspected Excalibur, about a week ago."

"A week ago!" Ramsey said, jerking her head up. "I only found out two days ago."

Moore watched her carefully, studying her reactions. He wanted to tell her exactly why he was here, but he was under orders. "Kelli," he said softly. "It was Nogura who assigned me here. I requested a transfer as soon as I found out you were coming here, but Cartwright denied it. Yesterday, I received orders to report here; they were signed by Admiral Nogura."

"I knew this assignment was a set-up of some kind!" Ramsey threw the cup of wine against the far wall and watched as the dark red fluid flowed down the wall to the carpet.

"Kelli Ramsey!" Moore jumped off the bed. "You have got to get a grip on that temper of yours."

Ramsey turned and glared at Moore, and he felt himself flinch at the anger in her eyes. He forced himself to meet her stare, and saw something else: Fear. Fear was the one thing he couldn't ever remember seeing reflected in Kelli Ramsey's eyes the entire time he had known her. Oh, Lord, he thought. Please don't let Cartwright be right. He can't be right. But, what if he is? The question came unexpectedly to his thoughts and he shuddered.

"You can't fool me, Andrew. You know what's going on and I want to know what it is!" Ramsey demanded, taking a step towards him.

Moore met her angry gaze with what he hoped was calm confidence and compassion. "I can't tell you anything else. Don't ask me to. What you need to do is get a grip. Start thinking logically instead of just reacting. Now, if this assignment is a set-up, who would want to do that to you, and has the ability to pull it off?"

"Cartwright! He has carried a grudge against me for a couple of years, ever since his last visit to the Excalibur. There may be others, but he's the first that comes to mind'" Ramsey said, sitting back down.

"Okay, then we start with him. What is there about you or in your record that he could twist around and use against you?" he asked.

"I don't know. The only thing I can think of is my mixed blood. Knowing Cartwright it would make sense. He hates Klingons, and I'm half Klingon. But, Starfleet already knows that, it's part of my records. How can he use it against me?"

"What if he found a way to tie you to the Empire?" he asked.

"What are you saying? There is nothing. Absolutely nothing he could find that would tie me to anyone in the Empire. I'm certain of that." Ramsey's tone was confident and insistent.

"Discounting what happened during Cartwright's visit to the Excalibur, what about the time you rescued the Klingon Emperor?"

"K'Lyion is the Leader of the Klingon High Council. There hasn't been an Emperor for over two hundred years," Ramsey said.

"Just how do you know that? Starfleet has always referred to the head of the Empire as the Emperor. I don't know of any intelligence reports that say otherwise." The idea Cartwright could be right nagged at him again.

Ramsey hesitated and glanced around the room. Although she never looked directly at him, Moore could see the worry in her eyes and etched on her face.

"I asked K'Lyion about the Empire while he was on the Excalibur," she finally said. "I thought it would be nice to know something about that part of my ancestry."

"And, you never passed on anything from that conversation to Intelligence?"

"No! It was a personal conversation per his request. I gave my word." Ramsey looked at him squarely, and he saw the anger and defiance back in her eyes. "As far as the rescue, I was only doing my job. You know that!"

Yes, but you disobeyed orders to return to the Excalibur, in order to save a Klingon you claim you didn't know. Something which was reported in the ship's logs and your records, he thought. Moore thought back for a moment, remembering that rescue. Kelli had gone after a lone life form in an area of high radiation, which had interfered with the transporter. She ignored Captain Kraus' repeated orders to vacate the area; first by claiming the radiation was interfering with communications and then by refusing to acknowledge his repeated hails. Fortunately, the transporter chief was finally able to get enough of a pattern lock before the ship was destroyed to get her and K'Lyion back.

Warren had been so angry at her insubordination; he had chewed her out right there in the transporter room. Something he would normally have only done in private. He had also given her a formal letter of reprimand, which was better than the court-martial some captains would have done.

Moore shook his head to clear the memory, then noticed Ramsey clenching and unclenching her hands. "Kelli, relax. I seriously doubt Cartwright has anything that can actually be proven, just be careful. As you mentioned earlier, Cartwright has held a grudge over what happened during his visit to the Excalibur. Not many people can get into a confrontation with a superior officer like you did, and get away with it," he said.

"He had it coming! Nobody countermands me on the bridge on my ship gets away with it! He was interfering with a rescue operation, and Command backed me on that."

True, but Command never heard the full details of that incident, he thought. "I know, Kelli. I was there, remember?"

"I remember. I appreciate all the support and trust you gave me then. Give me that same trust and support now; tell me what's going on."

"I can't tell you anything."

"Thanks a lot." Ramsey forced a smile, but he didn't see it reflected in her eyes. "If you'll excuse me, I have to change, then go greet the ambassadors."