CHAPTER 8
"Tempus fugit"
- Most races, here translated into Latin.
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, IN ORBIT OVER EARTH
SEPTEMBER 2269
The following morning, Sooth and Wilkes packed their bags and prepared to report back to the Hood. By the time their shuttlecraft finally landed in the bay, it was evening and Sooth said, "We should get dinner now. I'm starving!"
Wilkes, squeezing her arm answered, "I think that's a good sign - maybe you're eating for two." She purred and rubbed up against him, drawing a few glances from the other returning crew. One raw recruit opened his mouth to say something about the odd sight and a more experienced hand in Engineering red put his hand on his shoulder, "Don't, boot."
"I was just going..." he tried to explain.
"Just don't. You come see me after you get your gear stowed and I'll explain a few things to you. Until then, you just listen and learn, right? Trust me. It'll save you a lot of heartache."
As the young recruit opened his mouth to answer, the engineer raised his finger and said "Just listen and learn boot. That's all you gotta do." and turned to get his gear out of the racks.
As they left the shuttlebay, Wilkes said, "Damn, I really should report in to Chief Engineer White before we eat. We're supposed to report all contact with foreign nationals as soon as possible. Besides, I don't want mother's Yorkshire curd tarts to spoil...You go ahead, I'll meet you in the mess hall."
Knocking on the Chief's office door he heard a muffled "Come!" and walked through the door. "Lieutenant J.G. Wilkes reporting, sir."
White looked at him, "That stripe is still so new it squeaks." Catching sight of the package he asked, "Is that what it had better be?"
"Yes, sir." Wilkes smiled. "Mother and Father both send their best." and he placed the package on the desk. "We got married, sir."
"I'll be damned. In a church and everything? Like in the fairy tales?"
Wilkes laughed, "Yes, sir. Well maybe not quite a fairy tale. I don't think most of the inhabitants of Leyburn were quite ready for a Dosadi in a wedding gown. Come to think of it I'm not quite sure I was ready for that."
"Tell me the story, Wilkes." he ordered as he dug into the package. "Ahhh! And biscuits and jam to boot! Your mother is a wonderful woman, Wilkes."
"Yes, sir." and he launched into the full story of his leave, the wedding, their struggles with Dr. Mantoux's therapies and concluding with the story of the bar fight. "So this Hydran diplomat, some Colonel, wades into the brawl with a hand-stunner. We ended up having dinner and coffee together and he kept going on about this cafe in Paris, La Sencerre, that has like the best coffee in..."
White sat up, his face chalky. "Say that again." he interrupted.
"Which?"
"The cafe. What was the cafe?"
"La Sencerre, in Pari..."
"You sure he was Hydran?"
"Yes, sir, he had bright violet skin and white..."
"Come with me, right now, Wilkes." And he slammed the com panel on his desk, "White to Karmes, meet me in briefing room three, it's urgent. We need to get in touch with Enterprise."
Wilkes was trying to decide just how badly he had screwed up in talking to the little Colonel. He followed the Chief Engineer to the briefing room at a trot only to find that Captain Karmes and his new First Officer, Lieutenant Commander Thalev, a blue-skinned Andorian complete with antennae, were already there. "What the hell, White?" Karmes demanded.
"Trust me, sir, I think I've found him."
Looking around the room and at the viewscreen, Wilkes was seeing more rank in one place than he had ever wanted to, two of them living legends.
White ordered him, "Tell them what you told me about the discussion you had in that pub in Marseille. Make it fast and accurate."
Sweating and standing at rigid attention Wilkes began where Jons had reached down to Sooth, trying to think what it was he said that had gotten him in this much trouble. "..and so he invited us again to the Cafe La Sencerre in Paris for coffee." he concluded and shut his mouth tight.
"What was the officer's name again, Lieutenant?" Kirk asked. Wilkes thought to himself, "Holy shit. James Freaking-T Kirk is asking me a question. "Colonel Sir Jons Seins business attache to the Hydran embassy, sir!"
Spock said, "I have him, Captain." and the Colonel's picture flashed upon the viewscreen.
"Yes, sir! That is the man, sir!"
Karmes said, "Relax, Wilkes. You done good."
Spock continued, "That is our man, Captain. A perfect correlation between his movements and the death of Commander Batho and he was also in Marseille and not visible on the sensor nets when Technician Robert Durand suffered a massive stroke and died on the waterfront. Technician Durand, as you'll recall, has been identified as having unlawfully duplicated a large amount of top secret research."
Karmes said, "Now we just have to find him."
Wilkes spoke up quickly, "Oh, he's gone, sirs." and immediately regretted it as two Captains, and three Commanders turned and stared at him.
Spock asked, "And how do you know this, Lieutenant?"
"Sir! Just before he left he told us his ship was leaving on the hour."
"Dammit!" Karmes slammed his fist onto the table.
Kirk just said, "Spock?"
"Working, Captain." There was silence for a few moments and he continued, "The Hydran cruiser Succession left high-Earth orbit for Toulagai Starbase some 20 hours ago, Captain. At normal cruisng speed, they will arrive there in 28 hours, 14 minutes and 11 seconds, in time to rendezvous with the Romulon cruiser Hyperion."
Karmes slapped a button and the red-alert klaxon sounded throughout the ship, "All hands, this is the Captain. Emergency beam-back for all crew, we leave immediately"
Spock interjected, "Captain Karmes, you will need to exceed your ship's design capacity for some time in order to beat them there."
White smiled and said, "Scotty's not the only one with a few tricks up his sleeve, Commander Spock."
Kirk said, "Godspeed, Bob." and that was that.
