He turned back around and examined the large room again. The red and gold patterned wallpaper was, or so the clerk informed him, was an exact replica of the wallpaper used when the Mandarin Oriental was first built. The plush, golden carpet was soft under his feet, which inclined him to take his shoes off. Walking past the bathroom door, he took in the immense size of it, including the giant spa tub. He'd probably use that every night. An overstuffed, salmon colored chair sat next to the large and inviting bed. Exhaling deeply, he collapsed on it, laid his head back, and closed his eyes for several moments. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel this was a sort of last meal before the execution. The inquiry was tomorrow at eight o'clock sharp. If Wellington had his way, Stephen wouldn't be leaving until he had turned in his command pips and was holding a broom.
It felt as though the weight of several worlds was on him. His captain had comitted suicide, his ship had narrowly escaped a fierce gunfight with a hidden Dominion fleet, he had held the fate of an entire Cardassian race in his hands, he had bet against the orders of his superiors to save a handful of dignitaries and then there was... T'osa. T'osa, the self-admitted romulan spy who had supposedly befriended him, then almost got him killed after she convinced him to infiltrate a docked warbird. Stephen desperately longed for his life to be less... complicated. Still, the memory of T'osa was mostly pleasant, even if her original mission was to seduce him... well, it still WAS her mission, but she had admitted it to him because she needed a friend... or maybe she was still playing him... it gave him a headache.
Remembering he had a message from her still unseen, he looked at the black panel in the wall opposite the chair and called out, "Computer."
A male, but effeminate computerized voice replied, "Online and ready to serve." The voice made Stephen stare incredulously at the screen. He had never heard a voice like that come from a computer. Perhaps he was too insulated being out in space.
After a moment's pause, the computer added, "Is something wrong? I can adjust the room's environmental controls if you wish. Perhaps you'd like me to schedule a massage for you..."
Okay, that was weird. He wasn't used to a computer offering leisure suggestions. "No, no," he replied quickly. "I want you to link with the Starfleet central repository."
"I will need your credentials in order to access that computer," the voice replied melodically.
"Uh, yeah... sure," he replied, still shaking his head. "Commander Kirk, Stephen F. Authorization sigma, five, one, five, gamma."
The golden, triangular Starfleet logo appeared on the screen. "I have established access with the Starfleet system. What would you like me to do?" The computer asked hopefully.
"Link with the USS Warlord's communication system. I have a message waiting." Kirk replied hesitantly. He still wasn't sure he wanted to listen to it. The past several weeks had just been a futher complication to his life. He hadn't spent much time thinking about the opposite sex, but in the back of his mind, he had figured on eventually finding a nice, quiet woman to settle down with. T'osa was certainly not that. She was dangerous, in more ways than one.
"I have located the message. Downloading," the computer added. A few seconds later, the computer concluded, "Message has been downloaded. Would you like me to play it for you?"
Stephen took a deep breath. Although the word "no" was on the tip of his tongue, he somehow found himself saying, "Yes."
T'osa, from the waste up, appeared on the screen. She was in a typical, romulan uniform; a golden brown outfit made of angled, squared fabric. A large, squared collar of the same material crossed the front of her neck as it wrapped around. Unlike typical romulan uniforms, hers was of a softer material, which highlighted her curves more than normal uniforms. Her straight, light brown hair had also grown a bit longer since he last saw her. Her large, amber colored eyes still sparkled. Although her chin was well chiseled, the rest of her facial features were quite soft, down to the barely noticable ridges in her forehead. Despite his thoughts of 'turn it off', he found himself smiling at her face.
The voice, however, brought him back to reality like a slap in the face. "Hello, Commander," she said in a demure, but accented voice. Secretly, she had revealed to him that she spoke perfect English and was far from demure, but was forced to use this voice because that was what the romulan government said he would be most attracted to. The fact she was using it again just reminded him of her initial plans to deceive him. "Unfortunately, I am at work right now," she said slowly, an obvious hint that she wouldn't be able to talk freely, "so I cannot talk long. I wanted to state again how pleasant it was to spend the evening with you. I am sorrowful that I have not had the chance to talk to you more, but I have been told you are on an assignment and cannot talk." She leaned in closer to the screen. "I have learned a great many things and would like to share them with you." For a moment, her eyes grew intense. Obviously, she was referring to a theory she had about romulans and remans working together to help bring down the current government... well, that was HER theory, anyway. Part of that had been proven by their 'break in' of the romulan warbird. She sat back and her look returned to its 'innocent' charm. "I hope I can see you again..."
The door chime to his room rang, causing Stephen to slip out of his daze. "Computer, pause." The image of T'osa froze on the screen. Still confused as to who would be ringing his door, he announced, "It's open."
The wooden door slid open to reveal a five foot, six inch human woman in her late twenties with strawberry blonde hair slung back into a single pony tail behind her. She wore a brown and red jumpsuit with a long, narrow band of black as sunglasses. She smiled broadly. "Heya, Dirtbutt." Her voice was high-pitched, a little raspy, and very familiar.
Stephen jumped out of the chair and raced for the door. He grabbed her around the waist and picked her up in a big hug. She returned the favor by wrapping her arms around his neck. "Heya, Sis!" he shouted. It was a wonderful surprise to see her. Eventually he put her down as she removed her now misaligned sunglasses. "What are you doing here?"
Kathrine playfully pushed him backwards into his room. "You sounded depressed about this meeting you're gonna have tomorrow. So, I talked it over with David and we figured we'd take a couple of days off and take a mini vacation. I hope you don't mind," she said with an even bigger smile, "we're right around the corner." She pointed down the hall to the right.
"You didn't have to do that," Stephen countered sincerely. Technically, he was thrilled to have family with him. The thought of going through whatever tomorrow would bring alone really disturbed him. Even though Admiral Leonard would be there, he'd be there in an official capacity, not as a mentor.
Kathrine's playful smile disappeared into a softer, more sincere smile. "Of course I did. Ain't no one beats up on my brother except me... remember?" Those words echoed in Stephen's mind from at least a dozen different memories he had as a child. The truth was, it was her mouth, not his, that usually started fights... and it was him, not her, who had to come to the rescue.
Still, it was the thought that counted. No matter what, he could always count on his family. That was, at least, one area of his life that wasn't complex. "Thanks," he said quietly. Perking up, he added, "So, David's here, too?"
She nodded. "Yep, and Charlie. Ever since we started talking about coming to San Francisco, he's been going on and on about seeing the Bridge and swimming in the Pacific. I tried tellin' him that it looks just like the Gulf, but YOU try telling that to a four year old and see how far THAT goes."
Kirk shook his head. "Charlie's four?" Had time really flown by that quickly? Was he actually starting to feel... old? "Geez... I can remember when you were pregnant."
She patted her stomach and looked at Stephen knowingly. "Well, it's not just a memory." Stephen's eyes bulged. She nodded, "I'm pregnant again."
Stephen chuckled. "Wow... you guys must be happy. Do you know when it's due?"
"'It's' a she," Kathrine corrected, "praise the Lord, and SHE'S not due until September."
"My gosh," Stephen remarked. His little sister really was all grown up. Well, sure... he had come to that conclusion years ago. She certainly seemed happy with her life.
Kathrine raised an eyebrow and cocked her head. "So, when will Charlie be getting a little cousin to play with?" She asked playfully. With her head cocked, she could see the image of a pointed-eared woman on the computer panel behind him. She was very attractive. She stared for a moment, then whistled. "Who's the vulcan chick?" She asked, pointing to the screen.
Startled at the fact T'osa's face was still on the monitor, he spun around. "Um," he stumbled, "she's romulan, not vulcan."
Kathrine nodded with a sly grin. "I see... consorting with the enemy, huh? Am I interrupting a conversation?"
Kirk shook his head. "No, no... it's just a message. Some... romulan diplomat stuff."
His sister shook her head. "You are SUCH a crappy liar. Were you planning on replying to her?"
Seeing his sister and knowing she dropped everything just to come and support him was just the encouraging thought he needed to realize who he could trust... and who he couldn't. He didn't need T'osa to complicate his life any more than it already was. Let her solve her riddles on her own. "No," he replied finally, "I wasn't planning on replying." He turned back to the computer, confident in his decision. "Computer... erase message."