AN: Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek, nor plan to make any profit from this story. The original creations are the Federation Intelligence group and Anna and her team.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think, I appreciate all the feedback! Also, it's about to get crazy in the next chapter...

Chapter 9

"And this is our main observation area."

Jim led Anna into a large dimly lit space that looked as if it were mostly glass. Of course, everyone knew that it wasn't; the reinforced TransparShield was made of much sturdier stuff and protected the ship and its inhabitants against solar pulses, flares, and other dangerous objects. But what it provided- a clear view of the stars- was breath-taking.

It seemed a million stars twinkled against the black velvet background of space and Jim couldn't help but feel awed by the sight before him. It reminded him time and time again why he loved his job and his life. After the hardest of missions, bruised and battered, he could find peace in the stars. The irony of it all was not lost on him- when he was younger, he had hated Starfleet and the starry sky had meant nothing more to him than a reminder of all that had been taken away from him as a child.

It was Anna who loved the stars, not me.

And I was the one who was always ready for a fight.

Now look at us.

For years, Jim knew he had been a little lost, unable and unwilling to let go of the hurt and bitterness that came with being left again and again. But now he had his ship and his crew to ground him, he knew his place was among the stars. It was odd but it comforted him to know that he was only a small part of something so much greater than himself. Whether he lived or died, the silence of space would continue, uncaring of him. It had taken him a long time to get to this point but for once in his life, he was content.

Well.

Almost.

As the doors slid shut behind them, Anna walked to the far end of the room and for a moment it looked as if she were walking out into space itself. Her body was outlined in stars. Jim followed her quietly knowing instinctively that she needed time to process the view.

They stood in silence for a moment- although during their short dinner and then throughout the tour, she had been quiet and pensive, leaving him to fill up the silence between them. Anna greeted his crew politely but there was a stillness about her that he knew was unsettling. Most of the people onboard the Enterprise were gregarious and friendly, lively and vibrant. Though it meant some folks rubbed against each other the wrong way at times, for the most part life on the starship was happy.

Anna had seemed to have a peculiar effect on people. He tried to see her as others did, pushing aside their history, and had noticed an intensity about her that was off-putting. She was too aloof, her gaze too direct and too watchful, to be approachable. Jim suspected that it was intentional though; Anna was far too self-aware not to notice how people reacted towards her. She was very carefully putting up a wall between herself and his people.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Jim said.

Anna leaned forward against the railing, her hands gripping the metal bar that stopped just a foot away from the window.

"I suppose it's okay," she said. Her lips twitched. "If you like this sort of thing."

Jim let out a short laugh and she watched him from the corner of her eyes.

"Now I know you're lying," Jim said. "You love the stars, Anna."

He gestured to the view before them and then put his hands on his hips, looking at her expectantly. She looked at him, clearly amused, before returning her gaze to the view.

"I do," she said. "I'm surprised you remembered."

"Course I remember," Jim said. "You used to drag me up to the roof of your house in the summer just to look at the night sky. I never knew what you saw up there. Guess I was slow on the uptake."

Anna made a vague noise of agreement and they fell into a brief silence once again.

Jim had been hoping for a moment alone with her. Now that he had introduced Anna to most people he knew that she would be under close scrutiny but he couldn't help but feel possessive of her time.

Five days. I only have five more days.

"Remember how we used to talk about the future on those nights?" Jim asked suddenly. He stared at her profile, willing her to turn and look back at him. "You were going to be a doctor. I was going to be a shipyard engineer. We'd have dinner on Sundays and lunch everyday. You'd have a white picket fence like the kind in those old holovids. I'd have a dog named Murphy."

Anna remained silent, staring fixedly at the view before her.

"I guess you could have an actual white picket fence these days," Jim said. He realized he was talking to himself but he didn't mind. He knew she was listening, despite her lack of reaction. "And a small house with a flower bed. Do you? With real wooden floors and antique doorways."

"I have an apartment in the Marina I haven't been to in six months," Anna said. Her face was blank as she spoke. "Whenever I'm planetside, I usually stay at the FI headquarters. Officer's quarters. Easier that way."

"Well. I don't have a dog named Murphy."

"We can't have it all."

"No," Jim said. "We can't."

Anna lowered her head slightly, with an unreadable expression on her face.

"You have a good thing here," she said, "You don't need me to tell you this but you should be proud of yourself. You've done so well."

Something inside of Jim seemed to grow hot and for a moment, everything in the room seemed illuminated. Brighter. Sharper. He couldn't help the wide grin that formed on his face.

"Thank you," Jim said earnestly. He reached out for her and then thought better of it. Instead he let his hand fall a small space away from hers on the rail. "That means a lot to me, coming from you."

"It shouldn't," she said. She moved her hand a little farther from his. "It really shouldn't."

"What you say matters to me," Jim said. "It always has and nothing will change that."

"Why?" Anna said. "Because we knew each other as kids? That's not reason enough. You don't know me. You don't know who I am now. I might as well be a stranger to you at this point in our lives."

"That's not true," Jim said. "You're not a stranger- you're Anna Demerin and I'm Jim Kirk and that still means something."

"It only means you know my name," Anna said. Her voice sounded almost sad. "I've done bad things and I'll continue doing bad things. I am not a good person."

Jim frowned and shook his head. He could tell she meant every word and it made him angry. This was no cry for help, no plea for understanding or false sentiment. She wasn't lying to him. Anna sounded as if she were merely stating facts -I am not a good person- as if it were true and undeniable and there was no room for argument.

You can't honestly think that about yourself. I won't let you.

"Bullshit," he said. "You think we all haven't done things we regret? That doesn't change who we are, it doesn't mean…"

"I didn't say I regretted anything."

"Okay, maybe you didn't and maybe you don't but that doesn't make you a bad person. I've done things that won't exactly put me first in line for a halo either but I don't think I'm evil for it all. You can't think that way about yourse…"

"There's a big difference in what I've done versus what you've done," Anna said. "You're Starfleet. You're an explorer, a mediator- I'm the furthest thing from."

"Then what are you?" Jim said. "What have you done that makes you think you're a bad person?"

Anna finally turned to look at him. Her eyes seemed to glitter with a cold, hard edge. For a moment, his Anna was gone and he saw a glimpse of something else. Staring back at him was nothing more than a Federation Intelligence officer: calculating, detached from all emotion, and capable of anything.

He suddenly remembered the way Trig had looked at him when they were in sickbay. That blank, almost inhuman stare had been frightening... and to see even a shadow of that in Anna...

Then she looked away and the moment was gone.

Jim rubbed his eyes.

"Look, I've been thinking about this. I know we have things to work out. I want answers. I need to know what happened between us and why you made the choices you did but we can't just discount what we had. At least I can't. I don't think you can either. I can't just let you walk back into my life and then watch you leave me again. I can't pretend seeing you now hasn't affected me."

He turned his back on the view, focusing all his attention on her as he leaned against the rail. Anna didn't move but he could tell she was watching him, all the same.

"A few years ago, I might have though," he said honestly. "I might have lied to you. Pushed you away. But I've realized a few things about myself that I... Anna, as angry as I was at you, as angry as I still am, I never, ever stopped hoping you were okay and safe. You still matter to me and what you say now matters to me. We may not be able to have what we did back then but I'm willing to try for something. And I hope you feel the same way."

Jim felt as if he were physically slicing himself open- it hurt to say these things but he felt as if he had to do it. He always hated feeling vulnerable, moreso than most people, but he knew that Anna wouldn't make the first move. Not this version of her, anyway. Jim had to open a vein to show her he was serious and he knew that she would recognize the gesture. Changed as she was, he had to believe there was a part of her that couldn't be altered. He was hoping she still felt something for him, somehow, in some way.

He simply couldn't consider the alternative.

You have to care. You have to.

(Please)

"Do you?" he asked. He hadn't meant for his voice to crack, or to sound so weak and he winced inside.

Anna said nothing for a long while and Jim began to regret his words. It was so rare for him to bare his soul, his damn heart, to another person because he didn't think the risk was worth it. He was willing to die for his crew, his ship- and hell, he'd come close enough many times over. But this sort of sacrifice was so much harder than that. This was more painful.

And then to his surprise, she uttered a short laugh.

"How long have you been practicing that?" she asked.

Jim forced himself to grin. "Oh, just the past half hour," he said lightly. "How'd I do?"

"Well, you could take on Macbeth if that's what you're asking," Anna said.

"Nah, I'm more of a Hamlet man myself," he said. He stood up straight and leaned towards her. "I meant every word, Anna. We could start over from here. Hell, we might be able to forge a new relationship between the FI and Starfleet major. Ambassadors Kirk and Demerin. It has a nice ring to it, right?"

Anna only shook her head, a faint smile on her lips.

Jim felt sick, despite the smile plastered on his face. He had hoped she'd reciprocate somehow but she still held him at a distance. They were standing almost shoulder to shoulder but she might as well have been across the quadrant from him at that moment.

Doesn't matter, I'll just keep trying to reach you.

After all, Jim Kirk didn't believe in no-win scenarios. And contrary to popular belief, he could be patient.

"So, why don't you tell me a little bit about your team," Jim said. Anna blinked at the sudden change in topic. He couldn't help but feel a little satisfied at throwing her off. "It's not everyday the two great forces collide. We should document it for posterity."

"Two great… What?" Anna said, incredulous. Her eyes widened slightly. "This isn't a space opera, Captain. It's just my team."

"Half this ship thinks the FI is a ghost story," Jim said, partly serious and partly joking. "The other half knows it's real but are either terrified of, or prejudiced against, you. Maybe it's time we dispel all the myths and rumors and have a formal introduction."

Anna shook her head again.

"That's not a good idea," she said. "At least not now. First of all, we're going off on a mission that requires all of our concentration. Staging a Starfleet meet and greet in the middle of it all won't help us focus.

"Secondly, my team isn't trained in diplomacy, they're soldiers. Pointing to them as examples of the Federation Intelligence won't exactly put your crew at ease. It may have the opposite effect and I think you know that. Why else did you refer to me as your 'old friend, Colonel Demerin' instead of "Anna Demerin, Federation Intelligence?'"

Jim felt his cheeks flush and he cleared his throat.

"Okay," Jim said. "It's not like I was planning to parade your team around my ship but I would like my senior officers to meet them. It's a smaller group and my people are trained diplomats. And they, out of all the people on this ship, need to be exposed to the Federation Intelligence."

"That's reasonable enough," she said, after a moment's thought. "So, what do you want to know about my team?"

"Anything," Jim said. "Everything. They're going to be on my ship in less than a week. What are they like? What will you need to prepare? Is anyone allergic to Tribbles? How do you like your coffee?"

Anna stared at him for a moment and he watched as confusion, exasperation and irritation battled for prominence on her face.

Exasperation won.

"You already know Trig," Anna said, looking up at the ceiling. Jim amused himself by thinking that she had finally grown tired of rolling her eyes at him repeatedly and just decided to look up permanently. "My security officer. He has a way of knowing how to handle a weapon just by looking at it, hence the nickname Trigger. He drinks tea. Decaf with honey."

Jim snickered and she threw him a sharp look.

"How long have you known each other?" he asked.

"Since my first year," she said. "He was top of the class in hand-to-hand combat. I was at the bottom. He took me under his wing and started training me on his own time. I think he got tired of seeing me get a beating."

Something in Jim's face must have shown the rage that came bubbling up in his chest because Anna stared at him.

"I would have been kicked out of the Command program if I couldn't defend myself," she said. "Besides, I'm sure Starfleet has its own questionable methods of teaching defense."

Jim said nothing but his eyes burned at the memory of her psych evals. What they had done was beyond merely "questionable"- it should have been illegal. But he couldn't admit that they had broken into her personnel files so he kept his silence.

"Then there's Commander Paloma Tanz, my Comms officer," Anna said. She hesitated for a moment. "Perhaps you should warn your senior officers, Captain. She's part Betazoid."

"What?" Jim said, shocked. "So she… What? She can read our minds?"

Anna looked uncomfortable. "I said part Betazoid," she said. "Paloma's abilities are limited. She can sense emotions, not thoughts. As long as no one on the ship is emotionally inclined towards murder and mayhem, all of you are safe. And she's discrete. She'll only tell me what I need to know within the parameters of a mission. Nothing more."

"I… okay," Jim said. He felt uneasy, knowing that someone could read his emotions no matter what assurances Anna gave him. He made a note to speak to Spock and Bones and to do some research of his own- the last thing he needed was a stranger, a member of Anna's team, to sense what he was feeling towards her.

Especially if he didn't quite know himself.

Anna sighed. "Listen, the only thing you have to worry about Paloma is her attitude," she said. "She can be difficult. We call her Ice because... Dammit, Jim, stop looking at me like that."

"Were you planning on telling me one of your officers was an empath?" Jim asked. "Or were you hoping I wouldn't notice?"

"I would have told you," Anna said, lifting her chin. "Closer to the pick-up point, but I would have briefed you."

Jim looked into her face for a moment and then nodded, satisfied. "Okay, I believe you," he said, gesturing for her to go on. "You call her Ice because…?"

"Because it takes awhile for her to warm up to people," Anna said. "She's not an open book like Trig is."

"You think Trig is easy to read?" Jim said, surprised.

"There's Commander Alessander Levine in charge of Navigation," she said, ignoring his question. "He can find his way around anywhere planetside, which is why we call him North. He's good at getting out of tight spots and has eidetic memory. Studies classical literature during his off time and will, on occasion, recite poetry."

Jim tilted his head to the side, bemused, and Anna shrugged.

"You wanted to know everything, right Captain?" she said. "Then there's Commander Matthew ven Christie, my Medical officer. He's a brilliant doctor and engineer."

"That's an odd mix, isn't it?"

"It comes in handy," she said. "They're not completely opposing disciplines, after all. He's passionate about his work. Just don't take anything he gives you without asking me first."

"Duly noted," Jim said, raising an eyebrow. "And does he have a cool nickname too?"

Anna scowled at Jim, her fine delicate features scrunching up and he grinned. Without meaning to, he moved closer to her, drawn in. She looked younger for a moment, unguarded and completely herself. And, God help him, he wanted to touch her again.

"They're call tags, Captain," she said. She sounded a little defensive which amused him greatly. "We use them in lieu of our real names during missions. It's either that or Alpha, Alpha one, Beta one and so on."

"Okay. So… what's the good doctor's call tag?"

"Venom. Ven for short," she said. "During our academy years, he accidentally poisoned his roommate with one of his creations. He said it was a study aid but it put his roommate out of commission for a week. We started calling him Ven after that, though he'll tell you it's because of his surname. The general rule of thumb is you don't take anything he gives you outside of his official capacity."

Jim laughed and the corners of her mouth twitched, as if she were trying to suppress a smile.

"Lastly, there's Lieutenant Commander Ben Cormick," she said. "He's the youngest of my team but the best at deciphering and dismantling xeno-technology. He and Ven make a dangerous pair."

"And what's his call tag?"

"Spark," she said. "Not the most inventive of names, but there you have it. We're all afraid that one day, he'll blow himself up tinkering with something new."

"Sounds like an interesting group," Jim said. "Small though. If your assignment is so important, why not have more people?"

"Because the bigger the team, the more variables I have to take into consideration," Anna said. The half smile disappeared and she stood up straight. "My officers all have their own teams to lead, specializing in various areas. For the most part, I usually stand back and direct but for sensitive operations, depending on what needs to be done, the Federation Intelligence prefers deploying small groups."

"One unit, all in sync," Jim said. Anna looked at him with approval.

"Yes, my team."

Jim understood what she was saying and knew what she wasn't saying. These were her people, the ones she had chosen to lead. He heard the obvious affection in her voice as she spoke about them and knew that whatever it was she was up to, she needed these specific five officers to stand with her. It frightened him then because he knew instinctively that these weren't just trusted comrades in arms she would be willing to die for- they were people she was willing to die with. It was the same way he spoke about Spock or Bones or Sulu or any member of his crew... he saw it in the set of her jaw and the fierce look in her eyes.

Not for the first time did Jim wonder what it was she was doing.

And I will find out.

"I'm going to guess that you get a special call tag too, right?"

Anna glared at him. "I do have a call tag," she said. "You can call me Colonel."

Jim put his hand on his chest above his heart and gave her a pained look. "You wound me, Anna, you really do," he said. "You won't tell me what I'm sure is the best nickname ever?"

"You're being silly," she said, pressing her lips together in disapproval. Jim lowered his hand and looked at her.

"And why is that such a bad thing?" he asked. He turned back towards the view, leaning his elbows against the rail. "Hey, it's okay not to take everything so seriously sometimes. The universe won't come crashing down if you, I don't know, smile. Or heaven forbid, laugh."

He leaned to the side and pushed against her slightly with his shoulder.

"And if it does?" Anna said. "Can I blame you for leading me to believe otherwise?"

Jim chuckled and nodded.

"Sure, I'll take that on," he said. "You can blame me when the universe ends."

###

Though proficient in 83% of the official Federation languages and regional dialects, Nyota Uhura was also quite capable of reading people's body language as if they were using words to communicate. It was a gift, her mother had told her when she was a child- Nyota had an uncanny ability to understand others even before they had spoken. It went beyond woman's intuition (and really, what a misogynistic concept that was) and was much more complex than a simple "gut feeling."

Nyota just knew.

For example, she had known that Kirk (he would always be Kirk to her, even if Spock sometimes called him Jim) was upset after being in his ready room for nearly two hours during Alpha shift. Even though he had walked out smiling, teasing Spock even, Nyota knew that there was something wrong with the Captain. There was a tightness around his eyes and his normally easy grin seemed forced. All throughout the morning, Jim Kirk had been tense and distracted. The others may not have noticed anything amiss with their Captain, but Nyota did and she knew that Spock did as well.

She hadn't asked Spock what the matter was. She was a professional through and through; she would never use her relationship with the Commander to wrangle information about Kirk.

Even though she knew Spock would tell her willingly (because he trusted her to keep mum) if she had asked, Nyota had a feeling that when Kirk requested the main bridge crew to take on the Gamma shift she would be able to find out for herself.

It was more fun that way sometimes. Being on the Enterprise wasn't all adventure and excitement. Sometimes it meant long weeks of tedium. Despite all the distractions the ship (and Spock) had to offer, she welcomed a little mystery at times.

And now Nyota Uhura knew, as she studied the dark-haired woman by Kirk's side, that there was mystery abound. The main bridge crew- herself, Spock, Sulu, Chekov, and a few others included, were all now at their usual stations looking at the Captain and his yet unnamed guest.

"I'd like to thank all of you for taking on the night shift," Kirk said, his bright blue eyes shining with gratitude. Though Nyota would never admit it to him, she liked that Kirk was expressive. His eyes always seemed to say more than his words did. "I wanted to make sure everyone met Colonel Anna Demerin, who'll be onboard as our guest for the next week or so. We're picking up the rest of her team on starbase Gamma so I expect you'll see her and a few new faces around. The Colonel is one of my oldest friends so I trust that everyone will treat her with the same respect as you show me, and as befits her station."

Nyota looked at Spock briefly, and he met her gaze evenly. She had heard about the incident that had taken place only a few days ago. After all, she had received the encrypted alert from Starfleet regarding a rescue mission and she had passed along the Captain's request for two, high level personnel files and the subsequent denial of approval.

Colonel Anna Demerin.

There was only one organization she knew of that had that title.

Federation Intelligence.

Oh yes, this was a mystery indeed.

She knew about the FI, of course. It was silly to think of such an organization as merely an urban legend, though some of her colleagues at the Academy had thought so. It made sense to her- Starfleet was not militarized though they could be called upon in times of war. Nyota could see that the only way the Federation could really hold their own against hostile non-Fed planets was to have a dedicated intelligence-gathering entity. It might have been distasteful to some people but she was a realist and believed in tempering emotion with fact.

It was something she knew Spock liked about her.

Nyota had never met a member of the FI but the woman standing before them now was not what she had expected, nor imagined, such an officer to be.

Instead of a gruff, oversized muscled soldier, Anna (as Kirk was now introducing her to each person on the bridge) was graceful and elegant. Her mother used to tell her: Pretty sees pretty, and Nyota knew that she was attractive. It wasn't something she thought was important, just a matter of fact- like her height or her blood type. Unlike most beautiful women, Nyota did not compare herself to others nor did she care about what other women thought about her but she could still recognize beauty when she saw it.

On a purely shallow level, Anna was a lovely girl. She had a dancer's build, though perhaps a shade too thin, and with her perfect, pale complexion and large gray eyes, she was a study in contrast. However, there was an edge to Anna's gaze that marred her beauty. It made her features sharper and cast a cruelty to her face that Nyota felt did not belong there. Nyota knew Kirk noticed it too- his smile seemed a little nervous as he watched Anna. He seemed to hover over her slightly, standing a bit too close, as if he were ready to step between her and anyone else.

Nyota was struck again at how different the Captain was from the boy who had hit on her in that seedy bar so many years ago. He had grown up, though he was still brash and reckless and stubborn. He may have had a bed-hopping reputation during their Academy days and people may have written him off simply as the pretty boy with the glib tongue, but Nyota had seen the pure ferocity underneath it all. Jim Kirk was aggressive and sharp and she had no doubt that while he may have had a chip on his shoulder, he would use all his considerable skills to reach the top of whatever mountain he decided to climb. He had irritated Nyota when he was made treasurer of the Xenolinguistics club but she admired his audacity and ambition. It hadn't surprised her when Kirk was given the captaincy of the Enterprise- he was someone who just could not admit defeat.

But despite the flashy, glittery surface of his personality Nyota knew that inside, James Kirk was unsettled. There was a wildness about him, a desperate restlessness that she saw underneath his calm, even gaze. She had sometimes thought that he was looking for something or someone and that was one thing that hadn't changed about him throughout their time together. On each mission, it seemed that Kirk was eager for more than just adventure and danger- he was searching.

And is this what he was searching for?

For her part, Anna seemed unruffled and indifferent to all the attention she was being paid. She stood straight and tall, her shoulders held back and her chin high- it was obvious to Nyota, even without Kirk's introduction, the woman was used to being in command. Anna simply had an aura of authority, and it set her apart from everyone else.

Or rather, Nyota thought that Anna was setting herself apart from everyone else.

Nyota could read the tension between them as she watched while Kirk introduced her to Chekov. They complimented each other like two sides of the same coin. Kirk seemed to burn with a white hot intensity. He simply could not stay still. There was a radiance to him, as if he were a force of nature, made up of heat and light and movement. Anna seemed to be the complete opposite. She burned with a deep freeze, just as bright and intense, but with an almost eerie stillness that Kirk was trying to compensate for.

As they drew closer to Nyota's station, she noticed how truly worried Kirk seemed. His lithe body seemed taut and stressed, protective and possessive over Anna. Nyota had not witnessed this sort of behavior from the Captain before, not towards any other women in his past, and she couldn't help but watch them unabashedly. Anna was harder to read but Nyota could tell she was aware of Kirk's proximity. When he got too close to her, Anna would make some sort of movement towards him as if sensing that a reaction would make him back off somehow. A tilt of her head, a brief look, a clenched jaw- Nyota watched as they danced around each other, communicating without words.

It was captivating, the way Kirk and Anna seemed to push-pull against and towards each other.

"And this is my Communications Officer, Lieutenant Nyota Uhura," Jim said. He nodded at Nyota and there was pride in his voice as he listed her accomplishments. Nyota smiled at Anna but she only looked back at Nyota with unveiled interest. Now that Nyota had Anna's full attention on her, she couldn't help but shiver.

There was no warmth in her gray eyes. Nyota felt as if she were being dissected with a look.

"It's nice to meet you, Lieutenant," Anna said. Nyota held out her hand and Anna shook it with a firm but gentle grasp.

"Likewise, Colonel," Nyota said. "I hope you're enjoying your stay here?"

"I am," Anna said simply.

"If you need to set up any additional outgoing transmissions, Lieutenant Uhura can help you," Kirk said. Nyota noticed that he made as if to touch Anna's arm but instead he hesitated, and then lowered his hand. "She can set up a secure line to anyone, anywhere if you need it."

"Good to know," Anna said, and Nyota couldn't help but notice the slight sarcasm that colored her tone. It sounded almost like Anna was mocking her.

For a brief moment, Nyota imagined that Anna looked at her with amusement- as if she knew that Nyota had redirected her video transmissions to the Captain's own viewer and thought it funny. But that was impossible. Nyota was good at her job and she knew that she had covered her tracks well. Besides, there was no way for Anna to know anything about the ship. She had been beamed aboard with only the clothes on her back and according to Spock, those had been discarded by Doctor McCoy days ago.

"Anna," Jim said. Anna turned away from Nyota and glanced at him. "I want to introduce you to my First Officer, Commander Spock."

"I suppose I'll see you again," Nyota said. Anna gave her a faint smile (almost a smirk, really) and Nyota wondered at that.

"Oh, I'm sure," Anna said and for some odd reason, it almost sounded like a threat. Anna stared at her for a beat longer before nodding and then turned towards Kirk. As they walked away, Nyota was certain of two things:

One, Kirk had strong feelings towards Anna and two, Anna Demerin was a dangerous girl.

Nyota made up her mind to seek her out in the next few days.

###