The shower had been wonderful, the water had flushed away the sweat and with it a lot of the stress of her last interview. Wrapped in a towel, Alhana sat in front of a mirror and brushed out her thick auburn hair. She hated her low hairline; it had caused her more than her fair share of grief when she was a child and even now it only served to remind her that she was only a half Klingon. No one would ever want to ally with her, make her a part of their house or have much to do with her. It had been a tough lesson to learn as a child and caused more than one or two arguments in her family. One that was still on going it would seem. She pushed her wet hair back from her head and smiled. It wasn't so bad, she had a ship, some decent friends and she was free to go where she wanted. She stretched, dressed and headed to the bridge with a yawn. There would be time for sleep later, right now; they had to get Tig, Tavana and Kang back.
"Is that ship still there?" she said as she entered the bridge.
"Yes."
"Shit! Why are they hanging around here?" she said, more to herself than anyone else.
"Probably waiting for you to get on with that work you mentioned we had to do." Akhil said.
"More than likely," Alhana said with a laugh. "Plot a course back to Vulcan, nice and steady; give the lads fifteen hours to repair the cloak."
"As you wish," Mindor said. The ship whirred to life under the capable hands of the Orion navigator. As the Warbird moved, the Enterprise drifted from the screen and they began the slow journey back to Vulcan. Alhana only hoped they wouldn't follow them again.
The Warbird steadily flew her way back to New Vulcan, the journey was about as interesting as watching the construction of a toilet block on Praxis. There were no communications to translate and nothing she could do in the engine room except get in the way. Alhana found that she missed the banter that passed between Kang and Tavana, even Tig and Kang's bickering would be better than the eerie silence that filled the bridge in their absence. The three Klingon's had been a part of the crew for so long that them not being there was the same as not having the cloaking device.
Mindor and Akhil were relieved by Maeill and Emony; she considered going for some sleep herself but the thought of Khan and Vrenn working as hard as they could kept her in her seat. She resorted to reading the records for nearby trading planets, if the recent events had told her one thing, it was that they desperately needed new parts. They still had the cargo from T'Kir to shift; she was unsure what it was for that matter. Something she should go and investigate further before she considered selling it on.
They were just over half way to Vulcan when Emony looked up from her scanner with a frown, "We're being followed."
"Fucking Star Fleet!" Alhana said clenching her fist, "Poking their nose in where it isn't wanted! How far behind us are they?"
"Far enough to appear as though they are travelling to the same destination without it looking like a chase," she replied.
"I should have known." Alhana grumbled. "Engineering?"
"Yes?" It was Vrenn.
"How soon can we have the cloak working? The Enterprise has decided to follow us back to New Vulcan," she said.
"Work is coming along well but we're still a few hours off."
"Keep me informed," she said before cutting them off. "Emony, are they getting any closer?"
"Not that I can see Captain."
"Good, keep watching and if anything changes, tell me." Alhana said. Emony returned to her scanner with a quick nod. If they could get the cloak fixed, it would be much easier to lose the Enterprise; still, if it came to it, she'd get her crew beamed back on board then warp away with as much speed as they could muster. "How long before we arrive?"
"We still have fourteen hours and ten minutes."
"I hate waiting," she said. "I'm going to check on that cargo we have, find out what it is exactly. Contact me if you need anything." Emony and Maeill nodded and she left the bridge, she had to do something! The short walk to the cargo bay passed and she moved to the nearest crate. Opening the lid, she saw the foodstuffs that they'd been given. Looking again, she spotted a small scratch on the inside of one of them. She leaned forward and removed the top few layers of food. Her eyes widened.
When they'd taken on the job they'd asked no questions, now she rather wished she had. Inside the crate, under the food, was row upon row of medical vaccines. She picked one of them up and scanned the labels. It was for the deadly Quazulu virus. What on Praxis were those miscreants doing with crates of this virus? Hosts of questions flooded through her as she checked another crate. It held the same vaccine. What was worse, they had Federation labels over them, no one would buy them, no one in their right mind anyway. Each individual vaccine had a traceable number. Alhana sighed and put the lid back on the crate; a problem for another day, for now at least. She plonked herself on the crate and sat for a moment, a vicious yawn erupted from her and she stretched her back. Maybe it was time to get some sleep, there were a few hours before she would be needed and if anything major happened, the crew would come and wake her.
A sharp knock at the door of her quarters brought Alhana out of a restful dream, "What is it?" she muttered as she sat up.
"May I come in?"
"Yes," she said pulling her cover around her. The door opened and Khan replaced it. He yawned and sat down on her chair, "Don't tell me the superior intellect is falling asleep on his feet," she said. Looking at him, she got the impression that he had been working very hard. There were traces of grime on his pale skin and his black hair was dishevelled in a way that was not altogether unattractive. Alhana found that she preferred him with hair that was that little bit longer. She hoped he would let it grow a little more too.
"The cloaking device is fixed." Khan said, "And yes, even I need to sleep sometimes."
"Shame, I could use your opinion on something." Khan raised an eyebrow, "Usually I ask Tig or Kang about such things but things being what they are…"
"What is it?"
"The crates are full of Star Fleet medical supplies, all traceable and all unsellable. I have no idea what to do with them," she said as she pushed hair from her face. Khan's expression didn't change yet his vivid blue eyes seemed to harden somewhat.
"I may have an idea that could get you out of trouble with them as well as get our missing crew members back," he said, "Although the idea of helping Star Fleet sickens me."
"Yeah, me too. That Captain of theirs is proving to be a right pain in the backside," she said.
"You have no idea." She grumbled an agreement on that note.
"So, this idea of yours?"
"We have six hours before we arrive at New Vulcan, allow me some time to freshen up and maybe get some sleep. I want to think it through a little more before I tell you. I will meet with you before we arrive and I will tell you my thoughts then." Khan said pulling his hand over his face. For a brief moment, she saw passed the cool mask, revealing a very weary individual underneath.
"Very well. Go and get sorted, I'll speak to you then." Khan arose and left her to get herself changed and ready for the next set of challenges.
This time, the Warbird orbited New Vulcan without hiding. The Enterprise had turned up about half an hour after they'd arrived and in the interest of maintaining a good appearance Alhana had decided to remain visible. She'd also decided to begin orbit on the side of the planet furthest away from the Vulcan settlement. The first order of business was the missing crew members, then the Enterprise and the medicines they had on board.
"Alhana to Tig," she said into the communication systems. No response was forthcoming. "Tig, come in, this is Alhana. Respond." Alhana gave it a moment before repeating her command. "Praxis' Moon, if you know what's good for you, you'll answer this Tig!" she said.
There was a garbled sound followed by a husky voice, "What?" It was Tig. A half asleep, grumpy sounding Tig, but Tig none the less.
"Report!" she said.
"Captain, T'Kir is with his family, Kang, Tavana and I are camped in local woodland and no one knows we're here." Tig said. "We are ready to beam back aboard when you are."
"Good, be ready." Alhana cut the link and patched through to engineering ordering them to beam up the missing crew members. Two minutes later, they informed her they were back on board ship and safe once more. She resisted the urge to rush to make sure for herself, instead she waited for them to join her on the bridge. Tig arrived first. He looked terrible.
"Glad to be back?"
"Sleeping out of doors has never been something I enjoyed," he replied. There were still a couple of dry leaves in his tangle of long dark hair and mud clung to his skin. "What has happened while I was gone?"
"We have repaired the cloaking device but it is not currently active, we have been followed by the Enterprise and remain under their scrutiny but not for long. The cargo in those crates is a vaccine which we will be unable to shift due to its labelling and I think that is it." Alhana said, counting each point off on her fingers.
"Not much then." Tig said sitting in his chair. He tapped into his station and yawned.
"I intend to give the vaccines to New Vulcan, they'll be able to make use of them and we'll not be tracked," Alhana said.
"You're going soft." Tig said with an amused snort.
"What else would you have me do?" she said rubbing her hand over her face. "I'm going to do so via the Enterprise."
"Might get them off our case." Tig said as he thumped her on her back, "Good idea."
"It was Khan's. Where are the other two?" she asked.
"I sent them off duty," Tig replied, "They looked worse than I did."
"Probably smelled it too, go and get yourself cleaned and rested." Alhana said, "That's an order." Tig nodded before leaving the bridge once more. Alhana turned to the screen and sighed; it was time to get the whole affair over with, "Hail that ship," she said. Within moments, Kirk's smug face filled the screen.
"Captain," he said with the incline of his head.
"Captain," she replied, also returning the gesture.
"What can we do for you?" He seemed surprised to see her again, so much the better.
"I have a problem Captain and I believe you may be interested to hear the solution. It will be beneficial for all of us."
"Go ahead," he said. His interest showed in a light crinkling around his eyes and a tug at the left corner of his mouth.
"Our last mission didn't go according to plan. We were left with a certain type of cargo we are unable to sell." Alhana said.
"Medicine."
"Correct."
"We've been using it to follow you. It was stolen by a group of thieves while on route to the Tyree system. How did you end up with it?" Kirk asked as he sat back in his chair.
"We were transporting it for someone. The delivery went wrong and we ended up keeping it. I didn't know what it was until recently. I cannot sell it on so you may as well have it. I'm sure it had an intended purpose." Alhana explained. "We'll beam it on board for you." She said.
"What do you get out of this?" Kirk asked, his eyes narrowed by a tiny fraction.
"Left alone. You can't track us; we won't be on anyone's radar once they're gone. I can conduct my business in peace like I always have," she said. Kirk turned to talk to someone off screen, likely his first officer, for a long moment. Alhana rubbed her sweaty hands on her pants as Kirk turned back to face her.
"Very well Captain, we'll take the vaccine for you." Kirk said.
"Excellent, I will have that beamed to you in the next few minutes."
Kirk nodded, "I hope to do business with you again soon." He said before the screen went blank. She gave the order; engineering would see to the beaming of the cargo. Then it was just a case of cloaking and getting as far away from New Vulcan as they could as fast as they could go.
The ten minutes that it took to deposit the cargo dragged into an eternity. It was as though an hour had passed when Akhil told her the task was complete. As soon as they were done, the ship was cloaked and they left the system. After another ten minutes, Alhana's breathing returned to normal. Another five and Khan stepped onto the bridge, the ghost of a smile on his face. "So glad to be away from there." Alhana said to him.
"They'll have you listed as a thief and smuggler now." Khan said taking a seat to her left.
"Least it isn't murder," she said.
"True, where are you taking us?"
"The Tyrus system – a small place that will sell the parts we need. Then to the fifth planet in the Ceti Alpha system, it has no sentient species but it is capable of sustaining life. I am tired and could use a few days rest and I am sure the rest of the crew do too. We need time to repair and plan our next move," she said. Khan nodded.
"It will be nice to set foot on the ground again." Akhil said.
"We all need it." Alhana said. There were general sounds of agreement around the bridge and Alhana smiled, they had all earned a rest and finally, her ship was going to be repaired. No more worrying about the plasma coil overloading. It would also be a great chance to look at other minor tasks that needed doing. There were more than a few and if they did it in shifts, it would get done soon enough. She felt that it was time to start working on a rota.