Hello again, dear readers. I apologise for my disappearance, but I have (yet again) returned. I have a few chapter written, which I shall upload, but as exams are coming up relatively soon, it will be a while before the sequel is released. For now, here's the next chapter. It features some creatures (?) from one of my favourite Trek-based online comics, The Universal Constant. I highly recommend you check it out. I'm not usually one for Spirk, but the story and art style is great.


Entering the conference hall, Rosalina fought to resist the urge to smooth her robes again. She knew they weren't creased. Meeting Karatek had brought the extent to which her control had slipped to her attention. Terran customs had corrupted her Vulcan demeanour which she had so prided herself on, and she had to do something about it. Her father had set off a few hours earlier to help set up the Stark Industries stall, exhibiting the Arc Reactor technology's capabilities. He would be busy with the huge meeting for most of the day; with representatives from all corners of the Federation, he couldn't afford to miss it. Hence, the task of answering questions on the Arc Reactor technology had fallen to her. With the meeting starting in half an hour, she had to get to the stall quickly for handover. Weaving through the crowd, she quickly scanned the room for interesting exhibits, making a mental note of the lot numbers so she could get someone to go and 'check out the competition' later. She was genuinely interested in many of the alternative power sources available, having researched the few options available in the pre-Federation days. It amazed her how long it took the world's governments to focus on the way they were destroying the environment, especially with the clean energy options available to them at the time. They might not have been brilliant, but they were certainly better than nothing.

Rosalina started to think that accepting the map offered to her upon entering the building might have been a good idea. She wasn't exactly lost, but she certainly wasn't getting to the Stark lot as quickly as she could have. If they had brought the biggest Reactor they had, she probably would have been able to see the blue glow emanating from it as soon as she came in. As it was, she had to focus on the back wall of the room, trying not to squint to see the feint blue shining up onto it. Deciding that it wasn't just her eyes going funny, she quickened her pace as she approached the central lot. Sure enough, her father was there, enthusiastically talking to the Andorian ambassadors. She estimated that the meeting would be starting in 7 minutes, 4 of which he would have to spend travelling to the conference room. Checking her watch, she found it was actually 6 minutes. Her timekeeping skills were becoming lax.

"Father, your meeting begins in 6 minutes. I suggest you begin making your way there, as the hall is very crowded."

"Ah, Rosalina, there you are! Yes, I'll be going in a minute." He turned back to the Andorians, their blue antenna waving in confusion. "I've got to be going, but my daughter will be able to fully explain the technology to you, and answer any questions you may have. I ought to be back in a few hours."

Tony gave her shoulder a quick squeeze before heading off in the opposite direction to the meeting room. He turned on his heel with a smile when she coughed, rounding the corner as a group of Orion women were coming the other way. Narrowly avoiding a collision, he was finally on his way to the meeting. No doubt he would get distracted on the way and be late, but people knew to expect such things from Tony Stark. She highly suspected that the schedule they had been given factored in 'dalliance' time for him, in a vain attempt to make him arrive on time. Such efforts had been made before, but to little or no avail. Shrugging, she focussed her attention on the Andorians.

"It was apparent that my father had begun explanations of the technology. Was there anything in particular that you wish to know about?"

"Mr Stark was informing us of the benefits of the Arc Reactor over conventional Dilithium crystal-fuelled sources for powering starships."

"Ah, yes. Where was he up to?"

The next five hours Rosalina spent explaining various points and benefits to representatives from all across the Federation, including those from some planets not yet made members. Tony returned just as some Jinrexian envoys came over to question her on how they had managed to stabilise the Dilithium used in some of the designs, fascinated by the way the Arc Reactor technology could be adapted to fit most known fuels. They began discussing their desire to use their planet's plentiful Dilithium deposits to secure their membership of the Federation, with Tony chipping in advice and offering to help organise a summit to finalise details of their admission. After a flurry of thanks, the Starks were left alone for a few minutes, the break allowing them to get some lunch. Rhodes was waiting for them at a local café and had ordered for them. By the time they arrived, their food was on the way. Predictably, her father had a burger and fries, his staple diet, and Rhodes had the same, but didn't pick off the salad. It was halfway through her own plate of chicken salad that she noticed the Kelvin Memorial Archives down the street. She stared at it absentmindedly as she ate, blanking out the conversation the two men were having. They fell silent, and when her attention returned to them they were looking at her, expecting an answer to an unheard question.

"I apologise, I wasn't listening…"

"Typical kids," Tony joked. "I was just saying that I would man the stall this afternoon, seeing as you were up all morning. Give you a chance to have a bit of a look around the Archives. It was that that you were staring at, right?"

"Correct. Shall I meet you back at the conference centre?"

"No, you can just go back to the hotel if you want. Don't be out too late." Tony winked at her jovially as they settled the bill, Rhodes holding the door open for them as they stepped back onto the bustling London street. Waiting for the men to disappear round the corner, she hailed a cab, returning to the Hilton. Her current Vulcan attire would be far too conspicuous in a Starfleet building, even if it was only an archive. It was more the human ears that went with it that would draw attention. Her pixie cut hair wasn't helpful for hiding them, though it was much less likely to get trapped in the helmet mechanisms of her suits. She had learnt the downsides of long hair the hard way.

Walking through the doors in her borrowed Starfleet uniform, she had the scans from a cloaked bot on her Padd, tucked into the crook of her elbow. She had been roaming the archives for a few minutes, and had found what she thought to be an elevator shaft on one of the back walls. After waiting to see that the coast was clear, she had three minutes before the next clandestine security patrol passed by, disguised as cleaners. With a quick swipe, she sent the bot back to the hotel and whipped out the specially-programmed ID card she had borrowed from her father. It had needed modification, but she was fairly certain that it would work. At least 97.56% chance of success. Rosalina released a breath she didn't know she had been holding when the card reader's light turned green, opening the lift doors. She gave the walls a quick scan, spotting another reader next to the floor buttons. Swiping the card again, that light too went green, and her descent began.

It was only a few seconds later that the elevator came to a halt. The doors didn't open, and all the lights went out. Over her mild panic, Rosalina heard the hiss of gas escaping from vents, and looking down she saw it. Taking a deep breath, she slipped her miniature air-purifier into her mouth, falling to the floor in what she hoped was a convincing faint. The car was in motion again. Her breaths shallow, she tried her best to avoid breathing through her nose. When the doors began to open, her eyes fluttered closed just enough that she could still see the computer panels in the room and the polished boots coming towards her. Strong arms encircled her waist as she was hoisted over a man's shoulder, another taking the Padd off the floor of the elevator. She suppressed a smile at the thought of them trying to hack it, only to release her Trojan horse software into their own system. There are many ways of getting information from people, and she was well versed in most of them, thanks to her Aunt Natasha. She made a mental note of the amount of turns they took as they made their way down the corridor, being careful to keep her eyes mostly shut. There were labs, testing areas and huge storage hangars full of what looked like warheads and torpedoes, which confirmed her suspicions. So much for Starfleet's role as 'peacekeeping armada' to the universe. Though, you could never be too careful with Klingons…

Suddenly, after a sharp left turn, she was being not-so-carefully placed on a chair. She noted that it was vaguely comfortable as the guards handcuffed her to it. Rarely was she chained to a cushioned chair. Now seemed a good a time as any to feign coming round, so she rolled her head and moaned slightly. As the guards made no move to knock her unconscious again, Rosalina assumed that whatever interrogation would be happening would start soon. Heavy footsteps came down the corridor and the door opened, the guards seeming to leave. The door slid almost inaudibly closed just as she straightened her head, blinking heavily as she took in her surroundings.

"Well well, Miss Stark. What a lovely surprise." She heard the slight scrape of a Padd being lifted from a table. "Now, what on earth could you be doing here? I hope you haven't come to steal any of our talent for Stark Industries."

She vaguely recognised the voice, but when the speaker moved to her side of the room, she immediately recognised his face.

It was Admiral Marcus.