Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Alyssa (with Ryder) sat in the same quarters, each taking a turn pacing when it was applicable. The captain was first, thinking out loud enough that the doctor told him to shut up and sit down before his blood pressure went up. Next, the Vulcan walked up to their captors and asked for some basic items for their stay on the Bird of Prey, namely water and food, and soon was thinking out loud to himself on his walk when the answer came back negative. McCoy copied the same request when Ryder began whimpering, saying that a mother should have all she needs to keep her baby healthy, and did the same thing his shipmates previously tried did until Kirk jokingly ordered him to sit.

Alyssa did not echo any of the sentiments and only nursed her son. She found it a betrayal since she drank alcohol earlier, but McCoy reassured her that she was fine. Eventually so, when Ryder became so difficult and wailed, she got up and walked around their small quarters with him, promising him so many things that she would buy for him and supply when they were settled down. In her grief, Alyssa had decided that being with Starfleet was her future and Ryder best raised in the same environment for discipline and structure, something Kurt would have approved of. When all of the happy scenarios ran through her mind, her son calmed down, falling asleep on her shoulder some hours later.

Regardless, it was an uneventful trip back to 2265, with or without their requested supplies. K'Gar had promised at their destination within the hour, but five had passed with the crying baby and nothing had been said about their arrival. Kirk finally had enough and managed to escape their prison for a few minutes, only to return with a grim face. McCoy stood up to face him, wringing his hands in nervousness. He hoped the captain had some good news, but the way Kirk's features worked, some of it was bad.

"We are back in our year," the captain announced. "Commander K'Gar has informed me that there was some…complications with our return."

"What kind of complications are we talking about, Jim?" the doctor asked. "Are we stuck in another galaxy? Trapped in an asteroid belt? Surrounded by Starfleet vessels? About to be blown to smithereens?"

"None of the above, thankfully," Kirk confirmed. He glanced in Alyssa's direction, relieved to see Ryder quieted. "No, we are currently orbiting Synprilox. Mycoff had hailed K'Gar from the Enterprise. They are beginning an elimination of the crew."

As Alyssa put Ryder down on the bed for his nap, she put a hand to her mouth. "What?"

"K'Gar would need to go onboard to retrieve the remainder of his crew," he continued. "I would believe our cunning commander conflicted at the moment. If Mycoff could persuade him to stick to their original plan…"

"We're lost," McCoy finished ineptly.

"We cannot be something that we have not been labeled as," Spock pointed out. "Logic has told us that a person cannot be lost, rather displaced in another's mind."

"I never knew logic had a place for technicalities." The doctor sighed.

"Gentlemen," Kirk chimed in. "As I was going to say, I had a talk with Commander K'Gar. He expressed his wish to return to the Klingon Empire and to live his life accordingly. Mycoff cannot change his mind. He is more than willing to assist us in regaining the ship. He will call his men off of the mission and transport them back here. Afterward, he will take the rest on Synprilox and go home. He needs his whole crew and a feeling of normalcy. Being a Klingon, he feels that he has to be with his own race of people honorably."

"I can't blame him," Alyssa replied. "What's in it for us though?"

Kirk appeared very nervous at the question. The root of the problem was what made him so upset. "Honestly, Commander…he wants you dead."

"Me?" She was shocked. "Why?"

"Klingons have a code of honor that are different from others," Spock gently interjected. "A bond is sacred to them. Commander K'Gar most likely held an agreement with either Admiral Uriah or Mycoff the aide. If one of them broke their word, he would not be obligated to keep his end of the bargain, as you humans would call it. However, one portion of this bond must still be in place – an exchange, as it were."

"And the only way to get out of it?" McCoy asked. He wrung his hands.

"We can do what Commander K'Gar wishes and hand over Commander Elma," Spock suggested.

"I'll go willingly," she announced. Regret twisted inside of her for her son.

"Or he informed me that Commander Elma can choose a one-on-one battle with him or beam down to Synprilox to rescue the chancellor," Kirk said. "There would be no need to surrender. Commander K'Gar found her annoying and quite weak, he stated, but he was more than willing to allow her the chance to redeem herself."

"I did nothing to him," Alyssa protested childishly. "He never liked me to begin with."

"All the more reason he kept you as a bargaining tool," McCoy concluded. "Maybe that was what he had been searching for – a scapegoat."

"Perhaps. A Klingon battle is never fun without someone dying and blood all over the place. It marks them as a hunter."

"What are you going to choose?"

That was a tough decision. Alyssa felt tired. Her mind had been worked up from the possibilities that she was mentally unable to work out a strategy for a duel. Her limbs had been working overtime since their arrival in 2012 and could not lift much more than her son. And now, because her body was that of a woman who was two months post partem, she wasn't as strong as she used to be. Either choice meant she could die, but one of them meant that another could be saved.

Alyssa looked at McCoy directly. "I'll save the chancellor. If anything happens to me…"

"I'll take care of him," the doctor quickly promised.

The security officer then turned to Kirk. "Captain, recovering the Enterprise is the most important task we have on hand. Does Commander K'Gar wish to board now?"

"I would assume so," he replied.

"It could work to our advantage then," she mused. She thought of a plan. "Captain, we can escort our new friends out of the sector. You can then come pick me up in Synprilox after their safe departure."

"We can't just leave you behind!" McCoy protested. "You'll be killed."

"Better one than many," Alyssa argued. "From the histories told of Synprilox, each chancellor is killed at the end of their term via poison. Since the people rebel every fifteen years, they have hope that a brand new leader should show them peace and prosperity. Now, since Amelia Synprilox is facing this predicament earlier than expected, the people are thirsty for her blood. If they are that insane with unreasonable thoughts, then they would be irrational when the time of her execution came."

"Emotional beings do get carried away," Spock added. He saw the theme and warmed up to it. "Once there is a so-called frenzy, there is no stopping it. A mob could ensue and there would be no logic in their actions."

Alyssa continued her dispute to Kirk. "Let me go, Captain. I am one person and nobody is going to catch me. I could be the shadow in many corners. The chancellor trusts me. Besides, my son also will be well provided for by Doctor McCoy. There is no need for me to sit here and play with my thumbs."

It didn't take Kirk long to decide. He nodded his head. "Commander K'Gar stated that his Transporter Room will be ready when you are. I would go as soon as possible, Commander."

"Do you know when the chancellor's execution will be?"

"I am not sure. Right now, Synprilox is under nighttime hours. I would assume it has already happened or is about it, although Commander K'Gar stated that she most likely is still alive. In either case, Commander, Synprilox might face civil war if we do not hurry."

Alyssa was torn. She thought that she had maybe a few hours before K'Gar would drop her off. From what the captain was stating, it would have to be sooner rather than later. She looked to her sleeping son on the bed. Immediately, she picked him up and held him against her wildly-beating heart, breathing in the new baby scent he still had in his hair, and kissed his dark locks. She handed him to McCoy without further ado. She could not linger. The greater good was more important than the sentimental feelings of a mother.

Kirk saw that she was ready. He went to the door and called out for the guard. One obliged him, listening to the explanation from the captain. He grunted, roughly taking Alyssa by the arm and leading her away. He locked them back up as well, leaving the trio and a baby alone. McCoy did not seem pleased and Spock only raised an eyebrow. Their move had been declared. The next had yet to be implemented.

With Alyssa gone, it did not take long before K'Gar called for them. By then, a small group of Klingons were sent to escort Kirk and Spock to their Transporter Room. McCoy opted to remain behind with Ryder. He wanted to ensure that the Enterprise was safe enough for them to board before providing safety to Ryder. Besides, Chapel would love the company. She adored children and would take Ryder if necessary. He didn't need to add that he was Alyssa's son.

McCoy also did not need to tell the captain and first officer to be careful. Kirk ran through the basic outline plan revealed in his mind quickly as he and Spock followed their captors. It wasn't too hard, he mused, since the Klingons were being cooperatives so far. K'Gar had vowed to gather his men and clear the ship. From there, Mycoff would be powerless and his crew would have the advantage. Unless Mycoff brought his own people, which Kirk doubted, then it would be easy for the Enterprise to be back in his capable hands.

K'Gar had directed his men to take Spock and Kirk to his Conference Room. The pair entered and were left alone with the Klinger commander, a trust that Kirk saw as momentous. K'Gar's back faced them, hands wringing in an effort to remain calm. At the sound of the doors swishing shut, confident that his crew would not see him so conflicted, he turned in a calculated move to the Starfleet officers. He scowled to hide his insecurity, showing them who was still in charge, and directed them to some seats at a small table. They obeyed the motion and were soon on an equal footing with K'Gar.

The Klinger commander got to the point quickly. "We shall go our separate ways soon enough, Captain. You will be reunited with your people and I will be with mine."

"And the people of Synprilox?" Kirk inquired.

K'Gar shrugged his shoulders. "That would be in your hands. My work here is complete. That is, of course, unless your woman cannot finish the job."

The captain felt blood rush to his cheeks in irritation. "Commander Elma can hold her own," he reassured the Klingon. "She has proven her worth."

"I would hope so, Captain Kirk. I would hate to have to kill her."

"What has she done to you?"

K'Gar licked his lips. "Her existence is of importance. That would be no matter to you now. Maybe later. What will be your concern is your ship if you do not hurry."

"What are you proposing now?"

"I will board first. I would assume your ship has the capability to allowing you in without notice?"

"Of course. We would have to cross the cargo bay."

"With what disguise, I would ask?"

Spock spoke for the first time since the meeting began. "I would assume that you have spare uniforms?"

"Of course." K'Gar bristled. He was slightly offended. "Why would that matter?"

Kirk saw Spock's logic and silently applauded him for giving them an upper hand. "We would need them to blend in with your men. Afterward, we can inspect the Enterprise and go into hiding. I would believe that manipulating Mycoff into releasing your men would be no problem."

"No," K'Gar answered quickly. "But I must insist that your doctor and that…crying child…be left here."

"With the proper supplies he needs to care for the child you so despise," Kirk pointed out.

The Klingon nodded. "So it shall be. You'll have your ship and I'll have mine. Synprilox will be your problem, the price you pay for embarking with us."

"How would we –" Spock began.

"It's a deal," Kirk declared. He did not want the Vulcan's input on the finger points of the flawed plan. "With our many thanks for the passage, we will conclude our mission with Synprilox. Your crew will be left unmolested. The doctor and baby will remain with you as a token of our good will."

"I hope so, for your benefit, Captain." K'Gar appeared serious for a moment. "If one word has been broken, your lives and ship will be forfeit."

Kirk had no qualms about backing out, even if Spock did. This was the best he was going to get. If they remained any longer, they would have surely fallen to the easy predators of the twenty-first century. It was convenient to be a prisoner of the Klingons and to bargain for their freedom. If only other planets were this easy, his position as captain wouldn't have so many headaches. Alas, he knew from his many travels so far, that this would not be the last in which he would have a cruel hand dealing him impossible situations. This would be his most unique, he mused, and one with the most mysterious and difficult woman he had ever handled.

The consultation was over. K'Gar barked for his guards to bring them back to their quarters with the understanding that, when the time came, they would enter the Enterprise with the Klingons. Spock and Kirk again followed directions when company arrived, choosing to wait until they reunited with McCoy before talking. Already upon their arrival, they found the doctor in a good mood. He was pleasantly relishing his time watching Ryder sleep, an activity that the captain and his first officer could not comprehend. He was also surrounded by what appeared to be food, water and some toys meant for a child.

"Enjoying yourself, Doctor?" Kirk asked. It broke McCoy's reverie.

The doctor wasn't too happy to be interrupted. "I was in good hands until you showed up with that green-blooded hobgoblin."

"I hardly had any interference with the captain's transactions," Spock pointed out. He raised his eyebrow as his hid his hands behind his back, a mirror of his Klingon counterpart of earlier. "He and Commander K'Gar appeared to have come to a truce."

"What now?" McCoy was nervous. He somehow did not want to know the answer.

"Well, we wait," Kirk revealed. He shrugged his shoulders in indifference.

"And then what?"

"Patience, Doctor, patience. Rome wasn't built in a day."

"Haven't we gone over this already?" McCoy wanted to pull his hair out. He kept calm for Ryder's sake. "We have to wait some more?"

"It takes time to get uniforms and to hail the Enterprise," Kirk continued. The melodramatics were unwelcome and he wished to defuse it. "From there, we…well, we improvise."

McCoy stopped his ravings for a moment, blinking. "You mean to say that we don't have a plan?"

"We do," Kirk countered. "It's not perfect and we need to play it by ear."

Cursing under his breath, McCoy muttered, "Oh, this has got to be good. One post partem woman out to get a chancellor, a captain and his first officer in Klingon uniforms playing it by ear and a doctor pretending to be a parent to a boy that's not his. What more do we need?"

The captain had the final word before the doctor went any further. "Luck. We're going to need a lot of it."