Klingon Headquarters, London
Monday 31st January 1994
It was a few minutes after 11am when Krang made his way across the courtyard and into the large building that comprised Klingon headquarters in London, acknowledging the salutes of the duty guards as he passed. For once, the British weather was playing nice; the sun had made an appearance and the sky was a vivid, cloudless blue, giving the impression that winter was coming to an end. Krang knew better than to trust that. February was still to come, bringing with it the worst of the winter weather and spring was little more than a false promise. He shivered, glad of his heavy cloak, momentarily wishing he was still in Mauritius instead of this freezing cold city in the northern hemisphere. At least with January gone, he had only three months remaining before he could go home. He was vaguely surprised to realise that he did not dislike Earth quite as much as he'd thought and the idea of staying another year or two in the French house, with Chrissie and the children, was actually quite attractive. He would have to give it some serious thought and talk it over with Chrissie before making a final decision.
Inside the building, it was blessedly warm, the antiquated heating system working full blast to keep the temperature at something approaching comfortable for its Klingon occupants. Krang relaxed slightly, taking a moment to enjoy the heat as he approached the reception desk and signed in.
He'd speak to Koreth before he did anything, he decided, moving towards the office his subordinate had appropriated. About to reach for the handle, the door came unexpectedly open and Marla stepped through it, almost bumping into him. She jumped back with a quick apology, allowing him to pass before going on her way.
"Oh, Marla…" He called her back and she turned to face him enquiringly.
"Yes, sir?"
"Is there any raktajino?" On duty now and already thinking about his work, it never occurred to him to greet the lieutenant or ask about her holiday.
"The pot's over there where it always is," Marla snapped, ill-temperedly gesturing towards the staff kitchen. Realising from his expression that she had crossed a line and gone a little too far, she relented. "I'll go and get you some."
You can get Koreth some as well while you're at it," he snapped back, glaring at her back as she hurried to obey.
"That one can be a little… feisty," at times, Koreth commented. "Come on in and join me. We've got a lot to discuss."
"She'd better watch her attitude," he told Koreth with some irritation, accepting the invitation and settling himself in the chair by Koreth's desk. "I will only tolerate so much."
To his surprise, Koreth grinned. "She's got… how would the Terrans put it? Relationship problems? You're not going to get any sense out of her – or Kay'vin for that matter – until they've got themselves sorted out."
"Oh?" Interested, Krang raised a bushy eyebrow. "I thought Kay'vin seemed a little quiet this morning"
Taking a wicked delight in the opportunity to gossip, Koreth quickly passed on the required information to his boss, telling him about Marla's off duty visit the previous night and the advice he had given her.
"Well, since neither of us have received any instructions from High Command regarding her release from active service - at least, I'm assuming I haven't since I haven't actually checked yet - I am hereby refusing permission for her to leave her post. She will continue to do her duty as a Defence Force officer until the correct documentation is received. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir, you are understood," Koreth said formally, carefully holding back a snicker of amusement. "I will have your refusal logged in the outgoing dispatches."
"Good," Krang said, grinning. "That gives her a month to make up with Kay'vin and get herself married."
"I do have a few other things to update you with while you're here," Koreth said. At a nod from Krang he continued. "The Vulcan ship has departed. I note it stayed a little longer than normal. They also sent a shuttle down to the north eastern region of the USA, but according to your orders, we did not challenge or intercept."
"They had stranded crew to retrieve," Krang said. "I felt it better to allow them to do so, since at this stage, we do not want war with the Vulcans. Anyway, go on. What else?
"As you saw, I've just finished debriefing Marla," Koreth reported. "She confirmed Bekk Grenn's account of events, so on that score, the investigation is closed. There will be a full report on your desk as soon as I've finished writing it up. You already know my recommendations."
Krang's expression was grim as he nodded. "Six executions. It could have been worse, I suppose. I'll sign off the paperwork as I promised so you can go ahead and schedule the executions."
"I already did," Koreth said, his own expression as dark as Krang's. "Sentence was carried out early this morning."
Technically that was not in Koreth's authority, but Krang could not find it in him to complain. He had left the other man in charge after all. Better to just let it go with a very minor reprimand. "Next time let me sign the paperwork first," he warned, "but otherwise… I am pleased with your performance. You have acted with honour and integrity."
He might have said more but a clatter at the doorway heralded Marla's arrival with the requested drinks. Giving Krang a wary look, she approached, looking for a space on Koreth's desk to put down the mugs. With her attention on the security captain, she was a little careless and attempting to clear a space, she accidentally knocked against a pile of precariously balanced padds, sending them crashing to the floor.
Cursing, she dumped the mugs down in the newly cleared space and bent to retrieve the fallen padds, picking them up and looking for a place to put them.
Koreth gestured towards a spare chair in the corner of the room. "Over there will do," he told her, biting back a grin at her harried expression. "My desk is a bit of a disaster area at the moment, I'm afraid."
Doing as she was told, she went back for the final padd, which had slid partially underneath the desk. Picking it up, she glanced at it and stopped, her engineer's instincts aroused by the crude diagram Koreth had drawn in his futile attempt to understand the temporal implications of their mission.
Koreth gave her a sharp glance as she stopped. "What's the problem, Lieutenant?"
"It's… this diagram is inaccurate, sir." Nervous at correcting her superior - she'd already succeeded in angering Krang and she didn't need Koreth angry with her as well - she raised her eyes to his. "Time travel doesn't work that way."
The brigadier scowled and was about to snap at her when Krang spoke first, giving his subordinate an interested look. "Time travel? What are you working on, Koreth?
The brigadier shrugged, not at all happy at having his doubts brought to the security captain's attention. "Nothing much, just trying to understand how that part of our mission actually works."
Krang nodded, accepting that. "I can't say my own understanding is particularly good. Lieutenant Marla, you said Koreth was wrong. Explain your reasoning."
"Well, there are several theories, sir…" Reaching for Koreth's stylus, she began to draw, altering his diagram and correcting the errors. Nervous at first, she quickly gained confidence as she talked. She was an engineer. Temporal theory had always been of interest to her and she'd read up on the subject extensively.
Both officers listened carefully. She was speaking with authority now and it was obvious to them both that she knew her subject.
One of them asked a question and before she knew it, she was sitting down with them, explaining as best she could to the two non-scientists, just how some of the most plausible temporal theories actually worked. "…so, you see," she finished, "the results will never be that you expect. Councillor Ditagh is a good example. He gained his rank because of his victory against Starfleet. He later voted to send us back to prevent the formation of the very organisation that he fought. But if we succeed, that battle will never have taken place."
"The so-called Grandfather paradox," Krang said thoughtfully, beginning to understand what she was trying to say.
"Exactly, sir," she said. "It's a vicious circle and it can't end well. The Vulcans claim there is no such thing as time travel, that it's impossible…"
"Which is obviously wrong since we are here," Koreth interjected dryly.
"Yes sir," Marla agreed. "I think that they not only know it exists but how dangerous it is. So they discourage experimentation by denying its existence."
Koreth was silent as he attempted to make sense of Marla's explanation. His own past was heavily tangled with Starfleet. Fifteen years ago, he'd been present at the raid on Archanis IV, probably one of the most controversial conflicts between the Federation and the Empire. To this day, the Federation still claimed that it had been an unprovoked massacre, but Koreth had been there and had seen their hidden weapons facility with his own eyes. Over the next few years, he'd been involved in several clashes with Starfleet, making a name for himself in the so-called Battle of Andromeda. The Four Years War, the humans had called it. Whatever name it had been given, it had been vicious and Koreth had been at the heart of it all.
If the lieutenant was correct, and with her training he had no reason to think she was not, then what the High Council had ordered them to do here on Earth, was unbelievably, stupidly dangerous and in direct contrast to what they were trying to achieve, posed a massive, existential threat to the Empire in its current form.
As for himself, he was here because he had gained a reputation for himself fighting the Federation. Except… if they succeeded, the Federation and Starfleet would never exist and hence, he could not have fought them. Marla had mentioned Ditagh, but he was not the only one – Koreth could think of at least two or three members of both Imperial Command and the High Council who were in their position thanks to military service against Starfleet. It was a massive temporal paradox and his head hurt trying to figure it out.
And what of Karg's orders? According to Korrd, the High Council were displeased that history had not yet changed. If almost two years of occupation had not triggered the required changes, then what would? What, if anything, was the catalyst? For that matter, could history even be changed like that – or worse, had it changed and they were simply unaware of it?
Koreth glanced at Krang, wondering if his superior had come to the same conclusions, but Krang's face was inscrutable, giving nothing away. No, he decided, he would not speak of his worries. The risk was too great and he had no desire to get himself executed as a traitor. Krang was Imperial Intelligence, he had to trust that he knew what he was doing. For the moment, all he could do was continue to act with honour and hope for the best.
Unknown to him, Krang was thinking something very similar. He'd had his doubts about this mission right from the beginning but Meth had ordered him here and he had obeyed. A picture of Chrissie and the children slid into his mind and he smiled a little inside. He could no longer bring himself to regret that, no matter the dishonour of the mission. Even so, he was beginning to realise that things could not continue as they were. Seeing something in Koreth's eyes, he almost spoke of his doubts, but stopped himself. He had no idea what to do for the best, but if treason was to be in his future, then he would not drag Koreth into it.
Shaking himself mentally, he forced his attention back to Marla. "Thank you for your explanation, Lieutenant. You are dismissed. Koreth, you were saying before?"
"Coming back to the two bekks who raised the alarm," Koreth said, with some effort bringing his mind back on track. "I've promoted Kroll to squad leader. He's got a reputation as a troublemaker and there's a lot of reprimands on his record but he's got the right instincts and I think he has what it takes. With some encouragement, he'll do well in the role."
"And the younger one?" Krang enquired. "Bekk Grenn?"
"Now that one is interesting," Koreth answered. "He put himself at a lot of risk to help your mate. He even lied outright to me in an effort to protect her and wouldn't back down when I called him on it."
Krang nodded at that. He owed the guard a lot. "He has my gratitude."
Koreth smiled. "As a result, I've transferred him to France. I thought he would make an ideal personal guard for Chrissie. You can't be always be there to protect her and he can be trusted to keep her safe."
"He does sound suitable," Krang conceded, "and as you say, while I do not wish to keep her prisoner, I cannot be with her every time she needs to leave the house."
"With that in mind," Koreth continued, "I've allocated a shuttle for his use. When he is not needed, he'll work with the guards assigned to your house, but I've instructed him that when he is escorting your mate, he is to answer only to you."
"That works for me." Finishing off his raktajino, Krang put the mug down and rose to his feet. "I really should go and read my correspondence," he said with some reluctance. He knew his duty here, he did not need the High Council demanding updates and telling him how to do his job.
"I read mine last night," Koreth said, picking up the empty mugs cluttering up his desk and preparing to drop them back in the kitchen. "Imperial Command don't know about Karg yet, of course, so everything is a little out of date. But you will be glad to know that my orders are to continue to offer you my full support." He shrugged. "Well, you'd have had that anyway, but still…"
Krang inclined his head. He'd come to trust Koreth in a way that he'd never been able to trust Karg, even before he'd learned of the other man's treachery. If only he'd had Koreth as his deputy from the beginning, he mused, the last couple of years might have been more than a little different. He knew better than to embarrass the other officer by saying so, however. Instead, he said merely, "The sentiment is appreciated."
"Apparently, you have new orders," Koreth said, "or at least, that's what mine indicated. When you're ready, just tell me what you need and I will do it."
New orders? What was left of Krang's good humour faded. That did not sound promising. This close to the end of his mission, what more could the High Council want of him?
Note: The Archanis IV Massacre is briefly mentioned in 'Day of the Dove', where Pavel Chekov claims his brother died there. (He didn't have a brother). My information for Koreth's military career comes from the FASA role play system. The Four Year War does of course include the battle of Axanar mentioned in 'Whom Gods Destroy'.