Kirk decided that Riley could wait for the apology and headed in another direction. Pissed that Cartwright would deny him access to the incident details, he headed to his office. However, he had to wait several minutes before Cartwright entered and checked in with his aide. By then, the admiral allowed Kirk in and offered him a seat and a drink. Kirk declined the latter and waited until Cartwright sat himself. The two stared at each other for a brief moment, each on the other side of the desk, before Kirk began.

"Lance, I need in," he said bluntly. He wasn't going to sugarcoat it. "The Thyrians –"

"We cannot allow it this time, Jim," Cartwright interrupted. He sighed. "Look, if I allowed you control over every crises, everyone will think that you're the instigator. Sit back for a while. Wait for the next meeting."

"I take it it's been cancelled this afternoon?"

"Yes, and tomorrow's has been delayed as well. The Thyrians did not appreciate the assault on Starfleet officers and the assassination attempt."

"Is that what it's called now?"

"Well, Jim, what would you name it?"

"Sabotage."

Cartwright raised an eyebrow. "What proof do you have?"

"Eyewitness reports. Granted, it was obvious that Commander Gomez attacked. However, his fellow officers say his attitude suggested otherwise."

"I would keep that quiet if I were you."

Kirk immediately understood. It never made much sense to not follow through with a clue, but he had to obey all orders. He started talking about Gomez again to expand on what he knew, but Cartwright cut him short each time. Apparently, this too was being swept under a rug.

"What will happen to Captain Elma then?" he asked Cartwright instead. He was relieved to see that this was regarded.

"She too is under investigation," Cartwright replied. "She was forced out of light duty because she's the best at what she does and that is where she'll go back to until the conclusion. She's their leader and has earned her right otherwise. Besides that, Jim, Starfleet cannot have her moping around some construction base when her talents are useful elsewhere. Obviously, it's clear now that what the records shows might save her. Jim, she has a career and children. She cannot afford to lose those."

"Is she really moping around, Lance, or she is really ill? Could this really be considered a mistake when Starfleet has done nothing except wrong her?"

"Right now, Captain Alyssa Elma stands as an error Starfleet made years before and one that we are trying to right after almost twenty years. Because she was frightened into silence by Admiral Uriah and the initial mission to Synprilox, we cannot afford her to be freed. Rehabilitated easily, yes, but there's a chance that she could destroy the time continuum if we let her loose. With the work she's also done for the Federation, she is a liability and one we need to watch carefully."

"She's a human being too, Lance. You cannot imprison her to a dictated career and expect her to work like a machine, watching her every move. She's proven to be loyal unlike her captors. She has to break free from the past and grow within Starfleet."

"Jim, Captain Elma also accepted the fate Admiral Nogura decreed. She could have been court martialed if she disobeyed orders. She proved her merit and rose in rank."

"For what purpose though? Because she was a love slave to an admiral working with our sworn enemy of the time? There is no compensating for that."

Cartwright was speechless by Kirk's audacity. For five minutes, he stuttered out strange incomprehensible sounds, but soon found his composure. "I'll forgive you the comment, Jim. This issue with the captain is a sensitive one and has been since her arrival back to Earth the year before, more so than ever before."

"She caused a sensation before," Kirk argued. "Why is she still an issue? As you've said, it's been almost twenty years. I would have thought Starfleet intelligent enough to properly handle its blunders."

Cartwright sighed. "From the moment of her arrival, Captain Elma's position was unique. Her links to important persons involved with the original coup is notorious. She has been proven innocent of all charges, I'll give you that, but her loyalty has been questioned several times, most notably by Admiral Ciana. She was also a witness to the explosion of Synprilox, which also makes a huge difference."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, despite the difficulties and the events she took part in, there have been some notorious instances where her twenty-first century methods raised some eyebrows. The captain also uses unorthodox methods when dealing with prisoners and never follows the book. I feel it was a fault of a certain former commanding officer of hers."

"Guilty as charged." Kirk didn't deny it.

"Regardless of these obstacles," the admiral continued, exasperated, "her experience merits some mention and she should have the highest positions, hence pulling her from Louisiana. She's tough as nails and can get the job done. Her running around Louisiana was unacceptable and she would have defied orders if she remained there. Ill or not, she needs to do her duty. This incident she will answer for because of the responsibility given to her."

"As Gomez's commanding officer, she can. She is not personally accountable for the incident."

"She put herself forward. She is also willing to cooperate in the investigation. For the time being, before she's assigned to the incoming cadets, she has been sent home. Her daughter is schooled here with the other children at this time and will remain there too, as Captain Elma agreed. Magda Mycoff has been dismissed from the premises due to the danger she might pose to the Thyrians."

"I see." Even as Ali's father, Kirk wanted to fight Magda's disappearance. Instead, he pursed his lips tighter to keep from blurting out the truth.

"You're taking a keen interest in the captain and her affairs," Cartwright observed. "Is there anything you're not telling me?"

"My life is an open book," Kirk volleyed. He wasn't going to broadcast the affair, but he was defensive about it, hoping Cartwright did not catch on yet. "The captain was a security officer on my ship years previously before being assigned to Synprilox. She also housed me on my inspection tour in 2270, just after my promotion."

"You stayed with her for an additional Earth month. It caused some gossip down here."

"Synprilox was also a complex situation and required some work on my part. It was dictated to my report to Admiral Ciana."

"Yes, well…the report she stored is now locked in a computer file. Nobody has been able to find it."

"There are several files she stored on that computer, Lance. Synprilox's upheaval was not the only one we lost upon her death."

Cartwright sighed. He was onto something and hinting as much, Kirk felt, and the trail was growing hotter. It was true that the rumors of his relationship with Alyssa preceded him. Lori had informed him. She wasn't too pleased, but she expected it. They weren't a couple until much later, but Lori was quite jealous of anyone who had a hold on Kirk. She was possessive and thought her catch quite the one for that day. Nogura had used her to snarl him and he was tangled in a web he still could not escape.

Kirk's mind imagined that relationship. The marriage with Lori had been a farce. A one-year agreement was too short and bittersweet and full of issues they could not resolve, although the months had been what he required after losing the Enterprise. Granted, his feelings for Lori clouded whatever he had held with Alyssa. It was a hellish torture to watch her die in the transporter accident. He was bitter for months, feeling that he should have done something more to save her. Even regaining the Enterprise briefly did not heal that wound.

Besides that, it was still an old habit to deny everything and to never tell anyone that he was the keeper of Lori's earthy goods when she died. She had not changed her final will, bidding Kirk to dispose of her personal effects to her parents and to retain certain devices, one of them about Synprilox. She left him no way to access them though, leaving him clueless to their contents until that determination surfaced. With Cartwright so persistent, he would have to figure out what Lori truly left behind.

"Jim, just stay out of it," Cartwright ordered. "I'll talk about anything else with you, but not the assassination attempt. Not this time."

Kirk nodded evenly, offering nothing more. Considering himself dismissed, he exited. He went to his office to finish up some work, hoping to shove any suspicion off of him. He even apologized to Riley for his behavior, offering the rest of the afternoon off in exchange for the inconvenience of being locked up. Riley was hesitant and it took some time before he accepted the expression of regret and the liberation. He even cleaned and straightened out some things before leaving.

This left the admiral alone at last. He finished up and departed as well. He did his customary walk around the grounds outside before the trek to his apartment for some time alone to think. After he arrived there, he checked for any messages and found one from McCoy. It was cryptic and quite unlike him. The ending asked him to meet him at some bar downtown that he favored. Kirk didn't have much time for pleasantries and debated on whether or not it was worth it to deal with the wit and sarcasm. In the end, he decided that he might as well go.

Donning less than formal clothing, Kirk set out for the requested location and arrived in time for Happy Hour. He saw the doctor at his normal corner table. While the lights were dimmer there, they still had the level of secrecy that McCoy generally enjoyed. Besides, he was a regular at this particular establishment. No waitress was going to snitch on them. McCoy had all of them in his pockets.

"As they would say in the twentieth century, 'What gives?'" Kirk sat down, ordering his usual.

"A message from a friend," McCoy replied. He quickly downed some bourbon. "I consider telling you to watch your back is an understatement though."

Alyssa.

"You've got no idea," Kirk said as a female server dropped off his glass. He sipped. "Cartwright is onto something."

"That too is an understatement. He's suspicious of everything."

"Not only that, Bones. He suspects that there is something between me and Alyssa and that I was defending her. She's also being held accountable for the actions of her men because she stepped forward. It's possibly a way to deflect some of the attention elsewhere."

"Well, isn't there a way to prove that you're as innocent as she is? That she has as much involvement as you? Jim, you're not going to be able to hide that relationship much longer. It's going to come out."

Kirk blew out frustrated air, thinking. For the moment, he put aside his love for Alyssa and wandered back to Lori. Cartwright might be on the trail for those files at this point. He was as protective of them as he was of the tape he stole about Thyria and imagined them being destroyed to avoid offending anyone. Hints about past relationships and Synprilox always made him nervous, especially now.

When he pondered back to the war between Synprilox and that unknown planet and the civil war they also suffered, links began to get connected. If he could get into that one device he knew was about Synprilox, they would have a goldmine. Lori wasn't stupid. Leaving them to Kirk was no mistake, albeit it was annoying that she wasn't direct and never told him anything outright.

"I think we might have something," the admiral allowed, "but we need a master at computers to gain access. Lori left behind some…some handheld computers with internal storage files that I did not have a password for. She was very secretive and did not enlighten me on their contents except the labels she wrote on them."

McCoy almost coughed out his drink. Even in his drunken state, he was highly bothered. "You've got be kidding me? We've got to call that green-blooded, goddamn –"

"Yes, yes." Kirk was in no mood for the theatrics. "We needs to make a special call to Vulcan."

~00~

Kirk was in a daze. After his conversation with Lori, he found himself wandering Alyssa's home, searching for direction and a way to dispel his animosity and stress. This was a huge order he would have to fulfill and he would need all of the help he could muster. If what Lori is saying is true, then they would have to move thousands of people who had only known the underwater world as their own. Resettling them would be a diplomatic issue that would require some Federation help.

That could wait until morning though. While all sorts of schemes churned in his mind, he needed a peaceful place to find an inner quiet for sleep and to put the issue down. If he attempted any action tonight, he would incite panic that the chancellor and the Freedom Riders would not appreciate. It would be gradual, once Starfleet evaluates the situation and determines that the needs of the many outweighed whatever petty concessions they wanted out of Synprilox…or so he hoped.

The front gardens offered him that aura. Kirk somehow managed to get outside to sit amongst the multicolored flowers and trees, thankful that Alyssa offered him that pleasure. He inhaled and then exhaled some of the aroma, working out what he had seen so far. Away from his anguish, he was better able to plan carefully. He only required a good time to bring it up with someone. Alyssa seemed to be the most logical choice. She would know the planet in and out and might already have something in mind.

It was maybe an hour later that Alyssa reappeared. She had wrapped herself in a robe to cover her indecency (excluding her bare feet), carrying two cups of what smelled like coffee. She handed one to Kirk and sipped the other wordlessly as she took a seat. It was like their previous conversation did not happen. She most certainly was fairly calm and did not indicate she was upset about it.

"Your privacy means a lot to me, Admiral," she began carefully. "Channels are often monitored and used by the wrong people. Admiral Ciana should also be cautious of what she says too. I have warned her enough times."

Kirk was speechless. "I thought communications were private."

"Not here," Alyssa clarified. "Luckily for you, I managed to cover it up so the local policing force didn't notice anything. The chancellor and her advisers will not miss a thing either."

"I thought that privacy was held more precious than security?"

"It's the opposite here, Admiral. I would have thought…"

"Thought what?"

"I mean, I would have thought you picked up on Synprilox's quirks. This is no ordinary planet."

An awkward silence stood between them once more. Kirk could not take it. He sought to cut through that and at least try to be a friend, enough to form a partnership. He had done to so many in the past under his command and succeeded. Why was this so different? How could one woman be so hard to reach? Wasn't she easier to talk to when she admitted to be a woman of the past? When they were attacked and did not have a chance at survival?

For the first time since their initial greeting, he felt tongue-tied. It was ridiculous. He, of all people, was always at ease with anyone he met, even though he pinned some as pains in the ass. He prided himself on that reputation, even though some of it dictated that he was a ladies' man and did not resist using his charms to get what he wanted. This security officer, this young woman of nearly thirty, took his heart and everything with it. Her quiet demeanor, her acceptance, just everything about her made him insanely wild.

"Alyssa," he tried, his voice shaky and weak.

Immediately, she got up and put a finger to his lips to shush him. It was a daring move and one so inappropriate that Kirk did not move to discipline her. "Admiral – Jim – don't worry about it right now. Whatever you're worried about, there's always a solution for. We'll get through this together, no matter what."

And perhaps that had been the best approach, with so cool and gentle of a gesture. With them so close together, Kirk resisted the opportunity to make the next move and stilled his hands. Whatever Alyssa was referring to, she was of the same mind as Kirk. However, attraction most likely was not on her mind. It was comforting him and that alone made staying with her more worthwhile.

Eventually, Alyssa excused herself, stating that she had some things to take care of. She picked up her cup and offered her services whenever Kirk requested her. Her second disappearance created a new void, an ache that Kirk sought to fill. With the tranquility so endless, his heart sought to keep in tune.

He looked to the black skies instead. The night was still in its adolescence. He had hours yet to ponder this new development. So many had happened tonight and all of them hardly fit into the puzzle he was working on. Already, he was seeing Synprilox, Lori and Alyssa fit in there, but their pieces were unintelligible. It would take more sleuthing and wit to keep on his toes. Kirk also wished he would be worthy of this challenge too.