Kirk was not fazed. He blinked a few times to dispel the surprise. "If you acted like a civilized being in the first place, we wouldn't be in this position now."

"Come now, Admiral. We are a civilized race, after all. The Federation hardly sees it." Ghanstan motioned him to the turbolift. "Shall we discuss this over some tea? I believe that your English race use it as a midafternoon meal."

Kirk fought a shudder down. The innocent way Ghanstan offered the treat was something akin to cold. But this might work out to his advantage. He nodded his assent just as the ship trembled. He had twenty-four hours or so before Alyssa faced death completely and more on his conscience lightyears away. He had to play his cards right.

Ghanstan turned to his communications team. "Let the good captain on the other side know that we hold Admiral Kirk and Commander Riley as honored guests. We will parley as needed. This galaxy won't last much longer anyway."

Once the order was acknowledged, a group of six Thyrians flanked the pair and marched them along behind Ghanstan. Suddenly, Riley had something to tell Kirk, but he was hesitant. The admiral hoped there was an opportunity. It felt like they were being suffocated as it was. The turbolift was akin to being imprisoned in a tiny box as nine beings crammed themselves into it. It surged downward from the bridge, heading several decks deeper into the ship.

After they stopped and the doors opened, they walked onto a floor that seemed more guarded than most. Kirk observed each doorway as much as he could without being conspicuous. He noted a few that indicated important items or services. Although in a language he could not understand, he knew importance when he saw it.

When Riley caught up with him, suspicions were confirmed. "Sir, this floor is the power source," he whispered.

Kirk was slightly confused. "What do you mean?"

"Lieutenant Elma managed to disengage one ship," he reminded Kirk. "The vessel was one of two that the rest draw power from. The main source of the radiation is here. The cure has to be here or another ship."

"So, the other vessels will be powerless without this radiation? That it isn't just a weapon?"

"Precisely, Sir. Once this ship is disabled, we can overcome the rest of them much easier. Besides, their weapons aren't as updated as they'd like us to believe."

"I don't think we can just waltz in here, Riley. Besides, how did you figure this out?"

Riley grinned. "I'll let you know later, Sir. I am sure we'll figure it out all out."

"I see you're becoming acquainted with our facilities," Ghanstan called from his position in the front. "As you'll see, this is how we survive as a race."

Kirk bit back a snappish remark. He followed Ghanstan and his men until they reached what appeared to be a reception room. He and Riley were allowed to enter first. Initially, they relaxed. The scene was quite quaint. There were several tables, but little company and servers to guarantee an atmosphere of comfort and tranquility. Kirk was seated at one table and Riley at another.

Kirk settled into a diplomatic stance and fixed his face to be more guarded. He studied Ghanstan at the opposite table as their tea and accompanying desserts were served. The Honored member was wearing quite the mask, of courteousness and hospitality. Underneath, he was seething. It was fortuitous that Kirk was in his hands again, but that hardly touched into how upset the loss of a ship meant. If Riley was right, then Ghanstan was slowly losing. His commands and bravado meant nothing.

Ghanstan didn't pull any punches either. "Why, Admiral? Why offer yourself again? Wouldn't it be more prudent to leave the hard work to your underlings? Let them suffer for you?"

"No, I wouldn't like my subordinates to see the results of my work," Kirk replied tartly. "It isn't everyday an officer sees what happened when he comes in peace."

Ghanstan remained stoic, but he fumed on the inside. His mouth twitched. "I might have inquired about your…inspection…Admiral. But I was there to see it. I mean, it was only, what? Eleven or so years ago? The last time you were in Synprilox?"

"Precisely. I conducted a subsequent visit to its colony sometime later. I was there for a little more than a month."

"And what have you found there? On this colony?"

Kirk resisted the bait. It was enough to give Ghanstan some information about his visits to the Synprilox people. The images of a dying world flashed in front of his eyes. Avoiding it, he took another sip of tea.

"I found it…well, unique and out of the way. Interesting too. It had so much potential." Kirk reached for a muffin and took a bite. The saucer rattled in his hands, so he set it aside. "Every colony has the ability to morph into a functionable world."

"Indeed," Ghanstan conceded. "The people of Synprilox are just…well, a little two-faced. Don't you think?"

"All politics run along that same theme."

"Yes, but there are also those who survived and continued the duplicity. They will continue this…theme, as you call it. I wonder if you know how to get to them? I'd love to see if it's true."

Kirk's heart almost stopped. He realized Ghanstan was phishing for information about Kepler III and its refugees. He smiled weakly and shrugged his shoulders in indifference. It wasn't much of a distracting gesture.

"I seem to remember the colony mentioned," the admiral admitted, "but I was not given the exact location. Captain Elma directed my vessel to another part of the sector without telling me the exact path."

"I find it unlikely," Ghanstan replied cruelly. "She was your teengle, as we call it. A lover, a special friend, the other half of a soul. She would have told you everything and never lied to you. She should have said something."

"Perhaps she would have told me had she not gone into a coma," Kirk replied. He kept the edge out of his voice. "I'm sure she'd be of service."

"Oh? She did not lapse into delusions?" Ghanstan feigned shock and then sadness. "Oh, my Admiral! I am truly sorry. I am sure my men did not mean to hurt her so."

The ship shook again. A red light blared overhead. Kirk ignored it. While he fond the sarcasm and pretend concern quite alluring, he also checked Ghanstan for any other clues. The Honored seemed a little more than worried, other than the location of Kepler III not being revealed. He yelled at his men in another language. Some left to answer the call. Another dragged Riley to the table Kirk remained seated at.

Riley looked to Kirk for the answers. Kirk silently cautioned for patience. His eyes warned Riley to remain still. Then, he faced Ghanstan, tilting his head curiously and innocently.

"I hope everything is well," Kirk mentioned to Ghanstan.

The Honored laughed. "Oh, it is well, Admiral. It is. Right now, we have our sights on your moon colony. I hope you don't mind."

Even as Riley and Kirk kept quiet, the Thyrians toasted their supposed victory. As the intended defeated party, two guards immobilized them as Ghanstan encouraged the outstanding party to drink. When they finished their festivity, the officers were released.

Ghanstan stood up. "If you gentlemen will please excuse me, I have other activities to conduct. I shall return when they are completed."

Kirk and Riley were left with their guards. For some time, they gathered around the pair like bees to a flower. It wasn't just to protect them from escaping though. As far as Kirk saw it, he and Riley were Ghanstan's trump cards. They were going to be used for more than information at this point.

Outside the vessel, Kirk heard what was obviously a battle. While the victor was not clear, the admiral recognized the familiar whining noises of phasers and some yelling from decks around them. It must be the red alert that Ghanstan had to attend to. It wasn't them attacking the moon colony. Starfleet was fighting back and gaining some ground.

Kirk had to take advantage of that. He nodded at Riley and pointed to his wrist. Wait for the signal.

It took some hours. Kirk noticed how diligent the sentries continued to be. Just as the occasion in the brig, new men would come in and exchange places with a password. On the doorway, they used the same code Ghanstan did and locked it from the outside with another button. There was also another button that the head guard used to gain control of the computing controls in the room. Kirk had to watch several times before he managed to memorize the sequence.

Eventually, Kirk formulated his plan and signaled to Riley to gain control somehow. He motioned discreetly to watch the keypad like he did. When Riley for the hang of it, he took a hardened muffin and waited until the coast was clear. When the guards' heads were turned, he tossed it and it hit the panel. Riley was now in control.

Then, when Riley was all set, Kirk pretended to be stretching his limbs to begin the distraction. Riley copied him, yawning like he was tired. It made their captors uneasy. They held their weapons directly at their heads and threatened them in a language that unmistakably told them to sit still. Riley stood up with raised hands.

"I said to sit down!" one yelled at him in Standard.

"Computer, respond to my voice only," Riley directed. "Lights out!"

The room soon shrouded itself in darkness. The guards began shooting, but kept missing. With the occasional phaser lights to help them, both Kirk and Riley were able to quickly disable them. When Riley ordered the lights back on, the red light shone above their heads again. Something was definitely off.

"Let's find that power source and get out of here," Kirk said. He turned to his aide. "Riley, how did you figure the computer would listen to you in Standard?"

Riley rushed to the door and locked them in for a few minutes. He grinned with the bought time. "Ghanstan's guard made the mistake of talking to one of the others. What I didn't tell you, Admiral, is that I brought my translator and had programmed what is known of the Thyrian language into it. I managed to catch some of the security codes and secrets, like the ship responding to Standard. All I needed was to watch which one it was."

"What else did you catch?" Kirk asked, intrigued.

The aide shrugged his shoulders. "Same things you did, Sir. But I did hear that some cure is on another ship. It's not a power source exactly, but it's a backup. If we don't get it off of the ship, it might utilize a suicide bomber."

Kirks heart sank. "Do you know which one?"

"It's in the rear and heading out of the galaxy soon," Riley confirmed. "But if I translated our friends here earlier, then there is a leak on this ship. Their radiation will affect everyone onboard."

"Where should we start? Or did you get that far?"

"Well, Sir, today is your lucky day. As far as I understood, there is a private chamber or transporting. Hook a left out of here and we should come across a small corridor. The Transporter Room should be some yards down."

The admiral was amused. "How did you manage all of this, Riley?"

He gave his superior a lopsided grin. "I'll call it the Thyrians' mistake, Sir. If they didn't put a variation of their language into our databanks upon arrival, I don't think I would have been able to sneak so much. We'll call it our saving grace."

~00~

For the next few days, Kirk did not want to accept Alyssa's assessment. He wanted to try every which way to save her and their family. It took a few days of persuading, but once she consented, it was easy to make plans and to do some digging, mostly on his own. The remaining days on Synprilox were used to chart out their future together and to explore each way they could be together. From what Kirk understood, he was going to have pull many strings to bring Alyssa with him and it wasn't Starfleet that was holding her back too. There was also a certain amount of time before she could be transferred and then, other unknown factors on Synprilox itself.

That could be figured out later. What Kirk knew was that, in this new age of exploration, Starfleet personnel were allowed longer times at one station because of how strenuous and lengthy space travel was. These days, it was typical to serve five to seven years in a location before an officer was sent to another station. Sometimes, they rotate from one to another on a regular basis or move up the chain. It depended on their career choice, how they proceeded and the people they knew.

For Alyssa, Synprilox was the solution to a million headaches and the embarrassment Starfleet had to face when Admiral Uriah's crimes were revealed (the media had not been kind and it took some propaganda to get Starfleet back in good graces). While the time left on Synprilox was unknown at this time, Kirk researched anybody on Earth who needed a good security officer, namely in San Francisco. There were some positions available.

He did not know if they will be there in the future. One thing was certain though. At the moment, even though Alyssa looked to his safety, Kirk found the tables turned. There was no doubt that, similar to any inhabitant on Synprilox, Alyssa and her family were in grave danger. The radiation alone is a high risk. Add having a child, Kirk will accept no other option except a transfer. It was his responsibility alone.

Like Alyssa, he saw Lori to be the largest hurdle. This is why Kirk went straight to Admiral Nogura for some advice. While he did not give any impression of the affiliation yet, Nogura was open to the idea of Alyssa coming to Earth and hinted as much that he knew about the relationship and reminded Kirk of keeping secrets. He also understood the precarious position Alyssa was in and the tangled mess between Lori, Synprilox, the chancellor and many others and was willing to sort it out.

"Give me some time, Jim," Nogura requested. "It might not come to fruition. I will do my best. But you need to work with Lori too. I have people to replace Commander Elma, but the willpower is different."

Kirk agreed and debated for the next few days after Alyssa's announcement how to approach this with Lori. He decided to keep it low key. One night, when Alyssa was sleeping and his guards rotated outside, he was reaching for the visual communicator. While the only distraction was Alyssa's service weapon bouncing between the floor and the bed, Kirk did not see any hinderances as he waited for Lori to answer.

She took in the call almost immediately. "Jim! What a surprise. How are things now? Calmer?"

Kirk prevented himself from yelling about the delay in help, supplies and military might, but kept his mouth shut. Starfleet and Federation aid were not the topic at hand. Alyssa was, he reminded himself. He did not have to take Lori's bait.

He took a deep breath. "I need to talk to you about Commander Elma."

"What about her? Has she done something to be put on report?" Lori's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"No, no, nothing like that," Kirk reassured her. He shook his head. "I am curious as to when her tenure on Synprilox will end."

"Well, it's complicated, Jim. We need a trusted presence on the planet and she's it. Granted, she's trained enough people to take over. But nobody likes any replacement she suggests."

"Lori, she's been here for nearly six years. There must be a better reason why we cannot transfer her."

Lori changed the topic. "Why are you so interested in her? I've told you enough. It's reason enough to keep Commander Elma on Synprilox."

"Yes, you've explained that she might be a traitor to Starfleet," Kirk countered. He threw out his next card in a rush, without thinking about the consequences. "She isn't. It's plain to see that she's your double agent, Lori, and you can't stand to lose her. Admit it. She's a slave under your whip. The radiation alone is killing her. There has to be a way to release her."

"In her other delicate condition, I don't think so." Lori's voice grew cold. "Look, Jim, you're right. Starfleet and the chancellor believe that Commander Elma is a pacifists' link and can work between all sides. She's good at playing the other party against each other and getting the job done. She stays where she is and that's final. I won't hear another argument about it."

"I think you'll also be up against the Old Man," Kirk threw out. It wasn't a good card, but he thought it was worth playing. "He stated that he has other people who can take Commander Elma's place. There are other security officers here that step up."

Lori fumed and was silenced by her anger. Kirk did not venture to mention any more of the conversation with Nogura (it wasn't Lori's business anyway, he reasoned). It was enough that he watched her form words that she could utter.

Finally, she found her footing. "I will talk it over with Admiral Nogura. But I will not guarantee anything, Jim. Don't push me. Commander Elma will stay where she is for now. She is an asset to us on Synprilox and that's final. Ciana out."

Lori closed the communications. While it was a victory, Kirk still felt uneasy. First, he was told to watch his back because Alyssa might be a traitor. Now, through the muddle, he suddenly figured out why Lori wanted her to remain. Something was still off. This wasn't a matter of what Lori wished, although he could see it was a form of revenge. This was the unknown factor as to why Alyssa was exiled.

His eyes gazed over to Alyssa's sleeping form. He was startled when he saw that she wasn't there. Kirk stood up frantically and searched around for her. He relaxed slightly when he heard the sonic shower and some gagging next door. It was definitely Alyssa.

There was soon a knock on the door. "Yes?" Kirk called out.

The door slid open, revealing one of Alyssa's subordinates. "I'm sorry to bother you, Admiral. I heard some noise. Is everything all right?"

"Yes, yes." Kirk waved his concerns away. "You can go."

"Again, I apologize for the intrusion, Sir. Commander Elma requested that I stay around until she is finished bathing."

"You can remain outside, Lieutenant. I will deal with her later. Thank you."

It took some haggling because of how strict Alyssa was and how afraid her men were of disobeying her. Kirk managed to get the youngling out of his room and cursed Alyssa under his breath for her cautiousness. He waited until she emerged and was going to chastise her and stopped. She was so sickly that he wondered if she was able to stand.

Alyssa nodded at Kirk in greeting and gestured to wait a minute. She exited and checked on her men outside, understanding why nobody was with Kirk. While she was annoyed the one was not where she ordered, she kept her tongue and opted for discipline later. She only instructed them on a few tasks and returned.

"How was Admiral Ciana?" she asked. She was wounded.

"Feeling the same as you," Kirk replied.

"I don't think I'm jealous," Alyssa countered stubbornly. "I heard her, Jim. She knows. This isn't going well for us, you most of all."

"What are you talking about?" Kirk noted the change in tone.

"She won't help you command the Enterprise," she blurted out. "Lori Ciana is playing a game with you. She read your files. She managed to put Doctor McCoy in a position where he has no power. This is why she nagged at Admiral Nogura. They both thought you were the perfect fit for a promotion. This isn't for you. This is for Starfleet."

"Admiral Ciana isn't breaking her word," Kirk argued like a vow. "She's promised me."

"But it isn't going to happen, Jim. Please listen to me."

"An officer's word means the world."

"But Lori Ciana's doesn't mean anything except for her own means. You can say all you want about the Enterprise. You won't get her back. William Decker is in charge of her refit and it'll be years maybe before she'll take flight. The Enterprise is over twenty years old. You can't bide your time for her and command. You've been grounded, just like they did to me."

Kirk's heart sank again. He was angry about the intrusion, but Alyssa was right. She hit a part of him that held as much hope for her. To hear that his wildest dreams are going to be dashed was too much to bear on top of being responsible for a family. Was it enough that he was not successful in saving Alyssa? Had to contend with power beyond his control? Wasn't it salt in a wound to never sit in the captain's chair again?

"Don't you think I don't know that?" he hissed at her. "The price is too high. We all have to gamble. This is one of them."

"You cannot throw me down on that table," Alyssa stipulated. "It's dangerous to try. I love you so much, Jim. I cannot bear you leaving me, but I also cannot lose you too. I'll go to the ends of the galaxy for you if I had to, but I cannot watch you fall either."

Kirk embraced her. He sought to find the right words, but could only say a cultural reference Alyssa often used. "I know, Alyssa. I know."