After two weeks, Solan came to Jim's office, and he could not help but notice what Solan was wearing: a long, black trench coat which looked like it was made of leather over his usual attire of black jeans and a white shirt, but he was also wearing dark shades and a black hat. Jim did not say anything for a moment. "Solan?"

"You know it's me," Solan replied.

"What have you been doing?"

"Investigating."

"In that?"

"Some of the time."

"I assume you found out something or you wouldn't be here right now?"

Solan removed his shades. "I did," he replied. "I was on Caleb Four, you know."

"Yes. An interesting trip for you, I take it?"

Solan frowned slightly. "Sorta. I don't feel all that comfortable being on the edge of Klingon space, even if they are mostly allies now."

"Solan."

"I met an old buddy there who was on Voca Five not long ago. You know it's known for having the widest sky in the Federation."

"Yes, I've heard of Voca Five. And?"

"Well, there was a certain admiral who came there under a certain name, but someone recognized him, and it was a whisper around the town, but when he saw him come into town for supplies, he knew it was him."

"So, he's on Voca Five."

"Looks like it. Regi wouldn't tell me that if he wasn't sure."

"I guess you know this guy pretty well."

Solan frowned. "Well, I've known him a long time," he said.

Jim knew Solan had lost some of his confidence after that incident with Cax. "Okay," he said. "Your word and your judgment is good enough for me."

"I'll be glad to go with you."

"I'm sure I'll be asking you. I have to figure out how I want to do this first."

"I'll be ready, Admiral. I'd like to take Priscilla along."

Jim smiled slightly. "That's fine." He would love to take Carol and his kids along too, but he did not want to take them into a dangerous situation. He was not sure how this situation would go.

"Jim, could I ask you something?" he asked. "It has nothing to do with this case."

"Sure."

"Could you do my wedding ceremony?"

Jim was surprised at that. "You're gonna marry Priscilla?" he asked.

"Yeah. Who else? I love her."

"Of course I will. When are you planning to get married?"

"Well…I don't know yet. I kinda haven't asked her yet, but I just…well, I kinda wanted to talk about it."

"Talk about what?"

"Getting married."

"Oh. Well, what about it?"

"Were you nervous when you got married?"

"Of course. Everyone is."

"I don't think Priscilla is nervous. She…" Solan scowled as he was not sure what he wanted to say.

"Solan, what are you trying to say?" Jim asked.

"Nothing. I'm nervous about getting married."

"You'll get over that after the ceremony."

"Right."

Jim frowned. "Anyway, I'll get this team together to go to Voca Five. Is Regi on Earth?"

"No," Solan answered. "He's always out in space. He might come to Earth once a year."

"I'll get Ajah to find out everything he can about that planet and clear Spock's schedule so we can go on the Enterprise."

"Are you sure we should take the Enterprise?" Solan asked.

"Why not?" Jim asked. "This will be a Federation mission…my mission."

"Have you talked to Admiral Winston about it?"

"Sure. He's been waiting for us to get information too."

"Does Carol know you're about to go off after that admiral?"

Jim cleared his throat. "Well, not yet, but I'll tell her."

"Wow. I can't believe you haven't discussed this with her."

"She has been recovering from having a baby. I don't want her worrying about anything."

"She'll be plenty worried about this."

"Maybe it will just be a simple mission there and back."

"Let's hope."

Solan put his shades back on. "See you later, Admiral."

Jim chuckled at that after Solan was out the door. That guy loved what he did. Jim became serious as he thought of Admiral Simmons. He pressed the intercom button. "Ajah, I want you to pull up all the information you can on Voca Five."

"Yes, Sir," Ajah replied.

Jim leaned back in his chair and thought about Carol. He had found himself thinking about her a lot lately while he sat in his office. He brought up the picture of her on his monitor that he sat and looked at. What was wrong with him lately? He felt like they had just met and he wanted to impress her…or that's what he thought to call it. What are you doing to me, Babe? he thought to himself. Every evening he found himself hurrying to get home so he could kiss her, hold her, or whatever he could do to make sure he was touching her. He pressed the intercom button again. "Ajah."

"Yes, Sir," Ajah answered.

Jim paused a moment. "Uh…get me a florist on the com," he said.

"A florist?"

"Yes, Ajah. Someone who delivers flowers."

"OH, I know what it is, Sir. I mean…"

"Just do it and then patch it through here so I can talk to them myself."

"Yes, Sir."

Jim sat and waited thinking of what he wanted to do, but after only a few minutes, the transmission came through. "Hi," he said as he turned the monitor on.

"Admiral Kirk," the florist said.

"Yeah. I want to get two dozen red roses delivered to my apartment as soon as possible," Jim said.

"Did you have anything in particular that you wanted to say?"

Jim considered that. "To the most beautiful woman in the galaxy," he said.

"Is that all?"

"Yeah. She'll know who they're from. You can talk to my secretary about payment." Jim transferred the call back to Ajah. He looked at the time and almost laughed at himself. It was not even noon yet.

Jim stood up and paced around the office. He could not concentrate on his work he should be doing, which was creating a duty roster. He had to have that done by the next day. How could he create something like that when he could not concentrate? When he was sitting at his desk, his mind drifted to Carol, or to the night before. "Get a grip," he said to himself. "You have to get this done."

Ajah had taken care of the rose order, and he was researching the planet Voca Five. He hoped Admiral Kirk would let him go on that mission. He had not been on any missions in quite a while, and he thought he just might be missing it a little. He would never tell Helek that. Helek was the one who loved getting into trouble and using his "electrifying personality" to get out of it. He had not talked to Helek in a few days, but he supposed as people settled into their life off a ship, they did not talk as often. He sent a signal to Helek who worked in the central power grid.

It was only a few minutes until he got a reply. "Hey," Helek said with his voice sounding rather electronic. "How's it going?"

"Okay," Ajah replied. "Admiral Kirk thinks he may have located Admiral Simmons."

"Oh yeah? Are you going on the mission?"

"I don't know yet. I hope so. I'm ready for some adventure."

"So am I. Let him know I want to go."

"I will. So, where have you been keeping yourself?"

"I work most of the time, and the rest of the time, I'm…kinda seeing someone."

"Kinda? How can you be kinda seeing someone?"

"Easy. I see her now and then."

"So who is it?"

"Why don't we all go on a double date some time, and then I'll let you know?"

"Why can't you just tell me? Do I know her?"

"Maybe. I know you've heard of her."

"Well, Mister Secret. After we go on this mission, maybe we can go on this double date."

"Great. Let me know when we're leaving."

"You ever heard of Voca Five?"

"I don't think so."

"I think that's where we're going. It's accused of having the widest sky in the Federation."

"Really? How dare it."

Ajah shook his head. "I'll talk to you later, joker."

"I'll be waiting."

Ajah ended the transmission. He could remember when Helek almost died because someone knew what it took to bring them down. He was sure this rogue admiral would know that. They would just have to be careful.

The intercom chirped again. Ajah answered and Carol was there. "I want to talk to Jim," she said.

"Right away," Ajah replied.

Jim was working on his duty roster when the intercom beeped. He turned it on as it was a direct call. He smiled as Carol appeared on the screen. "Hi, Beautiful," he said.

"I got the roses," Carol replied. "They're beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you."

Carol smiled. "Thank you, but you gave me roses yesterday…and the day before."

"I just love you, and I want you to know it."

"I do know it…and I love you."

Jim leaned on his elbow and gazed at the monitor. "The way I used to be, and I end up with the most beautiful woman who ever lived."

Carol almost laughed, but she realized he was not joking. "Jim, you haven't been drinking, have you?"

Jim shook his head. "I don't need anything like that to feel this way about you."

Carol leaned on her elbow mimicking his posture. "Tell me more."

"I just can't believe you're mine, and I'm yours, and we're married, and have two kids together, and I even get to sleep with you, and you love me…and all that stuff."

Carol could barely keep from laughing at his dreamy tone. "Is that all?"

"No."

"You know, Jim, you don't have to prove your love to me. I know you love me."

"But I want to. I want you to know that I love you and nobody else."

"I do know it. I have to go to the baby. I'll see you later."

Jim nodded. "Bye."

Carol waved and the transmission ended. She did laugh then. Her mother had told her that men fall in love again once in a while, and she was seeing it happen. It was comical but it made her love Jim even more. He was so good to her and not to mention, he was fine and sexy. She smiled at her thoughts as she went to get the baby.

Jim sat at his desk thinking about what he had said. She must think I'm the corniest thing ever.

The intercom interrupted his thoughts. "Yes," he answered.

"Sir, Doctor McCoy is here," Ajah said.

"Send him in."

Bones came into the office and sat down in the chair in front of Jim's desk. "Well, so you're planning to go after Admiral Simmons?"

"Of course," Jim said.

"And just what if he has people there who won't like that?"

"I'll let them know that it's Starfleet business and they shouldn't interfere."

Bones shook his head and then noticed that Jim was leaning on his hand. "So, what's wrong with you?" he asked.

"Nothing. Have you ever noticed that I have the most beautiful wife in the galaxy?"

Bones absorbed that. "Excuse me? I might beg to differ with that."

"It's hard to believe that she married me."

"That part I can agree with."

"She could have had any man she wanted."

"Are you feeling alright?" Bones asked.

Jim rubbed his face. "I can't think about anything without getting distracted thinking about Carol. I sit here and stare at her pictures. I can't wait to get home and…"

"Okay. I get the picture without any details. So what? You're falling in love with your wife again. Nothing wrong with that."

"What should I get for her? Should I take her somewhere? Just maybe a weekend getaway?"

"Go ahead. Sure can't hurt. Maybe you can purge your pon farr."

"My what?"

Bones laughed. "Never mind…just enjoy it."

"So I'm not sick?"

"Maybe lovesickness. Back to the subject: who all is going on this mission? Have you told Carol about it?"

"No, I haven't told her yet. I don't have my team together yet. I just found out about it today but I'm sure I'll include you."

"Oh, great. Are we going on the Enterprise?"

"Definitely. It'll be a Starfleet mission."

"Let's just hope we can avoid stirring up some homicidal maniac while we're on this search."

"Hopefully no one will know about this mission. I'm not telling."

"Jim, everything you do becomes news."

"Not if everyone keeps it to themselves."

"You think Ajah hasn't told anyone?"

Jim frowned. "I'll handle that too."

"You better."

Bones went to the door but then stopped and looked at Jim. "Hey, you better get all the loving you can before you go," he said and laughed as he went on out the door.

Jim thought he probably should not have told Bones about his feelings, but he could not undo it now. Right now, he had to think about his mission. He pressed the intercom button. "Ajah, come in here."

Ajah came in quickly and had a pad in his hands. "Did you need something?" he asked.

"Yeah. Have you told anyone about this mission we're going on to Voca Five?"

Ajah paused a moment feeling like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I told Helek," he said.

"You need to make sure that they know this is a very secret mission. Did you tell Felonia?"

"Well, no, not yet."

"Good. Let's keep it that way. We don't want information getting out about this mission. It could get back to our quarry."

"Yes, Sir. I'll tell Helek."

"Good. Don't tell anyone else, and don't talk about this mission over intercom. You know how nosey folks are about a juicy story."

"Yes, Sir."

"Alright."

Ajah went back to his desk feeling like he had been reprimanded. He did not know the mission was such a secret. He would have to go where Helek worked and tell him. He pressed the intercom button. "Admiral, if it's alright with you, I'll be out for a bit," he said.

"Go ahead, but I'll need you later," Jim replied.

"Yes, Sir. I'll be back as soon as possible."

Ajah hurried out the door and went down to the central computer core where Helek worked in the area where no one else could. As he walked down there, he did not see Helek. "Helek!" he called.

"What you doing here, Ajah?" Helek asked.

"I need to tell you something. Where are you?"

Helek came around a power conduit looking like he had just been in a battle if one went by his electrical appearance. "What are you doing?" Ajah asked. "Absorbing electricity?"

"I do when there's a surge or something," Helek replied.

"Well, I came to tell you that you can't talk to anyone about our mission to…that planet. It's top secret."

"Oh. Well, I haven't told anyone."

"Admiral Kirk wants to keep it as secret as possible. He thinks the information could get to Admiral Simmons."

"He may not be wrong."

"He's hardly ever wrong. But he doesn't want us to talk about it over the intercom either. That's why I had to come down here."

"You wanta power up while you're here?"

Ajah touched the power conduit where Helek was and his eyes started glowing. "Are you sure it's good for you to do this all the time?" Ajah asked.

"Well, the doctor says I'm healthy," Helek replied. "I'm sure it won't hurt you since you were the one considered perfection."

"I doubt that."

"You doubt what?"

"Perfection."

"Don't forget how you defeated that guy before."

"That was in the past."

"It still happened. You're a lot more powerful, Ajah, especially when you're angry."

"I thought you might die. I can't stand the thought of being the only one of my kind here. I think I'd go back to Nervala Four."

"And live as a hermit on top of some mountain and release novels every eight years?"

"Maybe."

"Come on. You know you can't do that. My sister is even doing a lot better now. She's learned to stop being afraid."

"I'm glad. What about your mom?"

"Well, she went back to Nervala. She just didn't want to stay away from her planet."

"I've thought about visiting it. Do you think it's changed?"

"I don't know, Ajah. I wish I knew."

"Maybe we should visit it the next time the window is open."

Helek sighed. "I don't know. I'm kinda nervous about going there. You know, when a place is out of touch with the rest of the galaxy for eight years, things happen."

"I know, but we have the power to stop it. They couldn't have started up that research center down there again."

"No, but I just hope they're returning to normal. Would you overthrow the government if they were terrorizing the people?"

"I'd try."

"The Federation wouldn't help you, you know."

"Yes, I know. Wouldn't you help me?"

"I don't want to be trapped there, Ajah. I like being free."

"I guess sometimes I don't think about that much."

"You should. Just think of being stuck there, you couldn't go on any missions with Admiral Kirk, you couldn't see Felonia anymore, or go where you want. What kind of life is that?"

"Not a very good one. Anyway, I have to get back to the office…but first, since you brought up Felonia, who is this flame you've got simmering?"

Helek shook his head. "I told you, I'm not telling you."

"Why not? Are you embarrassed?"

"Maybe. Besides, I don't want to broadcast anything right now."

"You're weird. I have to get back to the office. See you later."

"Later. I wouldn't be calling me weird if I were you."

"Ha, ha."

Ajah left there and went back to his office. He was sure he was about to be in the middle of more top secret conversations about the mission…