Starbase 24, Early Summer 2391
The Romulan woman scowled as she studied the brief she had been handed. "It'll be pirates," Rhiana said caustically. "It's always pirates. And I take it this has to be done yesterday?" The sarcasm was unwarranted, a defence mechanism intended to hide her concern. The report she'd just read was disturbing; young children were going missing from their homes… never from the same place – one here, one there, one from Frontera, another from Earth, more from the various colony worlds out on the edge of Federation space. It had been going on for a long time, but the perpetrators had covered their tracks well, leaving no sign that the cases were connected in any way, and it had taken years of work on the part of the various intelligence and law enforcement agencies to get to a point where an agent could be sent undercover to investigate.
Rhiana's scowl deepened at the thought. What she was being asked to do was dangerous and it had been a long time since she'd been out in the field. Her bondmate would not approve of this. Just for a moment, she allowed herself to be side-tracked by thoughts of Sorahl. Unofficially exiled from her own people, she'd never thought to find love in the Federation, let alone with a stubborn, 'unemotional' Vulcan. Ten years they'd been married now, ten glorious years since they had bonded. "Parted from me and never parted. Never and always touching and touched." The words resonated in her mind, and she could feel his presence… their bond… nestling in the back of her mind, calm and reassuring. No, Sorahl would most definitely not approve of this mission, but she would take it anyway and they would not be parted.
Unaware of Rhiana's thoughts, Kehlan sighed. Sometimes she wondered if her friend and colleague hadn't spent too long working amongst Terrans and Klingons. "You're probably right," she admitted. "Even so, there's something more going on – and yes, it is urgent that we deal with it. We've had some long discussions on the subject with Starfleet Intelligence. Admiral Shanter feels that the recent trouble across the Romulan border is connected somehow and is being... encouraged... by a third party, probably whoever is taking the children. We can't risk this escalating into another war." The half Klingon admiral glanced at Krang, wordlessly seeking his thoughts on the crisis.
"Such a war would be both dishonourable and beneficial only to the criminals who are masterminding this operation," the Klingon agreed. A highly experienced officer, he had been head of FedKIN, the Federation/Klingon Intelligence Network for more years than he cared to remember, an organisation that had been set up after the Dominion War to liaise with both the Federation and Klingon Intelligence organisations and facilitate the flow of information for the benefit of both. Hugely successful, it had grown and developed since then, and he had long ago built up his own network of spies and operatives. "Quite apart from all that," he added, "the opportunity to get you in there may never come again."
Rhiana remained silent for a moment, considering Krang's explanation whilst carefully keeping her expression neutral. She was not quite ready to betray her interest in the mission. "Okay, so… why me?"
"It is too dangerous to send in a surgically altered operative," Krang said. "Medical sensors have advanced to the point that any physical alterations will be detected immediately. We do not have time to train a Vulcan security operative, and even if we did, I am not convinced their agents have the… emotional flexibility or acting ability for such a critical mission – and for obvious reasons, at this stage I'd prefer not to involve the Tal Shiar any more than they already are."
"I hate asking this of you, Rhiana," Kehlan said, a note of pleading unconsciously entering her voice. "But there really isn't anyone with your skill set that we can rely on… that we can trust to do this."
Slowly, the Romulan nodded. "Very well, I'll do it... with one proviso."
The Klingon woman frowned, not quite trusting the sudden capitulation. Rhiana was Romulan... Rihannsu, she mentally corrected herself, and had served in the Tal Shiar, rising to the rank of colonel. On Kehlan's own world, Klingon Imperial Intelligence was hated and feared, and for good reason, but their reputation was nothing compared to that of the Romulan secret police. Rhiana could be devious, and while she was honourable, her sense of honour did not always coincide with Kehlan's. "And that is?"
"That T'Lia performs the neurosurgery."
Kehlan relaxed. That was a reasonable request. The tiny recording device that would be implanted in her brain just behind her eyes, was state-of-the-art technology, new and undetectable, but installing it was a complex and very delicate procedure. "There is no-one else I would trust to do it," Kehlan assured her. No doubt the Vulcan head of starbase medical would protest but Kehlan had no doubt that once the need had been explained, T'Lia would see the logic of the request.
Content with that, Rhiana nodded. "I guess I should set my affairs in order then."
"It's settled then," Kehlan said. "Krang, I'm bringing Leandra back to assist you until Rhiana's return."
Krang grimaced. He and Leandra did not get on in the slightest. The ex-mercenary was argumentative, overly independent and did not take orders well… not his orders anyway. For all that, she was good at what she did. Resignedly he nodded.
Kehlan got to her feet. There was nothing more to be said. Except... "Be careful Rhiana, come back safe."
The blonde Romulan studied the half Klingon colleague who over the years had become a good friend, before offering her a slight smile. "I am always careful."
Krang gave a nod of approval at her response. He did not like this. Rhiana was, in his opinion, too senior to be sent out on this type of mission; they could not afford for her to be taken. But he was also aware that there really wasn't anyone else who could go.
She would be careful, he knew that. She had been a prisoner before and knew what was at stake. She would not allow herself to be taken alive.
As the two FedKIN officers departed, Rhiana hesitated in the corridor just outside Kehlan's office. "Krang?"
Coming to a halt, the big Klingon looked back at her. "Yes?"
"The new adventure garden opens in Frontera Central Park next week. I promised Fina and Skonn that I'd take Michael on my day off..."
Despite the seriousness of the mission that she had been assigned, she smiled slightly at the thought of her little godson, Krang and Chrissie's first grandchild. The toddler was more than just a godson, actually. When Krang's daughter had brought a half-Klingon, half-Romulan cadet home to meet her parents, she'd recognised a kindred soul. Raised by Vulcans, Skonn had little knowledge of the Romulan way except what he'd read in books and in his own way, he was as much an exile as she was. Rhiana could not blame his adoptive parents for that, they had done their best and they had succeeded. He was a fine young man who in Rhiana's opinion embodied the best traits of both species, and she'd become his friend and mentor, almost an adoptive mother to him.
"As it happens, I was planning to take Arwen," Krang admitted. The little girl had been begging her father to take her from the moment she'd heard about the new park. "I'd be happy to take mayQel as well." He adored his infant grandson and was glad of the excuse to spend time with the child.
His deputy nodded. "Have fun."
Krang grunted in acknowledgement. He always had fun with the little ones. Warrior or not, he loved spending time with his children and grandchildren.
Something flickered in Rhiana's expression. "Give him my love then." She turned away towards the empty corridor.
"I will tell him," the Klingon promised as he watched her go. Unlike many Klingons of this era, he had no prejudice against Romulans. He and Rhiana had worked together for a long time, and she had a real gift for intelligence work which was not completely surprising considering her Tal Shiar background. As he'd got to know her, she had become not just a colleague but a good friend to him and his family. Indeed, having become godparent to his grandson almost two years ago, she was family. Almost under his breath, he added, "Do your job, Rhiana, and come back safe.
Thursday 18th July 2391
In the end thanks to various delays – a vital piece of equipment not arriving on time, staffing problems, and then a technical issue with the holographic emitters, it was almost three weeks into the school holidays before the children's adventure park opened to the public.
Krang had hoped to take the children on the opening day but was prevented by work commitments in the form of an unexpected data packet from the cloaked Imperial Intelligence ship that was monitoring Rhiana's progress from a discreet distance. The tiny chip that had been implanted behind her eye was already proving its worth. Welcome as the data was, its arrival meant a flurry of urgent work and a series of subspace conference calls with the Klingon and Federation intelligence agencies.
Pleased with the information, but cursing the timing of its arrival, Krang had called home to rearrange the outing before settling down to get on with his work. The new aide, a colonel sent to him recently from Imperial Intelligence, more than proved his worth and after working through the night, they were able to get to a point where he could leave Kahsil to manage without him for a few hours and go home to fulfil his promise to the children.
Telling his aide that he could call if necessary, but also warning him that it had better be a life-or-death emergency, because if it was anything less he wouldn't live long enough to regret it, the security captain declared himself off duty, shut down his computer and got up to leave.
Already used to his new boss's idiosyncrasies and unconcerned by the threat, Kahsil laughed and wished him a good time before shooing him out of the office and returning to his own workspace to get on with the work that he'd been left to do.
Beaming down to the planet and materialising at the front door of his home, Krang went inside, and following the tantalising smell of baking, he found his wife in the kitchen pulling a tray of chocolate brownies out of the oven. His face lit up with anticipation; Chrissie's baking skills were legendary, and her brownies tasted best while hot. Snagging an oven mitt, he moved towards her purposefully. "Let me help with that."
Pleased to see her mate, Chrissie looked up from what she was doing. She'd missed him last night. This house… and her bed… felt wrong without him, and she hated it when duty kept him away from home. Understanding the necessity, however, she said nothing of that, choosing instead to focus on the brownies. She raised an admonishing eyebrow, the effect slightly spoilt by the smudges of flour on her face. "Help?" she said accusingly. "You just want to steal them."
"Guilty as charged," he admitted, reaching for the tray.
Laughing, she backed away from him, turning to put the brownies on the worksurface behind her. "I promised these ones to Kehlan; you can't have any. Besides, they're still too hot." Refusing to fall for his hard-done-by expression, she chased him out of the kitchen to shower and change into civilian clothing, but not before promising to make him a batch for when he came back from the play park.
Stopping for a moment at the kitchen door, he turned back to face her. "Where are the children anyway? Are they ready?"
"They've been ready all morning," Chrissie told him. "They're down in the vegetable garden picking some tomatoes for tonight's dinner; I figured even Michael can't get too dirty doing that."
"That might be wishful thinking," Krang grinned. "That boy attracts dirt like…"
"Like a chocolate brownie attracts Klingons?" Chrissie interrupted acerbically. "Now off you go and get ready… and when you get back, the brownies… and I… will be ready for you. Scram!"
Krang's eyes widened slightly. Was she… was that a promise? Over twenty years of marriage and she still managed to surprise him. Satisfied with the outcome of the conversation and deciding it would not be a good idea to push his luck, Krang did as he was told and retreated to the bathroom.
Feeling much refreshed after a quick sonic shower, he pulled on a pair of jeans that were meant to be black but which had faded to a charcoal grey, and a plain tee-shirt of the same colour. Fastening his belt around his waist, he reached for his d'k tahg and slid it into place in the leather sheath decorated with the Inigan insignia. It looked odd with the Terran clothing, but it was a part of him and he didn't feel right without it.
Shoving his dirty uniform into the laundry basket and ignoring the heavy boots he'd left lying in the middle of the bedroom floor, he slipped his feet into a comfortable pair of trainers which were also black and headed back downstairs to find his wife.
Chrissie was still in the kitchen. The brownies for Kehlan safely in a tin, she'd popped another batch in the oven to cook and was busying herself clearing up the mess and wiping down the worksurfaces. She paused at the sight of her mate, pretending to be engrossed in her task, but in reality, taking a moment to admire his masculine beauty. Even in casual, Terran-style clothing, he was magnificent. The jeans and tee-shirt looked amazing on him, showing off his biceps and accentuating those lean, powerful hips.
Not for the first time wondering what he saw in her and how she'd got so lucky, she decided there and then that she was going to pay a visit to that new lingerie shop that had opened on the starbase promenade. Blushing at the thought, and thankful that any pinkness in her cheeks could be attributed to the heat of the oven, she lowered her gaze as she made her plans. She'd pick up some steaks from the butcher and cook him a special dinner, ultra-rare of course, just the way he liked it… and afterwards, once the children were in bed and safely asleep, she was going to make him very welcome…
Her musing was interrupted by Arwen, who by now had given up any pretence of doing anything helpful with the tomatoes and was begging to know if her father was ready to go yet, because they'd been waiting absolutely ages, and could they please go soon otherwise they'd miss the puppet show! Not really understanding what all the fuss was about, Michael was picking up on his aunt's excitement and loudly vocalising his support for whatever it was that was about to happen.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Chrissie asked her husband, glancing with just a little concern at the two over-excited children. "I'm due in the gardens in an hour, but they can manage without me for once; there's nothing urgent to do, and it's going to be really busy at the park today."
It was tempting to say yes. She was his wife; of course he wanted her with him, but he knew she was planning to go shopping with their daughter once she'd finished at the garden, so he shook his head. "We will be fine. Enjoy your afternoon, Chrissie-oy and do not worry. It is a children's play park. There is nothing that can go wrong."
"I've heard that before," Chrissie muttered, before reaching up and kissing his cheek. "Never mind; off you go then and have fun."
Author's note: This is a rewrite of the original version and it has a lot of new content in it. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek and I am making no money from this story. I am writing purely for fun. I do own the vast majority of the characters.