CHAPTER 19 OF THE PHOENIX AND THE WOLVERINE

I'm late; she is so going to kill me.

This was the thought running through Ander's mind as he deftly weaved his way through the busy noisy crowd that had suddenly appeared on the concrete walkway.

Concrete...walkway.

He stopped suddenly and realized he was somewhere else. He looked around him with growing anxiety.

He was on a teeming walkway beside a busy road; the people around him were dressed in suits and casual wear but more alarmingly centurions walked amongst them in broad daylight. No one seemed alarmed.

Anders reached for a sidearm and felt nothing; he looked down at himself. He was wearing a well cut black suit and gleaming black leather shoes. In his right hand he had a thick folder which was stuffed with papers.

"What is this?" whispered Anders with growing horror; then something changed.

Silence.

Anders looked around him to see that the crowd had grown eerily silent and everyone; including the centurions were looking towards the skies. He cautiously looked up but the achingly familiar blue looking skies were empty.

He turned towards the nearest person who was standing next to him; a middle-aged brunette wearing a light blue skirt suit.

Anders had to find out what was going on and where in Hades he was. "Er...excuse me; what are we looking at ?"

The woman seemed to ignore him then when he was about to ask again she turned to face him fully.

Anders took a few steps back ; his shout of horror dying on his lips.

The right half of her face was perfect; even the hair was immaculate but the left side was a burnt ruin. A gaping black hole was in place of the left eye.

But she did not appear to be in pain; then she opened her mouth to speak.

"We're looking at our end dear."

Then Anders heard an all too familiar sound; he looked up to see missiles falling towards them; he did not have time to scream before the heat reached him.

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Anders woke up with a shout and in a cold sweat.

"Sam."

The softly spoken voice startled him badly; he almost reached for his weapon before he recognised who was beside him.

Kara. His wife.

"Baby; what's wrong? Bad dreams ?" the concern on her face was real.

It was several moments before Anders could answer; so many thoughts were running through his mind.

This was the first time since New Caprica that Kara had stayed in the same room with him.

After the escape; it was clear that her time as a captive on New Caprica had changed her badly; she had bluntly told Anders she needed time to heal.

Time alone.

It had hurt him badly but he had accepted. However; Kara took it a step further by avoiding him completely. He had almost suspected her of having an affair but his gut instinct told him otherwise.

Especially when he found out she was constantly volunteering for potentially dangerous missions.

It seemed like she was trying to kill herself but Anders did not have a clue as to how to help her.

Then the Thirteenth Tribe showed up; it was still to early to tell but he had already seen a change in her attitude. She seemed more positive...more alive.

Earlier on; after he and Helo had briefed their wives about the first meeting with the Thirteenth tribe; everyone decided to turn in.

He had been stunned when she accompanied him back to their quarters; changed her clothes and turned into bed after a mumbled 'goodnight.' He had stood for several moments staring at her sleeping form before he got into bed beside her. It had taken him more than an hour to sleep because he was so happy she was alive and back in their quarters.

He also knew that it might be for a very brief period but he was going to treasure every moment.

"Sam; I understand if you don't want to talk about..."

"I do," cut in Anders softly.

Kara stared at him for several moments; she was all too familiar with nightmares; some of which she was never going to share with anyone. She simply waited patiently for her husband to continue.

Anders closed his eyes briefly. "I'm in a city...wearing civilian clothes and carrying a massive folder."

Kara frowned; Anders was definitely not the suit type.

"I'm rushing to get somewhere ; I know I'm late and that the woman waiting was going to kill me."

Kara felt a flare of jealousy at the thought of a woman waiting for him but she suppressed it as she listened quietly.

"Then I notice something strange; the people around me consisted of colonials and centurions and no one was alarmed by that," he noticed the puzzled look on Kara's face "yeah I know; creepy huh?"

He sighed. " I still can't figure out where we are...then everyone stops moving and looks to the blue skies."

Kara could understand the yearning in his voice when he mentioned the sky; she missed it too.

"I ask a woman standing beside me; why we're looking at the sky..." his voice cracked " but half of her face is burnt away then she says 'we're looking at our end.'

Then I look up to see nukes coming down on us...I feel the heat; I scream and then I wake up."

There was silence for several moments; Kara nestled beside him and gently held him close. She could hear his heart beating rapidly as she laid her head on his bare chest.

He was scared.

"It's okay...Caprica is behind us...we're safe now."

Anders responded by holding her tightly. "I keep telling myself that each time I have that dream but it does not work." The fear in his voice was palpable.

Kara felt herself go still. She looked up at him. "The same dream ? How often ? For how long?"

"Since we left New Caprica; at first it was once or twice a week then in the last week it's been every night."

Kara sighed; post traumatic disorder was rife among the entire fleet; so many had seen their home-worlds decimated by nukes from orbit and the occupation of New Caprica had added fresh new psychological scars.

The medical staff simply did not have a hope in Hades of counselling every affected person; thus the suicide rate was continuing to climb.

Hopefully with the arrival of the Thirteenth Tribe; things might change for the better.

If the powers that be did not frak things up as usual.

Kara sat up and faced her husband placing her hands on his shoulder.

"Listen to me; we have been through a lot...we have all lost so much...I know what you are going through," she blinked rapidly as she felt her eyes tear; she wrapped her hands round his neck. She suddenly had this feeling that she was going to lose him.

"I am not going to lose you! The Thirteenth Tribe is here...their home must be close...we are almost home...almost safe."

Anders opened his mouth to speak.

"Shhh," she put a finger on his lips; then slowly kissed him.

"We'll be late for the briefing," whispered Anders against her lips when he came up for air several seconds later.

"We have time," said Kara softly as she kissed him and pulled him back to the bed.

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The Galactica; main flight deck; side office...

Senior Chief Petty Officer Tyrol Galen froze the image and enlarged the picture. 3 hours ago he had left Cally and their son as they both slept.

He was grateful to the crew of the Xavier for bringing her back in one piece and also for the care that had been given to her injured leg.

But he could not ignore the fact that they had two AIs; their ship's computer and the hologram known as 'Q'.

Tyrol had been called to the Admiral's office and given the task of finding out all he could about the Xavier and the hologram.

Talk about exceeding tall orders.

First of all; it would take a miracle before he would be let unto the Xavier; though to be honest he was itching to have a look at its FTL drive. It must be something to behold.

Second; he had a list a mile long of repairs he had to oversee on the Galactica and the remaining raptors and vipers that were still functioning.

For Gods' sake he hadn't even had a chance to check the raptors and vipers which had barely survived the attack on Hera's planet!

Then last but certainly not least; he doubted the hologram would answer any questions. His instinct told him it was on an important mission for Starfleet and it must have complex in-built firewalls...but one question was; how was it able to leave the Xavier ?

At first he thought that the shuttle had been projecting the hologram but that was quickly discarded when he recalled that earlier on; the hologram had been on the Galactica with the young girl and there was no shuttle or the Xavier in sight.

Tyrol was familiar with holograms; during his years in the Engineering Colonial Academy he had seen such constructs.

But they had not been mobile; neither had they seemed so real and the computer or device projecting them had been sizable.

That had got him re-watching the limited footage they had of the Thirteenth Tribe's hologram.

He first watched the incident in the airlock.

Even though the two 'teens' were okay; he could not help but wince in sympathy when he saw what they had 'survived.

The video had also given him chills especially when Q 'phased' through the wall and when the girl's claws came out to stop her from entering the cold vaccum of space.

Tyrol watched it a few more times before he noticed the small dark circular object on Q's left shoulder.

He turned to the second screen and watched the first official meeting between Captain Logan ; Ensign Q Junior and Admiral Adama and the President.

A part of him was astonished and appalled that a 'computer program' had been given a rank.

Tyrol concentrated on the frozen image of Q Junior; he was seeing him from above. The same small circular object was still on his left shoulder.

"Gotcha," whispered Tyrol to himself. He had found the hardware which had to be projecting the hologram. Now all he had to do was tell the Admiral.

He just wondered what he was planning to do with this information.

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The CIC; Admiral's side room...

Admiral Adama looked at the two people before him; they had less than 90 minutes until the next meeting with the crew of the Xavier.

When the President and vice president had called him 30 minutes for a quick meeting; he had agreed wondering what was wrong.

Roslin had been straight to the point.

"We need to put someone on the Xavier."

Adama had stared at her. "Excuse me ?"

Zarek chose that point to add his own piece of advice. "Probably more than one person actually; we need to know what they are capable of."

The Admiral had stared at both of them wondering if the lack of sleep was actually scrambling their brain cells.

"I can understand your concern," he started carefully "but they are still very suspicious of us...understandably so," he glared at Zarek who wisely kept his mouth shut.

"I doubt they will welcome such a suggestion."

"Maybe we should put the question to them...in a delicate manner...like exchange of personnel...maybe the doctor could come aboard the Galactica."

Adama was already shaking his head. "Put yourself in the captain's shoes; he's still very upset about what happened to the kids...now you want to ask him to trust us with Dr Grey ? Besides have you forgotten already what she did to the weapons ?"

It was the turn of the president and vice-president to stare at him.

"You actually believe she may have done that ?" asked Laura.

Adama sighed. " I have no idea but...asking one of them to be a potential hostage is not going to flow well."

Zarek and Roslin shared a look.

"What now?" asked Adama as he noticed the exchange.

"The Quorum wants someone to keep an eye on them...and report back to us" said Zarek.

"You mean a spy...this is a very dangerous job..."

"I have already picked the perfect person," interrupted Roslin.

Adama's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

"Ensign Billy Rogers."

The Admiral's expression changed from disbelief to icy anger.

"You have already spoken to him." It was not a question.

Roslin held up a placating hand. " I simply stated we may need him for a special assignment but I have not told him what it is yet."

Some of the tension left the Admiral's shoulders; he looked at the two leaders before him.

"He would be a good ambassador...but he's injured."

The two shared another look. Adama simply waited for them to speak.

"That's also one of the reasons I picked him...it will give the Thirteenth Tribe a chance to demonstrate how magnanimous they are."

Adama's anger returned. "You wish to test them ? Have you really thought this through ?"

Roslin did not back down from his fury. "We do not know these people ; their hologram has a military rank for Gods' sakes. We are swimming in unknown waters here Admiral."

Adama maintained eye contact with the President until she was the first to look away.

"I need to discuss this with Ensign Rogers...in detail then I will give you my answer."

A loud knock on the door prevented the President and Vice President from speaking further.

Adama looked at the door. "Come in."

Junior Lieutenant Felix Gaeta came in. " Admiral; President and Vice President I'm so sorry to interrupt but I have some news.

The viper patrols have found Tylium in a nearby system; we're ready to send out the mining ships on your say so sir."

The three stared at the junior lieutenant.

"That is good news; send out the ships with a good escort and inform the Xavier so as not to alarm them," said the Admiral.

"Yes sir..." then Felix Gaeta swallowed nervously "and another thing...Lieutenant Athena Agathon wishes to speak to you before the next meeting ."

"Tell her the Admiral is busy," ordered Zarek coldly.

Gaeta ignored him and concentrated on the Admiral. The vice president's eyes narrowed when he realized the junior officer was refusing to acknowledge him; he opened his mouth to speak.

"I'll see her," said Adama stunning Zarek. The vice president turned to see the Admiral glaring at him and the ex-convict wisely kept quiet.

Zarek had remembered he was a civilian and had no right in ordering an officer when his commanding officer stood before him.

Adama looked at Roslin. "I have taken your advice in consideration and will inform you of the outcome."

She looked at him for a while; he had just politely told her to leave his office so that he could speak to a cylon.

"As you wish," she said softly before leaving with a silent vice president.

Felix kept his eyes straight ahead as the two passed him; he was all too conscious of the glare Zarek sent his way.

"Send her in," said Adama.

"Yes sir," said Gaeta before leaving.

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Athena tried not to fidget as she waited for Gaeta. To her relief the colonial officers in the CIC did not pay her much attention; because they were monitoring the Xavier.

She felt her heart lift each time she looked at the ship in the view monitors; she still had hope that they could help.

But she did not know how.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the President and Vice President felt the meeting room. They barely acknowledged her but she had no trouble interpreting the body language.

They were seriously ticked off and she had a good idea who they blamed.

And she did not give a frak what they thought.

"Lieutenant."

She turned back to see Gaeta was standing before her.

"The Admiral will see you now."

Sharon was surprised; she had expected a 'this-is-not-the-right-moment-for-a meeting-with-the-Admiral-who-has-more-important-things-to-do.'

"Eh...thanks Gaeta," said Sharon nervously.

He smiled sadly at her and led her into the Admiral's meeting room.

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Adama looked up when the two officers entered the room. They both saluted.

The Admiral nodded. "Gaeta; you can leave us now; please send for Ensign Rogers and inform me when he gets here."

"Yes sir," Gaeta left the room.

There was silence for a while.

"Have a seat Lieutenant," said Adama softly.

"Thanks sir," said Sharon after a moment's hesitation.

"How can I help you today Lieutenant ?"

Sharon took a deep breath. "I want to help with the next meeting."

Adama simply looked at her. "How?"

"Sir...they are going to want to know more about the cylons and I'm your best expert."

The Admiral could not help but smile a little. "Our only expert actually...fine you're in."

"Because sir I can..." her voice trailed off when she realized what he had just said; she had come here fully prepared to fight for a chance to be at the meeting" I...I'm in?"

"Yes; I presume you're already up to date with the first meeting?"

Sharon opened and closed her mouth.

Adama smiled inwardly; it was inevitable that Helo would tell his wife about the first meeting with the crew of the Xavier.

"Speak with Junior Lieutenant Gaeta and quickly go through the documents we have already received. The meeting is in..." he looked at the watch "roughly 70 minutes you have a lot to catch up on."

Sharon stood up."Thank you sir...I won't let you down," she saluted and left the room.

Adama's expression became grim as she left. But I let you and Helo down...and badly.

He barely had time to rub his forehead wearily before there was another knock at the door.

"Come in."

This time it was Commander Adama and Chief Tyrol.

He sat up when he saw what Chief Tyrol was carrying; it was an epad.

"We've got something that you need to see sir," said Lee.

"Take a seat; what is it?"

The two men sat down as Tyrol attached the epad video monitor in the office.

"Sir; I found what could be the hardware which projects the hologram," said Tyrol as the images came on the screen.

Adama raised his eyebrows. "That was quick; so where is it exactly?"

Tyrol fiddled with the epad and two images appeared side by side on the monitor. "Look at the left shoulder sir."

The Admiral's eyes narrowed when he saw the small circular device; he recalled seeing it when the hologram spoke to him; but he had thought it was a recording device.

"Could it be some sort of recording device ?" asked Lee unknowingly voicing his father's thoughts.

Tyrol sighed. " Maybe; we won't know for sure without asking them, commander."

Lee snorted. "You're asking for the impossible Chief."

The Admiral said nothing; he just kept looking at the frozen images.

"I don't want a word of this getting out; is that understood ?"

The two men looked at him.

"Yes sir," said Tyrol without hesitation.

"Sir why not?" asked Lee with a puzzled look on his face "it might be useful in case we need to take it out."

The Admiral resisted the urge to sigh. "We don't know what that device is...what if we try to destroy it or damage it and it sets off a self-destruct sequence...we haven't even thought of how the rest of the Xavier crew will react to such an attempt."

Lee opened his mouth to argue but seemed to think better of it and said nothing.

"Permission to speak freely Admiral and Commander."

Both men looked at the engineer.

"Go ahead Chief."

"The crew of Xavier have not threatened us...only helped us despite how we reacted to them. For me that goes a long way in showing they could be trusted."

"They have got AIs Tyrol," argued Lee.

"So what if they do ? Maybe they have a good relationship with them...I don't know but I think attacking Ensign Q Junior or trying to incapacitate him will be interpreted as an act of war."

There was silence for several moments.

Admiral Adama nodded. " You're got a valid point Chief and thanks to both of you for making your views known. I appreciate it." He looked at his watch.

"Commander; I need you brief the marines and Lackey who will be next door; once again I will appreciate it if no one gets too excited."

His son nodded as there was a knock at the door.

Admiral Adama looked up; he had an idea who was behind the door.

"Come in."

Gaeta entered. "Ensign Buck Rogers is here sir."

"Send him in," he felt the curious looks from Tyrol and Lee.

"Sir," called the Chief " if I'm not needed; is it okay if I get back to main flight deck ?"

Adama nodded; he knew the engineer had a lot of work to do. "Dismissed."

Lee also turned to go.

"Commander; I would like you to remain for this next meeting."

"Yes sir," said Lee with a puzzled look on his face.

Ensign Rogers came into the room with his left forearm in a sling. He looked tired and anxious. His eyes widened when he saw who else was with the Admiral.

"Admiral, commander," saluted the young pilot.

"At ease ensign, take a seat," said the Admiral; then he looked at the young man carefully. He had corn coloured slightly wavy hair with light blue eyes; at the moment he seemed quite pale and there were dark circles under his eyes.

After the incident in the flight deck; Adama had quickly asked for any available files on the young soldier. What was found was brief.

21 years old; a citizen of Tauron.

At the time of the Holocaust he had been a cadet in his 2nd year at the Academy of Caprica; however due to the ailing health of a family member he had been on Tauron 2 weeks before the attack. He had just been about to depart when the nukes began to fall.

Ensign Buck Rogers like so many others was the only one of his family remaining.

In the past 2 years he had been quickly promoted to Ensign in view of the small number of precious pilots that they had. He had proven to be very good and had an almost uncanny accuracy in shooting down raiders.

"Ensign; do you know why you're here today ?"

The young man swallowed nervously. "Not entirely but I think it has to do with what President Roslin wants me to do."

Commander Lee Adama's expression was one of puzzlement.

The Admiral nodded. "There is a possibility that we will ask the Captain Logan if one of our personnel could act as a go between...this will mean going on board the Xavier. How do you feel about filling that role ?"

Ensign Rogers and the CAG stared at the Admiral in disbelief.

Rogers licked his lower lip nervously. "S..sir; I am ready to serve the fleet."

Lee Adama's eyes narrowed as he looked at the ensign's left forearm which was in a cast and sling; on a closer look he could see the fingers were quite swollen.

"When was your last review with the medics ensign?" asked Lee.

"I've not had one since this was done sir; it's too early for a review."

The CAG said nothing but the expression on his face stated he was not pleased. He and the Admiral exchanged a look; both knew the medical services were overstretched and ridiculously under staffed.

Admiral Adama continued. "Ensign; your willingness to serve is admirable...but you are injured which might prevent you from being on the Xavier," strangely enough the expression that greeted this announcement was one of disappointment.

"However; it will be presented at the meeting; then we will see how the crew of the Xavier respond."

Rogers lips parted in confusion; but nothing came out; instead he nodded.

He stood up.

"Ensign; if they agree...are you comfortable with going to the Xavier ?"

The young pilot smiled. "Sir...nothing would please me more."

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Lee waited until the ensign had left before he turned to his father.

"We're sending in a spy; sir ?"

The Admiral sighed. " Not my idea...it was Roslin's and Rogers is definitely not spy material."

"He's to be an ambassador," completed Lee.

Adama nodded. "Roslin and Zarek also suggested we offer a similar position to one of Logan's crew on the Galactica."

"Not the hologram I hope," said Lee with a frown.

"Oh no; they suggested Dr Grey," the Admiral smiled dryly at the incredulous look on his son's face.

"Dad; Captain Logan will not let her out of his sight; he will think we want a hostage."

The older man nodded. "That and the fact that she could be more dangerous than the captain; remember what happened on the flight deck ?"

Lee grimaced; how could he forget ? It was bound to give him nightmares.

"But how sure are we it was her and not some weapon on board the shuttle ?" asjed Lee unknowingly echoing the President and Vice president.

"We may never know...but I'm not ready to take that chance."

Adama was silent for a while. "Lee; we're going to have more people at the next meeting."

His son looked at him. "Like who?"

The Admiral hesitated before answering. "Ensign Rogers...and two other people who should have been in the first meeting."

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Helo tried not to let his impatience show as he looked at his wrist watch one more time. Where the hell was Anders ?

The briefing was due to start in 5 minutes; he looked at Sharon.

She was already seated and was more than half way through the documents that Gaeta had given her.

A few seats away was Ensign Rogers; since he came in ; he had kept to himself and said very little.

The other colonial officers in the room were clearly restless and a bit jittery but there was a feeling of hope.

Because of the Thirteenth Tribe.

It was ironic; because despite Captain Logan stating he knew nothing of Kobol; it did not deter them from thinking of him as their brother.

Even if he had metal claws implanted in his forearms.

The hologram was another matter; he scared the living daylights out of the select few who knew what he was.

Admiral Adama had sternly warned those who had heard the first meeting; that nothing was to be said about the true nature of Ensign Q Junior.

Helo wondered if there was a hologram out there that was called Q Senior and what it's abilities could be.

"Helo; you alright ?".

The pilot looked up to see that Anders had finally arrived; the pilot was unusually cheerful and he had someone with him that Helo had not expected.

Starbuck.

"You're late!" he whispered harshly when the two got close to him " and what is she doing here ?! She could get us court-martialled!"

Starbuck gave him the evil eye. "Frak you too sunshine."

Helo glared at her while Anders actually smiled. "Relax; the Admiral sent a message to our quarters for her to be present for the briefing."

The captain blinked in surprise. "The Admiral approved her presence? At what time exactly?"

To Helo's surprise; the two adults in-front of him looked at each other and blushed; he had a strange feeling that these two were no longer 'separated'.

Everyone in the fleet had noticed when Kara and Anders started having problems; come to think of it ; it was only in the last 2 days that he noticed the two of them appearing together.

"Kara?" the three turned to see Sharon had joined them "you got approval to be here ? That's good news!"

Starbuck grinned as she looked at a stunned Helo. "You see ? That's how to greet a friend."

Helo was saved from replying when Commander Adama walked into the room.

Everyone was quick to take their seats.

Lee didn't waste time getting to the point.

"Alright people we have got the second meeting with the crew of the Xavier in less than 25 minutes. Another thing to note is that the scout vipers discovered Tylium nearby."

This was met by sounds of excitement.

"That is currently been looked into; however our main concern is how we treat Captain Logan and his crew.

I know they may seem odd but your job is to observe and not to do anything that could jeopardise the possibility of an alliance."

Everyone sat straighter at the last word.

"Ensign Rogers and Lieutenant Agathon will be assisting in the talks; while Captain Agathon; Lieutenant Thrace and Junior Lieutenant Anders will be supervising the marines next door.

Are there any questions?"

Lee was a bit dismayed when almost every hand came up.

He pointed at one of the lieutenants in front of him.

"Is the hologram dangerous sir?"

Oh frak yes; thought Lee.

"We don't know so far he has not threatened any of us and; but you need to be observant."

He felt a set of eyes on him and was not surprised to see Anders glaring at him.

"What should we look out for ? Will it be advisable to search them the next time they come on board ?"

"No searching; that will upset them and we do not want a repeat of what happened on the flight deck," it was satisfying seeing all of them go pale at the thought " as to what to look out for...I don't know. I just pray we'll know what to do if anything goes wrong."

This time there were no more questions.

"Lieutenant Starbuck; Lieutenant Sharon Agathon and Ensign Rogers will accompany me to the flight deck to welcome our guests," he paused " may the Gods help us all."

A majority of the officers looked startled at his ending words.

"So say we all," chorused some of the stunned officers.

"Dismissed," said Lee before he looked at the three people he called. They were already standing and moving towards him.

"Commander," greeted the three pilots when they got close to him.

"You three will be part of the escort to the meeting room; only Rogers and Agathon will be in the meeting," he looked at Starbuck " you will be supervising the marines in the next room with Anders and Helo. Try your damnest to keep them calm."

Kara tried very hard not to laugh; 'peacemaker' was not her middle name.

"I'll do my best sir."

Lee's eyes narrowed. " You better."

Then he left with the three not far behind.

Helo and Anders shared a worried look.

They both knew what their wives were really planning; they were all going to get court-martialled for sure when the truth came out.

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Federation space; The USS Dunkirk; Nova Class; the Captain's ready room...

Captain Terence Singh re-read the urgent message that had been sent just a few minutes ago.

A stone in a pond is bound to cause ripples.

So would a tear in time and space; a temporal disruption had been located in the Romulan Neutral Zone.

The anomaly had been barely detectable at first.

But now it was growing bigger and had already destroyed a few permanent sensors that had been placed by both the Romulan Empire and the Federation.

Which was probably why Starfleet had ordered the nearest science vessel; one Intrepid class starship and a Nebula class starship to get to the border as soon as possible.

Terence was certain that the Romulans were already there; what was astonishing was that the Empire had also asked for the Federation to assist in the investigation.

If the Romulans were asking for help...then he had every reason to be worried.

Ever since the end of the Dominion War; the Romulans had gone from reluctant allies to arrogant isolated unfriendly neighbours.

The Klingon Empire was still recovering from the devastation the war had caused and the Cardassian Empire was still a shadow of its former self.

The only two significant powers in their region of space were the Federation and the Romulan Empire.

And their ideologies were direct opposites of each other.

Many would say that made them natural enemies.

Singh's thoughts were interrupted when he sensed and recognised the two minds which were approaching the door; as usual they seemed excited. They must have made a breakthrough of some sort.

He felt his heart sink because the two personnel were about to have their current research cut shut because of the message he just got.

He waited for the soft bell sound which indicated someone was waiting to come in.

"Enter," said the empath in a clear voice.

Science Officer Commander Shila Atavi and Ensign Ihuoma Kadretti walked into the ready room; they could barely hide their excitement.

"Sir, a moment of your time," started Atavi; the orion female was grinning broadly as she gripped the data epad in her hand.

Singh nodded; he might as well hear first what they had achieved.

"Ensign Kadretti was able to successfully demonstrate strengthening and prolonging the hold of a tractor beam and also showed how to successfully break away using only sub-light speed.

The captain could not help but raise an eyebrow.

"It would be perfect for training stimulations at the academy and also for the upcoming Federation_Klingon Academy War Games sir," eagerly added Ensign Kadretti .

The Federation-Klingon Academy War Games had been created a few years after the Kitomer Accords.

Once a year; cadets were selected from both the Federation and Klingon Academies to compete against each other in mock battles.

It had surprisingly led to long time friendships between the cadets and also strengthened the Alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

The captain transferred his amused gaze to the ensign who had Klingon and human heritage; he wondered whose idea this must have been.

"That is fascinating," he said with a slight smile "but I'm afraid that further testing will have to be suspended until we complete our current assignment."

Atavi's and Kadretti's smiles were replaced by puzzled expressions.

"We have a new assignment Captain?" asked the orion science officer.

"I was about to come out and inform the others...as of this moment we are to head to the Neutral Zone...the Romulans have detected what may be a temporal anomaly."

Singh sensed the astonishment from the orion and...apprehension from Kadretti.

Atavi's eyes widened. "That's impossible; we've had sensors in that area for decades; such an anomaly has never existed in that section of space."

The Captain nodded. " I know." As an officer in Starfleet it was imperative that the boundaries and the contents of the Neutral Zone were memorised because of the fragile 'alliance' with the Romulans.

"Another interesting fact is that the Romulans asked for our assistance," continued the Captain.

The orion frowned. "That is strange."

The captain looked at the silent ensign; the sense of apprehension from her was increasing.

"Ensign Kadretti...are you alright?"

The slim female junior officer straightened her spine as she answered. " No sir...just curious."

Singh narrowed his eyes; he knew that most Klingons had a 'natural' animosity towards the Romulans; but the feeling he was getting from the ensign was...numbing fear.

"How long until we reach the Neutral Zone ?" asked Atavi after she gave Kadretti a brief curious look. Obviously she was not sensing the unease that Singh could.

"We need to meet up with the USS Zeus and USS Endeavour at Starbase 47; in total it will take us 14 hours at maximum warp to get there."

Atavi nodded with a thoughtful frown on her face. "I'll get the others ready for a briefing captain."

"I would appreciate that Commander," then he looked at Ensign Kadretti; her face was blank. Singh wanted to ask her again if anything else was wrong but he hesitated. Maybe the betazoid Counsellor Mhira might be able to help; but Singh decided to wait and give the ensign time to approach the counsellor on her own.

"If there's nothing else sir, we will return to our duties," said Atavi respectively.

"Of cause," agreed Singh. The two left quietly; the bounce in their steps obviously absent.

The captain stared at the closed door for a long time; he had a feeling he had missed an opportunity to discover something very important.

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Hi everyone! Hope you had a great week. I thought maybe it's time to introduce some members of starfleet.

Thanks so much for your reviews; please read and enjoy. I will try and update weekly.

Have a great week everyone!