First City, Qo'noS, 2375

Early morning, Trial Day 4

T'Bor bit into the bacon, almost groaning as the flavours seemed to explode in his mouth. The smell alone was enough to make his mouth water but the taste… oh, the taste! "This was a good idea," he complimented his fellow lawyer and opponent. "Who'd have thought that something burned to a crisp could taste so khest'n good?"

Qeyn laughed. "Well they keep mentioning the stuff in the courtroom. I figured it was worth trying. At least something good has come out of this mess."

"I have never felt so useless during a trial," T'Bor agreed, taking another bite of the bacon. "Let's be honest, Qeyn; there's nothing you or I can say or do that is going to have any effect on this trial."

Qeyn's sigh turned into a groan of pleasure as he took a bite of his own bacon. It was the real thing, from pigs imported from Terra, not the cured targ meat that shared the same name. "It's clear what Martok wants," he said thoughtfully. "Same with Imperial Intelligence. He's one of theirs and I guarantee you, if there's a guilty verdict, they will fight it."

"As will the Federation," T'Bor agreed, brightening at the thought of the conflict that would ensue. "This has all the hallmarks of a major diplomatic incident in the making. As for Krahl, Kahless only knows what he wants, other than for everyone else to stop interfering in judiciary processes."

"And speaking of judiciary processes," Qeyn said, "that's what I brought you here to talk about. It's not exactly standard procedure for the defence and the prosecution to work together, but in this case, I don't see what we have to lose."

Intrigued, T'Bor looked up from his plate. "You have information for me?"

"I do," Qeyn grinned. "I did some investigating on a hunch and it turns out there's a living witness."

"That's not possible," T'Bor growled. "It's been over a hundred years."

"By linear time, yes," Qeyn agreed. "But you're forgetting something. This entire case is about time travel – and it turns out that the defendant isn't the only one who travelled in time."

"Have you informed Krahl?"

"I spoke to him an hour ago," Qeyn said. "He reminded me that I am legally required to inform you of the existence of any new witnesses and suggested that if we don't make ourselves useful find the witness and be back in the courtroom by midday, we will both be out of a job - permanently."

"You've got an address?"

Qeyn reached into his satchel and pulled out a padd, handing it to his opponent. "Everything we need is right here."

The prosecutor activated the padd and studied it. "Krennla district. That's not far from here."

"Exactly," Qeyn grinned. "We can be there in twenty minutes."

Shovelling the last of the bacon into his mouth, T'Bor got to his feet. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go."

Singapore, Friday 21st January 1994

Arriving at Singapore, Krang stepped out of the high-speed shuttle into the early afternoon sunlight. It had been early morning when he left his home, but Singapore was six hours ahead of France. The journey had taken just under an hour; he could have beamed of course, but he'd chosen the slower route and used the time to catch up with his messages and prepare for the meeting.

He stopped for a moment, for no other purpose than to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the scent of the bright red tropical flowers that lined the shuttle park. Vaguely, he remembered Koreth's aide telling him they were called hibiscus. After the freezing cold of France, the heat felt wonderful. He always liked coming to Singapore. The city was much more modern than London and its architecture was interesting and aesthetically pleasing. Chrissie would like it, he suspected, momentarily pondering the idea of bringing her here for a visit.

For now, though, he was not here to play tourist; he had work to do. Removing the heavy winter cloak he'd been wearing, he slung it over his arm and made his way into the building where both Kell and Koreth were waiting for him. The two men offered him the Klingon salute as he made his way towards them and he returned it.

"You're late," Koreth, the more senior of the two, quipped, grinning at the sight of the scratches on his superior's face. He'd heard about the Terragnan woman who appeared to have moved in with him. "It's just past lunchtime. Looks like you've been… busy… doing other things though."

"I said breakfast my time," Krang groused, giving his subordinate a severe glare that hid the traces of humour. "It's barely 07:00 hours where I come from… and still dark. And cold. And no, I have not yet eaten. Raktajino would be good – strong and sweet." Lifting a hand to his face, he was mildly surprised to find slight traces of blood on his fingertips. He scowled at Koreth, silently daring him to comment further – a challenge that Koreth wisely chose to decline.

"I'll get you that drink," Kell said, deciding it would be a good idea to divert the security captain to safer topics of conversation than his love life. Suiting actions to words, he moved across to the replicator, returning a moment later with a tray of drinks.

Krang accepted the mug of raktajino that Kell held out to him and inhaled appreciatively. It was strong, just as he had requested and he could almost smell the caffeine. "First things first. Koreth, I am awarding you a field promotion to Brigadier. You will take over as my senior deputy and second in command."

"It is my honour to serve," Koreth said, stunned. That he was to take on Karg's role was no great surprise – he was after all, the next most senior Defence Force officer on Earth, but the promotion had been unexpected. Even so, he could see the sense of it. Whether or not his superiors on Qo'noS chose to ratify his change in rank, it would make him senior to Karg and solidify his authority here. "I assume that I will remain based out here in the East and that Kell will continue in his current role as my second?"

"You assume correctly," Krang confirmed. "You will however have added duties, including being the public face of the Klingon Empire."

"Understood," Koreth responded. "And on that subject, we need to deal with the fallout from the previous broadcast. I do not believe we can continue to ignore it."

Krang nodded. "Indeed. I have some ideas about that but would be interested to hear your thoughts before I make a final decision."

London, Friday 21st January 1994

Arriving at the address Chrissie had given, the shuttle came in gracefully to land in the street outside her home. This vehicle was smaller than the one she had travelled in before, but even so, it was still significantly larger than a Terran car or even a van and inevitably, it partly blocked the quiet residential road, making it difficult for traffic to pass.

The pilot was young and for a Klingon, surprisingly friendly. He had no beard and to Chrissie's eyes, he looked barely old enough to be driving a car, let alone flying a high-tech shuttle. Ironically, he was actually several years older than she was.

"My name is Lieutenant Kay'vin," he had informed Chrissie, addressing her in surprisingly good English that was not as heavily accented as the other Klingons she had met so far. "I am aide to the security captain. He has requested that I escort you today." He gestured towards the waiting shuttle. "If you would come with me…"

Chrissie had been nervous about the idea of taking a shuttle ride without Krang but Kay'vin had an easy-going manner that instantly put her at her ease. As before, it was a very short journey but this time it was daylight and she was able to enjoy the view from the windows. The land below them quickly turned to ocean as they crossed the English Channel and then the white cliffs of Dover came into sight.

The speed of the shuttle was incredible and idly, Chrissie began to calculate. Roughly four hundred miles from the Loire Valley to London in ten minutes. That was… forty miles a minute, or… she stopped. That was well over the speed of sound. "Lieutenant?"

Busy piloting the shuttle, Kay'vin glanced up. "Yes?"

"I've just worked out how fast we are going," Chrissie said. "Why is there no sonic boom? And why are we not experiencing increased G-force?"

The Klingon frowned as he considered her question. Terran aviation technology was primitive; the terms she used were unfamiliar to him and it took him a moment to decipher her meaning. "Our shuttles are designed to travel at hypersonic speeds," he explained. "We use a combination of deflectors, shields and inertial dampeners to prevent the problems you mention."

Chrissie had watched enough science fiction to have an idea what those terms meant, even if she did not know how they actually worked. It would be better not to ask, she decided; her grasp of physics and engineering was shaky at best and she was unlikely to understand the explanation.

They were approaching London now and he turned his attention back to piloting, slowing the shuttle to a much more reasonable speed and dropping to a lower altitude as they came in over the city. Two minutes later, they were parked outside the apartment block that until a few days ago had been her home. and he was securing the controls.

"You found it very quickly," Chrissie commented. "The streets in this area are like a maze; I'm surprised you didn't need directions."

He shrugged. "I have been here before. Besides, the computer is able to navigate to any given coordinates."

Chrissie frowned. "It was you that searched my house?"

"We tried several times to contact you about your children," he explained, "But there was a fault in your communications system. Mar… Lieutenant Marla and I decided to come in person. You were not, however, at home."

The Terran woman relaxed slightly. So, it had not been anything to do with the resistance then. That was a relief. Studying the young man, she noticed a slight change in his expression as he had mentioned his colleague. Nor had the verbal slip over her name escaped Chrissie's attention. "I have met Lieutenant Marla," she said. The female Klingon was young, probably about the same age as Kay'vin and Chrissie had no doubt that to Klingon eyes, Marla would be considered attractive. She grinned, not sure why she felt comfortable enough around this Klingon to risk teasing him. "You like her, don't you? Are you a couple?"

To her immense satisfaction, Kay'vin blushed. "I hope so," he admitted, "I am working on it, but it is complicated." Why had he told her that, he wondered? So far, he and Marla had kept their relationship private. Kay'vin wanted nothing more than to take the oath with her but gaining her family's approval and permission was never going to happen. Marla was from one of the great Houses and her uncle had a seat on the High Council. He on the other hand, was from a small House that was so insignificant he'd been lucky to be allowed to enter the Defence Force as an officer. No, however much they both wished otherwise, Marla was out of his reach.

"Love is always complicated," Chrissie said ruefully, an image of Krang slipping into her mind. Not that she was in love with him, she told herself; that was just ridiculous… although… if it wasn't love, she was not entirely sure just what it actually was.

"You are, I suspect, in a position to know," Kay'vin said, both his tone and expression unusually serious, silently informing her that he was no longer joking and that he understood her situation. For whatever reason, she had an ally here, she realised with gratitude and she could only hope that it might be possible for her and Kay'vin to become friends.

Turning in his seat, he leaned towards her and unfastened the protective restraints before getting to his feet. "Take as long as you need. I will wait here for you." Handing her a small device, he continued, "If there is trouble, or you have need of me, activate this. It will trigger an alert and I will come to your aid."

It was a personal alarm of some sort, she guessed. There was only one button and it looked simple enough to use. Thanking him, she slipped it into her coat pocket.

Moving past her to the exit, the Klingon touched the control panel, opening the door and extending the ramp. About to step outside, he stopped. "Turn around and put your hands behind your back."

She stared at him. "What?"

Her expression was priceless and he hid a grin. "I do not imagine your neighbours will appreciate you arriving home in a Klingon shuttle. It is broad daylight and I guarantee that someone will be watching. I intend to make it look as though you are a prisoner being released."

"Oh!" She glared at him but obeyed. The slight twitch of his lips and the mischievous glint in his eyes told her that he was returning her earlier teasing. Even so, a frisson of nervousness slid down her spine as cold metal enclosed her wrists.

"Ready?" At her nod, he placed a hand on her upper arm, guiding her onto the ramp. "Do not worry, I will not allow you to fall. The security captain would not appreciate it if I returned you with bruising or damage."

Halfway down the ramp, he gave her a little push that was far less dramatic than it looked. Even so, she lost her balance and had he not kept a tight grip on her, she would have slipped and fallen. Manoeuvring her away from the shuttle, he turned her away from him, ostentatiously fiddling with the cuffs. Releasing her arms, he shoved her away from him, noting with satisfaction the expression on the face of the driver of the car that was impatiently waiting to pass them.

Chrissie too had noticed the car driver. She'd also noticed the jogger on the other side of the road, brightly clad in a fashionable tracksuit. Looking around, she saw a woman with two dogs coming out of the park and as she turned and moved away from her Klingon escort, there was a faint twitch of the curtains belonging to flat 2B. Kay'vin had been right; people were watching.