Singapore, Friday 21st January 1994

Inevitably, with the greetings, the coffee and the joking out of the way, the first order of business for the three officers, had been to deal with the problems caused by Karg.

"What we had before was working well," Kell said thoughtfully. "I agree with Karg's judgement that infractions and uprisings must be punished, but the extra restrictions and reprisals have caused unnecessary unrest. I think we must retract his broadcast but do so in a way that leaves us in a position of strength."

"On the subject of Karg," Koreth interrupted, "I've been informed that Karg is ignoring your orders and continuing to go about his duties as though nothing had happened. He spent several hours in his office last night and among other things, has issued new duty rosters."

Krang let out an angry growl. He had been very clear in his orders. Karg was relieved of duty and no longer had any authority. "That is unwelcome news."

"If you don't want to execute him – and I'm aware to do so would cause problems with Imperial Command - I think you should confine him to quarters and put him under guard," Koreth said bluntly. "He is a loose cannon, too dangerous to allow to run riot."

Koreth was both steady and loyal and had always given good advice. Krang had long since learned to listen to him. "Understood. I will do as you suggest. Further, he will be sent back to Qo'noS on the next transport ship. I want him off planet. Having said that, if he steps out of line even one more time, be assured that I will kill him."

"You should have just killed him at the studio," Kell muttered.

Koreth frowned at his colleague's bluntness; castigating a security captain and telling him what he should have done was never a good idea. Even so he could not disagree with Kell's assessment. Karg had shown no honour and he deserved no mercy.

"On that I think we all agree," Krang said dryly. "It would certainly have saved us all a problem. However, Kay'vin's concern – that to do so would demonstrate a lack of unity – was a valid one."

Koreth snorted. In his opinion, Kay'vin was young and inexperienced and his assessment of the situation had been naïve at best. "It would have shown the Terrans that we will tolerate no breaking of the rules, even from one of our own. And that, I think, is exactly what we need to achieve with this broadcast."

"Go on," Krang instructed.

"We can't apologise," Koreth explained, "That would indicate weakness. But we can give the Terrans justice and show them Klingon honour."

Krang nodded. Koreth's thoughts coincided with his own. "So we tell the Terrans that Karg's actions were unauthorised and that he has been relieved of duty pending a formal investigation into his actions… and that provided there is no continued trouble, we are willing to reinstate previous levels of security."

"Exactly," Koreth nodded.

"Very well," Krang said. "We seem to be in agreement. Get the announcement drafted up and we will meet at the London news studio tomorrow morning." He stopped, reconsidering. "No, that's the middle of the night for you. Make it…" He calculated swiftly. "14:00 hours local time seems reasonable. Do not be late."

Koreth grinned. "14:00 hours London time."

The security captain inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Now, shall we get that inspection underway and then we can settle down to discuss the issue of Khan."

London, Friday 21st January 1994

Going up the stairs to the flat, Chrissie put her key in the lock and turned it, only to find that the door was already unlocked. Sarah must be already here then, she guessed. She opened the door and went inside, finding Sarah sitting in the armchair by the window, apparently reading. It was a scene she'd come home to many times before and it lulled her into a false sense of security.

"Sarah…" Pleased to see her friend, Chrissie greeted her with a smile. "You're home."

Sarah closed her book and looked up, meeting Chrissie's eyes. "Mr Barnes gave me your message. I've been waiting for you."

Suddenly, inexplicably nervous, Chrissie misinterpreted the grim, unwelcoming expression on her friend's face. "Sarah? Has something happened to David? Is he all right?"

"Your brother is recovering well," Sarah replied coolly, offering no further information.

"So… what…?"

"Where have you been, Chrissie?" Sarah interrupted. Putting the book aside, she uncurled herself from the chair and stood up. Have you found Toni and Fina?"

"The children are fine," Chrissie said cautiously. "They are with friends at the moment. I've just come back to get some things; they've invited me to stay a while."

"Oh? Anyone I know?"

Something about Sarah's attitude made Chrissie more wary. "No," she said, shaking her head dismissively. "You don't know them."

Bending, Sarah retrieved a folder from the side of the chair and opened it, pulling out a photograph and handing it to her friend. She watched grimly, her suspicions confirmed as the colour drained from Chrissie's face. "Are you going to explain this?"

Chrissie shook her head mutely, her eyes fixed on the incriminating image of her kissing Krang. "I… I…"

"What happened, Chrissie?" Sarah demanded, her voice rising in volume. "Did that Klingon force you? Is he holding the children hostage?"

Chrissie felt her cheeks flush as anger flared and she came very close to losing her temper. Krang had never harmed her or forced her in any way, even if he was less than tactful at times. "No! Of course not! The children adore him and he's good to them."

"If you're in trouble," Sarah persisted, "tell me and we can find a way to help you."

"I'm with him because that's where I want to be."

Sarah saw the play of emotions on her face… the initial anger at the accusation followed by the dreamy look of a woman who was falling in love. "You're in love!" she said incredulously, nausea rising. "How can you be in love with him?

"It's not what you think…"

"Not what I think?!" Sarah yelled with biting sarcasm. "Of course, it's not. Because I think it looks like you kissing a Klingon – and enjoying it! Do you have any idea what's been going through my mind? Of course, you don't! I thought maybe my friend was being coerced or forced; that maybe you'd done it because the children were being held hostage or even abused… but it's nothing like that, is it!"

"No… I…"

Sarah interrupted her again. "I've been trying to work out how we could help you, how to rescue you and the kids from that Klingon monster. But you don't want to be rescued, do you!"

Chrissie opened her mouth to reply but Sarah gave her no opportunity to speak as she continued yelling. "In case, you've forgotten, these aliens killed your husband. They brutally murdered him. You might have been spared the official broadcast of the execution, but I wasn't."

It had been the horror of that day that had inspired Sarah to join the resistance. She'd witnessed so many executions since then, some in person and many more through the news feeds; the most recent being that of her friend, Jamal… and she remembered the flash of that alien sword sweeping down and claiming his life.

Her thoughts turned to her beloved Pete. It was with bitter irony that she remembered how worried they had been about Khan and his augments, so much so that all military leave had been cancelled. Pete had donned his uniform, kissed her goodbye and told her to enjoy her vacation. That had been the last time she had seen him. The Klingons had come and the news images of the burning, lifeless wreck of the USS Enterprise CVN65 still haunted her dreams.

Shaking with anger, she continued, more quietly now as she gave voice to her own pain and grief. "They killed my husband as well… and all his shipmates. And look what they did to David! They tortured him to within an inch of his life and if it weren't for McCoy and the Enterprise, he'd be dead as well."

Chrissie had remained quiet and still throughout her friend's rant, Sarah having shot her down every time she tried to speak. Diego had taught her well. 'Do as you are told…' The fist striking her in the face… don't argue… don't fight back… Instead, she wrapped her arms protectively around herself as she listened and at the mention of her brother, she looked down at the ground, shrinking inwards at the force of her friend's anger.

Sarah was not done yet. "They've killed thousands, maybe millions of people. Have you forgotten all that? Don't you care?"

"I do care," Chrissie said, almost inaudibly. "What do you want me to say?"

"Just tell me it's not true." Sarah pleaded. "Tell me it's just infatuation… that it's just the excitement of sex with an alien!"

Krang had treated her with kindness and respect and it was not in her to say otherwise. She could not lie or say what Sarah wanted to hear, even to protect herself. She wanted so much to tell her friend what had happened, to share the truth of it with her, but she could not. Sarah was not willing… not ready… to listen or try to understand. "I can't," Chrissie said, "and I won't. Because it isn't true."

She never had a chance to continue, her admission sparking off Sarah's anger again. "How can you be in love with him after… how many days? Two? Three? The resistance told me you were a collaborator." She gave a bitter laugh, "And I defended you, told them they were wrong, that it was a misunderstanding… but it wasn't, was it? You really are a collaborator, whoring yourself to an enemy alien… a traitor to humanity."

Sarah's words hit her with all the force of a punch in the gut and Chrissie stepped back as though she had been struck.

'Do as you are told…'

No! Diego was gone. No-one was ever going to control her again. A small spark of defiance ignited. "Traitor to humanity?" Chrissie repeated incredulously. "Don't be so melodramatic."

"Melodramatic? I guess screwing an alien is more important than the future of our planet."

Sarah's mind was racing as she tried to decide what to do next. Her friend must in trouble, no matter how much she denied it. Who knew what mind control devices the Klingons had available to them? They must have brainwashed her in some way. She needed to find a way to get Chrissie away from him and undo the mental control he had over her. She was aware however of the shuttlecraft parked across the road, in full view of the only entrance to the flats. For the moment, however much it galled her, she was going to have to let Chrissie go back to the Klingons and find another way to save her… and more importantly, she had to persuade her colleagues in the resistance that Chrissie was worth saving.

If indeed, she was worth saving… If Chrissie was not an innocent victim, she had just become a serious liability. She knew that Sarah was a resistance leader and she knew about Kirk and the Enterprise even if they had been careful not to give her too much information.

As Sarah had pointed out to Chrissie not so long ago, she had not always been a housekeeper. That was just a job she did to survive. She had military training and was first and foremost an NCIS agent. Almost of its own accord, her hand slipped into the pocket where, despite its illegality, she kept her gun. Her fingers slipped around its handle and for the tiniest fraction of a second, she considered using it and ending the problem. The thought horrified her and she immediately backtracked. How could she be thinking of killing her friend, even for a moment. What sort of monster had the fight against the Klingons turned her into?

"It's important to me," Chrissie said. Banishing Diego's memory, she had regained her confidence slightly, especially now that Sarah seemed to have stopped shouting. "He is important to me. Why not meet him? Judge for yourself?"

"Yeah, that's such a great idea," Sarah snapped, "I'm in the resistance, remember?"

"He doesn't know about that," Chrissie said shakily, still badly hurt and upset by Sarah's attack on her. "I've told him nothing and he has not asked."

The sarcasm returned to Sarah's voice. "You really expect me to believe that?"

"I have talked about you," Chrissie admitted. "But only as my flatmate and my brother's fiancée."

Sarah shook her head, "It's a ridiculous idea."

"What if…" Chrissie hesitated, Sarah's scorn unnerving her. But the idea of them meeting had taken root and maybe… just maybe it could be the beginning of something bigger... "What if I can persuade him to meet with the resistance?

Sarah laughed, but there was no humour in the sound. "What good would that do?"

"I don't know," Chrissie said quietly, "but isn't it worth a try? What have you got to lose by talking to him?"

"Give up our anonymity and leave ourselves open to arrest?" Sarah scoffed, even as it occurred to her that she should go along with the idea. It would provide a good opportunity to get a sniper of their own in a position where they could take a shot at the Klingon who they suspected to be one of the most senior on the planet.

"It… it won't happen instantly." Chrissie was very subdued as she spoke. "It may take some time. I can't just make demands – I need to build up trust with him." She hesitated before continuing, "He is a good man, he has honour. If he agrees to talk, I swear to you, he will do so in good faith."

"I will pass your… offer… onto my colleagues." That was the only concession Sarah was willing to make.

"Then I'll contact you when the time is right. At least…" Chrissie corrected herself, "I'll call Enterprise. The phone here isn't working."

Sarah nodded, gesturing towards the leather jacket still lying where she'd left it when she'd beamed to the Enterprise. "You still have my communicator then? And the phaser as well, I guess?"

"I still have them," Chrissie confirmed shakily. "I've hidden them somewhere safe."

"Well, at least you've got some sense," Sarah muttered. "Very well. You have two weeks grace. If we haven't heard from you in that time, we will take action." There was nothing more she wanted to say to Chrissie and turning her back on her, she headed towards the door. Stepping through it, she closed it behind her with a quiet click that was somehow more evocative of her mood than slamming it could ever have been.

Her friend… and Chrissie wondered if she would ever be able to call Sarah that again… was gone. She stood staring at the door for long moments, then broke down in tears.