Singapore

Wednesday 9th February 1994

"Well, that's the last one." Kell checked the final crate off against the manifest before attaching the transporter tag. He yawned. "It must be almost midnight by now. I think I'm done for the night."

"I've got used to London time," Koreth said. "It's still late afternoon for me. Still, I should probably head back; I'm meeting Kolana in a while."

Momentarily forgetting his own tiredness, Kell grinned at the look of anticipation on the other man's face. "Have fun," he quipped, casually stepping away from Koreth to make sure he was out of strike range. "Just make sure you've got a dermal regenerator at hand… or at least look in a mirror before you go to work."

Flushing red with embarrassment but taking no offence at his colleague's irreverent teasing, he raised a hand to touch the half healed bitemark Kolana had left on his cheek. "I should probably be worried. She said she was having lunch with Chrissie today. Fek'lhr only knows what they've been plotting."

Kell laughed. "Chrissie stitched you up good and proper at the wedding, didn't she? That one is devious for a human."

"Indeed," Koreth conceded, "although it worked out in my favour. She does seem to fit in well with our people. I wonder how she will adapt to life on the homeworld?"

"She's certainly going to find it a big change," Kell said. He shrugged. "So am I for that matter, I've got used to it here on Earth."

Looking regretfully around the empty office, Koreth could only agree with that. "I'm going to miss this place."

"Me too," Kell admitted, scowling. "I still say something isn't right about this."

Koreth gave his colleague a wary glance. "What do you mean?"

"It's been how long since the courier ship arrived? A week? Ten days?" Kell asked. "There was absolutely nothing in my orders about this. Then, all of a sudden, the boss says we're leaving. Doesn't that sound odd to you?"

It did sound odd, Koreth knew that, just as he'd known when he and Krang had written the bogus orders that it would be difficult to convince the seniors of their authenticity. They'd worded the orders carefully, made sure they had plausible answers to all the likely questions, made sure that all the coding and provenances were correct – and still the startled queries had come flooding in. He hated having to lie to Kell, hated lying at all, but he had no choice. He trusted Kell with his life, but there was no way he was dragging him into this mess. "What we think is irrelevant. Krang is in charge here, not us. We must follow the orders we are given and trust him to do the right thing."

Kell grunted, neither liking nor trusting that in the slightest. The two men had been friends for years and he knew Koreth almost better than he knew himself. They'd gone through military training together and served on the same ship as junior officers. He'd helped Koreth improve his bat'leth skills and in return, Koreth had helped him improve his marksmanship. They'd studied together, got drunk, got into fights – with each other sometimes. They'd made their way through the ranks at more or less the same rate, until a lucky shot from a Federation starship had taken out the captain and first officer of Koreth's ship, leaving him to take command. Kell's own promotion to captain had come almost a year later in very similar circumstances.

In their private lives, he'd stood by Koreth's side at his wedding, despite privately thinking the union was a massive mistake. He himself had never married; he had two older brothers to carry on the line, not that he got on with either of them. Koreth was more of a brother to him than they had ever been. When Koreth's son was born, he'd congratulated him. A year or two later, his friend's mate made a pass at him - he hadn't known what to do about that, and when it happened a second time, he decided to remove himself from the situation. That decision led him to sign up for the Earth mission… not that he'd known at the time just what he was signing up for. That, Kell thought, should have been the end of the matter – and it would have been, except a few days later, a drunk and very angry Koreth had turned up at his door, resulting in one of the biggest fights they'd ever had. Somehow, instead of killing each other, they'd just beaten each other into a bloody pulp, leading to the truth coming out, a trip to sickbay, a lot more alcohol (against doctor's orders) and a very hungover Koreth signing up to the same top-secret mission.

Kell's feelings about the withdrawal were mixed. He'd enjoyed these last two years living on Earth. Both the planet and its people were much more interesting and diverse than he could ever have imagined and he'd developed an appreciation and understanding of humanity that would stand him in good stead. Still, he was a warrior and it would be good to get back to doing the job he did best, fighting the enemies of the empire.

The feeling of unease that had haunted him since he'd received his instructions would not go away. Why were they leaving? It was unheard of for his people to voluntarily give up a planet they had conquered. Certainly, this case was unusual thanks to the time travel element, but the plan, as far as he'd been aware anyway, had been to eventually hand over control of Earth to the present-day Klingon government. He spared a moment to imagine the surprise on the faces of the High Council of this era when they got a message from their future counterparts offering them the planet. In the light of the withdrawal, though, it was only mildly amusing. The fact remained, it made no sense whatsoever for them to be walking away like this. "I do not trust this and I intend to file an official query."

"You will do no such thing," Koreth growled. "That is an order and you will obey it."

"Seriously?" Kell scoffed, somewhat unwisely. "You're pulling rank on me now?"

"You are forcing me to do so," Koreth said angrily. Whether you like it or not, Kell, I am your superior officer Kell. Stop pushing me! For the sake of our friendship and for your own good, do as…"

"I am a warrior just as you are," Kell interrupted, clenching his fists in an effort to control his temper. It had been a long time… maybe too long… since he and Koreth had come to blows but this was not the time or place for it, even if his friend was acting like a targ's behind. "Your implication that I am in need of your protection is insulting. Must I remind you who it was that saved your life back on Marendris IV when that treacherous petaQ and his friends ambushed you outside that bar?"

Koreth winced at the memory. That had been a bad fight and not one he wanted to remember. Kell was, he realised, trying to provoke him into telling him what he wanted to know and he'd come very close to succeeding. "You have indeed always had my back," he said harshly, "just as I have always had yours. Can you not trust that I have your back now? Let it go, Kell. Obey your orders and don't ask questions."

Growling discontentedly, Kell turned away. He had seen the flash of guilt in Koreth's eyes. His old friend had never been good at hiding things, he was too honest and straightforward for that. Koreth was lying to him; he knew it. He had no choice but to let it go for now, but one way or another, he was going to figure out what was going on, even if it killed him.

The Neutral Zone, London

Wednesday 9th February 1994

Heading into the ladies' toilets, ostensibly to check they were clean and ready for opening time, although she knew they would be, since she'd scrubbed them down herself only an hour ago, Maggie stopped to look in the mirror. Could she do this, she wondered? Should she do it? Grapok was leaving and there could be no happy ending for them. If she succeeded in this, the most she could expect from him was a few days of happiness and then a lifetime alone. But if she did not, she would have nothing, not even those few days and that was unthinkable.

Predictably, she found him in the kitchen, busy chopping onions with considerable skill and an enviable lack of tears. He always did the onions; he taken on that job after finding Maggie in the kitchen, preparing some large Spanish onions for a casserole. Asking her why she was crying, he'd been flummoxed by her answer since, due to his lack of ability to make tears, the vegetable had no effect on him whatsoever. She smiled at the memory. He'd been so relieved to learn there was nothing wrong. Even then he'd shown concern and care for her and she hadn't realised it.

"Grapok, I…" She stopped. That was just a nickname and somehow it seemed inappropriate for what might be the most important conversation she'd ever had with him. "Ch'pok…"

Stopping what he was doing, he put down the knife and turned to face her. "Yes, Maggie?"

"I…" Oh damn, why was this so hard? Giving up on words, she stepped towards him and reaching up on tiptoe, pressed her lips against his and kissed him hard.

Caught by surprise, Grapok stiffened, not quite knowing what to do. He'd never thought that Maggie, beautiful Maggie, the sister of his friend, the woman he'd been in love with since what felt like forever, would ever have any interest in him. "Maggie? What are you doing?"

"I'm kissing you," she said matter-of-factly. "Don't you like it?"

"I… yes, but… why?"

"Because I love you, you idiot," she said with understandable exasperation.

"And you tell me this now?" Grapok was stunned by the sudden announcement. "When you know that I am leaving?"

"I've wanted to say something for a long time," she confessed. "I never thought we'd run out of time like this. I don't want you to go, Ch'pok."

A little belatedly as his brain started to catch up with what was happening, he reached for her, pulling her closer to him and careful to avoid biting her, he pressed his lips against hers, somewhat clumsily for he had never kissed before. "I do not wish to leave you," he said eventually. It was, he discovered with mild surprise, hard to speak and it took some effort to bring his errant body back under his control.

The kitchen of The Neutral Zone was not a suitable place for what he wanted to do with Maggie and her brother would be arriving very soon to open up for the evening. Yintagh! Her brother! Tom was not likely to appreciate this development, a thought that he shoved away to be dealt with later. The only thing that mattered now was Maggie.

Klingon Headquarters, London

Wednesday 9th February 1994

Still rattled after his near fight with Kell, Koreth materialised in the courtyard at the Klingon headquarters in London, pleased to find that for once, it was not raining. About to approach the door that would take him into the reception area, he abruptly changed his mind. He'd had enough for one day. He'd go home instead, he decided, or at least, back to the quarters that passed for home, Maybe he would stop at a shop along the way and buy something nice for Kolana. The thought soothed him. Yes, he would do that. As he understood it, presents were an integral part of tera'ngan courtship rituals. Wondering what would make a suitable gift, he turned and headed towards the street.

"Koreth!" the voice, coming from behind him was Kolana's. "Wait!"

Turning back, Koreth's face lit up with pleasure at the sight of her. "Kolana! I wasn't expecting to see you until later. I thought you were having lunch with Chrissie."

"I did," Kolana said, marching up to him and coming to a halt right in front of him, hands on her hips. "And I am not happy. Why is Krang leaving his mate and children behind?"

"What?" His happiness dissipating as though it had never existed, Koreth stared at her in stunned disbelief. "You must be mistaken."

"There is no mistake," she told him coldly. "What sort of dishonourable Ha'DIbaH abandons his family in such a way?"

Koreth was silent, not knowing how to answer that. It had never occurred to him that Krang would leave Chrissie, but thinking about it, the reasons were obvious. If it went badly for Krang, which it almost certainly would, she and her children would be alone on the Klingon homeworld with no protection. No, painful as it seemed, Krang was doing the right thing.

But if he could not tell Kell the truth, even less could he confide in Kolana. He might be sleeping with her but he did not yet know her well enough to trust her. If he misjudged her trustworthiness, it was more than just his life and honour at stake. "I am sure he must have good reasons," he said eventually.

"Good reasons?" She emphasised the question with an angry shove against his chest. "Khest it, Koreth! You do know what's going on, don't you! What are you hiding from me?"

Koreth was equally angry. This was intolerable! First Kell and now Kolana. "My instructions are classified," he snapped, "as are Krang's. "Nor is their relationship any of our business."

"So, we should obey our orders," she asked sarcastically, "and not get involved?"

"It is not your place to refuse your orders or to question the will of the High Council."

"When my friend is in danger, it becomes my place," Kolana snapped. Chrissie is pregnant. You know as well as I do what will happen if she stays here on Earth."

Koreth froze. Yes, he did know. A Klingon/Terran pregnancy was not possible without medical intervention that was not available here on Earth. The human doctor, her brother, was good, but he did not have the technology to keep her alive. "Are you certain? They've only been together for... what… three weeks?"

"Yes, I am certain," she said, impatient with his masculine ignorance, "and it only takes once, you know."

"Yes, I do know," he growled, "and you know exactly what I meant."

She nodded, conceding the point. "It was a shock to me as well."

Reluctantly, Koreth turned back to face the heavily guarded entrance to the building. "Is he in his office?"

"No." Kolana shook her head. "Believe me, if he were, I'd be in serious trouble by now."

"I do not doubt that in the slightest," he said wryly. "Leave it with me, Kolana. I will catch up with him tomorrow and see what I can do."

Notes: For the record, Singapore is 7 hours ahead of London.

This is a chapter that might seeem irrelevant, but I do have a purpose for bringing Kell back into the story, which will become apparent in a later chapter.

As always, a big thank you to JDC0, Solasnagreine, RobertBruceScott and my lovely beta Linny. And a friendly hello to anyone else who might be reading.