The Court of Justice, Qo'noS, 2375

Trial Day 5

"When Orbital Control challenged us, Meren filed a flight plan that was not quite accurate, telling the duty officer that he was heading to Khitomer for a business meeting. It wasn't completely untrue; to get to the Federation, we had to go in the general direction of that world, although we had no intention of calling in there, and of course, there was no meeting."

Krang paused, remembering. He had been more than a little surprised at Meren's honesty. Personally, he would have given a destination in completely the opposite direction, but he was forced to admit under the circumstances, would expect them to be truthful. When he'd learned what his brother really had in mind, he'd been even more surprised.

"I've been thinking," Meren had said, watching his brother carefully as he spoke in an attempt to gauge his reactions.

"Oh?" Krang was wary. A statement like that was bound to mean trouble.

"The Federation are our enemies. I am not convinced that we would truly be welcome there. You were the head of the invasion, and I spent much of my military career fighting Starfleet. Both of us have killed, or caused the deaths, of many Terrans. It is more likely that we would be arrested and interrogated as spies rather than being treated as welcome guests."

Captain Kirk had offered him a place should be chose to defect, but he was a Starship captain, not an admiral or a member of the government, and he did not make policy. The scenario Meren envisioned was all too possible and Krang had not come all this way for he and his brother to end their days in a Federation prison.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I have been considering the future," Meren said cryptically. "Do you think there will one day be peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire?"

Krang shook his head. "I doubt it. Our people are warriors. Peace is not a concept that they are ready or willing to understand, let alone embrace. I see little possibility of that ever changing."

Meren nodded. "And yet… do you remember when we tested the time dilation device?" At his brother's look of enquiry, he continued, "That starship captain… what was his name?"

"Hunter," Krang supplied, the memory coming back to him. "Captain Hunter of the USS Ulysses. What about him?"

"Hunter… that's it," Meren said. "Well, he invited us to visit him at Starbase 24… said something about a Klingon restaurant there."

"I remember," Krang said. "That always struck me as strange. It's been my experience that Terrans do not generally find our food palatable."

Meren laughed at that. "True, but I was thinking more about the social aspect of it."

Krang's brow furrowed. "What of it?"

"He was polite and friendly," Meren said. "The whole thing implies to me that something has changed, that in his time-period, our peoples are no longer at war. More than that, it implies that we are allies, maybe even friends. This ship still has the prototype time dilator installed. I believe that the twenty-fourth century would be a good place… time… whatever… to bring up a family."

Night Dagger

Sunday 3rd March 2368

Emerging from the time dilation field, and with some relief realising that they had survived the violent shaking that always accompanied the time jump – although Night Dagger was at least in far better condition than the transport ship and much less likely to fall apart – Meren had checked that there was no damage to his ship and made sure that the date was correct before laying in a course to the Federation starbase that was their final destination.

They had engaged the device much earlier in the journey than they had planned… not that it really mattered where the jump took place, provided they didn't emerge on top of another ship. It was for precisely that last reason, that the Klingons had designated a small area of space close to the border for the use of the ships travelling to and from twentieth century Earth, declaring it off limits to all other shipping. Deciding that it was too obvious a jumping point, and not wanting their pursuers – and they were being pursued – to realise that Night Dagger intended to use time travel to facilitate their escape, or indeed, that the little ship was even capable of time travel, Meren had picked a different location to make the jump.

Thanks to the pursuit, they had not reached that location. It had quickly become apparent that Imperial Command had sent a fleet to apprehend them – and whether the intent was to bring them back alive or blow them out of the sky was anyone's guess.

The battle cruiser had appeared out of nowhere, decloaking a few hundred qell'cams to their rear. "Dravana to Night Dagger…" The harsh voice, probably that of Dravana's captain – although in a blatant display of contempt, he did not bother to introduce himself – came over the comm system loud and clear. "…Stand down and prepare to be boarded."

Meren snorted. "Not likely. Krang, take the helm. On my mark, bring us to maximum speed and be ready for evasive manoeuvres."

"Understood," Krang responded tersely. He directed a glance at Chrissie. "Secure yourself and the children. It's going to get a bit rough for a while. We will be engaging the time dilator as soon as we reach the required velocity."

Chrissie nodded, and not wasting any time asking questions or arguing, she obeyed his instructions, getting both children secured in their chairs. The sooner they were away from that very scary looking ship the better.

"Night Dagger, you will stand down or we will open fire."

"Be ready, Krang." Meren opened a comm channel. "I am Brigadier Meren, formerly of the fifth fleet, currently on a classified mission for Imperial Intelligence. You have no right to give me orders, Captain." It was a bluff, and had little to no chance of working, but it was worth a try. "Back off, Dravana."

Dravana's captain was silent, no doubt frantically trying to decide what to do. Meren outranked him and his mention of Imperial Intelligence had to be intimidating. If he'd got it wrong, there would be serious repercussions.

Meren did not wait for the captain to make up his mind. "Krang… NOW!"

Krang's hands flew across the console, causing the ship to accelerate in preparation for the jump. Dravana's captain would already be requesting clarification from High Command, and they had only moments to make their escape. A burst of light from one of Dravana's disruptor cannons exploded in front of them and Krang brought Night Dagger veering sharply to starboard to avoid it.

Somewhere in the background, Krang heard Chrissie's voice, saying something to her children, and then Antonio's response, excited rather than scared. "Cool! My first space battle!"

The ship was already close to maximum warp, but swerving first one way then the other, Krang pushed the engines further. "Ready to jump," he informed his brother tersely.

Bracing himself as the little ship swerved again, narrowly avoiding a disruptor bolt, Meren had activated the time dilator. Almost immediately, the menacing bulk of the Dravana faded from the viewscreen, and the ship began to shake as the temporal fields formed around it.

Grinning fiercely at the thought of his adversary's roar of anger and consternation as he realised that his quarry had disappeared from the timeline, and satisfied that all was well with his ship, Meren turned his attention to his passengers. The human woman, Chrissie, was looking a little pale, and belatedly, he remembered that she was pregnant. He could only hope that the violence of the time journey had not harmed her or the baby in any way. The children, in contrast, were fine. Both of them looked excited and appeared to be enjoying the whole thing.

"Mama," Fina was saying, "that was scary, but the lights were so pretty. Can we do it again?"

Shushing her daughter, Chrissie looked up anxiously at her mate's brother. "Did it work? Are we safe?"

"It did, and we are," Meren confirmed gruffly. "We are in the twenty-fourth century now. There is no longer any possibility of pursuit."

She visibly relaxed at that. "So, what happens now?"

"We lay in a course to Starbase 24," Meren told her. It is just over the border, not far from Khitomer and I estimate we will be there in another two days."

Chrissie nodded her understanding. Two more days of travelling and then… who knew what would happen? Was their interpretation of the meeting with the future starship accurate? Was it really possible that the Federation… and she could not quite grasp the concept of such a vast interstellar alliance… and the Klingons were now friends? She could only hope.

The two days passed surprisingly pleasantly. Night Dagger was small, but it was luxurious, much more comfortable than the transport ship. As well as the cockpit and tiny lounge area with even tinier kitchen… galley, Chrissie corrected herself; ships had galleys, not kitchens… there were three cabins. She and Krang were occupying the largest of the three, her children in the second one and Meren in the third and smallest. Meren, she suspected had given them his own quarters for the duration of the trip, and for that, she was grateful. Krang's brother was gruff and scary, but also thoughtful.

"Chrissie-oy, come and look." Krang's voice interrupted her reverie and obediently, she went to join her mate, studying the view on the screen with interest and more than a little nervousness.

A pale grey, metallic-looking object, shaped vaguely like a Terran mushroom, hung in space, and behind it, a blue-green planet that reminded Chrissie very much of Earth, even if the continents were shaped differently. Various ships could be seen, some of them stationary, some approaching or departing from the starbase.

"Is that Starbase 24?"

"It is," Krang told her, drawing her down to sit on his knee. "And the planet is Frontera. The view is on maximum magnification, and we are still some distance away. I estimate we will arrive in the next hour or so."

It was very late and both children were sleeping in their cabin. Meren was sitting in the lounge area, reading something on a padd and taking little to no notice of them, and for the moment, they were to all intents and purposes alone. For a while, the couple sat together, simply enjoying being close to each other and watching as the massive starbase drew closer and closer. Almost fifty minutes passed before the comm system crackled.

"Klingon ship, this is Starbase 24 control. Identify yourself."

Instantly, Meren was at their side. "Starbase 24, this is the civilian ship, Night Dagger. Transmitting identification codes now." His voice was tense as he waited for a response. This was it… the moment of truth. If they were right, they would be welcomed. If not, the massive starbase was likely to respond with deadly force.

"Identification received and confirmed, Night Dagger." The voice over the comm sounded polite and friendly, and if Meren had only known it, the speaker was drooling over the sight of the tiny, antique bird-of-prey that was in pristine condition for a vessel over a hundred years old. "That's a nice ship you've got there. What can we do for you?"

"We were invited here by Captain Hunter of the Ulysses," Meren said carefully. So far, all seemed well but it could still go horribly wrong, and he remained tense, not yet ready to relax.

"You're in luck. Ulysses docked this morning. Will you be requiring docking space?"

"Yes…" Remembering that the Federation placed inordinate value on what to him seemed like meaningless pleasantries, he added, "… yes, please."

Another voice broke into the conversation, one that was vaguely familiar to the two Klingons. "Night Dagger, this is Captain Hunter. You were looking for me?"

At a gesture from Meren, Krang manipulated the console, activating the video feed. The view on the screen changed to the interior of a Federation starship – not the bridge this time, but a spacious, well-lit office, and seated at his desk, wearing a red and black uniform which they recognised from their previous encounter, was Captain Hunter.

"I am Meren epetai Inigan," the older brother identified himself. "We met…" he paused, realising that he did not know how long it had been for the Terran. "…some time ago. You invited us to join you for dinner if we ever made it here."

"Yes… yes, I did. I remember. You were having some engine trouble." The human captain bared his teeth in a grin that Meren supposed was meant to be friendly. "I am pleased that you made it after all. I'll look forward to having dinner with you."

The two brothers glanced at each other. They were being made welcome. Against all the odds, their hopes for peace had been realised.

The Court of Justice, Qo'noS, 2375

Trial Day 5

With the 'shelter in place' order finally lifted, and the trial over for the day, Councillor J'evuq made his way tiredly through the great doors. The defendant's timing had been perfect. Just as he'd brought his story to an end, one of the guards had quietly approached the judge and spoken with him. The judge had nodded and as the guard retreated, he'd got to his feet, declared the trial over for the day, and brought that gavel down on the table with an almighty crash.

There was still much more that J'evuq wanted to know, none of which was relevant to the trial in any way, and so it would remain a mystery – and despite his desire to know what happened next, the Terran woman had been right when she'd reminded them that "Our lives are not a story for your entertainment."

.J'evuq yawned, glad that he was senior enough to have a pilot waiting for him. He'd had enough for one day and would be glad to get home, put his feet up and let his mate pamper him for a while. Still, the trial had been more interesting than his normal duties, and it had given him a lot to think about. What decision would he have made if he had been part of the council of a hundred years ago? Would he have become as corrupt as the other councillors of that time? Or would he have supported the chancellor? He liked to think that he was honourable, but no doubt so had they.

When Martok had first suggested that he attend the trial, Jevuq had wanted to refuse, thinking that whatever the former security captain had been accused of could have nothing to do with him. But the chancellor's 'suggestion' had been a thinly veiled order and so, with some resentment, he had complied. He was glad of that. The drama playing out in the courtroom was surprisingly entertaining, and as it turned out, the case was more relevant than he had thought.

Although he'd known part of his grandfather's story, the trial had filled in many of the gaps in his knowledge. His grandmother had hated Koreth until the end of her life, and on the rare occasion that she spoke of him, it was with bitter anger. It was only after her son, Jevuq's father, had reached the Age of Ascension that he'd been able to make contact with his father and finally meet his half-siblings. The reunion had not been easy or straightforward, but by the time J'evuq had been born, it was although the family had never been parted.

A faint smile lit up Jevuq's face as he remembered sitting at his grandfather's knee, begging for a story. "Tell me again, vavnI, how you stole the fleet…"

Big thank you to RobertBruceScott for his comments on the previous chapter, which i quote below:

Having Chrissie unable to cut her hand provides some needed verisimilitude - most people would have a hard time with that.

Enjoying Meren taking off with his brother - in part in hopes of better medical care. An interesting insight into klingon culture. There is a certain wastefulness in their approach toward medicine.

Also enjoying the details of the kitchen and Antonio picking up on the situation as well as the language.

Thanks! rbs

Language note: Vav is father. VavnI is grandfather.