A/N Many thanks to Mojo01 for the review. Reviews are the life blood of fan fiction writers. I still am just borrowing these characters.
Vardon looked down at Tabrina as she slept. The bottom of the nighty she was wearing had slid up so that her entire thighs were exposed. She really was a beautiful woman. But there was not time to think of that now. He reached over and shook her shoulder.
She woke up disoriented only for a moment, "What the Hell, Vardon, what are you doing here?"
He noticed she made no effort to cover up or showed any fear, but just glared angrily at him. She really was a special woman.
"I didn't want to take the chance of someone seeing me knocking on your door, so I had Raff find a way in. Now, get dressed, we have work to do."
Tabrina pulled herself together. The man standing before her was not the man she had recently visited. He appeared to be the old Vardon, immaculately dressed and fully confident. She got out of bed, "What's this all about?"
"Why don't you just get dressed and I'll tell you everything. I would suggest wearing something durable."
"Alright, get out of here and I'll be out in a few minutes."
"As Vandor went back into the living room, Raff turned from the window. Vardon asked, "See anything?"
"No, it is quiet out there. Is she coming with us?"
"Yeah, she's getting dressed."
Raff nodded and looked back out the window.
Tabrina made good on her word and it was only about ten minutes later that she emerged, wearing Jeans and a leather jacket.
Vardon spoke up, "Okay, let's get out of here, we have a shuttle waiting."
They quickly exited and following Raff through the streets, arrived at the shuttle. As soon as they were seated, Vardon ordered the pilot, another of Solon's men, to take off.
When they were in the air, Tabrina turned to Vardon, "Isn't it about time you told me what is going on?"
"After you and Solon left, I took a long look at myself. I wasn't pleased at what I saw. For the first time in quite a while, I considered my possibilities. You were right, we cannot make peace with the Alliance. At this time we may not have the resources to occupy their planets, but their fleet needs to be destroyed."
"I called Solon back in and we devised a plan to regain the power I had squandered away."
"There isn't time to discuss all that is happening, but you and I are going to meet with Ruddick."
Tabrina asked, "Why am I involved?"
"As I told you, I am not sure where Ruddick stands. As the widow of a man he greatly admired and one who can speak so strongly to the need for vengeance, I hope you can help persuade him to stay loyal to me."
After they docked with the Vercory, Tabrina and Vardon left the others on the shuttle. When they passed through the airlock, they were greeted by Ruddick and two soldiers with disruptors.
Ruddick spoke first, "Welcome aboard, Praetor. Then he bowed slightly, "And you, Tabrina."
When she nodded, he went on, "Please accept my condolences. I admired your husband greatly; his death was a great loss to the Empire."
"Thank you, Tribune, my husband admired you as well."
As Ruddick led them down the hall, Vandor smirked, "Why all the firepower? We are all on the same side."
Ruddick smiled, "Frankly, Praetor, that remains to be seen."
They continued walking until they reached a conference room. After a moment hesitation, Ruddick told the soldiers to stay outside.
When they were seated, Ruddick began, "What is going on? I had not heard from you for some time. You have not returned my messages. Then Bardon and Seltar arrive with their fleets. I find out they are reporting to the Senate. You have left me in a difficult position. I am not sure I should be associated with you. There are talks of peace and a new Praetor. I do not intend to let others decide my path."
Vandor looked directly at him, "I deserve all that you have to say. I lost my way for a time. But that has changed, I intend to regain my position. There must not be peace with the Alliance."
Tabrina saw an opportunity to step in, "Tribune, please listen to the Praetor, we cannot allow my husband to die for nothing. He gave his life and those of his men to inflict heavy damage on the Alliance. We can let that effort be wasted. We must avenge their deaths."
Ruddick, who had shown any emotion at what Vandor said, was obviously affected by Tabrina's words.
He sighed, "I do agree with what you are saying, but I am afraid the Senate and their fleets will not allow that. I have no stomach for engaging in a civil war. The result would be disastrous for the Empire."
Vardon spoke again, "What if that was not necessary? What if we could accomplish our ends without you needing to take on those fleets? Would you then maintain your allegiance to me? Would you protect my position as Praetor?"
"I do not see how that would be possible; but yes, I would then support you. You are still Praetor."
Vandor leaned forward, "As we talk, Solon and his followers are seeing to it that those Senators who have proven traitorous to the Empire will receive their just reward."
Ruddick and Tabrina both stared in amazement, Ruddick finally said incredulously, "You would dare that?" He hesitated and then continued, "But I understood they are heavily guarded."
"You grossly underestimate Solon. Believe me, all twenty of the ringleaders are or will soon be dead."
He then continued, "As for the fleets, the loss of their protectors in the Senate will make them think twice before taking you on. I will give them an opportunity to rescind their support of the Senate and reaffirm their allegiance to me and the Empire. If they do so, they will not be punished."
He smiled, "Just in case they still have any doubts, Tribune Gregor and his fleet of one hundred ships will enter Romulan air space within the next ten hours. Ironically, the Senate contacted him in the hopes he would join them. Fortunately, he remains loyal to his Praetor. I do not think Bardon and Seltar will have any stomach to take both you and Gregor on."
Tabrina and Ruddick exchanged glances, both thinking the same. This was the Vandor they knew, utterly ruthless and never afraid to take a gamble. It showed it never paid to underestimate his cruelty and courage.
It all turned out just as Vandor predicted. It left the Senate completely cowed and it would be some time before they completely regained their power.
But then to Tabrina's distress, Vandor sent the three fleets back to their stations. She had hoped they would be used to attack the Alliance.
Vandor explained they were desperately needed to try to hold the Status Quo as much as possible. He also assured her he had not forgotten the need for vengeance.
Archer and T'Pol were having a late supper when the wall communicator buzzed. Archer reached over and pushed the button, "Archer here."
"This is Commander Reed. Admiral, we need you on E deck. A crewman has been found dead."
They quickly hurried to E deck, finding Reed and a MACO standing outside an open door.
They looked inside and saw Crewman Margaret Hadley lying in a pool of blood. Her wrists had been slashed and a knife lay next to her hand.
Archer quickly asked, "Report, Commander."
"When we arrived, I found Ensign Andrews standing in the doorway. She was pretty shook up. I knocked on the door of the quarters next door and put her in there with Crewman Davies. I didn't ask her anything, was waiting for you. Then the Sergeant and I checked out the area. The quarters are clear."
"Understood." He addressed the MACO, "Sergeant, you stay here."
"Yes, Sir."
Archer, Reed, and T'Pol went and looked at the body. Reed spoke up, "I don't think she's been dead long, but Phlox should be able to give us a definite time."
Archer reached over and pushed a communicator, "Doctor Phlox, this is Admiral Archer, report to Crewman Hadley's quarters on E deck."
He turned to the others, "I think it's time to talk to the Ensign."
Archer knocked on the nearby door. When told to enter, he, Malcom, and T'Pol entered to find Davies and Andrew on the bed. Davies had her arm around Andrew's shoulder who was obviously still distraught.
When they saw Archer, they started to rise, but he signaled them to stay seated. "Ensign, do you feel up to answering a few questions?"
She looked up, "Yes, Sir."
"Crewman, could you leave us for a time."
"Of course, Sir." She got up and putting her hand on Andrew's shoulder for a moment, went by them out the door.
"Why don't you just tell us what happened?"
Wringing her hands, she spoke in a quiet voice, "There's not much to tell. A few of us girls were going to have a small party. When I left for the party, I decided to see if Maggie had left yet. One of the girls had said that she had been acting strange today and I wanted to be sure she was all right. I rang the chime and knocked on the door but she didn't answer. I was still worried. Because we often are in and out of each other's quarters, I knew her code. I entered it and had gone a few steps in when I saw her. I freaked out and used the communicator to call Security. I didn't even check to see if she was dead, I was just stunned."
"Where was this party located?"
"In Hopeā¦I mean Crewman Howland's quarters."
Reed spoke up, "If you don't mind, Admiral, I will head down there and see what I can find out."
"Alright, Malcolm." Archer turned back to Andrews, "Is there any chance someone could have got past you before the Commander arrived."
"No sir, I was upset but anyone would have had to push past me."
"Do you have anything to add, Ensign?"
"No, Sir."
T'Pol spoke up for the first time, "Ensign, did you say the crewman Hadley had been acting strangely?"
"Some of her coworkers said she seemed to be thinking about something all day, but there wasn't anything specific they could point to."
T'Pol continued, "Did you notice anything else recently that would make you think she would take her own life?"
Andrews looked surprised, "No, Captain. Nothing like that."
Archer spoke up, "Okay. I think that's enough for now. Why don't you go back to your quarters and get some rest?"
"Thank you, Admiral, but I think if you don't mind, I would like some company."
"Of course not."
She got up and left. The others exited and told Davies she could have her quarters back.
They looked into the dead woman's apartment and saw Phlox kneeling by the body. He looked up when they came in.
"She's been dead for at least an hour. I would put the time of death at 2020 with maybe a range of fifteen minutes either way."
"Thanks, Doc." He looked at the body, "Is there any sign that the obvious isn't the cause of death?"
"No, Admiral, but I won't know for sure until I perform an autopsy."
Archer nodded. He turned to the Sergeant, "Sergeant, do you have all you need? Can Phlox have the body?"
"Just a few more minutes, Admiral, Commander Reed informed me he has a MACO bringing a camera."
"Alright." He turned to Phlox, "I guess we'll let you know."
"Very well, Admiral."
After tossing and turning all night, Archer asked T'Pol and Malcolm to meet him in his Ready Room.
When they entered, he looked up at them. "I want you two to take charge of the investigation. You have my complete authority to follow it where ever it may go. I know it appears to be a suicide but I need to know that for a certainty. Take all the time you need, but make it your number one priority."
They answered together, "Understood, Admiral."
Three days later, Archer was informed that by T'Pol that she and Reed had completed their investigation and were ready to make their report. He told them to meet him in his ready room in an hour.
He was waiting for their arrival when Phlox knocked and entered. "Admiral, I have some information that I believe is vital to the investigation of the Crewman's death. Every since I saw her, something has been bothering me. I finally realized what it was."
"Go ahead, Doctor..."
T'Pol and Reed were naturally right on time. When they had entered and were seated, T'Pol spoke first.
"Before we give you our decision, I would like to go over the evidence and how we proceeded."
"The following facts seem to be irrefutable. Phlox set the time of death at approximately 2020, but he also stated that it could not have been later than 2040."
"The call from Ensign Andrews came at 2105. Both Commander Reed and Sergeant Woodson noted the time. The communication logs also verify that fact."
"Five individuals, including Lieutenants Sato and Merriweather saw Crewman Hadley enter her room alone at approximately 1900."
"As you know, Admiral, every time anyone opens a door, the ship computer reports it to a log. Unfortunately, it is obviously not able to determine if the door was opened from the outside or the inside."
"The logs show the Crewman's door opening at 1902 and at 2103. There is no record of it opening between those times."
"The records also show that the door was opened at the following times the day of the murder and the previous day."
"The day before it was opened at 0745 and 2010, presumably her leaving for work and returning in the evening. The day of the murder it was opened at 0730 and the aforementioned 1902."
"It logically follows that if she was murdered, the murderer had to be waiting in the room when she entered alone at 1902."
"The most likely suspect is of course Ensign Andrews. She could have killed Crewman Hadley, waited for a while, then opened the door from the inside and called Security."
"The problem is that she was seen by a large number of crewman both the day before the murder and the day of the murder. There is no doubt she was not in the room."
"In fact, Captain, we interviewed every crewman. In cross checking their stories we accounted for every crewman. Thus, none of them could have been in Hadley's quarters during the time they would need to be."
"Then, to try to cover all possibilities, we checked with all ships in the fleet to see if one of their transporters could have been used. None had been used."
"We also checked all shuttles to see if someone could have snuck aboard, but all were fully accounted for. None had left their ships."
"So, Admiral, unless someone gained access from a ship we do not know about or we encountered a time traveler, we can only decide that Crewman Hadley committed suicide."
"That decision is further strengthened by the fact we could find no one who had any kind of motive. Add that to the fact she seemed preoccupied during the day, the decision seems ever more solid."
Archer looked proudly at her, "Thank you, Captain." He turned to Commander Reed, "Do you concur, Commander, do you have anything to add?"
"I concur completely, Admiral, I also wish to add that the Captain thoroughly tested both the computer and the teleporters to be sure they had not been tampered with."
"I commend both of you on an outstanding job. It is very impressive and comprehensive."
Both answered, "Thank you, Sir."
Then he smiled sadly, "However, we have a problem."
"Sir?"
"Just before you arrived, Phlox told me some information that strongly suggested that it could not be suicide."
When they recovered, Malcolm and T'Pol inquired about the information. They had to agree it did make a strong suggestion that she did not commit suicide. But after some more discussion which included going over the evidence again, they decided that however suggestive, Phlox's information was still just that, a suggestion; that the evidence was overwhelming.
That decision was sent to Starfleet, who, after a careful review came to the same conclusion.
Although they felt confident in their investigation, both T'Pol and Malcolm were still as humans would say, bugged about the fact that Phlox had put forward, but saw nothing more to be done.
About two months after the tragedy, Malcolm and Trip decided what they needed was a good old-fashioned night of drinking, to forget all that had been happening, to forget about the war.
They were well on their way when Trip brought up what had happened to them on Risa. Suddenly, Malcom stiffened. After thinking for a few moments, he got wobbly to his feet, and headed for the door.
Trip called after him, "Hey, where are you going? We still got some drinking to do."
Malcolm called back, "I have to see Captain T'Pol."
Trip smirked, "The Admiral's not going to like it."
The next night, Malcolm, Archer, and T'Pol armed with Phasers accompanied by a MACO with a Phase Rifle burst into Ensign Andrew's quarters, finding her sitting on her bed, reading a PADD.
As everyone aimed their guns at her, Archer spoke, "Don't make any attempt to convert to another creature, the Phasers are set to kill."
Andrews, who had been stunned by the break in, looked bewildered, "Convert? What the Hell are you talking about? What right do you have to break in like this?"
Telling the MACO to keep his Phaser trained on her, Archer turned to T'Pol, "Why don't you explain, Captain."
"This afternoon, I entered your quarters and obtained some hair samples. When Doctor Phlox tested them, it was found that they were not human DNA. A search of the Fleet database found that the DNA belonged to a species called a Chameloid, a species known for the ability to assume the form of any species it encountered."
The Ensign smirked, "I don't suppose I can say those aren't my hairs."
Archer said, "No."
She then said, "Since it appears to be over, could I be allowed to revert to my normal self. It takes effort to maintain other species for a long period of time."
"Alright, but be very careful, don't try to become something dangerous. The Major still has his Phaser trained on you."
Then, before their amazed eyes, Ensign Andrews became a feathered attractive tall woman.
"Well, you have found my secret. I suppose I will not be able to continue in Starfleet."
Archer looked incredulously at her, "No, you will be paying for your crime."
"What crime is that?"
T'Pol broke in, "The murder of Crewman Hadley."
"That was ruled a suicide, you yourself conducted the investigation."
She continued, "We now know how it was accomplished, must we go over it?"
"This should be good."
"The night before the murder, you and Crewman Hadley entered her quarters. You then somehow incapacitated her so she would be unconscious for the next day."
"The next morning, you left the quarters as Crewman Hadley. Then during the day, you changed back and forth being sure that you were seen as both individuals by a large portion of the crew. You were most likely not fully acquainted with her job so acted preoccupied and distant. This also would help your case for suicide."
That night, you made sure that several witnesses saw you enter her cabin alone as Crewman Hadley. Then, you just needed to kill her and wait some time before opening the door from the inside as Ensign Andrews and call for help."
Smiling at T'Pol, "That is quite a tale. Unfortunately, there is nothing to prove it."
"Normally, that might be true, but many defendants have been found guilty on less evidence. Of course there is one more fact, a piece of information that flew in the face of the evidence. A fact that makes it almost impossible that Crewman Hadley committed suicide as she seemed to."
"What fact would that be?"
"Crewman Hadley had Aichmophobia, a fear of sharp objects. In her case especially knives. As Doctor Phlox pointed out, that someone with that malady would use them to hurt herself is almost inconceivable."
She ruefully shook her head. "Just my luck."
Archer spoke up, "What is your name?"
"I am called Martia."
"Why did you do it, Martia?"
"I guess it doesn't matter now. She caught me changing. As I said, it is difficult to hold another shape over a long period of time. I was careless and she came into my room without knocking and caught me."
"The rest is pretty much what you outlined. I assumed a Warmockian Spider and stung her. That enabled me to control her until I got her in the room. Then I spun a web so she couldn't move. The rest you know."
Then Archer had a thought, "How about the real Ensign Andrews? Did you kill her as well? Why did you want to get aboard Enterprise?"
"The ship didn't matter; I was just looking for a way to get off Earth. I was afraid they were getting close. She was a person who had no close friends or family."
"Who was getting close?"
"They are called the Naiyd. They are from my home planet. Their job is to hunt down those that commit crimes. If they catch you, you are returned for torture and death."
"What happened to Andrews?"
"I killed her." She looked at Archer, "Then I became a Gordion Bear and ate her, bones and all."
Suddenly, it was all too much for the humans, they needed to get some fresh air. They took Martia to the brig and put a twenty-four watch on her.
When they contacted Starfleet, they contacted the creature's home planet. They found that not only they wanted her, she had committed murders of dozens of species, all who wanted her hide.
Earth found itself in a moral dilemma. The death penalty had been outlawed and it was against Earth policy to turn someone over to be executed. At the same time, keeping her incarcerated for life would be a nightmare, requiring constant supervision. Added to that was the fact they had long life spans.
A solution came from an unlikely source. Apparently, a Klingon had been among her victims. They suggested she be imprisoned on Rura Penthe for life. No matter how many shapes she could assume, there would be no escape. Besides, such a creature could have value on a mining planet.
Starfleet finally got everyone to agree, although no one was really satisfied.
It would be some time before Martia would encounter another human. Ironically, it would again be a Captain from Enterprise.
