Chapter 14

"I read your report." Owen lifted the spoon that had stirred cream into his coffee and placed it on the saucer beside his cup. Normally, the disgust on Kathryn's face that he had contaminated the beverage would have amused him, but his thoughts had turned to more serious matters. She had said she wanted to meet with him after the briefing and with very little time remaining before she left for Beloren, he thought it more prudent to get right into it. "You spoke to him?"

Kathryn leaned back in her chair and cradled her coffee cup in her hands. They had adjourned to her quarters following the briefing; she was officially allowing Captain Riker to run point on the upcoming meeting with Commander Donatra. He would coordinate with the rest of the fleet and keep her updated via subspace. Owen would be remaining with Titan as Starfleet Intelligence stepped in to assist with uncovering proof that Proconsul Tomalak and Praetor Tal'Aura had staged the attacks, both at the border and the Imperial Senate building.

With all the parts and pieces they had in motion at present, it still didn't take Kathryn more than a second to understand which him Admiral Paris was talking about. "I did." That conversation had stayed with her the rest of the evening, and she found it hard to believe that was just over twenty-four hours ago. "Is that why you're really here?" She regarded the Admiral closely. In all the years she had known him, Kathryn had never known Owen to act impetuously, to allow his professional actions to be ruled by his emotions.

"No." He thought about that a number of times while he was in transit. "I was already en route to Starbase 73 before Cerberus and Voyager engaged the fighters. Starfleet Intelligence has been using it as a staging location for couple of years. Now that Alynna has enacted her revenge," a corner of his mouth twitched toward something that might have been a smirk, "and I'm running the department, I wanted to get eyes on what they've been doing out here. Commander Jovara became something of a legend during the war; he's been running the team out of 73 for the last thirteen months or so. I couldn't pass up an opportunity to meet him." Owen took a sip of his coffee and shook his head. "When I found out Tuvok hadn't checked in I was going to bring a team out to rendezvous with you, but the trouble went down on Romulus before that could happen. I'd like to say I hadn't thought about it at all, what was waiting out here, but…" He leaned forward and placed his cup on the table with a sigh. "That would be a lie." Images, feelings he hadn't experienced in more than twenty years were back, and with them, the nightmares had returned. His sleep had been plagued for at least two of the last several nights.

She shifted in her seat. They had never talked about it, not really. At the time it just wouldn't have been appropriate. He was her commanding officer, her mentor, and they had both been sent to mandatory counseling. Owen would not have revealed to her just how deeply affected he was by the event, even if part of her had always known on some level just how deep the psychological scars went.

After Utrea II he was never the same. Owen had known joy and happiness, but there was something missing; a spark, that mischievous little gleam that she saw in Tom and reminded her just how much alike the two men were. Kathryn stared at the contents of her cup; she hoped the dark liquid would help order the thoughts in her mind. "He hasn't changed," She said quietly. "I don't suppose people like that ever do."

"I don't know that I would call him a person," Owen said quietly. He felt a chill settle in his bones. He could remember that room, remember how cold it was as they took his uniform and bound his hands to a ring that was suspended from the ceiling. His throat tightened in memory as he recalled the burning in his throat as he screamed until his vocal chords were so strained that no more sound could be produced.

Kathryn's eyes snapped up and she met his gaze. She watched the shadow pass over his eyes and saw in them how haunted he was at revisiting that moment in time. It was certainly more than he had ever revealed to her before. "There are things he said," she told him, voice dipping low; she was unable to maintain the controlled timbre she might have preferred. "They're in the recording of our initial interrogation—"

"I watched it." Owen tore his gaze away from her. "I probably shouldn't have. The counselors will probably have a field day with that." It was a compulsion, really. The more he tried to convince himself it wasn't necessary, the more he felt that he needed to see it, that perhaps in doing so, replaying that chapter of his life would have less of an impact. "You were twenty-three years old. You had never been out of the sector before, and you were only in that shuttle because I knew you were bored out of your mind." Owen shook his head at her. "I knew Tighe was giving you a hard time. I don't have to tell you that the Lieutenant was stubborn as hell when he wanted to be. Kathryn, you've done this long enough, you've got seven years of impossibly hard situations to compare it to. You know that there's nothing we won't do, as long as it's within our power, to save the people we are sworn to protect."

She looked down again and swallowed against the thick wave of emotion that was threatening to choke her. She couldn't count the number of times she put her life between certain destruction and the safety of her crew. She had literally walked onto a Borg cube to save a single life. She wasn't willing to lose even one of them, not if it was in her power to prevent it. "You'd have done it for any of us, I know that. I hate that it was necessary. There was nothing that you or I could do to change that then, we can't change it now. I understand it better. You know…" She put her cup on the table and shifted in her chair. She brought her knee up and hooked her heel against the edge of her chair. Kathryn rested her hands against the top of it and tilted her head, expression turning a little wistful as she thought back. "When Tom disobeyed orders to help the Moneans, and violated the Prime Directive to do it, I had never been more furious, or more proud, in my entire life. I wanted to throttle him. My god did I want to throttle him." She smiled at the memory. "He had come so far, but I felt like I had failed him somehow. He was doing the right thing, what I couldn't do, what I wouldn't do, because of the oaths we had sworn. I couldn't ignore it. Our situation was just too dangerous. I couldn't allow anyone on that ship to think that we were in the Delta Quadrant to impose our will. That didn't change the fact that it was my failure more than it was his. We are ultimately responsible. Their successes can't be ours unless their failures are too, and we can't ask them to put their lives in danger if we wouldn't step in front of that danger for them." When she met his gaze she smiled sadly. "I know what you did, Owen. I'm sure Camet embellished as much as he thought was necessary to try to create the effect that would give him the advantage, but he failed to understand the single, most salient difference between him and us. You would do it again. So would I. So would any of the Captains in this taskforce, and their contemporaries across the quadrant. We go first. We set the tone. If they don't come home, neither do we. That is what sets us apart from Camet, and Tomalak, and any number of other enemies we've made along the way."

His blue eyes were surprising bright, moist with emotion. "The student becomes the teacher," he said simply, but with more pride than he would ever be able to put to words.

"And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks." She unfolded her leg from in front of her and leaned forward. "It opened a door, this situation with Camet. Don't give him the satisfaction of stumbling through it. He isn't worth it. Aegeus is taking the detainees to Starbase 234, where they will be held and questioned by Starfleet Security. We'll get the answers we need, either from interrogation or by investigating Beloren ourselves. Camet is going to spend the rest of his life in a penal colony…" She trailed off and a smile curved her mouth upward. "And no, you don't have to tell me how stubborn Justin could be."

Owen looked down again. He studied the clear, shining surface of the glass tabletop. "Even if I thought I wanted to, and believe me I don't, I have no intention of seeing Camet before Aegeus leaves. I know my limits, and I can't do it. You're right; I won't go through that door. There's nothing to be gained from it." He straightened after another moment and folded his hands together. "Are you sure that Voyager is the right ship to take to Beloren?" He arched a brow of her.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Her brows drew together in a puzzled frown. "She'll get the job done. We'll need to move quickly, and it may become necessary for us to skirt underneath Romulan sensors. That's something we've done before. B'Elanna and Harry have had several days out here to analyze the array network they're using. I'm sure if they haven't already considered implementing some method of reflecting the Romulans' sensors, they will now. Not only that, but Tuvok knows Voyager as well as I do. He'll know how to get word to us in a way that we will understand but won't reveal his location or break his cover."

"You know it's entirely possible that Commander Tuvok hasn't checked in because he's-"

"I know that," Kathryn cut him off. "I won't leave him behind, either way." She would find out what happened, regardless. She stood up and walked to the viewport. She could see Odyssey and Jamestown holding position several kilometers away. The fleet was going to resume their patrols and this time their ships would run parallel on each side of the neutral zone. Titan and Hamilton would hold position and wait for the Valdore. Any further movements would be determined after they met with Commander Donatra. "Even if we don't find Tuvok, we need to investigate Beloren. He wouldn't follow a false lead. There was something there."

"Hm." Owen chose to let it go. She wasn't wrong, but he didn't think it required her overseeing the trip personally. He knew how stubborn she could be, and if he tried to nudge her another way, she would dig her heels in even further. Owen inclined his head and decided to pose another question that had been on his mind. "So… Jacob?"

She felt her cheeks flush. How was it, more than twenty years later, the right inflection to a question had her feeling like that twenty-year-old cadet again, sitting in his office for the first time, determined to prove herself but awed by the authority. She cast a narrow-eyed look at him from over her shoulder. "Did you have a specific inquiry or are you just fishing?"

The warning note in her tone made him practically gleeful, though he schooled his features as carefully as he was able. Owen reached for his coffee again and while his eyes sparkled at her, he made a show of taking a long sip. "Julia worries," he explained. "He stayed with us off and on when he was growing up, when his parents' careers took them to postings he couldn't follow." By the time the girls and Tom had come along, though, Cole and his wife had shipped the boy off to a fleet prep school in northern Oregon.

"I see." Kathryn turned slowly. She folded her arms across her chest and continued to stare at him. "Julia worries… about a forty-five-year-old man with a successful career while she has a new daughter-in-law, a new grandchild, and isn't Moira getting married soon?" A single brow rose. "What I think is that Jake was absolutely correct. You are a nosy, meddling… old mule." Her arms dropped and she strode to the workstation where she began putting the data padds she had been studying since waking in sickbay into her travel case. "I also think that you know better than to question me about that and I am going to choose to forget this ever happened."

Owen barked a quick laugh at her. "That tells me more than I need to know." He took another sip of his coffee before putting it aside again and standing. He straightened his uniform and nodded at her. "I'm sure Julia will be delighted." He stopped talking when her door chimed. His lips pursed while his brows rose in curiosity.

Kathryn huffed a sigh. Definitely a meddling old mule, she decided. "Come in."

Jake took one look at the two of them together and visibly cringed. His timing certainly could have been better. "Admirals."

"I should be getting back to work," Owen decided. "Kathryn, I'm sure I'll see you in a few days. Good luck." He walked toward the door and paused. "Jacob."

"Sir." He watched his uncle go, and once the doors were closed, he groaned. "We'll never hear the end of it."

"Sure we will." She closed the case and dropped it on the surface of his desk. "I'll just have a conversation with Julia." She smirked at him. "I'm sure he'll find something else to focus on straight away."

"Devious. I like it." He took the few steps that would bring him directly in front of her. Jake took her hand and tugged her close. His arm moved around her waist and his hand splayed across her lower back. "Aegeus is getting underway soon. I wanted to see you before we leave."

A soft smile lifted the corners of her mouth. Kathryn laid a hand against his chest and let it slide slowly downward, following the seam of his jacket. "I'm glad you did." She nodded toward the bag that would be going to Voyager with her. "I planned to leave as soon as the meeting with Admiral Paris had ended."

"I think this is the part where I wish you good hunting," he said, "and I don't do something idiotic like tell you to be careful." Jake shrugged at her. "I'm not so enlightened that I won't worry. You're headed deeper into the snake's nest. I know you don't need me to watch your back," he sighed, "but I might have a vested interest in you coming back in one piece."

"That's good." Her arms moved to loop loosely around his neck. "I have a vested interest in my coming back in one piece too." Kathryn smiled crookedly at him. She couldn't promise that everything would be okay, he knew that well enough, but it mattered that he cared enough to voice it. "If there's one thing that I'm sure you don't have to worry about, it's me and Voyager getting back to where we belong… eventually"

Jake stared at her for a moment. The corners of her mouth twitched and he snorted. "That was terrible." They both laughed and he dropped a kiss to her upturned mouth. "I'll see you in a few days," he said. "I hope you find him."

Her smile softened. She laid a hand against the side of his neck and kissed him again. "A few days," she echoed. Kathryn lingered for only a moment longer before she stepped away. She reached for her travel case. "Walk me out?"

"I seem to be headed that way too." He waved an arm toward the door and gave an over exaggerated bow. "After you, Admiral."

They encountered Decan in the corridor outside her cabin. The Vulcan aide only arched a brow at them before his attention was turned solely on the Admiral. "Captain Chakotay will be meeting us in the transporter room. Quarters have already been made available for you on deck-"

"Eight." Kathryn smirked. "Yes, I remember. You're forgetting Lieutenant, I know more about that ship than any schematic could ever teach you."

"Your statement is not entirely without merit," he replied, "but you are forgetting, Admiral, that the sentimentality with which you recall most things about Voyager is unique to yourself, and entirely illogical to me." His head tilted and he regarded the Captain beside her again. "Can I assume that you will be returning to Aegeus?"

Jake fought the urge to grin. "I think you're warming up to me Lieutenant. You act like you can't wait to get rid of me, but I really think you're going to miss me."

"That is most unlikely, Captain." He waited for them to pass before he fell instep behind the Admiral.

"Beneath that cool, logical exterior," Jake told Kathryn, "I know he really likes me."

"I wouldn't bet the farm on it," she smirked at him. If nothing else, she thought her aide might tolerate the Captain, at least as well as Decan tolerated anyone other than herself.

"You know, Lieutenant, if you ever get tired of running errands for the brass, you can always come work for me. I don't think my first officer appreciates my sense of humor; I could use someone like you around. Not to mention what I'm sure you could do with a report or two, at the very least the reading would be more interesting."

"I take it that Commander Merrin has proved to be more… challenging than you thought she would be?" Kathryn flashed an amused look at him as they stepped into the lift at the end of the corridor. "You realize you can't replace your XO just because she won't laugh at your jokes?"

"Sadly, that's true." Jake sighed. "It seems we're stuck with each other for a while, at least until another posting comes around or we actually start getting used to one another. I don't suppose you'd be willing to take the job? You could think of it as a vacation; just kick back, let someone else do the heavy lifting for a while."

"That's not entirely what I remember of the first officer's job description," she chuckled. "I seem to recall it requiring a lot of long hours, an extensive amount of crew evaluations and dealing with stubborn Captains who don't know when they should stay on the ship."

"You're absolutely right," Jake nodded. "Now that I think about it, that wouldn't be much of a vacation. Who wants to be doing crew evaluations when you can be traipsing around Romulan territory telling everyone else what to do?"

"Exactly, and I'll thank you to stop trying to steal my aide right out from under my nose," she tapped him on the chest. "If you're really looking to replace Commander Merrin," her eyes glittered, "I understand there's a tactical officer aboard Voyager who might make an excellent first officer."

"From ensign to XO in under a year," Jake nodded. "That's one way to make up for lost time…" he slanted a look at her, "and all those promotions he missed out on. Is this the part where my ship becomes a landing spot for all your former crew?"

"Well, I was never one to allow an opportunity slip away if at all possible. Why not take advantage of a recent change in command. You've already had a few transfers. It isn't unheard of. There would have been more staff changes if this mission wasn't already on the horizon. Very soon they're all going to have to realize they can't stay on board Voyager forever." There was more out there for all of them, even her. It may have taken several months to realize that, but she had. Those seven years would never be forgotten, but it was time for them to move on with their lives.

"I understand," Jake nodded. "You're just using me for my ship placements. I'm glad that's finally been answered."

"No darling, I'm using you for-" Kathryn stopped when she remembered they weren't alone. She cast a quick glance in the Lieutenant's direction, and then rolled her eyes at the smirk that was curving across Jake's face. "You can have this round," she conceded.

"It was a close thing, but your containment field is holding, Admiral. In the future you might want to be more careful with transferring too much power through the EPS manifold." When the lift came to a stop and the door opened, he waited for her to exit before following her. "Luckily, you know an engineer who might be willing to assist with that."

"Might?" Her brow lifted, she knew better than that and so did he. "I think you could be understating it just a little."

"I think I'm understating it a hell of a lot." In the transporter room Jake stopped beside the console. "We can finish this discussion when you've returned. I still have reservations pending at Starbase 343."

She offered him a small, but pleased smile. "I'm looking forward to it. Chief, is Voyager standing by?"

The tall figure at the console nodded. "They're ready when you are, Admiral."

She stepped up onto the transporter pad and turned. "Energize." The interior of the Titan disappeared in a shower of blue and white light and when it cleared, she was standing in the familiar confines of Voyager. She drew a quick breath. It was an almost heady feeling, being back on board for the first time in several months. She hadn't known how she would feel, but nostalgia and warmth settled over her. It was comfortable, and safe, and a small voice in the back of her mind whispered home. She ignored that, however, and let her gaze settle on the man standing in front of her. A bright smile lit her face. "Tom."

If she was surprised to find Voyager's first officer waiting to greet her, instead of its Captain, she didn't show it. The Commander returned her smile as she stepped off the pad. "Admiral, welcome aboard. I'd offer you the tour, but I think you could give it in your sleep."

"That's probably true." She stopped in front of him. "It's good to see you. How is Miral?"

"Feisty like her mother." His smile was one of true delight. Tom never imagined he'd enjoy being a father as much as he did. He would challenge anyone to try to convince him that the very stars in the sky did not shine a little brighter when his daughter was looking up at them. "If I'd known you might actually visit during this trip, we would have brought her along. She's with Mom and Kathleen on Betazed. Kathleen's husband has been stationed there since the occupation ended." His brother-in-law was a member of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. His was one of many teams assigned to assist in the cleanup and rebuilding effort on the planet. "They're taking all the kids to some island resort. We thought it would be good for Miral to spend some time with her cousins." To spend time around other kids, really, there weren't many aboard Voyager. While there were family accommodations on board now, it was never intended to be that kind of ship.

"I'm sorry that I missed her." She understood why Tom and B'Elanna wouldn't want Miral to spend all her time on board the ship, and especially when it was headed into a situation with as much uncertainty as their diplomatic mission to Romulan space. "We'll have to get together the next time you're on Earth. I'm sure she's grown considerably since the last time I saw her."

"You may not even recognize her." Tom grinned. They kept the pictures circulating, but it had been a while since all of them were together for any length of time. "Well, Admiral, if you'll come with me…"

"I appreciate the gesture, Commander, but I know my way." She laid a hand on his arm before turning toward the exit. "Obviously your Captain has been held up. Let him know that I'll be ready to meet with him as soon as I've settled in. It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes. I would hope that's sufficient time to allow him to wrap up whatever has come up?"

"I think so." Paris nodded. "He's with B'Elanna in engineering. She had a few ideas for reflective shield polarity. They're certain they can run it through the Astrometric sensors. It's not exactly a cloaking device, but we might be able to run on stealth mode for a little while."

"Really?" Her brows lifted with sudden interest. "Lieutenant, would you mind?"

Decan was already reaching for her case. "Of course not, Admiral. While you're in engineering I will pull the latest information on Beloren.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Gentlemen." With a nod, she was gone. Her steps carried her, almost on autopilot, away from the transporter room and toward the turbolift at the end of the corridor. She didn't think about that, however; her mind was already focused on the Astrometric sensor array and how they might reroute it through the deflector to change the polarity of Voyager's shields. If they could make it work, even for a short while, without burning out the deflector dish or in some way diminishing their shield capacity, they might be able to make it to Beloren virtually unnoticed.

Chakotay didn't need to be told when she was beamed aboard. He was sure that Cambridge would tell him he was a little crazy, and he might even be right. It was probably all in his head, but Chakotay was certain he felt the moment she beamed on board. In Engineering it felt a little more pronounced than it might have been anywhere else on the ship, but he had a feeling it wouldn't have mattered where he was standing. He would have still experienced the same moment. Suddenly it felt like the engines were running a little smoother. The subtle vibrations that the warp core created in the deck plating beneath his feet evened out. It was almost as if the very ship itself had just let out a slow, relaxed sigh of contentment.

He was glad that Torres was so lost in her explanation of how she planned to use the sensors to alter the ship's shield harmonics because it saved him from having to explain the line that formed between his brows, or the scowl he briefly cast toward the warp core. In the past it was always Voyager for Kathryn, and now that they were home, now that the ship was no longer her entire focus or reason or being, now that it was his ship, it seemed like the ship was reminding him that it had chosen her a long time ago.

His thoughts turned to bitterness and he tried to tell himself it was because he was already irritated with her. He was genuinely surprised she had chosen Voyager for the trip to Beloren to look for Tuvok. She had gone out of her way to avoid being on the ship since they'd gotten home and had barely acknowledged it was part of her taskforce at all. Now when it was needed, when they were needed, there was no other ship or crew that she thought more capable of carrying out a rescue mission.

Had it been anyone other than Tuvok, Chakotay wondered if she would have chosen them, or just stayed on board Titan. A dark scowl drew his brows together. Or Aegeus.

That little moment of theirs in the corridor had not gone completely unnoticed. He saw enough when the doors opened to admit the Titan counselor. It looked like Kathryn had so little time to spend with him because she was spending it elsewhere.

Chakotay listened to B'Elanna go on about the sensor changes she wanted to make while his thoughts turned further inward. Seven years. Seven years he waited for her, while she let him in just enough to keep him close, enough to make herself appear more human, even as she became colder and harder with each passing year.

"…The only problem," Torres's voice was just a faint echo in his ears, "is that it won't reflect a direct scan. If they're actually looking, they're going to know we're there."

"Then it sounds like we should make sure no one knows where we're heading."

The voice cut through the din. Chakotay felt his back stiffen and he plastered a smile on his face, even as he saw B'Elanna's eyes brighten with genuine delight.

"We could try masking the warp core, give off a false tachyon signature," B'Elanna said in response.

"Between the tachyons and the reflective shielding, it's going to look like Voyager is just another warbird moving through the system." The Admiral moved to stand with them, unaware that the young officers around them had snapped to attention and were staring in awe. Those from the original crew had more or less smiled and gone back to work. Kathryn folded her arms across her chest. Her gaze shifted toward the warp core as her mind filled with thoughts of B'Elanna's proposal. "We could take Voyager out of the system, make it appear we've gone back to starbase with Aegeus, and once we're out of sensor range…"

"We'll put the modifications in place and come back," the Chief Engineer nodded. "We can move through the sensor net, but with the codes, it won't set off any alarms. I'm wondering…" B'Elanna moved to an engineering console and her fingers began flying over the surface. "What if we use their own sensors against them? The good thing about flying back and forth with nothing else to do is that it gave us time to gather a lot of information on how their sensors work. The engineers that helped Valdore and the other ships limp back to Romulan space a few months ago were able to provide enough of a glimpse into how those birds work that I think with the right combination of tachyons and refractive pulse, a passive scan won't detect us. With a more direct scan, I think we could code a feedback loop that would…"

"Make their sensors think Voyager is just noise," Kathryn finished for her. She had moved to the console while the younger woman spoke and was reading over her shoulder as B'Elanna called up the sensor specs they had on file for the Romulan warbirds. "That may only work with the ships in the same class as Valdore," she pointed out. "We're also assuming they haven't managed to build another Scimitar."

"I think we're hoping that's the case," Torres replied, "more than assuming. If they've built another of those monster ships, there's nothing I can do. I read the reports from Enterprise. Not even with Seven's help could I modify our sensors enough to pick up that ship or enforce the shields against an attack." She looked as earnest as she felt. La Forge was as brilliant as they came, in her opinion, and while she and Seven had worked a lot of miracles over the years, they would have been just as out of their element as he had been.

Chakotay shook his head as he watched the pair. The conversation was bouncing back and forth and making him every bit as dizzy as it ever had. In only seconds they had fallen back into a routine that made it look as though Kathryn had never been gone. That only added to the downward turn his mood had taken, but he managed to force it aside, or hoped he did. "How long will it take you to make the modifications?"

B'Elanna looked at him, and from her expression it was clear that she had forgotten he was there. "About six hours, possibly longer." Her gaze moved to the Admiral, "much less with the right help," the corner of her mouth quirked toward a grin.

The undercurrent in his voice had made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Kathryn pushed it aside for the moment, told herself that he was only responding to their lack of acknowledgement. It was his ship now, after all. She focused on B'Elanna instead and felt an answering grin curve her lips. "I thought I had finally graduated from being relegated to your work crews. Apparently I was wrong."

"I'm sorry, Admiral," Torres shrugged, feeling quite unapologetic, "but my former Captain taught me to use every available resource, no excuses. Delays for failing to appropriately allocate those resources were met with harsh consequences."

"I see," she nodded. "Yes, I understand she was quite a beast. Well, I suppose if that's the way you were taught, I can hardly complain now." She stopped and cast a look in Chakotay's direction. "With the current Captain's permission, of course?"

"And miss the opportunity to tell everyone I had an Admiral crawling through the bowels of the ship doing sensor modifications?" Chakotay snorted. "Just keep me updated on your progress. I'll have Tom take us out of the neutral zone and point us toward starbase along the same course Aegeus took."

There was something in the way he said the name of the ship that set her teeth on edge. "B'Elanna, let me know where you would like me. In the meantime, your Captain and I were meant to be meeting after I came on board. I shouldn't be long."

The engineer nodded. "I will. Welcome back."

Kathryn spared a smile for her before turning her attention fully on the Captain. "Well, shall we?" She had a feeling there were a few things they should talk about before they moved any further into their current mission, otherwise it might all escalate at exactly the wrong moment.

"Of course." He nodded. "I think you know the way."

"Better than you think," she replied cryptically, and led him out of engineering.

-TBC-