"Incoming message from the Relentless, Captain."

Rixadi looked up from the padd she had been viewing, and twisted around to look at Azil.

"Onscreen then, Mister Dekas."

Azil looked almost sheepish for a moment.

"Actually, it...it's just a set of co-ordinates, ma'am. I think Captain O'Neill wants us to go there."

"Where do they lead?"

Azil shrugged.

"Not sure, ma'am," he answered, puzzling over his console. "There's no star system there, as far as I can tell."

Rixadi mused on that, momentarily wondering if Eilis was setting her up. However, she was certain a captain of O'Neill's reputation would never be so harsh, and gave a small nod.

"Pass them to the Helm, and let's see what's there then. Helm, head to that location, best speed."

With the co-ordinates locked, the Puma went to full warp in pursuit of...whatever it would be.

They were led to a system with a single, massive star, and little else. The Puma dropped to impulse, and Rixadi got to her feet again.

"Sensors to maximum. Let's see what's out here," she ordered, watching the viewscreen intently. Moments later, a tone came from Violet's console, and Rixadi looked around expectantly.

"We are detecting...something, ma'am," the former Borg stated flatly, causing the Lieutenant to sigh.

"That is hardly an efficient report, Violet."

"The sensor returns are scattered," she explained, "whatever is out there is designed to confuse detection. We are however in visual range."

"Put it onscreen then," Rixadi commanded, turning back to the screen.

It switched to display the mysterious object, and every officer on the bridge frowned.

"What is that thing?" Rixadi asked, stepping closer as if it would help her identify what she saw.

Sleek, dark and dangerous, it was clearly a ship - though not one anyone present had ever seen. Its hull was a deep black, with odd angles and shrouded warp nacelles. A peculiar circular structure ran around the prow, within which was a smaller, rounded protrusion, no doubt where the bridge was located.

Its entire design was aimed at confusing sensors, and Rixadi grew concerned.

"Elasha, charge-"

"Unauthorised transport!" Azil shouted, thdn looked at Rixadi with horror. "Ma'am, it's...in your ready room."

"Phaser!"

She caught a hand phaser tossed by Elasha, and advanced to the door of her ready room.

She was not prepared for what she found.

Stood by the replicator was a short, long-haired woman, dressed in the slate-grey long coat favoured by Starfleet Intelligence. As she turned, a fresh steaming mug in her hand, Rixadi could see she wore a uniform skirt and boots, unusual since so few female officers wore a skirt after the academy. She could see the woman was a Bajoran, a faded burn marring her left cheek, and she spotted the unmistakable insignia of a Rear Admiral.

"Come in, Lieutenant, have a seat," she said, her musical voice carrying a hard edge. She acted as if the ship was her own, but her rank meant Rixadi had to hold her tongue.

She set the phaser on a shelf by the door, called back to her crew that everything was okay, and moved to take the offered seat.

The two women sat silently for a moment, each appraising the other, and Rixadi felt somewhat unimpressed. She had heard stories of Admiral Kassai, and although she had always taken them with a grain of salt she was now uncertain if they had any truth to them at all. The diminutive, gentle-faced woman in front of her couldn't possibly have led the defence of a Miranda-class ship, and there was certainly no way she could have single-handedly infiltrated a Romulan dreadnought! Granted, the smaller woman's hazel eyes were dark, as though they had seen just a little too much, but Rixadi simply couldn't believe that she was as mighty as she had heard.

"I must admit, Admiral," she said, meeting those hazel eyes over the rim of Kassai's mug, "you...aren't what I expected."

"I'm smaller, right?" Admiral Kassai asked, placing her mug on the desk and smiling lopsidedly at Rixadi. "I get that one a lot."

She moved the mug to one side and pulled the desk terminal closer, and shd began working at it as she spoke again.

"Anyway, tell me of this little quest of yours."

Rixadi sighed, sick of having to explain herself again, but nonetheless she complied. She told the Admiral everything, and although she never paused in her work she did make several noises of acknowledgement.

"That's quite a story," the Bajoran mused, still not looking at Rixadi.

"I just don't...I'm sorry ma'am, but what are you actually doing?"

"I'm coding a virus into your ship's computer," Kassai said conversationally, and Rixadi almost leapt from her seat.

"What?!"

"Oh, nothing malicious, don't worry," Kassai offered, "but as soon as I leave your ship it will remove any trace I was ever here. All sensor logs of my ship will be wiped, this star system will be purged from your navigation systems, and I will be nothing but a memory. Additionally," she added, finally stopping and looking directly at Rixadi, "if you mention our conversation to anyone outside of this vessel, it will be categorically denied by no less than three high-ranking officers, and there will be very convincing evidence that I was nowhere near this system. So I would save your breath."

Rixadi's eyes narrowed, and she eyed the Admiral suspiciously.

"Are you with Section Thirty-One?"

"Ha! They wish they had me," she answered, sitting back in her chair and sipping her beverage again. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you, that what you are doing is as foolish as it is insane," she finished, her tone serious again.

"Damn it, why can no-one else see why I have to do this?" Rixadi snapped. "No-one else knows what this is like for us! What do you know about breaking the rules for tje sake of justice?!"

As soon as she asked the question she regretted it, as Admiral Kassai fixed her with a deadly glare. Her hazel eyes were filled with anger and pain, her expression murderous.

"I know far more than you can ever hope to understand, Lieutenant," she said quietly, "and believe me, against my better judgement I am trying to save you from making the mistakes I did. And if you ever speak to me in such a fashion again, I will throw you out the airlock so fast your feet won't touch the deck. Am I clear?"

Rixadi swallowed, and suddenly she believed the possibility that the Admiral was as dangerous as she had heard.

"Painfully, ma'am," she said softly, and Lydana nodded.

"Good. Well, I am pretty sure you won't heed reason - I certainly didn't - so here's what you wanted."

She pulled a padd from her jacket pocket and slid it across the table, leaning back to sample her beverage again.

"Of course, I hope for your sake your crew are as good as you think they are," the young Bajoran said. "Tell me, Lieutenant, are you familiar with Haakona-class warbirds?"