A/N: Sorry for the delay! This chapter took slightly longer to post due to my lack of any for of internet, but better late than never I always say.
I want to thank that awesome individuals who reviewed last chapter:
CLTex, WarriorDragonElf54, priestessofeternity, pjfunnybunny, DemonicSymphony, Narnian Sprite
You are all beautiful people. And also, a huge shout out to Jeralee who honored me with a spot in her Khan/OC community!
P.S. I don't own squat.
Ana was forced to take the next lift down to for the one the admiral occupied was filled with his aides and underlings, all vying for his attention and/or his signature on the multiple PADD's being shoved into his line of sight. Ana waited not so patiently for the next turbolift and had to resist the urge to twiddle her thumbs nervously as the lift descended to the ground floor. She made the trek from Daystrom, across the Starfleet campus and towards the building that housed the offices of Starfleet's high command. Ana looked up at the building with a sense of apprehension before pressing her palm to the pad next to the door in order to gain access. The door slid open and she made her way inside and towards the admiral's office, as well as the offices of his personal staff, which took up most of the ground floor of the building. When she reached the door to his private office, she announced her presence and the door slid open a moment later to reveal the admiral sitting behind a large glass desk, his attention focused on the stack of PADD's in front of him. She entered the large office, lit only by the bright orange light of the rising sun, and stood at attention in front of the desk.
"I noticed that you were not in attendance at the command meeting earlier this evening." The admiral stated without looking up from the PADD he was currently reading. "Your absence was rather convenient, considering the events that took place during the meeting."
"I apologize for my tardiness, Admiral." She stated, squaring her shoulders. "I was unavoidably detained in London, sir. It was almost impossible to get a shuttle out of the city after the bombing." Admiral Marcus finally raised his gaze from the PADD in his hand and stared at her intently before handing her the PADD he had been studying. A picture of John Harrison filled the screen.
"Have you seen this man before?" Marcus questioned, his eyes never leaving her face.
"Only pictures, sir." She lied smoothly. "Commander Bryant updated me on the situation when I arrived at Daystrom." Marcus narrowed his eyes at her answer and stared at her before speaking.
"Well, as Commander Bryant probably informed you, Harrison is extremely dangerous and both a threat to Starfleet personnel as well as the civilian population. He needs to be eradicated." Ana stared at the image of John Harrison a moment longer before raising her gaze to meet Marcus'.
"I understand, sir." She remarked as she handed the PADD back to the admiral. "But what does all of this have to do with me?"
"You are one of our best officers, Sullivan. Highly skilled in hand to hand combat and weaponry, and lets not forget about your...questionable heritage which just adds to your lethal abilities." He turned his chair so that he was facing the large window overlooking the city of San Francisco and the bay beyond that glittered in the early morning light. "I want you to go after him."
"Go after Harrison?" Ana questioned, attempting to hide her shock as much as possible.
"Yes." Marcus stated. "I want you to track him down and end him."
"Sir, I don't care what this man has done, I refuse to hunt him down like some animal and kill him in cold blood." She stated. "Despite my so called 'questionable heritage,' I'm an explorer, not an assassin." Marcus stared at her without speaking for what felt like hours to Ana.
"It was not a request, Sullivan." He stood from his chair, placed his hands on his desk and leaned forward. "It was an order."
"Sir, I..." She started, but was cut off with a dismissive wave of the admiral's hand.
"Let me make something completely clear to you, Captain Sullivan." He said as he moved around his desk to stand in front of her. "You are a member of Starfleet only because I am allowing it. It would be all to easy for me to report to the rest of high command that the half-Romulan captain that they hold in such high regard, is actually a spy working for the Romulan Empire on a mission to take down Starfleet and the Federation from the inside." Ana's eyes widened and she could feel the barely suppressed anger and frustration that she had been trying to control for the past 24 hours bubble to the surface. She took a deep breath before speaking, but her voice still came out in a hoarse murmur.
"They would never believe you." She stated vehemently. "My father..."
"Your precious father isn't here to save you now, Sullivan." He spat out her name as he took a step closer to her. "In fact, Admiral Sullivan would have been rather disappointed in his daughter's insubordination and refusal to follow direct orders." The admiral took a step back and placed his hands behind his back. "Do we have an understanding, Captain?"
"Yes."
"Yes what?"
"Yes, sir." She replied through gritted teeth, wishing that she was blessed with the cool collectedness that her Vulcan ancestors possessed. Her quick temper was always one of her weaknesses.
"I'm glad." He remarked as he went to stand behind his desk again. "Now, I want you to hunt this bastard down and take him out.
"But, sir, he could be anywhere by now." Ana said as she took a step closer to his desk. Marcus opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the chirping of the built in comm on his desk. He reached over and pressed the answer button.
"Speak." He said sternly.
"This is Williams, sir." The voice on the comm responded.
"Yes, Commander, what is it?"
"I've been monitoring the investigation of the crashed jump ship, and it appears that Lieutenant Commander Scott of the USS Enterprise has discovered something in the wreckage that may contain Harrison's location."
"Good. Send me the coordinates."
"Right away, sir."
"Has the Lieutenant Commander told anyone of his discovery yet?" Marcus questioned.
"Not as of yet, sir." The man named Williams responded. "But, it wont be long until he brings the information to Kirk's attention."
"Acknowledged, Commander. Marcus out." He reached over and ended the comm right as one of the PADD's on his desk dinged to alert him of a new message. The admiral picked it up and read the coordinates, his eyes widening slightly as he did so.
"Well, it looks like half of your job has already been done for you, Captain." He said, handing her the PADD. "All you need to do now is go after him." Ana looked down at the screen, her own eyes widening at the coordinates.
"Kronos." She muttered. "You want me to go after a fugitive who has taken refuge past the neutral zone and on the Klingon home world? That's suicide!" She slammed the PADD down on his desk. "Go ahead and have me court martialed, Admiral, because I refuse to risk both the lives of my crew and the safety of the Trafalgar on some futile mission for vengeance."
"You're not taking your ship or your crew, Sullivan." He reported. "This is a completely covert operation that will not show up in Starfleet records."
"That still doesn't explain how you expect me to get halfway across the galaxy, and then across the neutral zone."
"Follow me, Sullivan." Admiral Marcus made his way around his desk and towards another door on the other side of his office. He entered a code into the pad next to the door and placed his hand on scanner. The door slid open a moment later and he beckoned her to follow him down a dimly lit hallway and into a large, sterile looking room which looked like some sort of lab. He walked towards the center of them room where a table stood with a large, cylindrical black object resting atop it. "This is how you will be getting to Kronos."
"What is it?" Ana questioned, her natural curiosity momentarily overriding her anger over her present situation.
"It is a portable transwarp beaming device." Marcus motioned towards the device with his hand. "A similar device is how Harrison was able to abandon his crashing ship and escape to Kronos." He turned to face her square on. "You'll leave right away."
"But, sir, I'm not exactly prepared for interstellar travel and covert operations." She motioned to the short skirt and fitted jacket that made up her uniform.
"Everything you need is in that locker against that wall." He motioned to a dark locker behind her. "Now, suit up." He turned back towards the door and walked out, leaving Ana to change and arm herself for battle. About ten minutes later, she had donned the black leggings and shirt as well as an ankle length synthetic leather coat that were in the locker, and was in the process of arming herself to the teeth with a multitude of knives (phasers weren't really her style) when the admiral entered that lab again.
"Are you ready, Captain?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." She responded before Marcus punched in the coordinates on the transwarp beaming device. The last thing she saw was the satisfied, and somewhat crazed, smirk on the admiral's face before she was surrounded by the golden rings of the transporter and hurled into the unknown.
Dun, dun, dun...