In the end, although Kally, K'ehleyr, and Meren were not there, it was a good-sized group that gathered in the hospital 'dining' room. Fina did manage to swap her shift, and brought Skonn, Arwen, and her little boy with her. Mackenzie came as well, alone because Kehlan was still out with the fleet. She'd given Skonn some leave, insisting on it when he'd half-heartedly protested that he was needed. Endeavour, she'd said, could manage without its best pilot for a while.
Even T'Lia had joined them, bringing with her the Klingon doctor, telling them that Kroll was going to be permanently assigned to the station. This was news to Krang, but of more interest was the way his friend's Vulcan mask had slipped since she had disappeared for a week with the same doctor, or so sickbay gossip went.
The food for the impromptu party had been ordered from TB24, and Graham brought it to them personally. Ever thoughtful, he'd made sure to include some salads for the Vulcans, to which he had added more ingredients than the ones on the standard menu, as well as several extra 'Klingon-style' burgers, cooked for the requisite five seconds on each side. He was persuaded to sit with them for a while, glad to see his old friend and mentor looking so well and almost ready to go home himself.
Liam had intended to absent himself, to leave the family alone for their final dinner, but Chrissie would have none of it, especially when there were three other 'non-family' guests.
They all lingered over the meal and the ice cream that followed. Antonio grinned as, looking around him a little guiltily, Krang helped himself to a third portion. He knew how much his father loved the frozen treat and was glad to do something to bring him pleasure.
Inevitably and all too quickly, time drew onwards, and the party came to an end. Goodbyes were difficult, Antonio mused with some bitterness, mostly because up until now, he'd always managed to avoid them. Running away – that had always been his strategy. He'd always just left without saying goodbye, because he'd been so angry inside, and the word was too difficult.
The hug he gave his father was tentative and nowhere near as tight as it might have been, and not only because of his father's health. Things would probably never be the way he wanted them to be, but they were so much better than they had been. He was truly thankful for that.
Arwen had demanded a hug then, admonishing him to write to her often and tell her all his exciting stories. He gave his promise and was amused (and only a little miffed) when she turned away from him and ran to hug Liam, on whom she'd apparently developed a crush. His little sister, he thought wryly, had impeccable taste.
Chrissie had cried as she'd handed him a huge, insulated bag of food to take with him, including, so she'd told him, a couple of dozen of the brownies she knew he loved. Her tears were understandable; this goodbye must be difficult for her as well. How much had he hurt his mother when he'd disappeared? He hadn't even given her a thought when he'd packed his things and walked away from the academy and a career in Starfleet, for three years never bothering to contact her and letting her know he was even alive. He'd only come back because it had suited him, because he'd had to 'make peace with his past' before he could take his final vows. He knew what she'd thought – that it had been hypocrisy, and she'd been right. He regretted that now, and hoped that over the last few months, he'd begun to make up for it.
Fina cried too and held him with surprising strength, for she still trained most days with her bat'leth.
"I'm so glad you came," she whispered. "We would never have made it without you. Mum definitely wouldn't have if she'd had to deal with all those things you took on." She sighed and rested her head against him for a moment. "And you and Meren… you were both so brave. I couldn't have done it," she said, her voice becoming nearly inaudible.
"Of course you could. You're more Klingon than even Meren," her brother was quick to reply.
"No, not really. I understand it, but I couldn't have… But you came, so I wasn't needed."
He put his hands gently on her upper arms and put her a little away from him so she could see him. "Fina, I'll always come. I've always protected you, haven't I? You're my little sister. I might be really far away, but I'll always come no matter how long it takes to get here. I love you, ma chérie. Don't ever doubt it!"
"I won't," she managed to say with a hiccup. "I promise. but I was so scared you'd ignore the message so you wouldn't have to come back here."
"That's all over, Fina," he said with a sniff, hugging her again. He'd hurt his sister too when he'd disappeared. She'd congratulated him on his exam results, and he'd laughed, telling her to pass on his own congratulations to 'Lover Boy' as he'd somewhat scathingly referred to Skonn… and that night, he'd left without even leaving her a note. He'd missed her wedding and the birth of her son, his nephew. No wonder she'd thought he might not come. "He and I are good now. But I came for you and Mama."
"I know you did, but you were here for him too."
He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. He knew in his heart it was true.
The Promenade, Saturday 19th August 2391
The message came to Leandra through channels that were familiar to her, but also probably… definitely… illegal. She'd been doing a little shopping when a rather large, portly man whom, had she been paying proper attention to her surroundings, she could have easily avoided, had bumped into her, causing her to drop her shopping bags and stagger backward under the force of the impact. She'd castigated herself for that afterward; in her line of work, inattention could be deadly. She'd got a little too soft working on this cushy starbase and that was definitely not a good thing.
"Oh, I do apologise." The unknown man bent to help her pick up her things. "I hope I didn't hurt you." As he spoke, he handed her the refilled bag, at the same time, sliding a tiny data chip into her hand. "I'm so sorry." He stepped back and disappeared into the crowd.
A little bemused, Leandra studied the chip before sliding it into the pocket of her jeans and continuing on her way. She stopped at a little café, seated herself at a vacant table on the terrace in a corner where she could see the world going by, and more importantly, where she could be sure she was not being observed. She waited until the waitress had taken her order… "A caramel latte and a ham and cheese croissant, oh, and a glass of water as well, please," before taking out her padd and casually browsing the starbase social media site for a few minutes. She wrote a couple of comments, laughed over a joke someone had posted, and then shared a ridiculous cat meme before sliding the chip into the padd and activating the messaging program.
She frowned as she studied the coding. Whatever message was on this chip had been routed through a surprising number of relays which must have taken it halfway round the galaxy before it had reached its destination and been downloaded onto this tiny device. She'd been right in her initial assessment… definitely illegal. Entering what she hoped was the correct passcode, she waited and after a few, long seconds, it opened. She read the message, read it again, and then a third time, before leaning forward and deleting it. When she had done that, she removed the chip from her padd, dropped it on the floor and crushed it underfoot. She had barely returned to the social network site when the waitress arrived with her drinks.
FedKIN Offices, Starbase 24,
Wednesday 21st August 2391
"NuqneH?" Moragh looked up from his work. "What do you want, Leandra?"
"Money," she said bluntly. "I need credits, a lot of them."
"How much is a lot?"
"She shrugged. "A million or three should do it nicely."
His attention abruptly engaged, he sat up straight, scowling heavily. When she'd said, 'a lot', he'd thought she meant a few thousand at most. "How much? I think you'd better sit down and tell me what's going on."
"I've received a message," Leandra said carefully. It had not been completely welcome, actually, but it had arrived at just the right moment. She'd been thinking about this for a few days now, trying to decide what to do for the best… as though there was any choice! She had come to the starbase to temporarily replace Rhiana and had stayed when Krang had been abducted. Rhiana was back at work now, albeit on light duties, and it would not be much longer before Krang returned to the office. When that happened, it would be time for her to move on. She adored Krang, she really did; and would do anything for him and his family… except work in close quarters with him for a minute longer than she had to. After everything Krang had been through, she didn't think Chrissie would appreciate her murdering him. That it might be the other way round never occurred to her. She trusted Krang completely, and felt safe in his presence, which was not something she would say of just any Klingon – although she was learning to count Moragh in that category as well – but it was a friendship better enjoyed from a distance.
Hiding his impatience, Moragh waited quietly. He had quickly learned that with Leandra, it was best to let her continue at her own pace without hassling her, even if it sometimes felt like trying to get blood out of the proverbial Terran stone.
"I was in process of setting something up before I got asked to come to work at Starbase 24," Leandra continued eventually. "It is loosely connected, actually, with what Rhiana was doing, investigating the child trafficking gangs. It's not just kids, you know, it's women as well that are going missing. With Rhiana's mission being aborted, I really think I should do this now this opportunity on Axxi has arisen. I have the chance to get inside… Don't ask me how," she added, seeing his expression, "because my sources are confidential, and I can't tell you. I'm a mercenary; you already know that. I work for the highest bidder and not everything I do is legal. I've been in prison more than once and I have a reputation in certain areas. I can use that to my advantage."
Despite his training, Moragh could not avoid a grimace of distaste. He knew Axxi by reputation. Effectively the red-light district of the Alpha Quadrant, the so-called pleasure planet was a hotbed of corruption and a known source of credit laundering. Various law enforcement agencies had been watching it for years, but it was not in Federation space, and they had no jurisdiction to act there. Still, it had been a good source of information over the years. "I say this out of concern and not to offend," he said carefully, "But I have always had the impression that you do not like men. Axxi is the sort of place that… well, I am not sure you will tolerate the type of work that is available there for a woman."
She laughed, although she was not at all amused by his far too accurate observation. No, she didn't like men. She didn't like women either come to that. "Oh, don't worry. I won't be doing that type of work. There's a brothel come up for sale, and it's in a good location. I'll go in as an owner/investor, that's why I need the money."
It was indeed a good opportunity and Moragh was all too aware that getting one of his own agents into such a good place on Axxi would be almost impossible. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and it would be stupid to deny her request for aid. Slowly, he nodded. "Very well, consider it done. I will arrange for an Imperial Intelligence field agent's account to be put into your name. It's a Ferengi account, by the way. Our financial experts will make it look as though you've owned the account for years, so you won't have to worry about them wondering where you suddenly got so much money from, or that there will be anything to trace the money back to us. I assume that will be suitable for your needs?"
Despite herself, Leandra was impressed, although she gave no indication. That Moragh was able to throw around such large sums of I.I. money without even blinking was a significant demonstration of his rank and power. Instead of giving him the satisfaction of commenting on that, however, she raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Not FedKIN money?"
"I am primarily an Imperial Intelligence agent," Moragh said, baring his teeth in a wicked grin. "FedKIN are, of course, our close friends and allies, but there is still a… how do you put it… competitive element? We would take a great delight in beating FedKIN to the information and then presenting it to them as a gift."
This time her laughter was genuine. "Oh, you men and your continual games of one-upmanship. Thank you Moragh. I owe you, big time!"
He shook his head, completely serious now. "No, you don't. You are putting yourself at risk; I'm just supplying the funding. Get in there, Leandra, get what you need, and get out again. No messing about, I mean it. Get me the information and leave me to do the rest."
Saturday 24th August 2391
With all her things packed, the apartment that had been Leandra's home for the last four months or so, seemed empty and impersonal. Her luggage had already been sent on to the cruise ship that would take her on the first leg of her journey to Axxi. She'd disembark at Risa, spend a day or two there and then pick up a freighter that would take her the rest of the way.
The potted plants that she'd somehow managed to acquire had been left in the FedKIN offices. She'd thought of giving them to Chrissie, but she didn't want to say goodbye or explain where she was going. She'd rather just slip away quietly. The rest of her belongings, including the purchases she'd made only a few days ago, had been placed into storage on a five-year contract. She had no intention of being gone that long, but if she hadn't returned from Axxi by then, it would be because she was dead.
She sighed. It was her own choice to go, but she was going to miss this place. She'd miss Moragh (although no doubt he'd be returning to I.I. soon), and Rhiana, Kahsil, and several of the other FedKIN agents she'd worked with over the last few months. She might even miss Krang.
Maybe, Leandra thought, she should consider retirement when this mission was over. It might be nice to settle down and take on a permanent, legal job where she could use her skills for good and have a real home. She shook her head, wondering how long it would take for her to get bored out of her mind. People like her did not retire, they just kept on going, taking job after job until one day they made a mistake and it all ended at the point of a phaser or a knife in the back. Put like that, retirement, or at least a change of career, seemed more and more like a good idea.
There were still a couple of hours to kill, but finding she didn't want to stay in the empty room, she decided to do a little last-minute shopping and have a cup of coffee on the promenade at that little café. Picking up the bag that contained the fake documentation that Moragh had arranged for her, she slung it over her shoulder and made her way to the door which obligingly slid open. Fighting the urge to turn back for one last look, she stepped out into the corridor.
A short journey on the turbo-lift took her to the maglev stop, from where it was only a few stops to the promenade and then a couple of hundred paces to the coffee shop. Two lattes, a bit of lunch, and a slice of cake later, she paid her bill and went off to do her shopping. It was almost time to start heading towards the commercial docking bay when she found herself standing outside a florist, admiring the display.
With a rueful grin, Moragh got to his feet. "I rather like those Terran lilies by the way."
"Lilies?"
The memory made her smile. Yes, why not! She would buy him some. It was just a shame she wouldn't be around to see his reaction when he saw the flowers. Going into the shop, she engaged the shopkeeper's attention and asked for a large bouquet of lilies.
"Certainly. How about these ones?" She indicated a bucket full of white lilies, their long, snowy trumpets punctuated by bright orange, pollen-laden stamens. They were pretty but they always made Leandra think of funeral arrangements and so she shook her head.
"Lilies," Moragh said again. "Not those awful, white things, the large, pink ones... I don't know, I'm no botanist, go and look it up."
He might have been telling her what to buy, she thought. "No, he prefers the pink ones." She pointed to the huge display in the window that had caught her attention.
Pale pink lilies, Leandra had discovered, represented elegance, femininity and generosity. The thought made her grin – Moragh would spit feathers if he knew that, and again she regretted that she wouldn't be there when the flowers arrived… although that might not be a bad thing. The darker pink would be more suitable for a Klingon, their meaning being prosperity, abundance and ambition. These flowers contained both shades, the centre of the petals a deep, vivid pink, fading to almost white at the edge. Personally, she was not overfond of lilies, but these ones were beautiful.
"They are perfect," she said. "Could you arrange for a really enormous bunch of them to delivered, please." She gave the address and the name of the recipient. "FedKIN reception, Deck 61, for the attention of Moragh."
"No problem," the woman said cheerfully. "I can deliver them tomorrow if that's okay. Do you want to include a message?"
Leandra thought about that. There was nothing really to say, except… "Yes, why not. No signature, trust me, he'll know who they are from. Just put thank you."
