Tom

ooo

Early November and Miri is still doing well, meaning we can think about other things — like the upcoming holidays.

"Good news," I tell Kate one evening. "B'Elanna's agreed that Miri should finish the school term before we go back to joint custody." Though it goes without saying that Dr. Hibs will have the last word on any arrangements.

"So we'll have her for Christmas then? That's wonderful," and she gives me that I know what you're up to smile. "Is that why you've been teaching her and T'mil to ice skate?"

"Not really; I'd planned to take them to the park's rink in January. But now we can take her into Manhattan to see the displays. She's old enough to skate at the big rink. So are we."

This makes her laugh. "Then I'd better use that program you made. It's been years since I put on skates."

ooo

Another evening she's in her office frowning at something on the vid. She waves me in, and I see that she's looking through a batch of official Starfleet holiday greeting cards.

"Ah, yes, the greeting cards. They're as boring as I remember," I say, which makes her chuckle. "Is this the first year for you?" If memory serves, they're "strongly encouraged" for captains and admirals, though Kate's had a damn good excuse.

"Technically, yes. You know, our last year out there, they sent one of these in the feed," she said with a wave at the vid. "Apparently, they thought I'd send Greetings From the Delta Quadrant."

"That's … ludicrous!"

"No kidding. It's nice that they wanted to keep us in the fold, but no. I diplomatically reminded them that our transmission time was limited, and clogging it with cards would prevent us from communicating with Command. They didn't bother me after that."

"Well, that one doesn't look too stuffy," I suggest as I point to one on the screen. She looks it over and shrugs. "Why not?" she says as she makes the choice. As she changes the signature to "Admiral Kathryn E. Janeway and family," I get an idea.

"We should do a family card," I tell her. "An image of the three of us and Molly." She quirks an eyebrow. "You know Miri will want the cat, too."

"I don't know how that's going to work," I admit. "But there's a photography studio near the pier. I'll give them a call."

ooo

Kathryn

ooo

It's 0550 and I'm nursing my first cup of coffee while I get dressed. I could use another hour of rest, though our "late night" was definitely worth losing sleep over.

I just make it downstairs when the vid goes off: It's Scott Archadi on a Daystrom address code. Odd: Our workday begins at 0700, but Scott and I follow Starfleet practice, meaning we show up by 0645 at the latest.

He looks as tired as I feel. "My apologies, Admiral. Is this a secure line?" I shake my head. "All right. There's something you need to see. I'll explain when you get here. And Reseil is already here."

Oh boy. "I'll be there shortly. Put on the coffee, will you?"

His grin reminds me of Tom. Already taken care of, Admiral."

ooo

Twenty minutes later, I'm nursing another cup of coffee in the lab while I study images on the big screen. "It looks like Romulan data," I admit. "The language and format are similar."

"True," Scott agrees, "but the transmission and originating codes were wiped. Which is why Daystrom communications called me at 0430. Someone went to a lot of trouble to cover their tracks."

I raise an eyebrow, but Scott anticipates what I'm going to ask. "Daystrom ran it through their security scan. I've run it through ours. Far as we can tell, it's clean, but Daystrom's security folks set it up on an isolation grid to be safe."

"If that's real, then we've been given quite a gift," I say. "However, I won't rule out the possibility of a hoax or a deliberate attempt to mislead. Let's run it against our databases for any matches."

In the meantime, a couple of people will get a wake-up call.

ooo

Within a half-hour, Nechayev arrives. I wonder if she sleeps: I called at 0345 San Francisco time, and she was up and dressed. Dr. Pakell is here, too, going over the scans with Reseil and other members of the Daystrom team.

Nechayev murmurs a "Thank you, Kathryn," when I hand her a mug of coffee, then smiles at my shock. "To paraphrase Clancy, it's too f***ing early to do protocol," she says.

"So, to be clear," she says as she turns to the screen. "An unknown source has sent what looks to be recent scans of the Romulan sun." We nod, and the questions start.

"Do we know it's Romulan?"

"We're running it against the first scans, and against all the transmissions we've received from Romulus over the years," Dr. Pakell says. "So far, the formats match."

"They do resemble our most recent scans. Do we know when they were taken?"

"Time stamps have been altered," I reply. "We're running it against our database, and right now, the computer is citing similarities to what the Vulcans sent six months ago."

"I will mention that these scans are excellent," Reseil breaks in. "We're seeing the sun from a position that we can't get through the Neutral Zone. The resolution here," she continues, pointing to an area below the sun, "is far better than ours. We now have far more detail about these emission points."

"What assurance do we have that this is from a reputable source?"

"At the moment, none," Pakell admits. "But we do have friends in the scientific community there. I suspect they are aware of the news reports, and at least one of them knows that the government has tried to mislead us. It's possible someone is risking their life to tell the truth."

"Whoever it is is very good. It takes sophisticated skills to force through a transmission without origination codes. That bothers me. We need to be on the lookout for Tal Shiar involvement," she says gravely, then quirks an eyebrow at me. "I assume it's too early to use it for timeline predictions."

"Until I know what it is, it's not going near the live database," I say. "But I intend to run it against a copy of our scans for the past six to eight months. The results should give us an idea of accuracy … and intent."

She nods. "All right. I'll alert Admiral Bordson, and he can take it from there. Admiral, please make arrangements for Intelligence to study a sample of those scans; they usually know a few things we don't. And E-Corps' security team should look at them, too."

She takes a breath. "We don't want to overreact here, but until we're sure the Tal Shiar or some other player isn't involved, we need to ramp up security."

"Our engineering security team is working with Captain Archadi's team," Pakell assures her.

Nechayev nods. "I will respectfully suggest that you also ask for extra security around the building."

ooo

"I've ordered in breakfast from the cafeteria," I say after the meeting breaks up. "You're welcome to join me, though I will warn you that the menu is limited."

She looks grateful. "That would be very kind, thank you. My replicator is on the blink, and it seems that routine repair orders are backed up." She pauses for a moment. "I would like some yogurt if it's available."

"That we can do," I assure her.

ooo

To my surprise, we had a nice, non-Starfleet chat over breakfast. Well, almost non-Starfleet: She updated me on the new displays in the campus gardens.

We'd just started another cup of coffee when she changes gears. She sits back and appraises me over her mug.

"Do you think these scans are real?"

"My gut reaction is yes. But I'm not about to take them at face value."

She quirks a smile. "You wouldn't be sitting here if you did, I suspect."

Little do you know, Admiral. I lob a question of my own. "What makes you so sure that Tal Shiar is involved?"

"I can't say that I am sure," she volleys back. "But my friends in Intelligence have told me a few things, such as the Tal Shiar wasn't surprised when the Romulan government sent us outdated information. However, they were surprised when we didn't publicly call them on it. They wanted us to do their dirty work and embarrass the Senate, especially the Praetor."

And why am I just now hearing this? "You think this transmission may be an attempt to rope us in?"

"It's possible. Recent information suggests that they're concocting a new plan to weaken the Praetor's influence in the Senate." She pauses. "If it's true, it's also not unreasonable to assume that if we don't publicly respond this time, they may force the issue."

Now I'm alarmed. "Are we talking violence?"

"If you're asking why I suggested extra security to Dr. Pakell, that's just basic caution. Daystrom has excellent security at their major research labs, but this building isn't one of them." She smiles, which doesn't make me feel any better.

"At the moment,' she continues, "there's no need to scare your neighbors with a security detail. People are still jumpy. From what we know of Tal Shiar methods, political pressure is more likely, though I wouldn't rule out sabotage."

She starts to push away from the table. "Now that I've ruined your morning," she quips. "Thank you for the hospitality; I truly appreciate it," she says with a warm smile. "I … and a fair number of others will be very interested in what your mock timeline run produces. Once we know, we can plan our response."

I start to rise, and she waves me off. "I can see myself out. But I will appropriate one of those umbrellas I saw at the door. If the forecast is correct, it will be raining in San Francisco."

Scott must have been waiting for Nechayev to leave; he pokes his head in the door shortly afterward. "Out of curiosity, did your breakfast disagree with you or was it the conversation?"

That obvious, eh? "Part of the conversation wasn't bad, but most of it definitely induced some indigestion," I admit.

He just nods. "I'll have the clinic send over a code for antacids. I think we're all going to need them."