Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own neither Star Trek nor Harry Potter. I am merely swimming in their pond with this work of non-profit fiction.

Last Time:

Three hours later, the USS Cerritos warped away from Earth with three extra people on board.

oOoOo

Harry stepped out of the Klingon version of a sonic shower and sighed. Despite their many sterling qualities the Klingons really needed to have a setting somewhere below painful for their showers.

He had just started to sit on his small bunk when his door buzzed, "Enter."

The door slid open to show Emma standing in the corridor.

"Hi Harry," said Emma as she stepped in, allowing the door to close behind her. She hugged Harry and kissed him on the lips. Which turned into a rather spirited and passionate kiss that left both teens breathless.

"Wow…um not that I'm complaining but what brought that on?" asked Harry.

"L'kor and Korva implied that I should be more…straightforward," replied Emma with a grin.

Harry rolled his eyes, "And here's me heading off for an engineering shift."

"You'll live…and there is always time to catch up after your shift," replied Emma with a wink.

"Well, I don't know if…" He was interrupted by the comm unit next to his bunk indicating a call.

"Potter here," acknowledged Harry.

"Harry is Emma there with you?" asked Sirius.

"She is, why, what's up?" asked Harry.

"There is a call for us, from the Enterprise. You two need to come to the bridge," replied Sirius.

oOoOo

USS Enterprise – Captains Ready Room

"Sir, we have a coded priority message coming in from Admiral Freeman."

"I'll take it here," ordered Picard as he exchanged a glance with Culloven who moved slightly, to be out of sight.

"Ah Jean-Luc, it has been a while, Captain."

"It has indeed, three years I think, Sir."

Alonzo Freeman slowly nodded, "Are you free to speak Captain?"

"I am," Picard didn't even glance at Culloven.

"Is Bryce there with you?" Alonzo asked with a faint smile. "I've been speaking to a mutual old friend, Rita."

Culloven moved into view, "Alonzo."

"Glad I guessed right. Before you ask, Rita and Lu are fine, but it was a close thing. Something is rotten and I intend to find out just what is going on and who they have infiltrating us. I've sent Rita out to join you and your little squadron. I'm not sure who it was that went after Rita but it sure as hell looked like Intelligence or one of their shadowy units. They had a portable beam scattering field on the roof. They are not exactly sitting around. Rita tells me that they were making some unpleasant threats. There is no way the JAG would approve of what's happening and I have heard nothing about any of this from the operations side either. No matter what, we need to put a stop to this."

"And Harry, Sirius and Emma? Not to mention the others with the genetic marker?" Culloven asked the Admiral.

"If they are with the Klingons…they should be safe now that the Klingons have been warned. This could go bad so be judicious Bryce, you too Jean-Luc." The Admiral paused and then continued. "Carol is bringing them in on the Cerritos. She's been briefed in, so you have her as well."

"This might be difficult to hide this many ships being noticed, Sir," offered Culloven.

Alonzo Freeman grinned, "You will all be going dark as you look into Orion syndicate activity among the merchant fleet. Believe me it's a cover that will hold up for a while. I'll cut the orders myself."

"Thank you," Culloven replied with some relief.

"Although you might want to prepare yourself Bryce, Beckett is on the Cerritos"

Bryce winced, "I've still got the emotional scars."

"One last thing Bryce, the young woman, Emma Kelly. I looked into her situation through a contact in records. She has no living relatives and her parents listed an old friend to be her guardian. George Sambos died two weeks ago when he crashed an orbital glider. I had been worried that our adversaries might try some sort of grab for her. The Klingons giving her sanctuary and a blood adoption…well, it might give child services an ulcer but I think it will hold up to scrutiny. There is precedent on both sides."

"Was it an accident?" Picard asked with a frown.

The Admiral slowly nodded, "As near as I can tell it was. There was a lot of media and political interest so the investigation was pretty well supported. Technical equipment failure was the verdict."

Picard nodded, expression serious, "I will let Miss Kelly know."

oOoOo

IKS Kaveth Nar – Bridge

D'Mek glared at Culloven, "You understand what our response will be if Starfleet pushes this, Commodore?"

Culloven nodded, "I do, I'd normally expect that I'd be court-martialled on dereliction of duty charges for telling you. I've spread the word to officers I trust but with what these bastards can do…Well, I am not going to just sit on my hands for this."

"You are an honourable man. Does Picard know?" asked D'Mek.

Culloven smiled grimly, "He does, and he agrees with me that we must get to the bottom of this. Luckily so does my contact in the admiralty. We will act as an escort…better two ships than one. That leaves the Enterprise and the Shepparton to go after these people."

"And you trust this other Captain?" D'Mek asked bluntly.

"I've known Carol for twenty years. The Cerritos is a small ship, but it has a good crew. I'd send all three ships with you but that will attract the wrong sort of attention," explained Culloven.

D'Mek accepted the offered help with a nod.

"Until we've stopped whoever is behind this you will potentially be at risk.Emma, Sirius and Harry, I apologise that right now I can't do more. I hope that you will be safe with protected by the Klingons. I promise that we'll do all we can to find out who is behind this quickly."

"Thank you," replied Sirius.

"The Cerritos should be contacting you shortly to organise a rendezvous."

D'Mek grunted, "Let us not waste this warning, D'Mek out."

oOoOo

USS Enterprise – Captains Ready Room

Picard looked out his window as the IKS Kaveth Nar turned and went to warp, "Our new 'orders' have just arrived."

Culloven nodded, his expression grim, "I'll wear it if this goes bad Jean-Luc. Make sure your logs reflect that."

Picard frowned as he considered his superior, "I am not entirely comfortable with this."

"Alonzo is right, something is going on and we need to drag it into the open. They were operating in the dark before. Let them come at us now and we'll force them into the light."

"Indeed, I'll talk to those among the senior officers. I trust all of them," said Picard.

Culloven smiled, "Thank you…now we have a lot to do Captain."

oOoOo

USS Cerritos

Captain Carol Freeman sat at the conference room table looking at her senior officers with a fair bit of trepidation. Their quickly laid-on mission was a sham. Rather than a simple second contact it was a dangerous mission where the enemy could well have Starfleet Intelligence compromised…if not more. Her husband had made it clear that this was important, perhaps one of the most dangerous missions she'd ever been a part of. It was thrilling but also terrifying.

She trusted her crew, they got the job done, unorthodox and frustrating as they sometimes were. Jack raised an eyebrow at her…he was curious about the mission and their guests. Admirals didn't often travel aboard Cali-class ships.

"I wanted to explain why I am about to order a course change. We are not going to Pharax Three. Instead, we will be transporting our guests to rendezvous with a Klingon ship. This is both a time-critical mission and one that is, for now, off the books."

Jack looked intrigued, "We are not going to be working with the Enterprise?"

Carol shook her head, "The Admiral has a full briefing but from what Admiral Freeman told me there have been incidents that have raised all sorts of concerns. The Enterprise and the Shepparton will be chasing them down. Our role is to support the Klingons and several civilians. We are going to be the liaison between the Starfleet and the Klingons. I know some of it and believe me when I say that this is going to be dangerous and more than likely it's worse than what I know."

Shaxs frowned, "What do we know?"

Carol told them what she knew and watched the suddenly worried expressions form. "We will get a full briefing soon but for now I want everyone to be thinking about what your departments need."

Admiral Collins duly arrived and delivered a briefing that left the Cerritos officers looking stunned.

"I understand that this is a very irregular situation," finished the Admiral. "But this entire situation is difficult, and I don't doubt dangerous. People have died and we are dealing with an infiltration situation. We will be acting as liaisons with the Klingons and helping protect the three civilians from any elements that might endanger them. Effectively once we start this mission we go dark and try to keep the persons of interest safe."

"And besides the Romulan factor, that could mean safe from Starfleet elements," Carol added with a frown.

"Potentially," admitted the Admiral. "These empowered individuals have little reason to trust us. And so far, we haven't progressed as well as I'd expect with understanding how to defend against their abilities. Thankfully Black and Potter have assisted but even with their help, we need more research. The Klingons have also been trying to figure out how their abilities work and they've had some success. That's where we come in. Lucy and I will be based on the Cerritos working with the science and engineering teams. Lieutenant Commander Rull will be assisting Lieutenant Shaxs with enhancing security based on what the Klingons and the Enterprise has shared with us. The last group will be acting as a mixed security, engineering and science team working directly with the Klingons. So questions, comments?"

"There have always been stories about the intelligence side of Starfleet running amok but this…they were experimenting on humans!" Jack exclaimed as he shot his captain a worried look.

"It is a gravely concerning situation, which is why they want us acting as liaisons with them and the Klingons and providing another layer of protection," explained the Admiral. "While we do that, the other ships will be working to uncover what the hell is happening with the Romulans and Starfleet. Commodore Culloven has an in with the Romulan government and he intends to try a get some unofficial assistance."

"Can we trust the Romulans on this?" Carol questioned the Admiral.

"Culloven reported that during their previous encounter, the Romulans were concerned about the situation. He suspects that they might have feared they had been infiltrated or at least compromised in some fashion."

"So maybe they'll help or maybe they'll sit back and try and take advantage," mused Carol.

Admiral Collins nodded, "I think the same, guess we will have to see what happens. For now, we work with the Klingons."

"I would have thought that the Klingons would not welcome a Starfleet presence," Shaxs mused out loud. There have been some issues of late.

Rull's antennae twitched as he answered, "This D'Mek is a career fleet officer. Well regarded in their Defence Force. His ship has a reputation for producing good fleet officers. From what Captain Picard reported he is already cooperating and has the blessing of the KDF and High Council."

"Given the situation, I am surprised that Black, Kelly and Potter are willing to work with us at all," Commander T'Ana said with a frown. The deaths on the Enterprise had included medical staff she knew. Good people that would be missed.

"I am thankful that they are willing. Let's hope that the Klingon high command thinks the same."

oOoOo