The video feed of the conversation played out on the holo-viewer in the centre of the table, overlaid on a tactical map of the area around the planet.

Chancellor J'mpok aboard IKS Kri'stak: So... you have joined forces with the Mo'Kai barbarian, eh? You would stand against me, and the Empire? So be it. I will give you all a traitor's death!

Captain Eight of Twelve aboard USS Warspite: The only traitor here is you, Chancellor. How could you?

off-screen voice: Multiple ships warping in, Captain!

-AFS Khitomer, IKS Bortasqu' and USS Enterprise arrive-

Captain Kagran, AFS Khitomer: We came as fast as we could. I need a situation report... what is going on here?

Captain Eight of Twelve: Captain Kagran, we require-

Chancellor J'mpok: Be silent! Captain Kagran, these traitors have betrayed the Alliance. They have joined House Mo'Kai and launched an attack on Khitomer. You can see the results... none have survived. They must pay for their crimes, Captain. Arrest them - at once!

Tw'eak shook her head. "Pause playback." She took a look at the screen. The playback still had twelve minutes and forty-seven seconds to run. "That was when you engaged Alliance forces."

"Yes. Regrettably, we were forced to disable both the Khitomer and the Enterprise."

"But not the Bortasqu'?" Sassil demanded.

"Negative," Invicta replied. "Captain Koren sided with us. She has since returned to the Empire, and has assured us she will do what she can."

Ultra continued. "For this betrayal, the captain and crew of the starship Warspite are now deemed enemies of the Klingon Empire."

"And wanted by Starfleet. This is why you were under cloak, then."

Ultra nodded. "J'mpok would no doubt be willing to pay very well to ensure that this vessel and all record of his crime are destroyed."

"We transferred a copy of our records to the Lukara before they departed. But they will be dismissed out of hand as forgeries." Invicta gave a pointed glance to Sassil. "This is why we are here."

"To acquire more convincing forgeries?" Sassil snarked.

"No," Ultra replied without a trace of being affected by Sassil's tone. "One of the last remaining Mo'Kai, a Klingon by the name of Adet'pa, has contacts among the Nimbosian underworld. She required their assistance in gaining access to a - secure Imperial facility."

There was a pause. "And where is this facility located?" Sassil demanded.

"We were not given that information," Ultra replied.

"LIES!" Sassil slammed the table. "Answer me or I shall rend you both into spare parts!"

"Sassil, please." Tw'eak raised a hand. "Let me handle this."

"But this taHqeq would have me believe-"

"I'm their superior officer. They know they cannot lie to me without risk of ending their careers - careers they're clearly fond of, serving a captain who commands their loyalty." Tw'eak intentionally chose her words, aware that both of the xB officers were listening. "They're telling us the truth."

"That is correct." Ultra remained placid in the face of Sassil's threats. "We have no cause to lie to the admiral." She looked plainly at Sassil, repeating, "no cause."

"Do we have anything to go on? A ship name, or a contact?" Tw'eak shrugged. "Even a communication record?"

"Not onboard this ship," Ultra replied. "That information would solely be accessible aboard the Lukara."

"Great. So we got this far... and now-"

"Bridge to Ultra."

Ultra tapped her commbadge. "Ultra."

"Commander, we've just received a coded message from the captain. She's requesting retrieval. Message was sent from... the Gorath system, ma'am."

Sassil's fists fell into her lap. "The Gorath system lies in Klingon space!"

"Is that where the secure facility would be?"

"No - it is a stronghold of the House of Torg."

"But Torg is no more," Ultra stated. "Martok slew Torg in combat after his escape from imprisonment."

Sassil began to nod, with increasing vigour. "Then the house's assets would fall to the Empire's possession." She raised an eyebrow and looked to Tw'eak. "J'mpok strikes quickly indeed."

"Also, we've received an important update from Starfleet Command," the bridge officer continued.

"Please read it out to us, Lieutenant," Ultra ordered.

"Starfleet Intelligence reports the Klingon High Council has been dismissed on the order of... what the hell?"

Ultra arched an eyebrow. Tw'eak smiled softly - the commander reminded her of how Octavia frequently did the same thing. "Lieutenant," she corrected.

"Sorry, ma'am. It refers to an 'Emperor J'mpok', but that can't be right."

Sassil's fists found the table again.

"He strikes really quickly," Bianca joked.

"Re-engage our cloaking device and proceed to Gorath at maximum warp," Ultra ordered, then looked to Tw'eak, her soft-shaded eyepatch fluttering slightly as she did. "With your approval, Admiral."

"Let's do this," Tw'eak replied.

Several tense hours, and two cups of katheka later, Tw'eak remained where she had been during the briefing, seated at the head of the table. Both Sassil and Bianca had gone off to secure quarters aboard (Bianca having been disappointed to learn that her old quarters were presently in use), but Tw'eak had spent so much time on this deck of the ship over the years that it still felt like home. An empty home, to be sure, with only one of those officers whom she had served among still onboard - one she had brought with her, as well.

This crisis was threatening to spiral out of control. If the Klingon houses splintered as a result of J'mpok's unexpected grab for power, it could result in civil war. Or worse - if the great houses splintered, with the whole Council no longer a factor, this could be the divergence point of the Empire into a series of factions - or the Empire itself unfurled, with the Gorn, Nausicaans and other vassal states deciding to take their (admittedly deserved) chance at regaining sovereignty and independence for themselves. It wasn't the fear of those people re-acquiring self-determination that concerned her, it was the instability and score-settling that was sure to follow, much like after the Romulan Star Empire had collapsed.

The door to the conference room opened, admitting Bianca to re-join Tw'eak. "We're about ten minutes out," she remarked.

"Thank you." She shook her head. "Any other big news in the meantime? Maybe the Borg Queen's abdicated."

Bianca laughed. "If she had, I'd be sure to let you know." She sat next to Tw'eak. "It was quite a surprise to see you again, y'know."

"Shouldn't have been. I might be officially retired, but nobody messes with my homeworld."

"I know the feeling. I remember when Earth was attacked-"

"Which time?" Tw'eak asked with a little sparkle in her eye.

"Fair point. The last one - the Iconians. I still don't understand how we survived that."

"The only thing that saved us was luck. That and the ability to time-travel when they themselves couldn't."

"Yeah. But as bad as it was, there was never a point where I felt like I could do anything about it. Meaningfully, I mean." Bianca looked out the window. "I was just a passenger, really."

"You've also had a chance since then to prove yourself."

"Yeah, and made a right mess of it."

Tw'eak smiled and nodded. "I'll skip the discussion of temporal mechanics, for your sake."

"God, thank you." Bianca put her head in her hands. "Every time, 'rora goes over it again with me - and she thinks she's helping. I just wish I knew-" She cut off mid-sentence, head still in her hands. "Never mind."

Tw'eak let a moment of quiet pass before she continued. "Know how I did it?"

Bianca looked up at Tw'eak, surprised. "Ma'am?"

"That's the question you're going to ask me, right? How did I get through it without causing anyone's star to collapse?" She waved a hand. "Or whatever happened with the Na'Kuhl."

"Those people are out there, all over the timeline, hunting and hating us - it's not just something you can... hand-wave away."

Tw'eak kept waving her hand, as if to clear a stench. "Whatever."

"You don't understand - my guilt over that... my shame."

"Well, now that I do understand. You had a promising career, command of your own - not just a passenger anymore." Tw'eak made her hand into a ball. "And then - poof." Her hand opened as if it exploded.

"Yeah. Poof." Bianca shook her head, sadly. "Na'Kuhl kids are going cold and hungry because I couldn't solve their star's ignition problem."

"It wasn't a fair test of your abilities." Tw'eak put her hand on Bianca's lap. "That's what it was. Kobayashi Maru."

"But you - you've faced all kinds of those. The Borg weren't fair. The Undine, the Iconians... You - and Captain Shon, Captain Nog... Commander Jarok... you all made such a definite impact. One Kobayashi Maru after another, no sweat."

"I don't know about that. We may simply not have seen all of the ramifications of those decisions yet." She shrugged. "Remember that mission we undertook to the Romulus system? Maybe that Krenim device played with more than we realized. There's a version of this where the Na'Kuhl kids all get plenty to eat, right up until the day the Iconians enslave them. Or destroy them."

"It... God, Admiral. That's horrifying."

"I know. But those ramifications play out like that sometimes. Like it or not, for one end of the universe to end up on top, someone else has to get tipped over. We try to compromise, to work with everyone for the best result - universally optimal, we like to say. But it can't be universal - not truly so. And sometimes it's your turn to get tipped over, under the sharp end of things."

Bianca shook her head. "I just... didn't want this."

"No, but maybe - think of it this way - maybe it sets you on the path to a different kind of 'greater things'. I know it seems like 'starship captain' is the only form of greatness available in Starfleet, but I would've been utterly lost without a very capable and talented crew. You need the right people in every role, even if those 'right people' don't always get it right. I had exactly the people I needed to get through that alive. And now - I mean here, right now - maybe I do again."

There was a quiet moment in the conference room as Bianca tried to figure out how to respond. The comms system chimed in and broke the silence.

"Admiral?" It was the voice of Ultra. "We have arrived in the Gorath system."

Tw'eak gave a nod to Bianca and sprang from her chair. "Let's go."