About half an hour had elapsed since Tw'eak had concluded her conversation with Octavia. She had made her way back to the conference room on Deck One, partly because she wanted to be nearby when any updates came from Boreth below, but also partly because that was where the katheka was.

It hadn't taken her long to make herself a cup, and settle into a chair. She knew better than to hope for actual respite until the mission was done, and years of service had taught her the importance of letting a crew get on with their daily routine by getting out of their way. Octavia's crew knew enough to be able to manage the crisis of the moment along with the regular demands of maintenance cycles and standard procedures.

And there was katheka. Lots of it, as it turned out - enough to last her for months. This, at least, solved one of her problems if this Klingon business took a while to sort out. She'd at least have plenty of her beverage of choice, ready to hand. Contemplating how much of it was habit and how much of it was addiction was interrupted by Bianca's voice. "duBois to Sh'abbas."

"Go ahead, Bianca."

"Admiral, we've... got a bit of a situation."

Tw'eak smiled broadly. "We get a lot of those."

"It's not really our situation, though. I have Admiral Downey on the Australia asking to discuss it with you."

"Patch it through to the conference room."

"Request permission to join you there?"

Tw'eak gave a nod. "Do you want to discuss anything with me before I take the call?"

There was a moment of silence. "I'll be right in."

Tw'eak had only just turned her chair away from the window, towards the door to the bridge, when Bianca came through. "So, here we are."

"I'm sorry, Admiral. I didn't realize you were just..."

Tw'eak smiled, intentionally warming towards Bianca. "This may as well be my duty station for the time being. Besides, can't fault a lady for enjoying the view."

Bianca blushed slightly. "No, I get it. But this is just... weird. And I didn't want to say anything in front of the crew."

"Let's hear it."

"Admiral Downey's going to ask to speak to you about the starship Trondheim. It's a Norway-class ship, on patrol in the Donatu sector until recently."

"And why is that of concern?"

"Her captain has recently resigned his commission and turned over command to his XO."

"Now that is unusual. For no reason?"

"Not exactly. Bianca sat down next to Tw'eak, anxious. "I know her captain, ma'am. We were at the Academy together, you see. He, uh... I don't know how much this is going to help, but he was one of those cadets you just knew was going to do great things."

"He's made captain. But then, so have you - maybe you're not in command right now, but I wouldn't let that bother you. You've still done many great things."

"It's not about that - you see... I don't expect you to remember, but when I first came aboard ship, I was in a relationship?"

"You're trying to tell me that this captain is your ex-boyfriend?"

Bianca pursed her lips and nodded. "One of them, yeah. I'm so embarrassed."

"Commander." Tw'eak smiled and patted Bianca on the arm. "You're allowed to have a life outside of your uniform."

"I'm just - it doesn't make any sense. He's the kind of guy who lives for Starfleet. A real 'by the book' type. And I'm worried about why he'd just suddenly decide to quit, now, with his ship still on station."

"Does Admiral Downey know any of this?"

"I don't know her nearly as well as you, so no, I didn't really feel like getting into all this with her."

Tw'eak nodded. "Let me see what she has to say. And I'll let you know."

"Can I - I mean, I know it's not exactly protocol, but if I could talk to him, maybe he'd be more willing to talk to someone who knows him."

"You're right, it's not exactly protocol." Tw'eak gave Bianca a sideways glance. "Personal question for you."

"Yeah?" Bianca squeaked.

"Who broke it off?"

A sigh swelled so strongly from Bianca that Tw'eak worried she might faint.

"So he did," she quipped.

"Yeah," Bianca affirmed sadly. "I was willing to do the long-distance thing, halfway across the galaxy, if that was what he wanted. But it wasn't." She shrugged. "I mean, looking back, I think he was trying to do the right thing - he was all about doing the right thing - but I mean... we all have someone where we ask 'what might have been', right?"

"In my case, legions of them," Tw'eak said with a smile.

"But you and Captain Shon are still together, aren't you?"

"Yes. But he lost his family to the Borg. And I never had a bond group of my own to lose. There were people in both of our lives that we could've been happy with, along the way, maybe forever. It's not how it worked out."

"No. And I mean, I got over it, don't get me wrong, just... this doesn't sound right. Something about it feels off, based on what I know."

"I get it." Tw'eak gave Bianca a reassuring look.

A voice sounded from overhead. "Bridge to Admiral Sh'abbas."

Tw'eak squinted at Bianca. "Is that Ultra or Invicta?" she whispered.

Bianca closed an eye in consideration. Then she tapped her ears, hinting at Invicta's Romulan ancestry.

"Go ahead, Subcommander."

There was a brief pause. "This is Commander Ultra, ma'am."

"Apologies, Commander." Tw'eak glared at Bianca, who waved a hand in apology. "Please go ahead."

"I have Admiral Downey holding on subspace for you."

"Ah yes. My apologies. I'm ready for her now." Bianca pointed to the door, but Tw'eak motioned for her to stay put. "Put her through."

The screen behind Tw'eak blinked to life, showing Vice Admiral Emlyn Downey onboard her flagship. Tw'eak spun her chair around with unintentional dramatic flair to face her. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Emlyn."

"It's alright. Has miss Ultra filled you in?"

"The Trondheim," Tw'eak confirmed. "What's the situation?"

"I've been contacted by her senior officer to advise me that her captain's resigned his commission. As you're my senior officer, I thought I should bring it to your attention."

"I appreciate that," Tw'eak replied. No sense playing the but I'm retired card at this point in the conversation. "They may not have realized I'm here, since Warspite is under cloak."

"That was my impression." Downey looked at a display on her desk quickly. "In fact... well, would you look at that."

Outside the window, a flash of light in the distance was visible. Bianca looked up at it. "Admiral - admirals," she observed.

"Yep," Downey remarked. "That'd be the Trondheim. Right on schedule."

"What are they doing here?" Tw'eak mused.

"Fulfilling their captain's last order - to bring the ship to the nearest admiral and await further instructions." Downey grinned. "You should answer your hails sooner next time."

"Noted. I'll contact them now. Sh'abbas out." Tw'eak gave a slight nod to Bianca, who had already brought up the subspace communications controls for the viewscreen. As Bianca cut the call to the Australia, Tw'eak took a breath. The screen came to life, showing the Federation emblem for a moment before connecting to a flaxen-haired Tellarite officer wearing a commander's rank, standing alone in the conference room of the Trondheim. "Greetings. I am Admiral Twaiheak Sh'abbas, currently aboard the starship Warspite."

"Commander Dov bim Hamsa - acting captain Dov bim Hamsa, actually." Hamsa crossed her arms behind her back. "I'm surprised to see it's you I'm reporting to, Admiral. I thought you'd retired."

"So did I. But I am presently the senior admiral in-system. Your presence in the Boreth system needs to be time-limited, as we're currently monitoring a developing situation on the planet below."

"I understand, and regret needing to arrive unexpectedly. I would like to request permission to return to our patrols now that we have reported in."

Tw'eak smiled diplomatically. "This is an extraordinary situation, Commander. I think you can appreciate my need to have a few questions answered before you go - especially as your now-former captain is still aboard."

"We can arrange for him to be transferred to another ship if you'd like." The commander's eyes blinked. "Yours, or the Australia. Doesn't matter."

Tw'eak could hear Bianca take a sharp breath behind her. "You'll forgive me, Commander, but... your lack of sympathy is rather unusual."

"Oh, I have plenty of sympathy, Admiral. It's just not for our, as you say, now-former captain. In fact, I've never heard of such a foolish decision in all my life."

"Help me to understand, then - what is the nature of his resignation?"

While it may seem stereotypical to apply the term 'snorted' to a Tellarite's response, it aptly describes the noise Hamsa made. She snorted at Tw'eak's question. "The 'nature' of his resignation could be called 'human nature', of a sort. You see, the captain insists that he's disgraced his uniform."

"That's quite a thing to say."

"It would help if he'd stop saying it," Hamsa replied with characteristic Tellarite abruptness. "He hasn't done anything of the sort."

Tw'eak half-smiled, looking at Bianca, before she continued. "You have me at a disadvantage here, Commander. I'd really like to know what we're talking about before I accept or reject anyone's judgment of the situation."

"The captain... went to Risa, on leave. Met a woman. She claimed to be a princess or something. Some far-distant part of the galaxy she called home. He falls for it, after which ...you know." Hamsa gave a chuckle. "It's Risa. Of course they did. And then it turns out that she's pregnant." A pause. "The day after."

Tw'eak's antennae angled inwards, confused. "That's... not how it usually works."

"Not in any sentient species we've ever heard of, either. Our chief medical officer assured him of that. But he insisted that she wouldn't be lying about that. That she needed his help - that she had disappeared, or was about to disappear. We're not sure exactly what she was trying to con him out of, but he fell for it."

"Oh, God," Tw'eak heard from her left.

Tw'eak turned to face Bianca, who held her head in her hands. She looked back to Hamsa without addressing the commander's despairing remark. "Has the captain committed any specific acts that would be considered a dereliction of duty? Perhaps a breach of classified material? Tried to sneak her onboard?"

"Nothing of the sort. We've checked. And our ship's counselor has verified that he's more upset about what could have happened to her, and this supposed child of theirs, than anything else." Hamsa made a noise partway between a chuckle and a guffaw. "I mean, it's Risa. You're supposed to have a good time. But our captain just found the wrong person to have it with, it seems."

"And that's why he's resigned his commission."

"Mm-hmm. Has he embarrassed himself? Surely. And I'm sure he'd like for us all to forget this little escapade of his, but I can see his point in resigning. This is the kind of dunce move that becomes talked about among lower-decks personnel across the fleet. The junior officers and enlisted personnel aren't likely to respect someone who's this desperately gullible."

Tw'eak smiled. "Captains are held to higher standards."

"Exactly." The viewer shifted slightly, and Tw'eak watched Hamsa react to the scene. "Admiral... sorry to interrupt, but our sensors are detecting a series of energy vortices forming in-system."

Tw'eak looked at Bianca. "I'll see what I can find out," the commander replied as she left for the bridge.

"Stand by, Commander. We'll investigate this further, and once we've figured out what's going on. I'll be in touch."

"It was an honour to make your acquaintance, Admiral." Hamsa gave a quick nod. "I look forward to hearing from you. Trondheim out."

Tw'eak didn't get a chance to reply before the red-alert klaxon sounded. "Warspite out," she quickly acknowledged, then headed for the bridge.