Captain’s Log Supplemental. With the arrival of the Klingon force there has been tension across the ship. Many fear what the Klingons are doing out here and worry if they may be the first causality in another long war. But the arrival of the USS Lincoln has relieved some of that worry. Captain Cadye has launched the Lincoln‘s fighter complement and a show of force but the Klingons remain unmoved. On the somewhat bright side the arrival of a Gagarin-class has distracted the crew from their worries, especially our Chief Engineer. Nevertheless the less we move forward with providing assistance to the Viridian’s Grace. I’m sure the party that Lieutenant Reno has put together on short notice might give everyone a chance to relax and take a breath. As well as get answers.

“Commander. I’m inclined to agree with Lieutenant Zolath,” T’Soni said as she walked to the right of Nitus. “We shouldn’t have invited the Orions on-board. This dinner or…party rather is a waste of time and we are putting the ship at risk.”

Nitus walked as she listened to her chief of security and executive officer explain their disagreement with their current move. Something she is not surprised about and a position she doesn’t outright oppose. If the roles were switched she would be saying the same thing they are. But she also knew she had a secret mission of her own. Then her curiosity peaked when she realized that her chief counselor was being unsettling quite throughout this whole conversation. “Ms. Reno,” she said as she slowed her pace to a crawl. “You have been offly quiet. Do you disagree with Mr. Zolath and Ms. T’Soni?”

“No, ma’am. I do not,” Reno responded. Nitus as well as T’Soni and Zolath stopped walking immediately, turning to look at the young half-Betazoid. Intrigued on how she was okay with their current conversation regarding their guests. “That doesn’t mean I entirely agree.”

“Elaborate.”

“It’s as Lieutenant Zolath and Commander T’Soni stated this puts the crew at risk. Just this year we invited pirates unknowingly onto the ship and they detonated a bomb in one of the nacelles.” she said, looking at each of them as she spoke. As she did they realized where she was coming from. Reno is a half-Betazoid which means she can’t read minds but she can also sense others emotions. So the incident that she spoke about, although it happened a few months ago she was affected more than others because she was able to feel all of their pain at one time.

Nitus nodded to her acknowledging her perspective on their current objective. “Your grievances are noted,” she said, speaking softly first looking at Reno then the others before she turned and continued to walk down the corridor. “But we must move forward. We have our own assignments in finding out what the Orion’s are doing with our stolen tech. What are the Klingon’s doing out here? And what caused the Grace to be out here in the first place?” she said as they stepped into a turbolift. “Deck 10.”

“Well let’s get ourselves ready for a night full of fun,” Zolath said, attempting to lighten the mood.

“Remember we need to find out what the Grace was doing out here before she was disabled. So leave Mr Vozuk to me,” she said as the doors to turbolift opened.

Viridian’s Grace, Archanis Sector, Federation-Klingon Border, Beta Quadrant

“Commander Davidson,” a deep gravelly voice called out to her. Turning she was brought face to face with the appearance of the Paramount’s operations chief Lieutenant Commander Mason Hill.

Davidson hadn’t realized how handsome the man was. During staff meetings they sat at complete opposite ends of the table and after they were dismissed she usually headed straight to main engineering to continue her work. When she was off duty she usually sat in her quarters reading or she listened to music from 20th century Earth. But now she was able to see his face in full and there was nothing to disappoint. He looked like he had been chiseled out of stone. His hair was left scattered on top of his head. She couldn’t tell if it was styled or if he just woke up like that. Then his cybernetics, they weren’t really noticeable. They started behind his left ear and then moved around his head underneath his hairline and met with his neck and presumably went down his spine.

“Commander Hill,” Davidson said, turning her back to him as she continued her work. “I wasn’t expecting you for another ten minutes. What, you just wanted to see me?”

“No,” he said fatly. He strolled to the other side of the console. “Commander Nitus has begun the party or dinner…whatever it is they are doing and has instructed us to move forward with- repairing the computer care.”

Davidson looked puzzled as she looked up. As his eyes met, she froze. The man was captivating. She’d give him that. He has icy blue eyes that reminded her of the frozen tundra back on Earth. “What…” realization hit as she remembered the message she received from Nitus directly to her PADD. “Right. Grab that case over there,” she said as she pointed to the small case that sat against the wall.

Hill walked over to the wall and picked up the case. “Let’s go,” Davidson said as she walked towards the door with Hill falling in step behind her.

They exited the engine room and turned right as they headed to the nearest turbolift. Hill walked behind Davidson letting her lead the way. As she knew the ship better than him.

“Commander Davidson, can I ask you something?” Hill asked, his voice low but still had a deep and gravely undertone that sent a shiver down Davidson’s spine as he spoke.

“Sure.”

“Why don’t you ever interact with anyone?” he asked. “Besides for the engineering officers and a few of the other staff.” Hill had wondered why she had remained distant from everyone else. He thought maybe she was anti-social and didn’t really like being around people but there was no other way to tell this for sure unless he asked.

Davidson was stunned she hadn’t expected such a question right out of the gate. Especially since this was their first real interaction. She had expected him to be a little less intrusive with his questions especially at the start. But he had started off with a heavy hitter. The silence stretched on as they entered the turbolift. “Deck 8,” Davidson said at last. “I don’t like speaking to people when I don’t have a reason.”

Hill looked puzzled. “Could you elaborate?”

Davidson sighed lightly as she looked at the doors with Hill standing behind her. “I don’t like feeling like a burden and I don’t know when is the right time to provide advice or when is the right to joke,” she took a breath as she let Hill digest what she had just said. “It’s just I don’t like jumping into conversations that I wasn’t invited into.”

Hill looked at Davidson as she spoke. He himself related to her words and knew from experience what she was speaking of as he had gone through a similar faze. “I understand what you mean, Zahir.”

Davidson turned to look at him in the eyes as he called her by her name. The way he spoke was soft, not on the way of being judgmental or anything but of being able to relate and understand where she was coming from and sharing that knowledge together. “You do?”

“Yes,” Hill responded, his eyes drifting off as his thoughts wandered to a past he was trying to forget. The pain and the sorrow and the hurt of the events that made him… him. He looked back at Davidson and saw the concern in her eyes, the mutual understanding of a past that caused pain and gave scars.

Before either could say a word the doors to the turbolift opened and their shield to the world was up once again. They walked on to the deck and continued their journey to the computer core but this time they were in a peaceful silence. Them both lost in their own thoughts as they journeyed to the core.

As they arrived two guards with weapons in hand were stationed outside. As they approached one of them opened the door to allow them in. The room was dark except for the occasional flash from the drives.

“What do you need me to do?” Hill asked as he stood next to Davidson in the center of the room.

“I need you to check columns 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Those should be related sensors and tactical systems. I will take 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, and 16. Those are the systems related to the warp core, damage control system, and other engineering systems.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The pair split up, Hill went to his six columns and Davidson had hers. But Davidson gave him the ones that would help in their investigation as it would contain weapons logs, transporter logs and other logs that they are in need of. She would be doing something she actually did need to do in order to ensure the ship’s warp core doesn’t detonate and kill them all.

USS Paramount (NCC-75570), Archanis Sector, Federation-Klingon Border, Beta Quadrant

Laughter can be heard across the room as an assortment of the crew play low jazz music in the background. The Halo was filled with members of the Paramount’s and the Grace’s crew. Nitus stood in a group with T’Soni, Alessa and a Human male a member of the Grace’s crew.

“That is an interesting point of view, Commander,” the man said to her as he lifted the glass to his lips drawing a long sip from the liquid contained within.

Nitus raised an eyebrow at his response. “How so?” she genuinely asked as she wondered the meaning behind his words. They were discussing the prospect of a Klingon invasion of the Romulan Republic. Not a lit topic in the slightest.

“Well if the Klingons were to invade the Republic. Don’t you think they would have done it by now?” he asked in a suggestive tone. “I’m just saying the Klingon’s know the Federation will defend the Republic if they invade and they know that they are no match for Federation technology. So why would they risk so much for so little gain.”

“Because they are Klingon.” Nitus said flatly she knew what he spoke of was the truth but it was her people whose lives were being threatened. “The most important thing in Klingon culture is honor. To them the quickest way to get honor and victory is through war. Despite all of the odds they are willing to risk everything and invade anyone who they think is an easy target.” Nitus took a long draw of her glass. “It’s in their nature.”

In the opposite corner of the room. Vozuk sat in a booth alone drinking a mix that he didn’t even know.

Spotting him in the corner of the room Nitus excused herself from the group and made her way over to the booth where Vozuk sat in. “Can I sit here,” she asked him as she gestured to the seat across from him.

“Of course Commander,” Vozuk responded as he swayed slightly in his seat. “This is your ship after all.” he finished as he slurred his words looking at her, his eyes held lazily open. He was drunk. Or the better terminology would be he is wasted. Nitus noticed this and saw it as an opportunity to get some much needed answers to some pressing questions. Nitus sat down across from him as she observed him.

“Why did you come out here?” she asked him. It would be better to not waste time and jump straight into the questioning. Vozuk turned from the point in the distance that he was staring at and turned his eyes back to Nitus. He looked puzzled as if he didn’t even know where he was at the moment.

“What?” he asked her as slouched in his seat more.

“Were you here to make a trade with someone?” Nitus asked, she knew if she asked the question the same way with the same wording he would catch on so she had to make sure to change it up so she wouldn’t peak his attention.

“Yes,” he said as he looked at the dark colored liquid in his cup. He picked up the cup and nearly drank the cup empty in one gulp. Nitus brain started ticking as he realized that tiny detail. ‘One question answered,’ she thought to herself as she moved closer to him.

“Who were you here to meet?” she asked him. There are three possible answers: the Klingons, the Syndicate or the one she was hoping wouldn’t be Crimson. The thought of her brother doing something so disastrous was something she could not imagine but yet here she was.

Vozuk looked up to her his eyes barely open as he looked to Nitus. His eyes wandered, jumping from point to point. He looked back at Nitus and landed closer to her, “Someone…” he said mumbling as he slurred his words looking at her then at people elsewhere. “You are well acquainted with.”

As he spoke Nitus tensed. Who did she know that could do this or would do this? There’s only one name that came to her mind but she didn’t want to admit to herself just yet. “Who?!” she asked this time a little forcefully. She needed to know the information he was withholding from her and she needed to know it now.

Just as Vozuk opened his mouth to speak, the emergency klaxon blared and the lights in the room dimmed as the red emergency lights started to flash. Nitus sighed in defeat as she realized their chance to get the information they desperately needed was gone. She sat back as she tried to figure out who it could and yet the same person came back to mind before she pushed it away from thought. Coming back to the present she turned her attention to the matter at hand. “All hands to battle stations. Commander Nitus to the bridge,” a voice rang through the intercom.

Nitus looked to Reno then to Vozuk. Reno nodded in response acknowledging her unspoken orders.

Nitus along with T’Soni, Zolath and Jackson exited The Halo and made their way to the nearest turbolift. As they arrived on the bridge the klaxon had stopped and the red lights had settled into a steady rhythm. Zolath and Jackson went to their respective stations and relieved the officers who had been covering.

Nitus walked towards the center of the bridge where D’Antonio sat in the center chair. “What happened?” she asked urgently.

“The Klingon attack force is moving closer to the border, Commander. They are roughly an AU and a half away from the border,” Enzo said as he returned to his station. Relieving the officer that had been sitting there. Nitus looked out of the viewscreen at the Grace and then to the approaching Klingon battle group. She knew that whatever her next move she needed to be careful or one wrong move and her and her ship would be the first causality or that approaching Klingon battle force could be the first causality. Either way it would spell disaster.

“Move to intercept,” Nitus said as she walked over to stand behind D’Antonio then looming over to Lovar,  “and have the Lincoln follow suit.”

Nitus stood behind D’Antonio before slowly making her way to her chair and sitting down. She looked out of the viewscreen as she saw the ship begin to move into position flanked by the Lincoln. ‘Well it was only a matter of time,’ Nitus thought to herself.