Kassiopiea Rising: Part 3
Anna woke with her head comforted by her pillow and her hair haphazardly bundled up around it like a soft sunrise halo. It took a moment for it to register that the blanket was extra cozy as well as sublimely soft, and the lights of her quarters were pre-dimmed in anticipation of the hangover she was about to endure. Daringly, she rolled her head to the left, where the anticipated Klingon remedy waited for her: a hot mug of Raktajino and contemplated reaching for it.
Anna vaguely recalled being carried to her quarters the night before. She had been cradled, ever so gently, by a Klingon that smelled as if he had just been working in the earth and soil of most M-Class planets. His natural scent was intoxicating to her and his hair was as soft as a Trakalian Meerkat against her face. She smiled in the remembrance of feeling the strength in his arms and chest, hearing the strong beating of his hearts, as she had instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and burrowed in slightly. An unusual sigh of contentment escaped her lips at the memories.
She sat straight up to verify that she was still in the clothing from the night before to know whomever it was that deposited her in her quarters did not attempt anything foolish with her. A wave of nausea hit her and the room began to spin. Strong hands were suddenly on her shoulders from behind, the musky earth scent reached her nostrils, and he laid her back down, ever so delicately, on the bed.
“Ambassador, please, lie still.” An oddly gentle, and familiar, male Klingon voice spoke to her with a level of tenderness that was suspect. “We should have had Kynar examine your head a bit closer before allowing you to consume so much alcohol.” He paused to chuckle a bit and to apply a fresh wet cloth to Anna’s forehead. “For being part human, your ability to metabolize the large amounts of alcohol you consumed is impressive. No wonder you are legendary to Klingons and Qo’Nos.” The amusement and respect for her was audible. “Kynar says it might have even saved your life.” The unknown Klingon finished telling her how the injury on her head came to be and the offending crew member was being punished appropriately for it. He finished his tale with because she had passed out, Kynar got to finally take a closer look at her head wound’s severity. The unknown Klingon ended with apologizing again over the incidents.
Anna felt as if she imagined his hand slightly caressing her cheek as he moved it away from her head. Her mind was attempting to tell her something that was important, as tears of pain began to roll down her face, but oblivion beckoned once more.
“You did WHAT?” Anna could hear Kynar and two other male voices arguing, with items crashing to the floor due to some sort of physical fighting, and made attempts to open her eyes, but failed over the brightness of the light. A groan escaped her lips instead. A moment later she felt the familiar strong hands and smelled the now familiar earthy scent helping her sit as he commanded the lights be lowered.
Anna attempted to look at the faces around her and groaned again when she saw a pair of Klingon eyes staring at her in concern. “Dhiabhailvögeln.” Anna swore under her breath in Elasian. “You just had to brush tears off my face, didn’t you Kiang?” She tried as hard as she could to scowl at this giant angry Klingon, while pushing his hands off her. The thought “was he really falling over himself to care for her?” and finally shoved him angrily away from her, suddenly revolted that he had dared to touch her person. From the corner of her eye she saw a similar, but more intense love-sick look from K’vagh. He was breathing heavily, fresh bruising and cuts on his face, while hovering nearby. “Not him too!!” She exclaimed while she raised a hand to her head in frustration and cradled her throbbing orb gently. “Kynar, please have these two confined to quarters until I can replicate an antidote.” she commanded in her most authoritative tone.
Kynar looked shocked then concerned, “But, K’Tee, replicators are not standard on our vessels. They take too much power to operate just one.” Anna closed her eyes and cursed her genetics once more. It was bad enough when one male came into contact with her tears, but two Klingons? She could not fathom the chaos they would be dealing with until they get to Qo'nos and she has access to proper equipment.
“I am going to need to speak to the captain, as he now has another situation on his hands, due to these two idiots not understanding there is a reason that you keep your hands off Elasian persons.” She scowled at Kynar, K’vagh, and Kiang in turn. Contemplating how to handle this situation for the next week, she was about to get out of the bed and realized she was no longer clothed. “Whoever took my clothes off my person had better be prepared to die.” She growled through clenched teeth and reached for a dagger she kept under her pillow to discover it on the bed sheets instead. “It was bad enough that you laid hands on my person, but to touch my clothes without consent…” she let the threat hang unspoken in the air.
Kynar took the head of K’Vagh in one hand and the head of Kiang in the other and brought them swiftly together. “Hutlh Qapla’ yInlIj QIp!” He thundered at them. “Not only were you touching her person, but dishonored yourselves even further by removing her clothing while she was unconscious” He brought their heads together once more. “quvHa’ Hegh SoH vIneH!” He tossed the now unconscious Klingons to the floor, grabbed a robe that was on the back of a chair to hand to Anna while attempting to avert his eyes and salvage what honor his ship had remaining. Anna snatched the offered clothing from his hands and spit at the two unconscious forms on the floor. She could feel her anger glow through her entire body and knew that her eyes were now the color of cold hard Trillium steel. She stood in front of a mirror to further examine herself for signs of misplaced amourous Klingon affections.
“May these imbeciles die a dishonorable death!” Kynar stated in English and stepped back to the comm panel to call security and Captain Kristagh to the quarters.
Anna had reached a limit after her brief self-inspection, and commanded while the comm was open, “Have your communications officer recall the USS Benjamin Franklin. My Honor will be best served by having my vessel transport me to Qo'nos. Hom Ha’DIbaH. These two y’nt yalagochukof need to be confined to their quarters!” Kynar’s eyes went wide in realizing this was the ultimate dishonor from an Elasian Ambassador, to not trust the safety of their person to a ship’s crew… His ridges paled at her actual proficiency of the Klingon language and her ability to continue to spew curses in several languages, as he terminated the comm signal.
A moment later the door comm sounded. Kynar stood silently by until Anna gave an indication that whomever was there could enter. Captain Kristagh stood in the doorway, with several large Klingons wearing armour and carrying weapons indicating they were a security force of sorts. He was obviously angry at someone giving him commands on his ship, then he looked down at his First Officer and his youngest crew member beginning to regain consciousness. He looked up at Anna to realize she was in a night robe, fresh bite marks on her neck, a variety of bruises, and began to understand some of what had transpired. He did not need to be telepathic, or even empathic, to feel the anger boiling off of her.
“Have those two confined to separate quarters.” Anna commanded in an unprecedented and authoritative way that she had not felt the need to use in years. “I will need Doctor Kablan’s assistance from The Benjamin Franklin immediately.” Captain Kristagh paled further and had to suppress the need to know more of what happened. He was about to ask when he saw the look on Anna’s face that causes any child, of any race, to hide in fear from an adult. Anna snarled, “place guards on my door. No one comes near my person without express consent for my brief remainder of time here. Both of them should be stripped of rank, wealth, and honor, then returned to Qo'nos like the DenIb Qatlh they are!” She finished with a dismissing flourish before placing hands to her hips and turning her back on the Captain in a highly dismissive manner.
She heard the Klingon Security team enter to remove K’vagh and Kiang from her quarters, along with Kiang’s protests and attempts to explain what had occurred. Anna had to take several calming breaths to regain control as she heard Captain Kristagh leave her quarters as well, cursing the need of some cultures to have females act as Ambassadors in Klingon. Thoughts of tearing her quarters to pieces, over their insolence, and demanding to have the Captain’s Quarters crossed her mind.
With the clearing of his throat behind her, Anna pivoted violently on her heel to face Kynar. “My Lady Ambassador, I, uh…” Kynar was at a loss for words and reverted to formalities. “When you had lost consciousness, the whole ship soon turned upside down. I do not understand what has happened. Please, explain to me so that I can tell Captain Kristagh what retributions to expect from the Elasian High Council and Confederation Prime Council. The dishonor is all of ours to bear as we failed at protecting your person.”
Anna regarded him for a moment then flopped, very unlady like, onto the bed and laid her throbbing head down. She sighed heavily before righting herself to a half-sitting position and explaining to her old friend how dangerous Elasian female tears are and why the edict had been put in place centuries ago that anyone who was not Elasian could not lay hands on another Elasian, without extra precautions, especially when she was injured or ill. Anna explained to him that there was never a time in her people’s history that they were not among the stars and that the women were frequently known to be more violent than the men of her race. The Tears of Devotion had become a mechanism of sorts to ensure harmony between the sexes.
Kynar sat quietly at the information. “I must make a confession to you, M’Lady. When I was young and you fought all of those Klingons, I was among the witnesses who assisted you to have your wounds attended too. You were sweaty and crying. My world was not the same after you left Qo'nos. I have never found someone to truly love since then, as each female I compared in my mind to the mighty warrior you are. I was in awe over your strength and proficiency against so many who thought to be better than you, while being so much smaller and younger than them. I married out of honor and duty to my family. My wife refuses to speak to me, as I call out your name in the night. I shall also have myself confined to quarters and await your further instructions.” He hung his head in shame and rose to leave.
Anna stifled a smile and bit her upper lip while contemplating her response. “Kynar, my old friend, I was young and had not reached adolescence. My pheromone ducts had not yet matured. Any feelings that you have towards me, no matter how unfortunate and extremely misplaced, are very real. I was truly still a child among my people and not allowed on my own until your equivalent of a late teenager, maturity and development wise. There was great discussion and discourse when my Guardian T’Leth passed away seven years ago, as to whether or not I still needed a personal guardian. I became comfortable in the relaxed restrictions on The Franklin, as they were all naturally dedicated to my safety of their own accord by then. It was something I should have brought up sooner, especially the manner in which your captain acquired my presence here.” She left the implications hanging and finished with a look of compassion and new understanding to his devotion and true protectiveness over her safety. “After today,” she gestured to the room and ended with her hand over the very prominent bite mark, “it would be safe to assume that you can fill the roll of T’Leth until The Franklin arrives. I will still need Doctor Kablan’s and The Franklin’s assistance or you will have two male Klingons that will be destructively unhappy the rest of their lives.”
A look of relief washed over Kynar’s face and he stood very tall to salute her, “I shall endeavor to fill the roll you have assigned me with greater honor than I have shown before. Any medical equipment I have is at your disposal to ensure that physical marks are all those two managed,” he paused for a moment, “and to determine which one actually marked your person as their qoch. I truly suspect that ghuy ‘cha that attempted was interrupted by the other one, as they both bear much bruising and several wounds.” Kynar finished with a devilish grin. “May we endeavor to salvage our honor in your eyes.” He finished with a clenched fist to chest in salute before turning to leave the quarters. Anna caught a glimpse of two large Klingons that followed him out the main door from her bedroom area.
Anna sat for a moment longer on the bed, before beginning the highly inconvenient journey to the sonic shower on the other side of the quarters. Stopping by her stacks of equipment, she grabbed her own medical tricorder to scan and reassured herself that no act had actually been committed that would warrant the instant death of the two idiots, not that her anger wasn’t justified and the death was warranted on its own based solely on the merits of touching her person without consent to begin with. Her ambassadorial side reminded her that they had only been in contact with the Klingons for almost as long as she had been alive and their overall relationship in the Confederation of Planets was still young along with not being formalized.
It would be three days before the USS Benjamin Franklin could reach the IKS K’Tinga, as it continued on its way to Qo'nos. During that time, Anna was able to determine that the young and reckless K’Vagh was the only one infected with her pheromones. He was also the one responsible for her amorous injuries. Commander Kiang had arrived at her quarters, with fresh bandages and Ractajino for her and interrupted the misguided attempt to copulate. He was quick to point out that many of K’Vagh’s wounds were from Anna in her delirious struggle to be free of the unwanted embraces and over zealous affections, even for a Klingon. Many on the ship found it honorable that she slept with a dagger next to her.
Kiang had suspected something was wrong with K’Vagh that first day, as he had spent all of his time in her quarters on the premise of tending to her and seeing to her needs. Kiang was the one who acquired her presence off The Franklin, but K’Vagh was the first to touch her after the incident of her head meeting the transporter pad. No one could blame the reflexiary tears coming out of her eyes at the resounding and sickening thud of her being dropped and her head connecting with the Transporter pad stairs. They also now knew why Kynar had insisted that she be in her quarters versus the sick bay after she collapsed from drink. Having her in the sick bay would have increased the number of Klingons that could have come in contact with her and her toxic tears. He shuddered in horror at what might have occurred on a ship of over a hundred men now madly “in love” with this marvelous little creature.
He tried to be relieved that he was not under the effects of her pheromones, as he was the one who had carried her both times she was unconscious. He remembered the sweet and musky floral smell of her hair as he carried her and became lost in thoughts of the memory of seeing her naked with her fiery hair flowing all around. The softness of her skin, as he had inadvertently caressed it after her alcohol induced collapse, had been its own unintentional aphrodisiac to Kiang. He was slightly comforted to know that he had removed his hand in time from touching her tears. This truly was a woman worthy of his respect and adoration, through merits all her own and not due to her potentially fatal pheromones. A true femme fatale.
The Captain and Commanding officers of the USS Benjamin Franklin were obviously distressed when they had been contacted over the situation, along with all visible bridge crew. It was apparent common knowledge on their vessel to not touch her person, let alone her tears or other excretions. She also had had with her innoculations to inhibit her pheromone production that their inexcusable and dishonorable manner of asking for her help had deprived her of for several days now. He found himself dealing with an internal conflict over the explosive reaction that Commander Riker had had upon hearing what had transpired. He wondered if they were Qoch, partners, or if he was her Guardian T’Leth on that ship and responsible for her safety. He was simultaneously in awe over the devotion of an entire vessel to her, while jealous that she might already belong to another.
Doctor Klaban and Kynar had been in frequent communication on what needed to be done in preparation for the arrival of The Franklin. The Science and Medical equipment that Anna had brought with her were now set up in the K’Tinga’s lab. He marveled at how Anna was very adept at addressing power consumption needs while increasing overall power to the entire ship, considering she was just a Xenobiologist. His Chief Engineer M'Gann was beside himself with joy at the new fountain of Engineering information she had provided them. Over the past two days, many of the crew had begun calling her by her Earth name versus her formal Elasian name, while managing to keep an arms length from her. As he pondered the difference that short of time made around her naturally high charismatic personality, a faint smell began to permeate the ship. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he recognized the scent of synthesized Tamalian Blooms.
He had been told to expect it as Tamalian blooms are the only known organic that can combat the female Elasian pheromones. He thought to himself, “trust a woman’s anti-aphrodisiac to be flowers!” as he rounded the corner and ran full into Anna, who was walking with M’Gann, Kynar, and her two escorts. It took a moment to register that she was wearing a Mok’bara uniform and drenched in sweat, along with her companions. He quelled his sudden resentment over all of them laughing over something having happened among them. It took but a moment longer to notice one of the guards had a large gash on his face treated with a compound of unknown origin and a large quantity of dried blood on his uniform. A quick glance at her suvwI’, gloriously delicate, hands confirmed blood on them and her clothing as well.
He gritted his teeth and growled, “JajlIh YIpaw” while grabbing the unsuspecting guardsman by the tunic. “You idiot! Have we not done enough harm to her?” he demanded.
Anna deftly stepped between the two, with a gentle touch to Kiang’s chest he relaxed his grip on the other Klingon and looked down at her. “Uch, maj mip.” she uttered a minor insult and compliment at one time in asking the klutzy one to stand down. “His touch was not unwelcome.” She quietly commented. “However,” she continued while looking directly at the wounded Klingon, “he needs to learn to not drop his right side when fighting. Lugh daj, M’Tal?” Anna turned her head to look at M’Tal, the wounded guard for confirmation to her question. Everyone except Kiang laughed. Anna nodded her head curtly and dismissively to her companions. “Walk with me, Kiang. We need to talk. Kynar, see to your men’s wounds and may they learn to not underestimate someone smaller than them in the future.” She dismissed the fours of them with a commanding wave of her hand and reached out to Kiang with her other hand in an offering of peace.
Kynar stood for a moment to realize there was a mischievous twinkle in her Lapis Azul blue eyes, knowing that what she had to say to Kiang could no longer wait and it was not for the ears of anyone else. All four men clenched their right hand into a fist and pounded their chest over their heart, in a salute, before walking off. Curiosity was obvious in all as to what words she had to say to Kiang and as to why Kiang had been avoiding her for the past two days. It was also apparent by awkward gaits that M’Tal was not the only one with an injury.
Kiang looked at Anna as if he was seeing her for the first time. She was almost as tall as him, with a very small frame. “The wind on Qo’Nos would snap her like a small twig,” was a thought that came to mind along with an odd urge to protect her from any storms that would cause her further harm. His eyes found the fading bruise on her high forehead, then roamed down to her muscular neck where the bite marks, partially hidden by her hair that was uncharacteristically hanging down from its once tight bun, noted that it too was fading. He quelled the indignant rage that threatened to surface every time he thought of someone else’s hands upon her person and tried to growl at her in frustration.
He grew up on Bird of Prey that his father was the captain of after his biological mother died. After that he was onboard the IKS K’Tinga, his step-father’s vessel that he was now second in command by his own rights. Very little was known or said about the Elasians other than they were prevalent in the galaxy and one of the oldest known races who lived extraordinarily long lives, the men were fierce fighters and the women even more deadly. They just seemed to be eternally present in the history of any world he was on and that you were to never touch one without their permission. It was vexing him that she was so beautiful for a non-Klingon and that he was having these emotions since he first saw a holo image of her over a month ago. He has been baffled over these feelings of familiarity with her since seeing the holo image and more so since her arrival on the IKS K’Tinga. And now she was standing in front of him, with the expectation of conversation. When he saw her image, he had immediate distrust of any other Klingon being able to safely retrieve her from the USS Benjamin Franklin and volunteered to be the one to get her.
Anna tilted her head to the habitual left side of curiosity as she regarded Kiang. He was two hand spans taller than her, with broad shoulders, even without the uniform accentuating them. His eyes were the same hue as a black hole and hidden under a deep cranial ridge with thick eyebrows. His hair was long and laid gracefully on his shoulders for any sex or species. His skin was a deep coppery brown that Anna suspected that he may be of a Royal lineage among his people and just unaware of it, as he certainly did not behave in the manner of other ranking Klingons she had met including M’Rek when he ascended as the First Chancellor of the Klingon High Council in 2139. She had often wondered what had happened to the last Emperor of the Klingon Empire, Sompek, and his descendants. She remembered meeting him, his five sons, one daughter and countless grandchildren when she had been on Qo’nos with her father in 2105 at the start of the first notion that all warp capable planets should belong to an alliance of some sorts. She stifled a snort as the thought that the man in front of her was a great great grandson to Sompek.
She straightened her head back up from its tilted position, gave her heart stopping smile to Kiang, reached her hand out to him, “Escort me to the mess hall. I hear there is fresh Rokeg Blood Pie. I promise to not indulge myself in any, “ Anna paused for a moment, before finishing her sentence, “libations offered. I will stick to Raktijino and that flavoured wastewater you Klingons call ‘tea’ the rest of my time here.” She slightly winked at him and was rewarded with a small smile attempting to curl under his thick black mustache, along with the stress lines around his eyes relaxing.
He looked down at her delicate hand once again and marvelled at how it could also be lethal before offering his elbow as escort. While they walked, they were both silent even though they were both teaming with questions for the other. Finally Anna spoke up, “Tell me about your father, Kiang,” she inquired.
Kiang walked in silence while he contemplated what he knew about his father and more of what he did not know. With a heavy sigh, “My father had been the commanding officer on the IKS Bortas. He was Duras, son of Toral, grandson of Dugran, of the House of Duras. He died in a glorious battle with the Breen that his house shall forever bear his name.”
Anna stopped their stroll for a moment to look at Kiang, more closely. “Tell me, was your mother named Ast’eth?”
Kiang looked at Anna for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “I know very little of my mother, other than the house she came from fell into dishonor with the rise of M’pek to Chancellor. My father spirited me away onto The Bortas when I was just beginning to walk. K’mporsharv, of the House of Antaak, was the one who raised me. My father had married her to save my honor and future.” Kiang held his hands up together, fingers spread wide, “There are many who do not speak of my biological mother’s house, as it brings bad omens to those who do. After my father died in battle, K’mporsharv remarried to Captain Kristagh. Our relationship has always been explosive in nature. As a teenage step-child, I was rarely accepted by his children and even fewer knew that she was not my biological mother.” Kiang could not believe how easy it was to speak to this female about his past. They walked in silence till they reached the turbo lift. Kiang finally found the courage to ask, “Tell me about your family, Ambassador.”
Anna regarded him for a moment. “Please, call me Anna or K’Tee.” He slightly bowed his head in acknowledgement. She shrugged her shoulders and began, “My father is the current Dohlma of Elas for the past Comara, one hundred years. Gods willing, I will succeed him at his Centatte Milana, nearing my Peratha, fifth century of life.” Her response sounded dry and rehearsed, even to herself. “As for my mother, we only knew that she resided on Earth at the time of my …” Anna paused to contemplate how much information to give, “when my brother and I were born. Shortly after, she left the planet with my brother and has never been seen again.” Anna could feel the familiar lump in her throat as she wondered once again why her brother was so special that their mother only took him.
The turbo lift stopped and the doors opened. Kiang put a hand in front of her to stop her from walking out. Anna turned her head up to look at him and saw that his eyes were sincere, while he could see that hers had turned to an Azure Blue once more. “I…” he paused trying to find the right words to convey understanding over a mother leaving their child. “I hope that someday you have the answers you seek, Anna.” Saying her name felt like heaven, natural, and complete. He felt as if his heart were about to burst with joy. “Was your mother human?”
Anna shook her head no and lowered her eyes, with an oddly intense feeling stirring in her that she had not felt before. His earthy scent was stronger than before. Although she had shared her bed with many men, and women, in the past fifty years, they always felt hollow and empty in meaning, while doing little to ease an aching loneliness. Curiosity was now getting him even more as he watched her cheeks flush and her eyes shift to a Corellian Blue. It was mesmerizing to witness.
Anna finally found words to continue, “We do not know what type of creature my mother was.” She reached up to rub at her nose, another habit she had developed when facing anxiety. “My father was less discriminating than myself in bed partners and was frequently known to bed many women, of any race or species,” she paused for a moment so that she could look at Kiang to gauge his reaction, “at the same time.” She registered his moment of shock and continued on, amused with herself. “She showed up at the embassy the day of our birth. The physicians confirmed the children she was about to birth were indeed my fathers before allowing her in. Her DNA did not register with any known species. I have been a bit of a thorn in my father’s side, as she is the only female he has ever been able to reproduce with.” Anna chuckled before continuing, “Thankfully on Elas girls are more desirable than boys, as we have the destined rite of succession. Until that point, my father had wondered who would succeed him after he ascended to Dohlma later that year as he had been the only child to the Dohlma K'na. The fact she left with the boy made his life easier, in some regards, as he would only have one child to succeed him. The physicians were less than forthcoming over which one of us was born first.” A giant mischievous grin spread on her face, “They say we were both born at the same time due to a rare medical complication. The doctors were in the process of interceding in a difficult birth and had removed him from the womb as I fell from between her legs.” Anna stifled a giggle and looked alarmingly young. “Apparently, I did not want to wait my turn to be born.”
Kiang thought of that visual image for a moment, as he was not well versed in the birth of children to understand how her and her brother could be born at the same time. He smiled slightly, “And so your life began as a rarity all around then, with your personality already showing through!” He gave a hearty laugh, lowered his arm, and offered it to her to walk the rest of the way to the mess hall. Then it hit him when they reached the mess hall doors, “Your many bed partners? Are you not mated with the one they call Commander Riker on the USS Benjamin Franklin?” He looked at her in shock.
Anna gave a full bellied laugh and shook her head no. “I am not allowed to choose who I will be mated to. The Elasian High Council has that privilege.” Her face went suddenly sad. “They will tell me who I can marry and with whom I can bear children with.” She abruptly turned her back to him, as this was always a sore spot with her. “Until then, I am free to be with whoever pleases me, but I can never be in a committed relationship with them or give the gift of a child.” She took a deep calming breath, “If you will excuse me, I am suddenly not hungry anymore.” She strode off in the direction they came and returned to her quarters where she allowed herself to breakdown and cry over the life she was destined to have. She had not yet completed The Rite of Torana, her second hundredth birthday. Until then, a child will be denied to her, and then even after that, she would be told with whom she could have a child with and when. The possibility that she would not be allowed to raise that child as well, was a sore spot with her.
Kiang could only watch her walk away as he attempted to comprehend the extremely long and complex life Elasians lived. By the time she had disappeared into the Turbo Lift, he began to understand that her life was not her own to live, along with whom she could truly love, and that saddened his heart while reinforcing his belief that she was not a warrior to be toyed with.
Anna fell into a fitful sleep. In her dreams she was back on the USS Benjamin Franklin and in Engineering. She felt the ship shake and fires started everywhere. She heard klaxons sounding and people ran right through her. She willed herself to the bridge to find that it was in disarray and there was some sort of swarm attacking the ship. Her heart quickened and she reached out to see the location on the navigation screen when Jason looked at her, suddenly aware of her essence on the bridge. He locked eyes with her and screamed “Help!”
Anna bolted awake in the bed to find that she was still on the IKS K’Tinga and in her quarters. In her mind was screaming, “We need you in the Shedir System!” Her friends were in trouble and all of them were reaching out for help, to find her.
She sprinted from her room to the bridge still fully clothed from earlier. Out of breath, she charged out of the turbo lift. “Helm! Bring us about to heading three five mark six nine by two zero point one zero. Take us to the Shedir System at your top speed!” She commanded.
Captain Kristagh stood with indignation, “Belay that order,” he barked at his helmsman. “What is the meaning of this? How dare you come on to my bridge and order my crew?”
Anna stood to her full height and declared, “I am T'Lana Dohlman Anna Leigh K’tee Tor, daughter to D’avin Qang Boq Tor, Dohlma to all of Elas, High Ruler to the Confederation of Planters, and successor to the throne. You will do as I command or dishonor will be the least of your crews’ worries.” Her eyes glared at the Klingon captain in a cold steel grey.
Captain Kristagh looked at her in defiance, “And why should we turn around and go back?” Within a few short steps and one swift kick, the captain went down to the deck and Anna was kneeling on his chest with her dagger, which appeared from nowhere, to his throat.
“Do you wish to die now or relinquish command of this vessel to me?” She thundered in a voice that was louder than one would expect from a person with such a small frame and her nostrils flared at his indignation.
“SIR!” The Communications officer called from his niche on the far side of the bridge. “We are receiving a distress call from the USS Benjamin Franklin. They are under attack by an unknown enemy in the Shadir System!” He finished with a look of awe. “Sir, this is the only communication we have had in the past several hours. T’Lana Dohlman knew this information on her own,” he finished with tones of reverence in his voice and acknowledging her right to commandeer any ship, at any time.
“Setting course for the Shedir system and may Khaless grant us speed to be there in time.” Kiang announced from helm control. Anna stood, took her seat in the Captain’s Copulta, and nodded her head while sheathing her dagger inside her blood stained Mok’bara from earlier.
“How quickly can we get there?” She snapped at Kiang while intently watching the stars fly by on the view screen at warp speed.
“At warp five we will be there in less than 20 minutes. We had just passed that system a few hours ago and there was a disturbance of some sort near the Bubble Nebula. We were not able to gather sufficient data to determine what it was and marked it for scientific study at a later time.” Kiang answered with all the information he knew. “If we decloak the power modifications you made to our system, we should be able to do warp five point two and get there in fifteen minutes.”
Anna tried to not hold her breath out of anxiety as she felt Captain Kristagh take his place behind her and to the left, anger oozing about his person. She turned the chair to lock eyes with Kiang at the helm behind her and tried to tell him she was truly out of her league of experience at that moment with simple thoughts. He gazed back at her and could hear her voice in his head while seeing images he did not quite understand. It took but a few seconds for him to realize Anna was talking to him without saying a physical word. Eyes wide, he gave a quick nod of his head and started to bark out orders to decloak, increase speed, raise shields and charge weapons. Anna nodded her head and turned the chair back to the view screen. She slightly turned her head to the left to whisper a final threat, “see that they do their duties and you will live. If they fail, you will die,” she hissed at Captain Kristagh. She then turned her attention to the view screen to focus her thoughts on those on The Franklin to find…
Silence.