Keely sighs and attempts to stand up, stopping short due to a sharp pain again. “Perhaps it is best that you not stand at this time,” Savar suggests. “Doran returned to the monastery while I was talking with authorities.”Keely sighs and attempts to stand up, stopping short due to a sharp pain again. “Perhaps it is best that you not stand at this time,” Savar suggests. “Doran returned to the monastery while I was talking with authorities.”
Keely shrugs, saying, “Now or never.” She takes a deep breath and pushes herself onto her feet. She grimaces, but remains standing. “See? I told you so.”
Sorot turns to address Savar. “She has amazing self control now. I wonder where it has been.”
“Perhaps this episode has helped her find it?” Savar questions.
Sorot nods as Keely walks towards the two. “Ha ha. Very funny.”
Sorot turns to T’Lynn. “Shall we return to the monastery then?”
“I think that would be wise,” she answers.
Savar indicates that the runabout can transport them, and Sorot and T’Lynn nod in agreement. “Perhaps that would be best,” Sorot adds. "She appears to not be in a condition to walk.”
Keely mumbles, “I can walk,” before Savar taps his commbadge. “Runabout Nexia, four to transport to the monastery.”
The transporter grabs them, transporting them back to the room Keely was assigned. The blood still stains the floor, but the bodies have been taken away. Keely looks down at the blood.
Sorot motions to T’Lynn and Keely, ready for them to begin the counseling sessions. “We can use the conference room down the hall. It should provide sufficient privacy.”
“Wait.” Keely turns to Savar. “What happened to my attacker’s body?” Her eyes are searching.
“I did nothing. I suspect someone removed it. Why do you ask?”
“I need to check her over. See if anything on her would have been important or provided a clue. I missed my chance with Bundy.”
Sorot lends a helpful hint. “Doran would know where the body is.”
“I need to ask him. Soon.”
“You may use the desk terminal to contact him.”
She thanks Sorot, then moves over to the desk, contacting Doran. His face appears on the screen as Keely grimaces in pain as she sits.
“Keely. I see you are out of the hospital what can I do for you?”
“Doran. Do you by chance know what happened to my attacker’s body?”
“Yes. I had an aide remove it from the room. It was searched beforehand. We found weapons. Many Klingon in nature and some found only on a certain Klingon province. There were also several other miscellaneous items.”
Keely sits upright, wincing again. “Really? I need those.”
“I had assumed you would want them.”
“I’d also like to search her myself, if you don’t mind.”
Doran steeples his fingers. “I’m afraid that you cannot search her.”
Keely’s face falls. “I can’t?”
“Her body has been disposed of. But everything on her was kept.”
Keely sighs, thanking Doran. “It was no problem,” Doran adds. “I have everything here when you want to look at it yourself.”
“Would it trouble you if I came now?”
“Not at all.”
“Very well. I shall see you soon.” Keely cuts the communications link as she looks around at Sorot, T’Lynn, and Savar. “Do you mind?” she asks the three.
Sorot simply replies, “We will wait for you down the hall.” With that Sorot and T’Lynn walk down the hall. Keely turns to the only remaining person in the room, Savar. Her eyes plead as she asks him, “Will you accompany me?”
Savar agrees, and watches Keely’s movements to see if she can walk. He begins walking, and the two keep a slow pace as she visibly bites her lip attempting to control the pain.
How weak and useless I feel, she thinks to herself. However, her self-brooding is interrupted by Savar.
“There are medical appertain that could help you.”
“What do you mean?” Keely answers, trying to keep a smooth tone.
“Antigrav devices.”
“I’ll live with it," Keely says as she rolls her eyes. “Don’t baby me.”
“Most people would try to minimize the amount of pain that they must deal with.” That is why we are going to Qo’nos later, isn't it, he almost adds.
“K’Tlath always said that enduring pain made one stronger.” She grits her teeth a little.
“In the twentieth century, a popular phrase on Terra was ‘No pain, no gain.’ It was popular until people realized what the pain signified." Keely smirks, but continues to listen. “As a doctor, you should know what pain is. The destruction of tendons and muscle tissue.” The two turn a corner, and Savar points to a door on the left. “Those are Doran’s quarters.”
Keely manages a slight nod before continuing the argument with Savar. “But, as a gymnast, pain is the way strength is built. As a warrior, pain makes one stronger." She sets her jaw. “Let me rest a minute.” She closes her eyes and leans against the wall.
Savar nods, then enters Doran’s room. It’s empty, and he relays the information to Keely. “A message indicates that we are welcome to be here. The belongings are in containers.”
Keely takes a deep breath and builds up the strength to walk into the room. She looks around. “Don’t take anything out yet,” she instructs Savar.
“I would not think of it. I know you want to take care of this. What are you looking for?”
“Is her robe in here?” she asks through sharp stabs of pain. She knows it’s getting worse.
“Blood and all,” Savar replies.
She must keep going, she tells herself. K’Tlath and A’Quira would, so why can’t she? In addition, she is the cause of this. She smirks, walking over to the robe. “Start looking for the daggers and things. And any informational PADDs and such. Will you?” She leans over, bracing herself on a table, letting the intense wave of pain pass.
“Are you okay?” Savar asks. Keely only nods in response, taking a deep breath and trying to straighten up, but not letting go of the table. Savar, not believing her, opens the medkit he is carrying and programs a hypospray with painkillers, then injects Keely. “Sit. Or preferably, lay down. But you’re not going to do that, are you?”
The hypo surprises Keely, but she feels instantly better. She walks over where the robe is and begins gently moving it around, searching it. She agrees to sit down, relaxing.
“There are no PADDs here. The daggers are over there. Anything else? What are we looking for?”
“Anything that will give us a clue as to where Jepoth is." She rubs the bridge of her nose and goes back to searching the robe.
“I believe Doran remarked that the daggers were of a specific manufacture.”
“That being Jepoth, no doubt,” she answers with a nod.
“He said he thought they could have only come from a specific Klingon province. Perhaps because of the nature of the composition of the dagger’s parts.”
“May I see them? I could tell you.”
Savar retrieves a container and brings it over to Keely, sitting across from her, opening it. Keely gasps slightly at the sight of the daggers, and her eyes widen. “Something significant?” Savar asks.
Keely nods, reaching her hand slowly forward. “These were K’Tlath’s." Her voice begins to shake with pain and rage. “They stole them when he was killed by Jepoth that night. May I see them?”
Savar hands her the knife, not touching any blood. In Keely’s mind, however, a different color bloodstains the knife as she struggles with her memories. She takes the knife and runs her fingers over it. There is an inscription, half-stained by blood. She takes her fingers and wipes the blood off. “It says...” She sighs.
“It says?” Savar prompts her.
“It says ‘Nice try, but this isn’t what you’re looking for. That’s one for me.’” She lets out a frustrated sigh, moving back to the robe, explaining to Savar that it meant they went too quickly to the obvious.
She again feels the robe, searching with the medical precision her fingers have been trained to do. “I’m too weak, otherwise I’d do it myself, but will you rip the side? Then we can find out. A tricorder won’t show anything.”
“Point out where you’d like me to rip.”
Keely indicates a seam, and Savar nods, tearing the cloth precisely where she asks. Keely reaches inside, finding nothing. She reaches in further, between the layers of material, and feels something. She pulls out her hand, finding a data chip. “Bingo!” she exclaims. She tosses it up in the air, then catches it on the way down.
Savar is puzzled. “Bingo? A game played on old Terra. Elderly people were known to be the most active players. Involved numbers, letters, and five in a row.”
Keely laughs slightly, then stops as it begins to hurt. “I’ll explain later, my dear Vulcan.” Savar pauses to contemplate this. “Did that bother you? I’m sorry. That’s what I called my Vulcan friends at the Academy. Nevermind. I won’t do it again.”
Savar shakes his head, dismissing her apology. “No, no bother.”
Keely begins to feel uncomfortable, and looks down at the chip in her hand. She only begins to feel a little worse when Savar adds, “You may call me what you feel comfortable calling me.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Does that apply to the times when you insist on dragging information out of me?”
“Those times are different.” He changes the subject back to the matter at hand. “The computer terminal might be able to tell us what’s on that chip.”
“Really? No kidding,” Keely answers sarcastically. She starts to walk stiffly to the terminal in Doran’s room. She turns it on, inserting the chip.
Savar turns at the sound of footsteps. Doran enters the room.
“Find anything of value, Doctor?”
Keely jumps and spins around, then starts to crumple in intense pain. She can’t answer right away, and looks to Savar for help.
“We have found a data chip," Savar says as he reaches down to inject Keely again with the painkiller. Maybe a stronger one next time, he thinks.
Keely breathes deeply and straightens up. “We believe it has the answers we seek.”
“I see. I had hoped your search would prove fruitful.”
Keely stands the rest of the way. “As did we. Do you mind if we use your terminal to access it?”
“It appears you have already started. No, I mind not at all.”
Keely blushes, then thanks Doran. He nods, coming over to the terminal as well to watch. Keely activates the chip. The Klingon Empire symbol appears then the face of a dark-skinned Klingon. He looks fairly old, and evil. However, he also appears to be ill and very weak. Keely steps back seeing the face before her, shaking with rage and sadness.
Savar discreetly programs a mild sedative on the hypospray as he makes eye contact with Doran. Doran does not know who Jepoth is.
A million things are running through Keely’s mind. Images of people, blood, daggers, angry words. K’Tlath’s dead body, A’Quira’s tears and anger.
The face laughs then grins broadly. “If you are watching this Calahan, then you have surprised me, though I had no doubt you would eventually find this. And, if you are dead, and someone else - like that Counselor of yours - is watching, then victory is mine, and so is honor.” He grins again.
Keely begins shaking even more, wanting to kill this man, to smash the console holding his face. Savar leans in close and whispers for her to calm down.
“I need your assistance,” Jepoth continues. “If you survived, that is. Come find me. If K’Tlath taught you well, then you should be able to figure out where I am. Come soon, for I may not have much time.” A hint of sadness has entered his voice before he laughs again. The recording ends.
Keely starts breathing deeper, angry, but she tries to listen to the Counselor.
Savar begins to talk. “He appears to be...” He cuts off when a faint dripping sound breaks his concentration. Doran and Savar trace it to the source: the desk. Several drops of blood are there. They are Keely’s, they realize, as she is cutting her palms with her fingernails by making her fists so tight. She is bottling all of her anger, saving it for the fight. She is still staring at the screen, imagining.
Savar reprograms the hypo. A mild sedative. An immediate muscle relaxant followed by the lightest mental sedative. Should only make her woozy for about a minute. He injects her, then catches her before she falls.
As she collapses, Keely screams out mentally, not understanding. She begins to object, but Savar cuts her off.
“Save it. I already figured out you planned to go visit Qo’nos anyway.”
The Counselor interrupts her train of thought. She opens her eyes sleepily and focuses on the Counselor, feeling the sedative already wear off. She whispers, in Klingon, “Thank you. But if you ever do that again, I’ll break your nose.”
Savar replies in Klingon. “You couldn’t get close enough.”
Keely smirks, answering. “Wanna bet?" She puts up her hand. “Help me stand?”
Savar and Doran raise an eyebrow. Savar holds out his hand for her. “I think it would be best if you went and saw T’Lynn and Sorot now.”
Keely smirks, taking the hand, regaining her balance and coordination. “Perhaps.”
Keely spends the next two days with T’Lynn and Sorot. They appear to do well in their two days. Savar and Doran spend time together, discussing Savar’s life and career choice as opposed to joining them at the monastery. At the end of the two days, Keely does seem to have a better hold of herself, and appears to be much better. Savar cannot help but feel a slight bit of jealousy. The Starfleet officers say their good-byes and board the runabout.
Keely sits in the pilot’s seat, running checks while Savar takes his place at the copilot’s seat.
“Ready, Counselor?” Keely asks.
“I am ready. I assume our heading is Qo’nos, and not Arcadia Station.”
Keely gives him a sideways glance as they receive permission to leave. He almost knows her too well, she thinks. He taps the control panel. “Setting course for the Klingon homeworld. Speed is Warp 4. Acceptable?”
“Acceptable. It is positive that the Federation-Klingon Alliance holds.”
Keely glances over at the Counselor again, nodding. She thinks to her herself, they would be going if there was a treaty or not. At least Keely would be. She sets the controls and they take off. She switches the control to copilot as she stands. “I am going to go change. I shall be back in a moment.”
Savar stands at the same time. “I’m going to go change into my uniform for the trip.”
Keely pauses, then begins laughing. Savar seems caught off guard, and simply says, “You may go first, then.” He sits back down.
Keely is still laughing as she sits back down. “No, go ahead. I insist." She switches back the controls. “You go, then I will, okay?”
“I would only be changing for the trip anyway, I suppose. I assume I will be changing into commando gear later.”
Keely’s laughter stops. “Commando?”
“Yes, commando. You are familiar with the term? Usually used in stealth and hunting outings. Both seem appropriate to this situation.”
“I’m familiar with it, I’ve just never heard you use the term. Wait... you are not going to the surface with me.” Her expression is grave and dead serious as she turns to face the Counselor completely. “You are not. I will not hear it. It’s too dangerous. It really will be very dangerous. And you don’t know these people like I do.”
“It is dangerous down there. That is why you are not going alone. You’re injured and weakened, and I would assume Jepoth’s not going to let you just walk through the door.”
“I suppose you’re right. We’re going to have to fight our way past the guards he has. Er, I will...”
Savar cuts her off. “Go change.”
She gets up and quickly goes to the back room, thinking to herself. I basically just allowed him to come with me. If he dies, he’ll be what? Number 20? She changes and arms herself, coming back out into the piloting area in fifteen minutes. She is dressed in Klingon battle gear. She gets a cup of French Vanilla cappuccino from the replicator, then sits down. She enjoys the taste, thinking four days is too long to go without it. She looks out at the stars, realizing that she is very comfortable in her Klingon battle gear... the only uniform that ever fit her, she thinks. She curls up in her chair and looks over at Savar.
He notices they are close to the Klingon border anyway, and leaves to change into battle gear. Keely objects to him wearing Klingon gear, but doesn’t know what he should wear. He settles on Starfleet. “What will we be heading into?”
“Well, a large Klingon house, filled with skilled Klingon guards, as Jepoth is an old council member. Just be able to fight in whatever you do wear.”
Savar nods and walks into the back room. She sighs, turning back to her console. He comes back out several minutes later in Starfleet black. A type II phaser is easily accessible, as is a tricorder.
Keely scrutinizes him for a second. “Acceptable.”
“How should I arm? Phased energy weapons or Klingon blades?”
Keely is thinking of how this is like the last shuttle she flew with her father. Lost in memory, she cannot hear Savar. It was one of those times when they actually got along, her and her father. Right before she left for the Academy. Five years ago, she reminds herself.
“Keely?”
She jumps. “I’m sorry. Did you ask me something?”
“How should I arm myself? Phased energy weapons or standard Klingon blades?”
“Depends. How much do you want to fight.”
“Enough to keep us both alive.”
“Yes, well, whatever you’re comfortable with, then, I suppose.”
“Phasers will allow for picking off enemies. Klingon weapons prefer closer quarters. Phasers are... less honorable, are they not? But more effective.”
“You amuse me, Mr. Vulcan. Honor. Hm, well, it doesn’t matter to me.”
“How will you be armed?”
She puts the autopilot on and stands to stretch. “I’ll have my standard daggers, plus one visible in my belt, and a bat’leth.”
“We will be fighting hand to hand. I should arm myself the same.”
Keely walks around, bending and stretching to improve her flexibility. Her back pops loudly as Savar walks into the back room to weapons storage. Thankfully, he realized her plans long ago and packed accordingly. He retrieves a pair of daggers and a bat’leth.
He walks back out into the pilot area as Keely is bringing herself back up from a bridge. He glances at his console. “We are getting close to the Homeworld’s patrol lines. Hopefully we will make it through without question.”
Keely nods with confidence. “Do not worry, Counselor. I have many Klingon friends. We will make it through.”"
“Worry is illogical.”
“Oh, of course. How silly of me.” She rolls her eyes.
Savar nods, then sees the blinking on his console. “They are hailing us. Standard destination and intention questions.”
Keely nods. “Got it.” She activates the viewer, and greets the man in Klingon. They exchange for a few minutes, then are given permission to pass. Keely takes them in at impulse. “Have a seat, Counselor. Our journey begins.” She flies them into position then sets an autopilot subroutine. She stands, and prepares her weapons. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asks the Counselor one more time.
“There was an old Terran expression. ‘In for a penny, in for a pound.’ Roughly translated, since I’ve come this far, I may as well go all the way.”
“"And your family? What will I tell them if something happens and I make it off this wretched planet?”
“What you tell them is up to you. I could not predict if you would tell them I died honorably fighting Klingon warriors or if I died in a plasma leak protecting the runabout after it was attacked.”
Keely nods, ending the conversation. “Are you ready?” She motions to the transporter pad. “Computer, activate program Keely-Alpha-3. Transport us on my mark.” She steps up, looking at the Counselor.
Savar steps onto the pad, bringing the bat’leth into position. Keely looks over in confusion. “No. We appear too threatening.”
Savar raises an eyebrow. We’re too threatening. We’re only going to attack a house and kill a man. However, he complies.
Keely nods. “Energize.”
The two dematerialize as the runabout switches to a protected standby mode. They materialize on the planet, in what appears to be some sort of recreational facility. There are children playing almost everywhere and other adults here and there. No one notices the arrival of the two. All of a sudden, a small child yells something in Klingon and runs over to the pair, smiling. Keely bends down, easily picking up the child, hugging her. The child squeals with delight, and Keely laughs as she hugs back.
To be continued...