The Klingon ships had only landed a few hundred meters from our line, so we set out to meet them. As we approached, a small squad of Klingons disembarked and assembled in a loose extended line on the plain. I was accompanied by my first officer, Lieutenant Risi and the three security officers, leaving Sala and the Suliban to cover us. Lieutenant Risi, who was on point suddenly held up a hand and motioned towards the line of ragged trees a few hundred meters behind where the Klingons had landed. I will forever be grateful for Saurian enhanced senses. They have saved my life in the past. Neither I nor the rest of the team could make out what he was seeing. I told him as much.

“Transporters ma’am, lots of them, I think they're using this as a chance to move into position.” He gestured at points of light only he could see at this distance. “There, there and there.”

“Alright Lieutenant, pass that information along.” I replied. He crouched and spoke into his communicator while we all assumed firing stances. Straining, I still couldn't make out what he was seeing, but I trusted him implicitly. This was an example of one of the Federation's greatest strengths. Our flexible structure allowed the person in the most advantageous position to give orders despite their rank. This enabled us to react like no other armed force in the galaxy. Once my security chief had finished, we rose and continued towards the Klingons, who had noticed us and jeered at our approach. Their raptors loomed above them, leering at us like great birds of prey protecting their young, adding an undercurrent of menace to the taunts of the Klingon crew. As we passed into earshot of them, I bellowed at the top of my lungs.

“Captain Klaugh! This is an act of unprovoked aggression towards a Federation colony. Leave now or face the consequences!” I could see him amongst his troops, and he stepped forward to speak, Bat’leth held low but at the ready. We faced each other across the chaparral landscape, barely four meters apart. The two of us and our actions would decide the fate of everyone on this planet in the next few moments

“Captain Zh'kaarrin.” He smiled. I was really looking forward to knocking that smile off his face by this point. “I am impressed you did not beg us to surrender after the loss of both of your ships.” I felt my heart drop. Had the Klingons destroyed the Aurora too? Did I actually kill my friend with my stubbornness? I couldn't focus on that right now, as much as it hurt me. I felt the autumn breeze wash over me as I took a deep breath to center myself before speaking again. I would show the Klingons our strength.

“Not a chance, Klaugh.” I retorted, doing my best to hide the nervous timbre of my voice.

“Good Captain, good! I knew you would make a worthy adversary for me. I respect you, so I will extend you a final opportunity to surrender the Suliban to us. I know Starfleet Captains value the lives of those under them and I promise if you say no, we will drag those of you we do not kill back to Qo'nos in irons. You will never see your families or comrades again and no one will remember you.” It was as if the entire planet was holding its breath, no one made a sound as we squared off against each other, each of us representing in microcosm the two ideologies we served. He stepped slightly closer as he spoke, oozing confidence. I screwed up my face, trying to find my resolve before speaking again.

“This can still end here, you can leave and no one has to die today.” I wanted to try one more olive branch. “Isn’t honor satisfied Captain, you defeated our ships and stranded us here on this planet. Isn't that enough?” An emotion I didn't immediately recognize played over his face. Frustration maybe? Or resentment? When he spoke next it was much quieter than I had expected.

“Unfortunately, the Empire has needs other than honor Captain. We all must do what is required of us. But that is the way it should be.” He raised his arm to point the tip of his Bat’leth directly at me. His threat display was greeted with the return whine of my officers' phasers powering to full charge behind me as I heard them move to take aim. His officers responded in kind by raising their disruptors and for a moment it seemed like the fight for New Jerusalem would start right now. I felt my breath hitch for a moment as I silently willed none of my crew to do anything stupid while Captain Klaugh spoke again.

“My people have a saying Captain, today is a good day to die. Ask yourself Andorian, is today a good day for you to die? For your crew? For all of these people?” The question hung in the air. I didn't particularly care what happened to myself at that moment, but it was true, I didn't want anyone else to die. Some Starfleet captains had found success in challenging Klingons to single combat, but I doubted the mercenaries in their employ would concern themselves with the results of a duel between myself and Klaugh. Plus I didn't think I could beat him, especially without my Ushaan-tor which had been lost along with the Resolute.

“I don't think we have a choice Klaugh,” I replied “We are both being forced into this by our principles and those we serve. We are both following our orders, but at least I am following my conscience.” I was shouting now. “Despite the danger, despite the fact it might kill me, slavery is intolerable, and I refuse to allow you to take these people without making you work for it.” I stiffened my back and puffed out my chest a bit as I spoke. Despite my fear, I was proud to show my conviction.

“I am glad to have met you, Captain. If all of your people acted as such you would make excellent subjects of the Empire.” With that Klaugh turned his back on me and walked back to his ships. I knew that was the end of our parlay and the next time we met we would be trying to kill one another. I spun on my heel back to my officers.

“Back to our positions, at the double, I don't know how much time we have before they come.” I ordered and we jogged back to our lines. Once the security team was situated back in their emplacement my senior staff and I made for my command post. As we walked back, Sala tugged at my arm, and I slowed.

“Marcus, Risi, carry on please. I need a moment.” I said to my officers. Commander Fane smiled at me and hurried Lieutenant Risi on towards our command post. We stood in silence for a moment while they put some distance between us. Once we had privacy I turned to Sala. “Is everything alright?”

“I saw that Klingon brandishing his sword at you and all your crew raising their guns. For a second, I thought the shooting was about to start.” She looked away, clearly upset. “That suddenly made it all feel so real, you know?”

“I can imagine.” I replied, though if she had heard me she made no sign. Instead she continued speaking, lost in her own world.

“When my family and I fled from Bregat last year, a Klingon ship shadowed the freighter we were on all the way to the border. We paid the freighter captain everything we had to hide us onboard, and to his credit he did. But when he described his last confrontation with that Klingon captain before crossing the border.” She trailed off, shuddering at the memory. I found myself at a loss, should I reach out to provide comfort? Reassure her? I had no idea what I could say that could help at this moment.

“I’m sorry you had to see that Sala.” I said after a moment. “I’m sorry my actions caused you to relive something like that.”

“How could you have known?” She tapped my arm. “I haven't exactly been forthcoming about myself.” That was true, our few conversations had been almost entirely about me. I felt terrible, I had been so wrapped up in enjoying the feeling of being cared for, I had neglected her. The first chance I had, I would do something about that. Oblivious to my inner turmoil at my failures, Sala continued speaking.

“Why did you even bother going out there? You must have known there was nothing to be gained?”

“I had hoped I could try one last time to talk him down.” I replied. “Clearly that failed, but I think I have his respect, whatever that might be good for.” I was trying to bring a bit of levity to the situation. Despite everything, I was happy Sala was staying with us and I didn’t want to add to her worries by telling her the Klingon had asked me if today was a good day to die. I reached out to take her hand. “Come on, let's get somewhere safe.” She jerked her hand away from me. This was the second time today I had tried to comfort someone I cared about only to have them pull away today.

“Don't patronize me, I know nowhere is safe here.” She sighed and took my hand as she said this. We walked hand in hand back to my command post, one of the Resolute’s shuttles that had been set down in the square by our main S.M.A.S.H. hospital. I wanted to check in with the officers staffing it, so Sala and I boarded the shuttle Fort, which had been chosen for this purpose. The shuttle's interior was crammed full of added command and control equipment in our best approximation of a FGF command center. Sala took one of the stools at an unoccupied work station while I stood over the shoulder of one of my security lieutenants watching a feed of the western approach from a deployed sensor tower. The enhanced resolution of the feed allowed us to see that the Orion’s had been joined by Naussican and Lethean mercenaries, no doubt drawn to the fortune in Darseks this planet represented. Klingon officers moved between them, acting as unit commanders and keeping the disparate forces in line and motivated.

“I don't know how they are planning to cross that open ground.” Commander Fane spoke up from deeper in the shuttle. He was resting against a bulkhead, having changed into armor after returning. He had a phaser rifle slung over his chest and he worked at calibrating the sight while he spoke, not looking up from his work. “Klingons might try it, but there's no way a Naussican who’s only here for the money will attack a position like ours head on. They're planning something.” I concurred with his assessment. I only hoped we would be ready for whatever they had planned. He finished his last minute calibrations and stood up straight.

“One of us is going to need to stay on the front line, and I figured that should be me. I’ll keep control out there, you keep everything coordinated back here and we’ll pull this off Captain.” He smiled his genial smile at me, and I returned it. Still smiling, he continued. “I ordered Risi to stay with you, and to disregard any order you might give him to go somewhere else.”

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“Already undermining my authority I see, eh Marcus.” I joked back.

“Well Captain, you like to be brave and I’m not letting you be brave on your own. Plus, you know how torn up Risi would be if something happened to you.” I did not know this. Lieutenant Risi was a Saurian of few words, and I honestly had no idea what he thought of me specifically. The only sign of how he may have felt was his decision to stay on the Resolute instead of transferring to the Lexington. I had always believed that this was him seeing the Resolute as a career opportunity that had nothing to do with me.

“I was security, I know what it feels like if something happens to the captain or any other senior officers on a mission. I can imagine he would take it rather hard.” I replied. Commander Fane shook his head and closed the distance between us.

“We’ll talk about it after, ok?” He leaned in close to say that before smacking me on the shoulder and walking out of the shuttle, calling out orders to his escort team who had been waiting outside the Fort. I hadn’t known Marcus Fane by anything other than reputation before this posting, but I had always admired how he treated everyone like a friend. I really hoped this wasn’t the last time we would speak. Having a moment of peace only served to remind me of how tired I was and how much my body ached. This calm was an opportunity to do something about one of those at least.

“Alright Lieutenant Dewi, keep an eye on the perimeter, I’ll just be outside.” I said to the officer I was standing over. Walking to the rear of the shuttle, I popped the emergency supply hatch in the shuttle and grabbed the med kit and a pair of ration packs. I motioned for Sala to join me and tossed her a ration pack as we walked down the ramp.

“Don't worry, they're all terrible, it doesn't matter which one you get.” I said as we walked. I nodded to Lieutenant Risi who leaned against the shuttle's hull, no doubt where he could keep an eye on me as well as our surroundings. We walked through the same park as I had interviewed Sala in what felt like a lifetime ago. We soon found the same pair of benches, and we sat in the early morning sunshine. Not wanting to waste any time, I tore my ration open while Sala eyed hers suspiciously.

“What is a Swiss steak?” She asked incredulously.

“Some Human dish, likely dreamed up by a sadist. Like I said they're all bad, but at least it's calories.” My pack held something called tarragon chicken. I didn't know what tarragon was, but at least it made the dry lump of meat more palatable, and I ate it like you would a protein bar, not bothering with packs cutlery. She opened her pack and sniffed it. Making a face, she set it aside.

“No thank you.”

“You’ll be happy you ate later, even if it's gross Human food.” I said while chewing. “You’ll never know when you’ll have a spare few minutes to eat again, so eat when you have the chance.” I finished eating and began to fumble with the med kit.

“Sounds like that is something you’re familiar with.” I looked up, Sala had turned to look at me.

“From the war, sometimes you're stuck on a twenty hour watch and eating all meals at your duty station or you're dug in on a planet or Starbase like we are now. When there's danger everywhere you stop putting things off when you have time for them.” I found what I was looking for in the med kit and pulled out a small bottle. Uncapping it, I shook it out into my hand, expecting a small pile of pills to tumble out of it but nothing did.

“Oh, you little fuckers.” I spat. I knew exactly what had happened. This med kit had already been raided for its stimulant supply, probably by my own security teams. Asking doctors for combat stims always came with questions and lectures about recommended doses and heart attacks and all that, so you learned how to scrounge for them in combat situations. It seems I had good scroungers serving under me. I could feel Sala’s eyes on me while I looked for any more bottles inside the kit.

“Just looking for some stims is all. Apparently, my crew had the same idea and cleaned this pack out.” I threw down the pack and leaned back into the bench. “Shit.” I breathed. Sala laughed at my little outburst, each note sounding like the tinkling of falling glass. I smiled at the absurdity of it all. As much danger as we were in, being present in a moment and only being bothered by small annoyances was a welcome relief. I reached out my hand on the bench next to us and she took it, her fingers interlacing with mine. It felt right at this moment, like our hands were two halves of a whole that had finally combined. We sat in silence, enjoying each other's company while watching the birds flit between the trees. Eventually I decided to try broaching the subject of her continued attention.

“Why are you staying with me Sala?” I asked her, unable to keep the trepidation out of my voice. I could feel her eyes on me, but I was too afraid to see her expression to look at her right now. I kept my eyes front and unfocused, like we did on the parade grounds at the academy.

“What do you mean?” She replied, her tone unreadable.

“Being around me is dangerous, I know, I know, nowhere is safe right now, but there are safer places than next to me.” I hated saying this, but it was true. Tragedy had a bad habit of following me. The Kerala, the Sirius, now the Resolute. A long list of my failures of command.

“Well.” She paused after saying that, collecting her thoughts. “You know I have a responsibility here right?” Of course she did, I felt so foolish. She was one of the Suliban’s representatives and with Vaanek laid up in our field hospital, she was the only one providing a voice for her people. She continued.

“Last time I checked, ever since you invoked that directive, you were the government of this colony. Don't I owe it to my people to advocate for them?” Of course she did and I replied with as much.

“Well, spending this time with you has allowed me ample opportunities to speak with my people. That has certainly been useful. Plus you’re the kindest government official I've ever had to work with, and the cutest.” I had to suppress my reaction to her answer. She was deflecting, I recognized the signs and my reaction would just affirm that what she had said would have been the proof she had successfully deflected.

“Good try.” I shot back. “But I’m looking for the real answer.”

“Shoot, I was hoping that would have worked.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “Well Niah, the truth is, I see a bit of myself in you. It's obvious you’ve been through a great deal and I recognize it in your reactions. I know how it feels to have everything collapsing around you, and I don’t want you to have to go through all of this alone.” She still wasn't looking at me, instead choosing to stare up at the sky. I craned my neck to look up as well, trying to catch a glimpse of what she was looking at. The sky, though a beautiful autumnal sunrise, did not reveal what had captured her attention. I kept replaying what she had said over and over in my head. Were our personal miseries the reason for our shared affections? Did we just see our own hurts in each other and were trying to help ourselves vicariously? Was there anything more to this? After a moment she spoke again, ignorant of my inner turmoil at her answer.

“What will you do after this Niah?” She asked me, not looking away from the sky. I was taken aback by this line of questioning. I hadn’t really given any thought to what would happen if I survived this.

“Well, I’ve lost my ship. That's an automatic court martial, invoking Directive Twelve comes with an automatic inquiry which they’ll likely just roll into my court martial. It's unlikely I’ll ever command another starship and depending on the verdict I may have to serve some prison time.” I didn't want to lie about what fate likely awaited me if I survived this. The possibility of me standing on another starship's bridge was basically nonexistent, and I was sure a discharge with penal service awaited me. I looked over at Sala after speaking. She wore a dejected expression and looked away, so I squeezed her hand to try reassuring her..

“That's not much of a future to try to stay alive for Captain?” She asked and I could hear the hurt in her words.

“Don’t worry, just because the outcome doesn't look good doesn’t mean I won’t be around to face the music. I fully intend to take responsibility for my actions. It comes with the territory.” with that I pointed at my uniform.

“I have a feeling that's not exactly true.” She replied, turning to look at me again. “I think that despite wearing the same uniform you're actually not like many other Starfleet officers.”

“Honestly Sala that's true. I’m not a very good Captain as far as the standards of Starfleet go. In fact, I’m sure the only reason I am on active duty is because of Starfleet's current officer shortage.” She actually laughed as I said this, the same airy dancing laugh we had shared just moments ago. “What's so funny?” I asked incredulously.

“Do you ever actually listen to yourself?” She asked me, an amused smirk on her face and eyes shining. “Have you heard any of the things your crew says about you?” I stared blankly so she continued.

“I don't think you do. I’ve known you for a short time now, and I’ve been talking as much with your crew as I have with my people. I’ve seen how much your crew looks up to you and enjoys serving under you. Just in the last few hours you've stared down a Klingon twice without blinking and managed to build an actual plan to save my people while simultaneously making time for me and all of your officers. I may not be Starfleet, but I’ve spent time on ships and despite everything you say about yourself you are doing a great job. You need to get out of your own head Niah, you’re doing the best any of us could in a terrible situation.” She had turned to fully face me while speaking and had taken my hand in both of hers by this point. I was completely dumbfounded, and my mind raced to find ways to brush off what she was saying.

“I can hear your brain working from here, trying to come up with some way to downplay what I just said.” I racked my brain to remember if Suliban were telepathic in some way. How did she know that's exactly what I was doing? She continued speaking, not letting me get a word in. “I’m telling you to stop it. Stop downplaying your abilities and start thinking of yourself as the captain the rest of us see you as. I know it's not easy, and you won't get it right the first time, but please remember we all trust you and to trust yourself.”

“Ok…” It was all I could muster in response. I hadn't been at a loss for words like this since when I was an awkward teenager. It was as if my mind had completely short circuited. She pulled me into a hug, and we stayed like that for a moment, oblivious to the world around us. Eventually she broke the hug but continued to hold both of my hands.

“So, I want to ask you again and think of yourself as the captain the rest of us know you to be. What will you want to do after this?” I actually took a moment to consider what other possible outcomes there could be. If I somehow avoided discharge, maybe I could get my old desk job with KLICOM back, or maybe do a stint at the academy. There was however one alternative I wanted more than any other.

“I would want another ship. I want to stay on the Klingon border. This is where I can do the most good right now.” I replied after thinking about it. This was a sincere want. Despite how I felt about my skills, it was the Klingon border where the future of the Federation would be decided, and I didn’t want to waste even my limited abilities patrolling the Tholian border or the Romulan Neutral Zone.

“Think there might be room on that ship for a class three warp field technician, even though she's a civilian?” Sala asked me quietly. Again, I found myself responding as if on autopilot.

“Starfleet can make special dispensation for long term civilian passengers on certain classes of ships. If by some miracle I was given a Kirov or a Decatur class…” I stopped speaking abruptly as I realized what she was saying. “You wouldn't want to stay with your people Sala?”

“We are a nomadic species. I expect after all of this the Federation will help us relocate somewhere safer, but I’ve always enjoyed life in space. My options are pretty limited, unless a Starfleet captain I know can put in a good word for me.” At this she batted her eyelashes and smiled, which I returned.

“My next assignment might be the New Zealand penal colony, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.” I joked back. “But in all seriousness, if everything works out, I would love that.” She pulled me into yet another hug.

“Your science officer is right, it feels good to be the one who's looking out for you.” I could hear the rumble of her voice in my chest as she spoke. I realized I loved that feeling. She held me for a moment more before drawing back far enough so she could kiss me. As our lips broke apart, I found my mind drawn back to what Cserr had said earlier to me about me making time for things. I realized I had been using my work to shield myself from the things that actually mattered. I owed that woman more than she could ever know at this moment and I hoped that somehow, she and the Aurora were alright. We stayed close for another few moments before I reluctantly broke our embrace.

“We need to get back to the command center, I’m surprised no one’s looking for me at this point.” I said and stood up from the bench with a groan. Sala sighed and joined me after a moment's pause. I gestured at the still open ration pack she had abandoned. “I still think you should eat that.” She lightly shoved me as a reply, and we set off towards the hospital.

We hadn’t made it more than a few meters before an explosion and the sound of phaser fire broke the tranquility of the moment. In a heartbeat I had drawn my phaser and stepped in front of Sala, putting myself in between her and the noise without thinking. More phaser fire joined the chorus of sounds, it was as if the entire front line was under simultaneous attack. Grabbing Sala’s hand, I sprinted the remaining distance between us and the Fort, expecting a barrage of Klingon artillery to begin raining down on us at any moment. We sprinted up the ramp and I perched over the shoulders of Lieutenant Dewi so I could see the feed from the front line. It took a moment studying the chaos on the sensor feeds for what was happening to become clear. Our lines had been strafed by Ki’Tang’s, based on how torn up the ground was around our emplacements. At some point after that the Klingons had beamed down a host of targs which were currently overrunning our positions. I could see my crew and the civilian volunteers fighting for their lives against the feral beasts, locked in desperate hand to hand struggles with the animals. For every targ that threatened one of our positions two more ran past them towards the colony proper, on a path that would take them to the command post. I leaned over Lieutenant Dewi and thumbed the shuttle's broadcast switch.

“All hands stand to and rally on the command center, we have incoming!”