Captain T'Leia Karia sat in her ready room, reading with her chair facing the porthole that looked out toward her homeworld of Vulcan. Beside her on her desk a large Siamese cat purred loudly as her mistress stroked her exquisite fur. Isis the cat, drifted off toward blissful sleep as T'Leia continued to stroke her fur.

The newly commissioned USS SAREK was in orbit of Vulcan awaiting the arrival of its new Chief Engineer and a member of the SAREK's extensive medical staff. Their shuttle would be arriving within the hour and T'Leia was engaged in reading their personnel files.

Suddenly the SAREK was jolted quite violently, and the Vulcan woman grabbed onto her chair to keep from falling our of it. The feline was less successful as she, with a loud meow, crashed to the floor. The Captain leaned over momentarily to check on her cat and saw that she had landed on all fours. After she was assured of Isis's safety, she got up from her chair and strolled onto the bridge.

"Report," she called. Her voice passive.

The Bridge Commanding Officer looked up as she entered the room. She had just regained her own footing. Together they both turned to look at the Science Officer.

"The sensors are detecting a temporal wormhole bearing 005 mark 11. I'm also reading both verteron and chronitons within the wormhole," he said as his hands flew over the controls.

"We must assume this wormhole is artificial. Mr. Cochrane, I want you to run an analysis on these emissions and come up with a reasonable theory as to WHOM or WHAT is the cause of this wormhole. There will be a Senior Staff meeting in 15 minutes. I will be in my ready room until then," T'Leia said, turning to walk back to her ready room.

"Aye, Sir."
 

________________________
 

The fight was fierce. Bodies were strewn everywhere, and the blood ran so freely, it turned the ground crimson. Katianna wielded her sword with perfect aim at each target, but this had been the worst battle she'd ever seen. It was King Arthur's final battle - Camlan. Kat was dressed as a chieftainess, much like Queen Guinevere had been during her life, before King Urien of Gorre killed her, by placing her in a pit of snakes, where she died from a bite of a viper. However, King Anguselus, better known as Lancelot, had killed him and so got revenge for the death of the Queen.

But now, Anguselus was dead, along with Gawain. They had been killed in the first battle of the day, when Arthur and his men had tried to embark from their ships, after their continental campaign. But Modred had men of his own waiting. After Modred's men fell back, and the first bloody battle was over, everyone knew what was to come. Anguselus, King of Albania, or rather Scotland, was the strongest supporter of King Arthur. Once he fell, they knew the end was near for Arthur's reign. But they would go out fighting.

So here they were, outside the largest, western-most fortress on Hadrian's Wall called Camboglanna. It had once been a Roman fort. But blood spilled easily. As much as Kat tried to protect Arthur, she knew it was a lost cause. Before she knew it, the fatal blow had been struck, by Modred himself. Without thinking about it, she took her sword, and ran it through the traitor, who had turned on the King. She saw the life drain from his face as he slid to the ground. without a moment's hesitation, she was at Arthur's side.

"I'm sorry," she said to him, as tears glistened in her eyes.

"Don't be, Kat . . . You did your best for the realm . . . and for me . . ." he replied, weakly. "If only things had been different, I would have made you my next Queen."

As he took his last breath, he caressed her face. She could feel her heart breaking. For the last month, she had been working on this program. It was on the real King Arthur. The one who did exist in the fifth and sixth century. But she hadn't actually started participating until Queen Guinevere's death. That was when she had truly come to know Arthur. She knew that this was only a holodeck program, but she had felt his reality. As she gently laid his head down upon the ground, she saw the fighting draw to a close. She found a small boy, and wrote out a message.

"Take this to Caerlaverock Castle. The King is dead. They need to make passage for him to Avalon."

Just as the boy took off running, an announcement from the ship's comm system stilled her movements.

"All Senior Staff report to the Ready Room."

"Computer, save and end program."

Instantly the countryside melted away to the walls of the holodeck. Closing her eyes momentarily, she focused on her costume. Swiftly, it melted away, to her Star Fleet standard uniform. Her auburn hair, pulled back away from her face, in an intricate bun on top of her head. Her eyes scanned the empty holodeck, reliving the last moments with Arthur. With a soft sigh, she left.

_______________________
 

Koram Kale was at nominal peace. He could find some tranquility in his meditations. They gave his soul/psyche/katra a secure place from which to reach out, questing, and to find commune with the Prophets. Sometimes he would feel  a blessed, though fleeting, contact and was reassured in his spiritual development.

With him, in a loose circle around the sacred brazier, a handful of fellow-travellers; mostly Bajorans, but a couple of Vulcans and a Betazoid as well, pursuing their own quiet devotions.

Kale's consciousness soared outward and onward - until a sudden wrenching sensation brought him abruptly back to the SAREK's chapel. Looking around, he saw the others felt the same shock and disorientation he did . . . with the possible exception of the Vulcans, and he wondered about that. He was trying to collect his thoughts to say something helpful and comforting, when his commbadge sounded.

"This is Koram."

"This is the Captain. There will be a Senior Staff meeting in 15 minutes. Please come to the Briefing Room."

"Yes, sir. I'll be there."

"Thank you. Captain out."

______________________
 

"This is our theory. A ship of some kind, a Romulan Scout Class vessel to be precise, entered the Vulcan system at high warp, they were heading on an intercept course with the SAREK. They apparently were quite unaware of us and they'd already begun the process to allow them to travel backwards in time," the Science Officer said, pointing to the sensor data that was on the conference room's monitor. He switched it off and took his seat between Commander Katianna Nadira and Lieutenant Toruck.

"Where are we exactly, or should I ask, what time are we in?" Katianna asked.

"Judging from the transmissions we monitored from Vulcan's surface, I'd say we've gone back in time at least three . . . possibly four thousand years into the past," he answered.

"Why would the Romulans want to come back so far into Vulcan's past?" Ensign Simmons asked.

""Surak," the Captain murmured.

"Sir?" Ensign Jeff Cochrane, the young Science Officer, asked.

"Surak of Vulcan. He was the father of the Vulcan Philosophy of Logic. If the Romulans plan to eliminate him, then my people will have never developed the ability to control our . . . more aggressive emotions such as anger," she answered.

"We've got to stop them, otherwise there WON'T be a Federation," Katianna said.

"Precisely, Commander. Lieutenant Toruck, begin scanning the surface of Vulcan looking for any object or piece of communication that is specifically Romulan," T'Leia said.

"Aye, sir. Should I scan for Romulan life signs as well?"

"Since Romulans are similar physically to Vulcans, I doubt you would be able to distinguish them from the native population. Commander Nadira and Ensign Cochrane, you will be joining the Away Team on this mission. I will contact Sickbay and have Dr. Geddes prepare to make the necessary surgical alterations to your appearance. Also we will need to modify the Universal Translator so that Commander Nadira and Ensign Cochrane will be able to interact with the population on Vulcan. Commander Koram, you and I will see to the modifications," T'Leia said, rising to her feet.

"Ah, Captain?"

"Yes, Commander?"

"I won't need the services of the doctor. If you'll just describe to me what is needed and I will change my shape to accommodate your specifications. Also, I've already learned to speak High Ancient Vulcan," Katianna explained. "A misspent youth . . ." she added with a smile.

T'Leia nodded. "If that is all, this meeting is adjourned. We will transport to Vulcan as soon as the doctor has made the alterations necessary. Dismissed."

Everyone left, except Toruck.

"Captain Karia, may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Certainly, Mr. Toruck. What's on your mind?"

"I ask you to use caution while on the planet. I feel the Romulans may recognize you and try to cause you and the Away Team harm. We will keep a transporter lock on the Team for an emergency beam- out on your command, or if you become captured or injured."

"Thank you, Lieutenant, but I hope we won't have to attract that kind of attention."

"Very well, Captain," Toruck replied and left.

"Karia to Sickbay."

"Sickbay here. This is Chief Medical Officer Joe Geddes speaking."

"Doctor . . ."

___________________

Unlike the rest of her fellow crew mates, barring the Captain and the medical officer accompanying them, Kat did not need any surgical alterations. Within moments of being told what was needed, she transformed herself into a Vulcan. Her hair had become dark black but still curly, and her eyes remained bright green. She also, had no need for the translator, as she had informed the Captain. The one benefit of being 127 years old, was that she had the time to learn several languages. One of which had been Ancient High Vulcan. She had learned it on a whim, several decades ago.

She also understood what  a bond servant was, and was not unnerved by it. It had nothing to do with slavery. It was much like the British did many eons ago. Part of her was excited to see the past in action, but she knew how delicate the balance was. What they did or did not do down on Vulcan could very well have an affect on that world, changing it from the world they knew. Where they existed . . . To possibly a nightmare where they, themselves did not exist. They all had to be very careful.

___________________
 

"Greetings," Surak said, as he approached T'Leia, hand raised in the traditional way.

"Greetings," she replied.

"Have you come here on a pilgrimage?" he asked.

T'Leia looked calm. Kat could sense the other crew members were not so calm. they were fidgeting and looking away. They wanted to be anywhere but there. It was very hot, and some of the crew members looked as if they were starting to feel it already. that wasn't a good sign.

Approaching T'Leia humbly, with her head bowed, she held her palm up to indicate she needed to speak. This was how it was done, she remembered, from all the books she had read.

T'Leia, gently broke off her conversation with Surak, and touched Kat's opened palm, to indicate she could speak.

"My lady, perhaps, before we go much further, we should ask this distinguished gentleman if he knows where we could find lodging, until we are ready to continue with our journey."

T'Leia nodded in agreement. "A very good idea."

Swiftly, Kat returned to her place among the others.

"If you will but go around this corner, you will find an inn suitable to your needs."

"Thank you, sir . . . Perhaps, you will do me the honor of meeting with me tomorrow."

"Perhaps . . ." he replied.
As their conversation closed, the others relaxed a bit. The heat on Vulcan was almost unbearable. But in minutes they were in the confines of a room. It wasn't much cooler, but enough to make a difference.

"So what do we do now?" Jeff Cochrane asked.

"Well, if I may have the Captain's permission, I'd like to start searching the area for the Romulans."

"How?" Cochrane scoffed, the heat making him irritable.

Instantly, Kat's form changed into a type of Vulcan feline with large fangs, and black spots on tan fur. Her eyes remained green. Around her neck, she wore an identification collar, listing T'Leia as her owner. She went to the Captain, and gently rubbed against her leg, purring strongly.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable by the feline display, she replied curtly, "You have my permission, Commander."

Instantly, Kat jumped to the window sill, and disappeared out of it. A couple of her fellow crewmates ran to the window to see if she was all right. After all, they were on the second floor of the inn. But all they saw, was a glimpse of her running down the alley.

______________________
 

"Acting Captain's Log:" the young, Bridge Command Officer began with a self-assured grin. (Indeed, Simmons, the Chief Flight Officer, half turned from the helm to give him a look). "Stardate 9705.11: Captain Karia has beamed down to the planet's surface along with First Officer Nadira, Chief Science Officer Jeff Cochrane, and Dr. Selvek from our medical staff. Their mission: to stop the Romulans before they can stop Surak, and irretrievably pollute the timeline. Meanwhile, we're maintaining orbit around ancient Vulcan and scanning, hoping to locate the Romulan Scout we inadvertently followed through the temporal anomaly, or some of it's agents. End log."

Just as he finished his log, Toruck spoke up from his station.

"Sir, I have found the location of the Romulan Scout craft."

"All stop!" called the Bridge Commander. He turned to Koram. "How should we play this? Any ideas?"

"I believe we should try hailing them," Koram replied. "But I have no great confidence that they'll listen to reason, so we should at least have our shields up."

"Raise shields, and hail the Romulan ship."

"Done, sir," Toruck replied in almost a growl. "But they're not responding."

"May I?" asked Koram. The C.O. motioned his consent. "Open a channel anyway, Lieutenant. I think they'll listen."

"Aye, sir. Opened."

"Attention Romulan ship: this is the USS SAREK. We have detected your warp emissions and we know where you are, (At least approximately, he added to himself). We'd rather not blow you out of space, but its largely up to you what happens now."

"Transmission coming through," Toruck said.

"On screen," responded the C.O.

The severe countenance of a Romulan female appeared, and the uniform snapped, "I am Commander Vrean, and you are threatening a diplomatic initiative of the Romulan Star Empire. Return to your own time immediately!"

"Not a good liar, but she's got guts," the C.O. said.

"Well put," Koram agreed, then: "Commander, I am a diplomat as well. So, I recognize . . . flotsam when I hear it. Let me speak plainly. The SAREK is not a large ship, not are we heavily armed. But I have no doubt of our capabilities to defeat your scout craft. Prepare to be boarded."

Commander Vrean deflated and said, "Shields down. Cloaking device disengaged. Send your boarding parties." The screen now showed the Romulan Scout floating against the backdrop of planet Vulcan.

"Mr. Toruck, prepare a boarding party."

"Belay that order, Lieutenant," Koram said.

The C.O. looked at him.

"If these are anything like most Romulans I know, their next act is to destroy their own ship, taking as many of us with them as they an. Keep the shields up and move us away from them -"

It was then the Romulan ship bulged outward, then blossomed into silent flame. The SAREK was shaken, but the shields protected it, not without setting off the red alert klaxons.

"You were right, sir. Lieutenant Toruck, stand down red alert."

"Aye, sir."

"Oh, one more thing. I think we should inform the Captain and tell her that any Romulans she finds planetside to inform them that they no longer have a ride home."

The C.O. smiled.

"Lieutenant, make it so."

"Aye, sir."

______________________
 

Kat wandered down the streets cautiously, looking for anything that might be out of the usual. But she could detect nothing. Alley and street, she wandered down, people hardly noticing her. She ran into another feline, which wasn't so friendly. As the creature tried to engage her in a fight in a dark alley, she swiftly changed her form to a lion and let loose a roar. As the feline ran away with its tail between its legs, she was once again a simple feline. She looked around to make sure no one had noticed her change. But she was alone in the alley.

Suddenly, a high pitched frequency cut through her ears. Being a feline, also meant having the hearing ability of one. As the pitch lowered, she could hear a voice. But she was too far away to understand what was being said.

She had to find out where that voice was coming from. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and concentrated. The voice was coming from somewhere close by. Opening her eyes once more, she looked up. There were several open windows above her. Maybe the source of the voice was up there somewhere.

With feline agility, she jumped to a railing on the second floor, near the first open window. As she looked inside, she saw nothing but a room. Not a person was inside. Slowly, she crawled to the next window. Again, she was greeted by an empty room. The third window gave her the view of a family. The mother was holding an infant. She looked tired. The other child, a boy of about 6 earth years saw her, and began coming at her, calling to his mother to look. But before she could turn her attention, Kat was gone. Several other windows gave glimpses of other families, or empty rooms, and she began to get discouraged as she began her search on the third floor.

But suddenly, she heard the voice again. This time, it was clear, and it wasn't speaking High Vulcan. It was speaking Romulan quietly. The man seemed to be alone, as if he were speaking into some kind of comm link. He was talking to his superior on the ship. As she inched closer to the window, she heard the plan.

"Everything is ready. When Surak makes his speech, he will die. No one will suspect anything, except an assassination from a rival political group."

"Has anyone suspected anything?"

"No," the man replied, "I have fit in here well."

Suddenly, Kat jumped in through the window, to see how this man would respond, and to get a look at what this man had with him. The people of Vulcan at this age didn't have any technology to speak of, and she wanted to know what this man was planning. If she could get a look at his things, she might be able to get an idea.

As the man ended his report to his superior, he looked at the feline with interest.

"And just what are you?" he asked, picking her up gently.

Wouldn't you like to know, she thought with a smile. She decided to play cute and rub against him as she purred. He noticed her collar and went to read it, but quickly Kat made it illegible to him. No sense in ruining the fun, she thought. Besides, there was a remote possibility he would recognize her Captain's name. She couldn't chance it.

"You have incredible eyes," he said, as she purred.

With grace, she jumped from his arms, and wandered around. He didn't seem to mind her presence, and she enjoyed this freedom. There were so many things one could do when they were not bound by their own physical limitations, she snickered to herself. She cased the small room. It wasn't full of much. Just a few furnishings, and a few belongings here and there. A couple of garments hung in the closet. From there, she jumped upon the top of a dresser. Here she found more interesting items. She found a Romulan scanner, and a few other things she did not recognize. But then, she found a precision weapon made to look like an ancient Vulcan walking staff. She stopped for a moment, stunned. She felt the man's eyes on her, so she went to the staff and nuzzled it, as if marking her territory. Within moments, he had her in his arms.

"Now, you don't want to mess with that," he said, placing her on the floor. "Perhaps you'd like some food."

He stood, and began walking to the kitchen. She took one more look at him. She would need to remember every detail of his face, if she was going to stop him. Once she was done she swiftly jumped to the window and scampered away. She had to get back to T'Leia and her crewmates.

As the Romulan man entered the room once more, carrying a small dish of meat, he noticed the feline was gone.

"Now where did that creature go?" he wondered.

_____________________
 

Kat quickly made her way through the town and back to the inn. With her feline agility still in tact, she made her way back up to the room at the inn. As she prepared to enter she heard:

" . . . Acknowledged, SAREK. Karia out."

As she entered, everyone was surprised. Within a moment's time, she was changed back into herself, as a Vulcan bond servant. Immediately the captain approached.

"Did you discover anything?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. There is a Romulan here. He is in another inn on the other side of Shikahr. He is planning to kill Surak during his speech to the people. He has some type of weapon disguised as a walking staff. I think that perhaps you should meet with Surak tomorrow and enroll as one of his students."

"That would seem to be a logical solution, Captain." Selvek said agreeing with the Commander.

T'Leia nodded. "Surak is scheduled to address the inhabitants of Shikahr within two days. I will . . . enroll as one of his students. Commander, did you get this Romulan's name?" T'Leia asked.

"No, but I know what he looks like. I want to run through the data base on all known Romulans. If I don't find his photo there, I'll create one myself. I memorized every feature of his face."

"Very well," the Captain replied. "Tomorrow we will seek out Surak. But now we all need rest.

"Captain, I would like to request your permission to walk through Shikahr. It should be a fascinating experience to observe our history in person," Selvek said, explaining her point.

T'Leia nodded. "Use caution, Healer. We do not wish to pollute the historical timeline of our world."

Selvek nodded and exited the room as Katianna started her search for the Romulan's identity.

___________________
 

T'Leia did indeed enroll as one of Surak's students. Besides protecting Surak, she found it to be a unique opportunity to learn from the Father of Vulcan Civilization, and even deeper than that, to hear his teachings on Philosophy, firsthand.

She also discovered something that their High Books did not record. That while Surak was a calm, logical being, he had a strong sense and belief in a Supreme, Creator Being of the universe. It made T'Leia reflect on her own beliefs. Kat listened too, quite absorbed in Surak's elegant arguing techniques.

"God," Kat muttered suddenly.

Surak and all his students turned their gazes to her. She dropped her head, pretending to have forgotten her place among them.

"We are all equal here. You may speak freely," Surak encouraged.

Kat looked at T'Leia as if seeking permission from her mistress. T'Leia nodded, giving her consent. Kat looked at Surak.

"Your talking about God . . . the Other," she said.

"Yes, I am. Do you agree with me on this conclusion?" he asked.

Kat hesitated. She believed in God, but would she be changing Vulcan history by answering "yes" to his question?

"Yes, I do."

"Sir, several of us believe in many gods. Who is this . . . the Other?" a student asked.

In his elegant style, Surak began his explanation.

__________________
 

"What's your plan, Captain?" Toruck's voice said, through thin air.

"We will lure the Romulan assassin that Commander Nadira has identified as SubCommander Gorez of the Imperial Romulan Assassination Elite, into an abandoned alley and transport him to the ship from there. Have your security guards ready to receive Gorez once we have him in the alley and signal for transport," T'Leia said.

"Aye, sir."

"Karia out. Now we need to prepare a plan to lure SubCommander Gorez into an alley tomorrow," she said.

"Captain, I believe I have an idea. Gorez seems attracted to me. Perhaps I can use that to our advantage tomorrow," Kat suggested.

"T'Leia nodded in agreement. "I will leave the . . . details of your plan up to you, Commander. But I urge you to use caution tomorrow when luring Gorez into our trap," the Vulcan said.

"Aye, Captain."

"With that said, I think we should all retire to our beds. We have a difficult task ahead of us tomorrow and we will need to be well rested," T'Leia said.

"Aye, sir," her officers replied in unison.

____________________
 

The following day, there was great bustling in the town of Shikahr. People had come from near and far to listen to Surak speak. This was going to be the most important speech he would make in his lifetime. Many people had already been following his teachings, but this was finally the day when he would reach more people than anyone could have imagined. The crew of the SAREK were already up and dressed, ready to start their search. They had less then three hours. Everyone paired up and began searching through the crowd in the town's meeting place.

Two hours swiftly passed, and the last hour was running by quickly. Still there was no sign of Gorez. Surak was just walking to the podium when Kat finally got a glimpse of the man she had seen two days earlier. T'Leia had seen her Commander's reaction, and looked toward the man. He was standing quietly, with his walking staff. He was deep in the crowd. It would be difficult to get him away. Suddenly, Katianna approached him, and accidentally ran into him.

"Oh-I'm sorry," she said hastily, as the walking staff dropped to the ground. "I guess I wasn't watching where I was going." Swiftly, she bent down and grabbed the staff.

As she stood and he began reaching for the staff, their eyes met, and all motion stopped. Her eyes were so green . . . like gems, he thought.

"Do I know you?" he asked.

She smiled. "Perhaps from a dream," she replied, and she began fading into the crowd with the staff.

Suddenly, Surak began to speak, and Gorez snapped to attention. He needed his staff! He looked for the entrancing woman, to see if she had fully vanished from the crowd, but she hadn't. She smiled at him sweetly, as if she wanted him to follow. He had read the traditions of ancient Vulcan, and one of the ancient mating rituals, before Pon farr, had included a situation much like this. He needed his staff, so he would play her game.

He followed Kat through he crowd. She made sure not to lose him. Soon, she was luring him into an alley with a sly smile and the raising of her skit, ever so slightly. Suddenly, once in the cover of the alley, Captain T'Leia, Cochrane, Selvek and Kat jumped Gorez and wrestled him to the ground. One expertly placed pinch to his neck by T'Leia was enough to put him out and the struggling stopped.

"Well done, Number One," the Captain said, turning toward Katianna.

"Thank you, Captain."

"SAREK, this is Captain Karia, five to beam up now," she called into her comm badge.

In an instant they were standing on the SAREK's transporter padd. Toruck and his men stood there waiting to receive their unconscious Romulan prisoner.

"Take our guest, Mr. Toruck, to the brig. When he regains consciousness inform him of the destruction of his ship," T'Leia said.

"With pleasure, Captain," Toruck said, and nodded to his men.

"Captain, request permission to go to Sickbay to have the doctor remove my eyes," Cochrane said.

"Permission denied, Ensign. Our first priority is to return to our own time," T'Leia replied.

Cochrane nodded. "Aye, sir."

T'Leia led the way to the bridge.

"Status Report," T'Leia called, as they walked onto the bridge.

Katianna had already , much to Cochrane's chagrin and envy, changed her bondservant's costume and appeared back to her Starfleet normal appearance. Everyone resumed their stations.

"Chroniton particles are still high enough for us to try to return to our own time," Torus, the C.O. reported, rising to his feet.

"You are relieved, Mr. Torus," T'Leia said to the Bridge C.O.

"Aye, sir," he replied, then turned and left.

"Mr. Cochrane, make the appropriate calculations for the return to our own time. Ambassador Ilwrena to the Captain's Ready Room. You have the bridge, Number One."

"Aye, sir."

After she disappeared, Kat smiled as she heard Cochrane crack, "Boy, is she going to hear it from the Captain."

"As far as Vulcan's chew out people, Ensign, she will MOST DEFINITELY hear it," Koram said from Kat's right side.

___________________
 

"Come."

Ambassador Ilwrena of the Romulan Star Empire came in.

"Yes, captain Karia? How may I be of assistance to you?" the Romulan asked.

"Please, ambassador, sit down. May I offer you some refreshments?" T'Leia responded.

Ilwrena sat down across from her.

"Captain, I don't mean to be rude, but can we come to the point here. I was in the middle of a rather enjoyable bath when you called," the Romulan woman replied in an annoyed tone.

"Ambassador, were you aware of an undercover Romulan mission to infiltrate my world's distant past and kill the Father of Vulcan Civilization?" T'Leia asked.

"Mission?" she laughed. "What on Remus are you talking about?" Ilwrena asked.

"Ambassador, a Scout Class vessel travelled backwards in time to ancient Vulcan, sent down one of the Romulan Empire's finest assassins, and attempted to kill Surak of Vulcan. You deny having knowledge of these events?"

"Captain, if you think my government tells me everything they are planning you are sadly mistaken. I am not privileged with that kind of information," Ilwrena  replied rather tersely.

T'Leia drilled into the Romulan's gaze for a few moments.

"Very well, ambassador, I accept your word. However, you maybe interested to know that we are holding a prisoner in the brig. His name is SubCommander Gorez of the Romulan Assasination Elite." T'Leia said finally.

"May I speak with him?"

"Of course, ambassador. I will arrange for Lieutenant Toruck to conduct you to see him."

"Captain, may I request another . . . escort? Your Lieutenant and I don't exactly like one another."

"Request denied. It is my Chief of Security or you will not be allowed to see Gorez."

"Agreed then. If you'll excuse me."

T'Leia nodded and tapped her commbadge.

"Mr. Toruck, conduct Ambassador Ilwrena to see the prisoner," she said.

"Aye, sir."

_____________________

"Sending out chroniton particles in 5 . . .4 . . .3 . . .2 . . .1."

The SAREK shook once again and the stars disappeared for a moment.

Captain Karia turned to her Chief Science Officer as space once again appeared before them

"Captain, we are being hailed by the runabout Surak." Toruck said.

"On screen, Mr. Toruck."

K'Elash Fanar, the SAREK's new ship's Counselor appeared on the screen.

"Captain, is everything all right? The ship disappeared from our sensors for 5.6 seconds."

"We are fine, Lieutenant. Proceed with docking procedures. SAREK out." T'Leia replied. She turned towards Simmons at the helm. "Ensign Simmons, lay in a course for Pacifica, warp factor 5 and execute when the runabout is on board," she ordered.

"Aye, sir."

____________________
 

COMMANDER'S PERSONAL LOG: 9705.15

If nothing else, I can certainly say this mission was interesting. And though I enjoyed seeing ancient Vulcan first hand, after doing all the research years ago, I can say that I am very happy to be back in my own time. Though I still don't know my Captain or crewmates as well as I'd like to, I'm sure it will come in time. But, if nothing else, at least our first mission was a success.

End Log

Katianna stared at the screen before her and re-examined her log. It was short, but sweet. Finally, she would get a good night's sleep. With a first successful mission under her belt on this ship with this Captain, she knew things were only going to go up from here.

She stood from the chair and stretched. Instead of simply changing her clothes through her powers, she decided to do it the human way. Wearily, her uniform vanished as she chose a nightgown from her closet. As soon as she crawled in bed, she was asleep. Her dreams were sweet, and of her hero - the magnificent King Arthur . . .

_____________________
 

CAPTAIN'S PERSONAL LOG: STARDATE 9705.13

With our mission complete on ancient Vulcan, I am now taking time to re-examine my personal faith and beliefs in the Other. Having heard Surak speak in person has caused unusual chaos in my normally assured and calm thoughts. I have always, as most Vulcans do, believe in a Supreme Creator Being whom humans refer to as God. The Other is closest to the Ancient High Vulcan word meaning when translated into Starfleet standard.

Hlt'til'rith.

That is our word for God . . . the Other.

I will seek out guidance for my questions.

END LOG

_________________________

Koram Kale looked up as the doors to the SAREK's chapel opened and Captain T'Leia Karia walked into the room. He was just about to start the devotions of his flock when the Vulcan Captain had entered.

"captain, may I help you?" he asked.

"I would like to join your group in its . . . devotions."

"Of course, Captain, you are ALWAYS welcomed here. Let us begin . . . "