The Yamato had spent its week long return trip to Deep Space 17 repairing the minor damage it had sustained in its skirmish with the Orion pirates within the Badlands. The crew however was upbeat. From their perspective it had been a successful mission. Solaris, however, was less than sure. She, and her team, had recovered the weapon Starfleet had allowed to be stolen. Then she had decided to destroy the weapon before it ever even got back to the ship. Was that a success? In Intel’s eyes, probably. It meant that it wasn’t out there as a potential threat to Starfleet or its allies. But they also didn’t have the prototype or the plans for it now, meaning they wouldn’t be able to use it if some other threat reared its head in the near future.

She sighed, staring at the report on the PADD in her hands: ‘Weapon recovered, destroyed during escape from Jade Exchange due to antimatter containment failure.’ it read. The truth, though not in its entirety. It left out that she had been the cause of that failure. Further she didn’t know what the reports of T’liss or Kael would say, and she wasn’t going to ask. If either of them wanted to tell the whole story, she wasn’t going to stop them. It had been her choice and she wasn’t going to order them to leave anything out. She set the PADD down on the coffee table and stood, moving quietly from the couch where she had been seated and moved over to the windows. Her quarters were on deck 5, and while not the most forward point on the saucer, did provide her with a lovely view of the ship traveling through warp toward its eventual destination. Her eyes followed random points as they flew past and out of her vision. Had she done the right thing? She thought so. She would have to live with the consequences now, whether they were punitive from Starfleet or just her own conscience nagging her.

“Bridge to the Captain. We have just dropped out of warp at Deep Space 17.” a voice called from the darkness in her quarters.

Sol jumped, having not expected to fall asleep on the couch. She cleared her throat, glancing out the windows again. The Canopus-class station sat glittering it space, standing its silent vigil on at the far edge of Federation space. They’d spend some time there again, resupplying and giving the crew some shoreleave before hopefully heading out beyond it on an exploration mission.

“Thank you. Set us into a parking orbit. McLaren out.” she said, standing. She needed to freshen up and change so she could deliver her report. While she probably could have just filed it remotely, she thought it good practice to deliver bad news in person. She moved from the main room of her quarters into the bedroom and then into the head where the sonic shower awaited her. She loosened the tie on her dress and shrugged it off.

“Computer activate sonic shower.” she said as she stepped into it, leaning against the wall as she allowed herself to wake up, enjoying the tingling pulses as the sonic waves worked their magic.

Freshly showered and dressed in her uniform, this time, with a regulation skirt instead of the scant she usually preferred, Solaris stood waiting in the public area of DS17’s intelligence section, waiting for Commander Kane. Already she could tell some changes had been made as the place felt just a bit more lively than when she had last been in to see the commander. She paced a bit, gently tapping the PADD she was holding against the palm of her other hand as she waited. Her back was turned as Thaddeus entered from deeper within the section.

“Captain?” he called, causing her to turn. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked, gesturing for her to follow. She did so, falling into step alongside him. She held up the PADD.

“I cam to deliver my report…” she stated. He looked over, accepting the PADD beginning to skim through it as they walked.

“You could have just filed it remotely… there was no need to trouble yourself.” he said. Sol took a moment to study the section in detail. Before it had been mostly empty, but now analysts sat at their desks working diligently and the whole area seemed more alive. She was happy to see some of what she had said before the mission had stuck with the Commander.

“It’s no trouble… I gave the crew some shoreleave, so the Yamato will be here for a while anyway. Plus… I’ve always thought it bad form to deliver bad news electronically.” she said. Smiling. The pair passed into the main office and Kane gestured for her to have a seat.

“Yes… I had read your other teammates’ reports just a moment ago. Unfortunate that the weapon was damaged in the escape. Thankfully you and yours were okay though.” he said, taking a seat behind the desk. He set the PADD down on it and looked at Solaris.

“Yes… I was unaware it had even taken damage until its containment started to fail on our way to the Yamato.” she said, relieved that the others had kept up the story, despite not being ordered to. She had suspected T’liss would, but didn’t know about Kael until now. She owed them both a drink.

“Well atleast its no longer in the hands of the Orions… or anyone else for that matter.” Kane commented. Sol nodded.

“Yes, that is a good thing. I was able to see just the sort of power the thing possessed… and it was nothing short of incredible… if someone had figured out how to enlarge it and mount it on a ship, it would have caused us significant problems. Now no one can have it.” she said. Kane nodded.

“Indeed. I’d consider your mission a success in that regard. I’m sure intel will understand that the loss of the weapon was unavoidable, so I wouldn’t worry about that.” he said.

Sol nodded. In truth she wasn’t. Intel would survive without it and so would Starfleet.

“That’s good to hear.” she said. Kane smiled and gestured to the PADD.

“I’ll file this with the others and my official report, Captain. Thank you.” he said. Sol nodded and stood.

“Looks like you finally got some more people around here…” he commented with a grin.

“Yes… just following some advice someone gave me.” he said, sharing a look with her. She nodded.

“Whoever that was, they must’ve been pretty smart.” she said, laughing. Kane laughed.

“And quite forcefully protective of their crew.” he added. Sol nodded and turned.

“If you can listen to someone like that… you’ll do just fine, Commander.” she said, making her way out of the office.

Kane watched the captain stroll from his office and turned his attention to the PADD with her report on it. He had his own report to finish and append these to.

It had been a few days since the Yamato had arrived back at Deep Space 17, and the crew was enjoying their shoreleave. Solaris however was just as busy as ever. Captaining a starship was not a task for the faint of heart. So while her crew was off on the station, she was ensconced in her ready room, reviewing reports. She looked up from a PADD when her door chimed.

“Come in.” she called. She was surprised to see the form of Commander Kane as the doors parted to allow him entry.

“Captain.” he greeted. Sol gestured to one of the chairs across from the desk.

“Commander, what can I do for you?’ she asked.

“Well after I filed my report… I went back and looked at yours again…” he said. Sol raised an eyebrow. Had she missed something.
“Yes?” she asked.

“Something doesn’t add up. He said. You said you didn’t even notice that the weapon was damage until the containment failure was underway.” he said. “I find it hard to believe a person such as yourself would miss something like that.” he continued. Sol sat back, watching Kane for the moment.

“Further some of the things you said, both before and after the mission make me question what happened.” he said. So he wasn’t as inept as she had first believed.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Commander. You read the reports of my team and my own report. They are consistent, as far as I’ve been led to believe. Do you have any evidence otherwise?” she asked. He frowned and shook his head.

“No, no evidence as such. Just feelings.” he said. Sol gestured for him to continue. “Speaking hypothetically… I believe that the weapon was fine during your escape from the station.” he said.

“And yet, there is no weapon here… so it clearly was not.” she said. He shook his head.

“You, or your team made sure of that. You yourself seemed quite pleased that no one could have the weapon when we spoke a few days ago.” he said.

“Speaking hypothetically, Commander.” she began, leveling a more serious gaze at him. “What if I was?” she asked. “You can’t mean to tell me you believe that rifle was a good idea.” she said. The Commander just shrugged.

“I don’t know.” he said. Sol opened her mouth to speak, then paused and tapped a few controls, making sure nothing in the ready room would be able to record their conversation.

“Again, speaking hypothetically… I know it wasn’t. I understand when and why it was developed. Desperation is a powerful motivator. But we can’t let it take us there… because it never stops once we do. There’s always a bigger threat. Always a more powerful counter.” she said.

“How did you do it?” he asked her.

“Hypothetically?” she asked. The Commander nodded. “Exactly as it says in the report. The rifle containment did fail. However it was not due to damage. It was deliberate on my part. Starfleet does not need a potential doomsday weapon in its back pocket. You know it and I know it.” she said.

“How can you make that call?” he asked. She paused, staring up at the ceiling.

“Commander… every once in a while, there’s a day with an absolute right and an absolute wrong, but those days almost always include body counts. The rest is just shades of grey. How can I make that call? By listening to my moral compass, my conscience.” she said. “Hypothetically, of course.” she added Kane studied her face for a moment, then placed the PADD he had been carrying on her desk. She glanced down, and picked it up. She scanned its contents and her eyes widened.

“A transfer?” she asked. “Here? Why?” she asked. Kane nodded.

“I believe I could learn things here that I can not on a space station.” he said. Sol nodded slowly.

“You realize this would come with a reduction in rank… I don’t have the spot for another full Commander right now.” she said. He nodded.

“I can accept that.” he said. Sol nodded again, thinking for a moment. Maybe he could learn. Maybe he just wanted to keep an eye on her. She didn’t know. She pressed her thumb onto the PADD then handed it back.

“The crew is on leave for now, so gather your things and tend to your affairs aboard the station and be ready to depart when the ship is.” she said. He accepted the PADD and nodded.

“Thank you, Captain.” he said, standing.

“You’re welcome. Welcome aboard the Yamato, Commander.” she said, gesturing that he could depart. He did so with a nod, leaving Sol to consider just what had happened. She shrugged, deciding to figure it out later. She picked up one of the other PADDs and went back to reviewing status reports.