Captain’s Log, Supplemental. Ark Royal remains in orbit of Valdran Prime at the request of the new provisional government to assist with the round-up of any remaining Klingon warriors left behind by the retreat of their forces. The USS Spitfire has already received new orders and has departed en route to Federation space. Meanwhile, the new government has requested that both Romulan warbirds depart the system immediately. While Commander Shavik of the Romulan Republic has departed with good grace, Commander Mireth of the Free State is being predictably stubborn and refuses to leave until we’ve handed over Doctor Livek.

The gentle beep of heart rates and the soft words of doctors and nurses to their patients provided the background noise for Raisa Shukri’s return to Ark Royal. The air was heavy with the scent of antiseptic fields, burned flesh, dermaline gel and the tang of iron-rich blood.

Doctor Young had insisted that the team get checked out before being allowed to return to their quarters. Raisa didn’t want to be sitting here on a biobed. She needed to speak to Captain Henris and then she needed to sink into a hot tub.

“I’m gonna spend a week in the sonic shower tryin’ to get this stink off me,” Tanner grumbled as he was examined by one of the junior medical officers. “I smell like I’ve spent the last two days rollin’ round with my grandpops prize-winnin’ pigs.”

The young doctor leaned in and whispered something to Tanner. Whatever he said, the security officer’s face turned an interesting shade of pink. The doctor left them, causing both Raisa and Callahan to turn to Tanner with expectant looks.

“What did he say to you?” Callahan asked.

Tanner couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “Nothin’.” He looked up at the ceiling with the ghost of a grin playing on his features. It was clear he wasn’t going to repeat what the medical officer said.

Raisa turned to Callahan. “How’re you holding up?”

“I’m,” Raisa suspected Callahan was about to claim that ‘she was fine’ but thought better of it. “I’ve been better.” Callahan let out a shaky breath. “We were so close. Just a few more minutes and we could’ve extracted him safely. I should’ve known the Tal Shiar wouldn’t let him go easily. I should’ve seen this coming.”

Raisa reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. “This isn’t your fault.” 

“The hell it isn’t,” Callahan replied hotly. “He was my asset, he was my responsibility and he’s dead because I was too short-sighted to see this coming.”

“You had no way of knowing the Tal Shiar already had an asset on the planet.”

Callahan sat up. “I should’ve known. It’s my job to know.”

“What would you have done differently?” Raisa asked.

Callahan had clearly already been replaying events in her mind because her answer was instant. “I wouldn’t have let him order that drink.”

“We’d been in that tavern for almost an hour before Livek arrived,” Raisa pointed out. “There was nothing to suggest anything out of the ordinary.”

“I should’ve-”

“You’re not a telepath,” Raisa said gently. “Sometimes bad people blend in so seamlessly that you don’t know they’re there until it’s too late.”

Callahan’s shoulders slumped as the fight seemed to leave her, her anger giving way to sadness.

“Beating yourself up won’t bring Livek back,” Raisa told her. “And I doubt that’s what he’d want you to do.”

Callahan nodded slowly as Doctor Young strode in, drawing their attention.

“Any word on da Costa?” Raisa asked.

Young gave her a reassuring smile. “He’s in surgery now,” he told her. “According to Doctor Trenai, the Romulan doctor did a good job under the circumstances, but he was no substitute for a properly equipped surgical bay with a full staff.”

“What about them?” Raisa asked, looking at Callahan and Tanner. 

Young followed her gaze. “A few scrapes and bruises. Nothing serious,” he replied. “They’ll be outta here pretty soon.”

“And me?”

Young’s smile widened. “You’re fine. I won’t keep you here any longer than I have to.”

“You’re just saying that because you don’t want us stinking the place out,” Raisa joked.

Amusement twinkled in Young’s eyes. “We’ll get rid of those Romulan features and you’ll be outta here in no time.”

Raisa looked around the room. In addition to her team, the other biobeds were occupied by people with burns, cuts, and bruises. She reached out and placed a gentle hand on Young’s forearm. “How bad was it up here?”

“Bad,” Young replied darkly. “Nine dead in the first battle. We lost another three in the second. Dozens injured.

Ark Royal had already been through so much in the past year. The crew had lost their captain and first officer, not to mention countless friends and colleagues. They deserved a break from death, but apparently, death had other ideas.

“What happened to Doctor Livek?” Young asked.

Raisa let out a heavy sigh. “He was poisoned. Hopefully, you can tell us what kind when his autopsy is done.”

“The captain’s asked me to hold off on that for now.”

That news surprised Raisa. “Why?”

“Something to do with the Free State commander beaming over.”

“I want Doctor Livek transported to my ship immediately.”

Commander Mireth demanded as she stormed into the ready room. The charming persona she’d used before was gone, replaced by a much more forceful woman. Arlo didn’t look up from the PADD he was pretending to read. Eventually he slowly placed the PADD on his desk and looked up into the glowering face of the Romulan commander.

“It takes some nerve to storm in here and make demands of me,” Arlo narrowed his eyes. “Especially after what you did.”

Mireth leaned forward and slammed her palms on the desk. “Those Klingons attacked and subjugated a Romulan world. I did what needed to be done. What you were too soft to do.”

Her anger towards the Klingons was genuine, though it probably had as much to do with the centuries of animosity between the two great powers as it did with the Klingon’s actions at Valdran. Arlo took a deep breath and pushed the emotions he was sensing out of his mind.

“Their ship was disabled,” Arlo replied calmly. “They posed no threat to either of us.”

Mireth pushed herself to her full height. “I’m not here to talk about the Klingons. I’m here for Livek.”

“What makes you think we have him?” Arlo asked innocently. 

“I already told you you’re a poor liar, captain.” Mireth crossed her arms. “Our sensors detected a Romulan beaming up with the rest of your team. You will hand him over. Now.”

Arlo slowly stood. “What good is his body to you?”

Mireth didn’t respond immediately. Arlo could see her consider how best to play this. “He’s dead?”

“You’re operative didn’t tell you that?” Arlo asked.

Mireth crossed her arms. “He was unclear on the condition of Doctor Livek.” She considered the situation for a moment. “You will return his body to us.”

“Why?”

“Because if you do not, I will take him by force.”

The commander’s threat was an empty one and they both knew it. “Neither of us is in any shape for another fight.” He told her evenly. 

“Why must you keep trying to lie to me, captain?” Mireth asked smugly.

“Come with me.”

Arlo led the Free State commander out of the ready room and across the bridge. As they walked, the security officer who escorted Mireth from the transporter room fell in a few steps behind them. The two leaders fell into an awkward silence.

The journey to sickbay took only a few minutes and the pair were soon entering the medical facility’s reception area. Doctor Young was standing at the nurse’s station, conversing with a member of his staff. Arlo’s pulse quickened when his eyes met Young’s and he caught another hint of the CMO’s aftershave.

Young’s eyes darted to the Romulan over Arlo’s shoulder. He regarded Mireth warily. “Captain, what can I do for you?”

“Commander Mireth would like to see Doctor Livek,” Arlo told him.

The CMO eyed Arlo hesitantly. “But sir-”

“Now, Doctor,” Arlo told him firmly.

Young seemed reluctant but eventually nodded. “Yes, sir. If you’ll follow me.”

The doctor led them away from the nurse’s station. Arlo glanced to his right to see Commander Shukri and her team watching them through the transparent aluminium wall separating the ward from the reception area. While he would prefer to check in on them, he needed to see this through to the end. He acknowledged them with a tight-lipped smile and a nod before moving out of sight.

A chill travelled down Arlo’s spine as they entered the morgue. Memories of seeing his father in a place much like this on Betazed flooded back to him. Over twenty-five years later, the wound left by his father’s death was as raw as ever. He made a mental note to schedule an appointment with Counselor Loxley before brushing his pain to one side.

Doctor Young pressed a control on one of the morgue drawers and a slab emerged from the wall with a covered body underneath it. Arlo glanced at Mireth, who looked unsurprised by this. Arlo was certain he could sense her satisfaction. Young pulled the sheet back, revealing the Romulan scientist.

“Still think I’m lying?”

Mireth removed a tricorder from her belt and pointed at Livek’s body. The device told her what was obvious from the body’s mottled skin and the blisters around his mouth. “How do I know this isn’t some sort of elaborate trick?”

“Because your tricorder’s telling you so,” Young snapped. It was an unexpected outburst from the normally affable chief medical officer. “This is the man your operative murdered.”

Mireth looked up at Young. “I take no pleasure from this, doctor. We couldn’t allow him to share his knowledge with the Federation.” She looked at Young. “You’ll prepare to transport his remains to my ship.”

“Excuse me?” The request took Arlo completely by surprise and he was unable to keep that from showing on his face.

Mireth looked from Arlo to Young and back. “Tovan Livek was a citizen of the Romulan Free State. You will transfer his remains to my ship for transport back to T’Met for burial.”

“No, we won’t,” Young told her. His soft voice held a steely edge to it. “Doctor Livek’s parents live on Valdran Prime. They’ve already made a request through the provisional government for his remains to be returned to them.”

A fire burned in Mireth’s eyes and that fire was aimed at Arlo. “You cannot be thinking of granting their request.”

“I already have,” he told her. “His body will be returned to his family on Valdran.”

There was little Mireth could do and she knew it. Her ship was in no shape to fight over Livek’s remains and even if it was, Arlo doubted she was about to get into a shooting match over a dead man. Mireth fumed silently and out of the corner of his eye, Arlo could see Young glaring at her. 

“This isn’t the last you’ll hear of this,” Mireth strode towards the door, stopping on the threshold and turning to face them. “For what it’s worth, I wish our alliance didn’t have to end like this.” She turned and walked out, the young security officer following close behind.

The door closed behind her, leaving the two Starfleet officers alone with the body of Doctor Livek. Arlo turned to Young. “I wasn’t aware his family had requested for his remains to be returned to them.”

“They haven’t,” Young replied with a conspiratorial smile. “Not yet at least.”

Arlo couldn’t stop the smile from his lips. “Good work, doctor.”

“Thank you, sir,” Young replied. 

Leaving Young to place Livek’s remains back into suspension, Arlo left the morgue. He didn’t want to spend a minute longer there than he had to and he wanted to check in with Shukri and her team before returning to the bridge.

“How’re you feeling?” Arlo asked when he approached Shukri.

The first officer’s Romulan disguise had been removed and she looked like herself again. “Better now that I’ve got rid of the pointed ears and forehead ridges.” She glanced around before leaning in and lowering her voice. “Sir, could I talk to you for a moment? In private?”

Arlo nodded and led her to an empty consultation room next to Young’s office. He leaned against the desk as Shukri sealed the door behind them. Whatever she had to talk to him about, it was serious. “What’s going on, commander?”

“Before he died, Doctor Livek told me something,” Raisa began. “One last piece of intelligence he could pass on.”

Livek had access to many secrets. “What did he say?”

“He told me,” Raisa took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “He told me that Thomas Forrester is still alive.” Arlo had never met Forrester but he knew the Challenger’s former CO had gone missing months ago. It felt like the air had been knocked from his chest. “He said that if we find Tarnek Oreth, we’ll find Forrester.”