Mars Approaching

[Chirakis 1]

Mars Approaching

The small viewport that encircled the station’s pinnacle was primarily constructed to give engineers access to the delicate electronics housed therein.  Kirel Chirakis, however, found it a place of meditation.  She often came here to recover from the stress of command, and this morning it was desperately needed.  The uncertainty of Ma’ev and its crew and the possibility of losing the Romulan she most admired had pressed her almost beyond her ability to cope.

Here, at the station’s pinnacle, she could relax, alone in a silence broken only by the gentle hum of electronics and the occasional click of shifting parameters.  Just outside, fighters, shuttles, and starships engaged in a perpetual dance between the station and flight corridors, flowing smoothly and silently, with only a sudden burst of light to indicate their exit vectors.  Beyond them nearby stars and distant galaxies scattered the darkness.

‘Tis a strange thing, this Sky Harbor we call Aegis.  She mused.  It was designed with a practicality that would help it endure for generations, and yet it is merely a planet in reverse, fashioned to give an illusion of security.  Its inhabitants live within its frame instead of on the surface.  The fragile exterior that allows them to survive contains an equally fragile interior that allows them to live as though we were on a planet, yet one false move could erase the lives of nearly 6,000 in an instant.  Like Ma’ev on a grand scale.  Like her crew. Like Jorahl.

Starfleet Intelligence called him The Reaper, for his ability to take captured Federation vessels, pick them apart for their secrets, and cunningly reverse-engineer them for the purposes of the Romulan Star Empire.  But that was long ago, before the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire were allies, when Kirel devoted her life to SI-5.

“Kh’éile?”

Unlike many times before, Captain d’Ka’s psionic intrusion came through gently, with a touch of concern.

“Yes?” she replied aloud as she continued to stare into space.

“Your mind wanders in directions it has not taken for years.”

Her snort came through as more of a laugh.  “And you are concerned about the wandering?”

“I am.  Especially when it wanders in the direction you are about to take.”

Corridors cleared and a flight of fighters shot from the bay to begin scheduled defense maneuvers in the asteroid belt.  Arms folded, she straightened up to watch.  “And what direction would that be?”

“Revenge.”

She turned slowly, repeating “Revenge?” in surprise.

“Kh’éile, the destruction of the Ma’ev, the suffering and death of many, the possibility of losing someone you admire, and the threat of the time loop weigh more heavily than you realize.  In the next few days you will have to make difficult decisions. Take care.”

The connection broke.  After staring blankly for a moment, Kirel turned to the viewport, but her thoughts had turned to other things.  Instead of taking the lift, she began a slow descent to the commerce deck and her office, where she would remain for the next few hours to consider his warning.