Chapter 8: Promotions Are Always Earned, Kryptonian

The Diplomacy Department of Starfleet had never been so inundated with requests in its entire existence. Normally, that wouldn't have bothered the staff at all, since they worked at their required snail's pace of bureaucracy, and it had always been that way. It couldn't be forced or changed, either. Things worked a certain way and that was the way it had always been.

Their problem was that they had three admirals, six captains, twice that many senior officers, and ten times that many normal officers, constantly visiting them every day and making inquiries about a certain set of documents that hadn't been approved yet. It caused the diplomatic staff a lot of frustration and it was annoying as well, since they had always been left alone to do their jobs and almost no one bothered them unless it was an emergency.

The admiral in charge of the department sat in his office and huffed as yet another annoying memo appeared in his queue and he deleted it without even reading anything beyond the header.

“I'll get to it when I get to it.” The man groused.

“Now I see why none of my personal requests have been seen to, Admiral Germain.” Admiral Picket's harsh voice said from his doorway.

“Admiral!” Germain said and jerked in his chair, as if to stand up.

“At ease.” Admiral Picket ordered and the other man relaxed slightly.

“I wasn't told you were visiting.” Germain said.

“Yes, I asked Nina to not inform you, so you couldn't weasel out of actually meeting me like you have the last two times I've made an appointment.” Admiral Picket said and Germain winced at being caught.

“What do you want to see me about?” Germain said.

“As you very well know, I run Starfleet Personnel.” Admiral Picket said and the other man nodded. “It has come to my attention that you are ignoring dozens of memos and requests and I was going to inquire as to why they don't seem to be reaching you.”

Germain sighed. He knew the jig was up, considering he had just been caught deleting an important memo. “What do you want?”

Admiral Picket took out a datapad and typed a few things on it, then handed over. “Sign that.”

Germain didn't even look at it as he gave his approval. “Where are you sending me?”

“I believe the demilitarized Romulan Neutral Zone is in desperate need of your advanced diplomatic skills.” Admiral Picket said and Germain nodded. “Your replacement will be here in two days and you will give them access to everything you've done... or not done... for the last six months. Please accommodate her and her assistant appropriately.”

Germain nodded. “I won't rock the boat, sir.”

Admiral Picket nodded back and left the office. Once he had his chosen representative in place, he would tell her what the actual situation was and what she absolutely needed to do to not only keep her reputation intact, it would boost her career to new heights. Depending on how she handled it, she could make admiral at the next Starfleet promotions meeting.

*

The USS Enterprise received a distress call from another ship, the USS Lantree. Since it was an automated signal and not a live message, Captain Picard ordered Calvin to take them to the distressed ship's location and to maintain his distance.

They arrived and found the ship adrift and no explanation could be found through normal means. Calvin, Data, and Geordi teamed up and brainstormed about the best way to handle the investigation without risking anyone.

“Why don't we do what we did with your old command ship, Cal?” Geordi asked.

Calvin smiled at his friend. “We link up our computers and use the Lantree as the broadcaster.”

“That should provide appropriate visuals and give us full access to the ship's logs and records.” Data added.

“Let's get to work.” Geordi said and the trio easily linke the Enterprise and the Lantree computers and used the internal sensors on the Lantree to see what was happening.

Everyone was shocked to see that the entire crew had died of old age.

“Most of the crew were the same age as ours.” Deanna said in a whisper. “What could have happened?”

“Data has the most experience with the older computer systems. It shouldn't take him long to find out.” Calvin said. “That is, assuming there are records of the thing.”

Picard nodded. “Make it so, Mister Data.”

“Yes sir.” Data said and everyone waited as his fingers moved in a blur and his eyes didn't move at all. Several minutes later, his fingers stopped moving. “The only evidence of any medical problems was a harmless case of Thelusian flu that was found in one of the ship's officers. It was registered three days ago.”

“The flu definitely couldn't mutate into doing something like that.” Calvin said. “There has to be another cause.”

“What was their last port of call?” Riker asked.

“It was the Darwin Genetic Research Station on Gagarin IV.” Data said and nearly everyone on the bridge exchanged knowing looks.

Picard almost laughed at the shared thought that his crew had, because he shared it as well and knew that would be the cause as well. “Set up a quarantine protocol for the Lantree and take us to Gagarin.”

“Yes, sir.” Data and Calvin said together and both tasks were carried out.

*

“I knew it!” Tasha said when the distress call from the research station came in and they reported the same condition of rapidly growing old.

Calvin had to smile at her. “It's rare for you to gloat about your intelligence, Tasha.”

Geordi barked a laugh and covered it with a cough as Tasha blushed a little.

Picard tapped his comm badge. “Dr. Pulaski, please join us here on the bridge. I believe we will need your expertise.”

“I'll be right there, captain.” Katherine responded. She was on the bridge a couple of minutes later.

“How should we handle this?” Picard asked.

“Quarantine protocols.” Calvin said. “Put up the warnings and hope no one breaks containment.”

“Intense screening with the sensors to find the infected and then try the transporter program Calvin and Dr. Pulaski created.” Data said.

“Blow it up.” Worf said, just to make everyone chuckle.

“We shouldn't expose anything living to whatever it is.” Dr. Pulaski said. “It travelled throughout an entire starship in less than two days and killed everyone, which means it's airborne and virulent beyond reason.”

“What about androids?” Geordi asked.

“Has Data had experience in situations like this?” Tasha asked.

“No. I am willing to try.” Data offered.

“We can do that, as long as we're willing to never see Data again.” Calvin said and everyone feel silent. “If it's airborne, then anything we use or expose, will become a carrier or a container to pass it along.”

“Then we use the already infected researchers.” Riker said and everyone looked at him. “Send them a medical K-scanner with a hidden remote detonator to destroy it when they're done using it.”

“Calvin?” Picard asked.

“I'll need Data's and Karen's help for about ten minutes to add in the appropriate software and hardware changes and one of the Kay's help to replicate it.” Calvin said. “We won't need to worry about contaminating their society with advanced technology.”

Picard nodded. “Dr. Pulaski, if you would accompany them and be a liaison with the research station on the scanner's operation.”

“Of course, captain.” Dr. Pulaski said and she, Calvin, and Data left the bridge.

Half an hour later, the source of the plague was found and quarantined (genetically engineered children), the researchers were inoculated, the loaned scanner was destroyed, and the updated transporter protocols were sent throughout the federation. The infection would have no way to spread.

Picard sent a priority message about the incident to Starfleet Command and they responded by ordering the destruction of the Lantree to remove any source of the aging disease. The USS Enterprise returned to where the ship had been quarantined and remotely set the self destruct and sent the ship into the local star.

The crew would later learn about Starfleet restricting the research station and destroying all of their research, because it violated dozens of interstellar trade agreements about altering the human genome and engineering it to become 'perfect', like the disastrous genetic supermen from Earth's history.

*

The admittance chime to her brand new office rang and she hit the acceptance key. Janice Beltram saw who it was and shot to her feet to salute the man. “Sir!”

Admiral Picket smiled at her as he returned the salute. “At ease, Commodore.”

“Sir.” Janice said and did as ordered. “I can't thank you enough for arranging this posting for me, sir.”

“It is a prestigious posting.” Picket said and then shook his head. “Well, it used to be. Germain's messed up a lot of things, so you've got your work cut out for you.”

Janice nodded. She had spent the last two days going over everything the previous head of the department had done and she was not looking forward to trying to fix all of the mistakes. The ignored correspondence alone was going to take her weeks to sort through, even with her assistant.

“I would like to help a little with that, if you will allow it.” Picket said.

Janice was surprised at the officer, especially since the man ran Starfleet Personnel and was responsible for every posting in the entire organization. “Sir, any help would be appreciated. I know how busy you are.”

Picket smiled again. “Let me fill you in on a few things that have happened recently.”

Half an hour later, Janice sat in her chair with her head in her hands. “Sir, you said... did he really...”

“Yes, he completely ignored the whole thing.” Picket said and handed her the latest datapad with all of the inquiries that had come into her department while she was trying to get up to speed.

Janice took it and placed it on her desk and put her head back in her hands as she read them. “What do you expect me to do with this, sir? This is more than a mess! It's a diplomatic disaster!”

Picket chuckled and took out another datapad. “Surprisingly, I have some contacts that can help.”

Janice couldn't stop her huff and accepted the datapad. “You need to work on your humor, sir.”

“My wife claims she has the stick in my ass about halfway out.” Picket said and Janice laughed.

“Much better, sir.” Janice said and her eyes widened as she read the names. “Are you serious, sir?”

“Jack Crusher is only an acquaintance of mine and a good friend of a friend of mine, Admiral Hossum.” Picket said. “It's Jack's son that's been the inadvertent cause of a lot of this.”

Janice nodded and sat up straight. “Should I go to his father first or go for the jugular with his mother?”

Picket chuckled. “It would be a good idea to do either thing, especially since it will get you in direct contact with Ensign Crusher if you have an in with his parents. Having their approval will go a very long way with both him and his wife.”

Janice looked at the contact list again. “Ambassador Lwaxana Troi is her mother? Do I even want to try opening that proverbial Pandora's Box?”

Picket shrugged. “As far as I know, she adores her son-in-law. The things he's done on Betazed have made the planet's status change from a normal member of the federation to elite.”

Janice was surprised to hear that. “I assume whatever it was, didn't go through the Diplomatic Corps?”

“Not officially.” Picket said with a knowing smile. “We all know what Ambassador Troi is like. The paperwork was filed and had her name on it. It was signed through without even being reviewed.”

Janice shook her head. “Germain really was an idiot.”

“I must refuse in making an official review of his lackluster performance in the face of adversity.” Picket said and she laughed.

“Point taken, sir.” Janice said and gave him a pointed look. “Do you have a vested interest in this, sir?”

“Only in the respect that it will affect the entire federation and the available personnel in the future.”

Janet's mouth dropped open at the stark admission that what she was about to handle was going to affect humanity to such a degree.

“That was the stick. Would you like the carrot?” Picket asked and she nodded. “If things work out after such an epic screw-up, there's already a pending recommendation in place for a certain ambitious commodore to become a vice-admiral.”

Janice caught her breath at that. She would be jumped two entire ranks!

“Her current job needs a certain status to be maintained, after all.” Picket said and stood up. The look on her face was exactly the one he was hoping for. Determination. “Good luck, Janice.”

Janice stood and saluted. “Thank you, sir! You won't be disappointed!”

Picket returned the salute and left her office. He nodded at the young woman waiting by the door and held in his laugh as she ran inside before the door shut and she started squealing with happiness. He kept his face blank until he entered his own office and burst out laughing.

That's how you light a fire under someone's ass to get them moving. Picket thought and sat down at his desk to get back to work. He had three ships to decommission within the next six months and personnel to reassign. The new ships wouldn't be ready for another eight months, so he had some scheduling conflicts to work out before he could relax.

His eyes caught the datapad with the reports that the inspectors had forwarded to him and he paused in his thoughts as he quickly skimmed through it and stopped at the absolutely shocking report about the Kryptonian Empire actually replicating entire working starships that dwarfed the old Excelsior class that Starfleet had sent out for the inspection.

It wasn't just the superstructure or the hulls, either. It was fully functional with power systems, weapon systems, replicators, furniture, and recreation facilities including holodecks. The metallurgy of the hulls was identical to the original pod that Calvin Crusher had been found in and that was an amazing bit of information that a lot of people didn't understand the implication of.

Picket knew that normal transporters didn't work on that type of metal because it was so dense that conventional handheld weaponry wouldn't work against it. No one had tried a starship weapon against it, because the original pod had been pretty much disassembled by the time they got around to that extensive of an experiment.

He put down the datapad and sat back as he thought about the implications of both the metal used and the idea that an entire shipbuilding industry could be replaced by technology that made their jobs superfluous. Designers, engineers, and even stylists would still be needed, since it would become a mental exercise to create the look and feel, then it could be replicated immediately and tested.

The thought was mind-boggling.

At least, for normal people. Calvin seemed to be on a level that even his previous co-workers hadn't suspected. The reports of the things Calvin had been working on for Starfleet had slacked off for several months before the incident with the diplomatic department started to happen.

Now the reports were non-existent and the previous ones were classified until the diplomatic staff dealt with the problem, which was also the problem. If the Kryptonian Empire wasn't given associate status as soon as possible, there were a few things within the federation that were widely used that could possibly be a violation of using advanced technology from a non-federation member.

Picket shook his head at that horrible thought and the look on his friend's face if Hossum couldn't have access to those upgraded sensors, transporter updates, and the rumored medical scanner that was head and shoulders above anything the federation could ever produce. Not to mention the androids. He couldn't even fathom what else Calvin would come up with to change the status quo.

*

“These are the last of the crystals and parts from my lifepod.” Calvin said as he put the large crate onto the hoverlift. “It's going to take a long time to go through them, considering they should contain the remains of the Kryptonian civilization.”

Deanna looked at the inventory list and put a hand on his arm. “Please don't get your hopes up, Cal. You know that most of them were damaged before you were rescued from the pod.”

Calvin took a breath and let it out before he spoke. “I've worked hard with the Kays to restructure the crystals I had access to previously and we can repair the physical damage. The data inside, however...”

Deanna slid a hand up to his face and gave him a kiss. “I'd glad you took my advice and brought Data and Karen in to help you and the Kays to reconstruct as much of the information as possible.”

Calvin smiled. “I'm glad, too. We've increased our recovery efficiency by almost 20% and the data loss, even when there's a serious fracture in the crystal, is only 46%.”

“That's wonderful, Cal!” Deanna said happily and gave him another kiss. “If you take your time and can keep that ratio, you'll be able to recover a huge amount of the original data records!”

Calvin felt her emotions and she really was happy for him. He knew that she wasn't just pretending and that she really wanted to help him recover as much as possible about his people. He put his arms around her and held her tenderly. He sent her several mental thank yous and then gave her a tender kiss that would have been borderline indecent if anyone else had been in the cargo bay.

Deanna blushed anyway and she felt particularly horny at how much he loved her. It just seemed to surprise her sometimes that someone she had met and hadn't liked at first, could become someone that she could bond so deeply with and wanted to spend the rest of their life with her.

It's me that feels that way, Imzadi. Calvin thought to her and kissed her again. We need to get the crate to my lab.

“You are not working on it right away.” Deanna said out loud as she sent him several mental images.

Calvin had to laugh at her blatant and brazen forwardness. Yes, I'll take care of you and your needs first, my dearest. You know that all I really want to do is make you happy.

And take over the galaxy. Deanna thought and laughed as well.

Of course that will make you happy! Who doesn't want to be Empress of the galaxy? Calvin asked her and they both laughed as they left the cargo bay with the crate. It was dropped off and secured, then they went to their quarters.

Calvin treated her with the respect and reverence that he believed she deserved and he made love to her for as long as she wanted. By the time he was done, Deanna laid in bed with him and her half asleep mind and sexually satisfied body had given her the distinct feelings of actually being an empress. She also decided that she very much enjoyed the feeling.

Less than a week later, the Enterprise was ordered to host an officer exchange program. Since Picard didn't want to disrupt the well run ship that he had, he picked the lowest form of officer that he was allowed to choose. Ensign. Little did he realize that this would actually be the officer category that would cause the most trouble instead.

Picard had forgotten that his expert pilot, main medical officer backup, and engineering consultant, was also only an Ensign.

*

“ToH, DaHjaj qeylIS be'nalwI' puqbe'wI!” The Klingon that stood at the side of the shuttlebay said as soon as Calvin stepped off of the shuttle.

Calvin assumed that the officer had no idea that he could speak Klingon, as well as dozens of other alien languages. He had prepared for his journey into space ever since he was told that he was adopted and where he had come from. Instead of the native language, Calvin heard the real words.
“So, you are the filthy human that has chosen to disgrace our captain!”

Calvin chose to ignore the insults, just so the Klingon would underestimate him. If he hadn't read the transfer information, that wasn't Calvin's problem. “First Officer Klag.”

“It's Second Officer, Ensign.” Klag grunted. He then said in Klingon that he wasn't surprised that Calvin didn't even bother learning the proper symbols that denoted officers.

I told you the wrong rank on purpose. Calvin thought. “I assume you're here to escort me to the captain?”

“Why else would I be here?” Klag said and then called him a dirty dog in Klingon.

“Then lead the way.” Calvin said and motioned towards the door to leave the shuttlebay.

Klag grunted again and walked ahead of him instead of beside or slightly behind, as he should have. He didn't see Calvin as a threat and chose to ignore his own personal safety and that of the crew by not bothering to frisk Calvin and checking if he had any weapons on him.

The looks that everyone gave him when he passed them in the halls was that of a predator towards prey, thanks to his walking position behind Klag. That was perfect for him, as it would let him be pretty much ignored by the masses. It would also be a surprise when he turned things around on them, especially since he was already dressed like them.

The unsecured hatch to the bridge opened and they stepped through. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at them, as if waiting for the show.

“Here is the federation petaQ.” Klag said to the slightly fat Klingon that was the captain of the IKS Pagh and he didn't even try to keep Calvin within sight as he insulted him.

Calvin made a motion with his hand at Klag's back and the captain smiled. One quick shot with a fist to the back of the second officer's head and there was one less conscious Klingon on the bridge.

“I formally greet the illustrious Captain Kargan of the Pagh.” Calvin said performed a perfect imitation of a military salute. “May your House continue to gain Honor in the Empire.”

Everyone was silent for a moment, then the captain laughed and they all joined in.

“I always knew Klag was a fool.” One of the others said and stepped forward. “Greetings, federation.”

Calvin had studied extensively and knew who this was. He gave him a salute as well. “First Officer Chang. You honor me.”

The Klingon huffed. “You are well read of our traditions for someone without any facial ridges.”

Calvin bowed his head slightly without losing eye contact. “I could do nothing less than assimilating as much as I could when I found out I was being exchanged.”

A muttering went around the rest of the bridge crew, because they were all surprised by that admission.

Chang looked down at the unconscious form of the second officer. “It seems like we need another second officer.”

“If my impromptu incapacitation wasn't per regulations, I can knock out half of the bridge crew first and then assume his position.” Calvin said with a straight face.

Complete silence fell once more and everyone exchanged looks, then they all started laughing, even the captain.

“Take your station.” Captain Kargan said and waved at the flight console. “Chang can brief you on your other duties later.”

“Qapla'!” Calvin said and saluted him again, then jogged to the station and sat down.

The other bridge offers watched as Calvin easily familiarized himself with the ship's operation and quickly typed up a few things to make things even easier later. He was quite used to the federation and Kryptonian way of handling commands, so the rigid structure of the Klingon language was almost second nature for him.

“Ship's operations are ready. Flight upon your command and destination by your glory, captain.” Calvin said and he noticed several approving nods from the other officers.

Captain Kargan grunted. “We're to patrol the eighth sector in the Quovos system.”

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Calvin nodded and a second later the console beeped. “Course locked and loaded, captain.”

Captain Kargan grunted and waved a hand. “Warp four.”

Calvin initiated the command and they jumped away from a quite silent Enterprise.

“What should we do with Klag?” Someone asked in Klingon.

“Eh, leave him there. He'll wake up eventually.” First Officer Chang said.

*

“Ah, federation!” A Klingon crewman shouted when Calvin entered the eating area after a very long shift on the bridge. “I heard Klag finally woke up!”

Everyone laughed, even the women.

Calvin laughed as well and saw down beside him. “I was tempted to hit him harder! He didn't even frisk me when I boarded!”

The Klingons growled and nodded. They knew that you checked everyone, allies and enemies both. You could never tell when someone was going to turn on you or stab you in the back.

“What did you have on you?” A very tall Klingon woman asked as she leaned forward.

“Before I answer that, I must tell you that I'm married and I can't ravage you on the table like you deserve.” Calvin said with a huge smile.

“BWAHAHAHA!” All the Klingons loudly laughed.

“This one has huge balls! I like him!” The Klingon woman said in her native language.

“I knew you were a deviant!” The woman next to her said in Klingon and they all laughed again.

“All right, federation. I'll agree to not jump you if you answer.” The first one said with a grin.

Instead of saying anything, Calvin stood up. This caught everyone's attention, as he intended, then he reached down and pulled a six inch blade from his boot and put it on the table.

“Bah! Is that all? I can fit that in my...” She started to say, then paused when a second blade from his calf joined it. It was eight inches long and looked sharp. She opened her mouth to speak when he reached inside his pants and pulled out a ten inch blade from inside his thigh.

Half of the Klingons around them were now standing as Calvin pulled two more knives from his forearms and added them to the pile. He paused for a moment, then reached behind his back and pulled out a sixteen inch long blade from where he had stashed it. It was four inches wide and was gold in color.

The Klingon women were now drooling a little as they stared at the large pile of knives that none of them had suspected Calvin had hidden on himself.

“You've had them on you since you've been on the ship?” A voice asked from the doorway.

“Since I left the Enterprise.” Calvin said and nodded at First Officer Chang.

“You also served a double shift on the bridge.” Chang said and the Klingons in the room made appreciative sounds. To have worn that many weapons for that long and to not have been caught, meant you were a warrior that was used to battle and protecting yourself.

“I found a virulent space bacteria on the hull during the shift. I had to stay and make sure it was eradicated, word was sent to where this ship had been, and added the instructions to kill it.”

Chang nodded. “We need to stop at a repair dock to replace the damaged hull pieces.”

“No, sir. We don't.” Calvin said and grinned.

“What? Are you refusing an order from the captain?” Chang asked and all of the Klingons growled.

“No, sir. I've already gone out and repaired them before coming here to eat.” Calvin said and complete silence filled the room.

“You lie!” A Klingon said and Calvin's hand shot out and smacked him. He flew off of his chair and landed on the deck with a grunt.

“I've gone EVA with ships in motion dozens of times.” Calvin said. “It's in the public records.”

“We don't have the room to store hull plates.” Chang said.

“I replicated them, loaded them into the cargo bay near the damage, and walked them out onto the hull.” Calvin said with a shrug. “It wasn't any trouble at all to remove the damaged plates and add the new ones.”

The silence prevailed as Calvin helped up the Klingon he had hit. The alien grunted and grumbled an apology.

“Here! Eat!” The female Klingon that had asked about the knives said and handed him a huge bowl of wriggling grubs and worms. “A warrior needs his protein!”

Calvin smiled at her and sat down. He accepted the bowl and didn't hesitate as he scooped up a handful and shoved them into his mouth. He chewed a little and swallowed. “Where's the blood wine?”

That was apparently the right thing to say, as everyone came back to life and started talking and handing bottles and goblets around with a strong smelling red liquid in them.

“You really are married?” The female Klingon asked.

Calvin showed off his rings, one for Betazed and one for the federation. He was going to wait until Homeworld was finished before he asked Deanna about being married as a Kryptonian.

“Now I know why you warned me.” She said sadly.

Her friend laughed and smacked her shoulder. “Cheer up! He said if he wasn't married, you'd already be across the table! I'm so jealous!”

The first female couldn't stop her smile at the thought.

Calvin picked up the largest blade and handed it to her. “A peace offering.”

She sucked in a breath at the quality of the blade.

“I'll need to take my armored clothes off to get the sheath for you.” Calvin said.

“I'd pay to see that!” Her friend said in Klingon and they laughed.

“I'll expect the sheath later.” The female said with a smile.

As everyone ate and revelled, Calvin slid the other blades back into their hidden sheaths, between bites of food and drinks of wine.

*

“What do you mean I can't contact him?” Commodore Janice Beltram asked the pretty redheaded woman on the screen.

“He's currently on an extended assignment as an exchange officer on a Klingon Bird of Prey.” Beverly Crusher said. “He had enough time to send us a message to say he would be out of contact for as long as the assignment was in effect.”

“Well, damn.” Janice said in frustration. “I needed to talk to him in both of his capacities.”

Beverly smiled. “Now you know what his wife is feeling.”

Janice smiled back. “I can only imagine. Calvin's reports alone have given me a pretty fair representation of what it's going to be like to actually meet him.”

“Oh, those reports are dull and dry when compared to my son.” Beverly laughed. “He has charisma oozing out of his pores.”

Janice wasn't sure how to respond to that. She was his mother, after all.

“I know that look.” Beverly said. “If you don't really believe me, I'll make a little wager with you.”

Janice widened her eyes and nodded.

“When Calvin comes back from his assignment, I bet you that he's either going to be running that ship as the captain or the crew will be so loyal to him that he will effectively be the captain.”

“What do I get if you lose?” Janice couldn't help but ask.

“I'll send over some of my personal files that I've compiled about my son over the years.” Beverly said and Janice caught her breath. “I see you know how valuable that is to your current position.”

“Y-yes.” Janice whispered. “What... what do you want if you win?”

“I like to personally vet the people that want to interact on an official basis with my son.” Beverly said with a knowing smile. “How about you come over for dinner on the evening Calvin reports in?”

Janice thought about that. “You seem awfully sure that I'll be visiting you.”

“I know my son and you will be coming for dinner. See you then!” Beverly said and ended the call.

Janice sat in her office and stared at the blank screen. She was sure that she had the upper hand, and yet, she also felt like she had just been suckered by the Chief Medical Officer of Starfleet Medical.

*

“Are you sure you're married?!?” The female Klingons in the crew shouted as they watched the practically naked federation Ensign go through the pain trials of rank ascension.

It wasn't strictly necessary for him to do so, since he wasn't a part of their normal command structure. Once Calvin had discovered that was what they normally did to prove the officer's bravery after they defeated their commanding officer, he requested to do it.

Of course, the captain and first officer weren't going to make it easy for the interloper, so the difficulty had been doubled in the simulation and the opponents he had to face were tripled. They had assumed that would be enough to beat the young man down enough to make him understand his place in the hierarchy.

Unfortunately for them, Calvin was well practised in a similar ritual, thanks to Worf's training programs and their mutual love of fighting styles and perfecting them. They worked hard to control their bodies and their strength, which made their search for perfection that much more stringent. This much harder ritual was barely above the easy stage for both Calvin and Worf.

Calvin reached the end of the gauntlet and nodded to the two real Klingons there, then he plunged his hands into the bright red rocks of the cleansing ritual. The blood on his hands was soon burned off and he kept his hands inside. The longer he left them in, the more powerful of a warrior he would be seen as by the crew.

Calvin always loved a challenge.

Because the safety protocols had been turned off, the rocks really would have severely burned and damaged a normal person's hands. They would need to be rushed to the medbay and be treated quickly, or they could lose the use of their hands.

Calvin wasn't bothered by the heat at all. In fact, he could leave his hands inside all day. He couldn't let them see that he could do that, so he cheated and used his heat vision to blast parts of his hands with various burns. He winced and squirmed, because it really did hurt, then he yanked his hands out with a yell. The gathered Klingons cheered and yelled as they swarmed him and congratulated him.

“Yes, yes. He survived the pain and lasted as long as a real warrior.” The Klingon medical officer said and shooed the others back. “Let me get a look at him.”

A few of the Klingons hissed at the damage and a couple of the females made sad sounds.

The medical officer gave them a once over with his scanner and nodded. “You're off duty until they heal.”

“Tomorrow morning.” Calvin said and everyone looked at him in shock. “I have a high healing factor.”

They did not need to know that he had a solar generator in his shuttle that could have him healed in a few minutes. Thanks to the accident back in the system that had a radically fluctuating solar storm that caused his powers to go out of control, his research in adjusting the shields let him develop a device that actually harnessed solar rays for his benefit.

During his stint as the official second officer, Calvin continued to shock the Klingons with his medical knowledge, his engineering proficiency, and his piloting skill. The things he had done to make the ship better, cleaner, more powerful, and increased the defensive shields, made everyone like him that much more. By the time the exchange program came to an end, he was more respected by the crew as a second officer than the captain was.

The entire crew lined the hallways towards the shuttlebay and each crew member saluted him as he passed them. Calvin nodded to each and every one of the men and growled when he passed the females. They growled back, which meant he was Klingon enough for them to mate with, and that was a high compliment from them.

The captain stood beside the shuttlecraft and tried to not look happy about him leaving. He didn't like the danger that Calvin represented by his presence, just because of his sheer competence and understanding of their ways and his respect for their values.

“Qapla'!” Captain Kargan said and saluted.

“Qamu'SHa!” Calvin replied and saluted back.

The entire crew started laughing and called him an idiot for telling the captain that he loved him.

“I guess that didn't come out right.” Calvin said and smiled at the surprised look on the captain's face. “I have something as an apology.” He said and stepped into the shuttlecraft and came back out with a large case. “Please accept this as my thanks for allowing me onboard your ship.”

The captain opened the case and hissed out several words in Klingon. The shuttle bay was suddenly filled with the rest of the crew because they wanted to see what it was. Captain Kargan lifted out a bat'leth that was bright gold in color.

“It's made out of the same metal as my lifepod.” Calvin said and put the case down. “If you would, sir.”

A lot of the gathered Klingons made disbelieving sounds, then the captain swung the bat-leth and it cleaved the metal case in half without slowing down.

“Qamu'SHa Kal-El!” A female Klingon shouted. She was the one that he had given the large blade to.

“Qapla'!” Calvin said to her, then he saluted the crew, the captain, and boarded his shuttlecraft. He had been gone for almost a month and he had a very frustrated wife to return to.

*

Janice sat in the living room with a glass of the best wine she had ever tasted. She had just enjoyed a delicious meal with the Crusher Family and Beverly left her there to go and get something. She thought about the surprising report that Beverly had so accurately guessed about, concerning her son's performance on the Klingon vessel.

How did she know? Janice asked herself as she took another sip of wine. I need this recipe!

“Are you enjoying the taste or the buzz?” Beverly asked with a smile as she entered the living room.

“A bit of both.” Janice said and raised the glass. “I would appreciate it if you share the recipe.”

Beverly nodded and sat down next to her and took out a datapad. “I will after you read these.”

“Hmm? Read what?” Janice asked and looked down to see the private headings on the files. She sucked in a breath and looked back at Beverly's face. “But, I thought... I lost the bet!”

Beverly laughed softly and handed her the datapad. “I never said I would keep them from you, just that we would have dinner first.”

Janice opened her mouth to counter that argument, then she barked a laugh. “I had a feeling that I was being suckered and I couldn't understand why I thought that!”

Beverly laughed a little more. “Let me get another glass and we can go through the paperwork.”

“Yes, please.” Janice said and watched as the handsome woman retrieved two more glasses. “I can't thank you enough for doing this for me. You don't know how much this is going to help with the upcoming negotiations.”

“I'm doing it to help my son.” Beverly said and came back to sit on the couch with the wine. “He might be grown up and out of the house; but, I raised him and I love him just as much as I love the son I gave birth to.”

Janice nodded and accepted the glass of wine. “When I tell him that we've met, I'll be sure to mention that we've had some of this delicious wine, too.”

Beverly smiled and sat back to sip on her own glass. “He's going to assume so. It's a negotiation tactic I've used a few times now.”

Janice got that reference right away. “Deanna!”

Beverly nodded. “It was quite the evening and she paid for it the hard way.”

“Why would she do that?” Janice asked.

“Consequences of her actions.” Beverly said. “I admired her for not taking the hangover cure and she toughed it out. I knew then that she was a good match for Calvin.”

Janice nodded. “He definitely has a reputation for toughing things out.”

Beverly couldn't stop her laugh. “I almost slapped his head off when he told me he did hull repairs while the ship was in motion! I know I raised him better than that!”

Janice laughed, too. “I suspect a bit of rebellion there.” She said and took out her own datapad. “Since we're apparently exchanging information to try and get this whole mess fixed, you might as well see what I've been having to deal with on the professional side while I read about his personal side.”

“That sounds fair.” Beverly said and accepted the datapad.

Both women enjoyed several glasses of wine and talked for most of the evening. When they were done, Janice had a plan of action to handle things and she had established a friendship with an interesting woman that she suspected was going to last for a very long time.

*

Deanna didn't say a word to him and only stared with an intense gaze as Calvin exited the shuttlecraft. Calvin also didn't say anything, because he had used the short travel time to clean up and to dress in a Starfleet uniform. He didn't want to waste any time, so he scooped Deanna up into his arms into a princess carry. She kept her intense gaze on him as he zoomed through the ship using the Jeffries Tubes.

They arrived at their quarters and Calvin came to a stop. He set the anti-gravity controls and slowly undressed Deanna, as if she was the most precious and delicate thing in the universe. When she was naked, Calvin tore his uniform off of himself and whispered through her mind about all of the Klingon women practically throwing themselves at him.

MINE! Deanna yelled in his head and claimed both his mind and his body. It had been a long time for the both of them, so they were going to make sure that they made up for that lost time.

They didn't report in for work until a week later and no one questioned them about it.

“Calvin, you have a priority message from Starfleet.” Riker said when they appeared in the bridge.

“Yes, sir. I'll check it at my station.” Calvin said and gave a quick kiss to Deanna's cheek before he went to the pilot station. He nodded at the pilot he was replacing before he sat down and quickly checked everything. He saw that it was all as it should be and checked the message. “Finally.”

“Cal?” Deanna asked when she felt the spike in his emotions.

“The message was from the director of the Diplomatic Corps.” Calvin said and turned to look at Riker. “Guess what's first on the docket at the meeting.”

“Will we need to be there?” Riker asked.

“It could only help, especially if we can show off exactly how close Minuet is to perfect.”

Riker smiled at that. “When is it? I'll get us off the ship when it's necessary.”

“In two weeks.” Calvin said. “It would have been last month, only I wasn't here for the message.”

Deanna let out a sound that made Tasha give her a surprised look. “Calvin's abilities were like candy for Klingons, especially for the women.”

“Oh.” Tasha said and she was glad that she hadn't tried to contact Deanna all week, now that she knew Deanna had needed to make Calvin remember that he was hers. She would have to ask for specifics when she had a chance later.

“It shouldn't take long. A quick trip to Earth, a few meetings, and signing some official papers.” Calvin said. “Deanna...”

“You bet your ass I'm going.” Deanna said with finality.

“I'll take that as a yes.” Calvin said and Tasha had to clamp her mouth shut to stop her laugh. “Data? Karen needs to come along.”

“We will discuss it.” Data said. “I have never taken time off before. I am in favor of coming along.”

“Thanks, Data. Let me know when you decide for sure.” Calvin said and thought about the number of people going. “I think we'll need to take the flagship. The shuttlecraft is roomy; but, it's not comfortable for a lot of people for a long time.”

“We can have the Kays manning it to meet us.” Deanna said.

“That's a great idea.” Calvin said and sent both the ship's itinerary and the expected rendezvous to the Kryptonian flagship in orbit around Betazed.

Riker gave Deanna a look for a moment, then smiled. “Perhaps a bit more than just one ship is needed.”

Deanna caught her breath and stared at Calvin. “Cal... you... you shouldn't.”

Calvin turned in his seat to smile at her. “Only one flight and not the whole fleet?”

Deanna took several deep breaths. “A limited flight as an escort.” She said and sent him several pleading thoughts. “Please.”

“All right. Only six sting ships.” Calvin said and turned back to face forward.

“Deanna?” Tasha whispered as she leaned down from her post behind Deanna. “What was that about?”

“When Commander Riker suggested more than one ship...” Deanna shivered. “... he thought about bringing what he had available.”

“How many?” Tasha asked. She wasn't sure why her friend looked so nervous.

“All of them.” Deanna whispered and suppressed her shiver this time. “All one thousand of them.”

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