Commander Surok was sitting in the Captain's chair commanding the ship from night watch when Lt. Lataro came on to the Bridge. "Commander it is 0000. I am here to relieve you," he said.
"Very well, Lieutenant. There has been no change since last night. Ensign Trent has just completed a level two diagnostic of the phaser array. He mentioned that the efficiency rating could be improved if he adjusted the the phase emitters. Ensign Garza complained of pains in his shoulder from the other day and has reported to Sickbay. The doctor was concerned and kept him there. I do not think that he will be reporting for duty."
"That is fine, sir. Thank you."
"Lieutenant, I have not had a chance to congratulate you on your promotion. You are a fine officer and the promotion was well deserved."
"Why, thank you, sir. That really means a lot coming from you."
"With that I will bid you good evening."
"Fine, sir." Commander Surok left the Bridge. Lt. Lataro was the only one left on the Bridge. "Computer, begin morning watch."
The lights on the Bridge dimmed. The only thing left beside Lt. Lataro was beeping and pinging of the computer. "Computer. How about some music?"
<Please specify.>
"How about you surprising me?"
<Cannot comply. "You surprising me" is not a valid file. Please restate.>
"Fine how about something... how about 20th-century Earth?"
<Accessing... there are over 20,000 different files from that period. Please specify what genre.>
"Rock and roll, something from..."
"How about a nice Klingon opera?" a voice said from behind Lataro. It was K'Lara. She had come on to the Bridge without Lataro noticing which startled him. The Computer began playing a solid Klingon opera load and exciting. "Hmm. No... something a little slower and more relaxing."
Then a slow more mellowing sound begin to fill the Bridge.
"That is fine, Computer." K'Lara smiled and approached the helm. "Figured that you can use a little company. Besides, you don't have a helmsman tonight."
"Usually I don't." Lataro smiled. "But I guess there is a first time for everything."
"True. By the way, thank you for the flower. The poem was also very sweet."
"Thanks. It was a Rizan rose that I had used all of my replicator rations to make." He immediately thought about what he said. Really smart Jon. You don't tell a girl how much you spend on her!
"Oh!" She was not flattered.
"But then again... I think that you are worth it! Particularly to have got you to come here tonight, I would have spent all the latinum in the galaxy." Hoo boy! What a save!
"You are so sweet. Thank you." She stepped forward. "So tell me, Jon. Can I still call you Jon?"
"Of course. Well, at least not in front of the crew."
"Okay. Tell me about yourself. How do you know so much about Klingons?"
"Well. My parents were both killed when I was younger. You see we were aboard the USS Vixen, and some unknown ship attacked the Vixen and destroyed her. I was ejected safely to what is now known Xylius VII where a passing Klingon ship picked me up. I was only about 13 when they found me so the captain of the ship took me in as one of his own. On Kronus, I lived till I was of age and decided to join Starfleet."
"That must have been hard!"
"Not too bad. I really enjoyed it. You see I was a bad child. At a young age, I was mad at the world and always showed aggressive tendencies and behaviors. My father had hoped that time aboard the Vixen would help control my behavior, but being alone on that planet brought out things in me that I didn't know I had... like being hot tempered, and having no control. My Klingon family helped bring control and discipline to a hurting mind. For that I am eternally grateful."
"Wow... you have had quite a life."
"Well it wasn't too bad. Just enlightening."
"Well my life hasn't been all that exciting. I was born..."
<Unknown ship detected on long range scanners.> The computer announced interrupting K'Lara. She immediately turned and faced the viewscreen.
"Computer display ship and magnify," Lataro ordered. "K'Lara what is the distance of that ship?"
"20 million kilometers and increasing."
"It's going away."
"Yes it is, but it has the same configuration as one of those Kirusan convoy ships that attacked us earlier."
"Where are his buddies?"
"I don't see any of them on any of the scanners."
"Is it a loner?"
"Doubt it."
"Computer, scan for traces of radioactivity in a radius of 20 million kilometers."
<There is radioactivity present at 198 mark two and 002 mark one."
"Jon, 002 is that ship in front of us, but the other is..." The ship rocked as an energy burst exploded just under the port nacelle.
"Shields up! Red alert!" Lataro yelled.
[Lieutenant, report,] Captain Maruu asked.
"Sir, a Kirusan ship just appeared out of nowhere. It is behind us and opened fire without warning."
[I am on my way.]
"By time he gets here it will be all over! K'Lara. Evasive maneuvers, Echo one!"
"Aye, sir."
The Virgo arched upward and spun on its vertical axis to the left as the Kirusian ship opened fire again.
"How far are we from that ship?"
"11 million kilometers."
"Good. Just enough space."
"For what?"
"Trust me!" He begin entering a set of coordinates into the computer console at his right. He also armed two quantum torpedoes. "On my mark I want you to jump to warp one and count backward from three. When you reach one drop out of warp, come hard about and fire everything we've got."
"What are you going to do?"
"I am planning to fly right over top of him and send him a little present right up his butt."
"What?! That is suicidal! The inertial dampeners will not be able to handle those kind of maneuvers."
"Sure they will."
<Missile launched from Kirusan vessel.>
"Now!" The Virgo lurched into a wide arch at warp speed. The chronoton missile could not track the path and overshot the Virgo flying helplessly into space as the ship followed the plan Lataro had entered into the computer. Both he and K'Lara were forced outward as the initial dampeners failed slightly to compensate the bold maneuver. As they returned upright, the Kirusan ship was now in directly behind them facing the opposite direction and K'Lara dropped the Virgo out of warp. Hard about she came and now the Kirusan ship rested directly in front of the Virgo with her back to them. Just as the ship came around Captain Maruu came on to the Bridge.
"Target their engines and weapons! Fire!" Lataro ordered.
The torpedoes launched flew straight and true to their targets. "Direct hit! Their engines and weapons are obliterated!" cried K'Lara.
"Good job, Lieutenant," Lataro said to K'Lara.
"Not too bad yourself, Lieutenant," K'Lara said smiling.
"So tell me, Lieutenants, what the hell just happened?" Captain Maruu asked with just a touch of anger in his voice.