Lieutenant Benton sat in his security office looking at Commander K'Lara. K'Lara had been put in a brig cell. Benton, and his team were able to stop her from reaching the captain and put her in a cell for her own good, but it hadn't been easy. He remembered the events of three days ago. A call had come in from Sickbay...
[Nori to Security.]
"Benton here. What is it?"
[We have a situation. Lt. Commander K'Lara is on a rampage. I believe she is going after Maruu.]
"Never a dull moment," chuckled Sitto Lan.
Benton said, "Understood. I'll have a team intercept her."
[That won't be enough. She's half-Klingon and in a very bad mood.]
"Thanks for the warning. I'll think of something. Benton out."
Benton sprang into action. He addressed Lan, who was sitting behind the main security console, down in the Security Office. "Sitto! Lock on to Commander K'Lara's com badge and track her position."
"Aye, Sir!" snapped Lan as he began configuring the console.
"I'm going to try to head off the Commander before she has the opportunity to do harm to anyone," continued Benton, fastening on his combat jacket. Better be on the safe side. There's no telling what a Klingon on a murderous rampage will attempt. Or what'll happen if she runs into a Jem'Hadar patrol.
He began running out of Security, but Lan called after him, "Benny! Your phaser!"
Benton paused long enough to turn and answer Lan, "I have no intention of shooting the Commander again. I'm sure she will acquiesce to reason." At that, he turned and ran down the corridor.
Sitto Lan looked after Benton curiously. Sometimes he just couldn't understand the Chief's reasoning. Oh well. It's his skin, not mine. Lan concentrated on the display of K'Lara's current position.
As for Benton, the only reason he had shot Commander K'Lara the first time on the bridge was to help reinforce the captain's plan. He had hated doing it; he considered the use of such force a last resort.
He was running down a radial corridor in the Virgo's primary hull. Sitto's voice came over his com badge, [She's on Deck Five, sections 5-6. Looks like she's headed for the bridge.]
"Acknowledged, Sitto. Erect a level 10 force field when she enters the intersection at section 4-7. We'll bottle her up there."
[You got it, Benny!]
Benton changed direction, and headed for Deck Five, intersection 4-7.
K'Lara ran through the ship's corridors, mad with rage. She would kill the vile animal that had in cold blood murdered her mate! However, she retained enough sanity to know that Security would be coming after her in very short order. She had taken the time to arm herself with a small hand phaser, and with her telekinetic power she was trying to "sweep" the way ahead of her as she ran in hopes of triggering anything Security had planted to trap her.
Sure enough, her telekinetic probing triggered a force field enclosure at the intersection she was about to enter. She skidded to a stop as the fields activated, barely avoiding becoming trapped within. At the other side of the intersection, beyond another force field, she saw Lt. Benton coming to a stop. They looked at each other.
Benton saw K'Lara across the force field barrier. Somehow, she had escaped becoming entrapped. She was standing outside the force field box, on the other side. Apparently, she was going to be a most difficult adversary.
He called to her, "Commander! Please cease your current course of action and return to sickbay with me. You cannot possibly profit from this."
"I have no interest in profit, you ptaQ!" K'Lara snarled. I intend to avenge myself for the death of my mate, and you can't stop me, weakling Human! I'm going to blow the beast Maruu out an airlock and watch him boil alive in the frozen vacuum of space!" K'Lara paused for a second. The expression on her face made Benton's blood run cold.
K'Lara's eyes burned. She hissed between clenched teeth, "Revenge is a dish best served cold."
Benton broke the spell of K'Lara's words. "Weakling Kelvan actually," he muttered under his breath. He forgave her the slight. It was a common error, converted Kelvans were physically identical to Humans. But never mind that. K'Lara was obviously extremely dangerous and had to be stopped.
Since she could no longer go forward, K'Lara went back. She had to get to the bridge where the murderer was. She remembered seeing a ladder several intersections down the other way. She ran.
Benton saw K'Lara turn and run the way she had come back down the corridor. He slapped his palm on his com badge and said, "Sitto! Lower the force fields around intersection 4-7. K'Lara's escaped!"
[You got it.]
The force fields went down, and Benton ran forward after K'Lara.
As K'Lara approached the ladder, a pair of security guards blocked her path with phasers drawn. The one standing slightly ahead of the other said, "Commander K'Lara! Please stop. We don't want to hurt you, but we'll fire if you force us."
K'Lara slowed to a halt and smiled a false smile to draw the men off guard. "Of course, Ensign. Looks like you've caught me."
The guards came closer to take K'Lara into custody. Just before the lead guard touched her, K'Lara's eyes flashed and unleashed a blast of telekinetic energy. The lead guard's phaser hand was pushed aside slightly, but the distraction gave K'Lara the opening she needed to land a wicked punch squarely on his jaw. He hadn't even hit the deck before K'Lara had advanced on the second guard and dealt with him just as quickly and efficiently. K'Lara calmly walked over to the ladder and began to climb.
Benton came running up to the ladder intersection. He saw the two unconscious security men slumped against the far wall, and he knew he was too late. K'Lara had eluded his troops once again.
He tapped his com badge, "Benton to Sickbay. Medical team needed on Deck Five, section 3-9."
[Medical team responding, Sir.]
"Thank you kindly. Benton to Security. Sitto, where is K'Lara now?"
[She's headed up towards the bridge in gangway 14. Better hurry, Benny."
"Acknowledged. Meet me there, Sitto."
[I'm already moving.]
Benton ran as fast as he could back to the turbolift. That would be the fastest way to the bridge. The doors seemed to take an eternity to open, but as soon as he could squeeze between them, he dashed into the lift and shouted, "Bridge!" The lift sped away.
K'Lara bolted out of the door at the right rear of the bridge. She was wild-eyed. Her gaze swept the bridge and the people on it, and quickly settled on Captain Maruu. The Vorta Jorail was sitting beside him.
"Maruu!" she yelled.
Maruu and Jorail jolted out of their chairs and spun to face the enraged Klingon. "K'Lara! Wait!" Maruu shouted. "You don't understand!"
"Ha'dlbaH!" growled K'Lara. Her eyes began to blaze more brightly than ever before now that the object of her hatred was actually in sight. She leveled her hand phaser at Maruu's chest and pressed the firing stud.
Suddenly, seemingly from out of nowhere, Benton came hurtling through the air toward Maruu. His left arm hooked around the captain and his right arm snagged Jorail, sending all three to the deck out of the way of K'Lara's shot. The beam missed Maruu by inches, instead melting the deck where he had been standing only moments before.
All three men were slightly dazed, but were saved from K'Lara's wrath by the timely arrival of Sitto Lan. He dashed out of the turbolift and quickly sized up the situation. He swung his phaser at K'Lara and shouted, "Freeze!"
But K'Lara wouldn't be taken that easily. She roared a Klingon challenge and launched herself at Lan, who was taken by surprise by the viciousness of her attack. She slammed into Lan's midsection, doubling him over, then followed up with a knee in the stomach and a chop to the back of the neck. That was it for Lan. He slumped to the deck, out of the action for now.
But the distraction created by Lan had been enough for Benton and Maruu to regain their feet. Benton placed himself squarely between K'Lara and the captain. "K'Lara!" he said in a commanding, yet understanding voice.
K'Lara whirled back in his direction. "Move aside, Benton." She advanced slowly as she spoke.
Benton ignored the suggestion and simply continued, "You don't want to do this, K'Lara."
K'Lara continued her deliberate forward motion.
"This will not do you or your baby any good."
At that, she seemed to pause for a moment.
"And will not serve to honor the memory of Commander Lataro. He would not approve of this," finished Benton more softly.
K'Lara stopped. Some of the fire went out of her eyes, and she hung her head.
"You must find some other way to mourn his death," said Benton.
After a few very tense seconds of silence, wherein it was impossible to tell what was going to happen next, K'Lara raised her head again. Her eyes had regained most of their fiery glory. She looked directly at Captain Maruu, and Benton thought his attempt at reasoning had failed. He prepared to block the coming attack with himself, if necessary.
But no attack came. Instead, K'Lara said, "Yes. I must honor his memory." With that, she turned away from the rest of the bridge crew and raised her face skyward. A low rumble started deep in her throat, building quickly into a sustained ear-shattering howl that made all who were present cringe, a howl that contained infinite heartbreaking loss, yet also terrifying threat and warning. K'Lara howled her fearsome warning to all departed Klingon warrior spirits in Sto'Vo'Kor that another warrior was on his way.
"He was a warrior at heart," she said quietly. "Now he will have a proper welcome in Sto'Vo'Kor." With that, the life seemed to drain out of her, her eyes returned to normal, and she dropped her phaser. She allowed herself to be led from the bridge by Benton and a recovered Lan, but she kept her eyes carefully and deliberately averted from the captain.
Sitto was asking Benton, "So, Benny. Do you always get your man?"
Benton looked slightly puzzled by the odd question. He raised an eyebrow at Sitto and said, "You make it sound like I'm a Canadian Mountie." But the turbolift doors closed on them, and any response Lan might have had was lost.
That was three days ago. Now they were sitting in Security, on opposite sides of a force field barrier. K'Lara had withdrawn into herself. Benton hated having to keep her confined like this, especially, since the reason for her anger was nothing more than a carefully crafted fabrication, but he had no choice.
He especially hated seeing K'Lara in her depressed mental state. He wished there was something he could say to help put everything into perspective for her, but that would have to wait. He had an appointment with Mr. Loran and the transwarp drive.
"I really don't want to keep you here, Commander. I have considered moving you to solitary confinement in your quarters. Right now I have to go meet with Lieutenant Loran in Engineering. Perhaps when I get back we can talk."
K'Lara gave him an evil glare, then looked down at the floor. Benton rose and called over an ensign to watch K'Lara. He then made his way to Engineering.
Benton got back from his meeting with Loran. He was on his way to talk to the captain about the progress of the transwarp upgrade, but he felt he needed to check up on K'Lara. He was still feeling guilty about keeping her locked up.
She was still sitting exactly where he had left her, sullenly staring at the opposite wall of her cell. He tried to understand what she was feeling, but he was sure his Kelvan heritage was too alien to be able to relate to this humanoid's emotional state.
He relieved the ensign on duty, and sat in the chair behind the Security console. He looked at his boots for a moment while he thought, and in her cell, K'Lara gave no indication she even noticed he was in the room.
Benton said quietly, "You know Commander, my mother died when I was very young. I don't remember a lot about that time except...except my father's beard."
Benton paused a moment, allowing the apparent non-sequitur to sink in. "I don't remember him crying or talking about her. I just woke up one morning and I noticed he had a beard, and it kept getting longer and longer, and he got thinner and thinner and then he stopped going to work."
Benton paused again, trying to determine if K'Lara was even hearing him. He couldn't tell so he continued anyway, trying to make his point more clear, "My mother died, but my father stopped living... And then one morning, I woke up and there was a breakfast waiting for me at the table. Oatmeal and, uh, sliced banana. And he was clean shaven. And he was crying..." Benton's voice drifted off.
K'Lara's voice surprised Benton when it came. He had become so lost in his own memories. "Your dad was a very strong man," she said so quietly Benton almost couldn't hear her.
Benton remembered a quote from a Human writer named Shakespeare. "He just woke up and the wind was from the south, and he found he still knew the difference between a hawk and a handsaw."
K'Lara looked up then and locked eyes with Benton. There was sorrow in her eyes still, of course, but there was also a renewed spark of life.
"Thanks, Lieutenant."
Well, looks like I underestimated my ability to relate, thought Benton.