Re: Star Trek: Sub-Rosa...The Hunter
Lord had what he was still referring to as the gamma shift and thought about all the adventures he never had by retiring early. The war’s stop-loss order had seen thousands of retired Starfleet personnel recalled to active duty and he had been recalled as well, serving out the war on two ships, both of which had barely survived. Catching up on the last three years was relatively easy since very little had happened on a galactic scale save for the collapse of the Romulan Star Empire, which he already knew about, and the launch of the twelve Luna-class ships spearheading Starfleet’s new exploration endeavours. He was reading up on the Rashanar fiasco when the proximity klaxon sounded. Dropping his padd to the side of his chair, he hit the comm.
‘Captain…Amanda, Klingon bird of prey decloaking dead ahead.’
Merrick was on the bridge in seconds. ‘Cut the alarm, decloak, and hail them.’
Three other former officers emerged on the bridge, rounding out Merrick’s alpha team. Iain Braithwaite, a former Corps of Engineers officer with over twenty years of experience in battle maintenance; Timothy Underwood, the former chief medical officer of the Galaxy and Pompeii; and Phan Trong, a young pilot and martial artist.
‘Hailing frequencies open,’ Trong replied.
‘This is Merrick. You may beam over when you’re ready.’
Two pillars of hazy red light filled the bridge for a moment before fading to reveal two Klingons, one male and one female.
‘I am Agent Darq and this is Agent Lyt,’ the male said in a deep growl and Lord stifled a chuckle.
‘Welcome aboard the Michelangelo. I’ll show you to your quarters. Danny, cloak the ship and resume course for Ajilon Prime.’
‘Aye sir, maximum warp,’ Lord replied, wondering why there were no codenames being used.
‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Trong said. ‘We don’t need codenames because we don’t officially exist. If you check the Federation News broadcasts over the next few days you’ll find that you have been in a fatal accident of some kind.’
‘I see,’ Lord replied. ‘What do you make of our Klingon allies?’
‘Their codenames could do with a little work, or it could just be a cultural misunderstanding,’ Braithwaite added. ‘I’m sure Amanda is handling the negotiations with her usual tact.’
Lord smirked. ‘So she hasn’t changed then?’
‘She’s become more…diplomatic,’ Underwood joined the conversation. ‘You’ll see what I mean later.’
‘I just want to get to Ajilon and see exactly what the Klingons have been getting up to.’
‘Have you read the SI profile on the base?’
‘I have and it is completely devoid of specifics. Supposedly they’re working on subspace weaponry but there have been no reports of spatial anomalies anywhere near the Ajilon system since they have been working there. That leads me to one of two conclusions.’
‘Which are?’ Trong pressed.
‘One, that they are working on something else entirely and we’re being used as pawns by Chancellor Martok to remove a group of unsavoury Klingons from his plate; or two, that they have a ship at their disposal which is a test-bed for the subspace weapons which they’re building.’
‘I’m hoping for the former,’ Braithwaite replied, ‘but I have the feeling that it will be the latter.’
‘I guess, since I’m the tactician on this ship, I get to be the one to make this ship and crew ready for battle,’ Trong said with a knowing smile.
‘Don’t take this the wrong way,’ Lord said, ‘but aren’t you a little young?’
Trong grinned. ‘I’m not human,’ she replied.
Lord blinked as the realisation dawned. ‘You’re El-Aurian?’
She nodded. ‘I have been using this name for a while now because it suits me. I am in actuality more than four hundred years old.’
‘Were you on the Lakul?’
She nodded again, the expression grim this time. ‘I have followed the lives of my remaining friends as best I can, but I have lost track of a few. We tend to travel a lot.’
‘I know only of two,’ Lord replied. ‘Guinan was the bartender on the Enterprise-D and Doctor Tolian Soran, who was killed on Veridian Three trying to return to the Nexus.’
‘I knew Soran would come to no good, he became violent and intense after the Borg attacks.’
‘Starfleet changed as well,’ Lord replied. ‘And then the Dominion changed us again, sending us deeper into the abyss. Now we’re clawing our way back out and I won’t let anyone set us back, not even a group of rogue Klingons.’
‘What makes you think they are rogue?’ Darq growled, emerging on the bridge with Lyt and Amanda.
‘Because Chancellor Martok is an honourable man would be honest about the Klingons on Ajilon. He would have asked for permission to go to Ajilon if he was sure they were working under his authority. Since they are not, and the planet is in Federation space, it is up to us.’
Lyt laughed a deep belly laugh. ‘This one knows honour, Darq. You are right, human, these Klingons are rogues and we are here to see that they have a chance to redeem themselves.’
‘Before we deny them a place in Sto’Vo’Kor,’ Trong said.
‘Exactly,’ Darq agreed.
I kinda liked the idea, but I understand you wanted this to be an independent group from the Nechayev/Uhura group. 
...or not.
