Knowing the debate was over, Ro pursed her lips and said, “Yes, Colonel.”

“Anything else?” Kira took a deep breath and leaned back against the couch.

“In direct violation of your orders, Taran’atar has been shrouding and spying on our Cardassian guests.” Ro conveyed the details of the Taran’atar incident to Kira with more objectivity than she felt. Part of her was glad Taran’atar might be out gathering the intelligence that would, with any luck, put her own lingering doubts to rest.

“I’ll handle Taran’atar,” Kira said, her expression pensive. “But continue to note any disruptive behavior. What’s next?”

Kira’s lack of reaction to Taran’atar’s disobedience surprised her. Ro paused, wanting to ask how Kira planned on managing the Jem’Hadar. How could Kira be comfortable with Taran’atar playing by his own rules? Under usual circumstances, she’d pass off responsibility for Taran’atar without a second thought. This time, Ro had to trust that Kira had a plan to prevent him from provoking the Cardassians. Macet and Lang she didn’t worry about. Macet’s soldiers were another matter. If Macet’s soldiers reciprocated Taran’atar’s undisguised animosity, trouble was inevitable.

“Problem, Lieutenant?” Kira asked.

Shaken out of her thoughts, Ro answered, “We do have a delicate situation involving Councillor zh’Thane.” Without sharing the finer points of Andorian physiology, Ro explained zh’Thane’s end-of-shift visit and the resultant request to Kira.

Kira nodded. “How do you want to handle this?”

“Perform in-depth background checks on zh’Thane’s staff. Send a crew to scan every centimeter of her ship. Everything checks out, she gets a pass off the station.”

“All right. I’ll update Admiral Akaar on zh’Thane’s request. He shouldn’t have any objections if he’s in the loop from the beginning.”

“Good point.” There came a moment in every conversation when enough had been said; for Ro, it was the mention of Akaar. Until he had shown up, Ro had been able to put off sorting through her issues with Starfleet. His presence triggered many unhappy memories. At least Kira’s dealing with him.“Will there be anything else, Colonel?”

“You’re dismissed. Oh. Wait.” Kira looked sheepish. “Just to satisfy my own curiosity, but you wouldn’t know how the reception plans are coming along, would you?”

“Would that be why Quark was following Ensign Beyer around begging her to sample his tube grubs with icoberry sauce? Come to think of it, she had tablecloths draped over her shoulders and a mouth full of food last time I saw her,” Ro said.

“The tube grubs must be for Ambassador Gandres—he has a fondness for all things Ferengi, or so I’m told.”

“I’m impressed, Colonel. You managed to delegate party planning duty pretty quick.”

“Shakaar insisted on having the job done correctly. As station commander, it’s my obligation to find the individual who can best meet the minister’s expectations.”

“Whatever you say, Colonel,” Ro said, grinning as she turned toward the door.

“Oh—and if Ambassador Lang says anything you think I might find useful—”

Ro paused. From appearances, Kira’s evening would consist of replicated raktajinoand a cold floor. I bet Kira would enjoy a night out. I should…no. I wouldn’t want her to feel like she had to accept my invitation, and it might be awkward to turn me down. Maybe another time.She finally said, “Goes without saying, Colonel.”

Kira had removed another box from the stack before Ro made it to the door. Persistent as she was, Ro couldn’t imagine starting and restarting the tedious process of searching for answers in those boxes—especially since she was confident there were none to be found.

The difference between a believer and an unbeliever,Ro thought.

When Charivretha entered Thirishar’s quarters, Anichent raised his hand to request that she refrain from interrupting his conversation. She recognized the Vulcan on the viewscreen as a well-known scientist. It pleased her to see that Anichent was working on his post-doctoral research instead of frittering away his time, moping as Thriss seemed bent on doing. How capably Anichent navigated his technically dense conversation with his colleague! All their talk of rips in space-time fabric fascinated her, but she doubted she could explain it if called on. Science had never been her forte.

During her student days, Charivretha had taken only the minimum requirements in physics, chemistry and biology, choosing instead to fill her schedule with extra courses in political science and government. Still, she found the physical sciences exciting in a mysterious way. In relaxed, intimate moments, one of her bondmates, a warp propulsion theorist, whispered to her the subtle poetry of swirling galaxies and interstellar fusion—a unique ritual between lovers to be sure. Her devotion to him was not unlike Shar’s love for Anichent. In this one way, she and her cheiwere similar.

Anichent deactivated the subspace link and turned to her. “Thank you for waiting, Zhadi.I meant no disrespect.”

Thinking about how pleased Shar would be to see his bondmate immersed in the work he loved, Charivretha affectionately squeezed Anichent’s shoulders. “You amaze me, Thavanichent. You should apply for that fellowship at the Daystrom Institute.”

“As you say.” He flushed, and looked away, focusing on gathering up the bioneural circuit sheets and isolinear chips scattered over his work surfaces. The Vulcan he’d been conversing with was engineering a device to be retrofitted on starship arrays; Anichent had decided to see if he could build a miniature model of the device in order to verify his own findings.

Charivretha could imagine Anichent, one day, deciding to join Starfleet engineering as a way to facilitate spending more time with Shar. They could request joint assignments. Both of them would be less lonely. Charivretha believed having a bondmate by his side could only help Shar, stabilize him, reinforce his obligations to the Andorian Whole.

Feeling conspicuous for not helping, Charivretha dropped to the floor, working to assist Anichent in gathering his things. “I’ve come with a plan for the evening. I think it would be good for all of you. Don’t give me that look, Anichent. Even you need to rest from your work—to recreate.”

“Dizhei must have talked to you,” he said sagely. He leaned over the desk and chairs, searching for any components he might have missed.

And that’s not the half of it…Unwilling to revisit the humiliating discussion she’d had with Lieutenant Ro, Charivretha avoided following up on Anichent’s words. He could draw his own conclusion. “How many days has it been since you three did something fun? Dizhei has been correcting her students’ projects, you’ve been tinkering with hyperspanners and laser drills and Thriss has been preparing her residency applications—”

“Not many of them,” Anichent muttered.

Those two, quarreling again? Do they ever stop? Poor Dizhei!Taking sides might disturb the precarious bondgroup dynamic, so she resolved to avoid any topic that might result in a conversation about Thriss. “You all deserve to be rewarded!” Charivretha said, reassembling a toolkit. “There was quite a bidding war over these holosuite hours. An attaché I work with was our most eager competitor, but in the end, I succeeded. I’m not about to let such a valuable opportunity go to waste.”

Anichent placed the last of his items into a nearby case. “I suppose we should ask Dizhei and Thriss if they feel up to going out.”

“Come with me, would you?” Charivretha asked. Anichent nodded stiffly and arm in arm they went to find the others.

No one will notice,Thriss thought, her hand hovering over the control panel. The temptation to increase the volume overpowered her fear of being caught; she made the adjustment. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Dizhei. When her bondmate continued working without interruption, Thriss relaxed.