EPILOGUE

"Captain's Log, stardate 53780.82. Antares has finished upgrading the Phantom's bridge to the specifications set forth by Admiral T'Lara as of this morning, and presently we are conducting thorough diagnostics of all systems. As the Phantom is no longer under the direct mission control of Admiral T'Lara, all of our testing results shall be compiled and sent out to Admiral Bates in approximately three days, after trial runs have been completed. All of the crew have returned from shore leave; full ship's complement acknowledged. The Phantom stands ready and waiting for its next orders after we have returned to green status."

Captain Knight sat at the desk in his ready room, starring aimlessly at the information that scrolled across his desktop terminal. For the time being, he was far too preoccupied with his next task that he couldn't possibly get any other work done.

The frustration finally became too distracting and Knight slapped off the terminal. He leaned forward, propping his elbows up on the edge of his desk, and rubbed a hand across his eyes. He sat silently in thought for a moment, before letting out a weary sigh. Knight stood and walked over to the replicator--maybe a cup of coffee would help. Just as he was about to order, the door chime sounded. Mildly annoyed at the timing, he tilted his head and called out, "Enter."

The door opened to admit Melina Iv'Oor, freshly returned from Andor...from her honeymoon. Knight summoned up the last of his energy and greeted her. "Melina, good. Would you like something to drink?"

"No, sir."

Knight frowned inwardly at the acerbic tone of Melina's voice. He ordered a cup of coffee (black, of course), took a sip, and returned to the chair behind his desk. "Please be seated."

The look Melina gave him in response clearly indicated that she'd much rather be anywhere else, but complied nonetheless. Instead of assuming the customary Andorian head tilt, she instead moved her antennae forward, keeping her eyes level with the Captain. Back on her homeworld, such an act would be clearly that of defiance to authority...his authority.

"It's good to have you back," Knight began. "For a while there, I wasn't sure you'd be coming back."

It proved to be a less-than-tactful start.

"It was no thanks to you, sir."

Knight paused and groaned silently to himself. "Melina--"

She didn't give him time to continue before interrupting. "Don't. Patronize. Me," she declared in a tone and volume just below that of insubordination, and almost as an afterthought added a fierce, "Sir."

The affront did nothing to soothe Knight's already frayed nerves. "Fine. We'll cut through the crap. If maybe you were expecting me to apologize, I'm sorry to disappoint--I have nothing to apologize for."

Melina raised her head and cast a vicious glare at Knight, seething in anger that could become violent if provoked further. She opened her mouth to speak, at which point Knight stopped her.

"I will remind you, Lieutenant, that you are in the company of your commanding officer. You will treat me as such--is that clear?"

"What?"

"Are you having a problem with your hearing, Lieutenant?" Knight demanded in his most authoritative voice.

"No... sir."

"Good."

"Permission to speak freely sir?" Melina ventured in as appropriate manner as she could, given the moment.

"Permission denied!" Knight answered sharply. "Though I expected this behavior, I'd hoped--hoped it wouldn't come to this. As of this moment forward, there will be no discussion whatsoever of the events that recently took place on Andor--not with me, not with Rojc, not with other crew--no one. That's an order."

Melina visibly tried to hold back the anger and defiance, but it was obvious how deep the order had wounded her. "I believe I'd like to have that in writing, sir."

It was the last-ditch effort he'd already anticipated. Knight sifted through the PADDs on his desk. He at last picked up two PADDs and scanned them over before finally holding the correct one out to Melina. "Already approved and signed by Admiral Bates."

She grabbed the PADD from his grasp and immediately began reading the contents for herself. Finally she looked up, and despondently asked the only thing that came to mind. "How could you do something like this?"

Though Knight's first impulse was to end the discussion then and there, he simply could not do that. Be it his conscience, or something else, he foolishly (and he knew it to be so) decided to offer up some sort of explanation. "Melina, you can't even begin to understand the horrors I've witnessed. I admit that perhaps I should have tried--but hindsight is usually twenty-twenty."

Knight frowned at the inelegance of his own words, more glad than not he'd denied Melina free reign. "I am sorry that you were hurt by all this, Melina, but the judgment I made was well within my rights in not only Andorian, but Federation law. And if I had refused Tripsa's...offer...it would have been an affront to him."

Melina's face was now unreadable. "A question, sir?"

Knight thought for a moment before he finally answered with a cautious, "Yes."

"I fail to see how Federation law would permit you to trade me as you would a piece of property."

"I fail to see how that is a question," Knight retorted.

There was a silent moment before Melina finally decided she was still allowed to ask a question. "This was all the matter of some political agenda, then?"

"That's...essentially correct," Knight answered. "Melina, if I'd had my way--you and I would've been married--and I think we'd have been very happy together. You made me happy at a time in my life when everything else was in ruins. Your youthful exuberance..." he trailed off reminiscing to himself. "...It was so refreshing...so infectious..."

From the look on Melina's face, he had no doubt she was dying to make public some wickedly witty quip she'd formulated as he talked. Prudence apparently won out, however, and she remained silent.

Knight shook his head and wiped a hand across his forehead. "Whether you care to believe it or not, I've paid a heavy price in all this--a burden which will always be there."

"Respectfully sir, perhaps you need to reevaluate your agenda," Melina calmly asserted. "One might wonder why you should need to issue a gag order to cover your actions."

"Let me make it absolutely clear that if I even suspect the possibility of leaving a trail of clues for Rojc and the others to so cleverly discover on their own, you will be before a court-martial board and out of Starfleet in no time at all. Personal problems stay personal--keep them out of your work." Knight paused to let his words sink in. "You're dismissed, Lieutenant."

Melina stood and left the room in something of a daze. For a long moment afterwards, Knight sat idly in silence.