Scotty looked at the Romulan cloaking device.  “I can’t guarantee I can get it installed in just three hours captain.  Our systems and their’s are totally incompatible.  It’d probably take a full team of experts a year to even figure out how it works.”

“Koloth’s engineer is familiar with their design.  He will assist you.”  Kirk looked at Scotty.  Just take the usual level 1 precautions.”

“Aye, captain.”  Scotty replied.  “I’ll do that.”

Spock watched the prisoner intently.  They’d found one survivor on the ship, half-unconscious and burned by electrical fire.  The commander of the ship no less, burned when the autodestruct device exploded before it could be armed.  “Your prognosis, doctor.”

Bones pushed Spock out of the way.  “Alive, barely.  Give me some room here please Spock.  It’s hard enough to save someone’s life without having people getting in the way.”  He looked at Chapel.  “Note the similarity between Romulan and Vulcan physiques.  A 99.9% corroboration.  Only the two centuries of isolation, change of habitat and nutrition have caused the 0.1% variation.  Now I’m going to remove this piece of shrapnel from the Romulan equivalent of a kidney.  See how I’m trying not to cause further damage by opening the wound up further?  Romulans only have one of these organs, so it’s vital that we not put undue stress on it.”

Kirk and her yeoman walked down the corridors.  She dictated orders to him as they ambled.  “Destroy the remaining Romulan ships.  Leave no surviving enemies behind us.  I want a full meeting of the department heads once the cloak is fitted.  We’ll have to reroute some energy reserves and they’re not going to like that.  Finally I want it noting in the records that the crew is performing admirably.  I’m going to appoint a morale officer; they will quell all ship-board rumour and speculation.  I’ll be asking the department heads to pass on recommendations to Mr. Spock.”

Koloth was impatient.  The brief taste of victory was wearing off and the primal urge to hunt and kill his prey was gnawing at the edges of his patience.  He was impressed however when the Enterprise began opening fire on the crippled Romulan vessels.  “She is more Klingon than she realises.”  He laughed.  “Oh that I had such a companion by my side.  My victory would be all the sweeter afterwards.”

Spock looked up when the captain and her aide walked into sickbay.  “The prisoner is recovering from lifesaving surgery.”

“I thought I said not to take any prisoners.”  Kirk said sharply.

“This is no ordinary Romulan commander.”  Spock replied.  “You two met once before.”

“I met?”  Kirk started.  “We’ve only encountered the Romulans twice.”

“Exactly.”  Spock replied.  “You last met the first time you stole a cloaking device from her.”

Kirk laughed.  “I’d secretly hoped that they wouldn’t kill her for my deception.  Now she’ll tell us all she knows or she’ll end up like her colleagues.”

“Captain?”

Kirk looked at Spock.  “The art of war.”

“The ancient Earth document by Sun Tzu.”

 “Leave no enemy behind you.”  Kirk said sadly.  “I didn’t want to give the order, but I had to.  Defenceless Romulans, unable to do anything but I had to make sure that they can’t pass on a report if by chance they were rescued.”

“Romulans do not take prisoners as a matter of routine.”  Spock replied.  “They don’t expect the same.  If the circumstances were different you would have been able to rescue them, return them to their people.”

“I know I did the necessary thing.”  Kirk said after a moment.  “It’s knowing that it wasn’t the moral thing to do that tastes like ashes.”

“The first duty of a captain is to her ship.”  Spock replied.  “You ensured the safety of the Enterprise.  Your logic is sound.”

“Damn logic.”  Kirk shouted.  “Damn guilt for making me feel this way and there’s going to be a lot more blood on my hands before this day is done.  Why is it necessary to kill?  I know the philosophy of war of course, the forcing of ego upon an enemy to accept your ways as theirs.  However is if no one is left alive to accept your way then is it really victory?”

“Perhaps the only victory is in defying your enemy.”  Spock replied.  “However this is neither the time nor place to discuss philosophy.”

“No it isn’t.”  Kirk replied.  “Well let’s take a look at your prisoner.  I’m sure she’ll be delighted to learn where she is.”

Spock felt the ship starting to move.  “We’re underway?”

“You should read more Sun Tzu.  ‘Once war is declared, do not waste precious time in waiting for reinforcements, nor will return your army back for fresh supplies, but cross the enemy's frontier without delay.’  We’re going into Romulan space.”

“How far inside?”

“Right down their throats.  We’ll work on the cloak as we go.”

“What about provisions?”

“We’ll disable and loot a Romulan ship or base.  Each victory will increase our own morale and we’ll learn Romulan tactics and strategies by fighting them, not by studying them.  We can’t afford to make any mistakes, ‘making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory’, although we have to take into account that no plan is foolproof.”

“A most profound plan.”  Spock replied.  “For a moment I feared your grasp of command was slipping.”

Kirk’s voice became as cold as ice.  “Just because I feel upset doesn’t mean I’m not going to do all I can to get my crew home alive and unhurt.  Once we have the cloak we’ll really be able to take the fight to the enemy.  I’ve asked Koloth to send three of his ships to lure the Romulan forces light years out of our way.  It’s almost certainly a suicide mission, but every one of his captains volunteered their ships for the mission.”

“The Klingons seek out battle to prove their honour.”  Spock mused for a moment.

“I’m just glad they’re on our side.”

“The Klingons are on the side of the Klingons.”

“True, but as long as we’re allied together they will view betrayal as dishonourable and so unworthy of them.  However I have no illusions that if they view any of our actions as deceitful or a betrayal of our alliance they’ll turn on us in a second.”

“You think they might do that?”  Spock asked.

“They will if they find out what I’ve got planned.”  Kirk replied after a moment.  “I don’t like it either to tell you the god’s honest truth.”

Scotty looked at the cloaking device as he finalised the connections to the ships main computer.  “I hope the captain appreciates this little miracle of engineering know how.”

Klarg growled.  “Success is its own reward.  You are a skilled engineer, you attack problems with the mind of a warrior, you defeat them with your intellect.”

“Will yer have a wee drink with me laddie, to celebrate?”  Scotty opened his top secret cabinet and took out a bottle of finest Scotch whisky.  “I’ve had this beauty with me twenty three years.”

Commander N'alae Sharell opened her eyes slowly, expecting to see her own infirmary but instead she saw the faces of two Federation officers.  One of them was the Vulcan, Spock.  She hissed at him.  “I won’t speak.”  She looked at the other, a female, wearing a simple white and grey uniform.  “Who are you?  My inquisitor”

Kirk laughed.  “Hardly, Sharell.  Oh, please forgive me, where are my manners.  Mr. Spock why don’t you introduce us?”

“May I present the captain of the Enterprise.”

“Kirk is dead?”  Sharell gloated, Kirk was a worthy opponent, and she’d have no trouble with this stupid-looking female and the weak-willed Vulcan.

“Captain Janice T. Kirk.”

“It’s a long story.”  Kirk said with a smile, noting the look of confusion in the enemy’s eyes.  “I want the disposition of your fleet, commander.  That’s the only reason I kept you alive.”

“It’s the only thing keeping me alive.”  Sharell retorted.

“Oh no, tell me, don’t tell me, it’s the same for me.  Either way you get interrogated and I get the satisfaction of knowing that you’re utterly alone on this ship.  All your colleagues are dead.  I killed them, I had to.  Can’t have any little Romulans passing on sneaky messages giving away the big surprise now, can we?”  Kirk slapped Sharell.  “Why did you do it?”

“What?  Have you arrested for violating the neutral zone?  I had every right.”

“Gemini Prime, in the Vega sector.  A whole planet slaughtered by your new weapon.”

“You’re mad.”  Sharell replied.  “I’m not even remotely convinced that you’re James Tiberius Kirk in that female body.”

“That is at least true.”  Spock replied.  “I was there when Dr. Lester stole the captain’s body and tried to seize the Enterprise.”

“It changes nothing.”  Sharell replied.  “Besides I returned home in disgrace, I only kept my command so that could be sent as far away from my home as possible.”

Sulu woke up.  It was his turn back on shift.  He nudged Nyota to wake up.  “We don’t want to be late.”

“I don’t mind, Hikaru.”  Uhura replied and laid her hand on his chest and felt his heart slowly beating.

Kirk left the medical bay and headed to her room to change.  She was planning to wear something light and feminine, she had the perfect dress in mind already in fact.  The second she was inside her room she removed her earrings, the second the door finished closing she stripped naked and put her uniform into the clothes hamper, she had another six identical ones in her wardrobe.  She headed for the shower and spent a few luxurious minutes letting the water wash away her cares and worries.  She allowed herself the luxury of not being the captain for a few hours, instead she was Janice again, single woman of a certain age, about to be wined, dined and romanced by her best friend and the love of her life.  She applied her favourite perfume, dabbing her breast, wrists and just behind her ears.  Then she dressed in the softest silk lingerie and her special dating dress, a strappy little number that showed off her figure and her legs to marvellous effect finally she completed the outfit with shoes and purse, making sure the later held a small type 2 phaser, after all there was still a war going on.  She made sure her make up was perfect, before popping her favourite earrings in and she felt like se was ready for anything, maybe even everything.  Janice looked at the clock and exactly on time the door chimed.  She opened it to see Leonard.  “You’re right on time.”  She said to him and kissed him softly.

“I brought you a present.”  Bones said to Janice.  He handed her a small jewellery box.  “Open it.”

Janice opened the box to see an exquisite antique necklace.  “Oh Leonard, it’s gorgeous.”  She let him put it around her neck, then admired it in the mirror.  “It’s so beautiful.”

“So are you.”  Bones said with a devilish smile.  “Now if you’d care to join me for a stroll through the corridors to the galley, chef has prepared us a special surprise.”

“Another surprise?”  Janice asked.  “I can’t wait to see what it is.”

Commander Sharell glared at Spock.  “You should have joined us, you were a fool to deny yourself the exquisite emotions we could have taught you.”

“I have no desire to feel any emotions.”  Spock replied.  “They already exist, why bring them forth?  They should be repressed so that the mind can function properly, logically.”

“Pah.”  Sharell spat.  “You cut yourself off from yourself, you won’t accept who you are, what you are.  You are weak, emotions are part of who we are, necessary tools for survival.  Without them you are as helpless as newborn kittens.”

The meal was splendid, even better than the first date.  Janice found Leonard was charming in a way she’d never imagined before and she found herself even more attracted to him.  She was falling deeply in love with him.  The realisation was as a pleasant and welcome surprise as the necklace around her neck.  “This ice cream is delicious.”  She tried to find something neutral to say, something that didn’t reveal the depth of her attraction to him.

“Yes, it’s almost as sweet as you are beautiful.”  Bones replied.

Janice couldn’t help but smile at the huge compliment.  “Thank you.”

“I know we’re stuck in the middle of a war, we may not survive, it’s a risk we all accepted signing on.  However even when facing the possibility of death we’ve always found a way to go on living.  Bones produced a second jewellery box, smaller than the first.  He stood up and walked around the table and knelt by Janice before opening it.  “Janice Kirk, will you marry me?”

Janice gasped when she saw the ring, a Koladan diamond, not too big but not too small either.  It sparkled with an inner fire like the huge blue giant star of the Koladan  system it was named after.  “Yes.”  She replied after a second to take it all in.  She did want to marry Leonard, she knew it with every fibre of her being.  He was going to be her husband.  “Yes, I will marry you.”

Bones grinned as he put the finger on Janice’s finger.  “There we go, a beautiful ring for a beautiful woman.”

Janice looked at how the ring looked on her finger and it looked gorgeous.  She was so happy.  She had never imagined that her life would lead to this, but now that it had led here she wouldn’t have it any other way.”  They kissed and everything just felt so right.

“Yellow alert.”  Sulu’s voice echoed across the tannoy.  “Captain Kirk to the bridge.”

“Of all the times to interrupt.”  Bones cursed at the tannoy.

“I’d better go see what it is.”  Kirk replied.  “Why don’t you go to my quarters, we can finish this champagne off in more exclusive surroundings.”

Bones nodded.  “Right you are, captain.”

Kirk sighed and bustled out of the galley towards the nearest turbo lift.  She wondered what the crew would think when they saw her in her glad rags.

Spock’s mouth opened but no words came out when he saw the captain enter.

Uhura saw the ring and smiled at the Captain, both happy that she’d landed her man and also that she was engaged to be married.

“What is going on?”  Kirk asked.

“Romulan fleet coming this way.  Seven modified Klingon D7 attack cruisers.”

“Is the cloak on?”  Kirk asked.

“Not yet.”  Spock replied.

“We’re no match for a fleet.”  Kirk replied.  “Red alert, deflector shields to full.  Maybe we can hold out long enough for the Klingons to implement some sort of attack strategy.”

“They’ve seen us.”  Sulu said.  “Changing course to intercept us.”

“Orders, captain?”  Chekov asked, trying not to notice that the captain was wearing a revealing dress.

Kirk stood next to her chair.  “Keep going helm.  No course change.  Don’t react at all.”

“They’re arming disruptors.”  Spock said to the others.  “Preparing to fire.  Registering multiple targeting locks.”

Kirk sighed.  “They have a lousy sense of occasion.”