“Ms. Lovar, open a channel on all frequencies,” Nitus ordered as she turned her attention towards the viewscreen. “This is Commander Nitus of the Federation starship Paramount. Please respond and identify yourself.”

Silence filled the bridge as the channel sat idle.

“This is Commander Nitus,” she tried again. “Please respond.”

Then the viewscreen changed from the view of the Lincoln’s bridge to the familiar forehead ridges of the Klingon race. As Nitus looked at him she noted how young he looked compared to other members of his species she had meet prior.

“I’m Torvak of House K’varrak. You commander,” he said, venom lacing his words. “You are in possession of the rightful property of the Klingon Empire. Return the ship and its crew to me, and we won’t blow you out of the sky and retrieve it ourselves.”

“Is that right?” Nitus asked, her lips betraying her as they turned into a sly smile. “Captain Torvak, the Viridian’s Grace is within Federation territory and, according to its black box, it is the property of Stellar Industries. As such it will be returned to them,” Nitus said as she looked at the Klingon, her face stoic as she looked into the eyes of the Klingon.

Listening intently from aboard the Lincoln, Captain Cassidy Cayde glanced momentarily over at Lieutenant Russ Hardcastle, his trusty security officer and confidant on all things Archanis. Both recognized the escalatory words of their Klingon opposite, and it felt a bit out of character, even for them. “Russ, get me something… anything on our Klingon friend.” His gaze then shifted to Lieutenant Commander Ora Jesi at the operations station. “And Jesi, give the Kennedy a heads up that if Michael would like to prevent a shootout, now would be the time.”

At tactical, Lieutenant Commander Arjun Rao then offered a suggestion: “Sir, to emphasize the convictions of Nitus’ words, might I suggest now is the time to go to red alert?” The Klingons would detect the energization of the weapon systems, a clear signal they’d be holding the line here.

“Make it so,” Captain Cayde nodded, turning back towards the exchange between Nitus and the Klingon as a red hue overtook the bridge, signaling the ship was now ready to fight. As he stared at the Klingon’s grizzled forehead, he wondered what was going through the man’s mind. Would he really be stupid enough to violate the sovereign territory of the United Federation of Planets and engage in a direct shootout? Unfortunately, if he was, they’d have to pull a miracle out of their ass. In a fair fight, their Negh’Var would make quick work of a California and a Gagarin.

“If you do. I will consider it an act of war and respond in kind,” the Klingon was continuing to say across the link as he flashed a toothy grin.

Nitus stared at the Klingon, debating her next move. She had hoped they would back down when they moved towards the border, but Torvak was young and brash. Maybe brash enough to consider violating Federation territory, ending generations of peace. “Captain Torvak, I would suggest you rethink your approach. Crossing the border would be an act of war. I caution you to choose your next move carefully,” Nitus warned as she slowly rose from her seat to stare at the Klingon, her gaze enough almost to cause a warp core to go critical.

Torvak looked at Nitus, his face maintaining a neutral expression but his eyes showed a completely different story as the two faced each other down.

It was time, Captain Cayde knew, to step into the conversation. “Now, now, Captain Torvak, let’s not be hasty,” he began. “That ship, sitting within our space, is a civilian flagged vessel that requested our assistance. In accordance with standard maritime practices, it is our duty to render aid, which we absolutely intend to do. What your business is with them, frankly, I don’t care, but it will be up to the crew of the Viridian’s Grace to decide what they do after they’re spaceworthy again.” It was a bluff, of course, for he had no intention of allowing the Viridian’s Grace to deliver illicit goods to the Klingons, but that would be a problem for after everyone powered down their weapons.

“And who are you?” Torvak said as his eyes narrowed looking at the captain.

“Name’s Cayde,” Captain Cayde replied in a rather relaxed tone. “Cassidy Cayde. New digs – with bigger guns, mind you – but if you’ve been ‘round these parts long enough, you might know the name.”

Torvak looked at Cayde, his eyes narrowing as he looked at him. “I thought you’d be taller and younger,” he said as he looked Cayde up and down.

“And I thought you’d be…” Captain Cayde replied sarcastically. “Oh wait, why would I think anything of you? I don’t know you. Before you do something stupid, you might want to check in with someone I do know… you know, someone worth knowing.”

Shirking off the indignation from Cayde, Torvak turned back to address Nitus. “You have two minutes to hand over the and give it and everything on it to me or I will blow the both of you out of the sky.”

“That’s never going to happen. The Viridian’s Grace is within Federation territory, and if you cross the border, that will be an act of war and would be responded to in kind,” Nitus declared. She was beginning to lose her patience with him because he was repeating himself over and over. She knew he couldn’t be stupid enough to cross into Federation space. But who knew what he was willing to do.

“I’m not sure you would win that war. The Federation is weak. You let Changelings into your precious Starfleet and did nothing to stop them,” Torvak said to them. He ignored Cayde and kept his focus solely on Nitus. He knew full well what would happen if he crossed the border, and he didn’t care.  He wanted what he was promised, and that was located in the Viridian’s Grace cargo hold.

“Commander, the Klingon battle group has resumed its course. I’m detecting weapons charge, they’re preparing to fire,” Zolath yelled as he looked at Nitus panicked. Was this going to be the end for them?

But before the Klingons could close the distance, a ship blinked tore out of warp, right into a precarious position between the Klingon battle group and the Starfleet cruisers. The ship Norway class light cruiser, USS Kennedy, wasn’t formidable by any stretch of the imagination, but she was hell bent on stopping this before it got out of hand.

“This is Ambassador Michael Drake of the United Federation of Planets,” came the voice of a no-nonsense former admiral in a commanding tone that demanded attention and respect. “You are hereby ordered – all of you, Starfleet and Klingon alike – to stand the fuck down before you do something we’ll all regret.”

“I don’t take orders from you, Ambassador,” Torvak spat as he looked at Drake. He knew the man well from the stories he had been told by the other members of his house.

“Captain Torvak, I trust that you know who I am, and that I have been fair to House K’varrak in all our past dealings,” Ambassador Drake reminded the Klingon captain on the other side of the link. “This is not the time, nor the place, to undo all that goodwill. I say again: stand down until I can assess the situation in full.”

Nitus stood watching the event unfold in front of her. The half-Romulan was aware of the reputation Drake had. He had served in the Dominion War like her, but where she lost friends, he’d lost entire crews. She also knew he was a former admiral, and that he probably still had friends in Starfleet Command. “We’re standing down, sir,” Nitus said as she looked at Zolath signaling to him that he needed to stand down.

“I too will stand down out of respect for you, Drake,” Torvak said as he looked at the Ambassador. The screen then shut off as he ended the transmission. Out of the viewscreen the slowing advance of the Klingon battle force could be seen.

“Well, you heard the man,” Captain Cayde chuckled to his bridge crew as the link cut off. “Recall fighters, come about from the border, and stand down – for now.” As the Lincoln rotated away and the Negh’Var left their view, he could not help but wonder if the ambassador’s gambit would play out. If not, they’d be back here soon enough for round two.