Kazlaf was unprepared to fight off a bunch of Hirogen during a dinner party. However, the Elaysian scientist was a trained Starfleet officer and knew the moment she arrived at the scene of the attack, she had a job to do. She had gone off with Counsellor Oron to visit the other side of the settlement, so when the alarm bell had been rung, indicating the settlement had been attacked, Kazlaf was pleased that her exoskeleton suit gave her a chance to move more swiftly across the path they had taken to escape the party. 

Intrigued to see more of the Sikarian colony, the two officers had left, like others, to explore the settlement after the main course. Magistrate Mala had shared that what they had was open to their guests—an almost Risian value, as Jarata had pointed out. Oron had noticed Kazlaf was not enjoying their evening’s entertainment, so he suggested they go on a walk. Something had been telling her there was something more going on here, but she was worried the captain and Commander Thaustin were too engrossed in making good with the Sikarians. Having access to their advanced technology to get them back to friendlier territory was a high priority for them. At the moment, the spatial trajector wasn’t working. Mala had shared the excuse that the accident that had brought them this far had damaged their systems. The trajector was only able to cope with short distances. For Kazlaf, she knew there was something more about the Sikarian leader she didn’t like. Besides the overbearing flirting she did with McCallister and Thaustin, it was like something was telling her that Mala was hiding something. She was thankful that Lonar shared her suspicions.

Now, with the Hirogen attacking the Sikarians, there was something here that Kazlaf didn’t like further. She had shared with Oron her concerns, and he agreed that not everything here seemed legit, but for now, they had no hard evidence. It was the same barrier that she and Lonar were hitting from their own investigation.

For now, they needed to secure the area, help those injured, and deal with the attack’s aftermath.

Instantly, Kazlaf found the captain in the chaos. He was sat up against a pillar, with Thaustin holding him in his arms as he used what looked like a torn piece of his dress uniform shirt against the captain’s arm. Nearby, Jarata was helping other injured souls. The captain was injured and barely able to keep conscious. Both men had looked like they had gone through a Klingon battlefield. Their uniforms were covered in blood and ripped to shreds. A far contrast to the pristine look they had when they had all beamed down earlier for the Sikarian party.

“Captain,” Kazlaf called after her superior. “Are you okay?”

“I am,” McCallister nodded. It was apparent he was suppressing the pain and lying. He was only awake thanks to Thaustin’s efforts. “What’s the status of everyone else?” He asked in between breaths.

Thaustin pushed the bandage against the captain’s arm further. “I told you, everyone is fine.” He looked at Kazlaf, “The Hirogen just came out of nowhere. A small number of them somehow broke through the Sikarian defence perimeter. It took a few moments for the Sikarians to use their spatial trajector to send them back. A few of us were able to fight them off hand-to-hand. They didn’t have any particle weapons, just bladed weapons. The Sikarians were more bothered about getting rid of the Hirogen and far away from us.”

“Where to?” Kazlaf asked. “Where did the Sikarians send the Hirogen?”

“Who cares?” McCallister said as he struggled to grab his breath. His injury was deep and was causing him a lot of pain. “Where’s Doctor Uknare?”

At that point, Oron came over and joined Kazlaf by the captain’s side. “She’s dealing with a few others who were badly injured, sir.” He said after kneeling. “Can I help?”

“Tell me, Naef, did you ever think your first mission with the Constitution would have us depending so much on your training as a field medic?” Thaustin asked the large Brikar.

The counsellor chuckled as he took out a medical tricorder and checked the captain. “It doesn’t look too bad but will require more than just a dermal regenerator. But you’ve got a cracked rib and possibly a punctured lung, sir.”

 “Why hasn’t anyone beamed up to the ship?” Kazlaf then asked. She realised they were all sitting around waiting for nothing. Or was there a reason?

“The Sikarians have set up a temporary scattering field,” Thaustin informed her. “It’s blocking our transporters and communicators.”

Before she could make another suggestion, she heard an overbearing screech from behind them and instantly, the hurried footsteps of Magistrate Mala came towards them. “Oh my goodness, Horatio, are you okay?”

The captain smiled weakly before nodding. “I will be. Are your people okay?”

“We lost a couple,” The Sikarian leader shared, tears welling under her eyes. “These Hirogen are dangerous. I wish we could sort out our trajector so we can remove them off the planet permanently. Unfortunately, they have been attacking us ever since they landed and without any ships, we cannot move them off our planet. Furthermore, any attempt to reach out to them to find a planet we can send them to has gone unanswered. We know they have training facilities nearby. It would be relatively simple to send them on their way if they gave us some coordinates.”

“Can we not help?” Thaustin offered.

“What do you mean?” Mala asked.

“Surely we could do something to help. Perhaps we could act as mediators?” Thaustin said as he looked at Kazlaf. “Belire, could you and T’Penni do something to help get the trajector to work again for longer distances?”

She was a bit uneasy at answering; however, Kazlaf nodded. “Perhaps.” She looked at the captain, who appeared to be getting worse while in Thaustin’s arms. “We need to get the captain back to the ship.”

“Our trajector may only work in short distance for the moment, but if you agree to help us remove the Hirogen threat, then I promise we will share our technology.” Mala offered.

Instantly, Kazlaf heard alarm bells ringing in her own mind. “I thought your Canon of Laws prevented exchanging such technology?”

“In extreme circumstances, magistrates have the authority to adjust them in a state of emergency. Instead of giving it completely over to you, perhaps I can find a compromise. Maybe give you the plans to make your own spatial trajector compatible with your technology.” Mala looked back to the captain. “How about it, captain? You help us deal with the Hirogen, and we will give you the research to get you and your ship home.”

Kazlaf could see that McCallister could barely remain with ‘it’, and he just nodded, but she was equally frustrated that Thaustin was charmed by the woman again. 

She knew something else bad would happen, and it wasn’t dealing with the Hirogen.