Valance rubbed her temples as her yeoman swished through the holographic displays boasting the delights of Rencaris, bright pictures dominating the compact ready room.

‘…what about the Varal Moon Gardens?’ Ensign Hargreaves said, eyebrows raised like she was testing toys on a child and monitoring their reaction. ‘Botanical gardens, home to rare Romulan plants. Crafted landscape. You don’t get much of Romulan botany elsewhere. Or the Rilan Sky Temple, an aerostat over Rencaris IV, one of the gas giants, offering stunning -’

‘I told you to put some information together, Hargreaves,’ Valance snapped at the young officer. ‘Not get a job at the Rencaris Tourism Board.’ She reached to swipe over to the next offering, labelled the ‘Plasma Falls of Eridon,’ a favoured site for extreme sports, hikes, and scenic views. ‘Where did you find all of this?’

Hargreaves straightened her uniform self-consciously. ‘The, ah, Rencaris Tourism Board. I did consult some of our own scans and Kally’s comms records, trying to put together a more objective assessment of the system, but then Counsellor Dhanesh suggested-’

‘…that this was a chance for everyone to wind down? Say no more,’ Valance grumbled. ‘Let me guess, you want to go diving off the Plasma Falls.’

‘Actually, there’s a grav-racing circuit at Solathian…’

Valance was saved from managing the young ensign’s enthusiasm by the door-chime’s chirrup, and her brisk response summoned a suspicious-eyed Kharth.

‘Commander,’ Valance greeted her. ‘Come in. Hargreaves is suggesting twelve ways to die in Rencaris.’

Kharth gave Hargreaves a brief, assessing look, then shrugged at Valance. ‘I only need to suggest one, for you: walk a street in Rencaris.’

‘That’s a little paranoid. If the Suv’chu is here, and if they’ve had half the welcome we did, then I expect Klingon warriors are taking shore leave.’

‘And,’ said Hargreaves, swishing through a few more pictures on the holographic projection,  ‘Rencaris is close enough to the old Neutral Zone that they’ve a fairly well-established array of travellers from over the border. The capital city is quite diverse and hotspots like Kalaak’s Plaza are -’

‘Did you swallow a brochure?’ said Kharth.

‘Dhanesh wants us to take a break,’ sighed Valance, ‘so he asked her to make it all sound appealing.’

‘A break sounds great. For everyone who’s not you, me, or the engineers.’ Kharth shot Hargreaves another look. ‘Beat it, Ensign. Go take Kally BASE jumping off a flaming waterfall or something.’

‘Actually, now you’re here, Commander…’ Hargreaves fished about for her PADD. ‘Governor Vhiemm’s extended an invitation to Captain Valance and a nebulous number of guests to have dinner with him and his wife before attending a performance at the Old Ratorian Opera House in the capital. Day after tomorrrow.’

Valance gave Kharth a wry look. ‘Give me one excuse why my Romulan XO isn’t a perfect companion for this.’

Kharth narrowed her eyes. ‘Can’t your reporter girlfriend get here in 24 hours at maximum warp or something?’

‘She’s not my girlfriend –’

‘That makes it sound worse and more desperate; what’s the show, Hargreaves?’

‘Uh…’ Hargreaves flicked through messages. ‘The Fall of D’taleth.’

Valance had not expected Kharth’s reaction of a brief, smothered grimace. ‘Fine,’ said the XO.

‘We should wear civilian formalwear,’ said Valance, watching her more carefully. ‘Avoid drawing too much attention. And we’ll want a security officer.’

‘Logan can -’

‘I’m not putting Logan on security detail within ten feet of the head of state.’

Kharth stared at her for a moment. Then she turned to Hargreaves. ‘Again, Ensign: beat it.’

The two women were silent as the young officer grabbed her PADD and fairly flew out the door, leaving the projection of the delights of Rencaris shimmering in the air by the bulkhead. After a moment, Kharth let out a slow breath. ‘He’s a good officer -’

‘This is a diplomatic opportunity and there’s no need to add the complication of an xB. For his sake as much as the mission’s,’ said Valance levelly.

‘Don’t say it’s for his sake.’ Kharth scowled. ‘He wouldn’t thank you for stopping him from doing his job and saying it’s for his own good -’

‘You just suggested I’d get mobbed walking the street. It’s not unusual to pick a junior security officer for an assignment like this. I won’t lie to Logan, but I’ll ask him to choose someone else.’ Valance leaned back in her chair, and a quick wave of the hand made it clear the discussion was over. ‘What’s the word from Thawn?’

‘Without use of Rencaris’s facilities, this could be a two-week job,’ said Kharth, sucking her teeth.

‘We can discuss that tomorrow. Alternatively, Gateway has offered to send reinforcements. Swiftsure could be here in a day or so if they burn hot. They’ve got the industrial replicators and can secure parts from the station before they go.’

‘Do you think Vhiemm will welcome another Starfleet ship?’

‘Maybe not, but it might get us out of his hair sooner,’ Valance pointed out. ‘It’s another option to put on the table. I expect him to start dangling prices at dinner.’

‘Airex and Beckett have been putting together a few options on data packages to offer in trade.’

‘Good. Then we’re ready. I had word from Admiral Morgan; he’s indicated he’ll follow my lead on the negotiations.’

Kharth scowled. ‘You mean, he’ll let you take point and blame you if it goes badly, and swoop in and take credit if this is a success?’

Valance opened her mouth to chastise her XO for speaking ill of an admiral, but her heart wasn’t in it. In the end, she just said, ‘We’ll see,’ before looking up at her. ‘How’re you feeling?’

‘Feeling?’ Kharth made another face. ‘I don’t know. A bit hungry?’

‘I mean, how long has it been since you were somewhere like this? Romulan space that isn’t a desperate frontier, or an empire collapsing around our ears?’

‘Two and a half years? Since we raided Rator space to bust Rourke out of prison?’

Valance rolled her eyes. ‘Without someone trying to kill us.’

‘If you’re asking how I’m feeling about being around my people…’ Once, Valance thought, Kharth would have gone on the offensive to push the topic away. Now she shifted her feet and said, ‘Last time I went to the opera was with my parents. On Romulus. I was twelve. Didn’t really appreciate it very much. My…’ She cut herself off and shook her head. ‘It’s weird. But I’ve spent more of my life in the Federation than anywhere else, now. You probably spent more of your adult life around Klingons than I did around Romulans.’

‘That might be true,’ Valance allowed. ‘I only ask because Dhanesh will probably ask.’

Kharth set her hands on her hips. ‘There’s a lot of things I’ve disliked you for in the past,’ she said. ‘Asking Greg to recommend us a new counsellor might be the worst. How are you feeling about the Suv’chu?’

‘Like there’s a predator I can see out of the corner of my eye, sizing me up, trying to figure out if it should make the first move,’ said Valance, fidgeting with the stylus for her PADD. ‘Which reminds me. About the run-in with the Morinar, and Captain Ledera…’

‘I know.’ Kharth made a frustrated sound, but it didn’t seem dismissive. ‘I spoke out of turn. I should have kept my mouth shut. I just hate when these assholes get to act out and we’ve got to keep the high ground, but I put the crew in danger, I know…’

Valance’s lips twisted. ‘Yes. There is all of that. But what I was going to say was…’ She hesitated, plucking at air with her fingertips like seeking words, and tried to keep her voice light. ‘Thank you.’

‘Oh.’ Kharth blinked. Then she frowned and self-consciously shifted her feet. ‘Well. Yeah. Like I said. There’s a lot of things I’ve disliked you for. Ledera doesn’t get to shit on you after only knowing you for five minutes.’

‘Let’s try to be more diplomatic with Vhiemm and Brok’tan if it comes to it, though, yes?’ Valance stood, eager to move on after the uncommonly warm exchange. ‘And Dhanesh is right about some things: the crew deserve a break. Not to mention that we’re explorers, and we know so little about these people, these worlds. We can mix business with pleasure. Make sure everyone gets at least 24 hours off. Even Thawn and her team. If Airex wants to integrate some anthropological observations with downtime, so much the better.’

Kharth nodded. ‘Rest. Recuperate. Seize opportunities. No such thing as a real vacation for us, huh?’

‘Not out here,’ sighed Valance. ‘Let’s also try to politely scope out Rencaris’s shipyard facilities, see if they’re worth us buying access to -’

‘Kally to Valance.’ The young comms officer’s voice came crackling over the system, low but urgent. ‘Sorry to interrupt, Captain, but I’ve got a message here from General Brok’tan of the Suv’chu. He’s inviting you aboard. Lunch, apparently, uh, at 1300 hours.’

Valance met Kharth’s gaze, guarded as she called, ‘Thank you, Kally,’ and cut the channel. ‘I suppose I’m popular.’

‘You’re bringing someone,’ said Kharth flatly. ‘If Brok’tan doesn’t like it, he doesn’t get lunch.’

‘Of course, but respectfully, Kharth, this one isn’t a visit for you -’

‘No. This is boarding a Klingon warship when we just got threatened by one of their buddies out there. It’s okay to make Brok’tan feel a bit uncomfortable.’ Kharth straightened. ‘Which means this time you are bringing Logan.’