The Traitor's Tears

V

"Who's ready for dessert?" Jim asked excitedly.

    As soon as he had retrieved the beautiful cake, the ship's lights lit up red.

    "RED ALERT. SHIP HAS BEEN BOARDED BY UNKNOWN ASSAILANTS."

    The senior officers all stood and Jim opened the emergency phaser locker in his room and handed each of the officers one.

    Mac'hla manually pulled the door open a crack and looked into the hallway. With a sharp gasp she let it shut and clutched her phaser.

    "Klingons." she muttered, "And multiple deceased crewmen."

    "How the hell didn't we detect them?" Kirk asked.

    Spock bit his lip, "I think we did, Captain."

    "What? We– oh... oh, christ." Kirk muttered as he remembered what Mac'hla had seen on their screen earlier.

    Mac'hla frowned, "I should have been more persistent. We should have stayed and surveyed the area."

    "It's not your fault, Lieutenant. I didn't listen to you." Kirk assured them, "But I'm still left with one question: Why did it disappear from your scanner?"

    Mac'hla thought for a moment before a shiver ran up their spine.

    "Romulan cloaking devices do not appear on any of our sensors."

    "Mac'hla, they're klingons." McCoy reminded her.

    "Yes, I am aware... but were the klingons not considering an alliance with the Romulans during the Klingon war? It is possible that they may be testing this alliance to see if it will work. If this is the case, then the Klingons could, theoretically, have access to cloaking devices."

    A wave of unease fell over the room. A Klingon and Romulan alliance could be disastrous for the Federation.

    Scotty looked out of the window and gasped, "A Klingon ship."

    They all looked out of the window at the Klingon bird of prey.

    "We need to get to the bridge," Kirk muttered.

    "Sir, there are at least twenty klingons in that hallway alone. They have disruptors and bat'leths. Even with our phasers we are outnumbered. Our best chance is internal teleportation." Mac'hla said calmly.

    "Kirk to the transporter room." he said into the com on the wall.

    No response.

    "Kirk to the transporter room."

    Still silent.

    "They must have gotten in there." Scotty lamented, "The only way we can make it to the bridge is with the transporter!"

    Jim swore and bit his lip in thought.

    "Scotty, the vent system is connected to everything on the ship, right?" he asked.

    "Aye sir, everything." he confirmed.

    "So theoretically, someone could reach the transporter room through the vents."

    "Yes, sir!" Scotty said brightening up.

    "That is inadvisable." Spock said firmly, "The main vents are vertical, going straight down through all 22 decks. One cannot pass from one level vent to another without rappelling down. To make it down to the engine room one would need climbing equipment."