"Talia! Talia!"
At the sound of her name being called frantically from behind her, Anatalia quickly stopped in her tracks and turned to find Jim Kirk racing towards her from further down the hall.
"Hey Jim. I heard we might be getting offered the coveted five-year mission. Need me to convince Leonard again."
"We didn't get it."
"What? Why not? The Enterprise is the most advanced ship in the fleet. How could they not choose us?"
"Because I am no longer captain." Anatalia looked back at Jim in shock, not sure she could possibly be interpreting his words correctly.
"What?"
"Spock filed a report. An accurate report."
"Shit. So, you need me to kill him?" Jim seemed to contemplate this option for a moment, long enough that even Ana was debating if he was really taking her joke into serious consideration or not. Finally though, Jim shook the thought from his mind and became truly serious once again.
"No. And don't make offers like that when I'm in a bad mood." Ana couldn't help but chuckle at Jim's sour mood.
"My apologies. Why'd you chase me down in this hall then?"
"Pike is taking over the Enterprise yet again and has miraculously been allowed to make me his first officer. As such, he has tasked me with choosing the Enterprise's team. You and Bones have the spots if you want them."
"Oh. I don't know Jim. Leo and I already talked about it a bit and we agreed to stay grounded for at least the next year. It's just, the last mission was so long, and we started on that one almost immediately after our first. Len just needs a break from space for a while, and I should stay with him." Jim simply nodded at Ana's rejection, which was odd considering this was typically the part where he'd start begging and wearing Anatalia down.
"Jim? Is that going to be okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine. It's just not going to be the same without the usual crew."
"I'm sorry, Jim. If there's anything I can do, let me know."
"Yeah, thanks Ana. Hey, are you covering the council meeting tonight."
"Yeah, it's my crew. You know what it's about?"
"No idea. I'll see you tonight. Tell Bones I said hi."
"Tell him yourself, Jim! Don't hide from your best friend." Jim merely waved off Ana, but it meant that he had heard her as he walked in the opposite direction of the hall, so that was enough for Anatalia.
-----
Anatalia had lost track of time at the gym earlier and was now racing to get changed for the emergency council meeting she was tasked with leading as head of security. She made quick work of removing her gym clothes as she walked back into her and Leonard's bathroom, barely noticing Leonard sitting up in the bed with his PADD in hand as she raced past.
"Tali? You going somewhere darlin?"
"Emergency council meeting! My team was requested. I'm running late!"
"Have you eaten?"
"Yes!" Leonard immediately rolled his eyes, knowing that this answer wasn't entirely accurate.
"Recently?"
"I'll eat when I get back! I promise. Will you still be home, or do you have the night shift?"
"I'm on call. Hopefully I'll be home." Anatalia walked back into the bedroom while zipping up her security uniform and quickly made her way over to Leonard's side of the bed to give him a quick kiss goodbye.
"I hope so too. I'd really like a repeat of last night." Leonard matched Talia's smirk at her insinuation, dropping his PADD so he could gently hold her face close to his.
"Oh really?"
"Mm hmm." Talia leaned in to place a longer, more passionate kiss to Leonard's lips before suddenly pulling away again to find her shoes. Leonard groaned in irritation at Talia's teasing, scooting over to her side of the bed to place kisses to her neck while Tali attempted to put on her shoes and not cave to Leonard's advances. Talia's smile turned to giggles as Leonard worked an arm around her torso in an attempt to pull the woman further back on the bed, but Talia forced herself to remove Leonard's hands from her body and stand from the bed to put some distance between herself and her boyfriend.
"I have to go. I love you. Be home when I get home okay?"
"Yes ma'am." The sound of Leonard's southern accent peeking through as he said those words was almost enough for the woman to ditch her security assignment and climb back into bed with the love of her life, but she also couldn't give Leonard the satisfaction of winning this tease battle.
"Bye." Finally out of the bedroom, Ana could allow herself to breathe normally again and forced herself to remove all thoughts of Leonard in that bed from her head so that she could focus on the upcoming task at hand.
Although Anatalia was running late, her team knew better than to do the same and were already at their stations surrounding the council room. Anatalia fell into step with Kenshi who had been waiting for her at the council room's entrance, a sly smirk on her face as they did pre-checks of the room before the admiral, captain, and commander's arrivals.
"You're late."
"Yeah, I know. I was at the gym, lost track of time."
"Uh huh. Is that why you have a hickey the size of your thumb on your neck?" Immediately, Talia stopped dead in her tracks and moved to touch her neck, wincing slightly when a bit of pressure on one particular spot became too much.
"Shit. I'm going to kill Bones. I really am late because of the gym. Leonard was just being a distraction while I was racing to get ready."
"Mm hmm. I hear that's the story."
"Shut up. Finish checking the room then tell Johnson when we're clear to admit the officers. We can't keep them waiting."
"Yes ma'am."
While Kenshi moved to the other side of the room running security checks, Ana ran to the glass covering one wall of the council room to check the ridiculous surprise Leonard had left for her. How he had managed to leave a hickey so big without Ana feeling it, she had no idea. Luckily Anatalia had decided to wear her formal security attire, meaning she had a collar that she could adjust to cover to majority of her neck. Pleased with the fix for the time being, Ana brought her attention back to the meeting at hand and stood at attention as the lead officers of Starfleet made their way into the council room. Admiral Marcus made his way over to Ana, extending his hand for a cordial handshake as he spoke.
"Commander Tonks. Nice to finally meet you. I've heard good things from your mother. Thank you for taking this security detail so last minute."
"An honor, sir. It was no trouble at all. I'm glad to know my team's reputation is making its way through the ranks."
"Indeed it is. I should like to talk to you more in depth some time about your goals here at Starfleet. I think there are plenty of opportunities that could become available to you very soon."
"Thank you, sir. I'd be thrilled."
"Glad to hear it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should be getting started with the meeting."
"Of course, sir." Stepping out of the admiral's path, Ana watched as the head of Starfleet walked to the head of the conference table and took his seat at its center. Still in awe of the conversation that had just taken place, Anatalia slowly made her way to her station blocking the council room's entrance. From the PADD on her arm, Ana dimmed all lights and lowered the screens on the windows to the room, encasing the room and all of its inhabitants in complete darkness aside from the holograms now lighting up the center of the tables surrounded by Starfleet officers.
"Thank you for convening on such short notice. Be seated. By now, some of you have heard what happened in London. The target was a Starfleet data archive. Now it's a damned hole in the ground. Forty-two men and women are dead. One hour ago, I received a message from a Starfleet officer who confessed to carrying out this attack, that he was being forced to do it by this man, Commander John Harrison. He's one of our own. And he is the man responsible for this act of savagery. For unknown reasons, John Harrison has just declared a one-man war against Starfleet. And under no circumstances are we to allow this man to escape Federation space. You here tonight represent the senior command of all the vessels in the region. And in the name of those we lost, you will run this bastard down. This is a manhunt, pure and simple, so let's get to work."
From the corner of her eye, Anatalia spotted Jim whispering to Pike who seemed to be scolding his first officer in response. Ana couldn't help but roll her eyes. Of course Kirk would be the one to interrupt a high-profile meeting with all other prominent Starfleet officers. Clearly, Ana wasn't the only person to notice, as Admiral Marcus spoke up next, prompting all attention to draw towards Kirk and Pike.
"Chris? Everything okay there?"
"Yes sir. Mr. Kirk is simply acclimating to his new position as first officer."
"If you've got something to say Kirk, say it now. Tomorrow will be too late." Jim's gaze rested on Talia for a moment in his discomfort before turning to look back at the admiral.
"No sir. It's fine."
"Spit it out son. Don't be shy." Once again, Jim's attention turned towards Ana as if asking the woman to help him out in some way, but knowing this was not her place, Talia simply shrugged and nudged her head forward as if to tell him to speak up. It was now or never.
"Why the archive? All of that information is public record, and if he really wanted to do damage to Starfleet this could just be the beginning."
"The beginning of what, Mr. Kirk?"
"Sir, in the event of an attack, protocol mandates that senior command gathers captains and first officers at Starfleet HQ, right here in this room." Anatalia noticed how Jim seemed to quiet near the end of his reasoning. She found herself working through the theory in her own mind and the pair seemed to come to the same conclusion at the exact same time as their eyes met and fear filled both of their faces. Suddenly, Talia's PADD went on the fritz, along with all of the other technology in the room. The screens covering the windows retracted to reveal a small space pod hovering just outside the council room. Still on the same wavelength, Anatalia and Jim spoke at the same time.
"Clear the room!"
Shots were fired in all directions, covering every inch of the council room. All bodies dropped to the floor in an effort to dodge the worst of the attack. From over the chaos of the attack, Talia did her best to yell orders out to her security team.
"Everyone to your assigned captains! First officers, help get everyone out now. Stay low!" In an effort to draw away fire, Talia ran across the room with her own firearm, shooting at what could now easily be seen as John Harrison in the attack pod. Safely making her way to the other side of the room, Talia arrived at Admiral Marcus' side and led him safely to the exit where more medical staff was already waiting and taking on patients as they were led out of the council room.
"Ana!" Turning at the sound of Kirk's voice, Talia searched the room for the man to find him off the side, working some kind of distraction with the emergency firehose.
"Pike's hit!" Anatalia followed Jim's eyes and found Captain Pike laying atop some rubble at the center of the room. Spock saw this too and also began easing his way over to their former captain. By the time Ana had reached the pair of them, Spock was already pulling away, indicating that he had gotten to him too late. The sudden silence surrounding the group was palpable. Ana wasn't sure how Jim got rid of Harrison, but she was relieved when he too made an appearance at Pike's side, reassuring the woman that one of her best friends was still alive. As much as Talia wanted to be allowed to mourn Pike along with Jim and Spock, she found herself returning to her job and searching the room for any other injured or dead. Medical staff were finally able to enter the room now that the shooting had stopped and were already working on those who needed the most attention, leaving Talia feeling very vulnerable and useless. Those feelings only intensified as she found a familiar face lying against the back wall, the eyes void of life, but capturing the woman's last moments. Kenshi.
"Tali!? Tali!? Tali!" Upon finally finding Talia in the middle of the bustling doctors and nurses quickly taking over the council room, Leonard enveloped Talia in a strong embrace. As soon as he got the call about an attack at the emergency council meeting, Leonard had raced out of bed, quickly gathered his supplies, and ran to the attack point. He couldn't help but panic as with each group of officers exiting the room during the attack, Talia continued to not be among them. Holding her in his arms now was the only thing keeping Leonard from losing it completely. Realizing that Talia was not reciprocating his nervous affection, Leonard pulled away to see her eyes glued to the wall in front of her. Turning to see what was keeping her attention, Leonard's own face fell as he noticed Lieutenant Kenshi, Tali's second in command and one of her best friends, laying lifeless on the ground as a medical team prepared a gurney to carry her body out on. Leonard quickly diverted Talia's attention from the scene, grasping her face in his hands to force her attention on him.
"Hey. Hey, darlin can you hear me?" As if being controlled by an outside force, Talia robotically nodded her head, still trying to comprehend the consequences of the event that just unfolded.
"Darlin, we need to get you to medbay for an exam. We need to look you over for any injuries."
"I'm fine."
"Not just physical." Anatalia understood Leonard's meaning, knowing herself that she was likely in shock and therefore not at full capacity mentally. But she couldn't seem to bring herself to worry about herself at the moment. Not with her best friend and Pike dead. Not with Jim distraught over his friend and mentor.
"I'll go later. I need to look after Jim."
"He's going too. It's protocol Tali. Everyone gets an exam." Understanding that this was not a conversation she'd be winning tonight, Talia slowly nodded her head and allowed Leonard to guide her body through the council room and down to the medbay.