A short time later, she was escorted to Palpatine's quarters in Mount Tantiss. Upon seeing the young princess, he smiled.
"It is good to see you, young Leia, and a pity that your father could not accept my invitation."
"It is an honor to be here, your highness," said Leia. "He sends his warmest wishes and regards to you, and hopes your conference goes well."
"It will, Princess. It will."
After a few more moments of discussion, Leia was escorted away to her assigned quarters. All along the way, she took in her surroundings. Every corridor, every doorway, every nook and cranny. She had a mission to complete, and she needed to know everything about the place she was in.
Ever since she had arrived on the Time of Legends after her 'trip' to Cygnus Alpha, Ro Laren had been walking around the Free Federation like a spare wheel. Under President James Watt, she had held the role of chief of presidential security. Under President Spock, she didn't know where she stood. Now she hoped that a meeting with Spock would clear all that.
As she entered Spock's office she found something she was not expecting: Spock deep in conversation with Captain Picard.
"Please come in, Commander," Spock said upon seeing Ro.
Ro seated herself next to Picard. She knew something was happening. She just didn't know what.
"You're probably wondering why I asked you here. You should know by now of the mission to the Delta Quadrant. Lieutenant Worf is being temporarily re-assigned as tactical officer to the Valkyrie, because of his connection to the Klingon Embassay on Tattooine. Captain Picard wants you to take over for him."
"Me? But..."
"No buts, Commander," said Picard. "Your skills are being under-used at the moment, and I really need someone like you."
"Then you've got me, Captain. When do I report for duty?"
"Whenever you're ready."
As Watt entered Sickbay on the Pegasus station, he found her treating a young boy he had only seen a few times before. He knew that Ulysses Adair was a sick little boy, but apart from that, knew nothing about him.
As Watt entered, Pulaski finished her work with Ulysses.
"How is Tamar?" Watt asked.
Watt followed Pulaski into another room, where Amarus lay on a bed. His vital signs were being monitored constantly.
"The prognosis is not good," Pulaski replied. "It's like all of his neural functions have just shut down, which is perfectly understandable. How would you feel if you'd seen the wreck of your homeworld close by?"
"But will he recover?"
"That I just don't know. I've tried everything I can think of. He may come out of it tomorrow, or maybe not at all!"
As Del Tarrant walked onto the bridge of the Liberator, he was greeted by a familiar sight: various crew members running all over the place, making sure everything was alright. As Blake joined Tarrant, he could tell he was happy.
"It's quite a sight, isn't it?" said Blake. "Possibly the finest ship the Free Federation has!"
"Don't let Picard hear you say that," said Tarrant.
Blake walked down the steps, closely followed by Tarrant. Soon, he was standing in front of the main viewer.
"May I have your attention, please," he said.
He got the attention of almost everyone. Avon continued to run a diagnostic on the new propulsion system.
"As you all should know, President Spock has chosen the Liberator as part of the fleet to travel to the Delta Quadrant. To that end, he has also appointed a commander more experienced than I am, Captain Del Tarrant."
As Tarrant bowed his head, all the crew, save Avon, acknowledged Tarrant. Avon knew of Tarrant's past.
"What about the Tempest?" he asked. "Surely they need an experienced commander as well."
"And they will have," Tarrant replied. "John Koenig has been promoted to Captain. Now, I would be grateful if you would allow me some time to study this ship's systems. It may take me some time to become familiar with everything around here, but I trust you'll 'nursemaid' me along the way."
As Blake began to show Tarrant around the bridge, Avon stared at them. Originally, he had thought of himself as first officer. He began to wonder what role he would now fill on the Liberator. Science officer, perhaps? He didn't like it one bit.
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