A/N: May contain some mild spoilers for STID, though the whole story occurs after the movie takes place.

Chapter 1

The target console was two steps away. She silently closed the distance and inserted a disc into a slot on the surface. With a few quick touches on the screen she was copying the files she needed. She flipped a look over her shoulder as she inevitably waited the few seconds it took to copy. The coast was still clear. Her presence hadn't been detected. Yet.

There was a beep to signal the copy was finished. She grabbed the disc and shoved it into the concealed pocket inside her jacket as she spun around to leave. Glancing at the vintage watch on her wrist she saw she had less than five minutes to get to the rendezvous spot. She quickened her pace down the corridor.

The ship was large, bigger than any other she'd been on. It was made of dark metals and lit with red running lights that threw every crevice into shadow. It would be easy for her to hide if need be but it also made it difficult to see if someone was coming. The panels at the various doors were marked with Romulan script; she only knew the basics of the language. A quick getaway into any of these rooms was beyond her ability to decipher their technology. She had to hope her escape went as undetected as her entrance.

She turned the final corner, relieved the mission had been more than merely successful; it had been easy. She ran into a wall. Taking a step back she looked up and found a Romulan staring down at her, looking as stunned as she felt. Her senses were on high alert so she sprang into action before he did. Romulans were stronger than humans so she needed to use his momentary surprise to her advantage.

She sent a booted foot to his abdomen, putting all her force behind the kick. He stumbled backward a few steps but kept his balance. She stepped forward with a twist, aiming her elbow for his nose but he backed up at the last second so she only glanced his face. He had regained his senses and reached up to grab her by the arm, fury distorting his features.

She tried to wrench out of his grip but he clamped down harder. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as he pulled her close, crushing her back into his chest. She stomped on his foot as hard as she could but it affected him no more than a butterfly landing. He squeezed harder, bringing his arm up around her neck, blocking her airway.

She continued to struggle, trying to move her hands to her pocket where she kept her knife. A flash of her commander offering her a blaster before the mission went through her head. She should have taken it.

Black spots danced before her eyes as the Romulan crushed her neck. She felt her fingers wrap around the hilt of her knife, a six inch blade she kept razor sharp. She pulled it out of her pocket and with the strength she had left she stabbed backward. She felt the impact of the knife as it went into flesh and the coppery scent of blood filled the air.

The Romulan cried out and loosened his grip, just enough for her to slide out from his grip and back away. Her hand slipped from the blood covered knife and she could see it protruding from his thigh when she turned to face him. Green blood poured from his leg in fast rivulets; the pace of the bleeding made it look like she hit an artery.

The Romulan, surprisingly, stumbled away from her. She had anticipated in his anger he would rush her and try to take her out again. Instead, he staggered a few steps in the opposite direction, leaning against the wall of the corridor for support. Too late she realized what he was doing. He was at a console on the wall. He was going to alert the entire ship to her presence.

"No!" She forgot about being stealthy and yelled as she rushed at him. He gave her a menacing grin, using the console as his sole support for standing. His fingers moved to the flashing symbols on the screen. He was going to push them before she could stop him.

There was a loud blast and a flash of light that stopped her in her tracks. The Romulan slumped forward and fell to the ground. Before he hit the symbols on the console. She looked past his prone body to a man standing down the corridor. Her partner, Patrick, was standing there, putting his blaster away. He had been wise enough to bring the weapon when offered.

There was no time for gratitude. They needed to be at the specific coordinates in the cargo bay in order to be beamed off the ship covertly. She pulled her knife from the now dead Romulan's leg and followed Patrick into the bay. Thirty seconds later they were standing on their own ship, Commander O'Rian glaring at both of them.

"Mission successful, Sir." She reported, standing at attention.

The commander looked down at her green blood-stained hand before turning angry eyes on her face again. "I doubt I'd call that successful."

"In and out, without detection. One Romulan engaged us. He never had a chance to alert the crew. The Empire will never know it was us." Patrick interjected, also standing at attention. "The information was successfully downloaded."

Both she and Patrick reached into their concealed pockets and produced discs. Commander O'Rian snatched them away and looked at the small objects carefully. After a moment's consideration he sighed and shook his head. Anger still bright in his eyes he waved the two agents off.

"I expect full reports at oh eight hundred on the dot. Is that clear?" He demanded.

"Yes, Sir." They replied in unison.

"Dismissed." The commander turned and stalked away from the teleportation pad.

She turned to look at Patrick, relaxing a bit. "Thanks." She told him with a tight smile.

"What are partners for?" He replied, slapping her on the shoulder before stepping off the teleportation pad. She followed after him. They turned their separate ways in the corridor. Though she trusted Patrick with her life they weren't what one would consider friends. You couldn't get too close to people in this line of work. It was a dangerous job and personal connections could get you killed. Being an agent meant people you worked with were acquaintances only. The two of them were headed off to their designated rooms; they probably wouldn't speak again until their next mission was assigned.

She was grateful for the break. There was always a build up to the missions; planning and training and practicing for the assignment took more energy and effort than the actual mission itself. Then the mission would happen, which had her senses on high alert and her brain working on overdrive. When it was all over she felt like she could sleep for a week. It drained her emotionally as well as physically.

She fell onto her bunk with a sigh, draping one arm over her eyes. She knew she had to work on that report but she wanted nothing more than to sleep in that moment. She felt her consciousness slipping away as welcome darkness pulled her into a dream.

A loud buzz jolted her awake into a sitting position. Had she actually slept or was she just about to fall asleep? A glance at her watch told her she'd been out for at around two hours.

"Lieutenant Jacobs." A familiar voice said over the speakers in her room.

"Yes, Commander." She replied, scrambling to stand at attention out of habit though he couldn't see her.

"My office. Now." He ordered before the beep that signaled the communication was over.

She sighed. Great. She was probably going to be scolded for killing the Romulan. Never mind that their spies had killed humans plenty of times, she was going to get reamed out for one unpreventable death. It wasn't her fault the Romulan had chosen that moment to be in her path. She hoped that the commander was going to just yell at her. She didn't want to be demoted.

Commander O'Rian's office was the picture of orderly. It was sparsely decorated, as they were only temporarily on a ship, but what was there looked neat and well thought out. Everything he would need or want was at his fingertips. Without a word he motioned her into the chair across from his desk.

There were a few uncomfortable seconds where he stared at her. His graying hair was kept short but brushed forward to conceal a slightly receding hairline. His brown eyes usually betrayed his emotions easily; she could always tell if he were angry, amused, or worried by his eyes. His lined face, however, never betrayed emotion. He rarely smiled or frowned, at least in the presence of his subordinates. Right now he was unsettling; his eyes told her nothing.

"Sir?" She asked hesitantly. "You wanted to see me?"

"Milani," he sighed heavily as he said her name. "I have to send you back to Starfleet Headquarters."

It was a demotion. She felt panic rise in her throat as her ears started ringing. It wasn't fair. She couldn't respond, her voice was lost to her.

"It's for an assignment. The Admiral asked for my best." He motioned toward her. "You're it."

Her heart went from sinking to soaring at his words. It gave her a head rush and she felt a little sick from the roller coaster of emotions. "But I thought..." the words tumbled from her mouth before her head could stop them.

"That you were in trouble?" Commander O'Rian shook his head. "No, Lieutenant Jacobs, you are not in trouble. The mission was successful. One Romulan death as collateral damage is acceptable, though all missions should strive to have a zero mortality rate." He pressed his lips together in a thin line. She could see he was trying to decide if he should say what was on his mind. She waited in silence, letting him come to a conclusion on his own.

"Milani, Patrick told me about what he saw. You managed to get away from a Romulan who was determined to kill you. That shows strength and wit. But you didn't have a blaster. That Romulan could have alerted everyone if Patrick hadn't shown up when he did."

"I don't like guns, sir. Blasters or otherwise." She reminded him. He knew this, and he knew why. He'd never questioned it before.

"I know." He acknowledged. "But consider, in the future, learning to utilize them. They can make a difference, if need be."

She nodded stiffly to let him know she heard him. But she didn't think she would take his advice. "When do I leave for Headquarters, Sir?"

Commander O'Rian pulled out some papers from under the stack in front of him. He grabbed a stamp from the drawer to his right and slammed the inked side onto the paper. "Now, Lieutenant. Immediately."