Star Trek: TNG: Hearts and Minds by Dayton Ward

Author:Dayton Ward
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books

16

Isle of Arran

November 20, 2032

Kirsten Heffron decided she could get used to this.

Sipping coffee, she sat in a wooden rocking chair, admiring the lush, gently sloping farmland that extended some distance from the front porch of the farmhouse that was the unlikely headquarters of the equally improbable people who had rescued her from Majestic 12’s clutches. In the distance, the pale pink glow of dawn approached from beyond the hills. She always enjoyed coffee or tea while watching the sunrise, and while it was a favorite and refreshing way to start a new day, it was also a luxury in which she had rarely indulged in recent years. It was another of life’s simple pleasures that often fell by the wayside as she became ever more involved in the demands of her job.

Not anymore. For better or worse, those days are probably over.

The more she mulled that thought, the more Heffron realized she did not care. She had served her country to the best of her ability, and her country had repaid her with betrayal. That would not happen again; not so long as she had any say in the matter. Retirement, even if forced upon her, would be something she would enjoy free of guilt from this point forward, and it began with reacquainting herself with the things she missed from simpler, happier times.

After a long, hot bath—a treat she had afforded herself at least once each day since her rescue and the likes of which she was denied during her extended captivity with only a shower provided in her various holding cells and “community” cottages—Heffron had wrapped herself in comfortable sweats and a robe. The ensemble, along with an assortment of her other clothing and several personal items, was a gift from her benefactors, who liberated them from the storage facility where MJ-12 had placed her belongings after taking her into custody. Heffron was pleased to note that the jeans in particular were of much looser fit than the last time she had worn them. It was nice to see that incarceration had at least one tangible benefit.

Doesn’t mean I’m in any hurry to go back.

As for the farmhouse and the island on which it sat, Heffron was forced to admit that she had never even heard of this place before arriving here via the most unlikely of transportation methods. The woman, Natalie Koroma, had never mentioned it during any of their handful of previous meetings. In fact, the mysterious woman had never provided even the slightest hint as to where she might live or work, no doubt a deliberate choice on her part to keep her identity secret. It was but one more piece of the bizarre puzzle surrounding Koroma and her colleagues that Heffron could never solve, as she had no idea what the completed picture might look like.

“Good morning, Director Heffron.”

Her colleagues. Holy crap.

Looking up at the sound of the voice, Heffron saw Mestral standing on the farmhouse’s front porch, just outside its main door.

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