Michaela came to Kronos to meet with Chancellor neroQ and then asked for a private audience with the Empress. Nicole and Michaela don't see eye to eye. She was a student of the King's Fleet Academy who became drunk with power. She hurt many people that Nicole loved. She betrayed the King's Fleet creating the Hatherton Fleet in the Delta Quadrant. She took members of the King's Fleet leadership group with her destroying relationships.
Michaela looked at Nicole, "Thank you."
"Huh?", Nicole responded.
"Your guidance at the Academy, your friends helped shape me into the leader I am today.", Admiral Hatherton responded.
"What do you want?", Nicole scoffed.
"Starfleet has decided that it can work with Rhilan Kevoth. He may not bring about the return of the Klingon Federation but he will stop interference in the Dilthium trade. We need to eliminate Francois neroQ and you are the only operative close to him.", Michaela explained.
"First of all, I am no Starfleet Operative and secondly Francois and I do not even sleep in the same room. Hell, we don't even sleep in the same part of the palace. We are not close. You know how he is.", Nicole was pissed that Michaela sees the regional leaders as operatives in the Federation's thinly cloaked expansion agenda.
"Just keep it in mind. We have significant concerns in with Francois. Our dealings are getting more and more bizarre.", Michaela warned.
Francois was in the dining room when Nicole came downstairs. He was laughing in an odd tone. Nicole looked at him, "Something wrong."
Francois wanted to tell someone. He had to tell someone.
"Do you remember the Temporal Field that my uncle Louis neroQ tried to create in order to create an empire with Empress Loiza Coren?", Francois asked.
"Of course.", Nicole quickly responded with a note of sarcasm.
"The systems used to manipulate that field can be activated again and then diverted into the planetoid field that is the Beta Penthe System. Using the high pressure Dilithium strategy built on Reykja Penthe as a microcosm model, we can the crystallize the enter asteroid and planetoid belt surrounding the Klingon Empire into the largest Dilithium field in the known worlds.", Francois gave that maniacal laugh once more.
"But there are people on those worlds. Klingon outposts and the colony of Camelot. People will be killed. Lots of people.", Nicole gulped.
"Rura Penthe is a prison. Who cares about them? Reykja Penthe is a Federation colony. Who cares about them? The soldiers stationed on those outposts would consider it a great honour to die to create the largest Dilithium field in the known regions. This is a time of celebration for the Klingon Empire.", Francois acknowledged the plan.
Nicole was more terrified than ever. She looked at Francois and then left the dining room. Michaela was right. Francois was crazy. Nicole took the yacht to Reykja Penthe. Part way there, she looked at Casey, "How hard is it to kill a Klingon at close range?"
Casey gasped and then Nicole spilled the whole story. Casey understood getting drunk with power. She had ordered the deaths of many in her term as Chancellor. Casey talked to Nicole about how to penetrate the very hard exoskeleton of a Klingon. Nicole also spoke with Caitlin Wu at the stations. She wanted to know if she was being played by Michaela and T'tan. Caitlin contacted the President and T'tan pleaded her innocence in manipulating Nicole into this chaos. She begged Nicole to help them.
Nicole met with Vincent. He has been her mentor and basically her father for all these years. Vincent told her that she had sworn to protect the colonists. It was her duty to act.
Bella held Nicole as they shared the story. It is never easy to kill someone let alone someone whom you have slept with. Nicole had protected Francois. She had sworn a bride oath. Bella spoke to Nicole about the myth of the Black Widow - she mates and she kills. The myth will finally be true. It was hard not to laugh.
On January 24, 2396, Nicole Branson jammed a short shank unto the mandible jaw of Chancellor Francois neroQ passing into the flamboyantly dressed leader of the Klingon Empire. Nicole looked at the dying Chancellor sobbing. She will never be the same.
Posted by:
Nicole Branson
Covert Operative
Section 31
Starfleet Intelligence
Admiral Vincent Viceroy
Commander in Chief
King's Fleet
