Stark had needed to be alone. He had taken leave of his recently wed wife. He knew there was a good chance she’d follow him and so he made it obvious where he had gone by deliberately breaking the odd branch and even leaving some scratch marks at just the right height.

T’Pon and S’Raal had likewise gone out for a walk leaving Orvos in deep conversation with Michail talking some insane gobbledegook about whether the Nexus was actually a time portal that interacted holographically with your brain waves.

Sharp ears picked up the sound of running water ahead and Stark picked up the pace. There in all it’s glory was a clearing with a deep pool and crystal clear waterfall falling into it. Even sharper eyes picked up that he had not been the first to find this place. T’Pon and S’Raal were already bathing at the base of the waterfall. Stark didn’t want to intrude on their privacy so he turned to the left and trudged unbidden into the deeper forest.

Suddenly he felt a pricking of his skin, a warning he had honed for decades, a holistic sensory block that told him in no uncertain terms that he was no longer alone.

Stark Nightstalker CIO