“Excellent, see her in,” Nrech’lah’s voice replied through the intercom. Seconds later the doors parted to reveal a dimly lit chamber beyond.
Talev paused before the threshold, allowing her eyes to adjust to the room’s lower illumination. As she studied the room’s interior, it became apparent that she had not been brought to a meeting room at all, but rather the captain’s private quarters.
“Come in, Lieutenant,” Nrech’lah called out from somewhere in the room. Stepping forward, Talev noted the ornate tapestries lining the walls and the eclectic collection of exotic weapons, art, and other decorative objects filling shelves and cabinets. The room’s contents reflected an owner who had traveled extensively, most likely as part of a long and distinguished military career.
Following the sound of Nrech’lah’s voice, she stepped deeper into the room. As she did so she became aware of a faint odor teasing her nostrils. Not completely unpleasant, the smell grew more pungent as she moved farther into the chamber. She noted steam coming from one doorway on her left, and guessed that the odor, whatever it might be, was coming from there.
Tell me this isn’t going where I think it’s going.
Stepping to the doorway, Talev looked in, her sense of dread growing as she beheld the room that lay beyond. Inside, a large tub dominated the chamber. Filled with a dark, thick liquid, it was undoubtedly the source of the odor. A trio of female Lutralians, each dressed in flimsy shifts hinting at the lithe forms only partially concealed beneath, moved about the room, either tending to the bath or to the person occupying it.
Captain Nrech’lah.
Seated in the tub, naked at least from the point that his chest rose above the surface of whatever it was that filled the tub, the Lutralian regarded Talev with a wide grin on his face.
“Please, come in, Lieutenant.”
Chapter
7
With a satisfying click, Scott felt the final retaining clip slide into place. The control panel immediately activated as power was restored, and its status displays illuminated as information began to once again transfer to it from the ship’s computer.
“Aye, that’s got it,” Scott said as he tapped a series of test commands to the panel. The displays reacted to his requests, flashing diagnostic data about the Chandley’s warp drive. According to the readouts, the engines were operating as well as could be expected, given the damage they had sustained and the limited resources he, al-Khaled, and the team of engineers from New Kelva had at their disposal. Even with the lower-than-normal plasma levels, Scott was confident that the engines would function adequately enough to get them home.
Assuming we can control them, he reminded himself.
“All that’s left now is to set the course and let the computer do the rest,” al-Khaled said from a nearby control station. “I’ve been doing some computations based on the course we followed to get here, and I think that, with Talev’s help, we can instruct the computer on how best to get us back to New Kelva.”
From where he sat next to al-Khaled, Tomar pointed to one of the computer displays. “Without the computer overseeing propulsion, we will have to plot the navigation and set up the parameters for acceleration and braking ourselves. This of course invites the possibility of error.”
Scott frowned at that. It was an incomplete grasp of the power harnessed by the Kelvan engine design that had gotten them here in the first place. Any modifications made to the navigational subsystems would be rushed, with no time for any sort of simulator testing. Whatever they did, it would have to be right the first time.
That meant they needed Talev to oversee the modifications.
“Scott to bridge,” he called out as he tapped the console’s intercom control. “Lieutenant zh’Thren, I’m gonna need ye one more time, lass.”
Instead of the young Andorian, the uncertain voice of Jahn answered. “Commander Scott? I’m afraid that the lieutenant is not here.”
“What do ye mean she’s not there?” Scott replied, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Where the devil is she then?”
There was a pause of several seconds before Jahn spoke again. “It was my understanding that she had informed you of her intention to go over to the Lutralian vessel.”
Scott’s eyes went wide in shock. What had happened while he and the others had been finishing their repairs? “What in the name of hell is she doing over there?”
* * *
At the moment, Talev zh’Thren was standing in the doorway to Captain Nrech’lah’s bathing chamber, hands on hips and with an annoyed expression on her face.
“The effects of the doamjah oil in the water are really quite therapeutic,” Nrech’lah said as he drank from a large, polished goblet. Holding the vessel up for her to see, he added, “Especially when coupled with those of elbbarcs wine. You should do yourself a favor and try both.”
Shaking her head slowly, Talev replied, “I appreciate the offer, Captain, but I’m afraid there really isn’t time. With our repairs almost complete, we will be leaving shortly. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your generosity.”
Nrech’lah made no attempt to hide his leering stares at her. “I note from the visual communications with your ship that you are different from your companions, and I do not simply mean the physical distinctions. There is a quality to you that seems to be lacking in the others, and I must confess that I find you most alluring, Lieutenant.” Taking another drink, he added, “Therefore, if you wish to thank me you may do so by remaining here as my guest.”
The first response to enter Talev’s mind was to plant her boot squarely in the Lutralian captain’s face. If he was operating under the assumption that she would offer herself to him in exchange for safe passage for the Chandley, then he was about to be very disappointed. He had made no indications of such an agenda during their previous communications. Had she misread him so completely? That, along with the fact that the captain appeared to be sincere in his desires only served to anger her further.
Even with an effort to remain calm and controlled as she straightened her posture, Talev could not keep a slight edge from her voice. “As I said, my ship will be leaving momentarily, and as much as your offer might flatter me, I must respectfully refuse.”
She felt a hand on her shoulder just before one of the guards behind her said, “The captain does not take kindly to having his orders disobeyed.”
Instinct took over as Talev reached for the hand on her shoulder, grabbing the guard’s arm just above his wrist. Before the Lutralian could react she yanked on the arm and, using her own body for leverage, pulled the guard off his feet. She rolled the off-balance Lutralian over her hip, sending him crashing to the deck in a clumsy heap.
His partner also was reacting, drawing his weapon and bringing it up to aim at Talev. She turned to face the new threat, regretting for the first time that she had not elected to bring a phaser with her.
You’ll just have to make do with his.
Before the guard could extend his weapon, Talev launched herself at him. Her left arm caught his hand and pushed the weapon up and away from her as she thrust the palm of her right hand up into the Lutralian’s jaw. The guard’s head snapped up as her other hand closed around the barrel of the weapon and yanked it from his grip. Pivoting on her heel, she spun clear and lashed out with her right foot, catching the Lutralian in the midsection and driving him back into the bulkhead. He struck the wall headfirst before sliding stunned to the deck.
Light reflected from something metal and moving and she whirled to see the first guard coming at her, a large and ominous blade in his hand. With the Lutralian between her and the only known exit, there was time for only one course of action.
She shot him.
A thunderous crescendo filled the bathing chamber as she pulled the trigger. Unlike the phasers used by Starfleet personnel, the weapon she now held fired some kind of solid projectile that instantly crossed the space between her and her attacker and struck the guard sq
uare in the chest. As the Lutralian was thrown to the deck from the force of the impact, Talev was for a horrified moment concerned that she may have killed him.
The guard was still moving, though he was holding a hand to the area of his chest armor where the projectile had hit. Talev realized that the armor had protected the Lutralian from the lethal force of the attack, but he did not appear to be making any attempt to regain his feet.
Exhaling in relief, she gave thanks for the hand-to-hand combat training the Academy had instilled in her, to say nothing of the personal fighting techniques that her sister had taught her during their formative years. Though she still exercised both disciplines regularly as a way to relax and relieve stress, she had never expected to make use of such skills in a real-life situation. Looking at the two incapacitated guards, it was nice to see that the time spent in practice had not been wasted. With neither guard posing a threat, she turned and aimed the weapon in the direction of the bath.
While his trio of servants had sought cover behind a waist-high partition at the rear of the room, Nrech’lah had remained seated in the tub, not even bothering to discard his wine goblet. His smile had not faded, either, even when she leveled the muzzle of the weapon at his bare chest. Talev found his reaction most disconcerting.
Then he set his wineglass down and began to clap.
“Very nicely done, Lieutenant.”
Talev was sorely tempted to simply shoot him and be done with it. Part of her wanted to see what effect the weapon would have on soft tissue, bone, and muscle as the projectile tore into the Lutralian’s chest.
“Would you mind explaining to me what the hell is going on here?”
Nrech’lah retrieved his goblet before answering. “As you indicated earlier, you are a poor diplomat. That much was obvious from our previous conversations. It is equally obvious from your crew’s actions to this point that you are not our opponent, so the only question that remained was whether or not you are a worthy ally.”
The words took a few seconds to register with Talev, but when realization dawned, it took a renewed effort on her part not to pull the trigger.
“Are you saying that this was a test of some kind?”
Laughing again, Nrech’lah replied, “Of a sort, yes. You showed great bravery on your ship by agreeing to come over here. I wanted to see if that courage was heartfelt or merely a bluff to buy time for your comrades.”
It was now Talev’s turn to laugh. “Well, I was buying time for them, actually.” By her reckoning she had given Commander Scott and the others the time they needed to finish their repairs.
“Fair enough,” Nrech’lah replied. “I would expect no less from either a worthy ally or enemy.”
Indicating the bath chamber with her weapon, Talev asked, “So why all of this? This was all a setup? It was fake, just to test my reactions?”
Nrech’lah shrugged. “Not all of it, I confess. I was being truthful when I said I found you alluring.” Placing a hand on his chest, presumably where his heart might be, he smiled again as he added, “I sincerely apologize if you are upset.”
Frowning, Talev said, “It seems like a big waste of time to get information that you could have simply asked for.”
“Ah, but then I would have been denied the exquisite look on your face.” Nrech’lah’s laughter nearly drowned out the sound of her communicator chirping for her attention. Reaching into a pocket of her uniform, she retrieved the unit and flipped it open.
“Zh’Thren here.”
“This is Scott. Do ye mind tellin’ me just what the hell ye think yer doin’, Lieutenant?”
Regarding Nrech’lah for a moment, Talev finally lowered the weapon. “I am concluding negotiations with the Lutralian commander, Mr. Scott. Please stand by.”
“But—”
The reply was cut off as she closed the communicator and returned her full attention to Nrech’lah.
“Captain,” she began, “As we have already agreed, I am not a politician, and neither are any of my shipmates. It is obvious to me that you are not looking for a fight with us, and we are neither interested in nor capable of fighting you. Contact your leaders and tell them about us, and extend our offer to have a proper diplomatic envoy sent here from the Federation to meet with them. If you and I could find common ground here, today, imagine what our governments might accomplish if given the opportunity.”
Nrech’lah nodded in approval, a wry smile warming his features. “Spoken like a politician. You may have missed your calling, Lieutenant. I will pass on your request to our leadership. For now, though, perhaps you would honor me by agreeing to stay, for dinner at least. If you wanted to stay longer, that could certainly be arranged as well.” He started to rise from the tub but froze in place as Talev aimed the weapon at him once more.
“Is this another test?” she asked with a wicked smile of her own. “Because if it is, I promise you I will fail this one.”
* * *
Opting not to press their luck more than was absolutely necessary, Scott ordered the Chandley to warp speed as quickly as possible. With Talev proceeding directly to engineering from the shuttle bay, she had assisted al-Khaled in coaxing the ship’s propulsion monitoring systems. The engines, despite their compromised condition, had operated almost flawlessly and in a short time Scott was once again looking at the blue-green hue of New Kelva on the main bridge viewer.
“We are home,” Tomar said from the science station, more than a hint of relief in his voice. Turning in his seat, he nodded formally in Scott’s direction. “My people will be most grateful for Starfleet’s assistance in this matter, Commander. We could not have succeeded without you.”
Scott indicated the bridge and, by extension the rest of the ship, with a nod of his head. “It was you and your friends on New Kelva who built the engines in the first place, Tomar. I think your designs are a few years away from being widely accepted, but if ye can devise the system that will keep those beasties under control, we may be lookin’ at a whole new generation of warp drive. Can ye imagine havin’ to recalibrate the warp scale because of what’s happened here today?” The very thought excited Scott. Until now, the scale had been thought to be absolute, but it was obvious that still faster speeds were obtainable. Perhaps in a few years, that scale would indeed be in need of revising.
He heard the hiss of turbolift doors opening behind him and turned to see al-Khaled and Talev step out onto the bridge.
“Welcome back, Lieutenant,” he said as the young Andorian moved from the turbolift alcove toward the command well. He started to extend his hand in greeting but stopped short as a foul odor abruptly assaulted his nostrils.
“What in God’s name is that smell?”
Near the engineering station, al-Khaled regarded his friend with an annoyed expression. “What are you complaining about? You didn’t have to ride in the turbolift with her.”
“It’s a long story,” Talev said. “But suffice it to say that I was successful. The Lutralian government will be expecting a communiqué from the Federation. They are interested in establishing diplomatic ties in the interests of mutual cooperation.”
Scott smiled in approval. “A very nice piece of work, Lieutenant. It seems that computer skills aren’t the only talents you’re blessed with.” His smile faded a bit, though, as he added, is “Ye could have at least told me you were goin’ over there.”
“I apologize for that, Commander,” Talev said, and Scott easily detected the sincerity in the lieutenant’s voice. “Given our situation at that time, I did not feel it appropriate to distract you any further than I already had. Your instructions were to stall Captain Nrech’lah long enough for you to complete repairs. Engaging him in a personal dialogue seemed to be the most effective course of action.”
Rolling his eyes at that, Scott could not suppress a chuckle. He doubted that Talev was aware of just how much like Mr. Spock she had sounded just then.
“Well, I have to say ye did a fine job, all things considered. I
t might not have been the smoothest first contact mission ever made, but I know of several that have gone a lot worse. My hat’s off to ye, Lieutenant.”
Tomar added, “Congratulations, Lieutenant. I hope this does not mean you will give up your engineering duties to pursue a career in diplomacy. The successes we have enjoyed with our engine designs are as much a credit to you as to anyone else.”
“I am not planning a career move, Tomar,” Talev replied, smiling as she did so. “You and I still have a lot of work to do before this project is finished.” Turning to al-Khaled she asked, “Isn’t that right, Commander?”
“Right enough,” al-Khaled said, rising from the engineering station and approaching the bridge railing. “But I will admit that this mission has given me something new to think about.” Looking over at Scott he said, “Engineers in a first contact situation? Sounds like something we should be better prepared for in the future, don’t you?”
Scott frowned at the question. “If ye mean the S.C.E., I’m not sure I follow. Even if this had been an S.C.E. mission, it wasn’t exactly run-of-the-mill.”
“No S.C.E. mission is run-of-the-mill,” al-Khaled countered. “That’s the whole point of the Corps in the first place.” Pausing for a moment, the engineer began to pace the upper bridge deck. “Remember that mission we had on Beta III, and what Chris Lindstrom said?”
Nodding, Scott replied, “He said that engineers only know how to fix machines, and that it took specialists of a different sort to understand the people who construct them.”
“Exactly,” al-Khaled said. “And this mission was a perfect example of what he was talking about. The S.C.E. is being tasked with all manner of missions nowadays. Anytime an ancient alien ship is found, or one of our starships finds the remnants of a dead civilization, they’re sending in S.C.E. teams to investigate and evaluate the technology.” Indicating Tomar, he added, “What if an S.C.E. team had originally encountered the Kelvans? How might that first contact have gone?”
Foundations Book Three Page 7