by Andy Mangels
Hernandez watched as Gardner leaned forward slightly in his chair. “Archer, you and I have been through a lot together, and you know that while I disagree with you from time to time, I still respect you. Thats why Im not shouting my strong suggestion that you adjust your tone.
Hernandez nudged Archer gently aside, effectively pushing him out of Gardners line of sight. Whatevers bothering Jon has to be immense,she thought. And a lot bigger than what just happened at Draylax.
As if anything couldbe bigger than the brink of war.
“Admiral, does the Coalition Council realize that the Klingon ships not only opened fire on Draylax, Hernandez said, “but that they also engaged both Columbiaand Enterprisein battle, refusing to explain their actions or even answer our hails?
Gardner nodded, settling back again. “The Coalition Security Council has resolved that we are to give the Klingon Empire one final warning. They are to cease hostilities against all Coalition worlds and/or their allies. If they cross this line again, or engage any Coalition or allied vessel in battle, the Coalition will issue a formal declaration of war.
“You knowthat the Klingons will be honor bound to return that declaration tenfold, Archer said, stepping back into Gardners field of view. “Hell, theyll probably welcome it. And you dont even know half of the savagery that the Klingons are capable of.
“The Council hopes that this resolution will broker a truce, however tenuous, and thus stave off a war.
Archer sighed heavily. “And of course, nobody is paying attention to what the Romulans might be doing while were all distracted by this Klingon business.
Gardners expression turned to one of angry incredulity. “Unless Im missing something here, Captain, the Romulans had nothing to do with this attack. And no evidence has turned up yet linking them to the other recent
“Except for Coridan, Archer said, interrupting.
Gardner closed his mouth, and Hernandez thought she could hear the grinding of his teeth across the gulf of light-years that separated them. “There are some on the Council and in Starfleet who agree that your warnings were vindicated by the attack on Coridan. But at this time, the Council has voted that the most clear and present threat currently emanates from the Klingon Empire. That is where the Council feels our priorities should lie, and for eminently understandable reasons.
The rooms intercom let out a bosuns whistle a moment before Phloxs voice announced, “Sickbay to Captain Archer. My patient is regaining consciousness, but I cant guarantee how long it will last.
Archer leaned in toward the viewscreen. “Thats the sole survivor from the destroyed Klingon battle cruisers, Admiral. She might be our only chance to get to the bottom of whats really been going on here.
“Go,Gardner said, testiness still slightly audible in his voice. “And good luck, Archer.
Before they exited the room, Archer tapped the com panel once more. “Ensign Sato, meet me in sickbay. On the double.
Moving quickly to follow Archer out of the ready room and into the turbolift, Hernandez spoke in low tones. “I dont get why you set out to antagonize the admiral, Jon. Hes not an idiot, and hes probably trapped by the politics of the situation. And as my father used to say, you catch more flies with honey.
As the turbolift doors opened onto E deck, Archer grinned humorlessly. “Im not interested in catching flies, Erika. And duty or not, the things mydad used to say about the top brass in Starfleet would have made an Andorian blush.
“Admiral Krell is lying. Captain Veshtk wasneither a traitor nor a rogue,the Klingon woman said, her words rendered into standard English by one of Lieutenant Satos pleasant-voiced universal translator units. The Klingons natural voice came as a kindling-dry rasp that Archer found painful to hear. Every word she uttered had to be causing her excruciating pain.
“She says that Admiral Krell is lying, Hoshi said, listening directly to the womans Klingon speech in order to confirm the accuracy of the electronic translation. Archer didnt want to leave any of the Klingon survivors inflections or half utterances to chance. “She says that her commanding officer, Captain Veshtk, was not a traitor, and that he wasnt operating as a rogue agent.
“Then why did they attack Draylax without any official authorization? Archer asked, waiting anxiously for Hoshi to translate his question for the woman. Nearby, Phlox frowned, tapping away at his monitor consoles. Archer saw that he was pumping sizable quantities of painkillers into the womans system.
As before, the electronic translation device spoke on behalf of the Klingon woman before Hoshi did. “We were on patroland something seized control of our ship. Our guidance systemsour gravity, even our life-support systemsnothing would respond to us. I barely got intoa pressure suit in time. The others were still alive, but barelyand we were unable to do anything butfloat in the air while our ship acted as thoughit had a mind of its own.
“She claims that something remotely gained control of their ship while they were on patrol, Hoshi said. “It took over their guidance systems, artificial gravity, and even the life-support systems. This woman was able to don an environment suit, but the others were kept just barely alive. Apparently the artificial gravity system remained disabled while the ship was being controlled.
“How could something like that happen? Erika asked after Hoshi had confirmed the machine translation.
The Klingon woman responded to Erikas question with a series of halting rasps that Hoshis equipment quickly transformed into English. “The first thing they did wasto use some remote means of seizing and deactivating each of our systems, one by one. They started with life-support
“Who seized control of your ship? Archer asked. “Was it someone aboard one of the other two Klingon vessels that attacked Draylax?
The woman moaned loudly, coughing up purple-hued bloody mucus as Hoshi questioned her in the Klingon tongue. But the look on the patients faceeven through her painwas one of surprise.
“I was not even aware of the other ships untilthe battle began. The screens on our shipsshowed me the carnage. I tried to return your hailsor stop the weapons from firing, but Iwas unable. The others on the crew weretoo far gone.
“Does she have any idea whoit was that took over her ship? Archer asked.
The womans body suddenly began to jerk, her back arching up off the bed as her hands clawed feebly at the air. Purple blood spouted from her nose, and she coughed up a darker fluid.
“Move back, Captain, Phlox said, his manner grim and urgent. He punched a few buttons, and the movements of the woman lessened somewhat, though the blood still flowed. For a moment, her gaze seemed to focus on something distant, then moved back toward Hoshi and Archer.
“RomuluSngan.
The word was clear, but final. The womans eyes rolled back in her head, and her body fell limp.
Phlox lowered his head. “Shes gone, Captain.
“You did what you could to ease her pain, Archer said softly. “You didnt do anything to contribute to her death.
Phlox stared at him, but Archer couldnt quite read the tightly coiled emotion that showed in the Denobulan physicians blue, recessed eyes. “No, I did not. Her survival until now was, frankly, a miracle. She might have lived longer had I notinduced consciousnessbut probably not for more than another day or two.
Hernandez stepped forward, looking toward Hoshi. “Was her last word what I thought it was?
Hoshi nodded, her expression glum. “ RomuluSngan. Its the Klingon word for
“Romulan, Archer said, interrupting her.
Archer reached down to scratch Porthos between the ears, then took a sip of the Skagaran Lone Star tequila he had poured for himself and Erika from the bottle Trip had left behind. He had brought Hernandez back to his quarters, rather than to his ready room, to discuss what to do next. “Im just sick of sitting behind that ready-room desk and waiting for more orders and more news that I know will take us down the wrong path, he said before taking another swallow.
Hernandez stopped pacing and sat on the edge of the small desk a
cross from Archers bunk, where she stared contemplatively at the amber fluid that covered the bottom of her own glass. “So what do we do now? The only proof we have that the Romulans mayhave been involved with this is the dying declaration of a Klingon who had enough morphine in her to tranquilize an elephant.
“If the Romulans aresomehow behind the attack on Draylaxif theyve managed to gain control of at least these three Klingon ships, then who knows what other surprises they might have in store for us? Archer said, trying not to let the despair he was feeling creep into his voice. “If were being tricked into going to war against the Klingons, then the Coalition may be about to pick a fight with the wrong enemy. That would leave us vulnerable to ambush from the realenemy. We might even find ourselves surprised by another Coridan-style sneak attack.
“Or the Romulans might just wait until the Klingon and Coalition forces have worn each other down in battle, Hernandez said. “They could swoop in then and start picking up the pieces while nobodys fleets are in any shape to do much to stop them.
“But you already know what the higher-ups will say about that theory, Archer said. “Wheres your proof?We cant change our entire defense posture based on nothing but assumptions and speculations.
Hernandez set her glass on the desktop, then moved to sit down next to Archer, who was perched on his bed. “If you were in Admiral Gardners shoes, would you have it any other way, Jon? It seems were rushing headlong toward an interstellar war, and weve only just started getting out into the galaxy in the first place.
“And the galaxy has turned out to be a much more dangerous place than any of us realized, Archer said, staring down into his nearly empty glass. On the other side of the room he could see Trips tequila bottle.
He immediately regretted having let his last few words slip out.
“You still miss him, dont you? Erika said quietly, backing away slightly, giving him some room.
He nodded silently.
“I know how close the two of you were, she said. “Commander Tucker didnt serve aboard Columbiaall that long, but I worked with him long enough to know what a good sounding board he could be. And thats something a captain needs almost as much as air and gravity. That big chair on the bridge can be a very lonely place.
Archer chuckled, but without any humor. “Especially lately. But I dont suppose either of us needs any lessons about how isolating command can be.
“No, we dont. But it does sounds as though Ineed to remind youto reach out to some of your other senior officers for guidance. Youre pretty tight with your tactical officer, Lieutenant Reed, right? And Id be willing to bet that even your Vulcan XO would be a good listener in a pinch.
He shook his head. “Theyve both been a bitpreoccupied lately.
Erika frowned then, and for a moment Archer feared she might ask why she hadnt seen either of them during the past days of repair and recovery layover that had followed the fight over Draylax. Instead, her frown softened. With a small shrug, she said, “Well, theres always Doctor Phlox.
Archer raised his glass, and some of the tequila nearly splashed out. “To Phlox. Maybe Starfleet wont post bartenders aboard our ships, but a chief medical officer is usually the next best thing.
And theres always Chef and Porthos to fall back on if Phlox ever decides to steal the other shuttlepod and pull a disappearing act of his own,he added silently as he downed a considerable fraction of what remained of his drink.
He noticed a beat later that her frown had returned with a vengeance. “Im a little worried about you, Jon. I havent seen you like this since we went rock-climbing right after the Xindi crisis.
No more eager to discuss that topic than he was to open up to her about what was really going on with Trip, TPol, and Malcolm, he said, “You dont have to worry about me, Erika.
She folded her arms across her chest, her eyes narrowing in that familiar look of you-cant-kid-a-kidderskepticism. “Oh, good. Im glad thatssettled. Im completelyreassured now.
Archer spread both arms and one hand in a gesture of peace, nearly spilling the remnants of his drink in the process. “Sorry. Look, I just dont do the whole self-revelation thing particularly well. Maybe TPol has been rubbing off on me.
He paused for a moment, grateful for her patience while he tried to gather his thoughts. “Its just that I came out here to explore the galaxy, he said at length. “I didnt sign up to become a soldier. Thats why I joined Starfleet and not the MACOs, for Christs sake. He raised his drink again.
She gently took the glass from his hand before he could finish emptying it. “Youre right, Jon. We shouldbe explorers and ambassadors, seeking out the things no one has ever seen before. In peace, and with open hands. And I have faith that we willdo that, one day. She offered him a wan smile. “If not our generation, then the nextone, or the one after that.
Archer looked into her dark eyes, which were as soulful and sympathetic as he remembered. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, to hold her, to be held by her. But that ship had left spacedock long ago. Besides, he was a canny enough drinker to realize that the impulse might have originated in the depths of Trips bottle of Skagaran tequila.
“Im glad oneof us is still optimistic enough to hang on to a little hope, he said after the silence had stretched for a while.
Hernandez moved her hand to his shoulder, squeezing it gently. “As long as we breathe, Jonathan Archer, there will always be hope.
TWENTY-ONE
Romulan Scoutship Drolae
A LTHOUGH THE SCOUTSHIPS DAMPING SYSTEMeffectively canceled out any noticeable inertial-acceleration effects, Tucker found he couldnt keep his heart from lodging itself firmly in his throat. As he contemplated the velocity gauge on his copilots console, it occurred to him that he had never before traveled so fast in his life, not even aboard Enterprise.In fact, he might just have become the fastest human who ever lived.
Trip had picked up enough of the Romulan Empires dominant written language to understand the meaning of the text displayed on the speed readout before him. In his mind he pronounced the sounds that the blocky, angular Rihannsu script would make had he chosen to speak them aloud: avaihh fve ehr rhi.
Warp six point five,he thought, translating those alien sounds into English. Plasma flow is up to eight thousandkolem, with twenty-two thousandmelakols of pressure in the intermix chamber. Damn.
Even during the Drolaes swift voyage from Romulus to Cheron, Terix had not pushed the little scoutships warp drive nearly so hard as he was doing now. Once the Cheron mission had revealed Taugus III to be the most recent known location of the Ejhoi Ormiincell responsible for Doctor Ehrehins murder and the theft of his warp-seven data, the centurion had seemed absolutely hell-bent on either reaching the dissidents enclave as quickly as possible or perishing in the attempt.
The little ship shuddered briefly, revealing what was probably an eddy of turbulence in the tiny, barely stable warp field that surrounded the vessel. He could only hope the unaccustomed vibrations didnt portend some impending catastrophic failure; at such high speeds, a sudden warp-field collapse could reduce a vessel to a light-year-long string of vaporized debris in a matter of moments. And with the propulsion systems under so much obvious strain, the margin for error within that superluminal bubble of survival was probably too small even to measure.
“Do we really have to ride this poor beast so hard, Terix? Trip asked, taking care to keep both Alabama and Florida out of his diction.
“We have no way of knowing for certain how long the Ejhoi Ormiinwe seek will remain at the coordinates TLuadh provided, the centurion said. His gaze was focused straight ahead at the warp-distorted vista that rushed ceaselessly, and at unimaginable speeds, toward the scoutships forward windows. “We must reach the Taugus system before they find another hiding place.
“All this speed wont do us much good if we blow ourselves clear to Erebus getting there, said Trip. “Besides, if we can generate this much speed with such a small warp core, I have to wonder why its worth
taking such risks to recover the data these dissidents stole from Doctor Ehrehin in the first place.
Terix turned to face Trip and looked at him as though he was being deliberately obtuse. “Look at the readouts on this ships support systems, Cunaehr.
With a shrug, Trip did as the centurion asked. A moment later he realized that both the life-support and structural integrity systems were redliningor rather greenlining, since the emerald-blooded Romulans had their own unique take on which color best signified imminent danger.
He realized all at once that hed been playing the spy game so long that hed momentarily forgotten to think like a warp engineer. The Drolaes extreme current speedwhich nearly rivaled that of Ehrehins yet-unrealized dream of a warp-seven stardrivecame at a trade-off cost that a larger, better-armed vessel could never sustain. Terixs current speed-at-the-expense-of-everything-else use of the Drolaereminded Trip that Ehrehins research hadnt been about merely reaching the upper reaches of the warp scale; it had been about doing so in a sustained fashion without sacrificing every scrap of a starships non-propulsion-related functionality.
“I understand, Trip said, nodding. He didnt relish the prospect of having a long conversation about the calculus of power utilization curves with the centurion.
Unfortunately, Terix seemed to be one of those martinet types who enjoyed lecturing those he regarded as his inferiors. “We cant very well assemble a viable war fleet out of ships configured like this one, he said. “An armada that has to expend all of its energy resources just to reach the battlefield is useless from a tactical perspective. Unlessyour ship needs only to deliver one or two men very quickly to a target by stealth.
“All right. So maybe taking a few risks to neutralize the Ejhoi Ormiinis a worthwhile thing after all. But I still say that blowing ourselves to quarks on the way there is a spectacularly bad idea.
“We have little time to waste, Cunaehr. And for reasons other than our urgent errand in the Taugus system.
Trip frowned, wondering whether his own time might not have just become even shorter than hed feared. “Im afraid I dont understand.