Текст книги "The Sundered"
Автор книги: Andy Mangels
Соавторы: Michael Martin
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Научная фантастика
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Before anyone could react, the creature charged straight for Chapel, its powerful, clawed fingers seeking her throat.
Chapter 15
Sulu bellowed loudly as he leapt toward the Neyel, hoping to distract it.
The gambit worked, at least well enough to allow Dr. Chapel to dive for cover behind a rack of shelves stacked with instruments. She narrowly evaded the rough-skinned humanoid, who came within centimeters of grabbing her neck, apparently intent on twisting her head off. Using one of the lab tables to brace himself, Sulu launched a brutal two-legged kick straight into the Neyel’s tree-like solar plexus.
He might as well have attacked one of the bulkheads. Sulu landed hard on his left shoulder, upending the cart that supported Chapel’s portable scanning equipment. As quickly as he could manage, he rolled to his feet, nearly tripping over a tricorder as he did.
“Clear the lab!” he shouted, trying to focus past the star-burst of pain in his shoulder. “Hopman, call security.”
Snarling, the creature advanced on Sulu, even as Hopman hustled Burgess out the door, speaking into a handheld communicator as she did so. From the corner of his eye, Sulu noticed that Dr. Chapel hadn’t yet left the lab; instead, she was moving toward the creature’s rear, a hypospray in her hand. Christine, you and I are going to have a talk later.
Sulu jumped over a table, trying both to evade the Neyel [179] and prevent it from noticing the doctor’s approach. At the same time, Chapel dived at the Neyel, throwing an arm around the middle of its back while trying to administer the hypo with her free hand. The Neyel turned its head quickly, swatting her with its tail. She fell heavily to the deck, where she lay in a dazed heap.
Taking advantage of Chapel’s momentary diversion, Sulu kicked at the creature again, this time connecting solidly with one of its knees, which gave way with a satisfying crunch. Evidently the Neyel had yet to engineer away every weakness inherent to human anatomy. The Neyel howled in agony, throwing roundhouse punches that Sulu saw coming in plenty of time to evade them.
But what he failed to see coming was the end of the creature’s prehensile tail, which struck him like a club across the back of the head. Sulu sagged to his knees, his head swimming, darkness threatening to engulf him. Behind him, he heard the hiss of the sickbay doors opening, then closing again.
Some inestimable interval later he noticed Chapel standing beside him, a shiny purple bruise beginning to blossom across her face. She helped him to his feet.
“Doctor, was there anything ambiguous about my ‘clear the sickbay’ order?” he said, rubbing his aching shoulder. His head was pounding.
He saw no contrition in her cool blue eyes. “In my medical judgment you needed help more than you needed blind obedience. Besides, Hikaru, this is mysickbay, not yours.”
He considered a biting retort, but held his tongue. Chain-of-command discipline was not a hill he wanted either of them to die on at the moment. “Granted. But what the hell happened? I thought you said your ‘patient’ was dead.”
“So did I. Evidently he got better. So much so that he just checked himself out.”
“But he was dead,Chris. You scanned him down to the cellular level.”
[180] “I scanned him all the way down to the molecularlevel.”
“And you didn’t happen to notice that he was still alive?”
Her blue eyes flashed with an irritation she didn’t bother to conceal. Sulu knew they’d known one another too long to have to hold such things back. “I didn’t expect to find a humanoid capable of surviving prolonged anoxia and vacuum exposure. As far as I know, it’s unprecedented.”
“All right, Chris,” Sulu said, raising a placating hand. “I didn’t mean to second guess your medical judgment.”
Her expression softened immediately. “I didnotice some residual metabolic activity in his cells, but you always expect to see some of that immediately after the body’s major systems suffer a fatal crash. The cells don’t suddenly commit mass suicide the moment the heart and lungs stop functioning. Looks like our Neyel friends have more in common with the Nasats than any of us thought.”
Sulu nodded, shuddering inwardly. The idea of humans being genetically engineered to survive even a limited exposure to hard vacuum—the way a naturally armored, insectile Nasat could—was hard to accept. If the Neyel reallyare of human stock, then they must never have learned the lessons of the Eugenics Wars. Or is it possible they simply chose to ignore them?
“Our guest is damned lucky I hadn’t got around to laser-cutting into that thick hide of his yet,” Chapel said. “He just missed the messy part of his autopsy.”
Sulu followed the trail of wrecked and upset shelves, tables, and instrument carts that stood between him and the lab’s exit. A moment before he reached it, the doors opened again, admitting Lieutenant Akaar and six armed security officers.
“Put Excelsioron full security alert, Lieutenant,” Sulu told Akaar. “A member of the Neyel ship’s crew is loose aboardship. He’s extremely dangerous, but he’s to be taken alive. We need to communicate with him.”
[181] “Understood, sir,” Akaar said. Turning smartly on his huge heel, he led his people back out into the corridor.
There has to be a reason that our ... cousins would attack an apparently harmless Tholian colony world.
Sulu crossed to the bulkhead, where he thumbed the companel. “Bridge, this is the captain.”
“Bridge. Chekov here.”
“Pavel, we have a huge problem.”
Lojur was in his quarters trying to relax enough to take a restorative nap when he heard the intruder alert. The initial report said that a Neyel had escaped from sickbay. Shocked to discover that one of the aliens had been taken aboard—alive—he sprang from his bunk and ran into the corridor. When the turbolift deposited him near sickbay, he collided with a bulkhead, then fell unceremoniously onto his posterior.
The bulkhead turned out to be Akaar.
The security chief scarcely broke his stride as he ran past Lojur, at the head of an armed security team. The group was moving away from sickbay, fanning out through the corridors in various directions.
“You should not get involved in this, Commander,” Akaar rumbled, phaser pistol in hand. Then he moved down the corridor with an alacrity that belied his great size.
Rubbing his backside and feeling humiliated, Lojur picked himself up off the deck, unable to think of anything other than the horrid presence that had invaded Excelsior.Would the Neyel bastards who killed Shandra resemble the bile-green Orions who had razed Kotha Village? He had to find out.
Don’t get involved, L.J.? Just try to stop me.
Chekov looked at the chronometer on the arm of the command chair. His body was tense as he considered how little time remained until the Tholian ships were due to arrive. Turning toward the center seat from the bridge’s main [182] science station, Lieutenant Tuvok—who had insisted on returning to active duty the moment Dr. Chapel had pronounced him fit—looked as composed as if he were about to recite the mess hall menu. “Commander Chekov, the four Tholian vessels are entering the system, on a direct heading for the colony.”
Chekov fixed his gaze on the main viewer, which stubbornly displayed only the crippled Neyel ship, the limb of the planet, and the stars beyond. “Have they detected us yet?”
“I am not certain, sir,” Tuvok said.
Chekov watched as Tuvok stared into the scanner built into the science-station console. “One of the four approaching vessels is Admiral Yilskene’s flagship, the Jeb’v Tholis.They have just dropped out of warp approximately thirty thousand kilometers off our port stern. They appear to be conducting intensive sensor sweeps of the Neyel vessel. Judging from energy-signature readings, Yilskene’s ship also appears to be using a transporter beam to collect debris samples from the vicinity of the ship.”
Damn,Chekov thought. Yilskene’s going to be absolutely delighted if he finds us here, in the middle of a Neyel attack on a Tholian outpost.
As Chekov was preparing to alert Sulu, the companel on the command chair beeped, heralding a familiar bass voice. “Bridge, this is the captain.”
Chekov stabbed a button with his thumb. “Bridge. Chekov here.”
“Pavel, we have a huge problem. The dead Neyel in sickbayisn’t dead. He’s loose somewhere on the ship, and he’s violent. Akaar’s trying to capture him.”
“Understood, Captain,” Chekov said, looking toward Commander Rand, who was seated at the tactical station, starboard aft. She was apparently intent on information coming through her earpiece, and her hands moved quickly across her console; Chekov suspected that Security Chief [183] Akaar had called in moments ahead of the captain. The intruder alert klaxon immediately began to sound, and Chekov gestured to Rand to mute the volume.
Turning his attention back to the main viewer, Chekov could now clearly see the image of the four approaching Tholian warships. Addressing Sulu, he said, “We have another problem, sir. Yilskene’s flagship has arrived, with three escorts.”
“Has he detected us yet?”Sulu wanted to know.
“The Tholians are scanning Excelsiornow,” Tuvok said.
Rand turned toward Chekov. “Yilskene is hailing us, Commander. He doesn’t sound happy.”
Chekov sighed. “Make that an affirmative, Captain.”
“I’m on my way. Sulu out.”
Sulu entered the bridge almost at a full run.
Yilskene was already glowering down from the main viewer, his crystal-plane face an unfathomable mask.
“Greetings, Admiral,” Sulu said, taking the command chair as Chekov vacated it to stand at attention beside him.
From the jangling dissonances in the Tholian’s chorus of voices, Yilskene was clearly not in the mood to exchange pleasantries. “Captain Sulu, why have you entered Tholian space without my government’s authorization?”
That is an excellent question, Admiral. But it’s one I can’t afford to answer with complete candor.
“We received a distress call from the outpost on this planet, Admiral. We came to assist as quickly as we could.”
“The Tholian vessels are closing,” Tuvok reported. “They appear to be taking up equidistant positions around Excelsior.”
Chekov leaned toward the command chair. “I could do without getting caught in another Tholian web,” the exec said, sotto voce.
“We’re not caught in anything yet,” Sulu whispered, rising from his chair.
[184] “My people are not fond of alien incursions, Captain Sulu. Even well-intentioned ones,”Yilskene said, then turned his polygonal head to the side to bark a series of unintelligible orders before facing Sulu again. “Nor can we allow you to leave as yet. We see evidence of a savage attack upon our outpost.”
“An attack carried out by the other vessel,” Sulu said evenly. “Your own scans ought to bear that out.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. Regardless, your vessel is to remain where it is until we can fully determine the truth behind your presence here. When we are satisfied that you intended no aggression against us, we will escort you directly backto the Federation border.”
“Very well,” Sulu said, hopeful that Yilskene would give Excelsiorthe benefit of the doubt.
“As you have no doubt observed, Captain,”Yilskene continued, “the outpost planet you now orbit is extremely vulnerable.”
Sulu nodded. “We noticed that as well, Admiral. Our intervention in the other vessejs attack saved many Tholian lives.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not,”Yilskene repeated.
“Surely you can’t believe wehad anything to do with this attack,” Sulu said. “The Federation Council has a great deal invested in normalizing diplomatic relations with the Tholian Assembly. Talks initiated by yourpeople.”
“Undisputed. But we are long accustomed to treachery and deceit from humanoid species such as yours.”
Sulu ruefully considered his covert surveillance mission, as well as the undeniable kinship between the Neyel and humanity. The latter fact, if revealed, would no doubt make matters far worse. You don’t know the half of it, Admiral. And let’s make sure we keep it that way.
Chekov stepped forward. “You’ve scanned both our vessel and the Neyel ship, Admiral. Surely you can see that their vessel and ours have recently exchanged fire.”
A second Tholian officer stepped into the viewscreen’s [185] field of vision, apparently to whisper something into whatever Yilskene used as an auditory organ.
After listening for a few seconds, the Tholian admiral shoved his underling aside, throwing his head back to release a cacophonous noise that Sulu could interpret only as a thunderclap of pure rage. The external view of Yilskene’s vessel returned as the channel was interrupted, no doubt on Yilskene’s end.
“The Tholian flagship appears to be powering up its weapons systems,” Tuvok said. “And I am detecting similar energy signatures emanating from the other three vessels.”
“Evasive maneuvers, Captain?” asked Lieutenant Asher. “What if they deploy their energy web?”
“Steady, Lieutenant,” Sulu said quietly, a practiced calm borne of countless similar crises descending upon him. “I’ve seen the Tholian energy web in operation, and it took hours to deploy. So we’re going to sit tight. If we try to run before Yilskene does anything aggressive, then we’re sure to have a firefight on our hands. But we’ll keep our shields up. Just in case.”
“Aye, sir,” said Asher, apparently reassured.
On the viewer, Sulu saw a blinding shaft of golden energy lance out from the Jeb’v Tholis.He raised a hand to shield his eyes, as did everyone else on the bridge, before the computer automatically muted the intensity of the light.
The bridge shook and jumped, as though Excelsiorhad collided with something.
“Tactical!” Sulu shouted, grabbing the arm of his chair to steady himself. Rand tapped in a quick series of commands, and the image of Yilskene’s flagship was replaced by a small wire-frame representation of Excelsiorand the damaged Neyel vessel, both of which were surrounded by four orange, wedge-shaped icons that stood in for the Tholian ships. Bright lines linked each of the Tholian craft, trapping Excelsiorand the Neyel ship within a large tetrahedral volume of space.
[186] Not again,Sulu thought, taken aback at how quickly the Tholians had deployed their energy web. Being on the Enterprise when Tholian Commander Loskene had unleashed a similar but much more slowly woven weapon had been a nerve-wracking experience. The Tholians’ energy webs had obviously become far more effective over the past three decades.
Sulu rose and walked to the railing behind Rand’s station. She was ashen-faced as she watched the tactical display. “Raise Yilskene again,” Sulu said.
The captain turned back toward the viewer, from which Yilskene radiated hostility. “This attack is not necessary, Admiral,” Sulu said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice, but without complete success. “We have demonstrated no hostile intentions toward you.”
“Really, Captain Sulu? Need I remind you that your own envoy has already implicated you as a spy? And can you explain the discoveries my knowledge-caste subordinates have just made?”
Sulu kept his expression impassive. “What discoveries?”
“My specialists have just examined several human and invader bodies we discovered drifting in the space near your two vessels.”
“That should help prove to you that we fought the Neyel—the invaders—on behalf of your colonists.”
“It might, Captain, except for one salient fact: the invader and human genomes, when compared, are identical. My specialists have assured me that this would not be possible unless Terrans and these aliens both belonged to the same species. Can you explain this?”As he spoke, Yilskene’s chorused voices rose steadily in intensity, and his crystalline skin became progressively more red.
“We’ve noted those same genetic similarities ourselves,” Sulu said, keeping his voice carefully even. “But we haven’t yet been able to explain them. We’re not that familiar with these beings yet.”
[187] Yilskene did not seem mollified in the least. “And can you account for the presence of a live invader aboard your vessel?”
Sulu decided he’d best stick to the truth as closely as possible. “Admiral, we’ve never encountered the Neyel—the ones you refer to as ‘invaders’—before today. When we brought this individual aboard, we believed him to be dead. If you’re beaming their bodies aboard, you might want to double-check their condition.”
“Your story strains my credulity, Captain. Nothing living survives in a vacuum—even hardy beings such as ourselves quickly explode under such conditions. I believe that our diplomatic and political castes may have seriously misjudged the trustworthiness of your species. And that your apparent clash with the invaders is a mere ruse intended to conceal your true intentions.”
Frustrating as it was, Sulu had to admit to himself that Yilskene was at least partly right. Excelsior’simbroglio with the Neyel had been entirely incidental to Starfleet’s clandestine order that he reconnoiter the Tholian Assembly’s recent military buildup. In spite of that, Sulu somehow had to convince the admiral of the simple truth of the Federation’s overall benevolent intent.
“Please speak plainly, Admiral,” Sulu said. “What do you believe our ‘true intentions’ are?”
“I believe that you and the invaders are secret allies, Captain Sulu. And that your vessel’s unauthorized incursion on Tholian Assembly territory may be part of a joint invader-Terran plan to conquer my people and annex our worlds.”
Still staying as close as he dared to the real truth, Sulu replied, “Prior to today, no Federation species– includinghumans—has had contact of any sort with the ‘invaders.’ I assure you, Admiral, their genetic similarities to humans are a complete mystery to us.”
“Again, I find that assertion difficult to believe.”
He’s hesitating,Sulu thought, continuing to keep his expression blank. If he truly believes everything he’s saying, he[188] ought to open fire. Or snap his energy web shut. There has to be a good reason why he’s holding back.
Aloud, he said, “If what you’re saying were true, Admiral, then you would be justified in simply destroying us here and now.”
The Tholian regarded him silently, and Sulu felt the level of tension on the bridge steadily escalating. To his crew’s credit, no one so much as murmured.
“Indeed, I would be more than justified,”Yilskene said at length, evidently still contemplating his next move.
Recalling Burgess’s earlier briefings on the Tholian social structure, Sulu pressed what he hoped would prove to be an advantage. “But that would require unilateral action on the part of the warrior caste, wouldn’t it? I think your counterparts in the political and diplomatic castes would have something to say about not being consulted before you did anything ... precipitous. Tell me, Admiral, is Ambassador Mosrene still aboard your vessel?”
“Regrettably, we were unable to return him to Tholia prior to the advent of the current crisis.”
“Then perhaps you should include the ambassador in this conversation. I am convinced that he knows far more about the Neyel—the ‘invaders’—than either of us do.” Sulu considered mentioning his belief that it was Neyel-related information that had motivated Mosrene to assassinate Kasrene, but decided against it.
After another brief pause, Yilskene said, “I will confer with the diplomat presently, Captain. But if you attempt either to escape or attack us in the meantime, we will not hesitate to destroy you.”
The screen abruptly went dark as Yilskene interrupted the transmission. His image was replaced by that of his aggressive-looking warship and the energy web that radiated from it.
Sulu considered the deadly grid of energy that surrounded both his ship and the Neyel vessel. If necessary, [189] Excelsior’sshields might withstand a direct attempt to run the energy gauntlet. Then again, they might not, considering the beating they’d just taken; he sincerely hoped he wouldn’t have to find out the hard way.
“What now?” Chekov asked.
Sulu returned to the command chair and sat. “Now that the warriors have gotten the preliminaries out of the way, maybe it’s time to bring ourdiplomatic caste back into the proceedings.”
Chekov shrugged. “Ambassador Burgess? I suppose crazier ideas have worked before.”
“You don’t think she can make Yilskene see reason?”
“I might be biased, but I don’t think she’s exactly the easiest person to get along with.”
Sulu smiled grimly. “Maybe that’s why she was picked for this mission in the first place—she already has something in common with the Tholians.”
By the time the two semi-anthropoid security guards finally agreed to conduct Aidan Burgess to the bridge to see the captain—an armed escort being necessary because the escaped Neyel still had yet to be recaptured—the Federation ambassador was in a stomping, crimson fury. Ever since the incident in the pathology lab, she had been under virtual house arrest in her quarters, ostensibly for the sake of her safety. When the ship went on red alert again, the security guard posted outside her quarters had evidently received orders not only to protect her from the unexpectedly resurrected Neyel, but also to keep her safely out of Captain Sulu’s hair for the duration of whatever new crisis had arisen.
“What the hell is going on?” she demanded of Sulu before the bridge turbolift doors had even finished opening.
“And a good afternoon to you, Ambassador,” Captain Sulu said, smiling as he turned his chair toward her and rose to his feet.
[190] She fumed at his lighthearted manner. You’re only going to make it harder on yourself, Captain.
“I need your help, Ambassador,” Sulu said.
Burgess stopped in her tracks. She couldn’t have been more surprised if he had suddenly dropped to one knee and made an earnest proposal of marriage. Things must really be getting desperate up here.
“What’s happened?” Burgess wanted to know.
Chekov stepped away from the console at which Commander Rand was seated and approached Burgess. “Here’s the short version, Ambassador: Admiral Yilskene thinks we’re in league with the Neyel.”
“And he’s seriously considering destroying us,” Sulu added with no discernible emotion. “We’re currently snared in a Tholian energy web, along with the Neyel ship.”
She swallowed. “Oh. I thought for a minute something really serious might have come up.”
The glowering young Vulcan rose from an upper-level console to address Sulu. “Captain, I have conferred with Commander Azleya. She and her senior engineers concur with my opinion that we can disable the Tholian energy web by channeling warp power through the deflector grid. If, as our sensor scans indicate, Yilskene’s ships cannot match our maximum speed, we can effect an escape before they can bring any of their weapons to bear.”
“Are you insane?”Burgess roared. “We don’t want to provoke them any further.”
“The Tholians have already initiated hostilities by deploying their energy web,” the Vulcan replied evenly. “Provocation is hardly an issue now.”
“Since we’rethe ones who are guilty of espionage and trespassing, Lieutenant, it seems to me that we’ve already given them more than enough reason to distrust us.” Burgess whirled on Sulu, her hands balled into fists. “Surely you can’t actually be considering running away like a band of pirates.”
[191] The captain held up both hands, as if to placate both Burgess and his aggressive young officer simultaneously. “Stand down, Mr. Tuvok. We’re going to have to play our hand the ambassador’s way.”
Tuvok focused his steely gaze on the captain. “Breaking the Tholian web and running may be our best and only hope of survival.”
“Maybe,” Sulu said, apparently not angered in the least at Tuvok’s near insubordination. “But it would be pretty shoddy diplomacy, Tuvok. We’re not here to start a war. Besides, I have no intention of leaving the crew of that Neyel ship to Yilskene’s tender mercies. I won’t simply abandon these human offshoots before we’ve even found out how they got out here and what they want. So we’re staying put.”
Burgess stared at Sulu, her eyes wide with surprise. All this time, she had pegged him as an old-guard officer of the shoot-first-and-ask-questions-laterschool. The universe certainly contains no end of wonders.
Then she reminded herself that this was the same man who had tried to conceal his military espionage mission from her while she had been trying to negotiate in good faith with the Tholians.
Sulu lowered his hands and approached her. “Ambassador Mosrene is still aboard the Jeb’v Tholis.We were hoping that the two of you might be able to buy us some time to find a peaceful way out of this crisis.”
Burgess nodded. “All right. Let’s do it.” No pressure.
Sulu smiled. “Hail them, Commander Rand.”
“Aye, sir.”
As Rand set about her work, Burgess turned to face the viewer. Sulu and Chekov stood on either side of her. A moment later, a pair of larger-than-life Tholians were regarding them with their unfathomable crystalline expressions.
“Ambassador Mosrene,” Burgess said, addressing the figure on the left. “I must speak with you. It is imperative that [192] you understand that our mission here is a peaceful one—and that we are not allied with your colony’s ... antagonists.”
Mosrene’s white eyespots were twin geodes set inside a face like that of a stone cobra. “You have always dealt honestly with us, Ambassador. I believe you. However, my belief is not the decisive factor in this situation. The preponderance of the evidence—your illegal presence in our space, Captain Sulu’s espionage activities, and your apparent genetic oneness with our foes—supports Admiral Yilskene’s contention that you harbor ulterior motives inimical to the security of the Tholian Assembly.”
Burgess found that it took a supreme effort of will not to scowl at Sulu, whose Starfleet-issue subterfuge was largely responsible for this mess.
Keeping her eyes on Mosrene, she said, “With your permission, we would like an opportunity to gather evidence of our innocence.”
“I would welcome any such evidence,”said Mosrene.
“We’ll need time,” Sulu interjected.
Yilskene finally broke his silence. “Very well, Captain Sulu. In the interests of the nascent peace between our two civilizations, I will grant you twelve of your hours to persuade me that you are not allied with the invaders.
“Should you fail to do so by that time,I will destroy both your vessel and that of your invader confederates.”
The Tholians abruptly vanished from the screen.
Chekov interrupted the long wordless interval that followed. “Twelve hours will give Yilskene plenty of time to call up reinforcements.”
Looking pensive, Sulu nodded. “No doubt.”
“And the commanders of thoseships won’t necessarily be bound by Yilskene’s bargain with us.”
“Maybe,” Sulu said. “But at least we’ve bought a little time for ourselves. And for the Neyel.”
“Do we really want to concern ourselves about what [193] happens to the Neyel?” Chekov said. “We might not have the luxury of saving our hides and theirs both.”
Burgess scowled. “We can’t just abandonthem out here, Commander. They’re us.”
Sulu nodded again, though with apparent reluctance. “Again, Ambassador Burgess is right, Pavel. Like it or not, the Neyel are human. Or at least they used to be, once upon a time. And that makes whatever they do—and whatever the Tholians may do to them—our responsibility.”
In spite of herself, Burgess felt a smile slowly spreading across her face—even as she watched the frown forming on Chekov’s. “Captain Sulu, perhaps we actually areplaying on the same team after all,” she said.
Sulu chuckled, though the sound conveyed little mirth. “Welcome aboard, Ambassador. Now we just have to figure out how to prove our good intentions to the Tholians.”
“We should begin by questioning the Neyel who rose from the dead today,” Burgess said.
Sulu nodded. “I agree. But first we need to find him and contain him. My chief of security is seeing to that as we speak.”
“If we didn’t have a working relationship with the Neyel before, Yilskene has certainly given us a good reason to forge one now,” Chekov said.
As backward as that sounded, it made a certain amount of sense to Burgess. Why nottry to make peace both with the Neyel andwith the Tholians?
Tuvok paced from his station on the upper bridge and entered the lower, central area. He came to a stop beside Sulu’s chair, pointedly ignoring Burgess.
“Something on your mind, Mr. Tuvok?” said Sulu.
“Any effort to exculpate us in the eyes of Admiral Yilskene and Ambassador Mosrene may be doomed to failure from the outset, Captain.”
“Why?” Sulu asked. “True, we’ve violated their space, [194] and that doesn’t look good in their eyes. But our overall intent as well as our actions have been benevolent.”
“But you are proposing to convince the Tholians that we have never been allies of the Neyel,” Tuvok said.
“That’s about the size of it,” Sulu said, nodding. “And it’s the truth.”
“Nevertheless, I am constrained to point out that this plan is built upon a fundamentally illogical premise.”
Burgess, Sulu, and Chekov all looked questioningly at the science officer.
“And that is?” Sulu asked.
Tuvok lifted an eyebrow in evident surprise, as though his observation should have been intuitively obvious. “Whether one has twelve hours or twelve centuries in which to attempt it, Captain, it is logically impossible to prove a negative.”
Then let’s hope that the impossible,Burgess thought, only takes a bit longer than the merely difficult.
“Captain,” Chekov said suddenly. “May I have a word?”
Burgess saw Sulu meet his first officer’s eyes, then nod. “In the situation room.” Excuse us, Ambassador. Commander Rand, you have the bridge.”
“All right, Pavel,” Sulu said as soon as the door slid closed behind them, ensuring their privacy. He sat at the head of the conference table and gestured for Chekov to take his usual place at Sulu’s right hand. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
Sulu knew that his old friend would never question his orders in front of the bridge crew. But he’d known Pavel Chekov long enough to be able to see at a glance that he had grave reservations about some aspect of the current situation.
