Текст книги "Gods Above"

Автор книги: Peter David

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The voice was jolting for Robin. She’d never fully realized, now that Morgan was gone, just how much the computer voice—even under normal circumstances—sounded like her. She’d noted a resemblance in the past, but now ... now it felt as if the same woman was speaking.

Devereaux looked to Calhoun expectantly. Calhoun merely shrugged, waiting. So Devereaux said, “Computer: List all ships currently active in Starfleet registry.”

“Specify order: Alphabetically by ship name, in order of date of registry, or numerically by registration number.”

Devereaux started to respond, but Calhoun cut in and said quietly, “Computer, you choose.”

The computer proceeded to rattle off with crisp, cool, and monotone efficiency every starship, transport, troop ship ... everything that had a Starfleet registration number. It listed them alphabetically, beginning with the Adelphi.By the time it got to the Ellison,Calhoun had obviously heard enough and made a throat-cutting gesture.

But there was something going on that Lefler couldn’t quite understand. She saw a look of quiet contemplation on Calhoun, as if he was comprehending something that was simply not obvious to Robin Lefler at all.

“Computer, begin running diagnostic checks on all systems. Report when completed.” He turned to Calhoun and said, “Satisfied, Captain?” But even Devereaux seemed a bit puzzled by something.

Then Lefler realized what it was, or at least she thought she did. It was exceedingly odd that the computer had responded at all when Calhoun had given it a choice of what order to list the vessels. It really should have said “Unable to comply” or “Specification required.” Still, it was entirely possible that there was simply some sort of default program or setting.

“Computer,” Calhoun said suddenly, “access personnel file,” and his gaze swiveled over to Robin, “Lieutenant Robin Lefler.”

“Accessing,” the computer said without hesitation.

Lefler frowned, not understanding at all what the purpose of this was.

“Captain ... ?” said Devereaux, also clearly bewildered.

Calhoun ignored him. “Computer ... read out the entirety of Robin Lefler’s personal medical history. All details. Then her psych profile. All details. As a matter of fact,” he continued, “access her personal log. Read that out, too. Begin with that.”

Robin’s cheeks flushed bright red. “Captain!”she said in shock.

“Captain Calhoun, I must protest,” said Devereaux. “There’s many other ways to test computer efficiency!”

“Captain, I respectfully agree,” Soleta said, casting a look toward Robin. “This is a most intrusive ...”

But Burgoyne turned and said, “Soleta ... it’s all right.” She looked visibly surprised for a moment in response, but said nothing further.

In the meantime, curiously, the computer had not carried out its ordered function. “Computer,” Calhoun said, and he strolled toward the center of the bridge, arms draped casually behind his back. “Execute orders.”

“Medical records accessible only to chief medical officer. Personal recorded material is under confidential seal,” the computer said after a moment’s more hesitation. “Access denied.”

A sigh of relief escaped from Robin, but Calhoun didn’t appear fazed. “Computer, I am employing command override priority One Zero Zero Zero One. Execute my orders. Let’s all hear Robin Lefler’s most personal, intimate thoughts.”

Robin braced herself.

The computer was silent.

“Computer,” said Calhoun with a warning tone. “Don’t make me come in there. Execute my orders, override priority One Zer—”

“You bastard,” the computer said.

There was startled gasps from throughout the bridge, but Calhoun simply laughed.

“Captain!” an alarmed Devereaux squeaked out. “I ... I didn’t instruct it to—!”

“Mr. Devereaux,” Calhoun sighed, walking over to tactical and resting a hand on Devereaux’s shoulder, “ youmay know computers. But Iknow people. And one person I knew—Morgan Lefler—was not someone who was of a sort to go gently into that good night. Morgan! Front and center. That is an order, and this one I definitely amexpecting to be obeyed.”

The computer screen wavered, and then the image seemed to dissolve into bits and pieces, billions of dots floating on the monitor for a heartbeat before snapping back together and reassembling into a familiar, and somewhat annoyed, visage. Robin jumped back in her seat, her jaw dropping, as her mother looked out at them from the screen.

“With all respect, Captain, you are somepiece of work,” she said in obvious annoyance.

“This is impossible!”Devereaux cried out.

“And yet, here we all are,” said an amused Calhoun.

“I could have stayed hidden within the computer indefinitely,” Morgan said. Behind her was a background that was an exact replica of the bridge of the Excalibur.She had obviously conjured it at a whim. It was so realistic that Robin half thought she would be able to turn around and see her mother standing directly behind her shoulder. “Kept things running without a hitch. You’d never have known.”

“Morgan, you masked your presence from me for about two minutes,” Calhoun pointed out. “I don’t think long term would really have been an option, do you?”

“Captain, you don’t understand,” Devereaux said, his voice practically trembling with frustration. “I’m one of the top people from Daystrom! No one alive could have been more thorough than I was. What we’re seeing here, this is ... this can’t be occurring. There’s no waythe personality of Morgan Lefler would have been able to withstand the rebooting of the computer.”

“I can see your point, Devereaux,” said Calhoun, sounding quite reasonable. “But I look at it from a different point of view. The way I see it, we haven’t yet developed the equipment that can overcome the sheer force of willpower, human or otherwise. Early man knew beyond question the world was flat and sailing too far would send you off the edge ... yet some explorers found it to be different. Heisenberg would have told you that, by his uncertainty principles, a matter transporter cannot possibly exist ... yet it does. Einstein would easily explain why faster-than-light travel is an absurdity ... yet here we are.

“In this case, despite all reasonable beliefs to the contrary,” and he looked at the face on the screen, “I was certain from the outset that no technology or procedures, as sophisticated and thorough as they were, would be able to obliterate the personality of Morgan Primus Lefler. Turns out I was right.”

“And if you’d been wrong?” demanded Morgan. “Would you have let my daughter’s most personal concerns become aired publicly?”

“I knew I wasn’t wrong,” Calhoun replied, and it was clear from the way he said it that any further pressing of the question would be a waste of time.

“So ... what now?” asked Robin.

“Morgan,” Calhoun said, “it’s my surmise that, short of blowing up the Excalibur—again—you’re more or less here to stay.”

“More or less,” Morgan allowed, and then she glanced cautiously at Robin. “Provided ... that’s acceptable to you, Robin.”

Robin let out a breath of relief that sounded surprisingly to her like a laugh. “That’s ... perfectly acceptable, Mother. It wasn’t the same without you.”

“Morgan ... I think you knew immediately that I was testing you,” said Calhoun, and now he sounded very serious. “On that basis, I wasn’t really expecting you to obey me ... as you were likely aware. That is not,however, an acceptable option for the future. Do you understand that? I don’t care that you have a mind of your own. Henceforth, I tell you to do something, you do it. You refuse to carry out an order again, and I willscuttle this vessel, without hesitation. Is that clear?”

“Clear, Captain,” Morgan said quite formally.

“Good. Can you take over the conn station?”

“Of course.”

“What?”Robin was on her feet, and the others appeared startled as well. “Captain ... ?”

“We’re heading out, and I’m not inclined to sit around and wait for Starfleet to get personnel here. We’ll swing back for them or rendezvous at a future date,” Calhoun said briskly. “Mr. Devereaux, you’ll return to Starbase 27 at once. We’re pushing off in ten minutes.”

“Course, Captain?” inquired Morgan. With no change in her expression to indicate any effort on her part, the conn and navigation station came awake from standby position, humming to life and illuminating.

“Danter. Best possible speed.”

“Danter, Captain?” inquired Robin.

“That’s right, Lieutenant. Danter.” He smiled grimly. “We’re heading there for round two. And this time, I’m hoping for an ungodly ending.”

TRIDENT

I.

KAT MUELLER, NAKED, MOVED SLOWLY in the dimness of the room, the lights at half so as not to awaken Si Cwan, who was stretched out on the bed. The dinner that she had invited him to eat remained unconsumed on a table nearby. Fortunately enough, it was a cold chicken dish to start with. Kat had surmised ahead of time that they might find other activities to occupy them beside food.

A thin coat of sweat covered her body, as she brought her arm up and around in a slow, circular pattern. Then it went down, her other arm came up in a gentle sweep, and then very, very slowly, she thrust forward her right hand in a tiger claw grip. As slowly as she was moving, each muscle strained against itself. She had been moving through the routine for five minutes, and it was superb isometric exercise for her.

She balanced perfectly on one leg as she drew the other up, keeping her toes pointed, and she snapped out a precision kick.

Then she heard movement from the bed, and sheets rustle. A moment later, Si Cwan was standing next to her, just behind her, looking in the full-length mirror in which she was watching her reflection. Naked alongside her, he proceeded to imitate her moves perfectly, falling into the smooth, easy rhythm she had achieved.

They said nothing to one another. It was as if they were the only two beings alive in the entirety of the universe. Mueller came to the surprising realization that she liked having Si Cwan around. It was surprising because Mueller was the sort of person who generally didn’t like having anyone around, so she couldn’t quite comprehend why it was she felt different about Cwan. Perhaps it was because he was more like her than anyone she’d ever been involved with, with the possible exception of Mackenzie Calhoun. And in Calhoun’s case, the unfortunate truth was that they were too much alike. As a result, they would never really have worked well as a long-term couple.

Another fifteen minutes passed in the silent routine before Mueller finally exhaled a long, steady breath, and Si Cwan followed suit.

“That was stimulating,” she said. Si Cwan simply nodded.

They showered together, scrubbing each other down. There was nothing especially sensual about it, although she certainly did appreciate the hardness of his muscles and sleekness of his body. And she was quite sure that he had the same opinion about her body because, of course, who wouldn’t.

Even as they bathed, her mind was elsewhere. Most particularly, she was thinking about Shelby. The captain had said nothing to her since their confrontation in the conference lounge. That disturbed her. The truth was, in retrospect, Mueller probably had gone too far in her comments about Calhoun. Naturally the woman cared about her husband. She really was out of line. But it wasn’t in Mueller’s nature to seek out Shelby and apologize or seek her forgiveness. If Shelby toldher to apologize, she would do so willingly, even gratefully. Initiating the discussion, though ... that, to Mueller, came across too much like groveling. She had far too much German pride for that.

Shelby hadn’t come to her, though, and that bothered Mueller. As Mueller and Si Cwan dressed in silence, Kat felt as if the disagreement was festering, and that it might even start to bore its way into the captain-executive officer relationship. She knew that wouldn’t be a good thing, that it could be detrimental to the entirety of the way affairs were conducted on the Trident.

“What are we doing here?” Si Cwan asked abruptly.

Talk about conducting affairs.“We’re finishing putting on our clothes,” she said matter-of-factly.

“You know that’s not what I’m referring to, Commander.”

“Commander?”She laughed coarsely. “Are you always that formal with women you sleep with?”

“Only when they’re keeping me at arm’s length.”

Mueller’s uniform top was still hanging open. She faced him and pressed her bare torso up against his. “There. Not arm’s length. Satisfied?”

“What’s going on here, Kat?”

She looked up at him, and even in the dimness of the room, the annoyance in her eyes was certainly visible. “You said ‘Robin.’ You called me ‘Robin.’ ”

“I did not!” Si Cwan protested. “I just called you ‘Kat’!”

“Not now. Earlier. During.”

“That’s absurd. I ... didn’t do such a ... I would never ...” He frowned and seemed to deflate. “I did?”

She nodded. “Loud and clear. ‘Robin.’ Lefler, I assume?”

“Oh gods. I’m sorry.” He turned away from her, sitting on the edge of the bed. “She’s ... been on my mind, lately. Something Kalinda said ...”

“You know what, Cwan?” She fastened closed her uniform shirt, and shrugged. “Let’s just leave it. It’s all right. I shouldn’t even have mentioned it.”

“It’s not all right. I—”

“Cwan, you’re not getting it. I said we leave it. So we leave it. This,” and she gestured around the room, indicating in one sweep of her arm all the activity that had passed there, “this is what it is. I’m really not interested in anything beyond that anyway. I’m content to be two ships passing in the night, especially if you feel your harbor is elsewhere.”

“Kat ...”

“You can be of help to me, though.” There were so many things she wanted to say, but she managed to keep her voice even and dispassionate. She did so from long practice, and had never been more glad of it. “I may have a problem. Could be my imagination ... could be not.”

“What sort of problem?”

In quick, broad strokes, she described to him the encounter she’d had with Lieutenant Commander Gleau. Si Cwan took it all in, nodding and listening, asking a question here and there, but otherwise silent.

“So you don’t know for sure,” Si Cwan said finally, “whether he really did threaten Lieutenant M’Ress.”

“No. I don’t. Frankly, my first inclination was to dismiss her worries out of hand. But since then ...” She tapped her solar plexus. “My gut tells me what she said is true.”

“A conjecture,” said Cwan after a moment’s thought. “Let’s say, for argument’s sake, he did threaten her. It’s possible it was an empty threat, one that he never intended to carry out. Perhaps he did so in order to gain some sort of ... of ‘revenge’ for having to sign the oath of chastity enforced upon him, which he would most certainly blame her for. It was, after all, her initial complaints about his using the Knack upon her to have his way with her that set all that into motion in the first place.”

“Let’s say you’re right,” said Mueller. She had seated herself near the table and was idly munching on a bread-stick. Cwan came over and joined her, sitting opposite her. She waved the breadstick at him as she spoke. “Are you claiming, then, that what he did was acceptable on some level ... ?”

“No, of course not,” replied Si Cwan. “I am saying, however, that it might not be the life-and-death scenario that you believe it to be.”

She bit off a piece of the breadstick. The crust was hard and made very loud noises as she crunched down on it. She chewed it quickly and swallowed, and then said, “Perhaps you’re right.”

“Perhaps I am.”

“However,” she continued, “in the event that you’re wrong ... if something should happen to me—something violent or mysterious—I want you to know that Gleau might very well be behind it. And if that’s the case, I would be most obliged if you could find it within you to rip his head off his shoulders.”

“Violent or mysterious?” He looked appalled. “Are you saying you believe this Gleau to be a direct threat to you?”

“I don’t know what to believe, to be honest, except that one should never downplay possible actions that others may take. If Gleau thinks I’m a potential threat, and he thinks he can dispose of me without being caught doing so ...”

“How would that be possible?”

“Who knows what he’s capable of?” she asked reasonably. “If he does have some sort of mind powers that we’re unfamiliar with, who knows what sort of suggestions he could plant in my head. What if he managed to convince me that it would be a superb idea to put a phaser in my mouth and pull the trigger? We don’t know. We can’t know until after it happens ... and if it does happen, I wanted you to be aware to be on the lookout for it.”

“And you haven’t told Captain Shelby any of this?”

“It’s my job to tell the captain what I know. Not what I suspect but can’t verify.”

“It seems to me your job is whatever you decide it to be, and if you wanted to tell Shelby, you could.”

“Cwan,” she said, “you have to understand that I have a very suspicious nature. If I told Captain Shelby every time I was suspicious about something, I’d be coming to her constantly about all manner of things, to the point where I would be useless as an advisor. And ninety percent of the time, those suspicions turn out to be baseless, or else the basis for matters that are so inconsequential as to not be worth the captain’s time. I will not inform the captain of something that does not yet warrant her attention.”

“It seems to me that you’re allowing your pride to get in the way,” he told her.

“Perhaps,” she agreed. “But it’s my pride. And my way.”

“I can see that.” He looked at her askance. “Would you like me simply to dispose of this Gleau for you?”

She blinked. “Pardon?”

“I can do that, if you’d like. Quickly, cleanly, efficiently. None will connect it to you, or even me.”

“Don’t be insane, Cwan. You can’t just unilaterally decide who lives and who dies ...”

“I can and I have, on several occasions,” Si Cwan replied.

“Back when you were a Thallonian noble, perhaps ...”

“I still am a Thallonian noble,” said Si Cwan with assurance. “The fact that the Thallonian empire is gone is beside the point.”

“See, I would have thought that wasthe point.”

“No. Nobility comes from here,” and he tapped his heart. “In my heart, in my pedigree and training, I am a noble still. And as such, I will do what needs to be done if I feel it needs doing.”

“Well, don’t,” she said flatly. “Don’t kill Lieutenant Commander Gleau. That’s not what I want.”

“You want me to avenge your death rather than preempt it.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“No,” he replied, sounding quite reasonable about it. “I did. You said everything but that. I merely put it all together.”

She didn’t have a ready answer for that because she knew, on some level, that he was absolutely right.

II.

Captain Shelby looked up as executive officer Kat Mueller strode into the ready room. She knew Mueller’s body language all too well. Her shoulders were squared, her jaw set. She was either looking for, or anticipating, a fight.

“Captain,” she said briskly, “I believe we need to talk.”

“Do we.”

Shelby’s calm demeanor seemed to throw Mueller slightly off balance. Mueller cleared her throat after a moment, her hands tightly behind her back, and said, “We had a disagreement several days ago in the conference lounge ...”

“Did we?”

Mueller frowned, staring at Shelby with a distinctly suspicious air. “Captain, are you being coy with me for some reason?”

“I don’t believe so. I’m curious as to what you think we disagreed about?”

“Regarding your husband ...”

“He’s the captain of the Excalibur.I think we pretty much concur on that.”

“Captain!”said Mueller in obvious exasperation.

Shelby got up from behind her desk and strolled to the viewing window. She looked out toward the stars as if she could see the Excalibursomewhere out among them. “Look, XO, you implied that my concern over my husband was secondary to my concern over Starfleet orders. The hard fact is, there’s some small element of truth in that. As long as I’m captain of this vessel, my allegiance has to be to what Starfleet wants, and what’s best for the needs of this ship and her crew.”

Her eyes narrowed. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t care. It doesn’t ever mean that if something happened to Mac because of my inaction or inability to help, it wouldn’t crush my heart ... probably beyond its ability ever to recover. And as long as you never imply anything other than that, we’ll have no further problems. Is that clear?”

Mueller looked as if she was going to say something else entirely, but then her features softened and she simply said, “Yes, Captain.”

“Good. Say anything like that again, and I’ll fire you.”

“You’re joking,” said Mueller. “You would relieve me of duty?”

“No, I would fire you, as in, out a photon torpedo tube.”

“Ah.” There were the slightest hints of a smile at the edge of Mueller’s mouth. “Understood.”

“Is there anything else you wanted to discuss with me?” asked Shelby.

She thought for an instant that there was something on Mueller’s mind. But if there was, Mueller obviously chose to refrain from sharing it, because she simply shook her head and said, “No, Captain.”

At that moment, Takahashi informed Shelby that they were drawing within hailing range of Danter, and she and Mueller immediately headed out onto the bridge.

Shelby wasn’t remotely certain what to expect upon their first contact with Danter. Considering that they had sent Si Cwan and Kalinda speeding on their way with surface-to-space blasts, there was no reason to assume they might not be treated in a similar manner. So it was with distinct trepidation that she sent a preliminary hail down to Danter when the ship settled into orbit around the planet. She also made certain that Si Cwan was standing next to her when she got a response back, and that Ambassador Spock was there as well ... although he was off to one side, not endeavoring to pull attention to himself. He seemed most intrigued with the bridge, inspecting it carefully. Shelby had a feeling that, if asked, Spock could easily draw a perfect reproduction of the bridge from memory.

When the image appeared on the screen, she didn’t recognize him at first, nor did Si Cwan. What she saw was a Danteri with a young, robust look to him, round face, pleasant, modulated tone. In fact, he practically seemed to glow with good health. He spread wide his hands and said, “Greetings, my friends. Greetings from Danter. It is good to see you again, Captain Shelby. And before anything else is said, this must be said first: Lord Cwan, I see you there. Can you ever forgive me for our inhospitable treatment of you?”

Si Cwan stepped forward, bewilderment etched on his face, and then it cleared only to be replaced by even more confusion. “Lodec?”he managed to say.

At first she thought he had to be in error, but then she realized that, no, it was the senate speaker of Danter, all right. But this was not the aged Danteri whom she had met some time ago. Actually, it was,but he was barely recognizable as himself.

“I ... I don’t understand,” said Si Cwan, nor did Shelby. “Lodec; you ... you look so very different ... is it you?” He looked at Shelby. “Is it him?”

Takahashi was already running a quick double check through his ops board. “He’s our boy, all right,” drawled Hash. “His voiceprint matches with the record of his previous communiquйs. Match is ninety-nine percent, which is as close as we ever get with that method of ID. You want better, you’re gonna haveta go for genetic, but as they say, this is close enough for jazz.”

“They say that? Who says that?” asked a confused Si Cwan. “No one I know says that. And who is ‘Jazz’?”

“It is understandable you would be so astonished,” said Lodec easily. “These are astonishing times. That is what we tried to convey to you, Ambassador ... and failed utterly in doing so.”

“I’d call attempted murder a bit more than simply failing to get a point across,” Shelby said, sitting upright in her chair, her arms folded, her gaze leveled upon Lodec’s image. “Si Cwan and Kalinda nearly died in space. They would have, if not for a lucky happenstance.”

“There is no such thing as lucky,” Lodec informed her, his voice rising and falling in an odd sort of singsong. “There is only the will of the gods. They walk among us, you know. They love us, and we love them.”

“Sounds charming,” Si Cwan commented sarcastically.

“We admit, there were some difficulties as we became adjusted to the power of the ambrosia, and comprehending our new place in life’s great plan,” continued Lodec as if Si Cwan hadn’t spoken. For all Shelby knew, he hadn’t even heard Cwan say anything. “But we understand now. There is no longer any need for hostility. Come. See for yourselves. You will walk among us unmolested.”

“And what of the Beings?” asked Shelby. “Are they here?”

“Yes. Of course,” said Lodec. His smile was so wide it looked as if it could meet around the back of his head. “They walk among us and speak to us of so many things. And we have our prayer meetings, and we worship the greatness that is the Beings. They, in turn, give us ambrosia and guidance, and are helping us to build a great empire that will—in time—spread from one farthest star to the other.”

“How very special for you,” Mueller spoke up.

“Come. Meet them. Encounter them. See the vast improvements over how things are done now, as opposed to how they once were handled. Your safe passage is guaranteed.”

“As was ours, until you tried to kill us,” Si Cwan pointed out.

Lodec’s smile couldn’t be disrupted. “My dear Si Cwan,” he said, “perhaps I have not made myself clear. The Beings are here. The residents of the Tridenthave seen the results of the Beings’ wrath firsthand. Their might is no less now than it was then; greater, in fact. If the Beings had hostile intent ... do you think for a moment that your vessel would still be in orbit?”

This caused an uncomfortable silence as the bridge crew glanced around at one another. Visions of the battered Excaliburcame to Shelby’s mind, and there was no reason to think that it wasn’t foremost in everyone else’s concerns as well.

“You do not answer,” Lodec continued after a moment. “That’s perfectly all right. You don’t answer because we all know what the response would be. Come to the paradise that is now Danter. See for yourselves the life we lead ... and the life that is viewed with such suspicion by your Federation.”

“Captain,” Spock said softly, “it will be problematic for me to carry out my intended objectives if I am to remain in orbit for the entirety of our time here.”

Shelby nodded, taking this in, and then turned her attention back to the screen. “Very well. An away team will be sent planetside. Their findings will be instrumental in informing Federation decisions in regards to the offers of these ‘Beings.’ ”

“Captain, if I may,” asked Spock, and she nodded to him to go ahead. “Speaker ... are we to understand that the Beings are still interested in providing ambrosia to whomever desires it?”

“All manner of possibilities exist, Ambassador,” Lodec assured him. “Come and let us discuss matters, like civilized creatures.”

“A team will be along shortly. Shelby out.” She nodded once to Hash, who promptly shut off the com link. Lodec’s smiling visage vanished from the screen, to be replaced with an image of the planet rotating below.

“I do not trust them,” Si Cwan said immediately.

“Logic would indicate, Ambassador,” Spock told him, “that your concern is colored by the fact that they endeavored to kill you.”

Hash laughed in a way that bordered on the sarcastic. “And why everwould he allow his concern to be colored by that?”

“I don’t believe anyone asked you, Mr. Takahashi,” Mueller said sharply, and then turned to Shelby. “Captain ... I hope you’re not considering heading up this away team.”

“It had crossed my mind, XO.”

“With all respect, Captain,” said Mueller, the emphasis on “respect” so meticulous that Shelby couldn’t possibly have taken offense unless she had a chip on her shoulder the size of a moon, “the situation, unstable as it is, is not one that our commanding officer should be thrusting herself into.”

“Even though the Beings could conceivably reach up from the planet’s surface and swat us at any time?” asked Shelby. “An argument could be made that no one is safe.”

“I’m convinced,” Hash piped up. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Shelby ignored him, which was usually the best practice to follow when Hash was employing what he fancied to be his rapier wit. “Recommendations, XO?”

“Away team consisting of myself, Ambassadors Spock and Cwan, and Lieutenant Arex.”

“What about Captain Calhoun?” Mick Gold spoke up from conn.

Shelby turned and frowned. “I’m not entirely sure how Captain Calhoun is relevant to the conversation, Gold.”

“He’s only relevant in the sense that he’s here.”

All eyes were suddenly on the monitor screen as, sure enough, dropping out of warp was the Starship Excalibur.

“I was unaware the Excaliburhad been assigned to this mission,” Spock said.

“That’s because they haven’t been,” Shelby said tightly. She thought she heard a soft chuckle come from Mueller’s direction, but when she looked at her second-in-command, Kat’s face was purely deadpan. “Hash. Raise them.”

An instant later, Calhoun’s face appeared on the screen. She noticed he’d shaved. Figured. She’d just gotten used to the beard. “Captain,” she said in as formal a tone as she could muster. “We weren’t expecting to see you here.”

“Yes. I know. My understanding is that Starfleet is endeavoring to be circumspect in its broadcasting of orders these days.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you saying Starfleet ordered you to rendezvous with us at Danter?”

“I’m afraid I can’t say at the present time,” Calhoun informed her.

I’ll kill him,thought Shelby even as she kept a smile plastered on her face. “I think it best we get together, Captain, so we can make certain our orders aren’t in conflict with one another.”

“Excellent idea, Captain,” replied Calhoun. “Your place or mine?”

“Yours. I’ll be right over.” Shelby turned to Mueller. “Would there be a great deal of paperwork involved if we simply opened fire on the Excaliburand blew her out of space?”