Ra-ghoratrei evidently wanted to be certain that I took his advice, for the next morning Kirk appeared at my cabin door, accompanied by a civilian Reticulan. She (at least, I guessed that she was a "she"--one rather had to go on instinct) wore the blue and white insignia of the Federation on her pale gray garment, or perhaps on her skin. It was hard to tell where the one left off and the other began.
Kirk seemed ill at ease and in a hurry to perform the introductions. "Commander, may I present Elydex, from the Federation Ministry of Justice. Counselor Elydex, this is Commander Tayva."
Elydex bowed her bulbous head. "Commander, I am honored. Ra-ghoratrei has asked me to brief you with respect to the inquiry proceedings, and to act as your interim advocate until we reach Earth, at which time you may choose your own counsel if you wish." Her speech, like that of all primary telepaths, was soft and stilted. "Now, if you have a few moments ..."
"Of course." I stepped aside to let her enter. I didn't share Kirk's discomfiture, but then my people hadn't had the Terrans' experiences with the Reticulans.
"Thank you for your assistance, Captain Kirk." Elydex's tone was civil but dismissive, and Kirk took the hint. With a quick nod to me, he withdrew.
Elydex sat down on the sofa and opened her notebook. "I fear that Captain Kirk is uncomfortable around me," she said, not looking up from the documents that were scrolling across the miniature screen.
"Understandable, don't you think? In view of your people's well-known history with the Terrans." I poured out two glasses of water, then drew a chair up to the low table so that I could sit facing her. "They were so traumatized that it's probably almost a racial memory by now. You're imprinted somewhere in the collective unconscious."
"We've spent the past couple of hundred years trying to atone for those unfortunate encounters." She raised her head and looked at me. I had to admit that her huge slanted eyes--black, mysteriously compelling, and covering nearly half her face--might terrify someone who wasn't prepared to resist their intensity. Especially someone who gazed into them while lying naked and paralyzed on a surgical table aboard one of the Reticulans' eerie transdimensional ships, as so many of the ignorant, helpless humans had in previous centuries.
"I've read that your research protocols changed radically after the Vulcans found out what your scientists were up to," I remarked conversationally.
The small lipless mouth curved very slightly, as though she had anticipated my comment. "True, Commander. We didn't know that a formal first contact mission was planned for Sol system. The Vulcan government exerted a certain amount of moral pressure, you might say. Of course we acquiesced." She made a show of sipping from the water glass, but I saw no movement in her long tubelike throat. No one knew for certain how, or whether, Reticulans actually ingested and excreted food and drink. "When Zeta Reticuli applied for admission to the Federation we naturally extended formal apologies to the Terran government, though it didn't seem to do much good. They resisted our admission fiercely. Fortunately, the Vulcans made them see reason."
"You would have been welcomed into the Empire more warmly, Counselor. Romulus was most disappointed when the Reticulan worlds chose to side with the Federation. It was a mistake, you know."
"So your government told us, Commander. Now, with your permission, I'll try to explain your own status vis-à-vis the Federation."
A suitable retort came to my lips, but I repressed it. If Ra-ghoratrei's intentions were honest, then Elydex was here to help me, and I shouldn't bait her. "Please proceed, Counselor. I still don't understand why the Federation is upset. From your point of view, the espionage mission was wildly successful."
"Bear with me. The matter is complicated, as you will see. Ra-ghoratrei and my own minister have advised the Romulan government of what I'm about to tell you. The Federation feels that it is best to make full disclosure to you as well--a gesture of good faith, since you've been unintentionally drawn into a rather delicate situation." She seemed to take a deep breath, though her narrow chest and shoulders didn't move. "To begin with, you should understand that Starfleet is a creation of the Federation Council. Though it operates largely autonomously on a day-to-day basis, its commander-in-chief reports to the council president, and all long-term strategic and tactical planning, as well as all overt and covert intelligence-gathering programs, among other things, must be approved and authorized by the president. The theft of the cloaking device was not authorized." Those great black eyes searched my face, seeking a reaction.
"In other words, Kirk acted on his own initiative? Well, from what I know of his character, that's entirely possible."
"It isn't that simple," she said. "Reports of your rapid progress with the cloaking device had reached the Federation. It was clear that if the reports were true, the device posed a potentially grave threat to our security. Starfleet made a proposal and was duly instructed to gather as much information about the device as it could. I stress, Commander, that Starfleet's mandate was to obtain information, nothing more."
"Working in conjunction with their operatives who had already penetrated Romulan security?"
She didn't respond to that. "The mission was presented to the Federation Council--'sold,' you might say--as non-interventionist reconnaissance, and was approved on that basis. Starfleet put a senior officer in charge of the project." She glanced at a document on the screen. "Commodore Preston Parizeau, of Starfleet Intelligence. He was to report to a specially convened Council subcommittee. We don't have all the details yet, but apparently Parizeau decided unilaterally to escalate the mission to include the retrieval of a cloaking device."
"Unilaterally? I find that hard to believe. Military cabals usually have many tentacles."
"Nevertheless, it does seem that he acted alone, at least in the planning. We hope that the inquiry will uncover anyone else who might have been involved. In any case, he chose Captain James T. Kirk to execute the mission."
"Knowing his man."
"Just so. Parizeau assumed, apparently correctly, that Kirk would find the play-acting, swashbuckling aspects of the mission appealing. We suspect that he didn't tell Kirk how far he was deviating from what the Council had authorized. As far as Kirk knew, his orders came from Starfleet in the usual fashion, via the proper channels." She hesitated. "And perhaps the captain heard what he wanted to hear. Regardless, it was only when Kirk sent his first report to Starfleet, just before he boarded your ship, that the Federation realized what had happened. Someone outside Parizeau's office read it, understood its implications, and alerted Starfleet Command, which in turn alerted the Council. But by the time Starfleet and the Federation were able to act, the cloaking device had been seized and the Enterprise was on its way home."
"With an unwilling passenger."
"An unfortunate accident, which we are trying to rectify."
"Counselor, you tell a riveting story. You'll forgive me if I express some doubt about its veracity." I leaned back in my chair and regarded her speculatively. Impossible to tell what lay behind those eyes ... "The fact remains that the Federation is now in unlawful possession of the cloaking device. You could show your good faith by returning it and me to Romulus immediately."
She leaned back against the sofa, imitating my body language. "As Ra-ghoratrei told you, we are obliged to hold you as a material witness in the pending inquiry." The thin slit of a mouth curved upward again. "Unfortunately, the other possible witnesses from your ship are now back in Romulan space, and we don't have much chance of extraditing them in a timely fashion. Your government feels it's already cooperated enough by not declaring war immediately."
I imagined Tal sitting in the witness's chair and testifying about what he had seen on Eidolon, and quickly put the picture out of my mind. "Then what happens next?"
"Ra-ghoratrei will do everything in his power to ensure that your stay on Earth is not onerous. When we arrive you will be taken to the city where the council chambers are located. Ambassador Tilendi will meet you there. The inquiry will begin as soon as Sarek chooses his panel of commissioners. I expect that you'll be called to testify very early on." She was avoiding any mention of the cloaking device; it was obvious that the Federation wasn't going to give up the prize that had fallen so conveniently into its lap, even for the sake of preventing war. "I will be traveling with you to Earth. As you saw, Captain Kirk isn't thrilled to have me on board, but he's showing a brave face." The tiny smile appeared again. "I'll be at your disposal if you have questions or concerns. My quarters are just down the hall, in A-7." Elydex closed her notebook and moved towards the door. She looked up at me. "Thank you for your time, Commander. I'll talk with you soon. Please remember that I'm here to act as your advocate while we're in transit. Ra-ghoratrei doesn't think it likely that anyone on this ship will try to influence your testimony, but--"
"I'm not easily influenced." Usually.
"No, I imagine not." She offered her thin hand. As mine closed around it, the little suction pads on the ends of her long fingers fastened briefly on my skin. She stared deeply into my eyes; her liquid black gaze was strangely calming. I gave in to an unwise impulse.
"Counselor, before you go--I assume that the first officer was also privy to the admiral's scheme? That is--he did know about the--the play-acting, didn't he?" Why did I have to ask? I'd already heard the answer from Spock himself when he made his confession under the Right of Statement.
"Oh, yes. Kirk was very anxious that the rest of the crew not be told about the nature of the mission. He didn't want them implicated if something went wrong. But Spock was in his confidence from the beginning. Kirk said that Parizeau's plan wouldn't have worked without Spock's involvement."
* * *
McCoy had scheduled a follow-up exam for me that afternoon, saying that he wanted to be sure that the chengha virus had "bitten the dust," whatever that meant. I submitted indifferently to his bloodletting, which was accompanied by a long, drawling commentary. When he eventually noticed that I was responding in monosyllables or not at all, he peered at me suspiciously. "You seem like you're somewhere else, Commander. You sure you're feeling okay? Are you eating properly? Getting enough sleep?"
"Yes to all three of your questions, Doctor," I answered, idly watching the hypotube fill with dark green venous blood. My mind was still on Elydex's last words.
"Well, I'm going to prescribe a nutritional supplement for you anyway. It's possible that you aren't getting all the trace elements you need from our food." He slipped the tube into a stasis container. "I'll give you a vitamin and mineral complex that's designed specifically for Vulcan biochemistry."
Idiot! "Must we revisit that ground? Let me put it plainly, so that even you can understand: I am not a Vulcan."
"No, ma'am, politically and culturally speaking, you aren't. But physiologically--" He shrugged. "Those tests are shaping up to be conclusive. Chapel and M'Benga reran them twice, and most of the results came in this morning. We're still waiting for the final word on some bloodwork, but so far every parameter is--"
I made no attempt to restrain myself. "You may do what you like with your fascinating test results so long as I don't have to hear about it. Your obsession bores me, this conversation bores me, and above all you bore me!" Oh, it was a pleasure to release some pent-up anger on such a tempting target, even if it wasn't the one I would have liked to aim at. And even if the target didn't really deserve it.
I expected that McCoy would shout back at me, but he seemed surprised rather than angered by my attack. "Sorry, Commander. I ought to remember that not many folks share my obsessions. Matter of fact, when M'Benga and I showed those test results to our science officer, who you might think would be the slightest bit interested since he's the goddamn department head, he told us in so many words to get lost. In too many words, actually. So when we got an identical reaction from a Romulan and a Vulcan, we decided we really did have a hot potato on our hands. But M'Benga and I know what to do with this particular spud. We're gonna slice it, fry it up in a lot of scholarly banana oil, and serve it to those many noted researchers you talked about." He chuckled. "And sit back to see whether they swallow it or whether they choke and turn blue. Turquoise. Whatever."
As usual, his speech was largely incomprehensible. I did catch his reference to Spock, however, and I deeply desired to hear no more on that topic. I stood up. "Doctor, I regret that I spoke to you as I did. If you don't need anything further from me, I'd like to go back to my quarters."
"All right, we're finished here. I'll have the vitamin supplement made up and sent to you, and I want you to start taking it immediately." He began making notations on his padd. "Seems like everybody's stressed out right now. Starfleet's on the captain's back, and Uhura's doing nothing but coding and decoding their transmissions all day long. Science and Engineering are pulling double and triple shifts because of that damned gizmo of yours. The crew's so overworked it can't see straight, Spock looks like grim death on a short fuse, and Scotty wants to toss a caber at somebody. He asked about you, by the way."
"The engineer? Why? He doesn't expect me to help him dissect the cloaking device, surely." I'd dissect Scott first.
"No, no, not Scotty. Spock. He trusted that the commander had made a full recovery from the acute viral disease that had incapacitated her. I took that to mean he wanted to know how you were doing. Although after your display of physical prowess on Four you'd think he could see for himself that you're all better."
"You know about that?"
"I sure do. Jim told me." His grin made me wonder exactly how Kirk had described the incident. "Maybe the guy deserved it."
I heard the question in the statement. "Possibly."
"And possibly you needed a punching-bag. If I were in your shoes, I'd be feeling pretty damned angry and resentful at this point. Gotta let it out somehow."
Was McCoy trying to tell me that he understood why I'd shouted at him? "I'm not in the habit of striking people without provocation, Doctor. The attaché said something that provoked me, and I lost my temper. Call it a character flaw."
"Call it just being human. 'Human' meaning 'sapient sentient corporeal being,' naturally."
"Naturally."
"It's good to see you smile, Commander. I'd say that's progress."
* * *
A message was waiting for me when I returned to my quarters: Uhura wanted to know whether I would have dinner with her that evening. I accepted her invitation, then sat staring at the empty screen. My reflection gazed back at me, and for a moment I imagined that I saw not my own face but my mother's.
Satheil, I miss you ... I miss you all. A stab of despairing loneliness brought tears to my eyes as I thought of my family. But I knew that if I let those tears escape, as I had done that first night and again, disgracefully, in Sickbay, there might be no stopping them. I couldn't afford to let my control slip any further. Besides, no emotion was more contemptible than self-pity, and I was a victim of nothing except my own arrogance. Starfleet had merely seen an opportunity and taken it: Romulan High Command would have done the same thing if it had had the chance. Kirk and I were players in a game that had no rules, and one of us had to lose. While I would do anything I could to pay him back--and if Adiv and Lem were able to carry out their orders, my revenge might come while I was still alive to savor it --I felt no genuine personal animosity towards the human; I only wanted to even the score between us.
The Vulcan was another matter altogether.
© 1996, 1999 Kathleen Dailey. All rights reserved.