Sheets of sleet and freezing rain beat against the tall casement windows, obscuring my view, and a leaden gray light barely penetrated the argon-sealed panes. By midafternoon the streetlamps had been lit, but their dim watery beams did little to illuminate the walks and groundways below. What was it about this frigid, miserable world that visitors found so appealing? If the rest of the planet was anything like this--
I shivered and moved away from the window. Although the room temperature remained at a constant thirty degrees, I looked longingly at the fireplace and the neatly stacked supply of wood that stood next to it, wondering whether I dared ... but I couldn't do it. The notion of unnecessarily burning real wood was simply too much for me.
Bored and restless, I sat down at the workstation and scrolled through the latest news reports, hoping to find, if not confirmation, at least a hint that the premise on which I'd based my plan was sound. But there was nothing except a notice of Enterprise's arrival at Spacedock. Perhaps it was too soon ...
The commlink signal was so soft and melodious that I nearly failed to recognize it. Elydex was calling from her embassy; behind her I could see the undulating walls characteristic of Reticulan architecture.
"Good afternoon, Commander," she said. "We've received word that the Romulan ambassador's ship has docked. May I join you now?"
"Certainly, Counselor."
"Do you need anything?"
Where should I begin? "No, thank you. I'll see you soon."
* * *
Elydex calmly reviewed her files while I paced the living room, unable to sit or stand in one place. What was taking Tilendi so long? The security desk had been given her ship's coordinates fifteen minutes ago. My temper was rising, along with my nervousness.
The tension of waiting was broken at last by the sound of the transporter effect. A shaft of light shimmered and then solidified, and the ambassador stepped off the pad. She stood quite still for a moment--silent, controlled, watchful. In one sweeping gaze she noted and, I was sure, recorded forever every detail of the room. Her gaze rested briefly on me and then on Elydex, who stood at my side. Elydex inclined her head in a gesture of greeting, which Tilendi returned with equal gravity. "Counselor Elydex," she said in unaccented Standard.
"Ambassador."
"Your uploads were received. There are a number of procedural questions still to be resolved. My aide will brief you at your convenience. I should like to speak to the commander alone."
"Of course." But Elydex made no move: she looked at me, waiting. "If that is the commander's wish."
I nodded assent. What choice did I have? "I'll call you at your embassy, Counselor."
"Please do." I might have imagined that I read reassurance in her eyes; I definitely didn't imagine her slight smile. She addressed Tilendi: "Ambassador, you're aware, if you've read the documents I sent you, that the commander has asked me to serve as her legal counsel. I have agreed to do so, and I have urged her to retain a Romulan co-counsel. Perhaps you will assist her in choosing someone."
Tilendi's voice was cool and remote: "We shall certainly see that she receives proper advice."
* * *
As soon as Elydex was gone, Tilendi turned and spoke to me directly for the first time. "Well, Commander." She used the formal mode of the Romulan language. "One hardly knows what to say." She removed her black cloak and laid it carefully over the back of a chair. She was unarmed, but otherwise clad in full military dress uniform--to make a point, no doubt. She withdrew from the cloak something that resembled a small diary. At her touch it emitted an arcing beam: the diary was a surveillance detector whose components were designed to register in a transporter scan as innocuous recordkeeping chips. Tilendi signaled me to keep talking as she swept the apartment.
"One could begin by confirming that Eidolon is safely home," I said evenly. "And Adjuvant, and Tiercel. And by telling me whether you are here in your capacity as ambassador or as commander-general." Her folded cloak bore heavy silver rank insignia. The Empire had never seen a reason to separate diplomacy from defense, and those in the diplomatic service retained their active status in the Fleet.
"My responsibilities in this matter encompass both roles, as I am sure you realize. All three ships are safe. And yes"--she held up her hand to forestall the question that was forming on my lips--"your crew is safe as well, including Subcommander Tal. At present Tal is officially on leave. He has been staying at his estate in Trae'kesh."
I knew what that meant, or so I thought. He was being held in protective custody, a prisoner in his own home, pending my trial before the Senate. But at least he's unharmed. "And Adiv and Lem?"
"Ah, yes. Adiv and Lem." Tilendi adjusted a control on the diary and laid it on a side table, apparently satisfied that its interference generator would defeat any surveillance devices. "Strangely enough," she said, "this apartment seems to be clear. Best to take precautions, however." She regarded me quizzically. "May I sit down, Commander?"
What was the matter with me? Tilendi was a superior officer and a friend--or, rather, she had once been both: by now my military career and my friends were undoubtedly things of the past. But to forget the rituals of simple courtesy ... I must be losing my mind. "Forgive me, Ambassador. Please--sit down." I poured out two glasses of water from the carafe.
"Thank you." But instead of sitting, she took off her boots and placed them next to the chair that held her cloak. "Forgive me, Commander. I was so engrossed in our conversation that I neglected to extend the proper courtesy to one who admits me to her home."
Too surprised to speak, I could only stare at her. We faced each other in silence for a long moment. Then, with a sigh of resignation, she opened her arms to me.
"Come here, child," she said, using the language mode reserved for family members, close friends, and children. "Whatever have you done this time?"
Half laughing, half crying with relief, I stepped into her embrace. "Oh, Lidiya, how often did you ask me that? And in just that tone of voice!"
"Far too often. You always pushed the limits. And as I remember, you paid the price for that competitiveness--when you weren't in the infirmary getting your bones knitted you were in the headmistress's office being threatened with expulsion."
"And when my parents were too angry even to talk to me, you were there to smooth things over."
She held me at arm's length, studying my face. "Your mother and I have been friends for most of our lives, Aerlyn. You know that I love you and your sister and brother as if you were my own. But my first duty is to the Empire, just as yours is. We must discharge that duty honorably. It would appear that despite what has happened you have attempted to do so."
"Lidiya--do you mean that Adiv and Lem were able to--"
"When your officers returned to Romulus, they were very nearly insubordinate in their demands to see Subcommander Tal immediately. I really think you have to take a firmer hand with your crew in matters of discipline, Commander."
I hoped her dry humor was a good sign. "Please, Lidiya--what happened?"
"They were brought to me, of course. I invited them to explain why they wanted to see Tal so urgently. They replied that the honor of their commander and the Empire depended on it, and they would say no more." She raised an eyebrow at me. "So I escorted them to Trae'kesh myself."
"And then?"
"I had to persuade Tal that you were alive and uninjured. When he was finally convinced that I was telling the truth, he settled down to listen to what your officers had to say. As did I, once they decided I was not about to betray them."
"And?" My stomach was knotted with anxiety.
"And that is why I was unable to meet you at Starbase Four, and why I had to send that moron Kaslim Dro in my place. Two-thirds of the Empire's intelligence network was seconded to our project--your project--and still it seemed to take forever to find out what we needed to know. Starfleet security grows more and more difficult and expensive to penetrate, and everything concerning this matter is cloaked, if you will, in the strictest secrecy. But your hypothesis was correct. The device is to be transferred to a research facility for further testing and reverse-engineering. The name of the science vessel that will carry it is the USS Al-Diraj, NCC-1610, under the command of Captain Gregory Stuart. Even now the vessel is in parking orbit above the Martian shipyards, as if awaiting repairs."
"And its destination?"
"That is somewhat more problematic. Our agents verified your estimate; there are indeed as many as six possible testing sites. But only two are highly likely candidates. The first is, of course, the Vulcan Science Academy."
"Of course."
"The second is the Vulcan research colony on Levana Prime. Some of the Federation's foremost interphasic physicists are located there, and the laboratories are even better equipped than those on Vulcan."
"Lidiya, you'll have to choose your operatives very, very carefully. The plan's success depends on the use of first-rate agents, preferably those who are already on-site. That should give us both a timing and a tactical advantage. A clandestine infiltration of a secure facility can be tricky, but with the right people--believe me, I've analyzed this strategy backwards and forwards. It will work."
She made a noncommittal sound. Then, abruptly: "Tell me--what is your opinion of Commander Ranen Devor? Your professional opinion, that is."
Puzzled by the sudden change of topic, I said, "Why, my professional opinion is the same as my personal opinion. He's brilliant, intuitive, fearless--Adjuvant's combat record rivals Eidolon's. We're very good friends, Lidiya. We've served on many missions together." And sometimes celebrated together afterwards ...
"Fleet Command has ordered Devor to undertake a special covert assignment, Aerlyn."
With the blinding light of utter certainty I saw the nature of her plan almost before the words were out of her mouth. "No! It can't be done that way! The risk is too great!"
"I never thought I would hear those words from you, my girl."
"You know what I mean! The consequences--if he's caught--if Adjuvant is captured--"
"Devor has already assembled his team. Shall I tell you the names he has entered on the crew roster? No, I will let him tell you himself." She removed a data disk from the pocket of her tunic. "Do you happen to have a viewer somewhere in this palace?"
Sick with apprehension, I led her to the bedroom. She pulled the drapes closed to mute the sound of the storm, then inserted the disk in the video unit. We sat down on the bed to watch.
"Commander Tayva, I greet you." Devor's dark face came alive with a crooked, sardonic smile. "General Tilendi suggested that it might please you to have a message from home. Well, here it is. I have a new senior crew complement--all of them are untried on Adjuvant, but their records are half decent, so I shall give them the benefit of the doubt. By coincidence, some are known to you and have asked to be remembered. My first officer is Commander Ilani Tecla of the imperial battlecruiser Tiercel, who wants you to know that she intends to hold you to your promise of a return match on the trans-ti courts as soon as you are home again. My second officer is Subcommander Jascha Tal, who states"--his smile widened--"that he supposes there is a limit to the reductions in status he will accept on your behalf, but he has not yet reached it. My helmsman is Subcommander Darius Isthiar, who left the Entrean task force to join us--yes, they really did let me have him, but only after intervention from certain quarters and a good deal of shouting on Darius's part. Centurion Oram Adiv and Antecenturion Milnek Lem have been seconded to Adjuvant as assistant navigator and operations officer, respectively. Their loyalty does you great honor, Aerlyn. Oh, and you may be interested to hear that my tactician and navigator is General Satheil Tayva, who found herself growing bored with teaching at the Academy and welcomed the opportunity to come along on this little outing of ours. And as for myself--well, I should prefer to discuss the mission, among other things, with you in person. And at length." There was a sudden seriousness in his eyes and voice. "I await your return. Walk in honor." The screen went blank.
Angry, disbelieving, frightened, I turned on Tilendi. "Is he mad? Are they mad? They'll be killed, or worse--they'll be captured, and Adjuvant and its cloaking device with them! You have to stop them!"
"Impossible. The mission is already in train. When our operatives confirm the location of the testing, Adjuvant will enter Federation space. It is our hope that the science vessel and its military escort can be intercepted, but if necessary we will target a planetary installation."
"But why not a ground-based infiltration? That was what I intended--what I thought would happen." What I'd planned in microscopic detail! "The method has succeeded before, Lidiya."
"Agreed. But this time there is no margin for error. None."
"What if Enterprise's engineer has already learned how to track a cloaked vessel? You know what technology Adjuvant carries. That ship above all others must be protected at all costs--at any cost! You're taking an unconscionable risk!"
"Remember to whom you are speaking, Commander. The stakes are high for everyone in the Empire, not just for you and your friends and family."
"I know that!" I cried, stung by her implication. "And before you remind me, I also know that you wouldn't be here now if it weren't for my errors in judgment. But to send a single ship, even a ship equipped as Adjuvant is, deep into Federation territory--" I bit down hard on my lip to stop myself from saying more.
She removed the disk from the viewer. "You don't yet know the whole story, child," she said wearily. "Not even half of it."
* * *
We ate an evening meal from trays in the living room. Tilendi talked and I listened. With every word she spoke I grew more despondent.
"You must understand, Aerlyn, that the theft of the cloaking device has caused a civil and political upheaval of very serious proportions. Factionalism is rampant, and every side is attempting to turn this incident to its own use. The Empire has filed an official protest with the Federation, and the fleet has been ordered to green alert. I and a few other members of High Command and the Praetorate have convinced our colleagues in the Senate that prudence dictates restraint, but I cannot tell how long they will remain persuaded. The Federation has committed an act of war, and one that strikes at the heart of our defense strategy. Those who favor an immediate military engagement are small in number, but they are making themselves heard. That is why we have no time to plan a covert ground-based infiltration, and why Devor's mission must succeed. The Federation cannot be permitted to make use of our cloaking technology, and there can be no war between the Empire and the Federation." Setting her tray aside, she rose and walked over to the window. After a while she said, "The storm is getting worse."
It was true: a crystalline coating of frost had formed on the outer windowpanes, and the sleet had changed to blowing snow. I went to stand beside her. "What aren't you saying, Lidiya? Why is the government willing to delay a declaration of war in the face of such a blatant treaty violation? And to risk losing Adjuvant? And to accede to this--this sham of an inquiry, chaired by a Vulcan whose own son was a party to the theft? It makes no sense. Nothing makes sense."
Tilendi reached for my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine, just as she'd done when I was a child. "Shall we have a fire, Aerlyn? Your hosts have left you a generous supply of wood."
Remember to whom you are speaking. One couldn't argue with one's commander-general, no matter how long one had known her. It was futile to press for an explanation she didn't want to give. "If you like," I said. "I did consider lighting one earlier--"
"This world is rich in renewable forests, so let us make the most of its bounty while we are here. Why don't you pull those chairs closer to the hearth, and I will lay the fire."
And to think that I was worried about being unprepared for Tilendi's questions. Clearly, she had all the answers she needed.
© 1996, 1999 Kathleen Dailey. All rights reserved.