U.S.S. Enterprise
Outside the Pergamum Nebula
“You are not where you’re supposed to be, Captain. If you were, I would not be able to talk to you at all.” On the computer on Pike’s desk, Admiral Terral’s steely gaze cut across light-years. “Calling this moment a surprise would be an understatement.”
Leaning back in his chair, Pike had already decided there wasn’t any point in denying anything—so he started by being pleasant. “It’s good to see you, Admiral. You’re the first person I’ve seen in months that’s not a member of my crew.”
“That is another surprise,” the bald-headed Vulcan said. “I expected to see you as a hologram.”
“More trouble with the system.” That was another understatement. The holographic recorders and projectors had never really worked; Enterprise had rejected them like a transplanted organ. With no one to transmit to while in the nebula, there had been little impetus to get the systems going.
“I suppose you are going to tell me that trouble also explains why you disobeyed my order. Your mission isn’t even half over.”
Pike shifted in his chair. “Your message was sent months ago, Admiral. I thought it was prudent to come out and get an update.”
“The fact that we continued to transmit that message should have told you the order was still operative.”
“It could also have meant that nobody was left to turn it off.”
Pike blanched a little. It was a dark place to go for a defense—and Terral’s tone grew icier. “I highly doubt you emerged simply to check the news, Captain. You were about to warp home.”
He smiled awkwardly. “How could you tell?”
“Your first officer, in her prudence, logged into the astrometric subspace database as soon as you left the nebula, to check what interstellar routes were occupied by Klingons.”
So that’s it, Pike thought. Una would have needed to consult the database in preparation for carrying out his order to return—and she also had to know the action would alert Starfleet of their location, perhaps in time to stop him before he did something he would regret. She’s as sly as ever. “Well, I guess I’m found out.”
“She did you a favor. She knows your mission there isn’t supposed to be over for months.”
“Admiral, we are at war—” He paused and tilted his head. “We are still at war, right?”
“Very much so.”
“Sorry to hear that. But we can help. I have a pretty amazing ship, and a lot of great people. The problem is we’re about as far from the action as we can be.”
“We have ships farther out than yours.”
“Every light-year we go deeper into the Pergamum is like a hundred somewhere else, Admiral. We just found that out the hard way. Little to no contact with the outside universe, and you’ve got to fight to leave it.”
“And you left it to fight. It is irrelevant. Your presence is not required.”
“Admiral Cornwell sent me a list of starships that were destroyed. Am I right in saying that we’ve lost more since?”
“We are fully capable of handling the threat.”
Pike studied the dark-skinned Vulcan’s face. He might have been able to read Katrina Cornwell, but it was impossible to tell how much confidence Terral had in what he was saying. On the chance that conditions had worsened, Pike thought it might be better to dial down his appeal and take a different tack.
“I apologize, Admiral. It was my decision; it’s on me.” He clasped his hands together. “Look, I got to know Philippa Georgiou at the Academy. I can’t remember what brought her back there, but I’ve never met a more consummate professional. That business back at Sirsa III last year where she and I were put at cross-purposes—that could have worked out badly. But it didn’t, because of her and her people.”
“And also, I understand, because of yours.”
“Thanks. I don’t have to tell you what the ‘captain’s club’ means to those who are in it. When you tell me we’ve lost so many, so fast—”
Terral shook his head. “I admire your loyalty, Captain. But we are adequately defended—and we have other plans for Enterprise. The mission you already have.”
“A mission assigned before war broke out.” Pike didn’t know how hard to push. “Navigating the Pergamum’s like swimming in glue. Whatever we’re learning here—well, I’ll be honest, it can wait.”
“That is not our judgment.” Terral paused. “Are you certain that is the only reason you wanted to return, Captain?”
Pike was caught off guard. “Yeah. I should think it’s enough.”
Terral didn’t seem so sure. He looked down, referring to something off-screen. “I do not see anything about personal connections at home that would command your attention. Or,” he said, raising an eyebrow, “does it relate to two years ago?”
Pike blinked. Terral meant Talos IV, and the incidents surrounding his visit there in 2254. The admiral would have been one of the few people brought into that mass of secrets. “No, that’s all fine,” he replied. “I’m not having any problems.”
“Then it comes back to something your science officer would agree with, Captain. Logic. Intended function. Production for use. Enterprise is a science ship.”
“You know, people keep saying that. It’s strange, because it feels an awful lot like a warship.” They’d found an old sore spot, long a point of contention between him and Starfleet. “Just about every time I’ve come back to port since my missions started, we’ve been refitted with weapons that have only grown more lethal. And those were for peacetime.”
Terral scowled. “This again.”
“It’s the truth, Admiral. Two years ago, we were outfitted with lasers; now it’s phasers. There are single armaments on this ship with more firepower than was expended in the last war. H.M.S. Beagle carried four six-pound guns and two nine-pounders. I have more destructive power attached to my belt. I have the most overpowered ‘science ship’ ever conceived.” He chuckled. “Now, maybe my history’s wrong, but I don’t think Jacques Cousteau ever needed to flatten a city.”
“It is a dangerous galaxy. How often has Starfleet discovered that?”
“A few times. I just worry that we’re starting to get so obsessed with that fact that we’re losing perspective. We’re going to wake up one day and find out we all joined a military outfit after all.”
Terral gave him a chilly Vulcan stare. “Moments ago you wanted to come back to fight. You are a pacifist now?”
“I didn’t know I had to choose. I even worry that, eventually, just carrying around all these weapons is going to make us the target.”
“Then you have little to fear. If somebody comes for Enterprise, you’ll be able to fire back.”
Curt words, the latest in what had been a volley between them over Starfleet’s direction going back years. But they also jogged Pike’s memory. “There’s something else you should know, Admiral. We think somebody shot at us.”
That got Terral’s attention. “I thought you said nobody was there. When did this happen?”
“It was today, on our way out. Galadjian thinks it was a photon torpedo.”
“If he says so, it was.”
“Agreed.” Pike didn’t mention the five-percent chance that it wasn’t. “We didn’t see who fired it.”
Terral’s eyes narrowed. “There have never been any reports of Klingon activity near the Pergamum. It is not in their quadrant.”
“I grant it’s not much of a tourist destination. But they’re not your usual tourists.”
“Very well,” Terral said. “Then you have just given yourself another reason to stay. If you find Klingons, certainly, emerge long enough to get us a message. Starfleet Command will issue further orders then. Otherwise, we will see you when your mission is complete.”
Pike slouched a little in his chair. Another trademarked Terral logical trap—and he’d walked right into it. “Aye, Admiral.”
“The nebula sounds like a strong defensive position,” he said. “If you want to contribute to the war, finding planets there that can be safely inhabited would be a job of high importance.”
Pike swallowed. So things aren’t going as well as you say, he thought. “We’ll do our best.”
“Excellent. I am sending a report on the Battle of the Binary Stars.”
“It has a name already?”
“Enough memorials and that will occur.” Terral spoke clearly. “It is for your information, and should not affect your intentions. Is that understood?”
“It is.”
“Trust us to win the war, Captain, and we will trust you to find something interesting we can all study when it’s over. Starfleet out.”