SULU TAPPED THE code keys and the food synthesizer obliged by delivering his breakfast order within seconds. He glanced around the mess lounge, trying to decide where to sit.
Seena Maybri waved from a table in a cool grove of miniature evergreen trees and Sulu ambled over to join her.
“Good morning,” he said, looking at her tray. “You’re almost done. You must’ve been the first person up this morning.”
“I’m having so much fun doing this evaluation,” she said, beaming. “I just can’t wait to get back to it once each shift is over.”
“I’ll bet you’ve been working on your time off, too.”
“I have not!” she protested—then shrugged meekly. “Well, maybe a little. I just want to impress the admiral.”
“And what’s that you’re drinking—?”
“Oh, nothing special,” she said, cupping a protective hand over her mug.
He leaned closer to her tray and sniffed.
She knew her face was darkening to a medium red and she confessed. “Oh, all right—it’s chocolate milk. This is your fault, Sulu—you got me addicted!”
“Ahhh, but what a wonderful addiction,” he chuckled.
She sipped the drink with a vaguely guilty expression in her eyes. Then she brightened. “I have to beam back down to the science outpost today. Some more data I need.”
“By yourself?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Well, Admiral Kirk must be impressed already. He usually doesn’t give people on their first assignments so much independence. When do you expect to be finished with the evaluation?”
“Tomorrow. Then I hope I’ll have a chance to do some research of my own. Akkalla’s such an interesting planet.”
“‘Interesting’ is one way to describe it,” Sulu said, a dubious scowl creasing his forehead.
Maybri bit her lower lip and her hair tufts quivered. “Oh, Sulu, I’m sorry. I feel so dumb sometimes. I’m so wrapped up in my first big assignment, I almost forgot about Mr. Spock and Chekov.”
“That’s okay. You’ve got your job to do, and that’s what you should be thinking about.”
“But it was supposed to be their job. Any signs of them at all?”
He shook his head and sighed. “But if they didn’t break up in space, if they made it to Akkalla, I’m sure they’re alive. And if they’re alive, we’ll find ’em. Admiral Kirk won’t leave here until we do. I know that.”
Elbows propped on the dark wood table, Brigadier Vvox peered past her steepled fingers at the topmost of the Yome game stand’s seven circular platforms. On each level, multiple geometric playing pieces stood in adjacent triangles marked on the platforms, which in turn pivoted off a central support post.
“Sometimes I think you like playing that damn Yome game more than you like making love to me,” Rrelin Hhayd huffed as he entered Vvox’s office.
“Sometimes I do,” she said, without shifting her gaze from the seventh level. Her hand snatched a piece like a hunting animal pouncing on its prey and moved it to the next platform down. “Your move,” she said with a satisfied smile.
“Considering.” The metallic-voiced reply came from a computer console the size of a fat book, resting on the table next to the game pedestal.
“It’s a shame computers don’t have facial expressions. I’d love to see how annoyed this one is right now,” she said to her adjutant as he sat in the chair next to her.
“If you knew anything about Yome, you’d know it was an excellent move.”
Hhayd shrugged. “Too many rules to remember. Just don’t have the patience for it.”
“I know. Sometimes I wonder about that. Patience is more than a virtue for a military leader. It’s a necessity.”
“That’s debatable. But you’ve got enough for both of us.”
Vvox shook her head. “No, it’s not debatable, Rrelin. Patience is what gives you the strength to pause before striking at an enemy—to weigh the advantages and the dangers, to foresee the consequences and be prepared so you’re never surprised. This morning’s little action, for instance. Is it done?”
He nodded. “Kirk will have a little trouble locating his Federation scientists today.”
“Good.”
“Now,” he said, “we get to see just how good you are at predicting consequences.”
The Enterprise looped around Akkalla in a lazy elliptical orbit, and Uhura had come to the decision that planets without much surface land mass got boring to the eye pretty quickly. She’d seen quite a few worlds over the years from her post at the starship’s communications console, and her artful sensibilities hadn’t dulled in that time. She was still able to appreciate nature’s handiwork in the intricate sculpture of a coastline, or chains of islands, or the endlessly swirling kaleidoscopic clouds shrouding the gas giants. But Akkalla was an unremarkable blue-gray ball, and she’d begun to ignore its presence on main viewer. In idle moments, she wondered if she’d even notice if the planet suddenly disappeared from the screen.
This, however, was not an idle moment as the turbolift doors whooshed open and Kirk strode onto the bridge. “Uhura, has Lieutenant Maybri checked in?”
“Yes, sir. She’s ready to beam down when you give the order.”
“Good. At least we can get this evaluation over with today.” He pressed a comm button on the command chair armrest to activate shipwide page. “Lieutenant Maybri, report to the transporter room, please.” He turned back to Uhura. “Commander, get me Dr. McPhillips down at the science station, please.”
“Aye, sir.” Her graceful fingers skipped across the console. “Enterprise to Dr. McPhillips—”
Kirk waited expectantly as Uhura tried several frequencies. “Problem?”
“No response, sir.”
Kirk leaned one foot on the step up to the outer bridge level. “Can you tell if it’s an equipment problem?”
“Everything’s working at our end, and the transmission is being received at their end. It’s a clean signal, too, no interference or jamming.”
“Then there’s nobody there to receive it.”
Sulu half turned from the helm console. “Admiral, do you still want Maybri beaming down there?”
“Good point. But none of your business, Mr. Sulu. Mind your station.”
“Sorry, sir. I just meant—”
“I know—friendly concern’s not a court-martial offense.” Kirk hit his intercom switch again. “Security. Have two guards report to the transporter room and accompany Lieutenant Maybri to the planet.” He changed channels. “Transporter room, is Maybri there yet?”
The transporter officer, a felinoid ensign, flattened her whiskers as she extended a clawed finger toward the intercom button. “Yesss, she’s here, sirrr.”
“Lieutenant—”
Before Kirk could continue, the transporter room doors snapped open and two security officers entered, a man and a woman. Maybri had seen them around the ship but didn’t know either one by name. The man was a baby-faced ensign with shoulders broad enough to fill the doorway.
“Are you Maybri?” the woman asked, her voice a musical lilt. She had mahogany skin, elegant cheekbones, and short frizzy hair. “I’m Lieutenant Santana. Admiral Kirk’s ordered us down to Akkalla with you.”
Maybri’s tall ears perked to full height. “Admiral!”
“Yes, lieutenant, are you still there?”
“Why are you sending two security people to nursemaid me? I think I’ve proven that—”
“I’ve proven that I’m—”
“Lieutenant, I’m trying to—”
“—completely capable of doing my—”
“Lieutenant Maybri,” Kirk roared, “shut up and listen. That’s an order.”
Stunned, the young Erithian fell back an involuntary step. “Yes, sir,” she peeped.
“Now, then—except for this regrettable tendency to not let your commanding officer get a word in edgewise, you have done a capable job. But that’s not the issue. We haven’t been able to establish contact with the science outpost. Considering the unstable political situation down there, it’s very possible something serious has taken place.”
“Like what, sir?” asked Maybri, her voice barely audible.
“Well, Maybri, I don’t know. Which is why I’m going against my first inclination to keep you aboard ship and send just a security team. I’ve decided I want your assessment of the situation down there, whatever you find.”
Maybri bounced excitedly on her toes. “Thank you, sir. I’ll do my best.”
“You’re in charge of the landing party, lieutenant. That means you’re responsible for your safety and theirs.”
The security ensign leaned over to Santana’s ear. “That means we could be in trouble,” he murmured with a rough Slavic accent.
“You’re not to leave the outpost compound without my express orders. Check out the lab first—unless there’s immediate danger. In that case, beam back up instantly. Do I make myself clear?”
Maybri and the two guards materialized in a courtyard about fifty meters from the lab building, on the side away from the waterfront where previous anti-Federation demonstrations had taken place. Misty raindrops danced on the breeze as if uncertain whether to fall or simply fly. There was no activity around the outpost, at least none that could be seen from their beam-down position.
“Let’s check around this way,” Maybri suggested, leading Lieutenant Santana and Ensign Vlastikovich down the path that led to the docking area and the seawall. The security officers took phaser pistols out and held them at the ready.
But no arms were needed. They poked their heads around the corner of the building to survey the waterfront and found no one there. No boats either. Nothing.
“Hey, Maybri,” Santana prompted, “aren’t you forgetting something?”
The Erithian’s saucer eyes darted in sudden panic. “I am?”
Vlastikovich raised his gravelly voice an octave. “‘I’ll check in as soon as—’”
“—as we beam down,” Maybri finished. “Oh, lords!” She snapped open her communicator. “Maybri to Enterprise.”
“Kirk here. Report.”
“Well, there’s nothing suspicious outside, sir. No activity at all. Doesn’t look like anybody’s here. No boats docked. Should we check inside now?”
“At your discretion, lieutenant. Be careful.”
Suddenly feeling like a commander, Maybri straightened confidently. “Aye, sir. Landing party out.” She glanced at the guards flanking her. “You heard him. Let’s get to it.”
They approached the lab entrance at a front corner of the sturdy stone outpost building and found the door hanging off its hinges. The warning sign gave Maybri’s skin a tinge of shading, but she forced down her own sense of foreboding.
“Somebody obviously didn’t believe in knocking,” Vlastikovich said. The door was jammed, and he shouldered it open with a grunt, revealing a dark staircase spiraling up.
Santana swung her flashlight toward the top and took the lead, making her way slowly. Their boot heels clanged on the metal step plates, so sneaking up was out of the question. When they reached the top, Santana was the first to peer around the corner, into the lab area. She let out a low whistle as she pocketed her light.
“Wow. Whoever didn’t believe in knocking didn’t believe in cleaning up, either.”
“Let me see,” Maybri said, stumbling at the top step and bumping into the guards. When she’d steadied herself, they parted shoulders and she squeezed through. “Oh—”
The main lab looked like a Chorymi harvest ship had blasted through it. Furniture was upended, expensive equipment dismembered, computer data cassettes tossed everywhere. Maybri wasn’t prepared for anything like this, and she fumbled for her communicator. “Landing party to Enterprise,” she said, voice and ear tips quivering in unison.
“Kirk here. Report, lieutenant.”
She swallowed to moisten her mouth. “It’s a mess, Admiral. Somebody ripped the place apart.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, sir, we’re fine.” She realized what he might really have meant, and took a chance at second-guessing him. “If you meant me, I’m okay, sir.”
“I had a hunch you would be, Maybri. Is the situation immediately dangerous?”
“I don’t think so, sir.” She looked at her escorts for concurrence. Vlastikovich gave her a thumb’s-up signal as he and Santana searched the lab and adjoining rooms. “I’ll put one guard on lookout while we dig through for anything useful.”
“Make it fast, lieutenant. I don’t want to lose any more people.”
Dammit all! Kirk thought as he hunkered down in the command chair, arms folded and legs crossed. The turbolift doors hissed open, and McCoy stepped out, taking up his accustomed position behind the center seat.
“Maybri just called,” Kirk said. “The lab’s been trashed.”
“You think Preceptor Kkayn lied to us about the Collegium’s people being responsible for harassing McPhillips’s team?”
“Got any other strong suspects? I’m open for suggestions, Bones.”
“Well, I don’t trust anybody we’ve met from the government.”
“You’re a perceptive man, McCoy.” Kirk unfolded himself and vaulted up to the turbolift. As the doors whooshed open, he paused only long enough to tell Uhura, “Call Maybri and tell her I’m beaming down for a look at the damage.”
Uhura started to reply, then frowned and raised a hand to her earpiece. “Admiral, I’m picking up—” Her voice trailed off.
He came over to her station. “What is it?”
“It’s over. I was monitoring planetary channels, and someone broke into the government broadcast and commandeered the frequency.”
The communications officer recalled the recording from her computer file, and the blank viewscreen above her station came to life with still images of Dr. McPhillips and her two staff members, followed by the emblem of the Collegium. An angry male voice spoke with purposeful intensity: “These are the offworld contaminants posing as scientists. They are enemies of Akkalla, and they’ve been placed under people’s arrest by the concerned scientists of Akkalla. They will be held for people’s trial. We will strike more blows for freedom.” The picture was replaced by slashes of electronic interference, then a government signal declaring that control of the airwaves had been reestablished.
“Certainly points a finger at the Collegium,” McCoy said. “Maybe even a whole hand.”
“I’m not so sure.” Uhura thoughtfully tapped a fingernail on her console. “Why would they want to reveal their identity?”
“Aye,” Scotty added. “Wouldn’t that make ’em subject t’immediate arrest?”
“Not if they’ve already gone into hiding,” said McCoy. “Easy enough to check on that, Jim.”
“I plan to, Bones. If they have gone into hiding, we know who’s got our people. Maybe Spock and Chekov, too. And if they’re not hiding, then the Collegium may not be responsible for what we just saw, and somebody transmitted that as a hoax.”
“Which leaves us where?” McCoy said. “Up the proverbial creek.”
“We’ve still got a paddle or two,” Kirk cut in. He turned to the blond ensign subbing at Spock’s science post. “Greenbriar—”
“Greenberger, sir.”
“Right. How are you at detective work, ensign?”
“Like a terrier, sir. I don’t give up.”
“Good. Take Uhura’s recording and run every kind of analysis you and the computer can think of. I want to know everything possible about that transmission. Rip it apart, and maybe we can get some hints as to where it came from.”
“Yes, sir.”
Uhura keyed a series of switches on her panel to patch her station into the science post. “Data transferred, sir.”
“Contact the landing party. Tell them we’re beaming them up now.”
In the Collegium’s conference chamber, Llissa Kkayn and her Council of Senior Guides sat around the oval table—except for Eddran, whose short legs propelled him from one end of the room to the other like a manic wind-up toy.
“We didn’t do it,” he railed, “but everyone will think we did, so what’s the difference? Maybe we should join the damn Cape Alliance! As long as we’re going to be executed for high treason, it might as well be for acts we’ve actually committed! It’s a plot—a plot hatched by our scummy Publican and his military monsters. I warned and warned and warned, and did any of you listen to me? No!” He halted and struck a challenging pose, his beak of a nose stuck up in the air. “What are we going to do?”
Ssuramaya’s dark skin glistened. “You can’t be serious about us joining the rebels, Eddran.”
“Why not?” asked Ossage, eyelids drooping enough to make him appear ready to nap. “We’re running short of alternatives. Eddran’s right about this much—our survival may be on the line any time now.”
The old man, Nniko, thumped his walking stick impatiently on the floor. “We’re in trouble—there’s no doubt of that. But how we react may decide the future of the Collegium for all time to come.”
“Nniko is correct,” Rraitine said softly, smoothing her silvered curls. “Our own survival may very well be called into question, but the survival of this institution is also our responsibility.”
“Yes, yes,” Ssuramaya agreed with a vigorous nod. “We mustn’t do anything to tarnish Collegium. Political crises come and go. But this place must last forever. It is a jewel, and we are its guardians.”
“That’s very picturesque,” Eddran sneered. “But high-flown words won’t save our behinds. And if we’re dead, then nobody’s going to be left to protect this so-called jewel. The time’s come to fight. Others have already paved the way. If we join them, we might have the strength to save Akkalla from the madmen in the Tower.”
Ttindel pointed a pudgy hand at Preceptor Kkayn. “Llissa, nothing to say?”
She stood. “I’ll be in my apartment, reaching a decision. We’ll reconvene here in three hexos—and vote then on my recommendation.”
Eddran pounded on the table. “What if we disagree with your recommendation?”
“Then I’ll resign, and you can pick a new preceptor.”
Stunned silence for a moment, then chaotic argument, with her allies pleading for Llissa to stay no matter what and her opponents protesting her timing. Eddran’s voice sliced the din: “You should resign now!”
It was the last thing Llissa heard as she marched out of the conference chamber.
Walking briskly, she went directly to her suite in a wing of the main building, passing through dark-paneled corridors decorated with paintings of past Collegium leaders and the school as it grew over the years. She reached her hand-carved door, burst through, and slammed it shut behind her. With a strangled snarl of frustration, she threw her ceremonial cloak in a heap on the patterned rug and slumped into the cushions of her couch. Then she heard a tentative rap on the door.
“Go away.”
“I can’t,” came the muffled reply. It was Mmaddi, her young attendant. “It’s … it’s very important, Llissa.”
The door creaked, and a fringe of frizzy amber hair edged in. Then came the pale face, eyes wide with worry. Mmaddi stopped there, poised in the tiny crack of an opening.
“The Enterprise is calling you.”
For an uncomprehending moment Llissa remained anchored. Then she bolted from the couch to an ornate cabinet and slid aside the front panel, revealing a communications unit, incongruously modern in a room decorated with antiques and dominated by bookcases filled with ancient volumes. “Come in. Close the door.”
Mmaddi did as she was told, darting over to watch as Llissa pressed a power button and the viewscreen glowed ghostly blue. Then James Kirk appeared. Llissa was relieved to find no fury in his expression, just a terse glare.
“Admiral Kirk.”
“Preceptor Kkayn.” He dipped his head for an instant of minimal politeness.
She decided to take the offensive and felt an astonishing sang-froid considering the circumstances. The peace of the innocent? she wondered. Or of the lamb resigned to slaughter? “You saw the phony broadcast?”
“Phony? So you deny your people had anything to do with it, or with kidnapping our scientists?” His tone was flat and careworn.
“I told you before—we’re not terrorists. We’re teachers and researchers and students. We don’t study abduction and explosives here.” Llissa took a deep breath. Mmaddi drew closer, and Llissa glanced her way long enough to offer a reassuring nod. “Look, Admiral, we can claw each other for hours, but it’s not going to get us anywhere. You don’t believe me when I say the Collegium had nothing to do with the disappearance of your scientists, and I don’t know whether to believe you when you tell us you’re not here for purposes of military intimidation. Meanwhile, since the moment we met, things have gotten much worse for both of us. Can we agree on that much?”
Kirk managed a gallows smile. “I suppose.”
Mmaddi was at Llissa’s ear now. “What’re you going to do?” she whispered.
“Don’t worry,” Llissa murmured, then addressed Kirk again. “As your Dr. McCoy would say, the logical thing for us to do is find some common ground.”
“It would … thrill McCoy to know you prize his devotion to logic,” said Kirk. “How do you propose we find this common ground?”
“A meeting, just the two of us. I trust my own instincts, Admiral.”
“All right. It’s your idea, preceptor. There’s no neutral turf to meet on—your Collegium or my ship?”
“I don’t think it’s safe for you to come here.”
“You’re willing to come aboard the Enterprise?”
“I trust you that much. And I’ve never been on a starship. I’m an educator—this should be educational.”
“Llissa!” Mmaddi hissed in alarm. “How can you—”
Llissa silenced her with a sharp look. “If anyone asks where I am, don’t tell them.” She held Mmaddi by her shoulders and gazed into the girl’s fearful eyes. “Sometimes you have to go where you’d never dream of going to save your dreams. Do you understand that, Mmaddi?”
“Not … not really.”
“Well, I’m not sure I do, either. If this all works out, maybe we both will.” Llissa turned back to the viewer. “I’m ready, Admiral Kirk. Uh, how does this work now? What do I have to do?”
“Nothing. Just stand close to your comm unit. We’ve already locked onto your coordinates. You’ve never traveled by transporter before?”
“No.”
Kirk smiled. “Well, you’re in for another educational experience, then.”
For the moment, Llissa forgot about their dispute and felt herself enveloped in the anticipation of a new adventure. “What does it feel like?”
“A tingling sensation. Rather pleasant, actually … Ready?”
Llissa Kkayn nodded. “Ready.”
Too amazed to be frightened, Mmaddi watched as her mentor turned to glittering bits that danced and shimmered with a brilliance that first made her blink, then faded to a glowing outline … then were gone! Llissa didn’t have to worry—Mmaddi wouldn’t tell anyone where the preceptor had gone. She wouldn’t know where to begin.
—and in a subjective instant Llissa found herself in the transporter chamber of the Enterprise. Kirk stepped around the control console to greet her with an outstretched hand that also served to help her down to the deck. The assistance was welcome, since she felt a flush of disorientation and nearly missed the step.
“Happens to everybody.” He smiled. “Welcome to the Enterprise.”
“Thank you, Admiral Kirk.”
He turned to the transporter technician. “Ensign, no one is to know Preceptor Kkayn’s come aboard.”
The technician purred and flicked her whiskers. “Yesss, sirrr.”
“This way, preceptor.” He led her out, and they followed the curving corridor to a small briefing room. The doors slid shut behind them, and they sat at opposite sides of the table. “I thought you might want to keep this a secret visit.”
“I appreciate that. Although, frankly, who knows if I’ll ever see the inside of a starship again? Unless we end up at each other’s throats, I’m probably going to want a more extensive tour before you transport me home.”
“My pleasure. Can I offer you something to eat or drink?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Kirk moved to the food synthesizer outlet and punched in. The lid retracted, revealing a tray that held a pot with steam venting from its spout, a pair of cups, and a platter with assorted pastries and fruit sections. “This is tea. We’ve always considered it to be a civilized drink, so I thought it would set the proper tone,” he said, carrying the tray to their table.
He poured and sat down again, this time next to her. She lifted her cup for a toast. “Then here’s to civilized discourse, Admiral Kirk.”
“Civilized discourse.” They clinked their cups together, and she started to sip. “Wait,” he blurted. “Better let it cool off—”
Her eyes widened as the boiling liquid burned her mouth.
“Sorry,” Kirk said. “I should’ve told you tea is served very hot.”
With arched brows, she bit off a small chunk of danish. “‘Starfleet Admiral Scalds Educator,’” she quoted, as if reciting a headline. Kirk smiled sheepishly. “Well. ‘Starfleet Admiral’—how do we stop arguing?” Llissa asked.
“I suppose we both have to offer some proof of our positions.”
She spread her hands in supplication. “I don’t have any tangible proof to show you. All I can do is let you read the history of the Collegium, if you want to see what we’ve been standing for these past five hundred years.”
“I’d like to see that history—but just out of curiosity,” Kirk said. “You weren’t in hiding when I contacted you, and you were willing to come up to my ship. That’s proof enough for me.”
“Well, that’s a relief—but don’t expect me to let you off that easily.”
“What would make you believe that the Federation science team wasn’t in collusion with the Publican and the government?”
“I’m not sure. I mean, this isn’t a court of law. Maybe if I had some idea what they were working on.”
“Well—” He snapped his fingers and reached for the tabletop intercom. “Lieutenant Maybri, report to the admiral in briefing room 6B.” He clicked it off. “Whatever we know about their work, you’ll know. I just hope that’s enough.”
“So do I. You and the Enterprise can leave Akkalla any time you want. But I can’t, Admiral Kirk. This is my home, and the Collegium’s been my whole life. Whatever’s going on there, we have to beat it—or it’s going to beat us.”
“You’re right about one thing—this ship can leave Akkalla whenever I give the order. But I won’t do it until I find out what’s happened to my two officers and those three scientists.”
“Maybe we’ve just stumbled onto that common cause.”
The hatch swished open, and Lieutenant Maybri rushed in, skidding to a stop as she took in the unexpected scene—Admiral Kirk hosting some sort of tea party. “Sir?”
“Ah, Lieutenant Maybri, this is Llissa Kkayn, preceptor of the Akkallan Collegium.”
“Preceptor.”
“When my two officers turned up missing, she stepped in and took charge of evaluating the Federation science outpost.” He noticed that the young officer was still standing stiffly, and he motioned to a chair. “Lieutenant, what’s the status on that report?”
“The preliminary report’s done, sir. I wanted to ask Dr. McPhillips and her staff a few more questions and get some fill-in data before going to the final. That’s when, well, we found the outpost the way it is now.”
“I’d like Preceptor Kkayn to see the report.”
“Here?” Maybri nodded toward the computer console built into the end of the table.
“Here.” Kirk pushed his chair back. “Preceptor, if you’ll move down to the computer—”
The Akkallan sat in the end chair as Maybri and Kirk stood behind her.
“Computer on,” Maybri said.
“Working,” the terminal replied.
“This is Lieutenant Seena Maybri, requesting access to work file EVAL-one-double-A. Verify security voice lock.”
Console lights blinked in code sequence. “Verified. Access approved.”
“Display preliminary report draft.” As the first words of the report flashed onto the screen, Kirk leaned forward.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to read with you,” he said. “This is my first time seeing this report. And I’d like you to stick around, lieutenant, just in case we have any questions.”
“Aye, sir.”
They skimmed the dossier with hardly a comment—until they reached the paragraph headed New Life Form. After descending into a progressively deeper slouch, Kkayn sat upright as if she’d been jolted by an electrical charge and gaped at the screen. With suddenly intensified interest, she studied every word, backtracking and rereading sections like she was trying to commit them to memory, mumbling repetitively all the while: “This is amazing … I just don’t believe it …”
Finally, she swiveled away from the computer. “How long have you known about this suspected new life form?”
Kirk nibbled on his lip. “McPhillips mentioned it when we first met with her a couple of days ago. But we didn’t know any details. Maybri, where did you get all this extra background?”
“From their files, sir. At first, I wasn’t sure how much bearing it had on the evaluation. But they kept shoving me in that direction, so I really dug into it. Even though they don’t have hard proof, what they did have was enough to convince me it was important, maybe more important than anything else they’ve done since they came to Akkalla.”
Llissa Kkayn turned somber. “We never discussed this with your scientists. It never came up in the three meetings we had.”
“I know that,” said Kirk.
“Then how did they find out?”
Maybri’s ear tips curled inquisitively. “I don’t understand. What do you mean, how did they find out? How did they find out what?”
“About our secret work.”
“Your secret work?” said Kirk.
“It’s a long story, but for quite some time Akkallan scientists have been exploring the possibility that there’s a mysterious life form in our oceans. Damn! Why didn’t Dr. McPhillips and her people ever talk to us about this?”
“They wanted to, but they were led to believe you Collegium scientists resented their just being on your planet.”
“What gave them that idea?”
“What else were they supposed to think, with all the obstacles you put in the way of building a strong cooperative relationship?”
“Obstacles—”
“Obstacles—requiring a detailed agenda in advance, then canceling outright—”
“They did that, not us—”
Kirk and Llissa fell silent as they belatedly realized what should have been evident before. Kirk gave himself a mental kick for losing his sense of perspective. “Who told you McPhillips wanted agendas?”
Her mouth set in a grim line, Llissa shook her head. “The government science office—the buffer between us and the Federation outpost.”
Kirk nodded. “And unless I’m already senile, they’re the same people who told McPhillips you were being obstinate.”
“I think we’ve finally settled our differences, Admiral. The question is, is it too late to do anything about it?”
“As my science officer is fond of saying, there are always possibilities. Especially now that we can stop fighting each other and pool our resources.”
“That may not be so easy.” Llissa paced near the computer. “This fake government broadcast today has really split the Collegium Council. The only hope I have of pulling them back together is to prove that your outpost was working on the same suspicions we were.”
Maybri tilted her head. “Isn’t this report enough for that?”
“I wish I could say yes. But I’m just not sure. If we could get some harder data, some maps, some artifacts—”
“Maybe we can,” Maybri said. “Sir, we didn’t have enough time to search every corner of the lab. Let me go back.”
“That suggestion doesn’t thrill me, lieutenant.”
“But,” Llissa interjected, “as Dr. McCoy would say, it is logical.”
Maybri blinked in confusion. “As … Dr. McCoy would say?”
“It’s a long story, lieutenant.” Kirk stood. “As for going back to the lab, we’ll go with you.”
The landing party beamed into the deserted science lab. Kirk sent Santana and Vlastikovich outside on patrol, while Uhura attempted to crack the lab’s secure computer memory banks. Then he, Maybri, and Llissa split up to comb the place for more physical evidence. They searched everywhere, sought out secret caches, pried up floorboards, but their efforts proved futile.
Until Maybri’s silky voice sang out: “Bones!”
Kirk and Kkayn found her wedged into a tiny space beneath a sink.
“Uh, I could use a little help getting out of here.”
Only her boots stuck out, and Kirk grasped her ankles, maneuvering carefully, inching her out of a long storage cabinet under a work counter. Once freed, she proudly displayed her treasure: a pair of brown bones in a protective wrap.
Kirk helped her up. “Those must be the ones McPhillips told us about.”
With care tender enough for saints’ relics, Llissa pulled back a corner of the wrapping. “They look like the ones we have. We figured them to be about nine thousand years old.”
Kirk frowned. “But McPhillips told us these were only ten years old.”
“Then it should be interesting to get these back to Collegium and compare.”
“At the risk of offending you, preceptor, we’ll probably get a more accurate dating with the equipment aboard the Enterprise.”
“That may be true, but my researchers should have the first look. If they believe these are authentic, no matter how old, that’ll give you the credibility we’ll need for me to persuade my council to join forces with you.”
They were interrupted by the insistent beep of Kirk’s communicator. He flipped it open. “Kirk here.”
“Santana, sir.” The security guard’s voice was low and urgent. “A couple of boats just pulled in. They look like military boats—”
“Take cover and beam up now. Kirk out.” He dialed a new frequency. “Everybody pack up. Kirk to Enterprise—stand by to beam up landing party—”
McCoy cradled a bone in his long fingers as he hunched over the table in the main briefing room. Kirk, Maybri, and Preceptor Kkayn listened to his conclusions.
“They’re from a creature dead about ten years, no sign of unusual disease or fractures, at least in these two bones. Can’t very well speak for the rest of the skeleton, wherever it may be. I’d say the owner of these lived in the ocean and died there, too. As for what the owner was, well, I really couldn’t even guess, beyond the probability that it was mammalian.”
“Doctor,” said Llissa, “how much do you think you could tell by comparing these bones with others that I think are similar?”
“Well, that’s hard to say. I s’pose we could tell if they came from the same kind of animal, whether they were comparable in age, that sort of thing.”
“What about comparing them to the physiology of a living Akkallan?”
“I don’t have any data on Akkallans.”
“But you have a living Akkallan—me. I’m a healthy, typical Akkallan female.”
“Would that be worth doing, Bones?” asked Kirk.
“Well, sure it would, Jim. First stop in comparative anatomy is having something to compare to. I won’t even charge you for the office visit, preceptor.”
The physical didn’t take long—McCoy’s scanners saw to that. Once the computer had digested the results, Kirk and Maybri reconvened in the doctor’s office, where McCoy displayed an assortment of charts, cross-sectional scans, and diagrams on the wall screen over his desk.
“The artwork’s great, Bones, but what does it mean?” said Kirk.
The ship’s surgeon hefted one of the sample bones. “Well, I could switch this with Llissa’s tibia—”
Kirk raised an eyebrow. “First-name basis?”
“Well,” Llissa said, “once a man’s scanned your innards, you might as well dispense with formalities.”
“Okay. What about her tibia?”
“I could replace it with this bone, and she’d never know the difference, except for this one being a little longer than hers. Joint structure’s identical.”
“Isn’t that odd for a bone that’s from an unidentified creature you say lived in the ocean?”
“In a word, yes. Can I explain it? No—not yet, anyway.”
“Now that we’re on the same side, it’s time I filled you in on all the pertinent background,” Llissa said.
Kirk rubbed his hands together. “Does it clear any of this up, or does it add to the confusion?”
“Both.”
“I was afraid of that,” McCoy said sourly.
“Some of our scientists believe this new life form is actually something very ancient, something we never knew for sure was real. Until the first evidence was collected, oh, maybe twenty years ago, the common belief was that these things were mythical. They were called Wwafida.”
“And now?” Kirk asked.
“Now, a lot of us believe they once existed. We think our nine-thousand-year-old fossils prove that.”
Kirk balanced the tibia in his palm. “But this isn’t a fossil. This is a contemporary bone.”
“Right,” Llissa said, her voice rising in excitement. “And if we can match this to the fossils, that could be what we need to prove these creatures are still alive today.”
Keeping the bone in his hand, Kirk began to pace. “This—is—getting more complicated by the minute … but it’s not getting us any conclusive answers to anything! What is so controversial about this mysterious, possibly mythical creature that anybody who knows anything about it gets targeted for destruction?”
Llissa ran nervous hands through her hair, releasing a clasp and letting her dark tresses flow over her shoulders. “The debate over the existence of the Wwafida is the cause of the state of war between Akkalla and Chorym.”
McCoy whistled in disbelief. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“Keep explaining,” Kirk said.
“Some of us believed these creatures may be intelligent. Those who did wanted the Chorymi harvest ships to stop working until we could figure out, one, did these creatures exist, and, two, were they sentient beings. Because if they were really out in the seas swimming free, then their lives were endangered by every harvest.”
“Was the Collegium part of that group demanding a halt to the harvests?” Kirk asked.
“Some of our scientists were, along with some independent scientists and politicians.”
McCoy took the bone back from Kirk and wrapped it with the other one. “I bet that’s where the Cape Alliance came in.”
“The Alliance has been around for years, but when the Collegium didn’t support their stand against the harvests, that’s when they turned really radical and started disrupting the harvests by actually going out in boats.”
“What did the Chorymi do?” said Kirk.
“At first, they pulled up in a hurry whenever any surface vessels were in a harvest zone. After all, the harvests were part of a treaty with us, and the Chorymi appealed to our government to get the Alliance to stop interfering with legal harvest work. So the Alliance went underground, and the Publican got the Synod to vote for sweeping military powers to crush the Alliance.”
“Obviously,” McCoy said, “it hasn’t worked.”
Llissa shook her head sadly. “No, it hasn’t. And everything’s been unraveling for the past year or so. The Paladins and the Grolian Guard have more and more power, and under Vvox and Hhayd they abuse it. The Chorymi gave up on Akkalla ever abiding by the treaty, and they started raiding our seas whenever they felt like it. There’s nothing the Paladins can do to stop them, and they don’t share what they take with us anymore.” There was a catch in her voice, and she took a deep breath, trying to hold on to her composure. “The Cape Alliance is crazier than ever, and now my Collegium’s practically under siege, probably a step away from all of us being arrested … and I don’t know what to do about any of this.”
McCoy touched her arm, but she brushed the kindly gesture away, spinning to view her reflection off the view-screen.
“I’m sorry,” she said with a desolate sigh. “This is the first time I’ve strung all those disastrous events together in one sentence.”
Kirk shook his head. “There’s something I don’t get. Why is the harvest so important to Chorym that they’re willing to risk interplanetary war?”
“Well, for one thing, there’s not much risk. They’re much more advanced than we are, technologically. If there’s a war, Akkalla’s the battlefield—and we’ll lose it.”
“Advanced or not,” McCoy said, “it seems like an awful lot of trouble to satisfy a yen for seafood.”
“Not if you’ve got no choice. More than a century ago, the Chorymi ignored the fact that their planet’s climate was drying out. They just went blithely along, plundering their own resources, in spite of the fact that deserts were advancing all over Chorym. It reached a stage where they were desperate, and our oceans promised salvation. Oh, they’d had interplanetary travel for a long time, and we traded back and forth. But what they proposed went way beyond all that. They presented the idea of building fleets of flying harvest ships. Not only would they split the catch with us, they’d also pay us with the only resource they had left in any abundance.”
“What was that?” asked Kirk.
“It happened to be something we needed—rhipileum. It’s an energy ore. We have such a small land mass on Akkalla, we don’t have a lot of mineral wealth that’s readily accessible. So we stumbled along with lagging industrial development. But Chorym’s rhipileum was the missing key to our future. Our standard of living jumped ahead at the speed of light, it seemed. We advanced more in the last hundred years than in the previous five hundred. So you can see that it wasn’t the popular thing to do, raising difficult questions that might put an end to all that.”
“But the questions have already been raised,” Kirk said. “Akkalla’s not going to be able to run away without answering them.”
Llissa nodded, sad resignation in her eyes. “I suppose I’ve always known that. But it’s only in the last few days that I’ve really accepted it. The answers might destroy Akkallan society as we know it, but that’s happening already anyway. If we have to lose everything we’ve built, I’d rather know it was for the right reasons.”
Llissa took a deep breath. “We have to know if these creatures are real and if they’re intelligent. And if they are, we’ll use the truth to appeal to the people of Akkalla and Chorym. We may have to take our case all the way to the Federation Council, and we’ll need the weight of outside authority to win. Admiral Kirk, will you help us?”