2292
“Saavik, you’re alive!”
“Obviously, Captain.”
Her image flickered and wavered on the viewscreen, the signal choppy. Static and feedback distorted the audio, which faded in and out of audibility. Nonetheless, Kirk’s heart soared to see the young Vulcan alive and in one piece, as opposed to blown to atoms. Joy and relief showed on faces across the bridge.
“As are Cyloo and Taleb,” she reported through frustrating crackles and a blizzard of visual snow. “We live, but—zzz—dire straits—zzz—require immedi—zzz—assistance—”
Kirk glanced at Uhura. “Can we clean this up?”
“I’m trying, sir, but the signal is weak and inconstant.” She massaged the subspace frequency controls. “Shall I share this transmission with the Harrier and/or the Lukara, assuming they haven’t intercepted it already?”
“Not just yet.” He wanted to hear what Saavik had to say before letting B’Eleste or Plavius into the exchange. “Stall them, Uhura, for as long as it takes. Inform them that we’ve received new information that changes everything, but we need a few minutes to confirm it.”
“Aye, Captain. I’ll keep them on hold as best I can.”
“My apologies—zzz—poor quality—zzz—transmission—improvising under—zzz—circumstances—” Saavik’s distinctive features rippled like a reflection in a funhouse mirror. “—be brief—zzz—beamed off pod—zzz—Doctor Kesh—zzz—captives—zzz—interior of frozen—zzz—Oort—”
“Oort… Oort cloud?” Kirk recalled that the stolen pod had been heading into the outermost reaches of a nearby solar system when it self-destructed. Was Saavik saying she and the others had been beamed onto one of the innumerable chunks of icy space debris surrounding that system? And what had she been trying to say about Kesh? B’Eleste was going to want to know about her lost medical officer.
“What’s that, Saavik?” he asked. “We’re losing you. What about Doctor Kesh?”
“—party responsible—zzz—not a Klingon—zzz—Captain, Kesh is actually—”
A ragged burst of static cut off whatever she said next. Her image fragmented, dissolved, then blinked out altogether.
“Damn it,” Kirk said. “Uhura?”
“I’m sorry, sir. We’ve lost her.” She stared forlornly at the viewer. “And sir, our friends out there are demanding answers.”
Kirk made a snap decision. “Send them Saavik’s message, what there is of it. Then trace that signal back to its source.”
“Gladly, sir!”
“Saavik… alive?”
Just for a moment, Spock’s face betrayed an emotional reaction, but he immediately regained his composure. Both he and Chorn had been brought to the bridge of the Harrier, under armed escort, to provide their thoughts on the startling transmission the Enterprise had just shared with the other two vessels.
“Finally you let us loose!” Chorn appeared more sober than before, although no less boisterous. “Confined to quarters, without even a steady supply of ale, let alone any congenial company”—his meaty hands mimed an exaggerated hourglass figure—“to relieve my solitude!”
“Never mind that!” Nawee said, impatiently dismissing the Klingon’s petty grievances. The Osori envoy nervously phased in and out of solidity, a rosy aura strobing like a pulsar. “Cyloo is in jeopardy. We must come to her aid at once!”
“Forgive me, Envoy.” Hepna peered scornfully at the viewscreen, where a distorted image of Saavik was paused. “But this is almost surely a ploy on Kirk’s part. He is infamous for his trickery and deceit. This so-called ‘transmission’ has obviously been manufactured, and crudely at that, to make us think Taleb and Cyloo still live, no doubt to gull us into returning our hostages.”
Nawee’s face fell. “But couldn’t Cyloo and the others have been beamed off the pod in time, as this message states?”
“Did we see Cyloo in that transmission? Or Taleb? Have we been offered any actual proof of life?” The subcommander attempted a sympathetic expression, which sat incongruously on her severe features. “It gives me no pleasure to say this, but we cannot possibly take this dubious message at face value.”
“But might it not be true?” Nawee looked anxiously to Plavius and Spock for support. “What do you think, Commander, Mister Spock?”
Plavius studied Spock. “I also wish to know your assessment of this unexpected communication.”
“Alleged communication,” Hepna stressed.
Spock ignored her aggressive skepticism, directing his words to Plavius instead. It was the commander who needed to be convinced, not his hostile subordinate.
“I will not insult your intelligence by asserting that neither Captain Kirk nor I have ever resorted to subterfuge to achieve a greater good.” Spock did not know if Plavius was personally acquainted with the incident decades ago when he and Kirk had committed espionage against another Romulan starship commander in order to steal an advanced cloaking device, but it would be foolish to pretend that Starfleet never engaged in such tactics. Honesty was required if he hoped to sway Plavius by building on the tentative rapport they had already established. “But I do not believe that to be the case here. Saavik lives, as do Cyloo and Taleb, and they are in urgent need of rescue.”
“And what convinces you of this?” Plavius asked.
“Saavik and I share a special bond, going back many years. Our minds have met, in the Vulcan sense.”
“I’ll wager they have!” Chorn grinned lewdly. “What sort of bond, exactly?”
“Curb yourself, Lieutenant!” Nawee scolded him. “Let Spock speak!”
Spock appreciated the Osori’s intervention. “Trust me when I say that I would know if Saavik had truly ceased to be, and was puzzled that I had not in fact sensed her passing.”
“Sensed? Believe?” Plavius said. “Hardly the most logical of arguments, Spock.”
“Acknowledged, but I have lived long enough to know that some things transcend logic. You asked me my opinion, and I tell you this message is genuine.”
Plavius nodded. “I too have learned to trust my instincts, particularly when it comes to matters of life and death.”
“Which means Cyloo could still be alive?” Nawee asked hopefully.
“That is my conviction,” Spock said.
Plavius turned toward Chorn. “And what do you think, Lieutenant? That communication seems to implicate your Doctor Kesh, suggesting that he was not truly Klingon at all. You alone have knowledge of this individual. Do you find these accusations credible?”
Chorn shrugged his mammoth shoulders. “Do I look in need of a physician’s services? I had few dealings with Kesh. Never gave him much thought, if you must know.” He stroked his fulsome beard. “But if he is responsible, then he cannot be a Klingon… because no true Klingon could ever be so dishonorable.” He crowed at his own brilliance and slapped Spock soundly on the back. “Flawless logic, correct?”
“Impeccable,” Spock said dryly.
“Commander!” Hepna appealed to Plavius. “Tell me you are not falling for this transparent ruse? What would the praetor think of relying on suspect intel from our foes?”
Plavius wheeled about to confront her.
“And if there is even a chance that Subcommander Taleb is alive and in desperate need of succor, and we fail to act accordingly? Do you wish to answer to his family for that? Or to the praetor?”
Her face paled. “No, sir!”
“I didn’t think so,” Plavius said.
B’Eleste was proving a tough sell.
“Kesh? You dare accuse my ship’s doctor of this heinous crime? It is your Saavik who obviously faked her death, in tandem with her Romulan partner, to steal the Osori from us, and who now seeks to shift the blame to Doctor Kesh.”
Kirk addressed her via the viewscreen, which she shared with Plavius, Nawee, and Spock. He couldn’t blame her for not wanting to believe her chief medical officer was responsible, despite what Saavik had managed to tell them.
“But even your own investigation discovered that various systems in your medbay had been tampered with. That was Kesh’s domain. Who else would have such ready access to and familiarity with those systems?”
“Have you forgotten? The medbay is where Saavik and Taleb assaulted the crewman assigned to watch over them. I have the sworn testimony of Sergeant Kulton himself.”
“I don’t know what happened there,” Kirk admitted. “It’s possible there was an altercation of some sort. It’s no secret that Klingons can be quick to defend their honor if they feel they have just cause and are not afraid to settle their differences with force. Is it that hard to imagine that a tense moment or argument came to blows? With a Klingon, a Romulan, and a Starfleet officer in the same room? Interview your sergeant again. Find out what if anything might have provoked a physical confrontation.”
Plavius spoke up. “As reluctant as I am to criticize my esteemed subcommander, it must be said that Taleb can be somewhat… proud… in bearing. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that some might take issue with his tone or manner.”
“Full of himself, is he?” McCoy said.
“A Klingon might find him so,” Plavius conceded.
“Sounds like a potentially explosive mixture to me,” Kirk said, “of the sort that could lead to people losing their tempers.” With Saavik perhaps intervening to shut down the fracas before it got out of hand? “And by Kulton’s own account of the incident, he was out cold when the pod was stolen and ultimately destroyed. We have only Saavik’s distress call, fragmentary as it is, to tell us what happened after Kulton was rendered unconscious.”
“And of course you rush to blame a Klingon to hide your own culpability.” B’Eleste glowered at Kirk. “No matter how absurd the scenario. Kesh kidnaps our guests, kills a fellow crewman, flees his own vessel? No Klingon would behave so dishonorably.”
“Indeed,” Spock said from the warbird. “Which, as your Lieutenant Chorn so sagely reasoned, supports Saavik’s assertion that Kesh is not actually a Klingon. And if Kesh is not a Klingon, then no dishonor attaches to the Empire in this affair… unless you fail to deal with the imposter who deceived you.”
“Do not school me on matters of honor, Vulcan,” B’Eleste said, although somewhat less forcefully than was typical of her. Furrows deepened on her impressively ridged forehead, suggesting that she was giving the situation serious thought. That Kesh might not be a Klingon would help the Empire save face. “A barely coherent message from a half-Romulan Starfleet officer is flimsy evidence, Kirk. You ask much if you expect me to accept it as proof that Kesh was a viper in disguise.”
“Never mind Kesh!” Gledii’s booming voice rang out. “What about Cyloo? You claimed, Captain B’Eleste, that she was under your protection. Does not your vaunted honor demand that you now help us recover her?”
“And Saavik and Taleb,” Kirk was quick to point out, “whose safety was also your responsibility. Surely fulfilling that obligation takes priority over a senseless battle that could cost the lives of the other two Osori, not to mention your observers aboard the Harrier and the Enterprise?”
B’Eleste growled unhappily. She snapped her painstik in half.
“If this is a hoax, Kirk…”
“Then you can have the glorious battle you’re itching for. Photon torpedoes, disruptor cannons, phasers, the whole nine yards. Fire away at us with everything you’ve got, no holds barred… if you discover you’ve been tricked. But waging war can wait. Our lost people can’t.”