Now that things had become even more complicated with the loss of Zhao Sheng, Reyes needed another shipmaster that he could trust implicitly, particularly in light of some of the decisions he was about to make.
For the moment, that person—whether or not he wanted that responsibility—was Captain Daniel Okagawa.
I wonder what he’ll have to say about that?
“With all due respect, sir,” the Lovell’s captain said as he stood next to Reyes outside the Vault, which they had just exited, “what the hell am I doing here?”
Compared with the commodore, Okagawa was a small man. Still, he possessed a stocky, toned physique, the set of his shoulders and their proportion to his waist suggesting that the captain’s preferred method of exercise might be swimming or perhaps gymnastics. Though he was comparable in age to Reyes, his close-cropped black hair featured a liberal peppering of pale gray, which when coupled with the wrinkles around his eyes and across his forehead only served to enhance his air of dignity and grace.
Reyes offered the captain a tired smile. Not exactly what I was expecting, but close enough. He said nothing as the section of bulkhead slid back into place, concealing the innocuous pair of red doors and the room behind them and restoring the otherwise nondescript office—located in the depths of the station’s cargo decks—to an illusion of normalcy. Once more, the Vault and its reclusive denizens were tucked away, safe from any prying eyes.
“I’ll be honest with you, Dan,” Reyes said as he took a seat behind the empty gray desk that was the office’s most prominent piece of furniture. He gestured for Okagawa to take the room’s only other chair. “You weren’t my first choice. I know your crew isn’t suited for this kind of thing, but if I have to bring a vessel in here temporarily for some of the things I need done, I wanted someone who already has an idea of what the hell’s going on out here.”
After detailing Farber to get with the Lovell’s chief engineer and ensure that any supply or maintenance requisitions and wish lists were filled in order to have the ship ready for departure within seventy-two hours, and having Cooper coordinate with its first officer to handle any outstanding personnel issues regarding the vessel’s assignment to the station, Reyes was left only with the duty of briefing Okagawa about the role of his ship and crew with respect to Vanguard’s mission. While the captain had accepted the need for the range of duties for which the Lovellwould be responsible during its short-term tenure with the station, it was the additional, covert tasks with which the captain had understandably taken issue.
It had been easy for Reyes to connect the dots between the handful of planets scattered throughout the Taurus Reach where samples of the meta-genome as well as remnants of the peculiar alien architecture had been discovered. For his part, Okagawa had taken the revelations in stride. A Starfleet veteran for nearly as long as Reyes himself, the man had doubtless been witness to all manner of bizarre phenomena during the decades he had spent in space. Still, that did not prevent the captain from appreciating the scope of the situation.
“I can imagine your frustration, Commodore,” Okagawa said as he settled into the chair. “So many questions, so many uncertainties. I’m no geneticist, but even I can grasp the implications of what you’ve found here. Learning who or what’s responsible for the meta-genome might change our understanding of life and evolution at a fundamental level, and if this is the result of some kind of artificial genetic engineering, who knows what else those responsible were capable of.”
Reyes nodded, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “The Klingons are already prowling around the Taurus Reach, trying to figure out why the Federation finds this region so interesting. As unhappy as the Tholians are about us being here, they’re even more worked up over the Klingons. We’re a heartbeat away from interstellar war. The only question left unanswered is who the players will be.”
“How in the name of hell does Starfleet expect you to keep a lid on all of this?” Okagawa asked. “You’ve got a station full of people who think they’re supporting colonization and exploration initiatives. Starship crews are running back and forth across space, looking for clues and conducting research with no real idea about what they’re looking for. Only a handful of people even know the truth, and most of them are locked away in that dungeon you’ve constructed.” He indicated the Vault, the entrance to which was once again secreted behind its unexceptional bulkhead. “Speaking of which, that Dr. Gek and his gaggle don’t strike me as the kind of people who get out much.”
Despite himself, Reyes laughed at the captain’s observation. “So far as security goes, they’re the easiest ones to keep a handle on. I’d have to check access logs to be sure, but I don’t think they’ve come out of there since the station came online.”
“Well,” Okagawa said, “I suppose there’s plenty in there to keep them entertained.” His own expression faltered a bit, the small smile he had sported melting away. “What I don’t understand is why you told me this much if I’m here for only a short time. Surely you could have assigned me to missions that didn’t require me having all of this information.” He indicated the wall next to Reyes and the secrets hidden behind it with a wave of his hand. “Given the security surrounding this operation, I’d think Starfleet would have your head for revealing too much to those without a specific need to know.”
Reyes shrugged. “Maybe they will, but I don’t care.” While he agreed in principle with the idea of maintaining strict secrecy of Vanguard’s true purpose, the fact was that keeping that secret had already cost far too many lives for the commodore’s taste. Though he would continue to observe the security of the mission so far as he was able, he would never again allow that secret to stand in the way of safeguarding the people under his command.
That decision also had extended to including Ezekiel Fisher into the small cadre of people with whom he had entrusted this information. It was an unexpected turn of events, coming after the station’s computer had alerted T’Prynn and Reyes to the doctor’s research in relation to the autopsy he was performing on the Denobulan scientist brought back from Erilon. The discovery of meta-genome traces within the wound inflicted on the corpse had opened up an entire new arena of investigation, and while Fisher was not the ideal candidate to conduct that investigation, he was the most qualified person at Reyes’s disposal, to say nothing of the commodore’s utmost trust in his old friend.
Not that it’ll stop Starfleet Command from firing a photon torpedo up my ass.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Reyes continued, “I trust you’ll inform only those members of your crew who absolutely need to know the truth, and even then just enough to accomplish the tasks I’ll set for you while protecting your people. As for Starfleet”—he waved a hand as if dismissing any concern he might have over defying the strict orders he had been given upon first receiving his assignment as commander of the station—“leave them to me. That’s what commodores are for.”
Now it was Okagawa’s turn to offer a small chuckle. “Okay,” he said, “so what is it you want me to do?”
Leaning forward until he could rest his elbows on the top of the barren desk, Reyes replied, “You’re going back to Erilon. I want to know what attacked the outpost, and if or how it’s connected to what’s there.” For the sake of official Starfleet inquiries, he already had addressed the deaths of the Corps of Engineers team as well as Captain Zhao and members of the Endeavour’s crew—an action that had left a sour taste in his mouth that refused to dissipate—but of course that was not nearly enough.