“So be it, Mister Quinn,” T’Prynn said to the apartment door. With a final, protracted look at the unyielding barrier, she turned and walked away, leaving Quinn to his drink and his despair.
“You look tired, Admiral.”
Standing before the viewscreen in his office, his arms folded across his chest, Nogura released a sigh that he figured would serve only to confirm the observations of his visitor. Turning from the screen, upon which were displayed several status reports—none containing anything he might consider positive or heartening updates—Nogura directed his attention to Daniel Okagawa, presently a captain without a ship to command.
“I’m better off than some,” he said, moving away from the viewscreen. “I’m sorry about your people who were lost. I understand there will be a memorial service this evening?”
Okagawa nodded. “Yes, Admiral. I hope you can attend, and perhaps offer a few words.”
“Absolutely,” Nogura replied. “I think it’s the least I can do.”
“As tragic as their loss is,” Okagawa said, “their sacrifice saved everyone else aboard the Lovell.” His gaze shifted to the floor for a moment, and Nogura knew what the other man had to be thinking.
“I’m sorry about the Lovell,too,” Nogura added. “She was a tough little ship.” The sight of the vessel’s secondary hull, torn literally to pieces by the Shedai entity, had been unnerving to say the least. He was, in all honesty, stunned that the ship had suffered so few casualties. Two crew members, Ensigns Frances Porter and Bernd Perplies, were lost when the alien attacked the Lovell’s primary hull. It was a credit to Areav zh’Rhun and Kurt Davis, their unwavering leadership and poise under tremendous pressure and chaos, that the remainder of the Lovell’s complement had survived. As for the vessel itself, it was far beyond any reasonable hope of repair. Though its primary hull remained largely intact despite the Shedai’s best efforts, Starfleet had decided that restoration, which would have to include replacing the lost hull section and upgrading the vessel’s systems, was not worth the effort.
“You have no idea,” Okagawa replied. “She may not have been the slickest or best-looking, but she had heart.” He paused, and a small chuckle escaped his lips. “I’ll never forget the first time I saw her after my orders came through. She was six months off the scrap heap at Qualor II along with the other two Daedalus-class dinosaurs the Corps of Engineers had salvaged, and I was sure Command had to be yanking my chain.” A small smile teased the corners of his mouth. “And the crew. Every one of them is really something special.” Holding up a hand, he added, “I know, rare is the captain who says any member of his crew isn’t less than a stellar performer, but I’m particularly proud of my people.
“They took an old rust bucket that was already decades beyond its expected operational lifetime,” the proud captain continued, “and over the next year, they tore that thing practically down to the spaceframe before renovating, reconfiguring, or flat-out rebuilding every major system. And they did all that while we were carrying out our regular assignments, including a handful of missions that were anything but routine.” When he smiled this time, it was an expression of unabashed smugness. “The Lovellmay not have been much to look at, and she was a long way behind the sleeker, more modern ships Starfleet has these days, but she never let me down—not once.” With another faint smile, he leaned back in his chair. “I’m going to miss that old girl.”
“It’s a shame she can’t be salvaged,” Nogura said, glancing at the viewscreen and one of the reports it displayed—a briefing submitted by Captain Okagawa on the Lovell’s condition and status of its personnel. With the vessel no longer serviceable, its contingent of specialists from the Corps of Engineers would be assigned to another ship, and the rest of the crew would probably receive orders to other starships or stations throughout Starfleet. “I’ve informed Command that I’d like to keep at least some members of your crew on hand for a while, namely Commander alKhaled. He and Lieutenant Xiong make a good team, and if Xiong’s theory about the Shedai is right, we’re going to need all the help we can get.” His attention lingering on the viewscreen, Nogura’s gaze fell upon another report he had been disturbed to receive. “Especially if the Defiantdidn’t just get lost on its way home.”
“You haven’t heard anything new?” Okagawa asked.
Nogura shook his head. “They transmitted an encrypted message that said they had left the Traelus system and were being chased by Tholian ships. Captain Blair indicated he was setting an evasive course, and according to the star charts of that area, he took the Defiantinto territory we haven’t yet investigated. Who the hell knows what might be there?” During his many years of Starfleet service, Nogura had come to understand and accept that whenever he saw what he thought was the most startling revelation the universe had to offer, the universe would find a way to show him something even more remarkable. “Well, it won’t remain unsurveyed for long; I’ve already asked Starfleet for a ship that I can send to look for the Defiant.” He had been reluctant to do so, given the classified nature of Operation Vanguard, but with the Endeavourstill on patrol and more than a month away and the Sagittariuspreparing for its critical mission to the Eremar system, Nogura had been left with no other choice. Thankfully, there were one or two vessels whose captains were briefed into Starbase 47’s top-secret mission, at least to varying degrees. Starfleet, understanding this, had dispatched the Enterpriseto the Taurus Reach, and according to its captain the vessel was expected to reach the area of the Defiant’s last known position in three weeks.
Leaning forward in his chair, Okagawa rested his elbows on his knees. “Is it possible they’ve found a place to hide and they’ve just gone quiet, to reduce the chances of detection?”
“Maybe,” Nogura conceded. He had waited for forty-eight hours from the time of Captain Blair’s last message before declaring the Defiantmissing in action, but he refused to change that status to “presumed lost” until such time as the Enterprisecompleted its search operation.
Of course, while ascertaining the Defiant’s fate was important, Nogura had another pressing concern. “Whatever they found on Traelus II, it’s obviously something the Tholians don’t want anyone to know about, particularly the Klingons.”
Okagawa frowned. “Do we have anything more on what he was talking about?”
“Blair didn’t go into specifics in his messages,” Nogura replied, “but we can gather that he was talking about some kind of weapon, which the Tholians apparently used on the Klingon colony on Traelus II. If the Tholians wiped out that colony, then the Klingons will want payback.” The Traelus system was close enough to Tholian territory that an imperial presence on the second planet had caused the Tholian government to launch a flurry of protests in the wake of the Klingon colonists’ taking up residence there. It was but one of several aggressive actions the Empire had undertaken since first venturing into the Taurus Reach, to which the Tholians also had objected. Tensions between the two governments had only worsened during the past two years, with both sides becoming ever bolder toward one another, and Nogura was resigned to the inevitable confrontation he was sure would soon erupt. In his mind, it was not a question of if, but rather when. Of course, if the Tholians also were behind whatever fate had befallen the Defiant,then the Federation would find themselves with few options so far as confronting the Assembly was concerned.
And won’t that be grand.