“Then we’re all in agreement,” the admiral said. “Time to bring our people home.” He walked to his desk as he added, “Lieutenant T’Prynn, get word to the Endeavour, and take every precaution to keep the contents of that message encrypted.”

“Aye, sir.” The Vulcan turned to leave, Nogura sat down in his chair, and Xiong stood alone in front of the star map, feeling as if he must have missed something.

“Hang on. What about warning the Sagittarius? That’s our first priority, right?”

Nogura’s face slackened, and with a look he delegated the task of answering Xiong to T’Prynn. “We have no means of warning the Sagittarius crew,” she said. “Even if they hadn’t been ordered to maintain subspace radio silence for the duration of their assignment, their flight plan indicates their destination lies inside the emission axis of a pulsar. Until they’re clear of that high-energy phenomenon, we will be unable to reach them via subspace radio.”

“In other words,” Xiong said, “they’re deaf, dumb, and blind, and they have no idea what’s about to hit them.”

T’Prynn averted her eyes from Xiong’s. “Correct.”

Too angry to respond, Xiong headed for the door and hoped his friends’ homecoming wouldn’t be in the form of a memorial service.

13

Vivid hues of patriotism coursed through the communal thoughtspace SubLink of the Tholian battle cruiser Toj’k Tholis, and its commanding officer, Tarskene [The Sallow] telepathically shared his own colors of confidence with his crew. As the leaders of the attack group that had been dispatched to rid the galaxy of a dangerous abomination, it was absolutely essential that he and his crew project unity and assurance to their caste-peers on the other ships of their fleet. At the moment of action, he could brook no hesitation, no dissent. All must act as one.

Brightening his mind-line to convey an aura of authority, he inquired of tactical officer Lostrene [The Sapphire], Range to target?

Lostrene momentarily attuned herself to the ship’s sensing units, then she responded, Six-point-three-one million and closing. She relayed to the SubLink a kaleidoscopic array of images she had witnessed through the ship’s systems—an irregular network of artificial objects in a stationary formation around the pulsar, and a connective web of energies linking them all to one node that lay directly in the path of the neutron star’s radiation emissions.

According to intelligence sold to the Tholian Assembly by the now-deceased Orion merchant-princess Neera, that central node was their target—the source of the mysterious artifact she and her people had bartered to Starfleet in exchange for temporary safe haven at Vanguard, and which the Starfleet scientists allegedly had used to snare and yoke a Shedai to their will—until, predictably, the entity escaped in a fury of blood and flames, destroying their engineering vessel Lovell in the process. There were unconfirmed reports that there might be another such artifact on Vanguard, but Tarskene could not concern himself with that just yet. Studying the reports that Lostrene had shared, it appeared that all the other details of Neera’s report had been confirmed by the sensing units, and this pleased him. It meant the victorious completion of his mission was imminent.

The tactical officer’s mind-line darkened with shades of concern. The Starfleet vessel Endeavour remains on an intercept course, she warned.

Ignore them, Tarskene commanded, overpowering Lostrene’s muted alarm with a flare of courage. Arm all weapons and stand by to lock them on target as soon as we are in range.

Disregarding the Starfleet heavy cruiser was a calculated risk. It had been trailing the fleet ever since they crossed the border but had not yet given any indication that it meant to attack. It was Tarskene’s belief that the Endeavour’s commander was merely playing a futile game, harassing the fleet in the hope of intimidating Tarskene into abandoning his mission. That was not an outcome he would permit. At any cost, the Tkon artifacts had to be destroyed. And if the Starfleet vessel attempted to interfere in any way, his orders were to destroy it with prejudice.

Another shadow dulled the perfection of the SubLink. Tarskene opened his mind-line and sought out the lone voice of discontent. He was surprised to find its source was his first officer, Kezthene [The Gray]. In their many cycles of service together, she had never before challenged one of his priority directives. Crimson and violet tainted Tarskene’s thought-colors, revealing his irritation with his second-in-command. He sequestered her thoughts with his inside a private SubLink so that their conflict would not agitate the rest of the crew. Why do you resist unity?

The first officer’s thoughts coruscated with confusion. We have insufficient information to justify this action, she protested. The Orion’s intelligence specified neither the nature of her discovery nor what use it might be to the Federation. A military response seems premature.

Irrelevant! Tarskene’s fury turned his thoughts black. We have our orders.

Kezthene summoned the image from the sensing units. The platforms orbiting the pulsar represent an unknown technology. They should be studied, not destroyed.

He flooded her mind with facets of his memory. Heated debates among the members of the Elite Political Caste on Tholia. Moments of conflict against the Klingon and Federation interlopers. Worlds shattered, turned into clouds of debris. The message of his psionic montage was clear: this mission’s importance was more than strategic, it was existential. My directive from the Ruling Conclave is to destroy the source of those artifacts before Starfleet acquires any more of them. Their meddling with the Old Ones must be brought to an end.

Defiant hues coursed through Kezthene’s mind-line. What if the Federation is using the artifacts as weapons against the Shedai? Should we not consider doing the same? We could at least try to capture one of the Tkon devices for analysis.

Absolutely not, Tarskene fumed. Those objects were made to imprison the Shedai, but no trap can hold the Old Ones forever. Such a risk must never be permitted on a Tholian world. For the good of the Great Castemoot, we must destroy those objects before the Federation’s deluded scientists make the mistake of using them. Infusing his mind-line with the brilliant luminance of the command caste, he asserted his absolute authority. Will you join the crew in harmony?

Kezthene’s aura flickered briefly, telegraphing her uncertainty, but then her mind-line resolved into a steady pale hue of compliance. I will attune myself with the others.

Tarskene released her from the private SubLink, and she was true to her pledge. She calmed her thought-colors and synchronized them with his own. Together they guided the ship’s communal thoughtspace to a uniform golden radiance. Firm and resolute, they were of one mind, one purpose. Within moments their harmony spread to the other ships of the fleet, and then Tarskene knew they all were ready to enact the will of the Ruling Conclave.

Lostrene quelled a pulsing alert from the sensing units. The Starfleet vessel is receiving a transmission from the starbase, she advised. I am unable to decrypt it.

It is of no consequence, Tarskene assured her, and the others as well. Charge all weapons to maximum, and let me know the moment we reach optimal firing distance from the target.

Khatami reeled in dismay from the news Admiral Nogura had just delivered to her over the encrypted subspace channel. “Are you saying the Sagittarius is on . . . whatever that thing is?”