“He requested sanctuary aboard that Orion ship,” Nogura countered. “He gave the Klingons everything they needed to launch a mission of espionage and sabotage against us.”

Nodding, the Vulcan replied, “Indeed he did, sir, but as he told Mister Pennington, the Klingons were going to conduct such an operation with or without his assistance. According to him, Reyes only provided information essential to allowing the Klingon-contracted operative the access he needed to carry out his mission with a minimum of collateral damage.”

Though he started to retort, Nogura stopped himself and instead considered what he had just heard. Was it possible that Diego Reyes, faced with the possibility of watching helplessly as any number of the personnel he once commanded suffered injury or death at Klingon hands, had chosen the lesser evil, sacrificing any hope for his own freedom and perhaps even his life? Of course, the admiral conceded, but Starfleet and he were a long way from making such a determination. Doing so would require access to Reyes himself.

As though reading Nogura’s mind, Jackson asked, “Does this mean we can think about staging an operation to go in and get him?”

Ch’Nayla turned to regard the security chief, his antennae shifting atop his head. “That would not be prudent.”

“It also wouldn’t be legal,” Moyer added. “Admiral, we’ve been over this. Any attempt to extradite Diego by force would be tantamount to an act of war against the Orions.”

Nogura could not help a snort of derision. “Given everything I know about the Orions, they’ll bend over backwards to avoid an all-out confrontation with the Federation. They’re just as liable to view any ‘disagreements’ we have with Neera and Ganz as the cost of doing business, and cut their losses.” In his experience, such decisions were the norm more often than not for the Orion central government, such as it was. The small, independent state relied heavily on trade with Federation as well as nonaligned worlds, and to a lesser degree with the Klingons, the Tholians, and other upstart adversaries of the major interstellar powers. Nogura was confident that any incident involving a lowly merchant gaming ship—which may or may not be involved in any manner of illicit activities—would suffer only brief, superficial scrutiny before being forgotten in the interests of preserving the faзade of peaceful relations with the Federation.

“That may be true, sir,” Moyer replied, nodding, “but you’d still be taking a big risk. Going by the book, a court-martial wouldn’t be out of the question.”

Releasing a small chuckle, Nogura said, “Commander, you don’t get to my position and standing in Starfleet without ruffling several sets of feathers along the way. I’ve been threatened with court-martial no less than a dozen times during my career. So far, there have been no takers.” Of course, the duties with which he currently was charged, and the secrets he was responsible for keeping, far outweighed anything he had overseen during his years of service. “Still, your advice and warnings are sound. We will continue to tread carefully.” For how long, Nogura was not certain.

“Admiral,” ch’Nayla said, “there may be another avenue available to us.” He then turned and gestured toward T’Prynn.

The Vulcan stepped closer. “While Mister Pennington’s original intentions for visiting the Omari-Ekon were legitimate, in that he hoped to meet with Mister Reyes, I co-opted his excursion to the vessel for another purpose. I asked him to relay a specific phrase that was agreed upon by Mister Reyes and myself as a means of determining whether he was agreeable to undertake certain actions on our behalf. Based on his response, he has indicated his willingness to do so.”

“You mean spy?” Moyer said, making no effort to hide her disbelief. “For you?”

Nodding, ch’Nayla said, “T’Prynn enlisted Mister Pennington’s assistance with my authorization, Commander. It seemed an idea worth exploring, and Mister Reyes’s consent does afford us a singular opportunity.”

“How in the hell did you get a message to him in the first place?” Jackson asked. “I mean, before his meeting with Pennington.”

T’Prynn said, “I exploited a vulnerability in their subspace communications system in order to contact Reyes via the communications panel in his quarters aboard the Omari-Ekon.”

“They let him have access to the comm system?” Nogura asked.

“It was deactivated and a lockout had been placed on it,” T’Prynn replied. “However, that is not an obstacle to someone trained in the circumventing of such measures. I was able to forge an access code long enough for me to have a brief conversation with Mister Reyes. We used this opportunity to set up a means of initiating covert information exchange through the use of gobetweens to be identified at a later time. Our entire conversation lasted less than two minutes.”

Nogura pondered what he was hearing, before allowing himself a small smile. “There seems to be no end to your talents, Lieutenant.” He had at first been reluctant to grant Commander ch’Nayla’s request to retain T’Prynn’s services and give her an active role in the Andorian officer’s ongoing intelligence efforts. Despite his initial misgivings, there was no discounting T’Prynn’s skills, and her knowledge of the key players not only on the station but also on vessels like the Omari-Ekon made her a valuable asset. Regulations had required Nogura to mete out punishment and demote her for her disobedience and flouting of Starfleet regulations and protocols. He naturally wondered—if only for a moment—if T’Prynn might cast aside the logic and maturity expected from a Vulcan of her years and seek retribution for her conviction, either against him directly or against the station and its crew. Her own actions, even while acting as a fugitive from Starfleet authority, along with his own instincts, told the admiral that her engaging in any sort of traitorous behavior was an unlikely scenario. By all accounts, official and otherwise, Lieutenant T’Prynn had presented herself as someone for whom the past had been put to rest, and that she was ready to get on with whatever duties she might be assigned. For now, and while operating under ch’Nayla’s watchful eye, Nogura was willing to let things play out. “I’m sensing this contact method of yours was of the single-use variety?” he asked.

“That’s correct, Admiral,” T’Prynn replied. “I was unable to mask my entry into the system. Instead, I made the illicit communication appear as though it was initiated by one of Ganz’s lower-level enforcers to a discreet contact off the ship. According to unconfirmed reports, that person is no longer in Ganz’s employ.”

Frowning, Moyer asked, “Are you saying you set up one of Ganz’s men to take the fall for your espionage?”

“I’m saying I deflected attention from Mister Reyes,” T’Prynn replied, “thereby preserving his safety for at least a while longer. How long the status quo is maintained will depend entirely on his actions as well as our own.”

Though she clearly was uncomfortable with the harsh yet unspoken reality of the likely consequences of T’Prynn’s subterfuge, Moyer’s only other reaction to the Vulcan’s revelation was to draw a deep breath before asking, “What is it that he’s supposed to be doing?”

“We need to know where Ganz obtained the Mirdonyae Artifact he gave us,” ch’Nayla said. “The only way to get that information is to access the Omari-Ekon’s navigational logs.”

A silence fell over the room, during which Nogura leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands before him and touching his forefingers to his lips. “Interesting,” he said after a moment. As incredible as it had been to discover that Diego Reyes had somehow parlayed his way to sanctuary aboard the Orion’s ship, learning that Ganz also had in his possession a twin to the enigmatic object Ming Xiong had brought back with him from Mirdonyae V was something else altogether. While there appeared to be no evidence that the merchant prince had the slightest notion of the artifact’s origin or purpose, or how it fit into the complex tapestry that was mystery of the Shedai, Ganz was no fool. Rather, Neera, Ganz’s superior, was no fool. Even without specific knowledge of the artifact itself, she comprehended its value to Starfleet and to Nogura in particular. That, along with the possibility of somehow repatriating Reyes, was the primary reason the admiral had returned the Omari-Ekon’s station docking privileges.