In response, the Orion bent closer to him and whispered in his ear, “The best selections aren’t on the menu, you know.”

Despite himself, Reyes could not help clearing his throat as he once more forced a smile. “Well, that’s certainly something to think about.”

When the server left to see to other customers, Reyes blinked and exhaled audibly. The effects of Orion women on male humanoids were legendary, but certainly not fictitious. It had been a concern of his since first stepping aboard Ganz’s vessel, knowing that the merchant prince would use every means at his disposal to trip him up and force him to reveal valuable information or otherwise compromise himself. The women were part of that equation, and while he figured a few of the solicitation attempts he had received were no more than those extended to other patrons of the Omari-Ekon’s various “services,” he was certain Ganz and Neera were behind most of the attention being paid to him. For all he knew, his server was at this moment reporting to a superior whatever she might have seen or overheard while at or near his table.

Moving his arm, he noted that a series of messages now appeared on the screen’s inset window. The text was some variant of written Orion—he could not identify the variant—and none of it made any sense to him. “Are you seeing this?”

“Yes,” T’Prynn replied. “It is a standard message for accessing the subnet. We have exited the gaming subsystem and are now in a direct path to the central computer, using a utility program normally used by software technicians for maintenance purposes. Such programs are not normally subjected to intense scrutiny, due to their very nature and the need to have full access to the computer’s operating system and application software.”

The last thing Reyes needed at the moment was a computer technology lecture. Sighing, he reached for his drink and was ready to down a large swallow when he stopped himself. Paranoia was starting to kick in, and he wondered if the glass in his hand might contain something other than brandy.

“Okay, I’m really wanting to get out of here now,” he said, placing the drink back on the table. Following T’Prynn’s instructions, Reyes entered another string of commands and watched as a block of indecipherable text began to scroll within the small window. Unlike the first set of data, he was not certain what he now saw was even rendered in Orion text. “What is that?”

“I do not know,” T’Prynn replied.

His feelings of anxiety beginning to escalate, Reyes tried to appear casual as he cast another furtive glance about the bar. “What do you mean, you don’t know?” he asked, catching himself as he realized he had vocalized the question at a volume slightly louder than the whisper he had been using. It was all but impossible to shake the nagging sensation that everyone in the room was watching him and knew exactly what he was doing. He forced himself to remain seated at his table when every instinct was screaming at him to run. For a moment, he imagined a hot ache between his shoulder blades, as though someone were aiming a disruptor at his back, and tried to convince himself that the heavy boots he heard thudding against the deck did not belong to one of Ganz’s goons, marching their way toward him.

Her voice retaining its usual calm, quiet, and controlled tone, T’Prynn said, “We have entered an area of the system which appears to be using some form of language override protocols for its user interfaces. Standard translation subroutines are being rendered ineffective, and the native language being employed is not one I recognize.”

“Can you run it through the universal translation program on the station’s computer?” Reyes asked.

“I can,” the Vulcan replied, “but not directly. I have copied some of the information to my workstation and I am having it analyzed. It looks to be an obscure Orion dialect which has fallen out of common use. According to the library computer, it was utilized between three and four hundred years ago, mostly by a sect of Orion migrants who founded a colony in the—”

Reyes grunted in growing irritation. “I don’t care, T’Prynn. What can you do about translating it so we can get on with this?” As an additional protective measure complementing the computer system’s existing security protocols, the language trick was elegant in its simplicity. Reyes did not figure on Ganz possessing the level of ingenuity needed to put such a scheme into play. Neera was likely the culprit.

“At this time? Nothing,” T’Prynn said. “It would take too long for me to translate the information we access in this manner so that I can guide you through each successive step of the operation. What is required is a real-time translation protocol which you can use directly.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Reyes hissed, his feelings of exposure mounting with each passing moment. “Are you saying all of this was a waste of time?”

T’Prynn replied, “Our efforts have yielded important information with regard to the Omari-Ekon’s computer security features. This will aid in refining our infiltration strategy and better enable us to conceal our presence in the system.”

“What the hell is this all about, T’Prynn?” he asked. “What’s so damned important that we have to jump through these hoops?”

“I cannot elaborate as to the nature of the data,” the Vulcan replied, “but I can tell you that it involves the Shedai, and locating a world which might possess technology capable of defeating them. We believe Ganz’s ship, or a ship in his employ, either traveled to this world or obtained artifacts from it.”

“The orb,” Reyes whispered.

T’Prynn said, “That is correct. So, you should now understand the delicate and pressing nature of our assignment.”

Following her instructions, Reyes backed out of the system subnet, terminating the interface and returning the gaming console to its normal state. For good measure, he placed a bet and forced himself to play two hands of poker without acknowledging T’Prynn’s queries, in full view of anyone who happened past his table. Satisfied that no one was going to walk up and jam the muzzle of a disruptor in his face, he closed out the gaming session and reached for the drink he had almost forgotten. He eyed the liquid and weighed his chances of surviving whatever toxic substance might have been added to the brandy.

Take your best shot, Ganz, he mused before tossing back his head and downing the drink in a single swallow. He relished the burn of the brandy as it made its way down his throat, grunting in momentary satisfaction as the liquid hit his stomach. If he was going to die, there certainly were worse ways to go.

“Mister Reyes,” T’Prynn called, for the eighth or ninth time.

“Listen,” he said as he placed the now empty glass on the table, “given the likelihood that I’ll be dead by this time tomorrow, why don’t you just call me Diego?”

There was a brief pause before the intelligence officer replied, “Diego, my scans indicate that our efforts escaped detection.”

“Lucky us,” Reyes said. “Now what?” He figured that whatever T’Prynn was planning as a countermeasure to the security they had detected in the system would require time to implement before they could attempt another covert access of the Omari-Ekon’s computer. This assumed, of course, that such a scheme could be devised at all.

It may have been his imagination, but Reyes swore he heard the indecision in the Vulcan’s voice when she offered her answer.

“Stand by. I will contact you shortly.”

14

Standing before the large viewscreen that dominated his office’s port-side bulkhead, Admiral Nogura studied the image of open space presented to him. Doing so had always served to relax him, as he was able to lose himself—if only for a moment—amid the immense, absolute wonder that was the universe. How many stars were visible just in his field of vision at this exact moment, and how many of them had already died out, millions of years before their light reached him? Beholding such a vista never failed to remind Nogura just how insignificant he was in the grand scheme of all that surrounded him, and yet it also never ceased to energize him as he considered its vast, untapped potential. In the centuries to come, the boundaries of knowledge would push outward to encompass those stars, and still others beyond them, and what would be found? The very question filled Nogura with yearning, and even a small bit of envy for those who would be making such journeys long after he was gone.