Troi recalled having read about a standoff between the leaders of two great rival nations on her father’s homeworld, an event that had occurred more than four centuries ago. These two powerful men had brought their respective countries to the very brink of nuclear annihilation before achieving a fragile compromise, that others later built into a durable, if imperfect, peace. Troi now sensed a similar tension growing between her husband and Praetor Tal’Aura; she could only hope that they would resolve it as successfully as had Earth’s ancient cold warriors.
Then, abruptly, Troi sensed the cloud of hostility and tension beginning to lift.
“This is only a temporary arrangement, you say?”Tal’Aura said, squaring her shoulders.
“Completely,” Will said, nodding. “We can negotiate a ‘date certain’ for a complete Klingon withdrawal. And, as General Khegh and Chancellor Martok himself have both pledged, the Reman-Klingon protectorate arrangement requires only a minimal Klingon military presence on Remus. The whole thing would only last until the Remans become self-sufficient, resource-wise. And their successful development of Ehrie’fvil would certainly bring that about, quickly.”
The Klingon protectorate would definitely have to end,Troi thought, once the Romulan military recovers enough strength to force the issue. And we can probably add to that a little friendly Starfleet persuasion—if the Klingons decide to overstay their welcome. Very neat.
“Praetor!”Tomalak said, protesting. “I cannot believe you would actually consid—”
“Kroiha!” she shouted, cutting him off. “You may approach Romulus, Captain Riker. You and I clearly need to have another face-to-face meeting.”
Will bowed his head respectfully, no longer displaying any of the puckish acerbity that he had used to get the praetor’s attention. “Whenever you wish, Praetor. My crew and I are at your disposal.”
“Just make sure that Khegh and Xiomek are prepared to discuss the details of this…arrangement.”
“And Durjik?”
“As you say, Captain, he should fall neatly into line now. Letme worry about him. I will contact you when we are ready to assemble.”
And with that, the images of Tal’Aura and Tomalak abruptly vanished from the screen. After brief farewells, Donatra and Xiomek did likewise.
Akaar and Spock stepped down into the command well, both regarding Will with obvious respect.
“Well played, Captain,” Akaar said.
“Indeed,” Spock said.
Will looked upward, studying the tall Capellan’s deeply lined face, which showed just the slightest hint of a smile.
“If you don’t mind my saying so, Admiral, you’ve been pretty silent through this whole business.”
Akaar raised an eyebrow in a curiously Vulcan manner. “Did you expect me to interfere, Captain? This is your mission, after all. I had faith that you would improvise a suitable solution. Had it been otherwise, Admiral Ross and I would have selected another captain and another crew.”
“Thank you, sir,” Will said. Troi was surprised to see him actually smile back at Akaar.
Will gets it now,she thought. He’s finally accepted that the admiral isn’t out to wreck his first command.
And that he’s not Kyle Riker.
“I think you may have overlooked something, Captain,” Vale said with a wry smile.
“And what’s that?” Will said.
“You didn’t invite the Tal Shiar to our little teleconference.”
“Somehow I think they’ll get the message,” Troi said. “It’s what they do, after all.”
“And why didn’t we hear directly from Suran?” Vale wanted to know.
Troi thought that was a good question. And possibly also an unanswerable one. Were Donatra and Suran really in complete agreement about how best to handle Praetor Tal’Aura and the Remans? She recalled having sensed some discord between them during that first meeting in Ki Baratan.
“Maybe the new Klingon-Reman arrangement will keep the peace between Donatra and Suran the same way Tal’Aura expects it to keep Durjik in line,” Troi said. “But I think we can let Donatra worry about that for the moment.”
“Exactly,” Will said, clearly not in the mood right now to find dark clouds inside his silver linings. There would be plenty of time later for that. For now, there was a real prospect for peace. Tenuous and balanced on a knife’s edge, to be sure, but also substantial enough to offer a genuine cause for hope.
Chapter Twenty-three
U.S.S. TITAN,STARDATE 57020.5
In spite of himself, Riker felt he was the least of the three people present in his ready room, now that the crisis had been averted. Akaar and Spock sat on the other side of the desk from him, discussing the resolution of the immediate Romulan-Reman conflict, and what was to come next. They all knew that what they had done today was merely a stopgap measure. But now the way was clear for the Federation to send in specialists from the Diplomatic Corps to help work out the fine details of the Klingon administration of a Reman protectorate. Riker was well aware that the deal he and Spock had brokered between the Klingons and the Remans might have unpredictable consequences down the road.
For the moment, the result was peace, however fragile it might be. And that was infinitely preferable to the alternative.
“Admiral, do you think you could see your way clear to allow Ambassador Spock to return to his work with the Unification movement and the Remans?” Riker asked, posing the question that he felt was the elephant in the room that Akaar had so far ignored.
Seated in the tall chair before Riker’s desk, Akaar regarded him with a testy expression. “You are fully aware of the Federation Council’s wishes, Captain.”
“As am I, Admiral,” Spock said calmly, looking Akaar in the eye. The ambassador was sitting, hands folded in his lap, in one of the ready room’s other “visitor” chairs.
Riker knew well that Spock was fully capable of defying authority if the stakes were high enough. Spock’s hijacking of one of the earliest starships named Enterpriseto the forbidden world of Talos IV, and his subsequent acquittal by a Starfleet court martial, were common knowledge. Therefore Riker could empathize with the respectful yet wary expression he saw on Akaar’s lined face.
“I believe that I shallreturn to Earth to meet with President Bacco and the Federation Council,” Spock continued. “Such was my plan prior to the upheavals caused by Shinzon, after all.”
“But what about your ongoing Unification work on Romulus?” Riker asked. “Commander Tuvok tells me that when he first tracked you down, you weren’t willing to leave Romulus, even for a short time.”
“Given the presently changing fortunes of the Romulan Star Empire, logic dictates that workable solutions will require expansive minds. Perhaps my views will be seen as expansive.”
“But what if the president or the council tries to keep you from going back to Romulus?” Akaar asked.
“I have returned to Earth on more than one occasion since I began my association with the Romulan dissident movement. Federation authorities have never attempted to interdict me.”
“But suppose they decide to do it thistime?” Akaar asked. “Do you plan to return to Romulus afterward, regardless of whatever the council or President Bacco decides?”
Spock put his hands in front of his face and steepled his fingers against his lips. “My mission is infinitely more complex and dangerous than it ever was before, Leonard. Where once my task was to reunite the Romulan and Vulcan cultures via the logical teachings of Surak, I must now do so while helping the Romulans and Remans overcome their long-standing mutual hatreds. To adopt the ways of Surak, the removal of hatred is a necessary first step.”