As if on cue, the two carved doors which lead into the corridor swung open, and Thea stepped quickly into the room. Dressed now in casual Romulan attire, her face seemed brighter, and even Spock could not deny the fact that she was indeed compelling.

He turned away from the thought, taking a step closer as he attempted to dismiss the uneasiness which had become his constant companion.

With a nod of her head, Thea moved to stand directly in front of the Vulcan, surveying the soft brown tunic he now wore. The robes were draped neatly over the chair at the desk, and she glanced at the black reminders of responsibility only briefly.

"Tonight we shall alter the course of two entire civilizations, Spock," she stated almost to herself. She continued observing him in silence for a moment. "I regret that it was necessary to deceive you into this scheme," she continued at last. "But … since you must realize that escape from the palace is impossible, can you not acknowledge that there areother alternatives?" She paused, then went to sit on the end of the tufted sofa. "Stay with me," she said as casually as if asking nothing more important than the time of day. "After tonight—with the governors acknowledging you as Praetor—there will be nothing we cannot do."

Spock's eyes closed; and despite the personal approach, he nonetheless wondered if she was attempting to bait him. "You know that I cannot stay, Thea," he stated. But he noticed that he'd automatically gone to sit by her side. "What we both areforbids me to make any other decision—and you have already stated that forevers are not discussed in this Empire."

Biting her lower lip, Thea laughed gently … almost sarcastically. "Then we are still nothing more than enemies," she deduced. "Nothing more than two opposing factions, each sworn to our separate duty. Is that all?" But she shook her head. "No, don't answer that. Neither of us needs to hear what is already obvious, what is written in your eyes." She hesitated for a moment, her tone becoming more professional as she spoke again. "I know that you are not foolish, Spock. And I would be deluding myself to believe that you are not aware of what has happened in this universe." She glanced away, her eyes distant and unreadable.

The Vulcan remained silent, then raised one brow. "I am aware of the time displacement," he confessed.

Thea nodded to herself. "I saw your plans in your mind while you slept, Spock," she informed him, steeling herself. "But suppose you should fail in this unspoken plan to steal a ship and attempt to correct the damage? Are you aware that your success in that undertaking would result in your own destruction?"

"I am aware of the consequences," Spock stated levelly. Somehow, he wasn't surprised to learn that she'd second-guessed him once again.

"Are you?" Thea countered, suddenly angry. "Do you really understand? If you are successful in going back in time to prevent my operatives from altering the time-flow, you will be killing yourself! You are as much a part of thisuniverse nowas your alternate self is a part of the other. You cannot go back in time, destroy my operatives, and hope to simply step back into your alternate life! For if the time-flow is corrected—if First History is reinstated—the person you are in Second History will vanish!"

The Vulcan nodded once more. "I am prepared to accept that possibility." But it was a thought which had plagued him from the beginning. "However," he added, "should I choose my life as I know it nowover what I know to be correct, I am no less than a murderer. If I choose to stay with you and make no attempt to correct the damage which has been done, I condemn an entire universe to extinction."

Thea sighed deeply, leaning back on the sofa and resting her head against the Vulcan's unresponsive arm. "You will die," she stated simply, stressing each syllable in an effort to make herself believe it. "The moment you step back into time and stop the operatives from destroying the roots of the Federation, you will no longer exist. History will revert to what it was before—with you and I on opposite sides of a galaxy."

The Vulcan was silent for a long moment. "And if I proceed with your plan to present the Tenets of Discipline to the governors tonight, only to later go back in time and intervene in your operatives' mission, the Tenets will have limited effects at best. Had your advisers been more thorough in their investigation of the long-term effects of time alteration, they would have understood that the changes your operatives have caused cannot withstand the strain of the universe itself. Already, the minds of those born in Second History are seeking to return to their natural environment. Eventually, if something is not done to correct the damage, we will alldie, Thea." He paused thoughtfully. "The universe is not molecularly stable to the point of being able to tolerate the type of displacement which has resulted from your scheme to conquer the galaxy."

"My father'sscheme," Thea corrected, her tone tired and weary. She looked closely at the Vulcan, wondering if it was just another plot. But when she remembered what Tavor had said moments before, she felt the anxiety build in her stomach. "If what you are saying is true," she mused, "then you are dead either way." She paused, feeling the sting of truth in her own statement.

"There are alternatives to death," Spock pointed out, sensing her weariness. "And while I do not know what would occur should you choose that alternative, I assure you that it does exist."

Leaning forward on the couch, Thea allowed her eyes to meet the Vulcan's. "What is your alternative, Spock?" she wondered, already understanding that there was little she would not do to keep him alive, to keep him by her side.

"Join me," he returned without hesitation. "Since you are a product of First History, logic dictates that you can exist freely in either environment."

Turning away, the woman stood, took a few steps, then stopped. "Join you?" she repeated with a bitter laugh. "After everything I have done to bring you here, you ask me to join you in a plan which would mean your extinction?"

"You already know that the structure of this Second History universe cannot endure," the Vulcan countered, rising to stand directly behind the Praetor. "And even if you do not join me, it shall not matter within a few more days." He paused. "Ask your scientific advisers. Tell them to seek hypotheses from your computers. You will find that there are less than eight days remaining in which to correct this situation. If we do not act before then, it will be too late, Thea. The time-wound will heal; and we will all become trapped in a madness for which there is no cure."

"No!" Thea protested, whirling angrily about. "That is impossible!" But she knew it wasn't. "The people of Second History have no other memories! The people they are nowis all they know!" She clenched her eyes tightly shut.

"Hardly," the Vulcan stated calmly, grasping her by the shoulder and turning her to face him. "The science of the mind is a science not easily understood. It seems that thoughts and memories transcend even the dimensions between time or universes. And in your Empire and my Alliance, the minds of those from Second History will fold in on themselves. The mind will ultimately seek to re-create its native environment—even if the only manner to accomplish that would be permanent disassociation with thisreality. Everything will stop, Thea—all that you know." He made no effort to conceal the extent of his knowledge now; anything she wanted to know, Thea could doubtlessly attain through the link.