“All right,” she said. “But that doesn’t explain our current heading. Can’t you see that moving deeper into Tholian territory is likely to spark a conflict with them?”
Sulu spread his hands. “Believe me, Ambassador, a conflict with the Tholians is the lastthing I want. But the Tholians are already in the midst of hostilities with somebody,and the future stability of the Federation-Tholian border may well depend on our learning everything we can about their new adversary. And I strongly suspect that Ambassador Kasrene was murdered because Mosrene caught her trying to help us do just that.”
“You can’t know that for sure.”
“Of course not,” Sulu said. “But that’s why I’ve put us on our present course. To find out for sure. In fact, I think that by being out here, we may actually stave off a conflict rather than ignite one. We might even find a way to help the Tholians defend themselves from whomever is attacking them.”
“This all sounds pretty far-fetched to me, Captain. And I don’t think Admiral Yilskene will buy it either, once he discovers what you’ve done.”
“With a little luck, he won’t. Not until after we’re in a position to evaluate the tactical situation on the far Tholian border well enough for Starfleet to draft a practical plan to assist the Tholians. But the longer it takes us to do that, the more Tholian lives will be lost. Believe me, Ambassador, this is for the best.”
Burgess suddenly grew more intense, her icy politeness melted away by a fumarole of outrage. “Don’t you understand? The Tholian Assembly has an extremely rules-oriented culture. You have no business entering their space without [121] their express permission. Even if your stated intention is to aid the Tholians against some new foe, your actions still risk destroying anyhope of creating trust between their government and the Federation.”
“Only if we’re caught,” Sulu said, holding up his index finger as if making a point. “And we’re doing our best to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Burgess paused, then sighed in frustration. “I should have expected something like this from you, Captain.”
“Why?” Sulu asked.
“Because I researched your participation in the Khitomer affair of five years ago. You broke more than a few rules then, too, and only a happy outcome saved you from getting severely dressed down by Starfleet’s brass hats.”
Tuvok recalled that occasion with crystal clarity. He had been on Excelsior’sbridge when Captain Sulu, intent on rescuing Captain James Kirk and Dr. Leonard McCoy, had violated Starfleet orders by attempting to rescue them from the Klingon prison world of Rura Penthe. That day, Tuvok had protested the captain’s apparently reckless disregard for the official chain of command. Though the crisis had ultimately turned out well for all concerned, the science officer still sometimes rankled at the capacity of human Starfleet officers to set aside propriety when it appeared to suit the circumstances. Is this another one of those times?Tuvok thought.
He wondered if such questions could ever be answered save in retrospect.
Tuvok watched Sulu grin at Burgess. “Yes, Ambassador. Like you, I’ve been known to break a rule or two from time to time.”
“ Unlikeyou, Captain, I’ve never played dice with galactic peace,” she said.
“Really, Ambassador? What do you call revealing the presence of our probe drones to the Tholians?”
[122] “I call it trying to make the best of yet another Starfleet-initiated alien-relations cockup,” she said, almost snarling. “Frankly, I’m amazed that you haven’t been sentenced to a nice long stretch mining dilithium somewhere yourself.”
“I must live right,” Sulu said, his grin only broadening. If Tuvok didn’t know better, he’d think the captain was actually provoking the ambassador for the sheer perverse joy of it.
Burgess shook her head, now seeming more mystified than angry. “I really don’t understand this, Captain. What is it you hope to gain?”
Immediately adopting a more serious demeanor, Sulu said, “What I hope to gain, Ambassador, is a more complete understanding of exactly what it is that the Tholians are trying so hard to keep us from discovering. I think even youwould have to agree that it’s not in the Federation’s best interests to ally itself blindly with a people who are not only already engaged in an interstellar conflict, but are also trying their damnedest to cover it up.”
Burgess’s mouth opened and closed several times, but she said nothing. Tuvok was momentarily reminded of the Antedean with whom he had shared an apartment briefly during his StarfleetAcademy years.
Tuvok decided then to voice his thoughts regarding the matter at hand; although they might have been taken as overly subjective—perhaps even illogical—he was certain that they were correct and deserved to be heard.
“Ambassador Burgess, while I share your concerns and apprehension regarding our apparent breach of Tholian law, I have found that Captain Sulu is an entirely capable and trustworthy Starfleet commander. I myself have expressed doubt as to the advisability of his actions in the past, but have most often found that they areappropriate to the situation. Despite his possessing the all-too-common human [123] penchant for excessive emotionalism, Captain Sulu’s command decisions are, in the main, eminently logical.”
Sulu’s face twitched almost imperceptibly, but his overall expression didn’t change. Tuvok momentarily wondered what emotions had just gone through his captain’s mind before continuing. “Additionally, although I have not yet been able to ascertain the meaning of the information Ambassador Kasrene planted in my mind, I remain firmly convinced of two things: first, that she did indeed pass some of her memory engrams to me, and second, that any future peace we may achieve with the Tholians depends largely upon our taking decisive action at this time.”
Burgess stared at him for a lengthy interval, and Tuvok thought much of her rage had begun to dissipate. Perhaps she recognizes the logic of my words,he thought.
Nodding curtly to Tuvok and Sulu, Burgess turned to leave. Pausing in the doorway, she said, “I can see that your mind is made up, whether I agree with you or not, Captain.”
Sulu nodded. “That’s right, Ambassador.”
“Then would you do me a small favor?”
“By all means.”
“When my diplomatic meetings with the Tholians resume, I won’t be able to operate in the dark, Captain. Please keep me apprised of all further developments on the Tholian military front.”
“Of course, Ambassador,” Sulu said. “As long as I can rely on your discretion.” Tuvok sensed that the captain had only barely avoided appending the words “this time” to the end of that sentence.
Burgess laughed bitterly. “It looks like you’ll have to. After all, the lives of everyone aboard Excelsiordepend upon yours.” And with that, she strode out of sickbay.
Afterward, Tuvok noted that Dr. Chapel was shaking her head, a look of frustration evident on her face. “Maybe it’s [124] just me, Hikaru, but that woman could drive an El-Aurian ‘listener’ to grab a set of ear-plugs,” she said. Like Tuvok himself, Christine Chapel obviously placed a great deal of faith in Captain Sulu’s discretion and judgment.
As Sulu chuckled in response to the doctor’s quip, Tuvok wondered fleetingly just how deep the captain’s belief in his own judgment went.
Chekov was beginning to breathe a bit easier, though only a bit. Excelsiorhad managed to escape being identified not only by Yilskene’s ship, but also by three other Tholian patrol vessels whose rounds had taken them within a light-year of Excelsior’sroute of travel along the length of the interspatial filament. Each time a Tholian craft appeared on the Starfleet vessel’s passive scanners—equipment honed to exquisite sensitivity-levels during Excelsior’slengthy survey of Beta Quadrant gaseous anomalies several years earlier—Lojur and Asher edged the starship just out of Tholian sensor range.