Tears streaming down his face, Lojur lowered his arm and allowed his fingers to go limp. The phaser clattered to the floor grating, and the grief-stricken Halkan collapsed [202] sobbing into Akaar’s arms. The Gold Team arrived a few moments later and prepared to bring the unconscious Neyel to a security cell, where members of the medical staff had already been summoned to see to his injuries.

After informing his people that Lojur had been knocked unconscious by the alien, Akaar gently carried his traumatized friend to sickbay.

“Apparently, our genes aren’t the only things we share with our tough-skinned friend here,” Lieutenant Hopman said, turning away from the shimmering blue forcefield that prevented the agitated Neyel from leaving the security cell.

“Explain,” Sulu said, flanked by Hopman, Commander Rand, and Ambassador Burgess. He stepped away from them, toward the barrier, and studied the creature, which in turn regarded him. The Neyel, which wore a heavy, sashlike bandage diagonally across its chest, seemed to be utterly without emotion and looked almost completely inhuman. The sole exception was its eyes. Sulu hoped those eyes might provide a window to a soul not terribly unlike his own.

“His speech appears to be based on one of Federation Standard’s root languages,” Hopman said. “But that’s hard to see until you get past the strange syntax, the extreme vowel drift, and all the highly unusual constructions. The changes are so radical, in fact, that it’s no surprise that the universal translator had trouble parsing it. Working backward along the common linguistic tree, I’d venture a guess that their ancestral primary language has absorbed at least two centuries of cultural isolation and memetic drift. So now it’s about as different from Standard as, say, Basque is from Spanish.”

Rand, who was standing at Sulu’s side, looked impressed. “You figured all of that out just by conversing with our ... guest?”

“No, unfortunately,” Hopman said. “The recordings of our earlier interactions with the Neyel ship’s commander [203] were actually far more helpful. Our guest is only just now becoming talkative.”

“Maybe he’s starting to realize that he’s out of options unless he voluntarily talks to us,” Rand said, nodding. “He may have decided to cooperate, at least a little.”

“Let’s find out,” Sulu said, motioning to the two security officers who flanked the brig entrance. One of them lowered the cell’s forcefields, while the other kept his phaser trained on the prisoner.

Good thing Pavel’s up on the bridge,Sulu thought. He’d have fribbles if he saw this.Then he stepped into the spacious cell, followed by Rand, Burgess, Hopman, and a single phaser-carrying guard.

The Neyel remained crouched in a corner, from which he regarded Sulu with obvious suspicion. However, the creature’s tail was coiled limply at its side, convincing Sulu that it wasn’t preparing to attack. Trying to appear both nonaggressive and confident, Sulu moved to within a meter of the Neyel. Though it was sitting on the floor, the tall being scarcely had to look up to meet Sulu’s gaze.

“My name is Hikaru Sulu, commander of the U.S.S. Excelsior.”

The Neyel hesitated for a moment, as though trying to decide just how much or how little to say. “My clade-given desig is Jerdahn,” it finally said in sepulchral tones. Sulu wondered if exposure to vacuum had damaged the creature’s ability to speak.

“Welcome aboard, Jerdahn,” Sulu said. “You are my guest.”

Jerdahn snorted in apparent derision. “Usually do you shoot and cage your guests, Hikarusulu?”

Sulu spread his hands. “Please forgive us. Before you woke up in our sickbay, we thought you were dead.”

“Neyel are not so easy to kill,” Jerdahn said, chortling and exposing two even rows of white, quite human-looking teeth.

Burgess stepped forward, the security guard hovering at [204] her side. “I’m Aidan Burgess, a special envoy from the United Federation of Planets. We’re relieved to see that you survived being blown out of your ship, Jerdahn.”

“Hah. I was blown out into space because of yourweapons.”

“You were attacking innocent Tholian civilians,” Sulu said. “Not to mention firing on us.We couldn’t permit either action to continue.”

“You acted to protect your allies. The crystalline Devils.”

Here wego again,Sulu thought, barely resisting an urge to roll his eyes. “The Tholians—the ‘Devils’—think you’re ourallies, Jerdahn. Soon, they’ll try to kill us all if we can’t persuade them that they’re wrong about that.”

“We are neutral parties in whatever dispute exists between your people and the Tholian Assembly,” Burgess said. “We favor neither you nor the Tholians.”

“Yet you attacked us,” Jerdahn said. “You killed many of us.”

Sulu shook his head. “We acted to preserve as many lives as possible. Both Neyel andTholian lives.”

“The Devils’ lives are not for preserving. Even the greatest Neyel minds understand that these creatures cannot be reasoned with. They are a scourge, fit only for eradication.”

Sulu shuddered inwardly, as though he’d glimpsed a ravening monster leering back at him from his shaving mirror. This is my cousin?

Burgess answered the Neyel with a wolfen grin of her own. “There was a time when my people thought the same thing, about many races in the galaxy. We’ve been proved wrong. Many times.”

“If you’ve spoken truly to me,” Jerdahn said, “then the Devils intend to prove that my people have judged them aright.”

“For the moment, we seem to share a common adversary,” Burgess conceded.

Sulu reflected that Excelsior’shuman crew members had [205] a great deal more than Yilskene’s enmity in common with the Neyel.

Neyel. Something about the name sounded familiar. Sulu tried to recall what it was, but failed to retrieve it. Neyel.

“You seem to need my trust,” Jerdahn said, his thick eyelids narrowing his gaze to twin slits. “But I will be a challenging winover while I remain caged. And while your soldier stands here, ready to burn my hide again.”

Burgess nodded. “You’re right, Jerdahn.” Turning to Sulu, she said, “I want everyone out of this cell except for you, me, and Jerdahn.”

Hopman, Rand, and the security guard looked toward Sulu, all nonplussed. The Neyel wore a guarded expression.

Sulu considered it for a protracted moment before deciding that Burgess was right. Playing it safe wasn’t going to get them anywhere. There wasn’t enough time left for anything but bold strokes. Pavel isreally going to have fribbles when he hears about this,he thought, and nodded his assent to the guard.

A moment later, he and the ambassador stood unaccompanied and weaponless before the Neyel. Neyel. The almost-familiar name echoed frustratingly through his mind yet again.

Jerdahn’s gray-rimmed eyes widened. “I did not truly think you had the bolides to face me gunless. You have at least some courage.”

“We’re not your enemies, Jerdahn,” Burgess said. “It’s vital that you and your leaders understand that.”

“A pity it is you still cannot prove it.” Jerdahn gestured toward the cell door, across which the forcefield continued to ripple. Rand, Hopman, and the security guards watched anxiously from the other side. “I remain your prisoner.”

“Don’t forget, Jerdahn,” Sulu said. “So far you’ve given us precious little reason to trust you.”

“We’ve arrived at an impasse, then,” Jerdahn replied, folding his arms.

[206] “Not necessarily,” Burgess turned toward Sulu, adding, “Could you give him a look at what his ship and ours are facing together out there?”

Sulu nodded. Good plan,he thought as he crossed to a far wall. After he placed his hand on the dermal recognition interlace, a large hidden panel slid aside, revealing a recessed viewscreen and companel.