“I will be prepared,” he said simply, lowering the weapon to his side.

A short time later, and with some assistance from Jerdahn, Burgess locked onto the Neyel vessel’s commander. A few seconds later, Drech’tor Joh’jym’s tall, powerful form began shimmering into existence on one of the two transporter pads located in the shuttle’s aft section.

Joh’jym touched his chest to make sure he was still in [332] one piece, then cast his startled eyes about the shuttlecraft’s interior. Finally, his keen gaze lit upon Jerdahn and Burgess, whom he recognized immediately despite the darkness.

“Why have you brought me here?”

Burgess rose, smiling. “I wish to invite you to a ... diplomatic meeting. I regret that I’ve been forced to use such extraordinary means.”

The drech’tor’s voice was a low growl. “You’re trying to force me to parley with the Devils. Haven’t you listened to anything I have said about them?” Then she saw a flash of movement in the near-total darkness as he lunged toward her.

Before Burgess could react, Jerdahn fired the phaser. He ended up having to repeat the procedure three times before his superior finally slumped insensate to the deck. Then, with surprising gentleness, Jerdahn carried the unconscious Joh’jym to a starboard-side seat and fastened him there with restraints he jury-rigged by taking apart one of the safety harnesses.

While Jerdahn secured Joh’jym, Burgess activated the next set of preentered commands. The Gengiresponded by passing the Neyel vessel and tracing a long ellipse back toward the Jeb’v Tholis.According to the readouts, the shuttle was approaching the Tholian flagship at high impulse speed, while running a gauntlet that consisted of at least three dozen other armed Tholian vessels.

How much longer will our small size and lack of running lights protect us?she wondered uneasily, now that the Genjihad flown clear, of the planet’s shadow.

Burgess was momentarily startled by the crackle of a forcefield behind her. Aware that she couldn’t see it in the darkness, she didn’t bother turning to look at it. Instead, she glanced at a glowing console before her and quickly confirmed that the entire aft portion of the cabin—the section that lay beyond the forcefield—was now hermetically sealed off from the forward section, as per her plan.

“Pressure and temperature are rising in the aft section,” [333] she told Jerdahn. “My board shows an N-class atmosphere forming behind the barrier.”

Jerdahn grunted. “I will not raise an objection if our next ‘guests’ are made comfortable.”

So Jerdahn had a sense of humor after all. Perhaps a human heart truly didbeat beneath that gray, sequoialike exterior. She grinned in the darkness, which was gradually being suffused by a gentle, oven-like light coming from the superheated atmosphere trapped behind the forcefield.

Perhaps two minutes later, the wedge-shaped Tholian flagship loomed before them, looking as large as a mountain. Just as it seemed that a crash was inevitable, either Jerdahn or the navigational computer—Burgess wasn’t sure which—veered off from a direct collision. A bright pyrotechnic shower became visible through the forward windows as the shuttle’s shields intersected with those of the Jeb’v Tholis.

An amber light flashing on her console told her that it was time to activate the transporter scanners. They’vegot to know we’re herenow, Burgess thought as she searched the Tholian vessel for her two Tholian targets. Ambassador Mosrene’s profile was already stored in the transporter computer’s active memory, so the system established a stable lock on him almost immediately. The display indicated that Mosrene and his diplomatic retinue were still aboard Yilskene’s flagship, apparently ensconced in VIP quarters well away from the warrior-caste Tholians who comprised the bulk of the crew of the Jeb’v Tholis.

Unfortunately, Admiral Yilskene was proving somewhat more difficult to track down. Since he had never beamed aboard Excelsior,Burgess hadn’t been able to upload a copy of his sensor profile to the Genji’scomputer. But she knew that all she had to do was scan for Captain Sulu. By now, the captain should be in the midst of his ill-advised duel against the Tholian admiral. And unless Sulu was already dead, [334] whichever Tholian life-sign registered as closest in proximity to him had to be Yilskene’s.

There!Recognizing Sulu’s distinctive human signature—he was the only human aboard the Jeb’v Tholis,after all—Burgess quickly established a lock on the Tholian signature nearest to him and entered the “energize” command for both Yilskene and Mosrene.

Then Burgess turned toward the figures that were taking shape within the forcefield barrier. She felt ready to face the greatest challenge of her diplomatic career.

Then, seeing by the dull glow of the confined Tholian atmosphere, she counted the figures who now stood disoriented behind the energy barrier.

There were three.

“Oh, crap,” she whispered.

Chapter 30

Sulu’s lungs felt as though they were on fire from the noxious gases, and the heat leaking into his suit was burning his skin as well. As Yilskene charged, Sulu parried the blow, ducked, and sidestepped. The momentum of his charge carried the scorpionlike Tholian warrior past Sulu and to the other side of the room, but not before Sulu’s blade tagged the Tholian’s shield again.

Setting his blade down so as not to slice himself with it, Sulu quickly pulled an adhesive emergency patch from the forearm pocket of his environmental suit. Applying it to the tear across his chest, he could feel immediately that the leak had been plugged.

But before he could purge the suit, Yilskene was back on the attack, lunging with his monoblade raised high. Sulu scrambled to recover his own blade, and just barely saved himself with a parry-sixte-and-disengage that would have done the StarfleetAcademy fencing team proud.

Sulu feinted, lunged, and smacked Yilskene’s shield, almost disarming him a second time. While Yilskene recovered, Sulu hit the purge button on the suit’s belt, and was immediately rewarded with an invigorating blast of cool air. He still felt sick to his stomach, but at least he was no longer in immediate danger of toxic poisoning.

[336] Sulu repeatedly advanced, feinted, advanced, retreated. Yilskene matched most of his movements with surprising grace, though the admiral’s heavy crystalline body couldn’t quite keep up with Sulu’s speed.

Yilskene lunged again, and Sulu parried, then leapt to the side and riposted. Yilskene barely caught the blow with his shield. Our energy shields have each taken about the same amount of punishment,Sulu thought, wondering whose shield would fail first.

He hoped he could persuade the Tholian to at least call it a draw before both shields were exhausted, leaving “kill-or-be-killed” combat as the only other option.

Tuvok noticed an alarming change in the readings. “Commander, Captain Sulu’s suit has been breached.”

Chekov visibly blanched, and his finger hovered over the communicator on the chair arm. It was an unnecessary action, Tuvok knew, because the comm channel to the transporter room was already locked open.

“Is hehurt or is it just the suit?” Chekov asked.

“Biomonitors still show strong life signs, sir,” Tuvok replied. “But he could easily have sustained a life-threatening injury already.”

Chekov’s leg bounced quickly. Tuvok had seen the commander exhibit this particular nervous tic before during times of high stress. Clearly, this was such a time.

The voice of Ensign Prager came over the comm. “Should I beam him back now, sir?”

The readings on Tuvok’s monitors suddenly changed again. “Sir, the suit has been stabilized.”