Tuvok Frowned Slightly.
Everything the girl said had the ring of truth. He had no doubt she believed everything she had just told him. But whether she had been programmed thus, or had simply chosen to omit some things, would require deeper questions.
But she was yawning, and he wondered how long it had been since she’d slept. She was so young, younger than his youngest child. He suppressed a parental urge to suggest she rest now. Illogical, and self-defeating. Nevertheless, if she was overtired, her answers would make no sense. Only one more question, for now.
“Are you a member of the Tal Shiar?”
For the first time she laughed outright. It would have been a pleasant sound, if it hadn’t been laced with sarcasm. “You mean, am I a spy? There are no spies on Romulus, don’t you know that? There is no need for spies, because everyone is a spy.”
“Answer the question, please.”
That made her angry. She leapt out of her chair, almost knocking it over.
“I am nothing! Don’t you understand? I don’t exist. On the way here, Cretak and I went past two sets of sentries and three sensor arrays inside the space hub. The sensors recognized Cretak, but they never even registered me, because I don’t exist. You’re aiming in the dark.”
“Are you a member of the Tal Shiar?” he asked again, unperturbed by her outburst.
Did he notice that she hesitated for the space of half a breath? No,Zetha told herself, watching sidelong as the impassive face revealed nothing. He has not noticed.
“No,” she said carefully. “I am not.”
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
An OriginalPublication of POCKET BOOKS
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For Jack, ever and always.
And in memory of Alan Ravitch,
who never met a pun he didn’t like.
The world’s a sadder place without you.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Rick Sternbach for technical advice par excellence (and for using nice small words, so I could understand it)….
To Susan Shwartz for helping me to see Aemetha. Jolan tru….
To Alex Rosenzweig, Big Jim McCain, daedalus5, and everyone else at psiphi.org and the trekbbs.com who got me back on the radar when it was most important….
To Marco Palmieri, an editor with a deft touch and a prince among men, for welcoming me aboard….
And with homage to the master, John Le Carré, for providing the template, and for teaching me how.
Historian’s Note
This story is set in the year 2360, sixty-seven years after the presumed death of Captain James T. Kirk aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-B in Star Trek Generations,and four years before the launch of the Enterprise-D in “Encounter at Farpoint.”
Sometimes we have to do a thing in order to find out the reason for it. Sometimes our actions are questions, not answers.