“We have no need to speak with more representatives of your Federation,” Lykene said. “Our directive is—”

“Tell the Tholians to get the hell out of there,” came Calhoun’s voice without preamble. “ Trident, Excalibur... can the Tholians hear me? I’m blind down here.”

“We hear you,” said Lykene. “This is Commander Lykene of the Tholian Assembly, and we have no intention of dignifying your threats with—”

“This isn’t a threat, you jackass,” Calhoun snapped back.

Shelby put her fingers to her temples and rubbed them, recalling why it was that she perpetually felt as if she had headaches during the entirety of her tenure as Calhoun’s second-in-command.

“I’m trying to tell you that you’re in danger. The creatures down here who introduced ambrosia to the Danteri are planning to make an example of you and your ship, and I very much doubt you’re going to live through it. Now if you have a shred of intelligence, you’ll put as much distance between yourselves and this world as possible.”

“Commander Lykene, I would listen to Captain Calhoun if I were you,” Burgoyne now spoke up. “The last time we encountered the Beings, they put our ship into drydock for several weeks of repairs. You will not stand a chance if they decide to focus their energies on you.”

There was a long pause, and Shelby could only imagine that Lykene was consulting with his (her?) own people to try and get a reading of the situation. “We can attend to our own affairs,” Lykene finally replied. “We do not require your help. We require you to distance yourselves from this world, now. And this pathetic attempt to trick us into departing ...”

“I’m not trying to trick you into anything,” said Calhoun with a touch of frustration. “I’m trying to help you save your own lives.”

“Our lives do not require saving.”

And suddenly the image of Burgoyne was gone.

So was the visual of the Tholian.

Instead the screen was occupied by the huge head and face of what could only be considered some sort of wolf creature ... or perhaps a hyena.

It was black, black as death, and the eyes glowed red. It hung in space, miles long, stars filtering through it in places. Its expression was grim, and it said, “Who comes seeking ambrosia?”

Again a pause. Shelby wasn’t entirely sure how to respond.

Lykene saved her the trouble. The Tholian’s brittle but firm voice sounded over the com systems. If he was at all deterred by the sight of a miles-long-and-wide jackal head talking at him from space, one wouldn’t have been able to tell by the unyielding assurance of his speech. “I am Commander Lykene of the Tholian Assembly. I have come here at the behest of the assembly to inform you—”

“ ‘Inform us’?” said the jackal-headed being. The expressions of his face were quite limited. “Who are you ... to inform us of anything.”

“We are the Tholian Assembly, and we are now informing you that ambrosia is our property.”

“Is it. And I, Anubis of the gods, am asking you how you arrived at that conclusion.”

“This world is within territorial boundaries of the Tholian Assembly. As such, it and everything upon it is subject to Tholian ownership.”

Shelby almost had to admire Lykene. He had staked out a truly idiotic position, but having taken it, he wasn’t backing down from it.

“I see,” rumbled Anubis. “Well, Commander Lykene of the Tholian Assembly, if it is ambrosia you seek, then it is ambrosia you shall have.”

For a heartbeat, Shelby felt a surge of relief. Calhoun had obviously been worried that something bad was going to happen, but it appeared that the Beings were going to cooperate. That relief, however, evaporated as Anubis continued, “Provided, of course, that the entirety of the Tholian Assembly is willing to worship us.”

“Worship?” For the first time, Lykene sounded puzzled.

“That’s one of their conditions, Commander,” Shelby interjected. “They’ve been fairly consistent about that. In order to avail oneself of ambrosia, one must be willing to worship these individuals as gods. Build temples to them, pay tribute, bow down to—”

“This is not a negotiation,” Lykene replied. “We are not seeking the cooperation of these creatures purporting divinity. We, and the members and allies of the Tholian Assembly, are here to claim the substance ambrosia for our own. There will be no worshipping, no tribute, no bowing. We demand that one metric ton of ambrosia be made available to us immediately. This will be due us in no less than one hour.”

“I see,” said Anubis, his voice continuing to sound within the ship through means that Shelby could not even begin to guess. “And if we refuse?”

“Then the Tholian Assembly will regard such a stance as a declaration of war, and you will have to live with the consequences of your actions.”

“Perhaps we will,” Anubis said, and then his voice flattened and his eyes glowed in the vastness of space. “You, however ... will not.”

“Tholian vessel!”came Calhoun’s voice, sounding desperate. “This is exactly the wrong tack to take! Stand down if you want to survive! Captain Shelby, make them get out of there!”

“Commander Lykene,” Shelby began.

“Captain!”said Gold from conn, and he had never sounded as alarmed as he did just then.

The face of Anubis appeared to be getting larger, and his jaws were opening. Wide.

“Perspective check! Is he coming toward us?” demanded Shelby.

“Negative!” Hash said. “He’s heading for the Tholian ship! Changing view angle.”

Immediately the viewpoint of the screen shifted, and they now had a true outlook of what was transpiring. Sure enough, the massive head of Anubis was bearing down, not upon the Tridentor Excalibur,but on the triangular Tholian vessel. The Tholian was standing his ground.

“Conn, do we have a phaser lock?”

“There’s nothing to lock on to, Captain,” said Gold. “Our eyes tell us it’s there, but the instruments say it’s not.”

“Tholian firing,” announced Hash.

Sure enough, the Tholian ship was shooting at the giant image approaching them as blue pulses of energy blasted out of the vessel. They passed harmlessly through the great face, and Anubis was almost upon them.

“It went right through him,” said Hash. “Is it possible he can’t hurt them? That it’s just some sort of illusion?”

“I think we’re about to find out,” said Shelby.

She was right.

The vast jaws of Anubis clamped down upon the Tholian vessel, locking on to it top and bottom. Anubis then shook his head from side to side, like a dog worrying a bone. And the Tholian vessel was rocked, helpless. It continued to fire, but the blasts had no more effect than they had before. But as impervious as Anubis was to being touched, it wasn’t slowing him down in the slightest in his endeavors to assail the Tholian ship.

“Elizabeth! What’s happening up there?”came Calhoun’s voice.

What Shelby was witnessing was so insane, she wasn’t entirely sure what to say to Calhoun. And then, before she could answer, the entire thing became moot.

Through with playing with the Tholian ship, Anubis’ jaws scissored together. It cut through the hull of the Tholian ship without slowing down. Then the head snapped to the right and left, and the ship came apart in all directions. In the silence of space, an eruption occurred as the internal atmosphere of the Tholian vessel—whatever that might be—rushed out into the vacuum as a fireball devouring the ship and its inhabitants. Then, just as quickly, the fireball snuffed out and was gone.

“Elizabeth!”

“They’re gone, Mac,” she said tonelessly. And it was obvious from the way she’d said it that she didn’t mean they’d beaten a quick retreat and returned to Tholian space.

Slowly the vast head of Anubis swiveled around and was now staring right at them once more.

“We hope that the lesson we have taught here today will not be lost upon you,” he said. And then the image disappeared from the screen.