“We can do a fine job of taking care of ourselves, thanks,” said McHenry.

“Oh, and you’ve attended to that wonderfully in your case, haven’t you.”

McHenry scowled.

“The problem is, I cannot maintain my defenses indefinitely,” said Woden. “I am old and tired, and have not fought in quite some time. It takes a lot out of me. So we must hope that your associates hurry to their conclusions while still under my protection.”

“And if they don’t?”

The Old Father stared at him. “They’d better” was all he said.

IV.

Spock was no longer walking around the conference lounge. Instead he was seated, his fingers steepled thoughtfully. “When we faced a creature that thrived on fear,” he said at last, “Captain Kirk gave the crew tranquilizers so that the crew no longer feared it—and the creature was weakened. Likewise an energy being that siphoned hostile energy during a manufactured series of battles with a crew of Klingons was thwarted when the Klingons and we ceased hostilities. What we need to do is find a way to sever these beings from their source of strength.”

“But it’s a very different situation here,” Si Cwan pointed out. “In your case, you simply had to deal with the minds and actions of the crew of the Enterprise.You’re essentially saying that the crews of the Excaliburand Trident,in going into combat with the Beings, cannot be concerned about defeat.”

“Basically, yes,” Calhoun said reluctantly. “If we fear failure ... if we believe that the Beings are superior to us, or can destroy us ... then we more or less guarantee our own defeat.”

“Now, there’s a challenge,” said Shelby with a significant lack of enthusiasm. “It’s like saying, ‘Don’t think of pink elephants.’ ”

“But it’s more involved than that,” said Mueller. “What you’ve been saying is that the Beings—if we’re correct about this—are drawing their strength from the Danteri. It almost doesn’t matter if we believe in them or not, because the Danteri do. In order to dampen the strength of the Beings ...”

“We would have to cut off their energy at the source,” said Spock. “We would have to—in short—obliterate the Danteri.”

There was a momentary silence, and then Calhoun said what he suspected they all figured he’d say: “I’m not seeing a downside of that.”

“Mac,” Shelby said, not without sympathy, “I know better than anyone here how you feel about the Danteri. But I can’t believe that even you would advocate genocide.”

He grimaced and then slowly nodded. “You’re right,” he admitted. “Besides, just to be pragmatic about it ... I very much doubt the Beings would simply stand by and allow us to annihilate their root of psychic sustenance. That still leaves us, though, trying to determine the best way to proceed.”

“We’d be wise to determine it sooner rather than later,” said Kebron. “My suspicion is that the Tholians weren’t bluffing. That they’ve forces and allies who will be showing up here before long to launch a full-out assault. Except they’ll already be showing up with the knowledge that the Beings easily destroyed one vessel. That will sow the seeds of doubt which the Beings will bring to full bloom, destroying those who oppose them, elevating Danteri worship, and very likely convincing assorted races that they should join the Danteri in bowing down to this pantheon of gods.”

They all stared at him.

“When the hell did heget so chatty?” demanded Si Cwan.

“Ah, Si Cwan,” laughed Kebron. “How I’ve missed you.”

“You hate me!”

“Oh, why drag along childish feuds into phases of maturity.”

Si Cwan turned to Calhoun and, indicating Kebron, asked, “Did he eat ambrosia, too?”

“I’ll explain it later, Ambassador.”

“Yes, it’s really an amusing story,” said Kebron. “You see, in the life cycle of—”

“Later!”Calhoun said in annoyance. He sagged into the nearest chair. “You know, I’m really of mixed feelings on that. Genocidal concerns aside, part of me would dearly love to just stand aside and watch these angry races show up, trying to blow the Danteri to hell and gone. Grozit,we could even justify it on Prime Directive terms.”

“Perhaps,” Shelby agreed. “But there’s every possibility the Beings would triumph, making matters even worse than they already are.”

“I know, I know.”

“Wait ... wait a minute,” Gleau said abruptly. He pointed at the bladed weapon that Kebron had laid in the middle of the table early on in the meeting. “That thing is one of their conduits?”

“As near as we can determine, yes. But apparently only they can actually utilize it—”

“We don’t have to utilize it,” said Gleau. “All we have to do is use it to determine the frequency patterns that it operates on and taps into.”

“What ... ?”

“Oh!”Burgoyne’s eyes widened. “I see where you’re going with this. Once we know those patterns, we can broadcast ‘white noise’ through the sensor arrays.”

“A logical notion,” said Spock. “It might very well serve to scramble the Beings’ ability to ‘feed’ off the mental energies of the Danteri. Cut them off from their source of power.”

Burgoyne’s mind was clearly racing through the logistics. “The thing is, it’s going to need both of the starships, one to cover each side of the planet. Otherwise the planet’s own surface would block the white noise from affecting that side which is opposite the starship.”

“And if we do all that,” Calhoun said, “then the likelihood is that the Beings will come after us. Can this ‘white noise’ be used to block out whatever energies we might feed them ourselves, based upon doubts ... ?”

“We’d be spreading our resources too thin,” said Burgoyne. “We really need to focus on their prime energy source, the Danteri. We try to do too much, we’ll wind up accomplishing too little.”

“All right then. So they’ll be deprived of their initial energy source, but they’ll seek to draw energy from our own doubts and beliefs that they’re invincible. Is that basically it?”

“Why are you attacking them?” asked Moke.

The question brought everything to a halt. Calhoun looked at the boy and said, “Because they’re dangerous, Moke. Because they represent a threat to us ... to you ... to everyone and anyone who won’t live in a galaxy where the Beings are worshipped. They attacked and killed people on this ship. They’ve brainwashed Lieutenant Soleta ... and an entire world besides. One of them attacked and nearly killed Lieutenant Kebron ...”

“And Kalinda and I as well,” said Si Cwan.

“So you see, Moke, they have to be dealt with, before it gets worse.”

“I guess,” said Moke, then paused and added, “but it’s a shame.”

Calhoun tried to come up with a response to that, but couldn’t. Because he knew that Moke was right. It was a shame. A damned shame.

But it had to be done.

As long as they didn’t get themselves killed doing it.

V.

Mueller stood in the turbolift with Gleau as it whisked them toward the transporter room that would bring them back to the Trident.“That was good work you did back there,” she said. “I want you to be the point man between us and Excaliburon this. Work with Engineering Chief Dunn in making certain that he coordinates with Burgoyne and the Excal’schief, Mitchell.”

“This is killing you, isn’t it,” Gleau said.

She had been staring straight ahead, but now she turned and stared at him in open bewilderment. “Killing me? In what respect?”

“Between M’Ress and her complaints about me, and your own attitudes, you must have been hoping I would step aside, perhaps even transfer off.” He gave her a smarmy smile. “Yet now I turn around and prove my worth to the ship. Made myself look pretty good. My guess is that bothers you no end.”