Suddenly, Shran’s expression took on a look of fear. “Jhamel! I’m… losingher. Something is wrong with her!” His vision blocked by the helmet, he pointed in T’Pol’s general direction, his arm shaking violently. “Turn up the gain!”

Phlox studied the readings on his scanner. “You are already experiencing severe nerve and cellular damage, Shran. Any more power, and you will be unable to physically function.”

“ Do it!” Shran shrieked, his body convulsing. “I’m losing her!”

T’Pol looked at the console, then back at Shran, apparently considering the warrior’s plea. Her hand hovered over the control for an instant that seemed to stretch into minutes, then pushed down on the cutoff control.

Phlox was glad that things hadn’t gone as far as they had the first time, and immediately began scanning Shran for further damage.

The Andorian slumped forward in his chair, still twitching violently. Phlox and Archer moved to hold him up, as T’Pol unlatched the telepresence helmet from his head.

“Why didn’t you turn the gain up higher?” Shran asked, his anger‑laced voice barely more than a whispery rasp.

“Because you cannot save Jhamel if you are in a vegetative state, or dead,” T’Pol said.

“Can you tell us the heading of the vessel she’s on?” Archer asked.

“If I can see some star charts,” Shran said, his breathing labored. “I’ve traveled a bit more than most Imperial Guardsmen.”

“You need to be treated first,” Phlox said. He didn’t like some of the readings his scans were showing, but with some medicinal cocktails, he felt that the Andorian might be restored to his usual strong and aggressive state.

“Help me get him to the bed,” Phlox said, gesturing toward one of the medical bays.

As the quartet transported Shran to the bed–Theras taking his feet and following the lead of the others–the wall‑mounted com unit let out a loud whistle.

“Bridge to Captain Archer.”The voice belonged to Ensign Sato.

The four of them hurriedly put Shran down on a biobed, and Archer sprinted to the device, depressing a button on its lower edge. “Archer here.”

“You have a priority one communication from Admiral Gardner.”

Archer blanched visibly, then looked back at the others. “I’ll take it in my quarters in one minute,” he said, then let go of the button.

“I’ll make certain that Shran is able to function again as soon as possible, Captain,” Phlox said, trying to reassure him. “He’ll be examining star maps in no time.” He wished he was as certain of that as he sounded.

“Thanks, Doctor,” Archer said. “I’ve got to go figure out how much trouble I’m in now. After that, I’m probably going to need Shran’s help more than ever.”

“How do you mean?” Phlox asked.

“I just might end up having to apply for a job on hisship,” Archer said dryly as he crossed quickly to the door.

Phlox watched his superior officer exit. Given Admiral Gardner’s reputation,he thought, I’m not entirely certain he’s joking.

“Come again, sir?” Archer wasn’t quite certain he’d heard the admiral correctly.

“I said that our intelligence sourcesare reporting some new rumblings of war from Romulan space,”Gardner said, the expression on his face both officious and annoyed. “It’s possible that the warnings that you and Commander Tucker gave may have had some validity. Of course, we still need to find significantly more proof before we can take decisive action.”

Had the situation not been so dire, Archer might have been amused. What Gardner had said was the closest thing to an apology he’d ever heard from the man.

“What about my request to pursue the kidnapped Aenar, Admiral?”

Gardner shook his head. “I find pirates and slavers just as reprehensible as you do, Captain. But I’m not still sending Earth’s flagship halfway across the galaxy to catch them. Especially when doing so might rouse the Romulans into an active state of war.”

Though Archer wasn’t surprised, he found it difficult not to keep the anger out of his voice. “What about Coridan, then? The intelligence wereceived indicates that Coridan Prime is the likely first target of any coming Romulan attacks.” Of course, he wasn’t about to reveal his Coridan information was based on the Section 31 reports that Reed had relayed to him. “I’m prepared to take Enterprisethere at maximum speed once the word is given.”

Gardner stroked his salt‑and‑pepper beard as he leaned forward toward his own screen. “Captain, you will proceed back to Sector Zero Zero One, where you will assist in preparing a defense of Earth. There may be any number of attacks against us in the days leading up to the signing of the Coalition Compact. That event could be a lightning rod for the discontented across the quadrant. We need youhere .”

The Admiral leaned back again in his chair. “The Coridanites have ample ship and weapon resources to repel any Romulan attack. These…rumors you have heard may well be a feint by the Romulans intended to draw Starfleet resources to Coridan, thereby leaving Earth largely vulnerable. I’m certain that I don’t need to remind you what happened thelast time we let ourselves get caught with our pants down because our flagship was parsecs away.”

“Sir, Earth’s defense systems have been significantly improved since the Xindi attacks,” Archer said, irked by Gardner’s cheap shot.

“They’ve not been improved anywhere near enough to suitme ,”Gardner said brusquely, barreling forward before Archer could say anything further. “At this juncture in the Coalition’s development, now is definitelynot the time to put our faith in rumors and scraps of information about Coridan, or to second‑guess Romulan intentions in a way that leaves our flanks exposed.”

He pointed toward Archer. “Let me be blunt, Captain. You are to getEnterprise back to Earth, double‑time and posthaste. Do I make myself clear?”

Archer wasn’t happy with Gardner’s decision, nor with his chiding tone, but he nodded his assent to a superior officer, as he was trained to do. “You do, sir.”

“Good. Then I will expect to see you by this time next week. Gardner out.”A moment later, the viewscreen replaced the admiral’s frowning image with the blue‑and‑white logo of Earth’s Starfleet.

Archer’s stomach churned as he examined his ever‑narrowing set of options. Because of everything they’d learned so far, he was convinced that the Aenar were indeed en route to the Romulans–if they weren’t already in the clutches of their military–and that one way or another, they were going to be used as deadly weapons against the Coalition. Beyond those concerns, and his debt to Shran, he was also keenly anxious about Trip’s covert spy mission into Romulan territory.

A part of him fantasized that Trip would find out some vital piece of information, break protocol, and contact Enterprise,and that they would swoop in not only to save the day, but to save Trip as well. He smiled ruefully at the thought, knowing it was as implausible as the plot to any bad holovid adventure he’d watched as a boy.

The door to his quarters chimed.

“Come in,” he said. He was surprised to see that it was T’Pol. “I didn’t expect to see you quite so soon. How’s Shran?”

“Still recovering in sickbay, Captain, though very quickly, according to Phlox,” T’Pol said.

“That’s good news,” Archer said, feeling real relief at the news. He hadn’t realized until this moment just how important it was to him to see the Andorian survive and succeed in his personal quest.

“His capacity to recall stellar cartographical details is evidently quite prodigious. He was also determined to relay the information to us as quickly as possible, regardless of the pain he was experiencing. Most importantly, he was able to pinpoint for us the exact region through which the transport ship was traveling when he made contact with Jhamel’s mind.”