But if Commander TPol was right, another human may already have preceded him to this remote place.

“How can you be so certain well find Commander Tucker here? Reed said.

TPol raised an eyebrow as she regarded him with that damnably cool Vulcan assuredness of hers. “My intelligence sources have always proved reliable in the past, Lieutenant.

“Ill grant you that the Vulcan transport vessel you got us docked with did a damned fine job of sneaking us past those Romulan patrols at Alpha Fornacis, Reed said. Not to mention not reporting our whereabouts to Starfleet,he added silently. It was obvious that the ship in question had been up to something other than the banal tasks of moving passengers and cargo in order to operate with impunitysometimes at speeds in excess of warp factor sixmore than half a parsec inside territory claimed by the Romulan Star Empire.

He still felt annoyed at having been confined to the shuttlepod for most of their three‑day voyage, deprived of even the laconic company of TPol, who had been allowed at least partial access to the transport vessel that had carried Shuttlepod Two so close to its destination. But even the usually stoic TPol had complained about how little access she had been given to the all but invisible Vulcan benefactor whom her VShar contacts had persuaded to grant them covert passage into Romulan space. The Vulcans seemed quite intent on keeping a tight lid on whatever they were really up to so deep within the Romulan sphere of interest. This cloak of secrecy made Reed very nervous about whatever it was that the new, purportedly more transparent TPau regime on Vulcan might want to keep hidden from its Coalition partners. And those worries werent so much for his own safety, or even that of TPol, but for that of Trip. A second Coalition‑based spy bureau blundering about here among the Romulans could well put Trips mission and life in jeopardy without meaning to do so or even noticing the damage theyd done.

Of course, he was uncomfortably aware that the very same accusation could well be leveled at both himself and TPol.

Putting those matters aside for the moment, Reed continued his conversation with TPol: “But the only confirmation we have that we might find Trip here, as opposed to any of a dozen other systems, comes from yourvisions.

“I do not have visions,Lieutenant, TPol said, her equanimity apparently shaken but little by Reeds almost accusatory point. “But I remain convinced that I have achieved at least an intermittent telepathic link with Trip She paused, apparently catching herself in the act of revealing more than she preferred to reveal. “With Commander Tucker. There is ample precedent for such things, Mister Reed. The Aenar of Andoria, for example.

Reed still didnt feel sufficiently convinced to be able to stop himself from subjecting TPols reasoning to another round of verbal destruction testing. “The Aenar are verystrong telepaths, Commander. I thought the esper ability was restricted to touch in Vulcans.

“That is certainly true for the vast majority of us, she said, reiterating a point she had made not long ago to Captain Archer and Doctor Phlox. “However, there have been exceptions. I have become convinced that the link Commander Tucker and I share represents just such an exception.

Knowing what he did about the neurological effects of the trellium‑D to which TPol had once been addicted, Reed felt a good deal less sanguine than she apparently did about trusting her subjective feelings of certainty.

“Please forgive me for saying this, Commander, he said very gently. “But I think youre putting a great deal of faith in what might turn out to be nothing more than a dream. Or even some residual effect of trellium‑D exposure,he thought, recalling TPols recovery from an addiction to the neurologically toxic mineral.

She said nothing as she stared straight ahead at the planet.

“It just doesnt seem very scientific to me, he said, uncomfortable with the spreading silence.

Seeming to balance her words very delicately on a bulwark of nettles and brambles, she said, “I am a Vulcan, Lieutenant. And Vulcans do not pursue mere dreams across parsecs of interstellar space.

Never underestimate the power of dreams,he thought. Or nightmares.

“Dreams. Visions. Gut hunches. Call them whatever you like, Commander, he said with a shrug. “I just have to ask whether its entirely logicalfor you to place so much trust in a phenomenon that neither of us can really look at objectively.

To her credit, the only sign of emotion she allowed herself to display was an inquisitive tip of the head as she turned to face him again. “If you truly harbor so many doubts about what were doing out here, then why did you insist on coming along?

Now that is a damned fine question,he thought; he had asked himself the very same thing more than a few times since she had first asked it just before they had absconded with Shuttlepod Two. In light of all the subspace chatter theyd subsequently picked up concerning the Klingon‑Draylaxian conflict that had broken out since theyd left Enterprise,Reed could only hope that their current quest wouldnt prove to be as barmy as it might now look to Captain Archer or the rest of his crew.

“I already told you, Commander, he said at length. “We both want to rescue Trip if hes really in as much trouble as you say he is. Besides, I couldnt just let you go off on your own.

The eyebrow rose again. “Even if this entire endeavor ultimately turns out to bewhat is the phrase you humans use?a wild goose chase?

He smiled gently. “ Especiallythen.

After a pause, TPol said, “I am placing a great deal of faith in you as well, Lieutenant. Specifically in your discretion.

“I thought I already proved how discreet I can be when I didnt rat you out to Captain Archer, Reed said.

“Of course, Mister Reed. But that action only required confidence on a relatively small scale. In allowing you to accompany me on this mission, you are almost certain to discover one of my peoples most closely guarded secrets. And that knowledge will require a much larger degree of discretion.

Reed found it difficult to imagine the nature of any secret the Vulcans might be so intent upon protecting. Nevertheless, he shrugged and said, “I used to work for a bureau whose stock in trade was secrets. I think you can rely on me to keep mum when it counts.

A flashing light on the pilots console interrupted whatever she had been about to say in response. In that same instant, the shuttlepod shook violently before settling back to normal perhaps a second or two later.

“What the hell was that?Reed said as he consulted several conflicting sets of readouts that were vying for his attention across the copilots console.

“We appear to have encountered an intense warp bow shock, TPol said as her long fingers moved across her instruments with almost preternatural speed. “The phenomenon is very similar to a starships subspace wake.

Reeds own subspace field monitor confirmed TPols observation a moment later. “That must mean we have company here, he said. Though he had yet to locate any other vessel, either by eye or by sensors, his readings had revealed that the already fading subspace concussion fit a particular profile: that of a ship that had suddenly collapsed its warp field bubble, thereby dropping almost instantaneously from high warp speed back to the Einstein‑mandated sublight velocities of normal space.

Whoevers behind the wheel on that ship has got to be barking mad,Reed thought, to perform a maneuver like that so close to a planet.

“I still cannot pinpoint the other ships precise location or heading using only passive scans, TPol said.

“Maybe the planets gravity well tore her apart as she decelerated, Reed ventured.