Archer shook his head. “What does MRek have to be embarrassed about? Is it that the Romulans have found a way to commandeer their ships?

Kolos did a double take. “Why would you think that?

“We found one survivor in the wreckage of one of the three battle cruisers destroyed at Draylax. She all but said that the Klingons were being controlled by the Romulans. But she didnt know how, and she didnt survive long enough to give us any more than that.

His expression grave, Kolos nodded. “I dont know that to be true, but if it were,that would be something that the military would not want exposed.

“So theyd rather go to war against the Coalition than admit they were vulnerable to the Romulans?

Kolos shrugged, opening his hands, palms pointed upward.

“Unbelievable, Archer said, sighing heavily. Now he felt even more defeated.

“If that is the case, then you must defeat Krell decisively, Kolos said. “And you must kill him.

Archer stared at the older alien, incredulously. Gesturing toward Corporal Ryan, he said, “I dont even know how to use that weapon properly.

“We have nearly three of your hours before the combat is to begin, Kolos said, standing up. “Let us use the time to find ways for you to use the blade that Krell wont anticipate.

He lowered his voice slightly, moving closer to Archer in order to speak at a volume intended only for the captains ears. “And let us hope that Krells strength isnt what it once was because of the changes the metagenic virus has wrought.

Archers breath was already growing ragged and labored, and it was still fairly early in the match. The gladiatorial chamber that he and Krell were in was un‑godly hot; even stripped to the waist, he was sweating profusely. Probably gonna lose ten pounds in a hell of a hurry,he thought. Unless I lose my head first, that is.

The two of them had been led into the arena ten minutes earlier, wearing only their pants and boots, and carrying only their batleths. The chamber was part of a vast, torch‑lit underground cavern that had apparently been excavated and enlarged for the sole purpose of conducting combat‑to‑the‑death rituals such as this one. Rising from the ground all around were irregularly shaped stalagmites precipitated out of some hardened mineral that Archer couldnt quite identify; even in the dusky light of the wall‑ensconced torches, he could see that many of them were stained a dark purplish‑black that was probably the residue of Klingon blood.

About twenty feet up, ringed around the caverns outer walls, was a secondary level surrounded by waist‑high railings, behind which stood the assembled members of the Klingon High Council, various uniformed military luminaries, and a large cheering section comprised of growling, snarling Klingon civilians that might well have included his prospective undertaker and burial florist for all Archer knew.

Krell had barely said ten words since seeing Archer again in the combat chamber, and four of them had not been translatable. Archer knew he couldnt hope to reason with the soldier, but he also knew that even if he somehow managed to prevail, he couldnt find it in himself to kill him, either. I sure as hell cant afford to letyou know that, though,he thought as he regarded his opponent in much the same way he might a Cape buffalo getting ready to make a lethal charge.

Koloss accelerated training had been helpful enough to allow Archer to survive this long without injury, though mostly he had been defending himself rather than striking any blows of his own. As Kolos had explained and demonstrated various techniques for handling a batleth,Archer began to understand that some of the principles were not significantly different from certain types of terrestrial sword fighting, blended with a bit of quarterstaff or b фstick combat. Kolos had also provided some guidance in the use of the batleths secondary blades and their multiple serrations; they were used mostly to trap the points of an opponents weapon. Executed properly, such a trapping maneuver could not only effectively block an otherwise lethal blow, it might also disarm a foe with little more than a simple twist and a yank.

With a roar, Krell attacked again, pulling Archers focus into laser sharpness. The Klingons blade swung around in an arc, coming up from below, the tip whistling as it cleaved the air; Archer could tell the move was meant to chop his hands out from under the handgrip. Feeling a stalagmite at his back, he couldnt duck to the side, so he moved his own blade to counter, swiveling his batlethfrom an upward‑curving angle to a down‑turned position.

Krells blow and Archers parry brought the two blades together hard enough to strike sparks, and Archer felt the shock reverberate through his wrists as the Klingons momentum and greater weight rammed his blade upward. Pain lanced his arms, and as Krell attacked again, Archer scrabbled to retreat behind another stalagmite. He ducked, barely evading a horizontal slice that had come uncomfortably close to cleanly decapitating him; instead of Archer losing his head, one of the upturned rocky deposits lost its conical end, shattering into a gray‑brown powder as the baakonite blade tore through it with all the force of Krells offended sense of honor.

As Krells arms followed through with the blow, Archer charged from his defensive crouch, stabbing the pointed end of his weapon toward his foes midsection. Krell sidestepped in time to avoid being impaled right through the gut, but not quickly enough to prevent Archers blade from inflicting a superficial flesh wound that announced its presence with a small spray of lavender Klingon blood.

Even as Archer continued moving forward, his boot caught on something he couldnt see on the uneven floor, and he suddenly felt himself falling. In the quarter second or so it took his momentum to carry him to the caverns rocky floor, he willed his arms to move the batlethout from in front of him.

NotgonnastabmyselftodeathbeforeKrelldoes,he thought, his mind racing.

Even as he rolled to the side in an effort to get his feet back under him, he felt a sharp pain in his mid‑chest area, then felt the breath whoosh from his lungs as agony struck him in earnest. He realized in a horrified rush that Krells batlethhad pierced him at the ribs, and even now, before the red blood had dripped from its tip, Krell was standing above him, a look of rage commingled with triumph flushing his hard features.

Through his pain, Archer wanted to laugh, as in an instant he realized that he was about to die trying to prevent his world and its allies from going to war against the wrong enemy, all while the Romulans were setting Earth up for conquest. Given how little his sacrifice was evidently destined to mean, he hoped that hed at least leave a good‑looking corpse behind for posteritys sake.

Krell brought the batlethdown in a lethal arc straight toward Archers face, and the captain knew that his final wish would not be granted.

TWENTY‑SEVEN

Monday, July 21, 2155 Taugus III

T RIP WAS SURPRISEDat how easy entering the dissident complex had turned out to be once he and Terix had located a small, concealed emergency entrance, an aperture that must have been intended to allow easy ingress during times of bad weather outside.

And he was further surprised by just how few of the suspected Ejhoi Ormiindissidents he and Terix had actually found within the indeterminate‑sized complex once theyd managed to get inside it. The two middle‑aged Romulan men theyd encountered in what looked to be an informal wardroom were thoroughly nonplussed at the sudden arrival of the two armed strangers who had just appeared in their midst, as did the somewhat younger‑looking Romulan woman who had been sharing a meal with them.