“Despite your unwillingness to kill your opponentan outcome we truthfully thought to be impossible to begin withyou have fulfilled your part of our bargain, MRek said.

“So youre going to tell me the plain truth about the attacks on Draylax.

MRek shook his head. “No, Iwill not. Thatduty will fall to Admiral Krell. He turned to regard the Klingon whom Archer had been told was the High Councils chief physician. “Doctor KonJef, can you rouse Krell long enough for him to perform his duties?

Archer thought he saw a look of anger flicker over the doctors face, but the man merely nodded. Archer imagined that even a chief physician would think very carefully before daring to defy the wishes of the leader of the Klingon High Council.

“He has just endured a long and intricate surgical ordeal, Chancellor, KonJef said. “It will be painful for him, but I believe I can wake him without causing him any permanent harm.

“Do it, MRek said. Turning back to Archer, he said, “The evidence that he shows you will notbe allowed to leave QonoS.

“But how am I supposed to convince my superiors that

“That is yourproblem, Terangan,not mine, MRek said, interrupting him. “Your government expected us to take yourword as to its intentions. If your superiors expect us to trust you,then surely theywill not mind affording usthe same respect.

Archer nodded. Whatever Im about to learn must embarrass the hell out of the Klingons,he thought. Or else they wouldnt care so much about hard evidence leaking out.

He could only hope that, as MRek had said, his own word would be enough to assuage the suspicions and fears of the decision‑makers of the Coalition of Planets.

THIRTY‑ONE

Taugus III

T RIP FELT A PALPABLE SENSEof relief when his own eyes finally confirmed that the explosion that had laid waste to Sopeks hideout hadnt taken the Scoutship Drolaewith it. The blunt‑shaped, eight‑meter‑long vessel remained parked on the same nearly level stretch of rock‑strewn hillside where Trip and Terix had left it, some three klicks and change away from the still‑burning remains of the dissident compound.

“Are you sure youll be able to fly this thing solo? Malcolm said, eyeing the gray‑green hull of the alien vessel with unconcealed suspicion. Shuttlepod Two cast a long shadow behind him and TPol as the late‑afternoon sun continued to sink ever lower in the sky behind it. The bloated orbs orange‑refracted rays were painted brown and ocher by the durable but slowly diminishing column of smoke and fire that marked the ruins of Sopeks base.

“Theres only one way I can think of to find out, Trip said with a grin as he slapped the hull with an open palm. “Hell, Im not even sure I can get the hatch open without Terixs advance written permission. I just have to hope he left the computer a note.

“I take it he wasnt exactly the trusting sort, Reed said.

“Were talking about a Romulan centurion, Malcolm. Not an eagle scout. Trip placed his right hand on the recognition pad that was mounted to the immediate right of the forward hatch. The hand‑plate was recessed so that it was flush with the rest of the hull when its tough duranium cover was in place.

To Trips relieved surprise, the hatch hissed obediently open two or three heartbeats later.

“Lets hope your friend Terix didnt leave any booby traps active in there, Malcolm said, his expression grave as he nodded toward the open hatch, through which a few of the scoutships faintly glowing instrument panels were visible.

A swarm of butterflies fluttered in Trips gut; he could think of only one way to put thatnotion to the test as well.

TPol took a couple of steps closer to Trip and the open hatchway before she stopped between the two men and folded her arms before her. “Perhaps the centurion anticipated that he might have no alternative other than to trust you under certain extraordinary circumstances.

That sounded reasonable to Trip. It was also far more encouraging than Malcolms paranoia, however justified it might be. “I guess he could have told the computer to let me drive if he was too injured to take charge himself. Even if he didnt trust me completely, he might have figured Id expect my chances of staying in Valdores good graces to suffer if I were to use this ship to run awayor if I came back to Romulus without my escort.

“Unfortunately, thats exactly whats happened, Malcolm said. “How do you intend to explain Terixs absence to Valdore?

Trip stared thoughtfully into the middle distance, gazing with unfocused eyes at the pillar of combustion debris that still rose above the site of his most recent brush with death. Sopek, who had probably escaped the explosion along with some of his people, had also probably left Terix to die in the conflagration. But if Sopek had decided to take Terix along, then both men were surely already very far from here by now; Terix would be a prisoner of a group of dangerous Romulan political dissidents who had managed to spirit him off‑planet without leaving any detectable radiation trail to follow.

“I have no idea, Malcolm, he said at length. “Im afraid Im just going to have to keep making it all up as I go. And Im going to start by returning to Romulus to check in with Valdore. If I dont, hell think Terix was right in suspecting me of being a spy.

“Judging by what youve told me, I think Valdore will knowyoure a spy soon enough, Reed said. “That is, if Terix really did survive and somehow finds a way to get a report to him. And thats assuming that he and Valdore dont alreadyknow a lot more than you think they do.

TPol nodded. “I agree. Valdore nearly killed both you and Lieutenant Reed once before. It would be a serious mistake to underestimate him now.

Trip nodded as he considered TPols warning. But although hed never forget how close he and Malcolm had come to dying when they had struggled with Valdore over control of an experimental remote‑controlled Romulan drone ship last year, Valdore wasnt a man Trip could simply run away from.

“Besides, you dont have to keep doing this, Reed said, spreading his hands before him. “I know firsthand how this kind of clandestine work can take over your life if you let it. Maybe youve alreadyaccomplished enough here. Maybe its time you thought about coming in from the cold, so to speak.

Coming in from the cold,Trip thought, mesmerized for a moment by that tantalizing thought. Rising from the dead.The notion had occurred to him many times since his Romulan sojourn had begun. But circumstances had always conspired to make the goal of coming home seem as unreachable as the Andromeda Galaxy.

“I must concur with Lieutenant Reed, TPol said, her dark eyes taking on an almost pleading cast that Trip had seen only rarely; the last time was when Doctor Phlox had worked frantically, though without success, to save the life of their dying baby.

“Others could take over for you, she continued. “I ask you again to let ustake you home. TPol gestured toward the crest of a nearby hill, where the trio had carefully set down Shuttlepod Two among piles of gray boulders and short stands of blue‑green scrub vegetation.

Home,Trip thought, not entirely certain he fully recognized the concept anymore.

“Im certain Captain Archer could use your help more than ever now, Reed said. “What with all the trouble between the Klingons and the Draylaxians weve been hearing about.

“Yeah, I picked up some intel about the Klingon thing just before I left Romulus, Trip said, stroking his cheek as he mulled his friends words over. “I was hoping to find proof that the Romulans were really the ones behind thatlittle problem as well. No such luck.

He paused as he realized that he had just reinforced the very argument his friends were trying to make, though they were probably as dismayed as he was that the Coalition seemed to be facing imminent war on two fronts rather than on just one.