“As you can see, the artificial gravity of the KajDeelwas then compromised along with the rest of the basic life‑support functions, Krell said. The images on the screen gradually became a bit more coherent as whoever was holding the recorder seemed to acclimate himself or herself to the null‑gravity environment. “The failure of the life‑support systems eventually forced the crew into a barely conscious state.

“Any external sensor scan would have revealed that most of the crew were still alive, even days later, Krell said.

“But there would be no way anyone outside could know that the crew was utterly unable to access or control any of the ships systems, Archer said, a resigned frustration creeping into his voice. He willfully ignored Phlox, who had continued quietly scanning him from a meter or so away.

Krell nodded. “From this evidence, gleaned from the emergency log buoys of both ships and transmissions relayed directly from the recording equipment used on the KajDeel, the Klingon Defense Force has concluded that the RomuluSnganship somehow gained remote access to, and control over, not only the KajDeel, but the PeD NIHwIas well.

On the screen, Archer saw a familiar face float past the weightless cameras eye for a moment. “Freeze that, he shouted, mindful a millisecond later that shouting commands at Krell was probably poor protocol, to say the least.

After casting Archer a cold glare that could have made a snowman shiver, Krell stopped the recording. The face that Archer had recognized was still on display, nearly dead center, trapped in place like a fly in amber.

Archer turned toward MRek, though he gestured back toward the screen. “That is the Klingon woman we found in the wreckage at Draylax. The only survivor we came across.

“The one who died so swiftly under the tender mercies of your chief medical officer? Krell said. Archer turned his head in time to see him cast a withering stare directly at Phlox.

“The woman was too far gone for anyone to save, Admiral, Archer said. “My doctor did everything possible for her, even if all he could do in the end was make her journey to the afterlife as smooth as possible. She fought death until the end, and died with honor, at least as far as Im concerned.

“Her family will be pleased to hear that, MRek said. “She will have a place in Sto‑Vo‑Koramong the honored dead. Of course, you will return her body to us immediately so that we may verifythe honorable nature of her death.

Archer nodded toward the chancellor. “Of course. Just as soon as I am back in touch with my ship. He turned back toward Krell. “If she was aboard the KajDeel,that means your hijacked battle cruiser was among the ships that attacked Draylax.

Krell nodded as he allowed the images to resume, though with muted sound. “Yes. Before they died, the officers running the independent imaging equipment managed to transmit images of that attack to one of our remote outposts. The data then reached the Klingon High Command via the outposts subspace relay station.

The images on the screen moved through a quick progression of shots of the KajDeels unconscious bridge crew, views of exploding Draylaxian vessels, and NX‑class starships taking heavy fire from Klingon battle cruisers, and finally ended just as a trio of heavily armed, undamaged Klingon battle cruisers opened fire. The final image was a flash of an apparently dead Klingon male, his hair floating around his head as he drifted upside down in the KajDeels microgravity environment.

“Had we received word of it sooner, Krell said, sounding wistful at the prospect of such wasteful, honorless killing, “we might have prevented entirely what happened at Draylax.

“If it hadnt been for that camera crew, you might not have gotten there at all, Archer said. Addressing MRek, he said, “Chancellor, I believe it would be in everyonesbest interests if you were to authorize me to show these images to the representatives of the Coalition of Planets. It proves that the Romulans have developed some kind of remote‑control weapon capable of seizing control of the space vessels of other species. If they take what Admiral Krell has just shown me at face value, they will have to absolve the Klingon Empire of any responsibility for what happened at Draylax

“No, Captain, MRek said, standing. “That the RomuluSnganhave made us pawns in their cowardly ambushes is bad enough, but for you to make the Klingon Empire appear so vulnerablein the eyes of your worlds leaders, and those of the Coalition of PlanetsThe shame and dishonor is simply more than can be borne.

Krell spoke up, the rising timbre of his voice showing very clearly that he was still in great pain from his exertions. “There are security considerations as well, Captain Archer. These recordings show the bridge and instrumentation of a Klingon battle cruiser with great clarity and in considerable detail. I doubt that Starfleet or any of its allies would hesitate for an instant to begin reverse engineering our command‑and‑control architecture and other related technologies based on what they find in these images.

Archer rose from the bench where hed been seated, noticing only then that Phlox had finally quit scanning and was putting his medical scanner away. “Chancellor MRek, for the leader of a warrior society, you seem to have some fairly ridiculous fears.

MRek bristled, leaning forward to grasp the railing in front of his bench with both hands. “You dare?

A still, small voice somewhere deep within Archer counseled caution, but at the moment he felt too angry to listen to it. “Youre damned rightI dare, he said, jabbing an accusing finger into the air. “You would allow your people to become embroiled in a dishonorable war against the Coalition of Planets instead of going after the realauthors of the conflict? Youd let the Romulans get away with doing this to you, just to save yourself some embarrassment?

“We act to spare the Klingon Empire from dishonor, Terangan,MRek said, his voice pitched in a dangerous tone that seemed to provoke his soldiers to hair‑trigger readiness.

But Archer knew he couldnt afford to back down now. “Even if that aversion to dishonor could mean the difference between a war with the Coalition and a war against our common enemy?

MRek sneered. “Do not presume to lecture meon the subject of honor, Captain. If you fear war against us, then you must find your ownway to convince your leaders that the Klingon Empire will not take the blame for the attack upon Draylax. Persuading them will be yourresponsibility.

Im getting awfully damned tired of playing errand boy for one side against the other,Archer thought, his fighting instincts rising even as his diplomatic side struggled to maintain control of a very bad situation.

But, unless he had badly misjudged that situation, he knew he would leave QonoS with far more information than the Klingons realized.

THIRTY‑THREE

Tuesday, July 22, 2155 Enterprise NX‑01

“Y OU KNOW , J ONATHAN , about a hundred or so years ago what you just did would have been called bootlegging,Erika Hernandez said, a grim smile on her face.

Archer nodded toward the new viewscreen that sat on his desk; Burch had assigned a crew to install a replacement terminal after Archers “accident with the previous computer prior to his trip to QonoS. The new screen, its image area split down the middle at the moment, displayed the faces of both Hernandez and Admiral Gardner. Archer had contacted them both only a few minutes earlier, eager to see their reactions to the images taken aboard the hijacked Klingon battle cruiser.

“I had no idea what Doctor Phlox was really up to at the time, Archer said. “At least until his constant medical scanning started becoming obnoxious. He didnt feel any pressing need to tell them about Phloxs cover story about the disorder that had supposedly afflicted his third lung, or the doctors good‑natured phallic‑based putdown.