“Well, thank God that Denobulans seem to have the same capacity for sneakiness that we humans do,Gardner said. “Though using a medical scanner to eavesdrop on so much audiovisual material is a new one even to me.

“So do you agree with me that this information in Phloxs bootleg is vital? Archer asked.

Gardner shook his head. “I agree that itcould be vital, Captain Archer. If the Coalition Council believes it, it would certainly be one more nail in the coffin for the Romulans. But you have to realize that some will say that the Klingons faked the whole thing just to get themselves off the hook.

“Begging the admirals pardon,Hernandez said, a look of concern on her face, “but the idea that the Klingons would have gone as far as they havedestroying their own ships, killing their own peoplefor the sake of a propaganda video they had every reason to believe we would never seethats just paranoid talk.

“I wont take offense at your characterization, Captain Hernandez, because I know it wasnt directed at me,Gardner said. “But that still doesnt mean that the Tellarites or any of the other races wont be suspicious of the Klingons.

Perhaps it was the wound in his side or the way his ribs still ached whenever he breathed, but Archer found he was having a hard time keeping his temper in check. “How much more evidence is the Coalition Council going to need, Admiral? Do they need an engraved invitation to war, delivered by a skipping Romulan schoolgirl, before theyll believe the truth?

Gardner scowled slightly. “While Starfleets tech people get busy building countermeasures to this new Romulan weapon, Ill have my analytical staff comb through every shred of evidence weve gotincluding your doctors surreptitious recordingin order to make a presentation to the Coalition Council. But I cant make any promises as to what the politicians will finally decide to do. Especially if the Klingons arent willing to go public with thereal culprits behind the attacks on Draylax. Untilthat changes, its going to be very hard for some not to go right on blaming the Klingon Empire for what happened at Draylax.

“Admiral, Draylax was probably just thestart of hostilities,Hernandez said, worry creasing her brow. “If the Romulans can seize control of Klingon ships, then they can disguiseany of their own attacks as Klingon aggression.

Gardner moved one hand up to run his fingers through his close‑cropped gray hair. “As far as most people in this part of the galaxy are concerned, the Klingons arealready aggressive and untrustworthy. So how do you propose we differentiate between normal Klingon aggression and Romulan‑controlled Klingon aggression?

“Heres the deal,Gardner continued. “In my judgment, the best use of our forces is for both of you to resume your original tandem mission patrolling the Coalitions shipping lanes.

He held up his hands, palms outward, as if to ward off the arguments he knew must be coming. “I know neither of you thinks that will be helpful, but now at least you know what to watch for. Or at least you know what youmight face. Most of the attacks so far, other than the Draylax incident, seem to have occurred in Coalition‑controlled space. So while youre out preventing any further attacks that might lead to a Coalition‑Klingon war, Ill be doing my damnedest to get the Council on board.

“I dont know what that means yet,Gardner said. “And I have serious doubts that the Klingons will be willing to ally themselves with us, even to punish the Romulans. Whats your take on that, Captain Archer?

“Iyes, I dont think an alliance with us is in their plans, Archer said. “If theyre going to go to war against the Romulans, their crazy sense of pride is probably going to demand that they do it on their own. But if MRek was making serious plans to go to war against the Romulans anytime soon, he certainly kept them hidden from me. Which is exactly what I would expect him to do.

Gardner nodded. “Me, too. So all I have to do is convince the Council not to move against people upon whom we cant rely for help against the Romulans, even though those same Romulans can attack us any time they damn please while making it look as though the Klingons are really the ones responsible.

Pointing toward his own screenand presumably at both captainsGardner continued: “Its going to beyour job to stop any further attacks, which I know is going to be extraordinarily difficult until we find an effective countermeasure to thisRomulan hijacking device. I know youre spoiling to go on the offensive, regardless. Unfortunately, weve been forced into a defensive posture, at least for a while.

Archer listened as Gardner gave a few more instructions to both him and Hernandez, but his insides were tying themselves in knots, and not solely because of the residual pain of his injuries. Despite his own desire to take more precipitous and direct action, he had to admit that the admirals words made a good deal of sense.

Still, it was hard to calm himself in the face of the overwhelming worry that he might not be able to act in time to prevent an unnecessary interstellar warjust as he had failed to reach Coridan Prime in time to take any action that might have prevented the Romulans from effectively destroying most of the planets surface. Despite all he had doneand the combined efforts of everyone serving aboard both Enterpriseand Columbia,and Trip as wellthe duplicitous nature of the Romulan remote control system had all but perfectly framed the Klingons as the bad guys du jour.

And the Coalition Council, whose members all too frequently seemed only barely able to trust one another to begin with, might be swayed all too easily by such a convenient narrative. Even after adding to the equation the new evidence he had just acquired on QonoS, Archer could hardly fault anyone who had ever gotten on the wrong side of a Klingon captain for failing to believe the Klingon Empire to be unequivocally innocent of the Draylax incursion, much less beyond a reasonable doubt.

Still, as he said his good‑byes to Gardner and Hernandez, then reached for one of the alien herbal painkillers that Phlox had prescribed for him, Archer was at least comforted by the knowledge that he would be taking the more hazardous patrol route. According to Gardners orders, Columbiawould be headed for safer territory, while Enterprisewas to set a course for the Gamma Hydra sector, perilously near Romulan space. The fact that the region was under dispute by both the Romulans and the Klingonsas well as near the Coalition‑proposed “Neutral Zone intended to create a buffer separating both the Klingons and the Romulans from Coalition territory as well as from each othermeant that if another ship‑to‑ship engagement was in the offing, it was more likely to occur on Enterprises flight path than on Columbias.

Archer exited his ready room and entered the bridge, the determination in his stride slowly wrestling the pain from the duel with Krell into submission.

“Travis, lay in a standard commercial convoy heading for Gamma Hydra, section ten, he said. “And dont spare the horses.

THIRTY‑FOUR

Tuesday, July 22, 2155 San Francisco

I NTERIOR M INISTER H AROUN AL‑ R ASHID FELTnowhere near as serene as he strived to appear. Though he kept his hands folded meditatively atop the wide, semicircular negotiation table in the Coalition Council Chamber, he waited anxiously for the hammer to fall on a pair of urgent but still‑unresolved questions.

The foremost of these questions involved the rising likelihood of war with the Klingons. And the second, whose long‑term implications arguably outweighed most conceivable consequences of the recent Klingon‑Draylax incident, would almost certainly have a profound effect upon the outcome of the first.