that she had simply frozen. She may as well have indicted Duras herself, he gloated silently behind his leathery physiognomy. All that remained now was to play out the conversation according to its unwritten rules before retiring to his residence and passing the news along to Lugok.
“In any event,” the Chelon said, “even with your help, Duras is a long shot at best. And considering the wealth and influence his House already wields, he can’t have been an easy mark for your people to exploit. Still, I can’t fault your—what do you callthem? ah, yes, the Tal Shiar—for their forward thinking in this matter. Though I doubt the Federation has anything worth trading for someone of his stature, perhaps we should look into buying a few lesser figures on the Klingon High Council. No doubt the return on investment would be quite stellar.”
The Romulan leaned back in her chair and sulked while staring at her empty glass. “There are no words equal to the depth of my contempt for you right now.”
“No doubt a passing phase.” He picked up the bottle of Romulan ale from the table, reached over, and refilled her glass. “Have another drink, and I’m sure you’ll find the words you seek soon enough.”
10
The intercom buzzed at precisely 0830, exactly the time Admiral Nogura had specified. He noted the detail with approval. There were many qualities he admired in other people, but punctuality was one upon which he placed particular importance; he did not like to be kept waiting. He thumbed open the channel to his yeoman. “Yes?”
Lieutenant Greenfield answered, “Captain Kirk is here for his debriefing, Admiral.”
“Send him in.” The door swished open and Kirk strode in carrying a data slate. Nogura stood and stepped around his desk to greet the younger, taller man. “Good morning, Captain.”
They shook hands. “Good morning, sir.”
Nogura gestured to the chairs in front of the desk as he returned to his own. “Have a seat.” They sat facing each other. “Can my yeoman bring you anything? Coffee, perhaps?”
“No, thank you.”
“All business, eh? I see your reputation is well earned.” The admiral reclined his chair a few degrees. “Half of Starfleet is buzzing about you these days, you know.”
Kirk responded with a disarmingly modest smile. “I can’t imagine why.”
“I’ve followed your career since you took over the center seat on the Enterprise, ” Nogura confessed. “Three years ago, I was one of those who doubted you could ever emerge from the shadow of the great Christopher Pike. Now I hear officers talk as if you’re some kind of modern-day Magellan, and dropping Pike’s name makes the new cadets ask, ‘Who?’”
The captain rolled his eyes, as if to deflect the praise. “I can’tcontrol what others say—but whatever praise they think I’ve earned probably belongs to my crew.”
“No doubt there’s some truth to that,” Nogura said. “A commanding officer has to have good people in order to be effective. But a real leader inspires good people to greatness—and the Enterprise crew has excelled under your command, Kirk. Take pride in that.”
The commendation seemed to bring out a tendency for self-effacement in Kirk, who mustered an embarrassed smile. “I do, sir. Every day.”
“Good. Just don’t do anything stupid—like get yourself promoted to the admiralty. Large bureaucracies tend to reward their best people with desk jobs where they can’t be of any use to anyone, and in your case, I can’t imagine a greater waste of talent.”
That drew a small chuckle from Kirk. “I’ll try to remember that.” He leaned forward and handedthe data slate across the desk to Nogura. “Our logs, hand-delivered as ordered, sir.”
Nogura activated the slate and perused the long index of entries. “Your log for stardate 5693.2 indicates you found the Defiant trapped in—I’m sorry, what is interphase ?”
“A rip in space-time, like a torn membrane between
“In any event,” the Chelon said, “even with your help, Duras is a long shot at best. And considering the wealth and influence his House already wields, he can’t have been an easy mark for your people to exploit. Still, I can’t fault your—what do you callthem? ah, yes, the Tal Shiar—for their forward thinking in this matter. Though I doubt the Federation has anything worth trading for someone of his stature, perhaps we should look into buying a few lesser figures on the Klingon High Council. No doubt the return on investment would be quite stellar.”
The Romulan leaned back in her chair and sulked while staring at her empty glass. “There are no words equal to the depth of my contempt for you right now.”
“No doubt a passing phase.” He picked up the bottle of Romulan ale from the table, reached over, and refilled her glass. “Have another drink, and I’m sure you’ll find the words you seek soon enough.”
10
The intercom buzzed at precisely 0830, exactly the time Admiral Nogura had specified. He noted the detail with approval. There were many qualities he admired in other people, but punctuality was one upon which he placed particular importance; he did not like to be kept waiting. He thumbed open the channel to his yeoman. “Yes?”
Lieutenant Greenfield answered, “Captain Kirk is here for his debriefing, Admiral.”
“Send him in.” The door swished open and Kirk strode in carrying a data slate. Nogura stood and stepped around his desk to greet the younger, taller man. “Good morning, Captain.”
They shook hands. “Good morning, sir.”
Nogura gestured to the chairs in front of the desk as he returned to his own. “Have a seat.” They sat facing each other. “Can my yeoman bring you anything? Coffee, perhaps?”
“No, thank you.”
“All business, eh? I see your reputation is well earned.” The admiral reclined his chair a few degrees. “Half of Starfleet is buzzing about you these days, you know.”
Kirk responded with a disarmingly modest smile. “I can’t imagine why.”
“I’ve followed your career since you took over the center seat on the Enterprise, ” Nogura confessed. “Three years ago, I was one of those who doubted you could ever emerge from the shadow of the great Christopher Pike. Now I hear officers talk as if you’re some kind of modern-day Magellan, and dropping Pike’s name makes the new cadets ask, ‘Who?’”
The captain rolled his eyes, as if to deflect the praise. “I can’tcontrol what others say—but whatever praise they think I’ve earned probably belongs to my crew.”
“No doubt there’s some truth to that,” Nogura said. “A commanding officer has to have good people in order to be effective. But a real leader inspires good people to greatness—and the Enterprise crew has excelled under your command, Kirk. Take pride in that.”
The commendation seemed to bring out a tendency for self-effacement in Kirk, who mustered an embarrassed smile. “I do, sir. Every day.”
“Good. Just don’t do anything stupid—like get yourself promoted to the admiralty. Large bureaucracies tend to reward their best people with desk jobs where they can’t be of any use to anyone, and in your case, I can’t imagine a greater waste of talent.”
That drew a small chuckle from Kirk. “I’ll try to remember that.” He leaned forward and handedthe data slate across the desk to Nogura. “Our logs, hand-delivered as ordered, sir.”
Nogura activated the slate and perused the long index of entries. “Your log for stardate 5693.2 indicates you found the Defiant trapped in—I’m sorry, what is interphase ?”
“A rip in space-time, like a torn membrane between
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