The Returned, Part III

  “I’m thrilled that you think so,” said Calhoun grimly. “The fact of the matter is that you betrayed us.”

  “And then saved your life.”

  “Only because Q apparently sent you here to do so.”

  “Maybe,” said Xyon, “but I didn’t have to. You were floating in space. All I had to do was absolutely nothing. Instead, I rescued you. No one made me do that. Q may have sent me here, given me the opportunity, but that was all he did. The rest was all me. I’d like to think that counts for something.”

  Calhoun stared at his son for a long moment and then said, “Soleta, escort him to the brig, please.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “The brig?!” said Xyon. “You’re . . .” His voice trailed off and his gaze drifted down. “You know what? That’s fine. That’s what I deserve.” He stood up and said, “Do what you feel you have to.”

  Soleta walked toward the door and gestured for him to exit. But before he could, Calhoun said, “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why did you change your mind?”

  He thought about it a moment and then said, “Because I’ve spent pretty much my whole life hating you. And I’m not satisfied with where my life is. So I decided that maybe I should try something else and see where it takes me.”

  Calhoun said nothing but simply nodded.

  Soleta led him out and the crew sagged back in their chairs. Just before the doors closed, Soleta said, “I told you it wasn’t my cloaking device.” Then she was cut off from view.

  Calhoun chuckled softly at that.

  “No one’s told me how she’s still alive,” Burgoyne pointed out.

  “She beamed onto the Dayan ship while wearing a special stealth suit that effectively rendered her invisible,” Calhoun told hir.

  “Oh. Okay, well, that makes . . . no sense at all. But it seems as reasonable an explanation as any other.”

  “Get us to New Thallon as quickly as possible,” said Calhoun, “and tell me when we hear back from Starfleet. Maintain long-range sensors. If the Dayan ship shows up, I want to know about it.”

  “Yes, sir. And Mac . . .”

  “Yes?”

  “Welcome back,” said Burgoyne with a smile.

  iii.

  CALHOUN SAT IN his ready room, staring at deep space as it hurtled past him. It hadn’t been all that long since he was floating out there at the mercy of the airless vacuum. He prayed he never had another opportunity to have to do that, because he didn’t like the odds of surviving a third time. It was nothing short of amazing that he had endured the experience twice.

  The chime at his door sounded. “Come,” he said.

  The door slid open and Soleta was standing there. She wasn’t looking him in the eyes; instead, she was gazing down fixedly. “Captain,” she said formally.

  “Soleta.”

  “I felt the need to apologize to you once more. For what I did.”

  “For saving me from the Dayan?”

  “I think you know perfectly well that isn’t what I was referring to, Captain. My assault on you was unspeakable.”

  He gestured for her to sit, but she remained standing. “I want you to know that when all this is done—when we’ve left Thallonian space—I will take my leave from the ship at the first opportunity.”

  “How are you going to do that? You destroyed your vessel in an attempt to try and shut down the wormhole.”

  “If you could lend me a shuttlecraft, that would be more than sufficient.”

  “And that’s it, then? You leave us behind?”

  “I sexually assaulted you, Captain,” Soleta said. It was the first time the words had escaped her lips, and for a moment she actually looked surprised when she said it. She pulled herself together and said, “There can be no forgiveness for that.”

  “Unless, as I suggested earlier, you were in the grip of Pon farr. Or whatever it is that passes for Pon farr for someone who is half-Romulan.”

  “I suppose that is possible,” she allowed. “I must admit, I have never experienced Pon farr. I have no idea how it would present itself. I imagine it could be, but that doesn’t excuse my actions. I still should have had enough control not to give in to such primal urges.”

  “You’re being excessively hard on yourself, Soleta. From what I understand of the Vulcan mating urge, self-control really isn’t an option.”

  “From what I understand, that is true. Captain . . .” She seemed reluctant to ask but finally managed: “Are you saying you forgive me, Captain? Because that is very important to me. If you—”

  “Yes. I forgive you.”

  Soleta drew in air and then let it out very slowly. “That is good. That is very good.” A thought occurred to her. “Are you forgiving me because I saved your life? Because I wish to emphasize to you that I didn’t save your life because I hoped that it would lead to your forgiveness.”

  “Yes, that’s understood.”

  “That’s very good to hear. So I . . .” She pointed toward the door. “I suppose I will return to my station now.”

  “Good idea,” said Calhoun.

  She turned and headed for the door, but then she stopped and turned back to him. “Are you going to tell Admiral Shelby?” she asked.

  “I have to,” he said. “Honesty has always been a fundamental part of our relationship.”

  “Except when you seduced her on Xenex and left her to fall asleep so that you could escape and try to turn back time.”

  Calhoun frowned. “She told you about that, did she?”

  “She did. She was rather annoyed.”

  “Yes, well . . . that was the exception.”

  “Actually, according to her—”

  He put up a hand. “Soleta, can we stop discussing this?”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  “Good.”

  She walked out of his ready room, and Calhoun slumped back in his chair and stared at the overhead.

  “Elizabeth’s going to love this,” he muttered.

  New Thallon

  i.

  SHINTAR HAN WAS not the least bit surprised when Mark McHenry appeared out of nowhere in his office. However, he was rather surprised that Mackenzie Calhoun was standing next to him, as was a towering individual who seemed to be made out of solid rock.

  Han tilted his chair back and moaned softly. “Now what?” he said with a sigh.

  McHenry nodded toward the rock being. “Kebron,” he said.

  The one called Kebron came around the desk and grabbed the prime minister by the front of his shirt. Han let out a startled cry as Kebron lifted him off his feet and held him up high. His back scraped against the ceiling.

  “Guards!” howled Han.

  Seconds later, three guards burst in through the doors. They stared at what was waiting for them: the captain of the Excalibur, a man whom they knew to have powers on par with some sort of god, and a creature over two meters tall that looked like a walking cliffside. Han was waving his arms frantically and shouted, “Destroy them!”

  The guards, in response, backed out slowly and closed the doors behind them.

  Han rolled his eyes. “Wonderful.”

  McHenry stepped toward Han and stared up at him. There was murder in his eyes. “Where is he?” he demanded.

  “Where is who? What are you talking about?”

  Han then let out a startled cry because Kebron was shaking him violently. He was sure that his lungs were going to emerge through his throat. Kebron stopped, and McHenry repeated, “Where is he?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  “Where is Cwansi! What did you do to him? Or at least what did you have Q do to him? If he’s dead, tell me now. You’ll be dead shortly thereafter, but if you confess, I promise to make it quick.”

  “Cwa
nsi and his mother escaped! As did you! You were all transported off of New Thallon! How am I supposed to know what happened after that?”

  “Because Q was working with you,” said McHenry.

  “Q, or the Awesome, or whatever you call him, was working for himself!” said Han. “He never worked for me. He just pretended to in order to amuse himself. Please, put me down!”

  McHenry exchanged a look with the captain. “Is he telling the truth?” asked Calhoun. “You’re the one who’s capable of poking around in people’s brains. You should be able to tell.”

  “Yeah, well . . . I’m reasonably sure he is telling the truth. I don’t need to check him from the inside out. He’s clearly too terrified to lie.”

  “Kebron, put him down,” said Calhoun.

  Kebron opened his fist and Shintar Han hit the floor. He missed his footing and fell on his rump. “Ow,” he muttered.

  “I should still kill you,” said McHenry. He crouched, so that he was face-to-face with Han. “Everything you did. Your attempt to have a hit man kill us. Bringing in Q to try and destroy us. You tried to kill me yourself.”

  “You mean in the labyrinth? Do you think I wanted to?!” said an alarmed Han. “What, do you think I asked the Awesome to transform me into that . . . that whatever it was? I was given no option. He came to me; he said, ‘I’m going to give you an opportunity to get involved personally.’ The next thing I knew, I was standing in that labyrinth, facing off against you! It wasn’t something I was at all interested in!”

  McHenry nodded slowly. “All right, fine. I accept that. But everything else is on your head.”

  “And if you want to take my head in punishment, go ahead! There’s nothing I can do to stop you! It’s probably best for all of us! Do you have any idea what I’ve had to deal with since you left?” He had managed to get to his feet and had now flopped back into his chair. “The public adores you! You, Lefler, and her brat! Anyone who had doubts about you, or disliked you, was turned around by your actions in the coliseum. All that the Awesome managed to do was put the populace of this world one hundred percent into your corner, which means that the entirety of New Thallon despises me! Because they know that I was responsible for bringing the Awesome here! You think that if I had the child here, I would kill him? I’d put him on the throne this very day and hope that my actions would be sufficient to turn public opinion around. So kill me if you want, because frankly I’m afraid to set foot out of my office!”

  “I feel so sorry for you,” said McHenry, who didn’t actually feel the least bit sorry.

  ii.

  CALHOUN’S COMBADGE SUDDENLY beeped. He tapped it. “Calhoun here.”

  “We have a problem, Captain,” came Burgoyne’s voice.

  Somehow, from the sound of Burgy’s tone, Calhoun had a feeling that he knew what Burgoyne was going to say. He prayed that he was wrong. “What?”

  “It’s the Dayan. Their ship just came up on long-range sensors, and it’s heading here fast. It’ll be here in three minutes.”

  “Wonderful. But at least we have time to vacate the area.”

  “If we do, everyone on New Thallon dies.”

  Calhoun’s eyes widened in alarm. “How do we know that?”

  “They said so. They’re transmitting, and they said that if we try to flee, then they’ll open fire on New Thallon and destroy everyone on it. We know they can, Captain. We’ve seen them do it.”

  “I’ll be right there.” He turned to Kebron and McHenry. “Mark, can you get us back up to the Excalibur?”

  “Easily.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Shintar Han. “Who is here? Why are they going to attack us?”

  “Because, believe it or not,” said Calhoun, “there are people out there who are even more ruthless than you.” He stepped in close. “If you have any battleships in the area, get them here. You’re going to need them.”

  “Will they be able to help?”

  I wouldn’t bet on it.

  “You never know,” said Calhoun.

  Excalibur

  i.

  CALHOUN, KEBRON, AND McHenry appeared on the bridge. Tobias gasped in surprise but quickly pulled herself together. “Dayan ETA: two minutes, Captain. They’re continuing to communicate with us.”

  “Have you responded?”

  “No, sir. They’re just sending what I assume is a recorded message, since it keeps repeating.”

  “Let’s hear it,” said Calhoun as he took his seat in the command chair.

  Seconds later Nyos’s voice was sounding on the bridge.

  “Captain Calhoun. I am assuming you can hear this and are alive. We know where you are and are coming for you. If you try to flee, we will track you, but we will first destroy the planet you are currently orbiting. So you had best not be hiding behind your cloak when we arrive.”

  Nyos began to repeat his warning, and Tobias shut it off.

  “I don’t understand,” said Burgoyne. “How do they—”

  Xy was walking across the bridge, carrying a tricorder. “Hold still, Captain,” he said briskly, and he started running the instrument over Calhoun’s body. After less than a minute, he halted on Calhoun’s right forearm. “Here. It’s right here.”

  “A tracker,” Burgoyne said suddenly, understanding.

  Calhoun yanked up his sleeve and stared at his bare skin. “Where?”

  “Under the skin. Right here,” said Xy, tapping his forearm. “They must have put it in you at some point. We need to get it out. Get Doctor Lochley up here.”

  “No time,” said Calhoun. Quickly he turned away and walked into his ready room. Without hesitation he went straight to his sword and yanked it off the wall. He took the tip of the sword and jammed it into his forearm, digging around, clamping his teeth into his lower lip so that he wouldn’t cry out. Blood began to stream from the wound but he ignored it, continuing to poke and prod.

  He felt the sword tip bump up against something and twisted it forcefully. A small piece of metal flew out of his arm and clinked onto the floor. He brought his foot down hard and smashed it to pieces, then he rolled his sleeve down again as he strode back to the bridge.

  The sleeve was rapidly turning red, absorbing Calhoun’s blood. He ignored it. “Now they won’t be able to see us.”

  “Yes, but it won’t matter,” said Burgoyne. “If we leave the area, we’ll be okay—they won’t be able to keep tracking us—but everyone on New Thallon will be dead.”

  “We take one of them prisoner,” said McHenry. “I can do that. Once their ship is here, I transport myself over there, grab their leader, and bring him back here. We offer to release him if they turn around and leave.”

  “It won’t work,” said Calhoun. “They have no regard for life, including their own. If you bring Nyos here, his ship will just open fire. Nyos might even kill himself, just to be difficult. It’s a good plan under ordinary circumstances, but it isn’t going to play out with the Dayan.”

  “What do we do, then?” asked Burgoyne.

  “We wait for them to show up and pray that we can talk them out of their insane mission.”

  “Diplomacy.” Burgoyne was not quite able to keep the sarcasm out of hir voice. “Where did you get that idea? I wonder.”

  Soleta said nothing, but there was a very small smile on her face.

  “Shields up,” said Calhoun. “We don’t need to give them another opportunity to beam anyone off the ship.”

  “Cloaking device?” said Tobias.

  “Keep us visible. Let’s play it their way for the time being.”

  “Aye, sir,” said Tobias, not sounding especially enthused about the prospect of playing it the way of the Dayan.

  The turbolift door slid open and Calhoun turned to see who it was. He was surprised to see Robin Lefler emerge from the turbolift. “What are you doing here,
Robin?”

  So softly that he could barely hear her, Lefler said, “Reporting for duty, sir.”

  He exchanged glances with McHenry. Mark very slightly shook his head, indicating that he clearly didn’t feel that this was the best move for her. “Robin, are you sure?” said Calhoun.

  Lefler nodded. “This is where I belong, sir.”

  “All right,” he said after a moment’s thought. “Take ops.”

  Without another word, she crossed the bridge to ops. No one said anything. Word of her son’s disappearance had spread very quickly through the ship, and they were all well aware of her loss. No one had the faintest idea what to say to her, so no one said anything.

  The Dayan ship dropped out of warp space and slowed. It came to a halt twenty thousand kilometers away, and for a time the two ships simply floated there. Calhoun was reminded once again of just how damned big the ship was. He had the depressing feeling that every ship in Starfleet could go up against it at one time and still wouldn’t be able to make any sort of headway against it.

  “They’re hailing us, Captain,” said Tobias.

  Well, at least they’re not just shooting at us, he thought. “On-screen,” he told her.

  The main viewscreen wavered, and then Nyos appeared. He was wearing his same customary confident smile. “Captain Calhoun. It seems you survived your small adventure in outer space.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “And apparently you managed to dispense with the tracking device we placed on you as well.”

  “That is correct.”

  “You assume that you can flee from us with impunity. And who knows? Perhaps you can. But I can assure you that this planet that you leave behind will not survive. It will be dispensed with as easily as we destroyed its vessels that attempted to challenge us.”

  Calhoun’s heart sank when he heard that, but he managed to keep his voice flat and even. “I don’t know anything about that.”

  “I assumed you did not. Because if you did, you likely would have warned them to stay out of our way. They attempted to interfere with us, and we were forced to destroy them. Nothing else for it, really.”