that he was a Romulan. Vulcans do not, as a
rule,
engage in murder. And the fact that my father and I
survived at all was due to something other
than luck.
We were rescued by a friend."
"Someone else was there? Where is he? He could
clear you."
Spock studied a point in the far distance. "She
was
killed in the incident--vaporized. She and the
attacker."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
Spock was silent for a short time before continuing.
"The message I have for you, Captain, is one that
I
have wanted to remember for some time, but was
unable to."
"Which is?"
,After I left you, Dr. McCoy and Mr.
Scott with the
Aritanian representative, I followed my
tricorder signal
out to the edge of the plateau, near the mountain. It
seems, Captain, that the mountains are quite rich in
uritanium--"
"We already know that, Spock."
"Of course. That, however, is not my message.
As I
was scanning the mountains, two surface fighters
materialized almost directly in front of me.
They were so
close that I could clearly see the pilots
inside, even in
the darkness. They were Romulans."
"But where could they have beamed down from?"
Kirk asked. "There weren't any ships in the
area--if
they had beamed down from a cloaked vessel, they
would have had to let down their cloak to beam the
fighters down, and we would have detected them."
"Captain," said Spock, "you are assuming that
they
beamed down. At the same time the ships
materialized,
my tricorder detected a slight power surge
merely a kilometer beneath the planet surface.
Although the cloaking device currently in use by the
Federation does not permit the simultaneous use of
transporters, there have been reports that the
Romulans
are working on a design which currently affords a
rather imperfect degree of protection during
transporter
use. If the Enterprise scanned the surface,
it
would probably interpret the mild power surge as
a
minor seismic disturbance."
"What are you getting at, Spock?" asked
McCoy.
"I submit, Doctor, that the ships were not beaming
down--rather, they were beaming up."
"That would explain it!" Kirk was exultant.
"Spock, we erected the protective shield,
but the
pirates apparently penetrated it."
"There was no need for them to penetrate the
shield. They were already beneath it, able to come and
go as they pleased to the surface."
"So it wasn't an accident," McCoy said
grimly.
"They pushed you off the edge for what you saw."
"Not at all, Doctor. I jumped."
"You what?"
"It was a choice between rolling off the edge of the
plateau or facing the pirates' burning
phasers."
208
MINDSHADOW
"You made the right decision." Kirk shuddered,
remembering the smell of singed flesh.
McCoy changed the subject. "I must say,
Spock,
that your recovery is quite impressive. I'm going
to
recommend neodopazine to all my
cortex-damaged
Vulcan patients from now on."
"Doctor," Spock asked hesitantly, "just
how familiar
are you with the effects of neodopazine on
Vulcans?"
McCoy shrugged. "Hardly at all. It's very
new, so
I've never used it myself. Dr. Saenz has,
though, and
she recommended it very highly."
"Is there a reader in this room?" Spock craned
his
neck.
"Over here. What do you want to know?"
"A friend suggested I look at a recent
article by
Silak. I wonder if you could key it up for
me."
"Sure." McCoy entered the name, got the
cross
index, and retrieved the article. "It's
recent, all right,
published less than two weeks ago . . ."
His face
registered surprise, and then he smiled.
"Well, how
about that--coma study by Silak, Wreen... and
Saenz."
"Emma?" Kirk asked.
"One and the same. She wasn't kidding about having
worked with the drug. I thought she said it hadn't
been tested on Vulcans, though..." McCoy
furrowed
his brow as he scanned the article.
"Read the conclusion," Spock suggested.
McCoy moved his finger down the reader to the
conclusion of the article and stiffened.
"What is it, Bones?"
He read aloud, unable to believe what he saw
on the
terminal before him. "Our study
indicates that the use
of neodopazine on Vulcans is definitely
contraindicated..."
He skipped over a sentence, "... notable
side
effects include paranoia, loss of concentration,
impairment
of memory, mental confusion, irritability, and
depression . . . The effects of neodopazine
can be
more devastating than the traumatic brain damage
it is
used to treat." His voice broke off as he
looked at the
captain.
"But why?" Kirk could not understand. "Why
would she knowingly use it to treat Spock?"
Spock's tone was gentle but resolute.
"Gentlemen,
several attempts have been made to stop me from
divulging the information I have just given you. To list
a few: the so-called suicide attempt while
I was on the Enterprise, the sabotage of the fuel
indicator on the Galileo, Dr. Saenz's
use of neodopazine to prolong my
amnesia and to trigger psychological disturbances
which conveniently provided an explanation for my
last so-called suicide attempt and attempted
murder of
my father, who I should like to point out is one of the
most outspoken proponents of protection for
Aritani.
It would have been a convenient way for the Romulans
to be rid of both of us."
"He's not the only diplomat the Romulans have
tried to kill," Kirk said darkly.
McCoy was still in shock, but anger began to creep
into his voice. "Are you trying to tell me that
Emma is
the one who's been trying to kill you?"
"She is definitely a suspect, Doctor."
"You're wrong," McCoy lashed out. "You
don't
know Emma--she's not capable of murder. And
she's
a very loyal person who would never sell out to the
Romulans."
Spock was unmoved by McCoy's vehement
denial;
he folded his arms
calmly. "It's not
always possible to
predict people or circumstances. Perhaps there might
be some situation in which Dr. Saenz would find it
MINDSHADOW
logical to join forces with the Romulans. However,
I
do not expect you to take my word alone. I
suggest
you consult Dr. Saenz on the matter."
"That's exactly what I intend to do," McCoy
said
hotly, "because I don't believe you."
"Doctor, you read the article yourself. Aren't you
the least bit curious to hear her explanation?"
"Yes, but I'm sure it's not that she's a
Romulan
spy."
"She couldn't be," Kirk said slowly. "She
works
for Admiral Komack."
McCoy and Spock regarded him with disbelief.
"It's true," Kirk insisted. "I heard it from
Komack
himself."
Spock sighed. "Then I suggest,
Captain, that you
notify the Admiral of the possibility that he
has a
double agent working for him. In the meantime, I also
suggest you try to locate Dr. Saenz before she
has a
chance to escape."
"You don't really think she'd try to---"
Kirk began.
"Captain, if she is working for the Romulans,
then
she knows that my memory is close to returning and
that I quit taking the neodopazine a week
ago. I am
sure she did everything in her power to discourage
both of you from coming here, for she cannot risk my
discovering the effects of the medication she prescribed
and divulging that information to you."
"She said she was leaving," McCoy mumbled
inaudibly.
"What?" Kirk asked.
"She said I wouldn't see her when I got
back,
because she was being reassigned." McCoy looked
at
the captain helplessly, his anger replaced
by numbness.
"But I still can't--"
"Captain," Spock interrupted, "in that
case, haste
is essential. It may already be too late
to find her."
"Let me go," McCoy said swiftly. "I
could stop
her."
Spock lifted a skeptical brow.
"Doctor, if it is true
that the lady is a Romulan spy, I doubt that
even your
powers of persuasions"
"Go ahead," Kirk told him. "I'll call
Security."
"If you call Security now," Spock pointed
out, "she
will certainly know that she is being pursued, assuming
she is monitoring ship-to-surface
communication."
Kirk's expression was somber. "Take a
phaser with
you, Bones. That's an order."
"Yes, yes, of course, Captain," McCoy
lied. "And
I'll give Scotty a good excuse for beaming
up, in case
she's listening."
"All I want you to do, Doctor, is
to distract her for a
few minutes, so I can notify Security without
her being
aware of it. After you beam up, I'll give you
ten
minutes to find her before I call them."
"Right, Captain." McCoy anxiously
signaled the
guard to let him out.
When he had gone, Spock looked at his
captain with
eyes Kirk tried to avoid. "Captain, I
hope that you
have not made a mistake in sending Dr. McCoy
to find
her."
"Don't you trust McCoy to turn her in?"
"I trust the good doctor, but I dare
not presume
what his relationship with Dr. Saenz
"He loves her."
"I thought as much. Even so, I trust Dr.
McCoy. Dr.
Saenz, however, is another matter. She has
killed,
Captain, and I do not trust her even in this
circumstance
not to kill again."
Emma was waiting by the transporter console when
McCoy stepped from the platform. My God, he
MINDSHADOW
thought, it's true; she was listening when I asked
to
beam aboard.
But she looked at him, puzzled, and frowned.
"What are you doing here?"
McCoy sighed with silent relief. "I was
hoping to
catch you--before you left, that is. I need to talk
to
you..." He shot a glance at Lyle, who stood
behind
the transporter control, awkwardly pretending not
to
listen.
She shook her head. "This is a mistake,
Leonard.
There's nothing you can say that will convince me to
stay. Please, I'll miss my shuttle--"
"Emma, please."
The desperation in his words must have convinced
her, for she turned to Lyle. "This won't take
long."
McCoy led her down the hall to a nearby
conference
room and they went inside.
"All right, Leonard, what's this all about?"
"Emma, there's something I have to ask you . . .
there's something I must know before you leave." He
took her gently by the shoulders.
"We've been through this before, Leonard--"
"I'm not talking about marriage. This is something
else entirely. Please, answer me
honestly."
Her eyes narrowed. "Do you expect me to do
otherwise?"
McCoy took a deep breath and
searched her eyes;
they were as clear and genuine as they had always
been.. Right now they regarded him with honest
puzzlement.
"In this case, maybe. But I want you to know
that if you answer me truthfully, regardless of
what the
answer is, I won't try to stop you from leaving.
That's
a promise."
"Fair enough," she said. "What's the question?"
"The neodopazine. Emma, why?"
"I can't tell you that, Leonard. Ask me
anything
else." She began to pull away, but he
tightened his grip
on her.
"I'm the chief medical officer on board this
ship.
You work for me, remember? I'm asking you a question.
Why can't you tell me?"
"I don't answer to you in this instance. I don't
have
to explain my actions to you." She pulled harder
to
break free.
A sudden rage kindled within him, and he squeezed
her arms so tightly that she cried out in
surprise. "You
were sent here to kill Spock, weren't you? And you
had to get on good terms with the chief medical
officer,
so that you could manipulate him to do what you
wanted with Spock. That's it, isn't it?" He
shook her. "Isn't it?"
She pushed free with a gasp. When McCoy
approached
her again, he saw the small phaser directed
at his chest.
He
r eyes flashed with the heat of her own anger.
"I
don't have to tell you anything, Leonard. I'm not
responsible to you or to anyone else on board this
ship. Who I am or what I am is not
important. I have a
job to do, and no one, not even you, will interfere with
it."
"You used me," McCoy whispered miserably.
"I don't have to tell you anything, but I will tell
this: I love whom I please, not whom I am
ordered to.
Understand?"
"No," said McCoy.
For a moment, he thought she looked at him with
something very much like affection.
"Fool," she murmured. "I have risked myself for
your friend because you loved him. Now everything
may be lost. What more do you want from me?"
McCoy did not have a chance to answer; she aimed
the phaser at him and fired.
Chapter Eleven
EMMA SAENZ SMILED sweetly at
Ensign Lyle. "Sorry
to keep you waiting, Mr. Lyle. A last
minute medical
problem..."
Somewhat abashed, Lyle returned the smile.
He
was not the sort to stick his nose into other people's
business, making it a point to ignore any
rumors
circulated about senior officers, but it would have
been
impossible not to have heard the gossip about the
heated affair between the chief medical officer and the
new specialist.
He was convinced now that it was more than just
gossip. "No problem at all, Doctor."
She stepped onto the transporter pad and
positioned
a small suitcase by her feet. "Ready to beam
down,
Mr. Lyle."
What followed next took place so quickly that
Lyle
was never quite sure what happened.
The door opened and Second Lieutenant
Reems of
Security stood in the doorway, phaser
drawn. When
he saw Dr. Saenz on the platform, he
aimed his
weapon at her and started to speak.
He did not have time to say anything. Emma, still
calm and smiling, produced a phaser of her own
and
fired it at Reems. It surprised Lyle;
he shouted at her
and she turned smoothly toward him and fired again.
Emma ran over to the transporter console and
pushed the slumped form of Lyle aside so that she
could reach the automatic control. He slid to the
floor
with a heavy thud.
"Stop. That's as far as you're going."
Emma stopped and looked over her shoulder.
Ingrit
Tomson stood over Reems in the doorway,
her phaser
pointed at Emma's back. "Drop it."
Emma laid her phaser carefully on the
console.
Tomson motioned toward the door. "Now move."
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