by Peter David
As she did so, Sulu looked evenly at Anik. "Satisfied, Commander?"
There were a few things that occurred to Anik, but instead of saying any of them she just smiled thinly. "Perfectly, Captain."
The rescue went off without problems. The Burton was not unsalvageable. By the time the crew and cargo had been removed from the cargo ship, the warp-coil breach had poisoned the interior of the vessel. Still, it could easily be decontaminated, so the Excelsior took the ship in tow.
The crew of the Burton was duly impressed by the Excelsior. Most of the crew members had spent their entire careers on small ships, and had never seen anything like the Excelsior except in pictures. The crew of the Excelsior was polite and cooperative, and no one from the Burton would possibly have been able to guess that the Excelsior's crew was preoccupied and concerned with the situation regarding the captain.
In short order the starship arrived at Starbase 9, where the Burton's crew and cargo was removed with relative ease. All things considered, it was easily one of the more routine, even pedestrian, missions that the Excelsior had ever undertaken.
As it happened, it also turned out to be one of the costliest.
The Excelsior was still in orbit around Starbase 9, just finishing up the transfer, when Janice Rand turned from her communications panel and looked to Sulu. He was in his command chair, staring resolutely at the screen. He seemed as if he were ever so slightly out of phase: aware of the world around him and yet just a bit removed from it. But somehow he seemed to sense that Rand had to say something to him before she actually said it. He turned to face her before she'd had the opportunity to open her mouth.
"Incoming communication, sir. Admiral LaVelle."
The bridge crew reacted to this. LaVelle was pretty high up on the food chain. If, as they had already come to suspect, this little jaunt was unauthorized, then they were going to hear about it now. The immediate thought on all their minds was that Sulu was going to get up from his command chair and ask that the call be transferred to his quarters, where he could take it in privacy.
So there was collective, if unspoken, surprise when he said, "On-screen, Commander."
Rand, along with the others, had thought he would want the shield of his quarters to conduct the call. "Sir—?" she began.
But he was calm, certain. "On-screen, Commander." And, making sure that she knew he was aware of what was going through her mind, he added, "I have nothing to hide."
With a small uncertain nod of her head that seemed to say, Oooookay, if you say so, she transferred the signal to the main screen.
The image of Starbase 9 vanished from the screen, to be replaced by the concerned face of Admiral LaVelle. Even she seemed surprised to be on an open channel. "Captain Sulu, a more private forum might be preferable for you," she said.
"I have no secrets from my crew, Admiral," Sulu replied sanguinely.
"Very well. Then I'll simply ask you what the hell you think you're doing?"
"What I have to, Admiral. That's all anyone does," he said evenly.
"What anyone does in Starfleet is obey orders," said LaVelle. "Your orders have you going to Centrelis. And regulations having you staying away from Askalon Five. I commend you for stopping along your one-way voyage-to-court-martial to help the transport ship Burton. You must have known that the command of Starbase Nine would routinely inform Starfleet of the aid provided by Excelsior."
"Yes, Admiral, I was quite aware."
"So you gave up the additional time you might have had to reach Askalon Five before we found out about it. As I said, commendable. Out of respect to your act of self-sacrifice, I will give you this one opportunity to rectify the situation. I am perfectly willing to write up this little detour as a response to a distress signal. You can walk away from this incident with a nice little notation on your file. That will give us ample opportunity to go on with our lives and forget that there was any … 'irregularity' in anyone's conduct. What do you say?" she asked with a touch of hopefulness in her voice.
"I say I'm most appreciative of the offer, Admiral."
LaVelle nodded slowly. "You're continuing on your heading to Askalon Five, aren't you."
"Yes, Admiral."
"In that case, Captain, the penalties will be quite harsh, and immediate measures, with prejudice, will have to be taken. Do you understand that?"
There was deathly silence in the bridge upon that pronouncement.
"Yes, Admiral. I understand that you're doing what you have to," Sulu said levelly. "I guess that doesn't make you all that different from me, does it."
"It does in one major respect, Captain. You see … one of us isn't in trouble."
She allowed that pronouncement to hang there, and then her image blinked off the screen.
All eyes were upon Sulu, waiting for him to say something … anything. Waiting, preferably, for him to say something that indicated he was steering himself away from this potentially self-destructive course.
Slowly he surveyed his command crew.
"Who's going to relieve me of command?" he asked.
There was strength in his voice, challenge. A gauntlet thrown down, which no one was especially eager to pick up. Sulu seemed to radiate confidence and conviction.
"Listen to me carefully, people," he said. "I am not crazy. I have not lost my mind, nor have I become drunk with power. We've been down this road before, with far higher stakes. When I told Captain Kirk the location of the Khitomer conference, I was aiding and abetting a convicted criminal. I could have been brought up on charges of treason. But I acted out of loyalty and out of honor, being willing to betray my country rather than betray my friend. It's out of that same sense of honor that I act now."
"But sir," said Rand as gently as she could, "it's not the same. This is a useless risk of your career because … because …"
"Because Demora is dead."
"Yes, sir," Anik spoke up.
"That may very well be," Sulu agreed. "But her memory is still very much alive. And what I'm doing, I'm doing on behalf of her memory. That, and because I'm determined to find out what sort of circumstance on Askalon Five could have led to her death. She didn't simply take a wrong step and fall off a cliff, or die because some native creature leaped out from hiding and attacked her. Demora went berserk. She died naked and savage, shot down by her own commander. And I will know why." His voice began to rise with unexpected vehemence. "Not ten months from now, or a year from now, or six years from now. I will know right now. I owe her that. And if Starfleet feels they don't owe me that, then that will be between Starfleet and me. Do we understand each other?"
There was a long moment when everyone looked to each other to see how they were responding. It was as if the command crew needed to be of one mind so that they could function.
And then Anik said simply, "Aye, sir."
"Aye, sir," echoed Janice Rand.
One by one, the votes of confidence came. Sulu nodded to each one individually. And then he said, "Helm … best speed to Askalon Five."
"Best speed," echoed Docksey, even as she thought to herself, We are in so much trouble. …
The Excelsior whipped around and hurtled away from Starbase 9.
And light-years away, the call went out to the nearest starship in a position to stop them. . . . "
You really think you're going to be saved, don't you. You really think you have a prayer. . . ."
The voice floated through her head as aimlessly as she herself floated in the ooze. She tried to reject what she was hearing, but it permeated her at every level. There was no escape from it, no defense she could erect. . . .
"You're all alone. You're mine, just like your mother was, and this time you're not going to get away … you're going to stay mine, and maybe I'll let you out eventually before I wipe your memory and put you back so you can float in bewilderment some more, always wondering, always confused … maybe I've already done it … maybe I'm doing it right now and you're too muddled to realize it …
you don't know up, down, or sideways, everything's gone, and you know what? We can give it all back to you and then take it away again, and you'll never know … you'll never ever know. …"
And the thought came to her, the thought of salvation …
and curiously that most fleeting of thoughts was not of her captain, of her shipmates, of anyone whom she considered a close friend. . . .
Like the child she had once been, one word drifted through her mind …
Daddy …
Chapter Twenty-four
"FATHER, you can't be serious."
Admiral Blackjack Harriman paced the interior of his son's quarters. He nodded his head, his expression grim. "I'm afraid I am serious, son. Word came directly from Admiral LaVelle herself."
Captain Harriman looked confused. "They want us to go after Excelsior?"
"That's right, Johnny. And you are authorized to use any and all means to get Excelsior to back off, up to and including force. The fact is, Starfleet is simply unwilling to countenance these types of shenanigans and displays of disrespect. Kirk made a career out of it; his associates are simply not going to be allowed to continue that tradition."
"But …"
"Captain Sulu is in clear violation of regs, son," said Blackjack. "Not only that, but Sulu is acting in direct contradiction of LaVelle's orders. This simply cannot be tolerated, and this ship has been chosen to teach Excelsior a lesson. I admit that there's some irony involved … a vessel named Enterprise hunting down Sulu. But we can't worry about that. The order has been given and the duty is clear." Harriman stared at the far wall. "You're aware, Father, this is my fault. If—"
"We're not going through that again, son," said Blackjack. "That way lies madness. We're just going to get the job done."
He looked up at his father, his eyes narrowed to slits. "Tell me one thing, though. Why did Admiral LaVelle contact you, rather than me? This is my ship. If we're being given a new assignment, it should come through me."
"Admiral LaVelle and I go all the way back to the Academy, son." He shrugged. "Perhaps she simply felt more comfortable filtering the order through me. Besides, it's not contrary to protocol. I do happen to be the ranking officer on board. This was just Starfleet's call. It's not up to us to start second-guessing superior officers, son. That's what Sulu is doing. And that's how he's managed to land himself in a world of trouble. I assume we understand each other."
"Yes, sir. Perfectly."
But there was something in his voice. Something that the admiral found vaguely disturbing. As Captain Harriman headed for the door, Blackjack stepped partially into his way, just enough to block his exit. They looked at each other for a moment, and then the captain dropped his gaze, suddenly intensely interested in the tops of his boots.
"You're not going to have a problem with this, are you, son? I'd hate to think that you'd allow sentiment or some sort of," and his voice took on a distasteful edge, "weak-kneed attitude to cloud your judgment."
"My knees are just fine, sir, thank you," said Harriman tightly. "I know my orders, and I know my duty. Do you have reason to believe otherwise?"
"No."
"Then kindly step aside, sir, and let me do my job."
Blackjack nodded approvingly. "Yes, sir, Captain."
Harriman walked out the door, turned left, and headed briskly down the corridor. By the time his father caught up, Harriman had already reached a turbolift and was on his way to the bridge.
He stepped out onto the bridge. Dane snapped off one of her customary salutes. For some reason he felt even less tolerant of her quirks today than he did under regular circumstances.
"Mr. Magnus, plot course for Askalon Five," he said.
Magnus turned in his chair, making no attempt to hide his surprise. "Askalon Five, sir?" he asked.
"That's correct. I thought the order was clear enough. You understood it, didn't you?"
"Sir," Dane spoke up, "Askalon Five is under quarantine."
"No one is more aware of that than I am, Dane," said Harriman. "I am also acutely aware that I dislike repeating orders. You aren't going to require me to do that, are you?"
"No, sir," said Magnus with a shrug. "Course plotted and laid in, sir." He glanced over at Lieutenant Chaput next to him, a fire-headed helmswoman who looked no less confused than Magnus.
"Helm has the course, sir," Chaput confirmed. "Awaiting your orders."
"Best speed to Askalon Five, helm," said Harriman and, with a brisk rap of his knuckles, added, "Engage."
The Enterprise leaped into warp space, hurtling toward Askalon V with all due haste.
As it did so, Commander Dane took a step away from her station and said, "Captain … if I may ask …?"
"Why are we returning to Askalon?" He sat there for a moment, grim faced, and then said, "Because, Commander … we have orders. We are to intercept another starship which has taken it upon herself to go to Askalon Five, contravening both Starfleet orders and quarantine regulations. My precise orders are that we are to take whatever steps are necessary to make this vessel realize the folly of its actions."
"Does that include force, sir?"
"It does indeed."
There was silence for a moment. And then Dane said, "Captain … is this about Demora?"
"Considering that Captain Sulu is involved, I'd say that's a safe assumption."
And that was when Harriman heard something murmured from the direction of the science station. He turned slowly to face Lieutenant Maggie Thompson. "You have something to say, Lieutenant?" he asked.
"No, sir," she replied.
"I think you do. And I would appreciate your being forthright enough to say what's on your mind rather than muttering under your breath."
She looked at him with unmistakable defiance. "If they're going to try and do something to help Demora, then we should be helping them, not hunting them."
"Is it necessary for me to painfully remind you, Lieutenant, that Ensign Demora Sulu is deceased? I pushed the button that fired her ashes into the sun myself. She is beyond help, and Excelsior is beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior for a starship. But if you have a problem with that, and feel that you cannot function up to full capacity due to the emotional dynamics involved, then I cordially invite you to relieve yourself of duty."
"I would prefer not, sir," she said. The words were deferential, but the tone was most definitely not.
If Harriman took any note of that tone, he didn't let on. Instead he looked to the rest of the command crew. "That applies to the rest of you as well. If there's anyone here who feels they won't be able to perform to their usual high standards of excellence … I invite them to leave the bridge now. There will be no black mark against you, no stain on your record. But if any of you feel that this duty is going to be too emotionally … incendiary … speak up now."
No one did, of course … even though several of them did indeed want to get up and walk off. But it simply wasn't the sort of situation that permitted an indulgence of one's true feelings. Not for any of the bridge crew. Not even for the ship's commander.
"Sir," Dane ventured, "if we are to prepare for a possible battle situation …"
"I'm ahead of you, Commander. Signal yellow alert. Maintain battle readiness."
"Signaling yellow alert," Z'on said from his station.
Harriman realized that he'd been standing the entire time. Slowly he settled into his command chair, watching the stars fly past. And, allowing a bit of wistfulness to creep into his voice, he said, "It's moments like this when I wish I could be facing something simple … like a horde of rampaging Blumbergs."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, the comment actually drew smiles from several of the crewmen … and an utterly confused look from Lieutenant Chaput, who turned to Magnus and said, "A horde of what?"
"Don't ask," advised Magnus. "Believe me, if you know what's good for you … don't ask."
Chaput didn't ask.
Chapter Twenty-five
&nbs
p; ASKALON V filled the screen like a canker.
For long moments no one on the bridge of the Excelsior said anything. Sulu stared at the planet, certain that he could feel sensations of evil and foulness rolling off the world's surface. Would it be likely that he'd feel that way if Demora hadn't met her end there? Not likely. He was impressing his own views, shaped through the tragedy, upon the planet.
None of which stopped him from feeling basically repulsed just looking at the place.
The others regarded the planet as well, but they were seeing it differently than Sulu was. They looked at it and saw the world that was serving as the Waterloo for the captain whom they'd come to admire and respect. None of them had the slightest doubt that this decision was going to cost him dearly. Cost him his command, perhaps even his career. And in exchange for this high price, the reward was meager if not nonexistent. Nothing could bring his daughter back, and there was certainly no guarantee that even the answers he craved would be forthcoming.
Nonetheless, they stood in respectful silence.
"Commander Anik," he said after a time, "ready a shuttlecraft, please."
Anik nodded, feeling a bit relieved that another potential argument had been avoided. At least Sulu wasn't totally dismissing or ignoring the fact that the planet was under quarantine. When Captain Harriman and the rest of the landing party had beamed back aboard the Enterprise, the transporter had automatically screened and cleared them of any potentially harmful germs that they might have contracted on the planet … including the possible whatever-it-was that had had such a fatal effect on Demora.
But if Sulu was going down there, he was going to be exposed to whatever viruses or germs might be awaiting him. The smart thing to do, therefore, was to cruise the surface via shuttle while making preliminary readings, rather than simply beaming down into a conceivably lethal situation.
"Shuttlecraft Galileo will be ready for you in five minutes, sir," said Anik.
Upon hearing this, Janice Rand winced. Not the Galileo. Anything but the Galileo. Hadn't anyone noticed that the damned shuttle was jinxed? It was always crashing, burning, and making all manner of unfortunate and oftentimes catastrophic landings. She hoped that Sulu would ask for another craft.
