by Martyr(Lit)
Soleta walked around to the command chair and slid into it. From behind her,
Security Chief Zak Kebron, the mountainous member of the Brikar, rumbled, "You look entirely too comfortable there."
"I could get to like it," she said, rubbing her hands appreciatively on the armrest.
"I thought I knew you, Mac. I thought I, of all people-"
She was briskly pacing his ready room and he watched her go back and forth as if he were observing a tennis game. "Does anyone really know anyone?" he started to reply.
But she stabbed a finger at him and said angrily, "Don't you dare. I won't see you be flip about this. Not this."
"And I won't see you overreact!"
"Overreact! Mac!" She stopped in her tracks and calmed herself. "Mac, when we first became a couple, I know we agreed that our previous sexual histories weren't really relevant, and we weren't going to inquire."
"Yes, I know."
"But, jeez, Mac!" she said as she leaned against the table to steady herself, shaking her head in astonishment. "You might have mentioned this at least! You were Xenex's official sexual surrogate?!"
"Eppy, why do you care?" he said.
"You're doing it again. Calling me by that annoying nickname in hopes that I'll get distracted. It's not going to work, Mac. Call me 'Eppy' as much as your little heart desires."
"All right, then. Eppy, again... why do you care? Our romantic relationship was long ago. Why should you care?"
"Because it colors what went before, that's why! Because it's-oh, I don't know!" she said in frustration, thudding one fist on the table. "I don't know why I care. You're right, I'm being stupid."
"You're being who you are, and saying what you feel. That's never stupid."
She slid into the chair next to him, propping her chin up on her fist. "It's just that"-and her voice was so soft that he had to strain to hear her-"you were
... you were very special to me back then, Mac. Our relationship was very special. And finding that your life before me included that facet of it, I... well... it just makes me feel-"
"A little less special?"
"Kind of, I guess. And I'm sorry, I don't care what you say, I am being stupid, because it was a long time ago, and I shouldn't be letting it upset me. I've been
through a lot since then, and I shouldn't really." She paused, as if her mind was switching tracks, and then she blurted out, "How many?"
"Pardon?"
"How many women were there? During your 'tenure.'"
"You mean how many women did I service?"
She winced. "That's a bit more blunt than I would have liked. I'd have preferred you put it somewhat more delicately."
"How many women did I fill with the glorious seed of M'k'n'zy?"
"Okay. Let's go back to blunt. How many?"
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes." With a forced demeanor of casualness, she crossed her legs and steepled her fingers. "I admit, I may regret it, but..."
"Very well." He proceeded to murmur to himself, counting off on his fingers, muttering a string of names. Shelby felt her heart sinking. He looked at his hands, and then back to her. "I'm out of fingers. I may have to use the computer to calculate it."
"Aw, come on, Mac! Just ballpark it, okay?"
"Okay, okay. Ballpark, rough number, off the top of my head, and don't hold me to this now, but it was somewhere around..."
She braced herself.
"One."
She didn't even realize that she'd closed her eyes in a grimace until the moment sustained itself, frozen in time, and she became aware that she couldn't see anything. She opened her eyes and stared at him, to see that he was laughing silently to himself. "One!"
"Yes."
"Just one? Just one woman!"
"Just the one. Her name was Catrine, and if you
must know, she was also the first woman that I ever... serviced... in any capacity. Appropriate, I guess. Someone who fought for his planet's freedom from his early teens, naturally my first sexual experience would be in the line of duty."
"But why only the one?"
"You sound disappointed."
"Oh, I'm not!" she said very quickly. "I mean, I guess only in the sense that if
I were going to be getting myself so upset about something, it'd have been nice if there were something for me really to get upset about. But one? How can I..
. ? Uhm... why just one?"
"I found at that point that I actually had a preference for swordplay."
"Aw, c'mon!"
"Because I wasn't the tribal leader, Eppy! You keep overlooking that. I was the warlord; my brother was the actual leader. How many women he was involved with,
I could not begin to tell you, and I seriously doubt that you care."
"Not in the least."
"Good, because if you did, I'd start wondering about you. One time I had to step in while he was off-world and perform that function. I was a nervous wreck, but it all turned out okay."
"And... did you have a child? I mean, that's the other thing that kind of threw me, I guess. The thought of dozens of little Mackenzie Calhouns running around."
"Yes. A son."
"What's he like?"
"I wouldn't know. I've never met him."
She was visibly startled. "Never?"
He shook his head. "I had left for the Academy before she gave birth. The one time that I returned, some years later, I learned that she'd moved out of
Calhoun. No one knew where. I figured if she'd wanted
me to be able to find her, she'd have made it easy for me to do so, so I decided to respect her privacy."
"I'm sorry, Mac. That must be very painful for you. You must miss him."
"Miss him? Eppy, you can't miss someone you never even knew. Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I haven't thought about him in years, actually. Years and years,"
He paused. "How many?"
She looked at him in confusion. "You're asking me how many years you haven't thought about him?"
"No, I'm asking you how many men you were with before me." He folded his arms expectantly. "It's a fair question, Eppy, considering the grilling you've put me through. How many?"
"One." And she hesitated, and then added, "Half."
"One half?" He laughed skeptically. "Bottom half, I assume?"
"It was at a party," she said in annoyance, "and I was, to put it bluntly, tired of being a virgin, and there was this guy who'd been after me for a while, so I let him because I figured 'What the hell,' but he'd only partially, uhm..."
She hesitated. "Now I'm trying to be delicate. He had only partially-"
"Breached your warp core?"
"Yes, thank you. And then suddenly he..."
"Fired photon torpedoes?"
"I was going to say 'reached critical mass,' but if you want to mix your metaphors, you're the captain."
"I think you've made the point, Eppy." He smiled. "You know, Eppy, back then, I have to admit that your lack of comfort discussing sex bothered the hell out of me. But now, in a woman your age, I find it somewhat charming."
"Why, thank you. So, have you made a decision regarding Doctor Selar yet?"
"No. But whatever I do decide, understand that I will endeavor to keep the common good of all con-
cerned as my first and foremost consideration. And now, if you'll excuse me..
." He rose from his chair and exited the ready room.
She stood to follow him, then stopped.
"A woman my age?" she said slowly. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
VI.
THE APPROACHING SHIP was bristling with armament and ready for war.
It was a sleek, low-slung vessel, small but maneu-verable, with foils that clearly indicated it was designed to function equally well in the depths of space or within a planet's atmosphere. McHenry had been tracking it for some time, and when it began to make its approach, he nodded as if confirming his own concerns. "Yeah, it's defi
nite, Captain," he said. "They're definitely set to intercept us."
"How are they running?" he asked.
Kebron checked his sensor array. "Running weapons hot. They are not, however, targeting us."
From the science station, Soleta went over the weapons analysis. "They're packing phase blasters and torpedoes with nuclear warheads. Their weapons could hurt us, sir."
"Any thoughts, Commander?" he addressed Shelby.
She leaned forward, like a bloodhound on the scent.
"They may be suspicious of us. Desirous to ascertain our identity."
"Have you managed to raise them yet, Mister Kebron?"
"Not yet."
The turbolift doors slid open and Si Cwan strode out onto the bridge. "Came as fast as I could, Captain."
Calhoun gestured towards the opposing vessel. "Recognize them, Cwan?"
Without hesitation, Si Cwan said briskly, "Zondar-ian. Definitely."
"They're not responding to our hails. Any thoughts?"
Si Cwan studied the vessel for a moment. "Turn around."
"You mean the ship?" said Calhoun.
"Well, you could turn around in your chair, but that would hardly alter the situation."
A deep voice rumbled from nearby, "Watch it, Cwan."
"I think I can handle this, Kebron. Thank you," Calhoun said. "Why should we turn around, Ambassador?"
Si Cwan hesitated a moment, as if ready to answer, but then he drew himself up even straighter, towering over Calhoun. "Looming" was perhaps one of Si Cwan's greatest talents. "If one of your officers gave you advice in a pressure situation, you'd take it on faith first and ask questions later."
"Correct," Calhoun said, arms folded. "What's your point?"
"Captain, five hundred thousand kilometers and closing. Still running weapons hot."
"Thank you, Mister McHenry." Calhoun paused, assessing Si Cwan's demeanor, and then he said, "Bring us about, reverse heading."
"Deflectors up, sir?"
"Yes."
Almost as quickly as Calhoun gave an affirmative, Si Cwan said, "No."
Calhoun's violet eyes narrowed. "Yes, "he said with emphasis.
Quickly the Excalibur turned about, and began to head back the way she came.
"Sir, pursuer is picking up speed! Three hundred thousand kilometers, closing fast, coming in at heading one-two-nine mark nine," McHenry informed him.
"Still no targeting from their weapons array. But they are an intercept course."
"Evasive maneuvers, Mister McHenry!" ordered Calhoun.
"Evasive manuevers. Aye, sir!" replied McHenry, and sent the Excalibur howling directly toward the expected point of collision.
There was a unified shout of alarm from virtually everyone on the bridge,
Calhoun's voice above all as he shouted, "McHenry, what are you doing!?" The alien vessel loomed huge on the screen, looking as if it were about to park itself right on the bridge.
"Evasive maneuver, sir," McHenry said calmly. "Three... two... one..."
The starship passed the point of intersection seconds before the oncoming vessel, and then hurtled away, missing the other ship by barely one hundred meters. Shelby fancied that she could actually hear the roar of the other ship's engines.
"... Zero," finished McHenry. "Evasive maneuver successful, Captain. Orders?"
"Bring us around behind them. Lock phasers on target, Mister Kebron."
"Gladly, sir."
"Send them a warning that if they do not stand down, we're going to blow them halfway to hell."
"You are going to needless trouble, Captain," Si Cwan said. "They were endeavoring to show 'dominance.' They do not like to have discourse with any race that they feel inferior to. So they make a great show of bluster, like that
Earth animal... a gorilla... pounding on its chest. If you had simply stayed on course, they would have veered off on their own. No evasive maneuvers, as charmingly unorthodox as they were, were necessary."
"If that's the case, Ambassador, I appreciate their desire to deal from perceived strength. But if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to operate from genuine strength."
"We're getting an incoming hail, Captain."
"About bloody time. Put them on visual, Mister Kebron."
The screen wavered for only a moment, and then two Zondarians appeared on the screen. They were staring, almost in wonderment. "It is you? Mackenzie Calhoun?"
He was struck by the odd sheen of their skin. They looked fairly similar to one another, except that one was taller than the other. "Yes. That's right. Identify yourselves, and explain your attempted attack upon my vessel."
"We would never have injured you, Mackenzie Calhoun," said the shorter one. "We are the Zondar-ian pilgrimage, come to meet with you."
"You have a very odd way of trying to make a positive first impression," Calhoun informed them. "If you wanted to meet with us, why did you take a combative attitude?"
"We would have communicated sooner," said the shorter one, and he glanced in annoyance at the taller one next to him, "but my Eenza associate insisted
that he have the honor of having the first communication with you, since it was one of the Eenza who foretold your coming. But it was my belief that I had equal right to the first communication, considering all the hardships my people, the
Unglza, have suffered at Eenza hands."
"As if the Unglza hands are clean," snorted the taller one.
"I told you Mackenzie Calhoun would not be familiar with your convoluted methods of greeting newcomers by way of challenge," the shorter one said testily.
"Attack, dive. Which idiot member of your clan dreamt up such-"
"Gentlemen," Calhoun said firmly, "there are certainly more constructive ways to spend time than arguing over who said what. I'm willing to chalk this unfortunate incident off to miscommunication and"-he glanced at Si Cwan-"rather odd greeting rituals. The point is, we're talking now. You desired to speak with us. Here we are."
"Yes. Yes, of course. I am Killick," said the shorter one, "and my associate is-"
"I can introduce myself. I am Ramed," said the taller. Calhoun noticed that there was another difference between the two of them. Ramed's eyes were darker, more serious. He had the air of being perpetually disturbed about something. His gaze flickered to Calhoun's right, and he nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
"Lord Si Cwan."
"Ramed. We meet again under unusual circumstances," Si Cwan replied.
"Odd how things develop, isn't it?"
"Odd indeed. To see an Unglza and an Eenza side-by-side."
"We have been brought together by common cause," Killick spoke up. "We humbly petition that you meet with us as soon as possible. We wish to share
the joy of this moment with you, so that you all may understand."
"Do they have matter transport capability?" Cal-houn said softly to Si Cwan.
Si Cwan shook his head. "Not to your degree of sophistication. They can transport from one construction transmat point to the next, but they do not possess the Federation's capture-and-receive technology."
"Very well." He turned back to the Zondarians. "We will bring you aboard our vessel and we can discuss the matter more thoroughly."
"How will you do that?" inquired Killick.
"It's not very involved. Bridge to transporter room," Calhoun called. "Lock onto the transmission origin and beam the senders aboard. I'll be right down to greet them."
"Affirmative, Captain."
A moment later, Killick and Ramed vanished from the screen in a startled dissolve of sparkles. Calhoun nodded approvingly, and then said, "Shelby,
Soleta, Si Cwan, Kebron-with me. Mister McHenry, you have the conn. And no evasive maneuvers while we're gone."
"Aye, sir."
"Come, people: Let's see what our new friends have to say."
"You are the Savior."
They were in the conference lounge: Calhoun, Soleta, Shelby, Si Cwan, and the
Zon
darians seated around the table. Kebron had taken up position directly behind the Zondarians, just standing there with his massive arms folded across his chest, his hard-to-see eyes glittering from deep within his face like diamonds with attitude. Clearly he was waiting for evidence of even the slightest false move on the part
