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“No. As long as the ambassador and that other security guard are at large, the embassy is not secure. Until it is, we cannot risk activating the system so either of them can use it against us.”

One’s still free. Good, Alexander thought. With that one and Father still running around, there’s a chance.

Shaking his head, Vark said, “This isn’t going as you promised, Rov.”

Rov smiled. “No plan ever does. All that matters is the result.”

“The result is that Worf and a Starfleet security guard are still free, and we don’t know what happened to Kl’rt, Gitak, or Akor.”

“First of all, we don’t know for sure that the guard is alive—Krant said he might have hit her.”

“And you believe him?” Vark sounded dubious.

Rov grinned. “No. But stranger things have been known to happen. As for Kl’rt, Gitak, and Akor, if they died, they did so in a noble cause. We will reclaim the empire, Vark—or is that no longer your goal?”

“Of course it’s my goal! If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t give a targ’s ass for how you were running this operation.”

“Good.” Rov then put his hand to his ear. “QI’yaH,” he muttered. “All right, begin a coordinated search, top to bottom. Do not be fooled by the child’s uniform the guard wears, nor by Worf’s dishonorable actions—underestimating them will result only in defeat. Treat them like you would any other warrior you would stalk.”

Alexander frowned. Dishonorable actions? Father? What’s he talking about? Then again, these were obviously terrorists, possibly fanatics. They did not behave rationally. At that thought, Alexander almost smiled. Mother would say there’s no such thing as a rational Klingon.

But Rov mentioned a noble cause. That meant he had taken the embassy with a specific purpose in mind. Alexander was determined to find out what it was.

“Worf may also have information,” Vark said. “Kl’rt’s body was not on the second floor.”

Rov waved an arm. “He could’ve been vaporized.”

“Gitak and Akor were killed without being vaporized,” Vark said. “He probably took Kl’rt prisoner and has his communications unit.”

“It does not matter,” Rov snapped. “Kl’rt would die before giving up anything, least of all to that honorless petaQ. And we have switched frequencies.”

Again, Alexander suppressed a smile. He knew things that Rov and Vark obviously did not about Father: He killed only when he had to, and he had ways of finding things out if he needed to. If this Kl’rt’s body was missing, it meant Father did have him as a prisoner.

“What if he discovers the new frequency? He is trained by Starfleet, and they are quite good at tinkering.”

Rov scowled at Vark. Alexander could see the tension brimming in the younger man, and he wondered if a duel would break out right here. He sort of hoped one would, as it might provide a good distraction.

Unfortunately, Rov got himself under control and put his hand to his ear. “B’Urgan, run a systems check. Find Kl’rt’s communications device.” A pause. “You’re sure it’s nowhere in the embassy?” He looked at Vark. “Satisfied? Kl’rt probably destroyed the device. He’s a good soldier.”

“You’d better hope so,” Vark muttered.

Again, Rov scowled. He moved closer to Vark. “Or what?”

“Or we will all die for nothing! I told you to wait until Worf was gone from the embassy, but you did not listen!”

“And I told you that we need him as a hostage!” Rov held up a hand before Vark could respond to that. “Enough! It is done. Speak of it again, and I will kill you, old man.”

Vark said nothing.

Alexander tried to think of ways to exploit this rift between the two men who had violated his home—for that was how he thought of this place. Not long after he was born, Mother was appointed Federation ambassador to the Klingon Empire. They traveled a great deal, of course, but this was where they remained when on the Homeworld—in fact, it was the only place on the planet they ever went. Legally speaking, Alexander was truly never on Qo’noS until after he joined the Klingon Defense Force during the war. Prior to that, he’d been only at the embassy, which was Federation soil. Mother had always insisted