Crossover - Michael Jan Friedman [1]
“Yet,” said the Romulan, “when provoked, I abandoned my training. Clearly, I have not advanced as I should have by now. I have proved my mastery of discipline and logic to be inadequate, I have failed.”
The Vulcan perceived the certainty in his student’s face. He knew it was very much a Romulan tendency, the need for the absolute. He could see he still had much work to do.
“Consider this exercise in tonight’s meditations,” the Vulcan advised, “We will discuss it again tomorrow.”
With the weight of shame and guilt temporarily lifted from him, Sel`den turned to the business that had brought him to his teacher’s quarters. “We will enter orbit in exactly ten minutes,” he said. “They are prepared to receive you on the bridge.”
CHAPTER 1
The Vulcan led the way through the narrow, cramped corridors of the merchant vessel, from the crew and passenger quarters in the rear through the cargo area that was located in the center of the ship and made up most of the freighter’s internal volume.
They were headed for the vessel’s bridge. As always, Sel`den followed the Teacher dutifully.
On the way, he resisted the temptation to berate
himself for his behavior in the Vulcan’s quarters. Such self-recrimination was unproductive and illogical—as his teacher had taught him.
For the moment, he would only resolve to not fail again. Later, he would meditate as the Vulcan had suggested.
At the end of the long passage through the cargo area, a door hissed open as they approached it. Stepping through, teacher and pupil appeared on the small, efficient bridge. The other five students were already waiting for them, eager to see the first signs of their destination.
Immediately, the five Romulans raised their hands in the traditional Vulcan salute. Returning the gesture, the Teacher said, “Peace and long life.”
As a planet loomed on the bridge’s main viewscreen, Sel`den took his place at the communications console. He had programmed the ship some time ago with codes that would allow them to land on Constanthus. Nevertheless, he oversaw the clearance process personally, watching the planet’s defense computer begin to access the ship’s data banks.
The computer explored the ship’s passenger and crew lists, scrutinized its manifest, and confirmed its authorization. From his station, Sel’den continued to provide the preprogrammed information and receive the proper authorizations.
Always careful when taking the Vulcan into a new environment, Sel’den was particularly concerned about this venture. After all, in the past, the Teacher and his followers had restricted their activities to Romulus— where Sel’den felt comfortable, having lived there all his life.
He had received his security training there. He knew the ins and outs of the place,’ to the extent that he could detect a problem from a long way off.
Constanthus, however, was another matter entirely. One of the Empire’s outer worlds but one that was rising; in importance, it was ruled with an iron fist by its governor. A dangerous place indeed for a unificationist.
Sel’den knew there would be subtle differences in security measures and internal politics here. Differences that he could not accurately forecast. Risks he could not fully assess.
But despite Sel’den’s objections, the Teacher had insisted on the trip. The expansion of the movement to Constanthus was very important to the Vulcan. And though he had not chosen to share his reasons with his student, Sel’den had his suspicions.
As their small merchant ship glided through Constanthus’s atmosphere, Sel’den glanced at his mentor—a tall, stately individual with pronounced cheekbones and dark, patient eyes. The student had never met anyone like his teacher before. He would be surprised if there were others of his stature even on Vulcan.
After a while, Sel’den felt the ship touch the planet’s surface. Only then did he look up from his computer terminal.
He took