Crossover - Michael Jan Friedman [2]
Leaving his station, Sel’den fell into line behind the Teacher and, along with the other students, followed him down a flight of stairs to the ship’s personnel airlock. Opening it, they breathed in the air of Constanthus. Though it had a peculiarly acrid odor, perhaps due to the effects of some local plant life, it was largely the same air they breathed on Romulus.
The Vulcan was the first of their group to set foot on Constantharine soil. In the past, Sel’den had argued that the Teacher should always let others lead, to minimize the danger to himself and thus to the movement. But the Vulcan preferred to be the first to assume new risks, and Sel’den knew better than to question his teacher’s logic in the matter.
When they were all assembled on the landing area, they were met by an older, burly Romulan whose jowls showed a lifetime of good eating. Sel’den recognized the man as Belan, leader of the fledgling unificationist movement on Constanthus.
Belan approached the Teacher and nodded curtly, a gesture the Teacher returned. Sel’den knew they did not dare exchange the traditional Vulcan salute in the open landing zone, in full view of the technicians who were already tending to the ship.
Looking at the larger group for a moment, Belan simply said, “Welcome,” and turned toward the exit from the large, squared-off landing pit. Without another word, at least for the moment, he led the group out of the pit via a set of broad stone stairs, and from there out into the streets.
The city—called Auranthus—was crude and graceless by homeworld standards. A series of gray boxes under a blue-green sky, devoid of the majestic arches and lofty spires that characterized the capitol on Romulus.
But then, that was often the case on the outer worlds, where beauty was sacrificed for the sake of practicality. Even the imported red-orange maqrana trees that lined each byway seemed strangely listless, as if uninspired by their surroundings.
Before long, they came to the city’s manufacturing district, and a small factory building. Sel’den recognized the squat, square structure from the communications he had had with Belan.
After all, this was Belan’s plant, where a portion of this world’s building materials were made. It also represented the official reason for their trip to Constanthus, their ship having been loaded with minerals and other raw materials that Belan required.
They entered the building through the front door and walked through a small anteroom. A moment later, they found themselves at the entrance to a large, open space that was filled with, Sel’den estimated, approximately forty Romulans. Obviously a storage area, Sel’den saw that it had been cleared for use as a meeting place.
The faces of the Constantharines were unfamiliar to Sel’den. Nonetheless, they were Romulans and fellow believers in the great unificationist movement. As far as he was concerned, that made them his brothers.
As one, every Romulan in the echoing chamber lifted his or her hand in the Vulcan greeting. The Teacher returned the gesture and said, “Live long and prosper, followers of Surak.”
“Peace and long life to you,” Belan responded. “We are in a safe place and may speak freely here.”
The Teacher nodded, clearly taking the statement for truth. Sel’den was not quite so confident.
He scanned the room. It had no windows and only two entrances—the one they had used and one opposite it on the other side of the room.
Gesturing, he assigned two of his fellow students to watch the entrance now directly behind them. Then he took another student with him as he made his way across the room to the other entrance.
Meanwhile, the Teacher was approaching a makeshift podium to address the Romulans before him. As interested as he was in what the Vulcan might say, Sel’den focused his attention on the door. Only when he was satisfied that it was secure did he turn around, watching as the Teacher spoke to the assembled group.
“Followers of Surak,” the Vulcan began. He displayed precise