Dark Matters_ Cloak and Dagger (Book 1) - Christie Golden [11]
Janeway said nothing. There was nothing she could have said, and Telek found the silence comforting. She rubbed her eyes. Only now did Telek notice the deep circles underneath mem. He took a deep breath and deliberately put aside his pain.
"Captain, I must meet with your senior staff. Now that I am here, you may as well benefit from my knowledge. I sacrificed my family to warn you. I would not want that warning squandered."
To her credit, she didn't flinch. Janeway might
have initiated the act that would surely bring about the deaths of Torrith and Rakki, but she had made her best decision under the circumstances and would probably have made it again, given the choice. He admired that
"Janeway to senior staff. Our guest wishes to meet with all of us in my briefing room. Now."
Telek R'Mor wasted no time. When the last officer had arrived and the door had hissed shut behind her, the Romulan launched into a tale that had Janeway and her crew hanging on his every word.
"First, I must apologize for lying to you during our last encounter. I was under orders, and much could have been jeopardized had I revealed the true purpose for my presence at the apparently ancient wormhole. I shall not do that again. Henceforth, you may trust my words."
He swallowed hard and his dark eyes were bright. Janeway grieved right along with him, but honored his request. There'd be no lies from her, either. It was too late for such trivialities.
"And there is much to tell-I hardly know where to begin. First, you must know that the wormhole by which you contacted me in 2351 was not ancient. It was artificial. Not only that, I created it."
Janeway took a quick breath and glanced at Chakotay. He nodded toward Neelix: Neelix was right after all.
"As I said, Chairman Kaleh was waiting for me when I returned from your vessel. She learned
everything about my trip, and the government decided it was an opportunity not to be missed. I was given new instructions. No longer was this simple research. My wormhole technology was conscripted by the Tal Shiar for two specific purposes. The first was to locate you again. Such a task was easier said than done. I not only had to locate you physically, I had to determine where you were in the timeline."
"Not just where we were, but when we were," said Paris.
"That is correct, Ensign... ?"
"Tom Paris. Captain, the wormhole activity-"
"I'm with you, Tom." Janeway turned again toward the Romulan. "The last several days, we've seen an incredible amount of wormhole activity. That was you, wasn't it?"
He nodded his dark head. "You are astute, Captain. Indeed it was. I began with your last known location and followed the path I assumed you would take to reach the Alpha Quadrant. I had a record from our first encounter of your warp particle signature and reconfigured my sensors to hone in on any trace of it. The chairman's plan was simple and basic. I would locate Voyager-the most difficult part of the equation. I would then open a wormhole directly in front of your vessel and the Tal Shiar would send in thirteen cloaked warbirds. These vessels would proceed to fire upon your ship while cloaked, and-"
"Whoa, whoa," interrupted Torres. "Wait a minute.
You're twenty years behind us and even in this time the Romulans can't fire while cloaked."
"B'Elanna!" Chakotay's voice cracked like a whip. Janeway raised a calming hand.
"It's all right, Chakotay. It's too late to worry about telling Dr. R'Mor about the future," Janeway said gently. "He knows too much already and, frankly, may never be able to return to tell anyone. Please continue, Doctor."
"I will address your concerns, Lieutenant Torres, in due course. To continue with the plan: Voyager would thus be taken utterly by surprise. I would then open a second wormhole that led directly