Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [61]
Valdores initial surprise at the spys sentiments dissipated after a moments consideration. Being an operative from one of the worlds allied with the fragile young Coalition of Planets, this man almost certainly had no more desire than did Praetor Dderidex himself to permit a group of self-styled renegades and revolutionaries to gain control of the most potent stardrive ever conceived.
Cunaehr, or whatever his name really was, offered a clumsily executed Romulan military salute. “When can I get started?
Valdore suppressed a victors smile. “Centurion Terix, please take Cunaehr to your computer terminal. I want you, personally, to familiarize him with the briefing materials Im about to transmit there. Those materials contained everything “Cunaehr would need to know. The success of the rest of the coming mission would hinge largely upon Terixs suspicious nature; Valdore knew he could rely on the centurion to keep a weather eye on his Vulcan charge, regardless of any superiors orders.
After Terix and the uhlan s had escorted the spy away, Valdore smiled in his otherwise empty office. As he activated the terminal atop his desk and transmitted the files he had prepared in advance for Terixs mission, he quietly savored a feeling of triumph.
He always felt this way whenever a significant new weapon came into his possession.
When the guards had thrown open his cell door and dragged him abruptly to his feet, they had awakened Trip Tucker from a fitful sleep and an extremely convincing dream about TPol. As he awakened, he had been convinced then that he was finally about to die. Well, I guess Ive had a good run, he thought, wondering precisely what hed do during his final moments before the fatal disruptor blast, or sword slash, or guillotineor whatever the hell they were planning on usingfinally carried him off to glory.
The last thing hed expected his captors to do was to offer him an apology, a job, and the freedom to move about Dartha as he pleased during the few hours that remained before he was to embark on his first mission on behalf of the Romulan Star Empires military, under the supervision of one very dour-faced Centurion Terix. He found the situation almost laughably complicated: here he was, a human masquerading as a Romulan, but mistaken by the Romulans for a Vulcan; all the while, hed be working with the Romulans to catch people who might actually be Vulcans infiltrating the Romulan Star Empire.
Reasonably sure he hadnt been surreptitiously followed back to his small rented suite of rooms near Darthas central commercial district, Trip carefully checked the apartment for listening devices. Once he felt satisfied that no one was about to kick his door down, he removed his small subspace transceiver unit from its hiding place beneath his bedroom floorboards. For the first time during the two days since hed called in to make the initial report about Ehrehins untimely death, he activated the heavily shielded units battery pack, powering it up.
Stillwell thought he needed to worry about me going native before, Trip thought as he waited for his unscheduled transmission to wend its way across the light-years and negotiate the labyrinth of the bureaus clandestine two-way audio-video communications protocols. I wonder what hes going to say about this report.
As hed expected, Stillwell had seemed fairly bowled over by Trips revelation about his most recent change of plans.
“So youre just charging off to some remote part of Romulan space alongside one of their military officers, Stillwell said, looking doubtful as he digested Trips initial bare-bones report about his arrest, his temporary confinement, and the mission briefing that had followed his sudden and unexpected release. “Just like that.
Trip smiled ironically at the image on his screen. “Sure beats a summary execution, Captain.
“You still have plenty of time to stumble into one of those, Commander. I just hope you havent forgotten that Romulans can turn on you like rattlesnakes. Im sure you havent forgotten what our friend Sopek