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“No,” David replied. “We made certain of that. We…that is, several members of our staff sacrificed themselves to buy us time, so that we could get all the data secured in the underground cave.”

“And such actions are indeed heroic, and will be recognized,” Morrow said. “So aside from the device itself, which was detonated during the battle, all other confidential data was successfully secured? We need to be certain of this.”

“Yes,” Carol said confidently. “We’re quite certain.”

“Very well,” Morrow said. “Doctors…I’m sure that, in the wake of the incident with Khan, it’s clear to both of you the danger that Genesis represents, were it to fall into the wrong hands.”

“Yes, crystal clear.” Carol nodded.

“Then I trust that both of you will understand why, in the interest of Federation security, President Roth has no other option but to place control of the Genesis Project entirely under the oversight of Starfleet.”

Carol sighed. Certainly this was not unexpected, but it carried such a sense of finality-an abrupt ending to years of intense work-that was difficult to acknowledge. She turned toward David, whom she expected would not be so agreeable.

But David, feeling defeated but cooperative, shrugged meekly. “I’m not surprised. A few days ago, I would have been infuriated, but now…I understand.”

“Good!” Morrow smiled. “I’m glad we’re all on the same page. Because the fact of the matter is, we still require your expertise.”

“Oh?” Carol said.

Kane leaned forward. “Even though Starfleet will command the forthcoming operations,” he said, “we still are going to require civilian involvement. Look, we’ve got ambassadors from every planet in both quadrants beating down the door wanting to know what this new technology is all about; they’ve got genuine concerns. But other than the limited data collected by the Enterprise, we still don’t know enough to set any policy going forward.”

He tapped a couple of controls upon the monitor in front of David and Carol. An image appeared of a smiling, dark-haired Starfleet captain. “This is John Esteban, captain of the science vessel U.S.S. Grissom. He’s a good man…smart, creative, but knows to do things by the book. He’s putting together a crew for the first fact-finding mission to Genesis. And Doctor,” he said, indicating Carol, “we’d like you to be on board. They ship out tomorrow.”

Carol looked down at her hands. “Sir, I’m honored by your request, but…is this an order?”

Kane shook his head. “You’re a civilian, Doctor Marcus. I can’t order you to do anything.”

She raised her head and faced him humbly. “It’s just that…an awful lot has happened these past few days. And while I fully understand and respect my civic duties, right now I think my first responsibility is to contact the families of Jedda, Zinaida, March, Madison-all our friends who were killed at Regula One-to express my condolences.”

“I understand,” Morrow said. “We can still find…”

“I’ll go!” David interjected.

Morrow looked at him under a raised eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re up to the task?”

Carol jumped to his defense. “Admiral, my son is more intimately knowledgeable of the Genesis technology than I am. Although,” she added, turning to David, “he’ll have to promise me that he’ll be careful.”

David smiled sheepishly. “Mother, I think I can take care of myself.”

“Very well, then,” Morrow said. “Doctor David Marcus, you’ll need to report to Captain Esteban aboard the Grissom at oh-eight-hundred tomorrow morning.” He looked both of them over. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell either of you that any unauthorized discussion of Genesis with anyone is prohibited. The existence of the planet may be common knowledge, but the secrets of the technology behind it must be contained at all costs.”

“I understand, sir,” David replied, “but I am curious. You mentioned the Klingons. What are we telling them about this?”

Morrow looked over to Kane, who gave a slight shrug before responding. “Right now, not much…except that a scientific