The Brave and the Bold Book Two - Keith R. A. DeCandido [47]
“Of course,” Hudson said.
“Thank you.” With that, Chakotay left. Hudson’s nose was relieved.
He turned to the Vulcan. “You realize there’s no going back, Mr. Tuvok.”
“I can assure you, Mr. Hudson, I am fully cognizant of the consequences of what I have done today. The only regret I have is that we were not able to save Mr. ch’Ren. In retrospect, I should have realized that suicide was a danger. The first person to find the artifact also took her own life when confronted with the possibility of capture.”
“Even if you had anticipated it, I doubt we’d have been able to get the phaser out of Tharia’s hands before he turned it on himself. Don’t tell me you’re having the same doubts as Chakotay?”
Tuvok’s eyebrow raised. “Doubts? No. As I said, it was merely a regret. And, as I told Captain Chakotay, dwelling on regrets is illogical. If you will excuse me, Mr. Hudson.”
“Of course,” Hudson said.
That man’s going to make an interesting Maquis, Hudson thought.
Captain DeSoto had already watched Tuvok’s recording, so he instead watched Kathryn Janeway’s reaction as she watched it.
They sat in the conference lounge on the Hood, the latter ship having returned to Sector 001 after a quick and fruitless search for the Maquis ship. Voyager had made it safely back to Utopia Planitia and was now undergoing repairs. Janeway had taken a shuttle to rendezvous with the Hood at Earth, where Voyskunsky, Dayrit, and a security detail had been tasked with delivering the Malkus Artifact to the Rector Institute. In addition, Admiral Nechayev had sent a sufficiently edited account of the mission to Gul Evek, thus keeping the Federation’s side of the bargain that allowed the Hood access to the DMZ.
Tuvok’s message was being delivered in the corner of what appeared to be a cargo bay. “While it is true that there would be short-term benefits in turning Lieutenant Commanders Hudson and Chakotay over to Starfleet, it is my opinion that more information on the Maquis can be gathered in a long-term infiltration than any attempt at questioning the lieutenant commanders—who would not, I believe, part with any useful intelligence. In addition, with the death of Lieutenant Phifer, we have lost a long-term operative. I am the logical replacement for him, especially given the level of trust that I believe I have engendered with the Maquis. I will attempt to make regular communications to Deep Space 9 to apprise Starfleet of my progress. Lieutenant Tuvok out.”
Janeway smiled and shook her head as Tuvok’s face faded from the screen. “Typical.”
“What?” DeSoto asked.
“All of it. Everything Tuvok does is proper and logical—even by Vulcan standards. Notice how he referred to Hudson and Chakotay by the rank they each had when they quit Starfleet? Not to mention calling himself ‘Lieutenant Tuvok.’ That’s his way of reassuring us—or me, at least—that he hasn’t abandoned us.”
“Either that or he’s putting up a very good front.”
Shaking her head, Janeway said, “No chance of that, Captain.”
“Please,” DeSoto said, “it’s Bob. After over ten years in the center seat, I’ve gotten sick of the word ‘captain.’”
“All right, Bob,” she said with a small smile. DeSoto noticed that the smile didn’t change her face all that much—Janeway always seemed to be alert, her eyes always probing. “And I’m Kathryn.”
“Not Kate?” he said with a smile.
The smile widened, and this time it did change her face to a mischieviously vicious expression. “Not twice.”
“Kathryn it is.”
“In any case, Bob, I’ve known Tuvok for a long time—he wouldn’t betray the uniform.”
DeSoto leaned back. “I hope you’re right. ‘Cause I gotta tell you, he certainly had me fooled.”
“Then he’s doing his job right,” Janeway said. “In any case, thank you for showing me this. Once Voyager’ s back up and running, Tuvok should have gathered enough intel to make the mission a success. Then we can start solving the Maquis problem once and for all.”
Remembering