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“And what if Lokor is one of the people who is against the captain?”

“Then I will kill him,” Rodek said simply. “And anyone else who is disloyal.”

Toq dropped some gagh into his mouth. As they wriggled down his throat, he said in as grave a tone as he could muster, “And I will help you.” He wanted Rodek to know he was serious. Toq felt more at home on this ship than he had anywhere else since he left Carraya, and he would not let a young petaQ like Vralk ruin it.

Klag was on the holodeck, about to commence his first bat’leth drill since getting his new arm, when the call from the bridge came.

“We are receiving a hail from the Enterprise , Captain.”

That was Toq, Klag noted, still on duty. The young second officer had taken a dinner break, but otherwise refused to rest until he determined what the odd reading was at the shuttle’s divergent point. Every resource of the Gorkon’ s considerable sensor power had been trained at this region of space, thus far to no avail. But Klag had confidence in the young man.

“I will be right there. Summon Commander Tereth as well.” A pause. “Progress, Lieutenant?”

“All I have been able to determine, sir, is that there are some superficial similarities between this energy reading and the one given off by the Malkus Artifacts.”

“Which tells us nothing we do not already know,” Klag said as he shut down the holodeck.

“No, sir.”

“Continue scans. Out.” He let out a breath. In a sense, he was grateful. He had been hoping that B’Oraq would be present for his first drill. If the call from the Enterprise was good news, perhaps they’d rescue her before he’d have the chance to engage in the drill, and she could indeed be there for it.

Klag didn’t bother changing into uniform, since he didn’t want to keep Picard and Riker waiting, so he went to the bridge dressed only in mok’bara clothes—a tight-fitting white cloth shirt and pants.

Ensign Morketh, currently staffing the gunner position, gave Klag an odd look as he entered. The look was mostly directed at the captain’s shorter, lighter, squatter right arm, which was more visible in the mok’bara shirt than it was in his more elaborate uniform.

“Speak, Ensign Morketh,” Klag said.

Morketh seemed surprised at the instruction. “I—have nothing to report, sir.”

“Good. Mind your post, then.”

“Yes, sir,” he said quickly.

“Enterprise standing by,” Toq said. Klag nodded in reply.

Tereth—in full uniform—entered the bridge a moment later. As she did, Klag sat in his chair—as usual, falling rather than sitting with his arms. “Screen on,” Klag said to Toq.

The bridge of the Enterprise replaced the starfield on the main viewer. Picard and Riker were present, with Data and a Trill female visible in front of them, and a human female behind them.

“Progress, Captain Picard?”

“After a fashion, Captain Klag. We’ve picked up the St. Lawrence ‘s warp signature, but it takes it to the Ch’grath Stellar Cluster. There are hundreds of possible destinations.”

Klag filled Picard in on their own discoveries. “It seems likely that both ships are going to the same place.”

“The question being where.”

“We have found the same peculiar reading that was at the other sites, as well. The reading does not appear until right before my shuttle changed course. Thus far, we have only been able to learn that it is similar to the Malkus Artifact energy.”

“That was true of the St. Lawrence as well, and Mr. Data’s conclusions were similar.”

Klag wondered if Toq took any pride in the fact that his accomplishments were the same as those of Starfleet’s legendary android officer.

Speaking of whom, Toq said, “Sir, we’re receiving a message from the U.S.S. Musgrave.”

On the viewer, Riker frowned. “If memory serves, the Musgrave was the ship that took Ambassador Worf from Qo’noS to Starbase 24.”

“Tie the communication in, Lieutenant,” Klag said.

The viewer went to a split-screen image, with the much smaller bridge of the Musgrave now occupying the right-hand side, and the Enterprise bridge confined to a smaller space, focused on Picard, on the left-hand side.