Solek had landed his strange little Romulan craft so far from the facilities that Tom and B'Elanna had to use their only transportation—the hovercraft—and fly out to meet him. Riding in that thunderous machine with dust and debris flying in every direction, was the last thing B'Elanna wanted to do this early in the morning, and the closer they got to Solek's ship, the more dread filled her heart. Whatever news he had for them, she knew it couldn't be good.
B'Elanna was glad no one else had been out to witness his landing. She couldn't imagine how she would have explained all of this to Chakotay, or how Tom would have.
They pulled up next to the craft and Solek was already climbing out of the raised hatch on the other side. He wore a sand colored cloak, and underneath were the tattered clothes of a typical dilithium laborer. The Vulcan—Romulan—whatever the hell he wanted to call himself these days really had gone all the way to Remus and apparently hadn't been caught, yet.
He would eventually get caught though. One day he would slip up and he would get caught. She hoped that her husband would have enough sense before that time came to rein in his first officer's wildcard activities.
Yeah, that's right, B'Elanna, she thought. Just like you've been able to rein Tom's in.
By the time the sand and dust settled down, Tom was out of the hovercraft. His injured arm momentarily forgotten, he tore off the goggles and threw his legs over the side hopping down into the loose sand below. He paused for only a second, gripping his shoulder, but then he let it go and stepped as quickly as he could through the soft sand around the front of the craft to where Solek now stood.
B'Elanna had worked closely with Solek for months on Onari and it still surprised her that she hadn't in all that time guessed at his origins or understood his deep devotion to his former captain. She could see it now in the way he greeted him. He was as composed as usual, but behind Solek's stoic manner and his practiced austere gaze there was a light of fierce loyalty in his eyes that he could not extinguish and that she would from now on always recognize.
This was one man who would never turn his back on them, regardless of the risks, and with everything crumbling around them, he was doing his best to protect them—just as he had protected her in the banquet hall on Onari.
By the time B'Elanna climbed out of the hovercraft, she discovered that someone had come with Solek on this trip. The woman climbed out of the cockpit and lowered her hood. The first thing B'Elanna noticed as the young woman lifted her gaze to her was her pointed ears and slanted brow.
B'Elanna couldn't believe her eyes. "Verdi?" she asked.
Verdi smiled beautifully, flashing a row of perfectly straight teeth. "Dr. Torres."
"I don't believe it. What are you doing here? I expect this sort of thing from him," B'Elanna said jerking a thumb at Solek. "But you?"
"Called to duty Ma'am. I could not refuse."
"Sir," Solek said to Tom, apparently anxious to get to business. "I have information on Crevlin's location. He is not in Romulan territory, as Starfleet is so wont to insist, but he is instead situated within a few hours' range of this planet. It appears that Aristarchus is indeed his next objective."
"That's not what I wanted to hear, Solek," Tom remarked.
"I know, sir."
"I'd like to see this information for myself."
"I'll show you, Commodore," Verdi offered. She slipped back into the vehicle and inserted a data disk into the console. A screen lit up beside her and she pulled it out on a short track and tilted it to face them. Soon it presented a map of a star field.
"Here's Aristarchus," she said pointing to a small white blip down in the lower left corner. "Crevlin was believed to be in this area," she circled a dim smudge on the screen three centimeters over, "only two days ago."
Tom crouched down beside her and peered intently at the screen. B'Elanna came up behind him to see. The smudge looked like a thumbprint, but cloaked ships would appear this way on some sensors.
"How many ships does he have?" Tom asked.
"Three," Solek said. "We know he has a Constellation sized ship, the one whose warp trail we followed when he escaped Onari. It alone has the capability to wipe out these facilities with only one or two well-aimed torpedo blasts. The other ships are smaller, capable of carrying supplies or men to and from the surface of Aristarchus if they so desired."
"How do you know this is true, Solek?" B'Elanna asked. "Can you trust this information?" It all seemed too surreal to believe. How could Starfleet be so blind to their enemies' movements?
"I went through great lengths to retrieve this information. I believe it to be highly accurate."
"You went to Remus, Solek for godssake! Who in hell would ever trust a Reman to give them accurate information—I mean, besides you?"
"B'Elanna," Tom interjected. "Don't start."
"If I may, sir," Solek said. "I would like to clarify."
Tom waved a hand. "Go ahead." Better sometimes to appease his wife than to try to stop her.
"His name is K'Vak-Telmor."
"Never heard of him," B'Elanna retorted.
"He is a relatively new Proconsul with high political aspirations. He may have set his sights on one day becoming Praetor. I believe he will be the adversary to watch in years to come."
"It never ends." B'Elanna said. "As soon as you rid the universe of one tyrant another takes his place."
"That would be the way of things," Solek responded. "There is one fact that bears mentioning. He is the one who provided this ship and the supplies therein. He has somehow come to believe that I am on my way to destroy Crevlin's force. That is the purpose for which he gave me all of this-"
"Solek," Tom suddenly interrupted. "You're not going to do that."
"No sir! Not without your authorization."
Tom was standing now, and despite the sunburn, his face had lost all color. He swiped a hand through his hair and muttered something under his breath before he spoke. "You're going back to Venture," he said, "If Crevlin attacks this facility, I'm going to need you in command. There's a possibility you'll be called into action."
"Aye, Sir."
"We're going to use this information to convince Starfleet that they've lost control of the negotiations. It's going to be difficult, especially with Commodore Preston in command of the ships in this sector, so be patient."
"Aye, sir," Solek replied. "Preston has never been known to change his mind once it is made. He believes Crevlin remains in Romulan territory and has sent several Constellation and Miranda class starships to the Onari conflict. To expect him to pull out now would prove to be a difficult task indeed."
"Still, we can't keep this knowledge to ourselves," Tom said. "We'll have to get it out in the open-leak this information to a reliable source within Starfleet."
"Admiral Janeway," B'Elanna suggested. "She's not deeply involved in this conflict yet. She's probably the only Admiral in Starfleet who still has an objective opinion."
"She's the one," Tom agreed. "But Solek, you'll have to get this information to her without blowing your cover. No one can find out about your excursion to Remus, or there'll be hell to pay."
"Discretion is my specialty, sir. I know what to do."
That seemed to satisfy Tom, but even though B'Elanna had seen Solek pull off some minor miracles on Onari, this plan would need divine intervention, and she wasn't completely convinced he had those kinds of connections. In her opinion, Solek had been taking too many risks. It was time to call him on it.
"Solek, I have one question for you and I would like you to answer it honestly," she said.
"I have always been honest with you, Dr. Torres."
"How in hell did you and Lt. Verdi leave Venture at a time like this without someone getting suspicious?" she demanded. It was a blunt question and she expected Tom to interfere, but he only watched with a faint look of amusement on his face.
Solek raised a brow; his imitation of a Vulcan's stoic character was still as irritatingly perfect as ever. "I simply informed Starfleet that a Vulcan summit on the Onari crisis was taking place, and that I must attend. It was factual information. I did briefly attend. And as these kinds of affairs are restricted only to those of Vulcan descent, no one questioned."
"And what about Lt. Verdi? How—"
"B'Elanna," Tom interrupted. "We have to get this cargo unloaded. Solek needs to get back to Venture as soon as possible. The questions will have to wait."
"Yes, the summit is coming to a conclusion as we speak," Solek replied. "The crew will be expecting me."
B'Elanna fumed for a moment, but she nodded. She couldn't hold Solek up, but she had Tom, and he would supply the answers or he was right, there would be hell to pay.
Tom started to walk toward the cargo area. "Let's take a look at those supplies."
"Lieutenant, release the hatch," Solek said as he turned, and Verdi complied. The hatch popped open.
B'Elanna peered inside. Most of the crates that were crammed into the dark cargo hold sported military insignia—Romulan military insignia. She groaned.
"As you can see, sir by the small size of this craft, we were limited in what we could bring to you," Solek explained. Then he allowed himself to smile. "But I believe I have chosen wisely."