CHAPTER 12

An ambassador is an honest man who is sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.

- Sir Henry Wotton – Earth (Human)

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, IN ORBIT OVER TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

Back aboardthe Hood, Captain Karmes was gnawing on his fingernails. A bad habit. The Hyperion had backed off again.

"Sensory to Bridge."

"This is the Captain."

"Captain, we've figured out the jamming. It's coming from the Hyperion. They're using our own deflector array to jam our transmissions. That's why it was surging back and forth. They're sending tight-beam directional pulses that our deflector takes, focuses and amplifies and then rebroadcasts. It had to look like WE were the ones doing the jamming."

The Yorktown had been motionless and silent for several minutes now, as had the Hood. Karmes studied the scorches across her hull and grimaced at the thought that his weapons fire had damaged a sister ship. And at the damage done to his own vessel and crew. "Can you get through it?"

"There's no need to sir – it's fading away. We should have coms back very soon. I think they stopped."

"FINALLY!"

"Captain, incoming from the Yorktown."

"On screen!" Moments later the main viewscreen snapped in to a view of Captain Kamov and the obviously battle-damaged bridge of the USS Yorktown. "Bob, I am going to kick your ass for that. And I've got several of your crew over here half a dozen of whom are injured and one young...'officer' who looks like he walked out of a space opera."

"Did you get him?"

"You mean the very honorable Colonel Jons? Yes. But of course, he has full diplomatic immunity so we can't touch him. It was terrible though – my men found a terrorist device aboard his shuttlecraft and we had to throw it into the disposal chute. The Colonel looked...upset by its loss."

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, IN ORBIT OVER TOULAGAI

SEPTEMBER 2269

In the Yorktown's mess hall, Wilkes was trying to adapt to the sudden change of mood. Sooth was still in her armor, and communicating with Kalea, making sure that her team was squared away medically and out of Kamov's way.

Colonel Jons went to the replicator and ordered three French Roast coffees. As he returned with the drinks to the table he began, "It seems we have done this once before." and smiled, ignoring the two security guards watching over him.

"I don't understand that, Colonel. How is it we keep running into each other? It's a big universe."

He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced, "French Roast? I think not. French Toast is closer." Looking at Wilkes he said, "It's a smaller universe than it seems, Wilkes. And history seems to have a pattern to it; a sort of fugue where there are periods of time where the same names keep cropping up in events great and small over and over again. For instance, you of the Federation – Your Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise. It's something of a joke in the rest of the galaxy, really. If there is something going on, they will be involved.

"I'm really rather shocked they weren't here."

Wilkes coughed, "Um, they were refueling at Earth, but they were the ones who found you out, sir."

"Ah. Of course. You see? Another echo."

"But sir, we're not great important officers or historical people who do great things. I'm basically a mechanic and Sooth's a Marine!"

"An avalanche can be started by the fall of a single pebble, Wilkes. There are others caught up in our fugue as well. Do you know who the helmsman of this vessel is?"

"No, sir."

Sooth spoke up, "It's a Lieutenant Yoshida. We got their names when we captured the bridge."

Wilkes looked at her, "When you did WHAT? No wonder he's pissed."

"Be that as it may, you were both doing your duty. But the point remains – Ensign Yoshida helmed the Succession during the battle over Toulagai. Which, incidentally is the ship that brought me here to...Toulagai. And when a Starfleet heavy cruiser showed up during that battle to complete the route of the Klingons it was...The USS Hood."

Wilkes thought about that. It was a bit more than he was prepared to digest. He needed something a bit simpler. "Sir, you murdered Commander Botha. And you're going to get away with it."

"Lieutenant, I murdered no one."

"You killed her in Paris!"

"Let us say that I did so, Lieutenant. How is that murder? Is it murder to kill your foe in battle?"

"Of course not, but that's a war!"

"There is no difference, Wilkes. A battle can involve hundreds of ships and thousands of people, or it can involve dozens of governments all maneuvering for power, or it can involve two people following their duty. The battles that are fought by intelligence officers every day are smaller and much quieter than a battle between starships, but they are no different."

"That's diplomatic bullshit, sir. Did she know she was in a battle?"

"Had this event occurred, she surely should have. Again, let us imagine the situation. An officer of one government is following her duty, attempting to apply force against another government. Should she not take steps to protect herself? If she fails to do so, that is not the fault of the one who takes advantage of her inattention or inability. Battles are not fought fairly, no matter the size."

Sooth actually agreed with him. "That's true. It is always your responsibility to protect yourself and those under you."

Jons toasted her with his coffee. "Quite."

Wilkes wasn't done yet. "But you betrayed the Federation. You stole technical data."

Jons took a sip and raised his eyebrows. "Betrayed? Wilkes, I owe no loyalty to the Federation. My duty is to my Duke and my King. Again, HAD I actually obtained data that they did not wish me to have, that would not be a betrayal, that would be me carrying out my duty to my Duke and my King, would it not?"

Wilkes tried to digest this. Could a spy be honorable? "Wilkes, the world is not as clean and simple a place as you think. Great Powers like the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulons use smaller powers like pawns in a game. They dare not fight openly so they fight proxy wars using our blood, and our planets, only occasionally becoming involved themselves. Were they to fight openly, casualties would be in the trillions with entire star systems laid waste – unimaginable.

"It is not right, it is not fair, and it is not nice. But the spies of the galaxy help maintain a...a balance of terror. As long as each Power knows everything about the others, and knows that the others in turn know everything about it, they know they cannot win as long as the technology stays roughly equal. If one Power were to gain a major advantage, they might use that advantage to trigger that final war.

"The current terrible weakness of the Romulon Star Empire, thanks to a brilliantly executed raid by our Dosadi friends here, is one of the most frightening and destabilizing things that has occurred in decades. The Romulons are wounded, afraid, and desperate. I fear that they will react like any cornered, wounded animal.

"Had I done any of these things you think that I have done, I ask you to consider what I have just said and think about the lives that would be lost in a general war across the galaxy."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Colonel. You're trying to make yourself out to be a good guy in all this."

Colonel Jons laughed, "Aren't we always the hero in our own story, Wilkes? Enough politics. The lady is going hungry and the good Captain is waiting to have a discussion with you both." and he stood up to order food for the three of them.

FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, UNDER WAY

OCTOBER 2269

Two days later, Wilkes, back in proper uniform, was completing his report to Chief Engineer White. Finishing the whole exhausting tale, he finally lapsed into silence.

White continued munching on some of the biscuits Wilkes' mother had sent along. "Damn, these are good...So, a Dosadi, a Hydran, and a Brit walk into a bar..."

"Sir?"

"Never mind. Dumb joke. What are we going to do with you Wilkes?"

Wilkes cleared his throat, "Captain Kamov was um, rather unhappy in general, sir. I think I was just a convenient target for being out of uniform."

"True. Sooth took over his ship, but at least she was in the proper uniform. And we're damn lucky nobody on either side died, especially with some of the more severely injured. But there's more to this than being out of uniform."

"Sir?"

"Wilkes, in a very short time you've been involved in several major battles, espionage, a battle between two Federation starships, cultivated a relationship with a known spy, married a foreign national of another entire species and caused your dear mother no end of heartache." he munched away.

"You're like a bomb going off wherever you go, Wilkes. Fortunately, now that we recognize your shall we say, explosive potential, we may be able to harness it. But the last is the most serious charge. For giving your mother so much grief - and for being out of uniform, you will pull two hours extra duty every working shift for the next two weeks, said duty to involve either cleaning tools, equipment, or battle armor for Security."

Breathing a sigh of relief Wilkes said, "Yes, sir."

"I'll kick your ass later. Get out, and give Sooth a squeeze for me. I really am sorry things didn't work out with Dr. Monteaux's regimen."

Looking down Wilkes answered, "Doesn't look like it, sir. He said the whole hormonal thing was going to be a delicate balance for a while and to avoid excitement. I'm afraid a bar brawl, a battle, and an assault boarding and capture of a starship doesn't quite qualify as peace and calm." He left to go back to their quarters, now more sad than relieved.