Keren turned to Shar, studying him. “Just so I understand what we’ve been talking about for the last hour, your life is oriented around creating a new life with your bondmates? Having offspring?”
“It’s supposed to be. Every choice was made to better facilitate my contribution to creating a child.”
“Supposed to be?”
“I have rather…radical ideas about how to help my people.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” She offered a toothy grin. “But surely such sentiments aren’t unique among your kind? Many must feel as you do.”
“Feeling as I do and acting on those feelings are very different things. I want to be brave enough to ask every question.” ‘But the answers are at home, with theshelthreth,’ Zhaveyhad said. And risk losing an unprecedented opportunity? He recalled a story about a pharmacologist seeking a treatment for the neztiflu. Months in the lab yielded nothing. To clear his head, he’d taken a vacation. And while on that vacation, he discovered a rare plant that made the difference in developing a cure. To Shar, life was about countless intuitive choices, and listening to his inner voice had guided him surely. Choosing between Defiant’s mission and the shelthrethwas choosing between two correct choices. Shar had followed his intuition here, to Vanìmel. He now had to trust that in time he would find the answers.
“I can only imagine your claustrophobia,” Keren said.
“When I was younger, the stories my zhaveytold me were moralistic parables and fables, praising the virtues of living for the needs of the Whole over the needs of the individual,” Shar said, walking beside Keren. “My life’s purpose is to live for the Whole. And yet, I believe that as an individual I can still make a contribution to the Whole.”
“In this area, Shar, we aren’t that different,” Keren said finally. “I’ve never known anything but a collective life. Now I want to know something else. I want to choose my own destiny. What I wonder, though, is why you haven’t done what your people want? Go home, start a family—and then once those obligations are met, you’re free.”
“Because no matter where I might go, I’d still be bound. My child’s life, my bondmates—the only way I can have the life that I choose”— maybe a life with Thriss,he amended mentally —“is if I help solve the problems facing my people.”
“I see,” Keren said. She pointed out the road ahead. “We’re only a short way from the valley now.”
From the gap, the whole valley panorama spread out like patchwork; neatly groomed fields, rows of vegetables, farm buildings in miniature, herds of shmshugrazing. A ribbon of water snaked through the land, reflecting silver in the noon sun.
“I think, Ensign ch’Thane, that the Other did bring you,” Keren said, quirking a half-smile.”
Shar didn’t feel compelled to respond, though his antennae vibrated inexplicably with an excitement. There are answers here,he thought.
Through an archway of densely foliated tree branches overhanging the road, Shar and Keren began their descent.
One advantage in dealing with Ferengi was their sense of pragmatism. Whatever was needed to do the deal was accepted without question. Nog hadn’t so much as creased his forehead when Vaughn had interrupted a trying diagnostic with a request for a private conference off the Avaril.He’d delegated the remaining tasks to Permenter and Leishman, and followed Vaughn down to the Core.
In a dark corner of the crowded casino, Vaughn waited for the server to fill his drink order before raising a finger to indicate that he wanted Nog to refrain from speaking. Taking out his tricorder, Vaughn surreptitiously ran a scan across the booth and table before relaxing. He pulled a chip-size device from a hidden fold in his jacket, pressed a button that started a light flashing and placed it between them on the bench.
“A signal-jamming device?” Nog guessed.
Vaughn nodded. “I couldn’t find any indication that there are listening or visual sensors in here, but if you’ve got good tech—”
“You won’t be able to detect them,” Nog finished for him.
“Right. This is a little something Starfleet Intelligence uses sometimes to annoy the Tal Shiar.” Vaughn accepted the drinks and a basket of snacks from the server, paid her with currency that M’Yeoh had provided them and turned back to Nog.
“Before I forget,” Nog said, “I wanted to tell you I sent our report to Colonel Kira this morning. It’s about three days late, but she’ll understand why when she reads it.”
“Good work. And Ensign ch’Thane’s letter?”
“Piggybacked it on the transmission. Ops will be able to extract it, no problem.”
“Nice to cross one thing off our list, considering how many items still remain.” Vaughn sipped his drink.
“I take it your meeting with L’Gon didn’t go well?”
Vaughn scanned the crowd—the dancers strutting down a catwalk, anonymous faces hunched over drinks and games of chance. Through loud chatter of the cooling system gears and the music, he doubted their conversation could be eavesdropped on, but he still wanted to be cautious. “He wanted the cloaking device.”
Nog’s eyes widened. “He didn’t! We’ve had Defiantunder surveillance since the first day. No unauthorized personnel have been in or out of the bay without my sensors recording it.”
“Then we need to start looking at the authorized personnel,” Vaughn said, “because someone is leaking information to the Cheka and I want to know who. What about the Yrythny engineers?”
“Why would they deal with the Cheka?” Nog picked through the appetizer basket, arranging the geometric-shaped crackers in patterns on the table. “I thought something was up the day we went to the Exchange.”
“How so?” Vaughn sipped off his wine spritzer.
“I listened very carefully to Runir’s explanations. Even did some independent reading on the subject to cover the subtleties.”
Vaughn laughed.
“I’m a Ferengi!” Nog reminded him unnecessarily. “It’s my moral obligation to take any and all opportunities that further the advancement of commerce. I paid close attention to what happened on the Exchange and from what I could tell, our bid was successful.”
Vaughn allowed the meaning of Nog’s suspicions to sink in. “You think our load went to L’Gon just so he could deal with us for the cloaking device?”
“Probably. Maybe whoever wants the cloak was willing to share it with L’Gon and his fellow Cheka if L’Gon was willing to front the deal.”
Vaughn considered Nog’s hypothesis. “It fits. We have to stay one step in front of whoever it is. How long before the Defiantcan fly?”
“Without the femtobot defense? Not more than a day or two.”
“I’ll let the Yrythny leadership know we’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow.”
“But sir, I have serious concerns about trying to leave this region without a defense against the web weapons.”
“I’m sure you do. But we may have to take our chances.”
Nog paused, pushed crackers around with his index finger, and pursed his lips together.
“Lieutenant?”
Dropping his eyes guiltily, Nog said, “Why not deal with L’Gon? If I can prove he has what he says he has, I say we get the load from him and be on our way.”
“Out of the question.” Vaughn frowned, willing Nog to meet his eyes.
“We’re in a bad place, Commander.”
Who am I seeing?he thought, studying the Ferengi for evidence of artifice. The Starfleet officer striving to protect his crew or the Ferengi willing to deal no matter what?Through the pulsing red neon, Vaughn watched a scuffle over a prostitute break out across the casino. Law enforcement rushed in through the back door, hauling off a group of inebriated miners in restraints. “You might say that, Lieutenant,” he said, polishing off his drink. Throwing some of M’Yeoh’s currency on the table for a tip, he waved Nog in the direction of the door.