Sarith smiled, confident in her friend’s loyalty as well as that of her crew.

The only question lingering in her mind was whether she was worthy of that allegiance.

35

“I will tolerate no more of this!”

Pushing out of his chair, his eyes wide with storied Klingon ire, Lugok lunged across the conference table, hands grasping for whichever part of Ambassador Sesrene around which he could wrap his fingers. The Tholian dodged the attack, his legs moving with uncanny speed as he skittered to his left and toward Jetanien’s end of the table.

Fearful that any damage to Sesrene’s envirosuit might compromise the delicate balance of gases comprising the ambassador’s internal atmosphere, to say nothing of exposing him and Lugok to the same, Jetanien jumped to his feet and rushed to position himself between the enraged Lugok and his quarry.

So much for progress,he mused as he leveled a withering gaze at the Klingon ambassador. After nearly thirteen hours confined within the meeting chambers, Jetanien for the first time was beginning to fear that his hopes for facilitating peace among the parties vying for interest in the Taurus Reach might well have been premature after all.

On the other hand, he seemed to be well on his way to inciting an interstellar incident the likes of which might remain unmatched throughout the remainder of his life.

“And you,”Lugok snarled, raising a massive gloved fist toward Jetanien. “You’ve done nothing but talk for hours on end, but you’ve yet to say anything I’ve found of value.”

Well,he admitted to himself, circumlocutionis one of my stronger suits.

Growling, Lugok bared his teeth as he stepped closer. “Since our first meeting, you’ve said nothing of the Federation’s plans in this sector. Do you truly expect us to believe that your sole interest in this region is colonization?” Waving a dismissive hand in Jetanien’s face, the Klingon turned to return to his seat. “Nothing you have said here today has changed any of that. How are we supposed to trust you when you operate behind a veil of secrecy?”

“ This farce has gone on far too long already,”came the Tholian’s translated vocal oscillations. “ Release us.”

“Or…defend yourself,” Lugok added, his d’k tahgappearing in his hand as if materializing from thin air.

Jetanien forced himself to remain composed in the face of the ambassador’s threat, which was to say it was an effort to refrain from laughing.

“You do not want to threaten me, Your Excellency,” he said firmly, maintaining his bearing while attempting to strike an imposing enough figure to match Lugok’s bluster. Klingons responded more favorably to confidence and even outright arrogance than to placation. It would require a deft hand in order to move past this interruption and get the meeting back on track.

“Tell me, Ambassador,” he said after a moment, “before accepting the honorable mantle you now bear, I assume you spent some time in service with the Klingon Defense Force?”

His chest swelling with pride, Lugok nodded. “Of course I did, fool. I fought in many campaigns, including battling Starfleet at Donatu V. It was a glorious victory for the empire.”

“Indeed,” Jetanien said. Knowing that the battle between Federation and Klingon forces had been fought to a virtual standstill, he nevertheless was pleased to see that his rudimentary attempts to deflect Lugok’s anger already were beginning to have an effect. “And in your storied career, have you ever battled a member of my species?”

The ambassador regarded him as a hunter might study a potential quarry before offering a leering smile. “There’s always a first time.”

“I fear it would also be your last,” Jetanien replied. “When attacked, Rigelian Chelons have an autonomic defense mechanism which manifests itself as a deadly toxin secreted from our skin.”

Lowering his blade, if only slightly, Lugok scoffed. “Poison is a coward’s weapon.”

Jetanien nodded. “I’d never argue a point of honor with a Klingon, Ambassador, but there is little I can do to prevent it. Within hours of exposure, you would suffer a quite agonizing and inglorious demise, and then where would we be?”

“It is a ruse,” Lugok said, turning to face Sesrene. “The Chelon is nothing but bluster.”

“ Feel free to test your assertion, Ambassador,”the Tholian replied. “ I would await the outcome with interest.”

Growling in irritation, Lugok returned his blade to the sheath on his left hip. “I do not dance on the request of my enemies.” He turned his attention back to Jetanien. “Not that his suggestion is an unsound one.”

Jetanien raised his hands, open and away from his body to demonstrate to Lugok that he had no intention of initiating hostilities. “Friends,” he said, sensing that he may have found a clumsy yet effective way to navigate this latest obstacle, “we have not been asked to serve our respective peoples because we are the best at squabbling. We are the best at negotiating, and at agreeably reaching clear-minded concessions so we all can exist in harmony. We have an obligation to carry out our sworn duty. May we proceed?”

To his surprise, Lugok turned and moved back to his seat, though he did so only after offering a parting snarl. Sesrene likewise returned to his position at the table, uttering an indecipherable series of chirps and clicks.

Perhaps all hope is not lost after all,Jetanien mused as he also moved to his place at the head of the table.

“Shall we revisit the point yet again?” Lugok asked as he settled into his chair. “How much longer are we to argue over who has the right to assume control over unclaimedspace? The Tholians have staked no claims in the Gonmog Sector, and yet they block our every move to do so for ourselves.”

Sesrene clicked his appendages on the floor before responding. “ As I have already stated, our motivations are our own.”

“And as I have already demanded repeatedly,” Lugok countered, “explain yourselves!”

Jetanien rapped his webbed digits on the table. “One might argue that the Tholians are within their right to protect the indigenous races of this region from being exploited by unwanted and aggressive interlopers.”

“So,” the Klingon sneered, “the Federation supports this policy? Allow the Tholians to dirty their hands, or their…whatever they have, while you prop yourself up with your vaunted standard of non-interference.”

“ The Federation does not dictate our actions,”Sesrene said. “ My people have no intentions of establishing control over the territory in question.”

Jetanien schooled his features to offer no visible reaction to the Tholian’s comments. How curious he would admit that now, at the very time when it appears his people may have more at stake here thanany of us.

“Once more, you offer lies,” Lugok said, his eyes narrowing in renewed suspicion. “Your people have always asserted territorial control whenever and wherever it suits you. Why is the Gonmog Sector to be any different?”

Tapping one of his appendages on the table for emphasis, Sesrene replied, “ I offer truth and facts. Our presence in this region and our actions against your expansion efforts reflect only our desire to leave this space undisturbed.”

“And so you all but declare war on the Klingon Empire?” Lugok roared.

“Ambassador, please,” Jetanien pleaded, fearful that Lugok’s ever-present invective would only serve to send Sesrene back into his figurative shell, particularly now that it appeared the Tholian might be prepared to offer details about the odd actions his people had taken in recent weeks. Turning to Sesrene, he said, “Your Excellency, if you could elaborate, I think it would be most helpful for all of us. The Federation wants only to understand the Tholian people’s motivations so that we might better respect your concerns here.”