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“ It’s nothing like that,”Desai replied. “ It’s just, well, work stuff. Diego told me…told me about some things he thought I should know. It’s a little…overwhelming.”
“Ah,” Fisher offered in return.
Reyes had briefed her into the project, he realized. While he was sure the commodore had told her only those aspects of the station’s true mission which were necessary to keep her from compromising the security of that assignment—a measure he also had taken with the doctor himself—Fisher knew that even such a limited amount of information was in all likelihood more than Desai would ever wantto know.
“If it helps,” he said after a moment, “I felt the same way when he told me. Don’t worry about lunch. We can always reschedule. Open invitation, and all that.”
“ First chance I get, Fish,”Desai said, and Fisher already could hear a lift in her voice. “ I promise. I just need to do some mental filing today, is all.”
Hating the distance imposed by the impersonal communications system, Fisher sighed. “Absolutely, Rana,” he said, hoping his words offered the support he wanted to convey. “And, for what it’s worth?”
“Yes?”
“What happens with the commodore stays with the commodore,” he said. “No obligations to share with me, know what I mean?”
“ Only if you make the same promise,”Desai countered, and Fisher imagined he could see her smiling on the other end of the cha
“No problem. You know me. We’ll leave shop talk in our offices and just bad-mouth your boyfriend. Deal?”
The genuine laughter filtering through the intercom made him smile in satisfaction. “ Agreed. Desai out.”
As the co
He knew also that Desai would at times be troubled by the things she surely would discover as Vanguard’s mission in the Taurus Reach continued. Such anxiety no doubt would be exacerbated by the fact that Reyes would have ordered her to keep much of what she learned to herself.
Welcome to the club, Rana,Fisher mused. Diego’s giving me plenty that I can’t share with you, either.
44
“The Jinoteur system,” T’Pry
T’Pry
She kept her hands clasped behind her, hoping none of the others would see how nails dug into her palms, the sole physical manifestation of the struggle she found herself pursuing even as she endeavored to maintain her composure and carry out her present duties.
Leave me,her mind implored.
Submit,Sten responded, the simple command embodying her long-dead lover’s katra,fighting as always to push aside her own thoughts in a bid to assert its dominance over her.
Forcing away the summons, T’Pry
“As you know,” she said, “this is the origin point for the carrier wave we discovered interfering with the station’s systems several months ago.” She indicated Xiong with a nod of her head. “The lieutenant and his team did an admirable job tracking the source of the signal, and the sensor data I’ve since obtained offers us insight into this system that I believe you will find most intriguing.” She tapped a command sequence into the keypad next to the viewscreen, and the image shifted to zoom in on the first planet. The blue circle illustrating its orbit vanished as the picture was enlarged and enhanced to display the planet’s two moons.
“Three of the five planets each possess two natural satellites,” she said, “while one of the others has three moons and the other four. While the sensor data presently available to us shows that none of the planets appear to be inhabited, there are indications of a civilization that might once have existed on the fourth planet.”
“Correct me if I am wrong, Commander,” Jetanien said from where he stood before Reyes’s desk, “but it is my understanding that save for a single long-range probe assigned to star-mapping duties in that sector two years ago, we have little to no information on this area of the Taurus Reach.”
“You are not wrong, Your Excellency,” T’Pry
The ambassador let loose with his version of a laugh, which to the Vulcan sounded more like the low rumbling of an avalanche on a rocky slope. “I take it from your lack of clarification that you’d rather not divulge your source?”
Her right eyebrow raising a notch, T’Pry
“Don’t let me stop you, Commander,” Reyes replied, his words laced with sarcasm. “I’m assuming you were able to obtain this information in a ma
While T’Pry
Despite that and given the immense security concerns surrounding Vanguard’s primary task, there were some aspects of her assignment which required insulation even from Reyes, for the good of the mission as well as the commodore himself. The less he knew about certain actions undertaken by her, the less he had to consider imparting to others who might not share the same outlook with regard to security. Lieutenant Xiong, for example.
Captain Desai, for another.
Submit,Sten demanded.
Be silent,she responded.
“Rest assured, sir,” T’Pry