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And then, with a twist of its powerful wings, the Great Bird seemed to warp through the very fabric of space . . .
. . and disappeared without a trace.
This time there was a long pause before anyone took it for granted that they were safe. And then Shelby said, "Where do you think it went?"
"Anywhere it wanted to," McHenry commented, and no one disagreed.
"Captain . . . I suggest you get yourself down to sickbay. You need to be patched up," said Shelby.
"Good advice, Commander." He rose unsteadily from his chair, and found himself leaning on Kebron. "Ah. You wouldn't mind escorting me down there, would you, Lieutenant?"
But Shelby stepped in and said, "Don't worry, Kebron. I'll handle this. After all . . . if you can't lean on your second-in-command, whom can you lean on?"
"Good point," said Calhoun wearily.
"And a word of advice: Don't keep the second scar on your face. The one is enough."
"Sound suggestion, as always."
As they headed to the turbolift, he paused and said, "Oh . . . we had an incoming message? What was that about?"
"Audio only, sir. I'll put it on." Kebfon tapped his comm board and a voice filled the bridge. A voice that was instantly recognizable as Zoran's.
And Zoran said, "Si Cwan . . . I just wanted you to know . . . I lied before. Your sister is alive. Try and find her, O Prince."
And his chilling laughter continued in Si Cwan's memory long after the message had ended.
U.S.S. EXCALIBUR
XII.
IT WAS EVENINGon the Excalibur. . . evening being a relative term, of course.
Selar was in her off-duty clothes, and she looked at herself in the mirror. For the first time in a long time, she liked what she saw in there.
She was nervous, so nervous that she could feel trembling throughout her body. For a moment she considered turning away from her intended course, but she had made a decision, dammit, and she was going to see it through.
She smoothed out her clothes for the umpteenth time and headed toward Burgoyne's quarters. On the way she rehearsed for herself everything she was going to say. The ground rules she was going to set. The hopes that she had for this potential relationship. She would never have considered Burgoyne her type, but there was something about hir that was so . . . so offbeat. So different. Perhaps that was what Selar needed. Someone to whom questions such as sex and relationships and interaction were nothing but matters to be joyously explored rather than tentatively entered into.
That, Selar realized, was what she needed. Whatever this residual urge was within her, driving her forward, it was something that needed a radical spirit to respond to. Someone offbeat, someone aggressive, someone . . .
. . . someone . . .
. . . someone was with Burgoyne.
Selar slowed to a halt as she neared Burgoyne's quarters, her sharp ears detecting the laughter from around the corner.
And then they moved around the corner into view: Burgoyne 172, leaning on the shoulder of Mark McHenry. They seemed hysterically amused by something; Selar had no idea what. Just before they stumbled into Burgoyne's quarters, Burgoyne planted a fierce kiss on McHenry's mouth, to which he readily responded. Then he popped what appeared to be some sort of chips into hish mouth, which Burgoyne crunched joyously. They side-stepped into Burgoyne's quarters, and the door slid shut behind them.
Selar stood there for a long moment. This was going to be a problem. She had counted on Burgoyne to resolve her . . . difficulty with her mating drive. Perhaps a return to Vulcan was in order. Or perhaps there was another solution, closer to hand.
Selar returned to her quarters, changed into her nightclothes, and stood before the memorial lamp which burned so that she would remember Voltak.
She reached over, extinguished the light for the first time in two years—never to light it again—and fell into a fitful sleep.
In his ready room, Calhoun had just finished mounting the sword back onto the wall. He heard a chime at the door and said, "Come."
Shelby entered, and stood just inside the doorway. "I was wondering . . . I was about to head down to the Team Room and have a drink. Thought you might like to come along."
"That sounds great." He regarded the sword for a moment and said, "You know what was interesting?"
"No, Mac. What was interesting?"
"When I tried to save Ryjaan . . . I did so without even thinking about it. It was . . . instinctive."
"That's good."
"Is it?" he asked. "I've always felt my instincts were based in pure savagery."
"Your survival instincts were, sure. Because they're what you needed in order to get through your life. To do what needed to be done. But even basic instincts can change, and that's not automatically a terrible thing. Being a starship commander isn't just about survival. There's much, much more to it than that."
"And I suppose that you're prepared to tell me what that is."
"Of course. Chapter and verse."
"Well, Eppy . . . maybe—just maybe now—I'm prepared to listen."
"And I'm prepared to tell you, if you'd just stop calling me by that stupid nickname."
He laughed softly and came around the desk. As they headed for the door, she said, "One quick question: You told me that you had a 'vision' of me, long ago."
"That's right, yes."
"Just out of morbid curiosity . . . was I wearing any clothes in that vision?"
"Nope. Stark naked."
"Yeah, well," she sighed, as he draped an arm around her shoulder, "it's comforting to know that some instincts never change, I guess."
And they headed to the Team Room for a drink.
THE STAR TREK: NEW FRONTIER MINIPEDIA
A guide to the people, places and things in Thallonian spaceby
David Mack
ALDRIN, U.S.S.
A Starfleet vessel, registry number not established. It put an end to the piracy and smuggling of a Romulan fugitive who was later determined to be the natural father of Starfleet Lieutenant Soleta.
ATOL
A henchman of Zoran.
AYRE, LIEUTENANT KRISTIAN
A co
AZIZI
Replaced Celter as provisional governor of Nelkar, following a popular uprising sparked by the heavyhanded tactics of Laheera.
BARSAMIS
A friend of Mackenzie Calhoun who was murdered by an Orion trader named Krassus. Barsamis's death was avenged by Calhoun.
BATTLE OF CONDACIN
A conflict the Danteri high command assumed would be the "preeminent military strike of the century" against the Xenexians, but which ended with a Danteri defeat at the hands of rebels led by M'k'n'zy of Calhoun. The brother of Danteri officer Delina was killed in this battle.
BETH, ENSIGN RONNI