Calhoun’s hair was disheveled and he had a length of beard that had grown in. His clothing was torn, his skin was badly burned. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. All in all, it seemed impressive that he was still standing. Yet there was the customary determination in his eyes, as if he was resolved to ignore all the weaknesses to which a mere mortal’s body was heir.
Slowly Kemper rose to his feet. “Calhoun…?”
Calhoun squinted and then his mouth twitched into the semblance of a smile. “Well, if it isn’t Glass Jaw Kemper.”
There was a ripple of snickering from behind the Commodore, which quickly ceased. Then Calhoun noticed that Jellico was there as well. “Admiral,” he said, and there was definite exhaustion in his voice. “Wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Mac? What are you doing in that ship?” Jellico stared at him in confusion. “Why aren’t you on the Excalibur?”
“It’s an interesting story,” said Calhoun with effort. “I think we need to talk, about quite a few things. But first I have to get to my ship.”
“Your ship appears nonresponsive,” Jellico said. “Sensors indicate the normal crew complement, so she seems more or less intact. But we haven’t been able to get a rise out of her.”
“That’s either a bad thing or a good thing. We’ll have to find out.”
“Bad or good. Not a lot of room in between.”
“There rarely is,” said Mackenzie Calhoun.
Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco
i.
Admiral Nechayev strode across the pavilion in front of Starfleet Headquarters. It was a gorgeous morning, but she wasn’t paying any attention to it. Instead her mind was literally light-years away.
She didn’t understand why in the world she hadn’t heard from any Starfleet vessels as to a confirmed kill of the Excalibur. Nor had she heard anything further from Morgan Primus, even though she had sent a pulse via a subspace channel in an effort to summon her, just as she had earlier. It had worked perfectly the first time, but this time: nothing.
Nor had any of her other “associates” been in touch with her. That was not necessarily unusual. They minimized contact with her as a matter of security. The less she knew, the less she would be able to tell someone else in the event that she was captured. Not that Nechayev considered that to be a genuine threat, but she supposed that one couldn’t be too careful about these things.
Lost in thought, she almost collided with a man who was directly in her path. She stepped around him reflexively and then let out a startled cry as his hand clamped down upon her shoulder. She turned and reacted as if she had just been slapped hard across the face.
It was Mackenzie Calhoun, and there was quiet anger in his face, discernible by the way that his scar was shining a brighter red against his cheek. To his immediate right was Edward Jellico.
Neither of them seemed happy to see her.
“M-Mac…” she stammered out. “I… I don’t—”
“It’s over, Alynna,” said Jellico flatly.”
What’s… over?” She forced a smile. “Ed, what are you talking about?”
“I told you about Morgan,” said Calhoun, “and about the D’myurj. Things that you wanted to keep quiet about.”
“I keep quiet about a lot of things, Mac. That’s my job. And I… I don’t understand what you’re doing here. Ed, what is he—?”
“He wasn’t responsible for the slaughter on New Thallon. Neither was the Excalibur herself, as I’m sure you know,” he said tightly. “Too many things came together from too many directions in order to make this happen. Too many disparate elements.” Jellico watched her grimly, looking for any sign of a reaction that would indicate guilt. “Morgan, the ambassador, the Brethren, the kill order on the Excal. All of it. There had to be one person who was coordinating it all, and no matter how we look at it, it all keeps coming back to you.”
She summoned massive amounts of indignation the way that someone else would summon courage. “That is an outrageous accusation, Edward, and I will see you busted down to ensign if you even dare to repeat such calumnies. And you, Calhoun,” she continued. “You now say that you are innocent of all charges. What you say doesn’t matter; you’re still going to have to face the Federation Council—”
“Tusari Gyn admitted everything.”
Calhoun said it so matter-of-factly that at first it didn’t quite register to her. “I’m… sorry?”
“He put up quite a struggle,” said Jellico, smiling at the recollection. “He was a tough nut to