the Excalibur was not responsible for the destruction on New Thallon?” said Nechayev, sounding extremely skeptical.
“I’m not suggesting anything. I am, on the other hand, reminding you, Admiral, that recently it was Starfleet’s belief that I had gone rogue and stolen an experimental timeship. It turned out in that case that not everything was what it appeared to be and that I was, in fact, innocent of all charges. Need I remind you who it was that brought clarity to that particular situation?”
“That’s a valid point as far as it goes, Admiral,” said Nechayev. “But we can’t give the Excalibur latitude simply because of a unique situation that happened to you last year.”
“I believe humans have a philosophy called Occam’s Razor,” said Tusari Gyn. “That the simplest answer tends to be the correct one.”
“That is, in fact, an oversimplification of a far more complicated axiom,” said Jellico.
“That’s as may be,” Nechayev jumped in, and Jellico was starting to feel as if he were fighting a two-headed dragon. “But here’s a truth that we both know, Admiral: Calhoun never ran a typical ship. His command crew is a collection of eccentrics who have two things in common: a host of personal issues, and an unswerving loyalty to their unorthodox captain. With a combination such as that, it was only a matter of time before an incident such as this occurred.”
Jellico studied Nechayev with open astonishment. “You, Admiral, of all people, know that Mackenzie Calhoun has consistently employed his lack of orthodoxy to benefit Starfleet interests.” He didn’t want to go into specifics since he knew that Calhoun had undertaken a variety of under-the-radar assignments for Nechayev’s office, none of which should be made public, particularly in the presence of a Federation ambassador. And Nechayev, of course, knew this perfectly well, which is why it was so annoying to Jellico that she seemed disinclined to provide any support for a man who had been one of her most reliable agents.
“Yes, he has,” said Nechayev, and then she added in a detached manner, “until, apparently, now.”
Before Jellico could respond to that, Tusari Gyn said in that same annoying whispery voice of his, “Admirals… despite your obviously strong feelings on the subject, and without addressing the respective merits—or lack thereof,” and Jellico bristled at that but held his tongue, “of your positions, the fact remains that the Council’s instructions are quite explicit in this matter. I am here simply to learn firsthand how you plan to go about apprehending these renegades since, obviously, I have the most personal stake in the matter. If, however, you find my presence off-putting, I will simply return to the Federation Council and—”
And tell them how damned annoying you are? Because I’d like to be there for that conversation.
“That will not be necessary, Ambassador,” said Nechayev politely. “In Starfleet, spirited conversations over policy are quite common. But ultimately we work in tandem with the Council to safeguard the best interests of the Federation. This will prove to be no exception.” She looked pointedly at Jellico. “Would you call that a fair assessment, Admiral?”
His mouth thinned as he said, “Very much so, Admiral.”
“Then I think our course is clear,” she said. She was beginning to look extremely uncomfortable standing in one place, and she slightly moved one foot and then the other, which secretly pleased Jellico for some reason he couldn’t express. “The fact is that Calhoun is far too formidable a foe to take half measures. If we give him the slightest leeway in any engagement, we’re going to lose people.”
“Admiral,” said Jellico carefully, “are you suggesting—?”
“The Excalibur,” she said, leaving no shading in her meaning, “needs to be destroyed on sight. Calhoun may be one of the best strategists we have in our fleet. He’s going to count on any approaching Starfleet vessel to have the exact agenda that you’re describing: trying to determine the ‘truth’ of the situation, giving him a chance to surrender quietly, and all the other procedures we would normally follow in this instance. We have to assume that he will view such hesitations as weaknesses that he can exploit. Playing into that is simply going to guarantee casualties on our side.”
“Calhoun is on our side.”
“No,” said Nechayev. “Calhoun is on his own side, and always has been. In those instances where those interests have overlapped, he has been of great service to us. I admit that. But we now appear to have a divergence of interests, and there can be no hesitation. We