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  “As of late, I have been making inroads into such situations as these precisely because there are no diplomatic ties,” he said. “Absence of presence does not require absence of interest. The Federation considers the Thallonian Empire of . . . interest. There has been much rumor and innuendo. It was felt that someone capable of passing as a Thallonian would be of use in investigating the territory.”

  “So you’re a spy,” Soleta said.

  “Not at all. I am merely an operative for an outside government, who adopted an undercover persona and entered restricted territory through subterfuge for the purpose of discreetly gathering information that might be of use to my superiors.”

  “So you’re a spy,” Soleta repeated.

  He gazed at her levelly. “Were I a spy,” he advised her in an even tone, “you would still be in your cell, as I would be most unlikely to jeopardize my mission simply for the purpose of rescuing a single unrelated female whose own sloppiness placed her in harm’s way.”

  “All right,” she sighed. “Point taken. So . . . how do we get off of Thallon?”

  “I have arranged transportation.”

  “What kind?”

  “Swift.”

  She quickly realized he had no intention of going into detail. In the unfortunate happenstance that she should be recaptured, he had no desire to risk her being forced to tell her captors information that could prevent them from getting offworld . . . provided, of course, that she were still capable of getting offworld. She nodded, acknowledging the brevity of the answer but not pursuing it.

  As they got farther and farther away from the dungeon, Soleta was struck once more by the opulence of their surroundings. The royal family of Thallon was collectively every inch the image of the ruling upper class. There were tapestries hanging on walls, ancient pottery inset into the wall, assorted chairs lining the walls apparently for the convenience of any exhausted passerby who needed to take some pressure off his feet after an extended trek through the castle.

  The sounds of the party were deafening, and Soleta momentarily wondered if Spock had lost his mind. Did he intend to audaciously walk into the middle of the celebrations? There was a boldness to such a plan that was almost attractive. It would mean that he intended to hide in plain sight. A cunning strategy that, indeed, might work.

  But most likely wouldn’t.

  And it quickly became apparent that it was not his intention at all. There was a cross-corridor, and Spock gestured for her to follow him down. She kept pace with him, following quickly behind.

  And then from around the corner stepped Si Cwan.

  Spock and Soleta stopped dead in their tracks. Si Cwan did likewise. Cwan was dressed differently than he had been before. In the desert he’d been clad in riding leathers, but here he was sumptuously done up in thick, gorgeously patterned clothes. A long flowing cape hung down from his shoulders. There was also a disruptor dangling from his hip.

  Soleta did not wait for him to draw it. Instead she had one of the stolen disruptors in her hand, and she was aiming it squarely at Si Cwan. “Do not move or I will shoot,” she said briskly.

  “Are you serious?” he asked with unfeigned amusement.

  His tone of voice annoyed her, and it was all the excuse Soleta needed. She squeezed the trigger.

  Nothing happened.

  She glanced at the level indicator in confusion. It read that the weapon was fully charged.

  As if reading her mind, he said calmly, “Genetically encoded to its user. Just in case a situation such as this should present itself.”

  Of course, Si Cwan’s weapon would work just fine. And there was no question whatsoever that he could draw the weapon and fire it, and Spock and Soleta were too far away from him to do anything to stop him short of groveling. And neither of them were the groveling type.

  He had them cold. They knew it, he knew it, and he knew they knew it.

  Yet Spock sounded so calm that one would have thought it was he who had the upper hand. “There is nothing to be gained by our continued incarceration,” he informed Si Cwan. “You would be well advised to release us immediately, so that we may take our leave.”

  “Indeed,” asked Si Cwan. “I doubt the Chancellor would feel the same way.”

  Before Spock could reply, Soleta drew herself up to her full height (which was still a head shorter than Si Cwan). “I want you to know,” Soleta said stridently, “that I believe your so-called civilized society to be anything but. Your xenophobia and controlling impulses are ultimately self-destructive.”

  “Soleta,” Spock said warningly.

  Unheedingly, she continued, “I believe that your society will crumble within the next twenty years. From my reading of the outlying worlds of your empire, it cannot possibly sustain itself. Do with us as you will. Sound the alarm or, if you will, shoot us down where we stand. But be aware that our downfall will be followed, sooner or later, by your own.”

  Si Cwan eyed her with unrestrained curiosity. She wasn’t quite sure, but it appeared as if, for a moment, the edges of his mouth were starting to go upward. Then his hand went toward the disrupter, and Soleta and Spock steeled themselves. Spock caught her glance and, with an almost imperceptible movement of his head, indicated to her that she should break to the left upon Cwan’s firing, while Spock angled to the right. Perhaps, in that way, they wouldn’t both be hit and a rescue could still be salvaged.

  And then Si Cwan’s hand went past the weapon and thrust into his pocket. He pulled something out in his closed fist, and then he opened his hand. Soleta looked in surprise to see her IDIC pin in Cwan’s hand.

  “My sister removed this from you without my knowing,” said Si Cwan. “I informed her that theft was inappropriate behavior for a princess, and was on my way to return it. Thank you for saving me the extra distance.” And with a flick of his wrist he tossed the IDIC to her.

  She caught it expertly and looked at it with clear surprise. “I had not anticipated getting this back.”

  “Life is not anticipation. Death is anticipation. Life is constant surprise.”

  Soleta considered the situation and then struck a defensive posture. Her arms were cocked, her legs poised and ready to lash out. Spock, standing to her side, looked at her with as close to confusion as he ever allowed himself to come. “What are you doing?”

  “In the event he intends to attack us by hand . . .”

  This actually prompted Si Cwan to laugh. “As sporting as that might be, it seems a bit unnecessary.” Then he pointed off to his left. “Go.”

  Soleta tilted her head slightly. “What?”

  “Go. Leave. The way is clear, I believe. Depart.” He paused and said in barely restrained amusement, “Unless you would prefer that I attempt to stop you.”

  Spock immediately said, “That will not be necessary.” He put a firm hand on Soleta’s shoulder and guided her past Si Cwan, who stepped to the side, arms folded.

  As they headed off down the hallway, he suddenly called to them, “Wait.” They turned and Si Cwan removed his cloak and tossed it to Soleta. She caught it reflexively and looked at it in confusion, and then at him. He gestured for her to drape it up and over her head, sporting it as if it had a hood. “It will make your departure simpler,” he said.

  Soleta couldn’t help herself. “Why?” she demanded. “Why are you helping us?”

  He smiled. “A typical scientist. You can take nothing for granted; you have to have explanations for everything, even good fortune.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “It will annoy the Chancellor. There. Hopefully that will suffice. Now go . . . before I change my mind.”

  They did not wait around to see if that possibility occurred. Within minutes they were outside the palace. A couple of passing guards made no effort to stop them. It was entirely possible that they simply did not realize that these were escaping prisoners. On the other hand, it was also remotely possible that Si Cwan had somehow cleared the way for them. Either way, it was not a turn of events that eit
her Spock or Soleta was in the slightest inclined to challenge.

  They moved at a miles-eating clip until the palace was safely distant, and then Spock slowed his gait a notch. Soleta followed suit. “That was unexpected,” she said.

  “When I was in Captain Kirk’s ’possession,’ the unexpected became somewhat routine.”

  She winced inwardly. “Sorry about that.”

  “Apologies are . . .”

  “Unnecessary and of no interest, right, I know,” Soleta sighed. “How do we get off the planet?”

  “I have made arrangements. A private vessel, primarily a freighter servicing the Thallonian Empire. Sufficiently resourceful to slip in and out past border patrols. The freighter captain will meet us shortly and escort us from the planet surface.”

  She turned to face him. “Ambassador Spock . . . thank you. I have no idea whether thanks fall into the same category as apologies, but . . .”

  “You are . . .” He paused, dredged up the word. “ . . . welcome.”

  III.

  SI CWAN STOOD at the window of a high tower and watched them go. His eyesight was exceptionally sharp; even from this distance, he could see them leaving.

  Soon, quite soon, the fallen guards would likely be discovered. Si Cwan had no sympathy for them; if they had gotten so sloppy that two departing prisoners were capable of dispatching them, then they certainly did not deserve to remain conscious. They probably didn’t even deserve to retain their jobs. He would give serious thought to firing every single guard and replacing them.

  On the other hand, although he hated to admit it, he felt some degree of indebtedness to his guards’ inability to keep the prisoners locked away. After all, if they’d been successful, Si Cwan wouldn’t have had the amusement of letting them go.

  Why had he let them go? He wasn’t entirely sure. Perhaps it was the reason he had stated, for he truly was not a great supporter of the Chancellor.

  Or perhaps it was simply a matter of repayment for the laughter that Soleta had brought to Kally. When Soleta had knocked the Chancellor’s mount unconscious, Kally had erupted in peals of laughter that were extremely rare for such a serious-minded young girl. Si Cwan didn’t hear her laugh nearly often enough. Yes, perhaps that was the reason after all.

  Still, there was one dark aspect to it all: the woman’s prediction that their society would crumble in . . . what? Twenty years? He was not particularly sanguine about that little prediction. No, not at all.

  But it was just speculation, surely. And not even tremendously likely speculation at that.

  There was a stirring at his side and he looked down. “Little sister,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

  Kally pulled at his robe. “Everyone at the party is wondering where you are, Si Cwan.”

  He bowed deeply, almost bending in half. “Merely awaiting the honor of being escorted by you.”

  She took his arm and, as they headed down a corridor in the direction of the merrymaking, she asked, “Where is your cape?”

  He smiled, pictured Soleta’s face, and said, “I gave it . . . to a friend.”

  SELAR BARELY REMEMBERED any of her trip from the Enterprise to Vulcan. Instead, all of her attention was focused inward: inward to the urges that were rampaging through her body, to the drives that were sending her home as fast as the transport was able to carry her.

  She felt as if her brain were being divided, with one part of her observing the other part in a sort of distant fascination. The cool, calm, emotionless assessment that had enabled her to diagnose so many people with clinical efficiency, was now contemplating her own state of mind. So this is what Pon farr is like, the Vulcan doctor mused. A most . . . interesting phenomenon. Accelerated heart rate, unsteady breathing, a curious pounding that seems to mask out all other sensory input. I find it impossible to dwell on any topic other than mating.

  She had known of the Vulcan mating drive, had even seen it in action. But Selar had always imagined that she herself would somehow be less impacted by the primal urge. Actually, that was a common belief (some would say failing) among many Vulcans. So proud, so confident were they in their discipline and logic that, despite their thorough knowledge of their own biology, they had a great deal of difficulty intellectually accepting the concept of Pon farr. The problem was that Pon farr, of course, was the antithesis of logical acceptance.

  Even when the first stages of Pon farr were setting in, Selar had not recognized them for what they were. “Physician, heal thyself” was a perfectly fine axiom, but the truth was that a physician was oftentimes not in the best position to judge what was going on in his or her own body. Such was most definitely the case for Selar.

  The timing was particularly bad. She had enjoyed her duties on the Enterprise, and had looked forward to the many challenges that her position on the medical staff had offered her. But her physiology would not be denied. What had been difficult was having to be less than truthful with Beverly Crusher. She had not lied outright; she had merely told Crusher that certain duties on Vulcan could not be ignored, and that she would have to take an extended leave of absence. Despite the fact that it was one doctor to another, Selar could not bring herself to discuss such personal matters with an offworlder. It simply was not done.

  Of course, Crusher wasn’t stupid. It was entirely possible that Beverly knew exactly what was up. But if that was the case, then she respected Selar’s privacy sufficiently not to press her on the matter.

  So the leave was not a problem, and obtaining transport to Vulcan likewise was not a problem.

  The problem, unfortunately, was Voltak. Voltak, her husband, Voltak her mate. Voltak, of whom she had only the vaguest of memories.

  Despite her drive, despite her desire, there was something that lay at the core of Pon farr which was very daunting to her, and that was basically fear. Never in her life had Dr. Selar felt so vulnerable. Actually, never in her life had she felt vulnerable at all. She had always been supremely gifted and capable. But now, with her inner core laid bare for what she felt was all the world to see, she was driven to mate with someone whom she barely knew. Oh, they had kept up a correspondence, as much as her schedule and his had permitted, for Voltak had his own life and ventures to pursue. Voltak was an archaeologist, forever off on one dig or another, frequently in places where any sort of communication was problematic at best.

  It was an infantile, childish attitude for her to possess, but Selar nonetheless felt as if this was all profoundly unfair, somehow. She was a private person, as were most Vulcans. And now she was destined to have no privacy, no barrier, nothing to hide behind, to be fully and totally exposed to a male who was, to all intents and purposes, an acquaintance at best.

  And so it frightened her. Fear was something that she could deal with fairly easily when she was in her normal state of mind. As she was, though, she was hardly equipped to handle even the most casual of emotions, much less gut-wrenching terror.

  The next hours were a blur to her, a red haze. She was met at the port by Giniv, an old friend of hers who was serving as the equivalent of what would be considered the “maid of honor.” She was escorted by Giniv to a great hall. As was the custom, her parents were not there. It was not felt appropriate for parents to see their children during the time when such raw, naked sexuality ran rampant through them.

  She sensed him before she actually saw him. She turned and saw Voltak enter from the back of the room.

  Voltak was tall and strong, and although he was similarly in the grip of Pon farr, he was managing to maintain some degree of composure. Intensity radiated from him, drawing her like a beacon. Not only could she not resist, but she had no desire to do so. Instead her desire was for him, and only for him.

  “Voltak,” she said, her voice low and intense. “I am summoned. I am here.”

  She looked into his eyes and realized, to her amazement, that he had likewise been seized with similar doubts just before he’d set eyes on her. Oddly it had never occurred to her that
the male would have anything approximating her concerns. But it was certainly not unreasonable. Voltak was no less proud, no less confident than Selar, and no less subject to the same apprehensions.

  Those worries washed away from both of them when they looked into each other’s eyes. They had been joined when they were mere children in a ceremony that neither of them could even really recall. But it all came rushing back to them, as the link which had been forged years ago finally took its full hold on them.

  Selar loved him. Loved him, wanted him, needed him. Her life would not be complete without him. She had no idea whether the feelings were genuine, or whether they were a product of the heat of Pon farr. Ultimately, she did not care either way. All she wanted was Voltak’s body against hers, to have the two of them join and mate, and fulfill the obligations that their race and biology put upon them.

  The fear was forgotten. Only the need and hunger remained. Why? Because they were the only logical courses of action.

  • • •

  The Joining Place had been in Voltak’s family for generations. Whenever one of Voltak’s line took a mate, it was there that the Joining was consummated.

  The room was ornate and sumptuously furnished, in stark contrast to the typically more spartan feel of most Vulcan domiciles. The lighting was low, the room temperature moderate. There was not the slightest discomforting element to distract them from each other . . . although, considering their mental and physical state of mind, nothing short of a full-scale phaser barrage could have pulled their attention from one another.

  Voltak pulled Selar into the room and closed the heavy door. They stood apart from one another for a long moment, trying to focus on something other than the drive that had taken hold of them . . . although they could not, for the life of them, figure out why they should be interested in anything but that.