Star Trek(16)
“But the Vertian threat is over,” Zehron countered.
“We have reason to suspect that threat was engineered by the Orion Syndicate, in partnership with the Malurians’ leading criminal organization, to undermine the Federation. We foiled that effort, but there are signs that they’re trying to recruit more allies, to build an alliance of their own. A criminal empire like that could threaten all of us.”
Soval’s gaze took in the directors. “The Federation was not founded until after the Earth-Romulan War ended. Yet the reason it formed so swiftly thereafter is that its members belatedly realized their mistake in not uniting earlier. Had they joined against the Romulans from the start, it would have been easier to end that common threat with far less loss of life. It is wiser to anticipate problems than merely to react.”
Archer’s gaze took in the directors. “We’re not trying to pressure or scare you into joining. I firmly believe there are far more constructive reasons for our worlds to unite, and I believe we’ve spelled out those reasons today. But if we stand together, we will all be stronger for it—and safer when threats do arise.”
As the bright blue-white disk of Raij sank below the icebergs, Ambassador Jahlet suggested an adjournment for the evening. “You have offered us much to consider, Commissioner, Admiral. Now the board must deliberate on these matters and discuss them with the larger Commission.”
Archer could hear the subtext. Once he and Soval had made their polite farewells and been escorted out, the admiral turned to the commissioner and spoke with resignation. “We’re not gonna get an answer this trip, are we?”
“Perhaps not,” Soval said. “But I sense we have gained more ground than in previous discussions over subspace. I believe you made our case well, Admiral.”
“Thank you, Soval.” There was a touch of irony in Archer’s smile as he recalled how hard he’d had to work to earn the Vulcan’s trust and respect . . . and how little he’d wanted it in the first few years of their acquaintance. He took heart in the thought. If the two of them had gone from bitter rivals to partners within the space of a few years, then there was hope for winning Rigel over after all.
He just hoped that would happen before the Orion situation escalated out of hand.
3
From: Jeremy Lucas, Interspecies Medical Exchange relief mission, Narpra, Sauria
To: Phlox, Chief Medical Officer, U.S.S. Endeavour
Draft saved: April 26, 2164, 16:43
Dear Doctor Phlox:
Sorry I haven’t responded to your last letter before now. The situation on Sauria has grown even more dire since the IME was first invited in. Here in Narpra, the country where the illness was first reported, the rate of incidence had reached the level of an epidemic by the time our team arrived. We’ve had our hands full just trying to keep the Saurians alive, let alone determine the etiology or transmission vectors of the condition. So far, the mortality rate is only around fourteen percent of affected individuals, but for the Saurians, who have little experience with diseases this severe, even that rate is seen as shocking.
Unfortunately, that shock and fear have made it difficult for my people to do their jobs. Given the timing of the outbreak, many Saurians are convinced that exposure to offworlders is the cause of the disease. Naturally that was one of the first possibilities we examined, but we could find no solid evidence to support it. The infectious agent doesn’t correspond to any known Saurian pathogen, but there are no proteins identifiable with the biochemistry of any alien race currently on Sauria. And the only correlation we’ve found between morbidity and exposure to extra-Saurian organisms is in public places, where both Saurians and outsiders would congregate anyway, and where any number of other factors could be in play. There’s no sign of correlation among Saurians who’ve interacted with offworlders in more private venues. But the public nature of so many patients’ interactions with offworlders just reinforces the Narprans’ fears and makes cooperation difficult.
Which, as you can imagine, Phlox, is disappointing to me for more than medical reasons. The Saurians are a remarkable race biologically, with an incredibly robust physiology: a quadruply redundant circulatory system, a respiratory filter that cleanses toxins from inhaled air like our livers cleanse blood—and don’t get me started on the amazing efficiency of their actual livers. And their adaptations to nocturnal existence are fascinating. But more than that, they’re a lively, passionate people with a rich, ancient culture. I relish the opportunity to get to know them and explore their world, but their fears of disease have made it difficult.