The Kobali medical tech looked up from the stasis pod. "It can happen anywhere," he said. "Of course, it is best if the virus is introduced in a controlled situation... if the newborn is enabled to make a full recovery under medical supervision, to ease the stress of entry into our society."
He pressed a hypospray to the throat of the corpse that had been Dahar Master Khreg.
"Introducing a heavy viral load makes the transition quicker and easier," he continued, "but, of course, infection may come about anywhere, by all manner of methods. The virus is... surprisingly resilient." He shook his head. "That can cause problems in itself. Accidental infection.... We cannot always track the newborns created by accident. Can you imagine their pain? To be reborn as Kobali, but not to know who the Kobali are, how we live - how to be Kobali?"
"It must be distressing," said Tharval absently. He leaned forwards, inspecting Khreg's corpse. "How long before revitalization begins?"
"It has already begun, at the cellular level. It will take time before we see actual responses. There are many factors. Klingons are strong and resilient, and that makes for a quicker transition... but this one died from a most effective poison, and that must be purged from the system before the body's metabolism can begin anew."
Tharval's face contorted in what might have been a smile. "Forgive me. I really must quell my urges for immediate gratification. It will be days, I gather, before this... new person... is ready for the, ahh, the procedure?"
The medical tech's back stiffened. "It will. And I must say, I do not approve of this procedure."
"On purely medical grounds, no doubt," said Tharval. "And, on purely medical grounds, I'm sure you're right. But sometimes even medicine has to give way to... practicality."
"The General has given orders to cooperate with Thrang. I will not gainsay him." The tech sighed. "My approval, or disapproval, is not relevant."
"I understand your frustrations," said Tharval. "However. I, too, have my orders. There is another one ready for me, I understand?"
"Lisian. He is in your special facility already." The tech indicated a door at the far end of Ostigon's sickbay, a door marked with warning sigils and blocked by the shimmer of a force field.
"You've locked him in? Very security-conscious of you." Tharval strolled up to the door, put his hand on the scanner beside it. There was a momentary pause, and then the scanner glowed green and the field vanished with a pop. Tharval turned back to the tech. "I've been given full instructions. I won't need you."
"I do not know what goes on in that room," said the tech. "I only see the effects on our newborns." Tharval could feel the resentment bubbling in his mind. The Lethean paid no attention, as he stepped through the door and checked it was sealed behind him.
Inside, a Kobali was lying on a couch, his head enclosed in the scan module of the modified psychotricorder. "Greetings," said Tharval, feeling nervousness radiate from the subject. "I'm here on behalf of Kalevar Thrang - do you know the name?"
"I have heard of him." The Kobali's voice was muffled by the metal cage surrounding his head.
"There's no need to be concerned," said Tharval. "This is just a scan - you won't feel a thing. I will need to administer a mild hypnotic, just to put you in a receptive frame of mind. You don't mind, I hope?"
"I have given consent." The Kobali still sounded dubious. Tharval noted the couch's built-in restraints, discreetly concealed at the moment - but the flick of a single switch would make the test subject's consent a matter of indifference. He walked around the couch, to the controls of the psychotricorder. A hypospray lay beside the console; he picked it up, checked the dosage, applied it to the Kobali's neck.
"There. Not so painful, was it?"
"No...." The stuff was fast acting; that was good.
"Just relax." Tharval touched the controls of the device. Wave forms danced across the display screen; the activity patterns of the six-lobed Kobali brain.
"What's your name?"
"Lisian." The Kobali's voice was slurred. Tharval touched another control. His eyes narrowed as he reached out with his own psionic talent, feeling Lisian's mind turn dull and foggy. The patterns on the screen were slower and weaker, now.
"And what do you do?"
"Assigned to... engineering. Work on... warp core... with Sector Intelligence... no...."
Tharval's fingers moved delicately on the controls. "What's your name?"
"Lisian...?"
"And what do you do?"
"Warp core...."
Thrang had been quite specific in his instructions... and Tharval understood what was being attempted, too. His psionic sense tingled. It was like watching a sunken continent rising again from the deeps, he thought. A shadow, looming out of vagueness, details gradually resolving... ruined buildings, eroded by time, encrusted with weeds and corals... but still visible, still there, underneath the ocean waters of the Kobali mind.
Within the cage of the scanner module, lights began to glow: scanning beams, probing the Kobali's brain, mapping the neural circuits, stimulating precise points.
"What's your name?"
"Lisi... no...." The voice was different, subtly. Deeper and rougher, perhaps.
"What's your name?"
"Akhat i-Tellasor tr'Kandran."
"Thank you, Subcommander." Tharval's tone was brisk and official, now. "You were on a deep-penetration mission in Klingon space. You were involved in an accident."
"Accident. Yes. I remember - explosion -"
"You were seriously injured, Subcommander Akhat. You were lucky to survive. But you did not have time to deliver your report, Subcommander. It is vitally necessary that you make a complete report."
"I remember.... Authorization. Need authorization. Clearance codes."
Tharval bared his teeth. Too much of the original personality was bleeding through, along with the memories he needed. He made adjustments to the controls. "This is a matter of urgency, Subcommander. I do not have direct communications with the Tal Shiar. You must present your report verbally, to me, now." Lines of light spiked across the display. Tharval's fingers moved on the controls, gently, coaxingly. "I know it is irregular, but the matter is urgent. Your report, Subcommander Akhat. We must have it."
The Kobali's whole body twitched and shuddered, as if he was fighting some internal battle. Then he began to speak.
---
Hours later, Tharval stepped out of the room. The medical tech was still there, hunched over the stasis pod containing Khreg's body.
"He's sleeping it off. All very satisfactory." He savoured the tech's sullen, unspoken response. He went to the stasis pod and peered through the transparent canopy. Khreg's face was greyish, already, and the ridges on his forehead seemed to be shallower. "Progress?"
"As you see," said the tech. "It will be many more hours before this new person awakens."
"Well, I can wait. General Jhey'quar has been generous with his hospitality. I'll go to my guest quarters and rest for a while." He found he couldn't resist a quick barb. "Thank you so much for all you're doing for us." And he walked out of the sickbay before the tech could frame a response.
He paused for a moment in the corridor outside, getting his bearings. The modified Samsar-class cruiser was a big ship, and he was unfamiliar with its internal layout. Still, he had come to the sickbay from the guest quarters, so all he needed to do was to retrace his steps -
A black-clad figure passed by him in the corridor, and his eyes widened.
"Excuse me," he said. The Kobali did not respond. "Excuse me!" he called out, louder.
She turned and looked at him with cold, lilac-coloured eyes. She was slim, and tall, and her face had a curiously composed look about it. "May I be of assistance?" she asked.
Tharval stared for a moment. "Forgive me," he said. "It's just - have we met?"
The Kobali woman frowned. "I do not believe so," she said, and Tharval could see in her mind that she spoke the truth. "You are Kalevar Thrang's associate, I gather?"
"I am." His voice was flat with sudden disappointment.
"We are, of course, grateful for Thrang's - efforts - on our behalf. How may I help you?"
Tharval shook his head. "I do not think you can. I - I thought you were someone else. A mistake on my part." Though she had been someone else. And he thought he knew who. "May I ask your name?"
"I am Hanchon Lilitsia." Her eyes were still cold. "Will there be anything else?"
"No. I apologize for my error."
"Then I must be about my duties." And she turned and walked unhurriedly away. Tharval's gaze followed her down the corridor, until she reached the end, turned the corner, and vanished from his sight.
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