Star Trek: The Fall: The Poisoned Chalice (44 page)

Riker looked around the holodeck, and he was heartened by the affirmations that surrounded him.
It is my pride and privilege to know these people.

Nog rubbed a hand over his scalp. “So. Where do we start, sir?”

“It will be difficult,” said Deanna. “We're going to be watched closely. It may be hard to know who to fully trust.”

“This subspace domain and the holomessenger we intercepted are just parts of a larger covert communications network,” said Torvig. “This network is the key to finding evidence of any criminal acts committed under the aegis of the Federation government.”

“I'll do what I can from Deep Space Nine,” Nog added.

“Somewhere out there, there has to be a trail. An archive,” said Vale. “
Proof
.”

“Find it,” said Riker.

*  *  *

The group dispersed, and soon Will and Deanna found themselves alone on one of the
Titan
's observation decks, looking down at the blue-white vista of Earth beneath them.

She reached up a hand and touched his cheek. “This is going to test us all,” his wife said quietly. “You know that Tasha and I are here for you, no matter what happens.”

“I know,” he told her. “You're the reason why I have to do this. More than my oath, more than because it is right. A galaxy controlled by men like Ishan Anjar is not one where I want us to live, and not where I want my daughter to grow up.” He met her gaze. “If we look out to the stars and we see only darkness and dread,
then we've lost something we will never get back. That fear will spread like poison.”

“We'll stop it,” she told him.

He gave a solemn nod. “But one ship, one crew, isn't going to be enough. We can't do this alone.”

“You're right.” Deanna smiled and crossed to an intercom panel. “Bridge?” she called. “This is Commander Troi.”

“Go ahead, sir,”
said Keru. He sounded as if he had been waiting for the call.
“Ready to proceed.”

“I need you to compose a subspace signal, Ranul,” she told him. “For immediate dispatch. Route it via civilian comm channels
only
.”

“What destination, Commander?”

“
Enterprise
. Captain Picard.”

“Tell him . . .” Riker hesitated, searching for the right words. “Sometimes the enemy hides in plain sight.”

Thanks to my
Fall
colleagues David R. George III, Una McCormack, David Mack, and Dayton Ward for inspiration and comradeship in good measure; to Stan Goldstein, Fred Goldstein, Rick Sternbach, Michael Okuda, Denise Okuda, Debbie Mirek, David A. McIntee, Diane Duane, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Daniel Dvorkin, David Dvorkin, S. John Ross, Steven S. Long, Adam Dickstein, Forest G. Brown, Harold Apter, Ronald D. Moore, Mike Krohn, John Vornholt, and many more for their works of reference and of fiction; my most patient editor, Margaret Clark; and forever with much love to my own
imzadi,
Mandy Mills.

James Swallow, a
New York Times
bestselling author and BAFTA nominee, is proud to be the only British writer to have worked on a
Star Trek
television series, creating the original story concepts for the
Star Trek Voyager
episodes “One” and “Memorial”; his other
Star Trek
writing includes the Scribe award winner
Day of the Vipers,
Cast No Shadow,
Synthesis,
the novellas
The Stuff of Dreams
and
Myriad Universes: Seeds of Dissent,
the short stories “The Slow Knife,” “The Black Flag,” “Ordinary Days,” and “Closure” for the anthologies
Seven Deadly Sins, Shards and Shadows,
The Sky's the Limit,
and
Distant Shores,
scripting the videogame
Star Trek Invasion,
and more than 400 articles for thirteen different
Star Trek
magazines around the world.

As well as nonfiction (
Dark Eye: The Films of David Fincher
), Swallow also wrote the
Sundowners
series of original steampunk westerns,
Jade Dragon,
The Butterfly Effect,
and novels in the worlds of
Doctor Who
(
Peacemaker
),
Warhammer 40,000
(
Fear to Tread, Hammer & Anvil,
Nemesis, Black Tide, Red Fury, The Flight of the Eisenstein,
Faith & Fire,
Deus Encarmine,
and
Deus Sanguinius
),
Stargate
(
Halcyon,
Relativity,
Nightfall,
and
Air
),
Tannhäuser
(
Enigma
), and
2000AD
(
Eclipse
,
Whiteout,
and
Blood Relative
). His
other credits feature scripts for videogames and audio dramas, including
Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Fable: The Journey, Battlestar Galactica,
Blake's 7,
and
Space 1889
.

Swallow lives in London and is currently at work on his next book.

Don't miss these other exciting novels in

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Dayton Ward

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ISBN 978-1-4767-2222-1

ISBN 978-1-4767-2227-6 (ebook)