Second Self by Una McCormack

Author:Una McCormack
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek
Published: 2022-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

They went back to their evening meetings, but they weren’t the same. The differences between them that they had been ignoring for the sake of comradeship—Khenet’s higher status, conferred by birth and position; Gherrod’s manifestly sharper intelligence—had been shown for what they were, and they couldn’t go back. Khenet talked over him, didn’t make eye contact so much, and there were no further invitations to join him in his office. And this was becoming a serious concern: the surveillance devices that Gherrod had so far managed to plant were a washout. Entrek seemed to do nothing in his office but play card games. Not even good ones. He liked the one where you laid out the cards facedown in a circle and had to find all of one suit. Kids’ stuff. What Gherrod needed were visuals—and he wasn’t going to get them without placing something inside the room. The days were ticking past, and they would be asking questions back on Prime.

The idea had been to get as close to this young man as possible—turn him in some way. Get him using crimson shadow, maybe—seduce him, if necessary—then turn the tables. Exert pressure. Twist Khenet to his purposes. Find something by which he could control him. Then the information would flow, straight from Entrek’s desk to Gherrod and from Gherrod back to his superior, whose all-seeing eye had fallen on Gul Entrek, and who suspected him of crimes to which Gherrod was not privy. Gherrod did not need to know. He only needed to obey. But something had gone wrong. Khenet was pulling back. Ever since they went down to that wretched temple. Bajorans. They were always a problem. Someone ought to deal with that.

One night, Gherrod hung around the mess, waiting for Khenet to appear. He did, at last, and, when he saw Gherrod, he nodded but made to move past him.

“Hey,” said Gherrod. “I mean, good evening, sir.”

“Hello, Mas. How are you?”

“I’m okay. I was wondering…”

“Yes?”

Gherrod found himself in the unusual position of being stuck for words. There wasn’t, really, a way for someone like him to say to an officer, Do you want to spend some time together?

“Er… Nothing, really. Saw you coming and thought I’d tell you how good the coat is. Lifesaver.” He gave a nervous laugh. Hopeless. This was turning into a disaster.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that, Mas. Look, I’m supposed to be meeting some of the other officers tonight and I’m quite late. Was that everything?”

“Oh,” said Mas. “Yeah. I guess so…”

“Then I’ll get on,” said Khenet with a brisk nod. He was about to walk past, when Gherrod, rather desperately, put his hand on Khenet’s arm, and said, “Sir!”

They looked at each other, lonely young man to lonely young man. Gherrod could have sworn that Khenet was starting to soften. But then the door to the mess opened. Bright lights and noise and the sweet scent poured out, and so did Gul Antek. He took one look at the

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