Rourke kept his jaw tight as they followed Koloth through the halls to where the councillor kept his private chambers. Eyes followed the group the whole way, the suspicious gazes of Klingon councillors, warriors, and advisors set upon the Federation contingent as the interlopers they knew they were.

Only once they were in the small, tidy rooms Koloth kept in the Great Hall, the heavy wooden door shutting behind them to make the harsh stone walls a sanctum. Their footsteps softened on the targ-skin rugs underneath, and at the press of a button, Koloth brought the flames in the fireplace to roaring life to bring warmth, light, and, Rourke thought, a scent that reminded him of wet dog.

‘That,’ rumbled Koloth, ‘was not the reception I hoped for.’ He stalked to the heavy wooden chair at his desk, turning it to face the four visitors.

Hale opened her hands in a placating way. ‘We weren’t thrown out. Nobody’s shooting each other yet. I call that a win.’

Rourke’s brow furrowed as he looked at her. ‘Is the bar on our diplomacy really that low?’

‘You did well.’ Koloth’s eyes were on Valance. ‘You hooked them on your words without lying to them. Condescending them.’

‘I did lie a little,’ said Valance, expression rather flat. ‘I wanted to tell them all they were being ridiculous and tribal when they’re in an unprecedented crisis.’

‘They are,’ Koloth agreed. ‘The High Council cannot agree if we are trying to find out the truth, planning our foreign policy response, or discussing the succession. Nobody wants to be the first to ask what we do is Martok is dead…’

‘But they’re positioning themselves for it anyway,’ sighed Hale. Her eyes lingered on Koloth. ‘As are you.’

He grimaced. ‘In Martok’s absence, I am trying to ensure we hold to his vision. I would not have him return and find everything has been torn asunder.’

‘And if he doesn’t come back?’ said Rourke.

‘Then if I must step up, I will.’ He shrugged. ‘If not me, then who? L’kor?’

‘She is being surprisingly reasonable,’ mused Hale.

‘It’s a good move when you’re the main suspect,’ pointed out Rourke. ‘Regardless of whether she does have something to do with his disappearance.’

‘If she did it,’ said Valance, ‘then surely she would have taken us out on our way in. Because we’re the people most likely to uncover her involvement. We know she’s not afraid of bloodying Federation noses. Wouldn’t that suit her? Cast the Empire into chaos by taking out Martok, then also vanishing the Starfleet ship sent to investigate?’

Hale looked at Koloth. ‘Tell me about Toral.’

Koloth sighed again. ‘An angry terrier. He has won minor victories against ailing foes and used it to build his own legacy. But there are people who find Martok too passive, but are not rebellious or insidious enough for the Mo’Kai, who find him… appealing.’

‘Would he murder Martok?’

‘He is of the House of Duras,’ said Koloth.

‘That’s a bloodline. Not a motive.’ Valance’s voice was sharp. ‘What did happen to Martok? What do we know?’

Koloth sighed, resting his arm on the desk. For a moment he stared at the flames in the fireplace, contemplative. ‘Martok’s leadership has been difficult. At first, we rode the wave of support following the Dominion War. He was a hero, we had deep wounds. But as the wounds healed, the upstarts who craved battle for battle’s sake became angrier and angrier. You’ve seen how it manifested: the Sovereignty, the D’Ghor, the Mo’Kai. When one falls, another takes its place.’

‘What happened last year,’ said Rourke, ‘with the young warriors in the Star Empire. They weren’t very effective, but that defiance against Martok was worrying.’

‘And it worried him,’ Koloth confirmed. ‘He knows that if the upstarts had their way, they would cast the quadrant into a chaos we have not seen since the war. Set upon the Romulans and invite the whole galaxy to turn on us. I warned him to find something new, a fresh purpose, but at every turn he had to put down rivals, insurgents.’ His eyes came back to the Federation envoys. ‘He was making for Boreth on the Rotarran. He hoped the monks could provide insight on the future of the Klingon people. By all accounts, he simply never arrived.’

Hale tilted her head. ‘The monks are not above political interference. They’ve done it before with Imperial leadership – with Kahless.’

‘You suspect the monks of Boreth?’ Even Valance sounded like this was a little sacrilegeous.

Koloth raised his hands. ‘I had ships check the traffic buoys and warp signatures in the Boreth system, captains I trust implicitly. I truly believe the Rotarran never arrived.’

Rourke opened his mouth to speak, but Valance got there first. ‘I request all copies of such records, Councillor,’ she said smoothly. ‘As well as any data you have on the Rotarran, its crew, and its journey.’ She turned to Hale. ‘The best thing for Endeavour to do is to retrace Martok’s route. We have more sophisticated sensors than anything the Empire can bring to bear.’

Hale gave her quietly pleased smile. ‘I was hoping that would be the best way forward. If you take Endeavour into the field, we can continue to investigate here on Qo’noS.’

Koloth nodded. ‘I will find a ship to escort you -’

‘No,’ Valance said quickly. ‘My apologies, Councillor, but while we cannot disguise our accord, I would rather my investigation looks as independent as possible. I want to avoid accusations I was led to a conclusion by your house.’

Rourke turned to her. ‘Just because L’kor didn’t ambush you doesn’t mean nobody else will.’

‘If they do, Endeavour will be ready,’ said Valance with a faint tilt to her chin. ‘And if they do, that means someone’s shown their hand.’

‘Captain,’ said Logan tensely, ‘are you using the ship as bait?’

‘If it comes to it,’ she said. ‘But I’ll still need you to stay here, providing security for the commodore and ambassador. Between Lieutenant Qadir and Commander Kharth, we’ll be well manned for Tactical.’

Logan looked like he might complain, but Rourke piped up. ‘Don’t worry, Commander. I have work to do they definitely won’t let me go off on my own for, and I promise it won’t be babysitting.’ At their curious looks, he allowed himself a tight smile. ‘Torkath wasn’t the only friend I made in the Empire. I have other contacts. More dubious ones. Some I know are here on Qo’noS. I can reach out for some meetings, see if something rattles out of the underworld.’

Hale tilted her head at him. ‘You were enjoying keeping that card up your sleeve.’

‘I have uses other than being a red flag to wave at our rivals, or being a walking pair of pips,’ he agreed. He had deliberately not shared this information, knowing it would be harder to stop him the later he dropped it on them.

‘I cannot encourage lying down with such dogs,’ said Koloth. ‘They will be cheats and liars with no honour.’

‘I don’t need them to have honour to cooperate and give me answers.’

‘Koloth, where’s Drex?’ said Hale, clearly keen to cut this debate off. ‘The fate of his father has to concern him. I would have expected to see him with the High Council.’

‘Would you?’ said Koloth with obvious distaste. ‘I would expect to find him in the sort of holes Commodore Rourke intends to frequent.’

Rourke felt quietly pleased he was prompting a snobbish reaction from a Klingon dignitary. It was good to know his promotion hadn’t stopped him from getting under people’s skin.

‘We should find him,’ Hale pressed. ‘There are people who will listen to him just for being Martok’s son.’

‘He’s spent years in his father’s shadow -’

‘So have you,’ said Hale, not unkindly.

‘But he never did anything. I am not sure he will rise to the occasion.’ But Hale looked undaunted, and Koloth sighed. ‘We can find him. He is on Qo’noS.’

‘Then it’s settled,’ said Hale, clasping her hands together. ‘Captain Valance will take Endeavour to retrace Martok’s footsteps. Commodore Rourke will look under stones here and see what he finds. And I’ll try to secure us some more allies – or, at least, information sources.’