‘What,’ said Kharth, arms folded across her chest, ‘are the Vorkasi?’

Before Valance could answer, Beckett had sprung to his feet and advanced to the display on the wall of her ready room, fairly buzzing with excitement. ‘A civilisation who lived in the territory of the former Romulan Star Empire approximately fifteen thousand years ago. We don’t know much about them, but we found ruins of one of their outposts on the pre-warp planet Drapice earlier this year.’

‘We?’ pressed Kharth. On Beckett’s report, Valance had gathered him and Thawn for their experience from Pathfinder, then invited Kharth and Airex.

‘The Pathfinder, when we served aboard under Captain Valance.’ Beckett waved a hand like that was insignificant. ‘The mission itself doesn’t really matter. What matters is there was an underground bunker the Vorkasi had built which housed their technology, which they’d built and designed to try to passively influence the indigenous culture of Drapice as it developed. Steer them on a course to make them easier to conquer or assimilate – we’re not sure.’

‘It’s telepathic technology,’ butted in Thawn, with a hint of long-suffering as Beckett buried the lede. ‘The Vorkasi must have been powerful telepaths, but their technology is capable of harnessing psychic energy and influencing minds. What we found on Drapice was absorbing the thoughts and knowledge of an entire planet, and could directly control the minds of individuals.’

‘We didn’t know they reached this far out!’ Beckett gushed, opening his hands to the crew as if flourishing for a grand reveal. ‘We’re a hundred light-years from Drapice, and haven’t found a confirmed site of Vorkasi civilisation since. I know it’s not that crazy, because they’re clearly more advanced than us or the Romulans and the Romulans got this far, but this is amazing!’

Airex sucked his teeth. ‘Remember that we are in old Romulan territory, Lieutenant. Starfleet cannot have been the first to discover remnants of the Vorkasi; it’s likely the Star Empire knew about them, too, if only a little. You picked up this device in a market on a border world; who’s to say it hadn’t been transported out here over the years?’

‘The trader – once we established contact – said she’d picked it up from a salvager. Not a trader.’ Beckett rounded on Valance, gaze entreating. ‘Captain, you said this journey is an opportunity to really go where we’ve never been before. We can’t pass on a chance to learn more about the Vorkasi. Not when there’s a risk their technology could be influencing cultures right on our front door in Midgard!’

Valance raised a hand to calm him down. ‘What do you think this device is?’ Beckett had bought it then brought it aboard to be kept in a safe storage containment. After their encounters with blood dilithium, Endeavour was no stranger to protecting against potentially psychically dangerous artifacts aboard.

He hesitated. ‘Early to say. I’d want to go over it more with the help of Commander Airex and R- Lieutenant Thawn.’

‘So nice to know,’ mumbled Airex, ‘that you want my help in my science labs.’

Beckett’s cheeks flushed. ‘Sorry, sir. I mean I’d like to help – I do know more about the Vorkasi than anyone aboard.’ He turned back to Valance. ‘All I have is a tricorder scan, but there are components similar to what we found at the control site for the Crown on Drapice. I think that out there somewhere is a major psychic storage bank, and this device plays some part in that.’

Valance exhaled slowly. ‘Are we just about to find another poor pre-warp civilisation whose culture is being absorbed and recorded by the Vorkasi for later manipulation?’

‘If we are,’ said Beckett staunchly, ‘isn’t it our duty to free them from possible external influence?’ At her hesitation, he went for the kill. ‘I have a name and ship ID for the scavenger. They left Val’Tara only a day ago, and we already got sensor readings of their warp signature from the traffic buoy in orbit. We have a heading.’

Valance gave Thawn a gently accusatory look. ‘You picked up the trail, Lieutenant?’

Thawn squirmed as she always did at the possibility a superior officer was displeased with her. ‘Elsa helped.’

Kharth rolled her eyes. ‘Great loyalty there, Lieutenant.’

Valance rubbed her temples. ‘You really wanted to leave me with no possible objections before you put this mission to me, hm, Lieutenant?’ she said to Beckett.

He gave his sparkling, self-effacing grin. ‘It’s the truly professional move a hair’s breadth away from “better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.”’

There was a pause as the captain thought, planting her hands on her desk. Then she sighed. ‘Commander Kharth, report to the bridge and get us underway following this warp trail. If I don’t have a substantial report in six hours, I’m pulling the plug.’ Kharth paused, looking clearly dubious, and Valance swallowed the flash of irritation at this hesitation. Just because she wasn’t voicing her disagreement didn’t stop this from being discontent from her XO in front of other officers. ‘I’ve seen what Vorkasi technology can do. It almost completely derailed Drapician society before my eyes. We’ll look into this.’

‘And at the least,’ offered Airex, ‘we can maybe find a trader who knows more about the spinward-trailing flow of goods in the old Empire. Or remains.’

‘Exactly. This is what missions of exploration are like.’ Valance straightened. ‘We take leads. Sometimes nothing comes of it. Airex, Beckett, Thawn – I want you finding out more about this device.’

‘Couldn’t stop me if you wanted to, Captain!’ Beckett gushed.

Valance’s eyes fell on Airex. ‘This is possibly telepathic technology. The Crown on Drapice was incredibly dangerous. Don’t be complacent.’

‘It’s inert,’ Thawn ventured, quiet since her earlier chiding. ‘I’ve been paying attention to it the second Nate – Lieutenant Beckett – brought it up. If it so much as whispers, I’ll raise the alarm.’

Thawn had been instrumental on Drapice in finding and understanding the technology of the Vorkasi. Her attentive commitment did ease the tension in Valance’s gut, the fear they had – not for the first time – welcomed aboard a danger. ‘Thank you, Lieutenant.’

‘This isn’t the Crown,’ Beckett insisted. ‘I think this device is more like the psychic equivalent of the capacitors in our volatile memory banks.’

To Valance’s relief, Thawn gave him one of her usual curt, dismissive looks. ‘You’re an expert in how telepathy works now, let alone telepathic technology none of us understand?’

‘We’ll assess,’ said Airex, raising his voice to cut over the burgeoning bicker. Valance was dimly reassured that the couple had not stopped biting each other’s heads off just because they were now involved. ‘And your assistance, Lieutenant Beckett, is welcome.’

The trio left, and only then did Valance realise Kharth had not headed for the bridge. She straightened with a sound of frustration. ‘This isn’t a wild goose chase -’

‘That wasn’t my apprehension.’ Kharth looked at least a little abashed for her public hesitation. ‘We’re leaving Val’Tara? This is the first world of Romulans on the trailing frontier we’ve found, that Starfleet has found. They’re a whole hub for the local region.’

Valance tilted her head. ‘We have the records we’ve purchased. And we might come back.’

‘We won’t.’

Kharth had always maintained an appearance of detachment from Romulan governments, insistent she owed none of them her loyalty or regard. So many of them had left her to rot and ruin on Teros, after all. Valance realised she had begun to interpret that as Kharth’s disinterest in Romulan space as a whole. ‘They don’t need us,’ she said carefully. ‘This is a peaceful region. I wouldn’t spend more than a day here anyway. But the Vorkasi…’

‘Could be bending the brains of people out here. I get it.’ Kharth shrugged. ‘Just wanted to explain. That was why I paused. I think we’re leaving prematurely. It bugs me.’

How about you show this engagement and outreach with the Romulan people in Midgard, Commander? But Valance knew she’d be snapped at for saying that, and could invite accusations of hypocrisy about her lack of engagement with the Klingon Empire’s involvement to boot. Engaging in Midgard meant engaging with people you then had to live with. Out here, Kharth would never have to see them again.

Valance swallowed. ‘Your bugging is noted, Commander. There’ll be more opportunities.’

‘That’s true.’ Kharth shrugged. ‘It’s not huge. That was my reaction. I suppose this operation. I’ll get us underway.’

Valance drummed her fingers on the desk as she left. She wasn’t lying; they wouldn’t have spent much longer at Val’Tara, without anything new coming to light. But this investigation of the Vorkasi could add days to their return journey. In so many ways, they were not in a rush; they were, all of them, Starfleet officers accustomed to at least the idea of being away for months at a time. But some of them were supposed to be aboard only temporarily, had lives and jobs to return to, and here she was, delaying that return for what was at this point little more than intellectual curiosity.

And even Valance was aware that every time she as captain indulged her intellectual curiosity, it delayed the moment Isa Cortez had to disembark.