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“You question my honor?”
    “No,” she said. “If you had any honor, you wouldn't have changed the terms of our agreement. Show it to me or I'm leaving.”
    Her ultimatum was so matter-of-fact that Korath seemed to believe her. She half believed it herself.
    Janeway held her arms and legs very still. Klingons might take any twitch as a signal that they had some advantage, psychological or otherwise, or perhaps even judge any movement as tension. They might interpret unease in any of a dozen ways that would work against her. She fixed her eyes on Korath and focused her whole physical self to a single end. The two guards might as well have been stone carvings, for all the attention she offered them.
    A large section of the rock wall shimmered and frizzled out of existence—a holographic projection. When the picture of rock went away, the chasm revealed a storage locker. Inside the locker was a table, and on that table was a temporal deflector.
    Until now, she had held in store an idea that the temporal deflection science was a myth running around between the raggedy Empire and the Federation and a few other concerns about a device that could do what this one supposedly could do. Miral had said it worked, but young idealistic ensigns could be deluded. They wanted so much to believe . . .
    If it could do what the rumors said, why was its price as low as a seat on the Klingon Council?
    Then, there was no accounting for taste—or ceilings on ambition. Some people just wanted to get the best of their mothers-in-law. Korath wanted to be able to look down on all the other Klingons from the only pinnacle that meant anything to him.
    The deflector's casing was more aerodynamic than Janeway had imagined, built with more artistry than necessary. The streamlined device would fit well on her shuttle. She could already see the way to fit it on and connect it to a power source.
    She pulled her tricorder around from where it had rested on its strap under her arm and activated it. Casual, casual.
    With strict inner control she said nothing, but went about analyzing the device like a good science officer indulging a bit of curiosity. Everybody deserved a little confirmation now and then. Korath didn't stop her. If she had explained, he might have grown suspicious. So far she wasn't doing anything unexpected, other than possibly moving too close to the device.
    Six steps . . . five . . . she had to be within range, no margin of error.
    Why was he dumb enough to let her get so close? Ah, the small favors of life and luck.
    Korath moved closer too, watching her every move, listening to the twitter of the tricorder, measuring just how much information was enough. He had his Cardassian disruptor in his hand. Janeway hadn't missed that little detail.
    She had no weapon of her own. The fortress's shields would never have let her beam through with a sidearm. All she had was the tricorder and its merry scan.
    Which was good enough for now. She looked up at Korath. “This'll do just fine.”
    Like a cat batting a toy, she slapped the deflector device on the midsection of its casing, leaving behind a small magnetic transporter enhancer. With the other hand she thumbed the control plate of her tricorder with a predetermined code, then held her breath. The air around her began to whine.
    Both she and the deflector began to dematerialize.
    “Stop her!” Korath's shout echoed through the caverns. He raised his disruptor.
    The two Klingon guards pulled their weapons also and opened fire.
    Janeway hunched her shoulders. The heat of weapons fire crawled across her skin. Whether the transporter would operate fast enough or the disruptor fire would cut through the beams first, she couldn't calculate.
    As for Korath and their deal, she had already paid in full.



CHAPTER 6

    “C OMPUTER , DEPLOY ARMOR .”
    Janeway gave her shuttle its marching order before she had completely materialized in the cockpit. The shuttle hummed with a surge of power, and