by Diane Duane
“Fvillhaih Ellannahel t’Rihannsu”
( Speaking Rihannsu is like whispering: few hard sounds.)
It is two months after the events of “The Romulan Way” and Ael and the crew of Bloodwing remain in exile in Federation space with little hope of going home. The Romulan government will do whatever it takes to get back the sword Ael took with her; war with the Federation looms.
The Klingons sit on the sidelines, observing. If they ally with the Romulans, it will be mutual assured destruction. The Federation can beat the Romulans in a decades-long war; they would be victorious but severely weakened. The Klingons could then swoop in and destroy the Federation.
The Romulans gravely misunderstand the motives of the Federation and mistake reticence for cowardice/weakness. They may therefore overreach themselves. They tell the Federation 1) Give us Ael and the Sword, or 2) allow us in your space to search for her, or 3) War. They have an untested WMD.
Enterprise heads for the Romulan Neutral Zone, attempting to discover how to combat the Sunseed Weapon.
Random Thoughts Written Down as I Read:
Kirk considers Ael his equal and a worthy opponent.
Ael’s first officer and doctor are women—they are a distaff version of Enterprise’s Big 3.
Lieutenant Naraht (the Horta) is now HUGE.
K’t’lk’s daughter/self/reincarnation/you kinda have to have been there is aboard: K’s’t’lk. She is doing research on how to stop Sunseed.
3rd book in, and I think I’m finally understanding Rihannsu naming conventions.
Forced relocations are occurring on Romulan colony worlds. In this case, the descendants of the ship clans are the Jewish people.
Arrhae, now a Senator on ch’Rihan, is assigned to go on the diplomatic mission to the Federation as a kind of spy. A spy within a spy.
Klingons named Kelg and Kurgad drink bloodwine and snarl at one another while waiting to meet K’hemren.
Everyone thinks Kirk and Ael are lovers. Of course they do. Why wouldn’t they?
Ms. Duane’s Star Trek Universe aligns with the one in “The Final Reflection.”
Kirk and Ael simply sit together and enjoy the downtime before the next battle. Harb Tanzer joins them for a brief cameo.
WTF:
No quote. A question. A great deal is made about Rihannsu citizens being watched at all times. Who watches? And how? I mean, yes, I get that security watches through hidden cameras. But wouldn’t you have to have a 1:1 ratio, or maybe a 2:1 so the watchers could actually rest while watching? And who watches them? And how does anyone get anything done, because it would take the entire population to watch one another. Wouldn’t it?
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