a planet's crust ... "But this is what you wanted, what we planned
for," she said, finally.
"But the speed with which this is happening is a problem for us." Taryn
rose from his antique carved desk and paced restlessly across the small
office, stopping for a moment to regard the extensive collection of
ancient weapons hanging on the wall. Some of them were so old that they
predated the Romulan exodus from Vulcan, following the Surak
reformation.
The commander stood for a moment, ostensibly
studying a training lirpa--one with a hollow bludgeon and a dulled
blade.
Savel had a good knowledge of the tactical situation they now faced. But
she had no idea of what information Taryn had gained from those
communiqu6s. "What problem?" she asked.
Taryn handed her the communiqu6s, inviting her to scan them for herself.
"Kamarag is doing far more than we expected. He plans to topple
Azetbur's government--not simply to lead a renegade raid. We did not
anticipate this."
Savel scanned the messages quickly, then nodded agreement.
"He has gone too far to simply go home after his raid.
There is no way that Kamarag can keep his actions secret, now ... not
with this many people involved. The ambassador has evidently decided
that the time has come to make his break with Chancellor Azetbur's
government. How do you think he will proceed, Vadi?"
"I believe that, once Kirk is dead, the ambassador will initiate
hostilities by leading his squadron across the Neutral Zone in an
all-out attack on the nearest Federation world. He will use the
publicity from that to declare himself a war leader, and thus sway the
public to his side. Staging a military coup will then be easy."
Savel raised an eyebrow as that notion sank in. "If Kamarag does that
... such an action would indeed precipitate all-out war between the
Federation and the Klingon Empire." Silently, the young Vulcan woman
considered, as she had been considering for the past several days, the
ramifications of interstellar war.
Memories surfaced in her mind, from the days before she'd come to live
with Taryn and his family. There had been eleven Vulcan children in the
creche, many of them orphans whose parents had suicided rather than be
forced to engender more children to live on Romulus, Remus, or Freelan.
And in the very early days ... there had been an old one, an ancient
Vulcan who had been brought in to teach them their native language.
Sakorn had been his name, and he was blind.
Savel vividly remembered the afternoons she and the other children had
spent with Sakorn during those language lessons. The ancient Vulcan had
also, whenever he could avoid the watchful eye of the other teachers,
attempted to imbue his charges with Vulcan ethics and values.
"War is an unconscionable waste of resources, and the most illogical of
tactics," she remembered him saying quietly, one summer afternoon, as
they'd all sat in the school courtyard together. "There are no winners
in war ... only losers. The innocent pay, and the guilty grow ever
richer and ever greedier. Violence breeds violence, and the cycle of
avarice and corruption is nearly impossible to break. There is no excuse
for a civilized being to resort to war ... there are always
alternatives to bloodshed."
Savel didn't know whether she completely agreed with Sakorn's
pronouncementsrebut her memories of the old one were still vivid enough
to make her breath catch in her throat as she imagined what he'd say if
he knew what she'd done.
"War ..." she repeated, hearing the doubt in her own voice. "What you
have been working to achieve for all these many years ...
"Indeed," the commander replied, taking down an ancient Vulcan senapa
and examining the scythelike obsidian blade, careful to touch only the
handle, for the cutting edge was dipped in the traditional poison. He
frowned down at the weapon, seemingly studying the flowing streaks of
benefit us in the end. The more fragmented the Klingon Empire is, the
easier it will be to conquer.
But Kamarag is moving so much faster than I had anticipated ... he is
proceeding too swiftly. Our forces are days away from being able to take
full tactical advantage.
And if Kamarag kills Kirk tomorrow, and then proceeds full-scale into
Federation space ... the Federation and the Klingons could be engaged
in all-out war within a handful of days. The praetor has ordered full
mobilization of all forces, under my direct command ... but I do not
know whether we can be ready to invade in time."
Savel glanced at the small viewscreen that showed the vista of stars as
seen from Shardarr's bridge. Events, like the stars, seemed to be moving
toward them too fast. "Is there anything we can do to slow the
ambassador?"
"I cannot think of anything" Taryn said.
At the sound of the intercom, both turned toward the comm link. "Taryn
here," the commander snapped as he activated it.
"Commander, I have that tactical analysis prepared that you requested,"
came the voice of Taryn's second-in-command.
"Excellent," Taryn said. "Call a meeting of all senior officers in my
conference chamber. We will be there directly."
Motioning to Savel to join him, the commander strode out of his office
and down the narrow, utilitarian corridor.
Once they reached the sparsely furnished conference chamber, with its
huge comm link that dominated the bulkhead, the young Vulcan woman sat
in her accustomed place on the commander's left. One by one, his senior
officers filed into the room. They were all young, hand-picked by Taryn
to serve aboard his ship and intensely loyal to him.
Taryn began the meeting by having his second-in-command, Poldar, give a
briefing on the current tactical situation. Savel watched as he
pinpointed the location of Kamarag's renegade squadron, then pointed out
the locations of their own vessels. Several would reach the area within
two days, but others would not arrive for another five or six.
The fleet was massing ... the largest fleet ever assembled in Romulan
history. And Shardarr would spearhead the attack, if all went according
to plan.
"What about Federation vessels?" Taryn asked.
"There are a number in Sector 53.16," Poldar said, "but none close
enough to trouble us until we are well across the Neutral Zone. With the
exception of one vessel, Commander."
Taryn raised one slanting eyebrow, inviting the centurion
silently to continue. "Commander, I speak of the Enterprise.
Kirk's ship lies directly in the course Kamarag's squadron will take
across the Neutral Zone."
"Enterprise lies in the path of Kamarag's invasionary force?" Taryn
repeated slowly, plainly taken aback.
"Yes, Commander," Poldar said. "We received a new batch of intelligence
reports just as I was leaving the bridge for this meeting. We have a
positive identification on the ship ... it is definitely Kirk
's?"
"That is not good," Tonik, the senior helm officer, said flatly. "If
Kamarag's squadron encounters the Enterprise, they may be decimated."
"Not even Enterprise can defeat half a score Of ships," Taryn pointed
out, the faintest touch of scorn in his voice.
"And Kirk ... Kirk is not with the ship. He is keeping a rendezvous
elsewhere." Despite the commander's confident air, Savel noted the lines
of strain deepen between his brows.
"Even if Kirk is not there, he will have left one of his senior offcers
in command of his vessel," Tonik pointed out, mildly. "And even if Kirk
is not with his vessel, that by no means makes Enterprise easy prey."
"Yes," one of the junior officers chimed in, "and with only five or six
Klingon ships remaining, Kamarag's force might not be threatening enough
to bring out the Federation fleet in force. And the fewer Starfleet
ships assembling to defend the Neutral Zone, the fewer captains we can
induce to cross into Klingon space ... should that tactic prove
necessary to gain our ends."
"I regret to say that I have more news that may not please you,
Commander," Poldar said, pausing to glance at another communiqu6.
"Intelligence has confirmed the presence of Ambassador Sarek aboard the
Enterprise."
Taryn straightened abruptly, and now he was frowning.
"Sarek ..." he repeated, and his officers watched him silently.
After a moment's contemplation of their newest piece of news, Taryn rose
from his seat and brusquely dismissed his officers. Savel stayed,
knowing that the order did not apply to her. When the chamber had
emptied, she stepped closer
to her adopted uncle, touched his sleeve. Taryn, who had been gazing
straight ahead, eyes hooded, his expression unreadable, startled
slightly and looked around.
"What is it, Vadi?" she asked, softly.
"Why is Sarek aboard that ship?" Taryn asked, his jaw muscles tight with
tension. "What is he planning? Sarek never does anything without a
reason ... "
"I do not know, Vadi, "Savel said. "The one time I was in his presence,
at Camp Khitomer, I tried to 'read' him--and could not. His shielding is
surprisingly good."
"How much does he know?" demanded Taryn, thinking aloud. "He tried to
break into our data banks ... I am certain he was somehow responsible
for the malfunction that nearly shut the entire system down that night
he was aboard our station."
"How do you know that?" Savel was taken aback to hear about the data
banks.
Taryn made an impatient gesture. "I cannot prove it. He left no
betraying trace. But I am certain that malfunction masked some espionage
attempt on his part. Did he gain access? Copy data? Is it possible that
he actually obtained proof of our plans?"
Grinding one fist into his palm, he strode restlessly around the
conference chamber, frowning. "No," he said, after a moment, answering
his own question. "He has no proof. He would have contacted Ra-ghoratrei
if he did ... and our contact in the president's office would have
informed us."
"But he did speak to Ra-ghoratrei yesterday," Savel pointed out. "The
report said so."
"Yes, but only to warn him against the KEHL. No ... he has no proof. I
am sure of that. But now ... to make sure he does not gain proof ... I
must lure him to me ... and kill him." Taryn said the last slowly, as
though he almost regretted the necessity.
"Are you sure that he did not somehow warn Ra-ghoratrei, Vadi?"
He turned to regard her as though he'd forgotten her presence. "No ... I
know Sarek. He is too proud, too
stubborn to go to Ra-ghoratrei with a tangle of speculations for which
he has no concrete proof. He is aboard the Enterprise at this moment
because he has come in search of that prooff Now we have a few days
before the fleet assembles. During that time ..." A muscle tightened in
Taryn's jaw. "Sarek must die."
"But if he is aboard the Enterprise ... As Tonik said, she will not be
an easy ship to destroy."
"No ... but if I can lure Sarek to Freelan, I could order one of the
squadrons on Freelan to waylay Enterprise and destroy her enroute."
"And if Sarek refuses to come to Freelan?"
"Then we will have to lure Enterprise away from her present position,
possibly across our Neutral Zone."
"Why? What purpose would that serve?"
"Two things would be accomplished." Taryn's expression lightened into
almost one of pleasure. "First," he held up one finger, "Enterprise
would be out of the way of Kamarag's squadron, allowing the Klingon to
enter Federation space in full force. And, two"--he held up a second
finger--"the delay involved while I allowed Enterprise to search for
Shardarr--"
"Without finding her until you choose, I presume."
"Correct ... that time delay will allow at least one or two of our
other ships to join us. Facing three, even four cruisers or
birds-of-prey, the starship will be outgunned. During the time they
waste while hunting us, we will jam their commu-nistions to keep Sarek
from sending a message to Ra-ghoratr i.
Then, when we are certain of victory, Shardarr and the other ships will
decloak ... and we will finish them."
"A good plan, Vadi," Savel said hollowly. Suppose Sarek had brought
Soran with him? He would be killed, too.
"But ... is there no other way? Sarek ... I have heard you speak of
him so many times as almost a ... friend. Is there no way to spare
him?"
"It is rrettable," Taryn said bleakly, the expression in his dark eyes
revealing his' own turmoil. "However, I can
think of no other way to insure that the ambassador does not warn
Ra-ghoratrei of what he may have learned about us and our plans."
"He may have already told the president. Killing Sarek may not prevent
the Federation from discovering what is happening."
"He has not told him. I am certain he has not. I know Sarek ... I have
studied his mind during our chess games.
He is stubborn, and proud. He would insist on having incontrovertible
proof ... not mere suspicions." Taryn sighed as he stared at the battle
plan still frozen on the wall screen. "I do regret the necessity. I
could have wished to keep Sarek alive, so he could be of use as a
negotiator."
Unable to sleep, Sarek rolled out of the narrow bunk and paced
restlessly around the cramped cabin. Then, driven by an impulse he did
not stop to analyze, he slipped on his robe and soft boots and, picking
up Amanda's journal, headed for the observation deck.
It was the middle of the shipboard "night," so the ambassador
encountered only a few crew members in the corridors or the turbolift.
Halting before the door to the observation deck, Sarek touched the entry
panel, then stepped into the starlit dimness.
While Enterprise was in warp, the stars appeared different than in
subspace ... each bore a trail of light caused by the effect of the
spacewarp that allowed the vessel to exceed the speed of light. The
clo
ser the star, the more distinct the trail appeared to an observer. On
the bridge, the ship's viewscreens automatically filtered out the
trails, in order to clarify the image, but here they showed distinctly.
Moving as silently as a shadow, Sarek walked to one of the chairs
scattered about, and seated himself. He gazed outward, attempting to
clear his mind, preparatory to finding his center. It had been so long
since he had gained the tranquility found only in meditation.
Down ... seek the center ... concentrate effortlessly.
Allow all external stimuli and surroundings to slip away ...
Sarek felt his mind and body responding, as he sought out and touched
his own center--
The sound of a step intruded into his consciousness.
Sarek's eyes opened as he sensed a familiar presence, and he turned to
see Spock hesitating just inside the door of the observation lounge.
"I regret the intrusion," Spock said, coolly, formally, as he turned to
go.
Sarek hesitated, wanting to call him back, not wishing to have this
enmity between them. But he could not quite force himself to speak.
Suddenly the ambassador was struck by an overpowering sense of what
humans called d6jh vu--this had happened before ... nearly forty-five
Standard years before. Sarek blinked, and the memory surged up, as fresh