Demands of Honor (17 page)

“
Enterprise,
Kirk here. It's good to hear your voice, Michael. What's your status?”

“We have recovered four hostages. No casualties for the hostages or the team.”

For a moment, Kirk thought he had heard that incorrectly.
No casualties.
No simulation he had run in his own head, or that Spock had run on the ship's computer, had predicted that as even a possibility.

Kirk felt a smile spread across his face. “Any injuries?”

“The hostages are pretty banged up, but everyone is stable. You can tell sickbay there is one patient with two badly broken arms who will need immediate attention.”

“Mister Fuller, I look forward to your complete report.”

“Yes, sir. We are prepared to rendezvous in fifteen minutes.”

“We'll be ready for you. Kirk out.” The captain was on his feet immediately, giving Uhura his instructions, then quickly headed out the door.

He arrived at the shuttlebay a few moments before Scott and Spock, and the three of them headed for the control room together. He told the two men what he knew, and Scott immediately cleared the shuttlebay and started depressurizing it.

Just a few minutes later, Scott announced, “I have them on sensors. Ten minutes until arrival.”

The time passed slowly, but finally Kirk could see the shuttle through the open bay doors. It entered the bay a short time later, and Kirk could see that it was intact, though a single black line on one side of the hull showed that it had come under weapons fire. The only other sign of the mission was the leftover mounts on the top of the hull that had held the photon torpedo and the probe.

As the shuttle glided into the bay, Scott studied it with a careful eye and then closed the bay doors. The wait for repressurization seemed endless, but finally the light on the control board turned green. Kirk opened the
door from the control room and made his way down the ladder to the deck.

Before his feet touched the floor, McCoy and his team were racing toward the shuttle with four stretchers. Kirk kept out of their way and watched them help four bedraggled, but alive, civilians out of the shuttle and onto the stretchers. One of them, the only man, was unconscious. The others were able to move under their own power, but McCoy put them on the stretchers anyway.

After less than two minutes, the doctors, nurses, and new patients were all headed to sickbay, and Kirk approached the shuttle as Fuller and the others stepped outside. They were in standard uniforms and looked as if they were reporting for duty on a normal day.

Kirk didn't hide his pleasure. Stepping forward, he shook Fuller's hand and said, “Well done, all of you.” Though at attention, the squad looked pleased. “I look forward to hearing your story. If no one needs anything, let's adjourn to the briefing room.”

On the way out, Kirk hit the intercom and said, “Mister Sulu. Best speed to system 7348.”

The briefing was an amazing thirty minutes. Even Spock raised his eyebrow a few times, which—for him—was quite a display. Kirk made a few notes on his data padd for his formal report and for the commendation recommendations he would need to prepare. It was a pleasant business. He had seen missions go terribly wrong and take the lives of good people. It was rare when things went the other way.

“Why don't you all get some rest. I'm going to need you when we get to the system,” Kirk said.

The officers filed out and Kirk called sickbay.

“I'm busy down here, Jim. It will be a few hours before I'll want them talking to anyone. And you can use that time to get some rest yourself, Captain.”

“Kirk out.” He stood up and headed for his quarters. It was time to finally take his doctor's advice.

ORION-BUILT MINING FACILITY

SYSTEM 7348

FEDERATION SPACE

K
AREL AND HIS TEAM
beamed down into a clan pit. It seemed to be right out of Klingon history texts, or the re-creations he had seen as a child. In the days before Kahless and the many years of wars that had divided and finally unified Qo'noS, the clan had been the central social and political unit of Klingon society.

The meeting pit built around a bonfire had been a prominent feature of clan life, though this one was much larger than the ones he had seen. It also had modern lights standing around its perimeter. And he noted flying weapon platforms that hovered nearby and seemed to be standing guard over the pit. Immediately, he recognized the technology as Orion. His brother's final message to
him described fighting against cowardly Orions who turned those vehicles on the native Klingons and then the Starfleet security teams.

The people piloting them now wore armored suits so he could not make them out, but he assumed they were natives. The question was, why have the weapons at the ready? Reports said the natives lived together peacefully. And the natives thought they were greeting a friendly force of their brothers from space.

The people in front of him were definitely Klingon. They wore cloth and leather and, again, looked as if they had stepped out of a museum display. There were more than thirty of them.

Duras was finishing an embrace with one of the natives. The councillor turned to Karel and said, “This is Gurn, the great leader of our proud brothers.” To Gurn, Duras said, “This is Karel, the trusted first officer of our ship's captain.”

“I greet you in the name of our people, who share your noble Klingon blood.” Gurn seemed sincere enough, and Kell had spoken of these people's honor and courage in battle. However, something in the familiarity between Gurn and Duras made Karel uncomfortable.

“Come. We shall talk, and then we shall feast,” Gurn said.

Karel and his people took seats next to Duras's force. Karel leaned in to Gash and whispered, “Remain ready, and watch carefully. My blood is calling out a warning.”

Gash nodded and turned to keep his single eye on the center of the pit. The large Klingon had been Karel's commanding officer in the port weapons room. Karel had taken the warrior's eye in a dispute and had won the
Klingon's respect. Demoted from weapons officer, Gash had been made
QaS DevwI',
in command of the ship's troops. Though he had been a nearly incompetent weapons officer, he was a powerful and aggressive fighter who led his warriors well. He was also one of the few Klingons that Karel trusted nearly completely, which was rare in these times.

In the center of the clan pit, Gurn took a moment to prepare himself. Karel could see that the man was about to make a speech. For a moment, Karel's blood screamed out a fresh warning as he saw another point of resemblance between Gurn and Duras.

“Brothers, we welcome you in the spirit of friendship and shared blood. As you know, our world was nearly destroyed by the green-skins, who wanted to steal our dilithium. We fought them and saved ourselves from destruction by their machines. However, we have learned that there are still great dangers to our planet and our people. We have learned that the Earthers who came here claiming friendship had hired the Orions to do their bidding. They wished to take our wealth, the crystals from our ground, and use them to fuel their treacherous war against our Klingon brethren.”

It was a lie. Karel's brother had told him that he had spoken with a Klingon in the mines during his mission. It had been Kell and the crew of the
Enterprise
who had prevented the world's destruction. Karel was not surprised to see that Duras was party to such falsehood, but Kell had told him the Klingons on this world were honorable.

Looking at Gurn, Karel saw that at least one of them was not. And, unfortunately, he was in a position of
great power with his people.
This will not end well,
Karel realized.

“Our brothers have offered us much. I have been speaking to one of the great Klingon leaders for weeks now. Councillor Duras has offered his friendship, his protection, and his great wisdom. He has also offered us trade so that all of our people may enjoy the wealth of this planet's crystals. Until recently, access to the Orion machines and weaponry was limited by the narrow vision of some of us. Soon, we shall all enjoy the power and the security that we and the Klingons can achieve together. And we shall be able to help our brothers in blood defeat a dangerous foe, the Federation, which threatens them and tried to destroy us all.”

There were cheers from the crowd. Gurn seemed popular, and, more important, he was offering his people a number of things they wanted. They had seen that technology was power. Stolen Orion technology had helped them defeat the Orions and save themselves. The tale he told of treacherous humans who had nearly destroyed them obviously played on their fears. The only problem with his story was that Karel knew it to be false. Looking at Gurn's face when he spoke, Karel thought that the man did as well, or at least suspected as much. However, the cheers he was now basking in represented another kind of power, a power that Gurn clearly enjoyed.

Duras made a short speech of his own, promising victory over the Earthers and wealth and security for the planet's people. He also promised them an honored place as a partner in the Klingon Empire.

More cheers. More lies. More power.

Then Gurn said, “Now, we shall make our first exchange.
Councillor Duras has brought engineers and technicians to help us bring our mine to full power. We will soon speed up the safe removal of these dilithium crystals and begin building our future. In return, it will be my pleasure to present him with our first shipment of crystals.”

Duras turned to Karel and invited, “Join us and see the beginning of the end for the Federation.”

Karel stood, gathered his Klingons, and left the meeting pit. Duras had been scheming for some time to get the crystals this planet had to offer. That much was obvious, and Karel had long suspected it. Yet, he could not help feeling that something else was at work here.

Deception was Duras's nature, but how deep did his treachery go? And would all of his deceptions be in the interest of the empire? Karel could not answer those questions now. All he could do was watch Duras carefully and prepare himself for when those truths eventually revealed themselves.

Kirk woke suddenly in his quarters. His internal chronometer told him they were still at least two hours away from the system. That was just enough time to take care of the things he needed to do and prepare for arrival at 7348. Of course, not knowing what to expect when the
Enterprise
got there made it impossible to truly prepare, but, then again, that described many if not all of the ship's missions.

His first stop was to the bridge. Spock immediately got out of the command chair and headed to the science station. “Time to planet, Mister Spock?” Kirk asked.

“One hour, fifty-eight minutes, twelve seconds. Ship's
sensors confirm a Klingon heavy cruiser in orbit around the second planet. No other signs of activity on the world.”

“Uhura, hail the Klingon vessel,” Kirk said.

“Hailing now…. The Klingons are responding.”

“On-screen,” Kirk ordered. The image of a Klingon Kirk recognized immediately filled the screen.

“My dear Captain Kirk,”
Koloth said.

“My dear Captain Koloth,” Kirk replied.

“It was my understanding that the
Enterprise
would be waiting for us in this system.”

“Rest assured, Captain, the
Enterprise
will be joining you shortly.”

“As our sensors have confirmed. I hope your ship did not encounter any trouble. Perhaps you will require assistance when you arrive?”

“I thank you for your concern, but the
Enterprise
is more than equal to any task it encounters. That said, I want to put you on notice now. You are in Federation space with the permission of the Federation president himself. The parameters of your diplomatic mission to the second planet in this system are very clear. Any deviation from those parameters will be considered an act of war.”

Koloth smiled at that.
“As much as I would enjoy an open conflict with you and your ship, Kirk, I assure you that my orders are also very clear. I was to deliver the
diplomatic
team to the planet, which I have done.”
Koloth spoke the word
diplomatic
as if it were a curse. However, something else was in the Klingon's voice: sincerity. A hunch told Kirk that what the Klingon captain had just told him was the absolute truth. But he felt
that something else was going on here, something that Koloth wasn't saying.

Interesting.

“I look forward to seeing you shortly.
Enterprise
out,” Kirk said. “Mister Spock, you have the bridge. I'll be in sickbay.”

Kirk got up from his chair and met McCoy in his office a few minutes later. “How are the patients, Bones?”

“The young man had two badly broken arms. However, I was able to reset them without surgery. Otherwise they're suffering from minor injuries. They came in malnourished and dehydrated, but we've loaded them with food, water, and vitamins.”

“There's a
but
in there, Doctor.”

McCoy raised an eyebrow. “Physically, except for the broken bones, they'll be fine and ready for release from sickbay tomorrow. These kids have been through hell, Jim. Their bodies will recover quickly, but psychologically … well, that is going to take some time.”

“Were they tortured?”

“Not formally, no, but they were locked up in a small, cold, dark space without adequate food and water for days, while they waited to be handed over to the Klingon military for interrogation. I can make them comfortable, but there are things here I can't fix, not in a few days anyway.”

Kirk nodded. He had seen people in similar situations before. Hostages, refugees, and their like. The galaxy seemed to produce too damned many of them.