“Did you empty your prisons to populate Nimbus III, Ambassador?” D’tran asked.
The Klingon paused, eyeing the aged senator with contempt. “Of course not, though many of our colonists volunteered to take part in this ‘experiment’ as an alternative to prison, or worse. As such, living among us is a shame to their Houses. I wouldn’t bother tainting my blade with their blood, but they are here, and we must work with them.” Raising his tankard to his lips and scowling at the realization that it was empty, he grunted in irritation. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going down there to see things for myself.”
“Now does not seem the appropriate time for us to make an appearance,” D’tran offered.
Lugok laughed again. “For the two of you, I agree, but this is my kind of celebration.” He turned to leave, but stopped upon seeing the frustration on Jetanien’s face, and he adopted a more serious tone. “Do not worry yourself, Jetanien. This little commotion will die out on its own, and if it doesn’t, we can always call for a warship to destroy the planet.” The smile returned, and he released another deep rumbling laugh that echoed in the office as he made his way to the door and left.
Once the Klingon had departed, Jetanien said, “This is not the most promising of starts for a Great Hope Day tradition.”
D’tran placed a hand on his shoulder. “Paradise City is an experiment, my friend, and for many of the colonists, it is a place for second chances. I’d imagine very few of our settlers are coming with unblemished pasts and ignorance of life’s less savory quarters. We should show great patience as well as hope.”
Jetanien could only wonder how long his own patience might endure.
8
Streaks of multihued light retreated on the viewscreen, settling into distant pinpricks in the dark curtain of space as the Defiantdropped out of warp. From where he sat in the captain’s chair at the center of the ship’s bridge, Thomas Blair regarded the screen, instinctively looking for threats even though reason—and the starship’s sensors—told him there was no danger.
“Maintain Yellow Alert,” he ordered, rising from his seat and stepping around the helm and navigation console situated before him so that he might have a clear view of the screen. “Okay, let’s see it.”
“Aye, sir,” said Lieutenant T’Lehr, the Vulcan seated at the helm station. Her long fingers played across her console and a moment later the image on the main viewscreen shifted. Instead of empty space, the screen now depicted what Blair recognized as a Tholian vessel.
Or what’s left of one, anyway.
From where he stood next to the command chair, Commander Mbugua released a small grunt that Blair recognized as the first officer’s normal reaction to something that had interested him. “Somebody didn’t like these guys very much, did they?”
Moving to stand so that he could lean against the red railing separating the command well from the upper deck at the front of the bridge, Blair nodded. “That’s putting it mildly. T’Lehr, can you magnify the image?”
“Yes, Captain,” the helm officer replied, and the view changed yet again to bring the Tholian vessel into sharper focus. Torn metal was now clearly visible, outlined by scorch marks from what Blair figured to be powerful particle-beam weapons. A cloud of debris surrounded the ship, which was dark and drifting without any obvious means of propulsion.
“What are your sensors telling you, Nyn?” Blair asked.
At the science station, Lieutenant Commander Clarissa Nyn bent over her console’s hooded sensor viewer. “I’m not picking up any life signs, sir,” she replied without looking up from her instruments, her words carrying a soft Dutch accent. “The only power source appears to be an emergency battery, but it’s weak. My guess is it’ll be exhausted within a day or so.” Her attention remained on her instruments throughout her report. It was a habit that Blair had found irritating during the first weeks after Nyn arrived aboard the Defiant,replacing his former science officer after her transfer to the U.S.S. Kongo. Commander Mbugua was the one who had made him see that Nyn was not being intentionally disrespectful with this practice, but simply very focused on her work. At his recommendation, Blair opted not to mention his peeve, itself a reluctant decision made easier by the fact that Clarissa Nyn was damned good at her job.
Or, you’re just getting soft in your old age.
“Just enough to run their comm system and keep sending that message,” Mbugua said. “For a while, anyway. Any idea how long the signal’s been broadcasting?”
Turning from her station, Nyn stepped closer to the railing, her hands clasped behind her back. “According to sensor readings from the backup power system, I’d have to say somewhere in the neighborhood of two weeks. Three, at the outside.”
“Judging by the damage to that ship,” Blair added, “the crew had to know they wouldn’t survive long enough for anyone to come to their rescue.” Turning from the viewscreen, he said, “Nyn, are there any escape pods on that ship, or evidence of any having been launched?”
The science officer nodded. “One escape pod, sir, still in its berth. Whatever happened, the crew didn’t have time to make use of it.”
Considering this, Blair said, “Any idea who’s responsible?” The likely suspects had already been the topic of much discussion in the hours since Blair’s first learning of the distress call, but all of that had been without the aid of any supporting evidence.
“Residual energy signatures don’t match Klingon weapons, sir,” Nyn said, “but Orion pirate ships have been known to possess disruptors that fit the pattern.”
“That’s hardly conclusive,” Mbugua countered. “Orions have been buying and selling weapons systems for as long as anyone can remember. Besides, this is a bit out of the way, even for Orion pirates.”
Blair frowned. “Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I’d put it past them, either. Even if it is Orions, the big question is whether they did it on their own, or if they were paid to do somebody else’s dirty work.” He had read the report of how Orion pirates, contracted by a Klingon agent, had attacked and destroyed the U.S.S. Nowlanwhile the transport ship was on its way to Earth. It had all been part of an elaborate smokescreen to cover their kidnapping and delivery into Klingon custody of Diego Reyes, former commander of Starbase 47, who had been convicted by a Starfleet court-martial and sentenced to a ten-year prison term.
“For what it’s worth, sir,” Nyn said, “I scanned the ship’s cargo hold, or at least what I think was the hold, and found nothing. If they were carrying anything, it’s long gone now.”
Folding his arms across his chest, Mbugua added, “It’s an awfully small ship. I’m not sure what cargo they could be carrying that’s worth the risk of coming all the way out here by themselves. Plus, where would they be going? Are there any planets in the vicinity that are likely destinations for a Tholian vessel?”
“None that I’ve been able to determine, sir,” Nyn replied, “though we’re not that far from the Tholian border—a day’s travel at their vessel’s top speed.”
“And what about the Klingons?” Blair asked. “We’re sure they’ve not been reported in this area?”
Mbugua said, “I double-checked the latest intelligence reports and didn’t find anything new. That said, we’re less than a week out from at least two systems with planets known to be under Klingon controclass="underline" Traelus and Leramin. Both systems are within spitting distance of the Tholian border.”
“We’ve had scattered reports of Tholian ships running surveys of Klingon-occupied systems in the Taurus Reach,” Blair added, “particularly those in proximity to their territory.” He gestured toward the viewscreen. “Maybe this ship was doing that, and got too close to something that someone else didn’t want seen, scanned, or reported.”
“That’s a lot of theory,” Mbugua replied, “without much of anything to back it up.”
Blair nodded. “I know, but the more I think about it, the less I believe that pirates, Orion or otherwise, would bother with a ship like that. As you said, it’s pretty small to be carrying much in the way of impressive cargo. The fact that it’s a Tholian ship in the Taurus Reach makes me think they were checking out something they didn’t like, and the big item on that list would be the Klingons.”