Tarin
looked up to Ben’s face and all she could see was his sincerity and his trust.
Not the trust of a lover, but the trust of an officer serving under her command.
“Ben…”
was all she managed to get out before she started to sob and the tears welled up
in her eyes.
As
he embraced her and drew her closer she let her tears flow. For the first time
in her life she saw Ben not just as the man she loved, but also as a fellow
Starfleet officer. He supported her. He stood by her decisions, not because he
loved her, but because he had faith in his Captain.
Picard,
Rixx, Sanders, McSorley, Fannon, Keogh, all the other captain’s she had looked
up to as role models - in a way they had never been better than her. Maybe they
were better trained, maybe they had more experience, but whatever they had done,
they had done it because they tried their best, just like she did every day.
Tarin’s
crying and sobbing mixed with laughter. “Oh Ben…”
She
pushed away from him, but only to free a hand to wipe away her tears. “I am
sorry… for a moment… for a moment I really thought you had lost your faith
in me.”
Ben
used the sleeve of his uniform to dab some tears off her cheek. “No. I never
will and neither should you.”
* * * * *
“How
are you?” Moira asked.
Lieutenant
Alvarez smiled wryly. “Not too bad. Any particular reason you’re asking?”
Before today he and Lieutenant O’Shea had run into each other maybe two or
three times, but they had never even spoken to each other.
Moira
breathed deeply. There was no easy way to say it, so she might just as well
speak her mind.
“I
am sorry Lieutenant Alvarez.”
For
a moment he didn’t know what to say. “Why would you be sorry?”
Nothing
but astonishment and curiosity sounded in his voice and some small part of
Moira’s mind found that encouraging, despite her own self-doubts.
“If
I had paid more attention to the scans I took, I might have spotted that Klingon
and you would never have been injured.”
Alvarez
almost laughed, but he knew how wrong that would have sounded in his
colleague’s ears. “It wasn’t your fault, so don’t blame yourself.
Commander Enikal was right – sometimes you run out of luck and you have to
make the best of the hand you are dealt.” He paused for a moment and he
remembered how he had felt after his first mission with the RRTs.
“You
did fine, Lieutenant O’Shea.”
Moira
looked straight at him for the first time since she had entered the small cabin.
Before she could say anything the security officer went on: “Why don’t you
fill me in on what has gone on with the Klingon?” He pointed his chin in the
direction of the cockpit.
As
Moira started to tell him about what had happened, Lieutenant Alvarez suppressed
a smile. He had made the right choice requesting a transfer to the Valkyrie.
These people knew what they were doing, even if they didn’t realize it
themselves sometimes.
* * * * *
Only the hilt of Vontar’s dagger stuck out the Klingon’s throat and the man was dead before he ever had a chance to fire his disruptor.
“You
just killed one of your own men!” Commander Enikal sounded incredulous. “Why
did you do that?”
“Ask
her.” Vontar tightened the grip on his bath’ let once again.
Moira
turned towards Commander Enikal, deliberately presenting her back to the Klingon.
“What
you have to understand is that Sabak’s armor is not just a matter of Klingon
history, it’s a matter of Klingon pride and honor too. Now many Klingons may
tell you otherwise, but for some true honor depends on what you do, not what you
achieve.”
Commander
Enikal considered that argument for a moment. Maybe the Klingons and Starfleet
weren’t so different after all, or at least some Klingons weren’t. “Go
on.”
Moira
turned around again, facing Vontar, then looking over the large man’s shoulder
at the door the Klingons had tried to force open with little success.
“Sabak’s
armor is a symbol. Not just a symbol of Klingon history, but also a symbol of
what Klingon’s can accomplish when they are united by a common goal. Gowron
would deface that by using it for his own gains. He wouldn’t unite the Klingon
Empire for it’s own sake, but for his sake alone.”
*
* * * *
„YOU
have sold us to the Federation!“ Gowron’s fist slammed into the table
and left a deep indention in the metal, but the Klingon Chancellor felt ho pain
in his hand – his rage was too strong for that.
“No.
I have preserved my honor.”
“Nonsense!
You had Victory in your hands and you gave it away! You betrayed
your people, our history, by handing Sabak’s armor to Starfleet. There can be
no excuse for such treachery.”
“I
need no excuse.” Vontar’s hands slapped on his shoulders, his arms
crossed. “You have NO right to Sabak’s armor and neither has any
Klingon who follows you.”
“How
can you talk about honor, if you have no honor yourself? You tried to use me,
not as a warrior fighting for the glory of the Empire, but as a pawn in a game
you played. I was loyal to you, not because you are the Chancellor, but because
I thought you represented our people.”
“Klingons
have a right to this artifact, but you don’t. You are no warrior and
you know nothing about honor. Question my judgement again and you will
bear the consequences.” Vontar starred at the Klingon Chancellor and barred
his teeth.
For
the first time in his life Gowron was truly afraid. He had been afraid he
wouldn’t become Chancellor when K’mpec died, he had been afraid to loose his
power during the civil war, but never before had he felt the raw, primal fear
for his own life he felt now. The most disciplined Klingon he had ever met had
suddenly shown him his true feelings and all those feelings revealed was a rage
stronger and more furious than any Gowron had ever seen in a Klingon warrior
before.
Dying
in combat against Vontar would be a glorious death, but glory was the last thing
he could think about. All that mattered now was his life.
He
starred at Vontar’s eyes and saw the burning hatred of a man who was ready to
kill him any second and who was capable of doing it without even breaking a
sweat. Part of Gowron’s mind suddenly realized why Vontar was so determined.
For a split-second he understood the difference between thinking about honor and
living it.
“Very
well,” he growled. “What do you want?”
“To
keep Sabak’s armor. To watch over it. To guard it, until the Klingon Empire is
worthy of it.”
* * * * *
“I
am afraid I have no choice, Chancellor Gowron,” Tarin stated. “I have no
reason to deny Vontar his request, unless, you can give me a very good
reason.”
The
Klingon Chancellor knew when he had lost. Obviously Veal and Vontar had worked
this out amongst themselves and now all he could do was make the best of it. At
least she had offered him a chance.
“Very well. Until you have confirmed the authenticity of the find made by the Federation science team, we will assign Vontar, son of Dengar, as an observer to your ship, to stand guard over what could be one of the greatest discoveries of the Klingon people.”
“Thank
you, Chancellor.” Tarin leaned back into her chair and looked at Ambassador
Satek, but the Vulcan looked as unemotional as was to be expected.
“I
am sure you will not regret this decision.”
Gowron’s
eyes turned into small slits, but then he threw his head back and laughed out
loud.
He
had to admit that the Starfleeters were clever. They had turned Vontar against
him, or maybe Gowron had done it himself, but that didn’t matter now. By
insisting they would need some time to confirm that what they had found was
really Sabak’s armor they had bought him time. By insisting to guard the armor
for as long as their ‘authentication’ took, Vontar had offered him a chance
to keep his face. Gowron had supported Vontar for so long that any failure on
his part would be seen as a failure of the Chancellor, but for now there would
be no failure on his or Vontar’s part. The status quo would be preserved, the
negotiations would go ahead, and nothing would be lost.
“Very
well! You played your hand well and you deserve your prize.”
* * * * *
“I
have to thank you, Captain Veal.”
“No,
Vontar, son of Dengar, I have to thank you.” Tarin wanted to smile, but she
tried to sound as solemn as possible. In a way it wasn’t difficult – they
had avoided a war, but it had been close, way too close. “If it hadn’t been
for you, our people would be at war. If not for your sense of honor, blood would
be spilt right now from people who have been allies for decades.”
“No,”
the Klingon gravely stated. “You have shown me a way to preserve my honor and
for that I will be in your debt for as long as I live.” He tore his eyes away
from the ancient Klingon armor and looked at Tarin. “Gowron will never use
Sabak’s armor for his own personal gains, but there is one condition.”
“Can
you swear this to me Tarin Veal, that you will protect Sabak’s armor with your
life, even when I am no longer capable of doing it?”
Now
Tarin let her smile spread across her face and she extended her arm to Vontar.
“I
have already made that pledge when I offered you a new home on my ship. As long
as I can depend on you, you can depend on me, just like any other person on
board my ship.”
The
Klingon grabbed her arm and for the first time Tarin saw him smile.
“Then
I pledge you my life, Captain Veal.”
“And
I accept your life into my hands, Vontar, son of Dengar.”
* * * * *
“You
know, I would have never thought it could work,” Captain Blake remarked when
the transporter chief had left the room. For the first time in weeks he wasn’t
anxious. There was still a lot of work to do for Ambassador Satek, but the
future had started to look a little brighter.
“You
know, just between you and me, neither did I.” Tarin didn’t give him time to
comment and continued: “Gowron could have turned against Vontar, he could have
taken the armor from us by force, or he could have done any number of things
that would have lead to a war.”
She
sighed. “I guess we were lucky it all turned out the way it did.”
Edward
Blake just shrugged. “Maybe not. You may not be an expert on Klingons, but you
know all about commitment. That is why I recommended you as my replacement as XO
of the Galahad and it is why you succeeded today. You understand when and
why someone commits himself to something, even if he is a Klingon. Thanks to
that Gowron is back at the negotiation-table again.”
Captain
Veal took the hand he offered before moving behind the transporter controls.
“Ready when you are.”
“Alright,
beam me down to Akadon again,” her colleague said as he stepped on the
transporter platform. “And let’s hope it won’t be another three years
before we see each other again.”
Tarin answered his smile with one of her own. “Let’s hope not. And let’s hope it will be under better circumstances,” she added as she activated the transporter controls.
“So
Gowron has agreed to remove part of the Klingon forces from the Ramatis
sector,” Captain Veal finished, as she and Commander Enikal set down at the
bar in Ten Forward. “They will continue to patrol the area, but they have
withdrawn their ground forces and allowed commercial traffic to pass through the
sector again.”
“Hard
to believe he agreed to it.” Dar ordered a drink and looked around the room.
Did the crew of the Valkyrie know how narrowly a war with the Klingons
had been avoided? Maybe some did, maybe some didn’t, but none of the faces he
watched betrayed a sign of worry – all but one that was.
“I
wouldn’t say so,” Tarin replied as she took the glass the barkeep had placed
in front of her. She carefully studied the bright blue liquid as the Bolian XO
turned to his own drink.
“If
Gowron had gone along with Mek’toth and his faction in the High Council, he
would have risked loosing the support of Kahless II, now that Vontar has joined
our crew. The Emperor may be just a figurehead, but he is important nonetheless.
He supports Vontar and Vontar supports us. Alienating Kahless would have cost
Gowron dearly. The course he has chosen at least got him the support of a
majority of the High Council.”
“I
guess you are right.” Dar Enikal took a sip of his drink and glanced at her.
“What troubles me is that Gowron will need a war sooner or later. Without
military success his position won’t be secured forever.”
“Agreed.
A war between the Klingons and the Romulans is what seems likely, but whatever
happens, the Federation will be drawn into it sooner or later. It may not happen
today or tomorrow, but war will come.”
“Yes.”
Commander Enikal sounded glum, but then he noticed that Rishana had just vacated
a chair at one of the tables by the window.
“If
you will excuse me, Captain.”
Tarin just nodded, lost to her own thoughts, as Dar joined Moira at her table.
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7