Gul
Me’rok was a happy man. He had achieved all he had ever wanted – he was in
good graces with the Cardassian government, he was not just in command of his
own ship but of the whole Second Order, and nothing he could think of could
stand in the way of his success. Soon he would be able to deal a decisive defeat
to all Starfleet forces in this sector.
Life
was good and Me’rok knew he had nothing to worry about when his First Officer
told him about the lone Starfleet ship nearing their position.
“Keep
monitoring them,” he ordered. “Should they continue on their course, inform
me when they come within one light-year of our current position.” On the other
hand, it could never hurt to be careful.
“Have
the two closest cruisers stand down from their current duty and order them to
form on our wing, just in case.”
“Is
that really necessary?” his First Officer asked.
Me’rok
laughed heartily. “Most likely not, but consider what is at stake. In case
anything goes wrong I want to be ready, or would you like to explain any
failure on our part to Dukat?”
“No
Sir!” Glinn Detor reached for the com-panel. He was as confident as his Gul
when it came to the success of their mission, but facing the wrath of Legate
Dukat was nothing he cared to risk, or even hoped to survive, should it ever
come to such a confrontation.
“The
Maruk and Tegar are moving into position on our wing as
ordered,” he reported matter-of-factly.
“Splendid!”
Me’rok was satisfied. Two Galor-class cruisers, together with his own Keldon-class
Trantor would be more than enough to handle any single ship the
Federation could put in their way. “Do we know by now which ship it is?”
“No
Sir, not yet, but it’s certainly one of their larger ships.”
“Then
we will have to wait a little longer, won’t we.” Me’rok leaned back in his
seat and smiled. He looked forward to pitting his wits against a Starfleet
captain once again. In the past Starfleet had always provided him with a
worthwhile challenge, but every time Me'rok had come out on top.
* * * * *
Tarin
placed the towel over her shoulder and strode from the holodeck. She was slowly
but steadily getting up to her old standards in her Shu’Mar training and life
was good.
She
had finally managed to establish a routine to her personal and professional life
that allowed enough time for both parts of her life and her relationship with
Ben hadn’t suffered at all.
Tarin Veal leaned against the wall of the turbolift she had just entered. “Deck eight, section one.” There was more than enough time to take a shower and prepare dinner before Ben came by. She still had no idea what it was that had kept him busy for the last two weeks, but whatever this surprise of his was, Tarin was sure she would find out soon enough. In a few days he would have it ready and whatever it was, it promised to be quite interesting.
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7
