“Oh,
so that’s when he asked you,” M’rroah said. “You never told me that it
was while you where on Trill.”
Tarin
finished her salad and thought about it for a moment. “Ah yes, I remember
it.” She dabbed her lips with a napkin and took a sip of wine. ‘No wonder
this place is always booked out,’ she thought. It was the best vintage of
her favored
wine she had ever tasted and the food had so far been more than a match for the
exquisite drink. “I couldn’t get in touch with you at the time and I
didn’t want to tell you about it in a letter. When we had a chance to talk I
apparently forgot to fill you in on some of the details.”
Tarin
put down her glass and looked out over the ocean. The first sun had nearly
vanished below the horizon and now the deep blue and purple of the first sunset
vied for attention with the red and orange of the second sun that slowly
followed it’s companion into the dark of night. ‘Amazing how little I
missed this in all my years away from home, considering how beautiful it is,’
Tarin thought. Perhaps she could get a little vacation once everything was over,
but it seemed unlikely.
M’rroah
followed Tarin’s gaze and turned her ears towards the sea. The sound of the
waves gently rolling against the shore three meters below them was easy for her
to make out, even against the murmur of background noises on the Zefram’s
terrace. The Caitian just listened to the sound for a minute and found it quite
soothing for her troubled mind. ‘If only they would come soon,’ she
thought, but then again, that might not give them time to finish dinner or the
story.
She turned to her Centauran friend again. “Why don’t you just go on with your story? I am sure there is a lot more to it than just a little shopping spree on Trill.” M’rroah grinned and Tarin Veal answered with a smile, recalling some of the shopping sprees she and M’rroah had shared in the past.
“All
right, but as I said, you have to keep in mind that I know some parts of it only
from hearsay.”
* * * * *
“I
hope you all enjoyed your time on Trill,” Tarin stated as she settled into the
bridge’s centre seat and activated the controls set into the armrests of her
chair.
“I
certainly did,” Moira O’Shea exclaimed. Tarin smiled in reply. She still had
to get to the bottom of what had Moira so excited over the last few days, but
she had a few suspicions.
“It
was certainly interesting,” Commander Enikal remarked. He had already sat in
the XO’s chair when Tarin had entered the bridge and for now he obviously had
no intention to take his more customary place at the tactical station.
Tarin
Veal glanced at the Bolian from the corner of her eyes, but nothing seemed
different about her first officer. Had Moira simply taken advantage of the
opportunity and done some shopping to prepare for what could happen or was Dar
just being very discreet about their relationship? Tarin pushed the thought back
into the far reaches of her mind. It certainly wasn’t her business, but those
two would make an interesting pair, to say the least. On the other hand, there
were a lot more people on her crew.
“And
what about you, Rishana, did you enjoy our little stop-over at Trill?” Tarin
asked with a smile playing around her lips.
The
Betazoid swiveled her chair around and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I didn’t get to see much of Trill, but yes, I think I made the most of
it.”
Just
then Tarin noticed what was different about Rishana Hagen and yet looked so
familiar. “You have cut your hair.” Instead of the long curls, Rishana wore
her hair straight and to just below her shoulders. It was the hairstyle she had
worn for two years on the Eclipse and the one she had changed after the
war, because it reminded her too much of Skuld and the Norns.
“Yes.
I figured there was not much use in denying who I am and I always thought it
looked better this way.”
“I
think so too.” Tarin’s smile widened. “Now, lets get underway. Set a
course for 210, mark 351, warp six.”
“Yes
Ma’am,” Rishana cheerfully replied as she turned her chair towards her
station again and laid in the course. “Course set, standing by warp engines.”
“Engage.”
* * * * *
“You
wanted to see me, Doctor?”
“Yes,
Captain. Have a seat, please.” Theron Jascar pointed at one of the chairs
facing his office desk and reached for a medical tricorder. “It’s about time
I checked your hand.”
“Well,
if you think that’s necessary,” Tarin replied as she set down and stretched
out her left arm.
“Yes,
I do.” Theron ran the small probe he had detached from the tricorder over
Tarin’s hand. “It may be just a routine examination, but it still needs to
be done from time to time.”
The
Valkyrie’s CMO studied the readings on his tricorder, then turned
towards the display behind him and called up Tarin Veal’s medical records.
“Looks good to me,” he said after a few seconds. Without turning away from
the display he added: “Nice ring.”
Tarin
looked down at the slim gold band encircling her left ring finger and flexed her
hand. “That’s what I thought.” A momentary sadness in her expression was
quickly replaced by excitement; just when she had thought her relation with Ben
Tucker might fall into a - however pleasant – routine, he had managed to
surprise her once again in a most enjoyable way.
“As
far as I can see everything is in working order,” Doctor Jascar cut off
Tarin’s train of thought. He turned towards Captain Veal again. “Your
medical record isn’t very clear about the circumstances under which you lost
your hand. I must confess I am a bit curious.”
“I
am sorry, Doctor,” Tarin replied, looking up at the human, “some parts of
that story are still classified, even after all those years.” She fell silent
again, as the memories washed over her. Memories of a young ensign frantically
working her sensor controls, finding the cloaked target by what could have only
been a stroke of luck. Memories of her shouting out the coordinates and the
captain giving his orders to the tactical officer. Memories of another direct
hit cutting into the Arizona, exploding panels, people being thrown around like
puppets who’s strings had been cut...
“Will
this be all?” The flatness of her own voice startled Tarin and brought her
back to the here and now, just in time to notice Theron Jascar’s usually
professional expression make way for an apologetic look.
“Yes,
that will be all, Captain.” As Tarin rose he added: “I am sorry I asked.”
Captain
Veal shook her head. “No, that’s alright. You couldn’t have known.” No,
she thought, he couldn’t have known how much more than her real hand she had
lost that day, just as much as he couldn’t know how much of it Ben Tucker had
returned to her.
She
looked down at the diamond-studded ring again and the smile returned to her
face. “It’s alright,” she remarked again and this time she really meant
it.
* * * * *
Tarin
Veal finished her log entry and leaned back in her chair. So far it had been
four uneventful days of routine patrol and with the recent Maquis uprising in
the Bajor sector she hoped the Cardassians would be too busy to pay this part of
the border much attention. Of course it was not meant to be.
“Captain,
we are picking up a distress call on a Cardassian frequency.”
“Origin?”
she asked her Ops Officer.
“Somewhere
in the Draygo system. The transmission identifies the source as a military
freighter, the Canatra.”
“What’s
their situation?”
As Moira O’Shea checked her instruments Tarin briefly wondered why Starfleet protocols were so vague about who handled communications during routine operations. “The computer has just finished decoding and translation. I’ll put in on the main speakers.”
“This is the freighter Canatra of the Fourth Order. We have come under attack by Maquis raiders. Main engines badly damaged. We are attempting an emergency landing on Draygo IV. We require immediate assistance. Repeat, this is the freighter Canatra...”
Tarin
twirled a strand of hair around her fingers for a moment, then performed some
quick calculations on her control panel. “Helm, set a course for the Draygo
system, warp eight.”
“So much for a routine patrol,” Lieutenant O’Shea remarked with a sigh. Even if it had only lasted three days, Moira had enjoyed the stop-over at Trill a lot and she had, despite her better knowledge, hoped for some more uneventful days.
“If
you want a routine patrol, you are on the wrong ship,” Tarin remarked. She
rose and activated her combadge.
“Lieutenant
Alvarez, please report to the observation lounge.”
“Commander
Enikal, Commander Westmore.” Captain Veal made an inviting gesture in the
direction of the conference room. During the last few days Commander Westmore
had managed to obtain detailed information about the Cardassian operations in
the Bajor sector. Perhaps he had some idea what a Cardassian military transport
was doing several light-years away from all other known Cardassian operations as
well.
* * * * *
„Now
what is the meaning of this?“ Commander Westmore was clearly disgusted at the
joke someone had decided to play on him.
“And
I thought you would be delighted to see me,” Commander Treskat remarked,
wiggling her antennae in a way an Andorian would have regarded as both
provocative and slightly insulting, a gesture completely ignored by Alex
Westmore.
“I
asked to talk to someone in the know about the Cardassians and the Maquis,
neither of which you were, last time I checked.”
Treskat
tried to swallow her pride. Commander Westmore had been her commanding officer
and her mentor in Starfleet Intelligence for over six years and she knew she
owed him a lot, but sometimes the human made it so very hard to remember that.
“Things
change,” she just said. ”I am not in charge of Cardassian operations, but I
am the highest ranking officer assigned to the department who is available right
now. And,” she added, “you may want to pay a little more respect. It so
happens that I was promoted to Commander a month ago.” The Andorian tugged at
her collar, bringing the three solid rank pips into full view.
“Is
that so,” Alex Westmore remarked, rubbing his chin. “When did they assign
you to the Cardassian desk?”
“Six
weeks ago, but, wasn’t it you who always told me it doesn’t matter how long
you work at a job if you only work hard enough?”
“You
are really enjoying this,” Commander Westmore ascertained. He hated it when
someone threw his own wisdom back at him, but this time he could forgive it.
Treskat had always been one of his best officers and he had to admit that he had
been a bit too hard with her just now.
“Very well,” he cut the Andorian off, before she had a chance to rub more salt into the wound. “Let’s talk about the Cardassians and the Maquis and we will see how good you really are.”
* * * * *
Tarin
waited until Lieutenant Alvarez had found a chair before she opened the meeting.
“Gentlemen, we will reach the Draygo system in less than three hours and
whatever we find there, I want us to be prepared for it.” She called up a
starchart on the monitor behind her as she went on.
“Draygo
IV is an uninhabited M-class planet, only three light-years from the former DMZ.
So far the Cardassians have shown little interest in the system, probably
because they want to concentrate on neutralizing our forces in this sector first,
before building up static positions in Federation space.”
Commander
Westmore cleared his throat. “That is likely. The Cardies have always suffered
from a lack of resources, but trying to exploit this world without securing the
sector first could cost them more than they would gain.”
“Which
raises the question what a lone Cardassian freighter is doing in this region,
not to mention a Maquis raiding party,” Tarin said. “All our intelligence
reports put the bulk of the Maquis forces at least twenty light-years away from
our current position.” She leaned back in her chair and looked at Alex
Westmore. “Can we trust these reports?”
“Yes.”
Commander Westmore looked from face to face and frowned as he noticed Dar’s
doubtful expressions. “What more is there to say?”
* * * * *
“So
the consensus is that the Maquis are staging this major offensive to strengthen
their reputation and gather support from parties previously reluctant to support
what appeared to be a lost cause.”
Treskat
nodded in agreement. “That sums it up nicely. It’s not so different from the
Valkyrie mission, is it?” She smiled, but there was little amusement in
her expression.
“Not
exactly.” Alex Westmore drummed his fingers on the desk, part of his attention
still focused
on the latest Maquis activities, but Treskat’s surprise brought him back to
the here and now.
“Don’t
tell me you have started to believe that a single ship, commanded by a scientist
who has no place in the center seat, can really make a difference?”
Alexander
Westmore snorted in apparent disgust at such a ridiculous notion. “You will
never hear me say that.”
Commander
Treskat was taken aback. She had expected a stiff reproach for even suggesting
that Westmore could have changed his mind, but what he had just said was closer
to an admission that he had been wrong than anything she had heard from him in
six years. The Andorian made a mental note to pay closer attention to the
reports concerning the Valkyrie. Anything that could change Alexander
Westmore’s mind was worth paying attention to. That he had just ignored her
attempt to tease him by using one of his own remarks and her former CO’s next
question only strengthened that resolve.
“So,
what do they say about the Valkyrie back home? Not just in SI or
Starfleet, but everyone else as well?”
“Opinions
about the Valkyrie are polarized. Either people love the ship – and her
crew – or they hate them. Some think you guys are our salvation, while others
believe your achievements have been exaggerated by Starfleet Command for
political reasons.” Treskat leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.
Alex Westmore heard the underlying question in her statement, but he was
determined to drive this conversation.
“And
how many people believe in that political agenda story, as far as you can tell?”
“Oh,
I don’t know, I have been pretty busy with my work. I didn’t have much time
to care about these things.”
“Treskat!”
Westmore drew out the name as long as possible and the Andorian knew she
wouldn’t get off that easily.
"Oh,
all right, but, as you Humans would say, you'll have to take this with a grain
of salt." As her former CO just raised an eyebrow ever so slightly the
Andorian sighed and went on. "Perhaps ten percent who really believe it and
about the same number who have some doubts."
Commander
Westmore nodded his head by a fraction of an inch. “Good.”
“I
can’t believe it! You were so vehemently opposed to the Valkyrie
mission and now you seem to support it. This makes no sense.”
Alex
Westmore waved his index finger at her in a lecturing gesture. “And I thought
you had learned something from me. If your instincts tell you I wouldn’t
approve of this mission, how wrong can you be?”
Alex
Westmore reached for the keypad and looked at the Andorian from narrowed eyes,
his brows furrowed. “Draw your own conclusions and keep me posted on any
development with the Cardassians.”
He
killed the transmission and leaned back in his chair, starting to rub his chin
thoughtfully. Next time he wanted to learn more about Cardassian activities he
should use one of his unofficial contacts; Treskat knew him just a little too
well for comfort.
On
the other hand she had told Alex Westmore precisely what he wanted to know. As
long as she was uncertain about his motives she would start trying to gauge his
true intentions and the way she did it would tell him even more about what he
wanted to know.
Keeping
Treskat on edge would make it all the easier for Commander Westmore to get from
her precisely what he wanted.
* * * * *
“Probably
nothing,” Dar Enikal admitted after a moment of silence. He knew little about
Commander Westmore, but who or whatever he was, Westmore obviously had much more
experience with hands-on intelligence work than his official record claimed.
“I
am no expert on strategic operations,” Lieutenant Alvarez added, “but to me
that leaves only two possibilities. Either the distress call doesn’t tell the
truth or the Maquis had a pretty good reason to attack that freighter.”
Tarin
Veal nodded. “It’s probably the former. If the Maquis had attacked that
freighter, they would have finished what they came for. The Canatra’s
distress call didn’t mention anything about them still being under attack, so
we must assume their attackers have withdrawn. I doubt a freighter, even a
military one, could drive off a dedicated raiding party. As our sensors show no
sign of other ships around Draygo, Cardassian or otherwise, it seems safe to
assume they haven’t withdrawn because someone got in their way.”
Commander
Enikal ran a hand over his forehead, as if to brush some nonexistent hair from
his face. “In that case the distress call told us only half the truth or it
was an outright lie. On the other hand it could be a trap set by the Maquis for
any Cardassian ships that respond to the distress call. Maybe they are trying to
open a second front or at least draw some Cardassian forces away from the Bajor
sector.”
“It
is possible, but I can’t imagine why they would pick this place for it,”
Captain Veal said. “Still, if the Maquis really attacked the Canatra
they could be lying in wait somewhere in the system, but whatever has happened,
we will lend humanitarian assistance to the Cardassians.” She leaned back in
her chair and answered Commander Enikal’s approving nod with a smile.
“Afterwards we will of course take the crew into custody for questioning.
That’s why I asked you to be present, Lieutenant Alvarez.”
“I
see, Ma’am.”
“How
we will proceed depends on what we find at Draygo, but I want a strong security
force to accompany any away team we may send over to that freighter. I expect
the Cardassians not to respond too well to an attempt at taking them into
custody. Considering that and the possibility of an encounter with hostile
Maquis forces, you are authorized for the use of phaser rifles, should you deem
that necessary.”
* * * * *
“Yellow
alert,” Captain Veal ordered as the Valkyrie dropped under warp a few
light-minutes from Draygo IV. “Anything on our sensors?”
“No
ships,” Dar Enikal reported from the tactical station, “but I am reading an
ion trail heading straight for Draygo IV. It looks like a Cardassian energy
signature and the decay rate of the trail makes it about three hours old.”
“Rishana,
follow that ion trail, full impulse. Moira, open a com channel;
see if you can contact the Canatra.” Tarin activated her holographic
display and studied the sensor readings. There was no sign of debris or residual
energy readings that would indicate the explosion of a starship.
“No response to our hails, Captain,” Lieutenant O’Shea reported.
“Keep
trying,” Tarin ordered, without taking her eyes off the three-dimensional
display. If there were Maquis raiders hiding in the system, where could they be?
Draygo V was a gas giant, offering enough hiding places for a small ship like
the ones typically used by the Maquis. A ship staying close to the systems’ G
type sun would likewise stand a good chance of escaping detection, but both
options would place them too far from Draygo IV to make a very effective trap.
No, if there were raiders in the system they would be hiding on one of the two
moons of Draygo IV or maybe in one of the oceans of the planet.
Still
concentrating on the display Tarin’s hands started to dance over her chair’s
armrest controls and the graphic representation of the Draygo system turned more
and more complex, displaying comet trails and magnetic fields, solar winds and
gravimetric forces. After a few minutes Captain Veal shook her head. No, there
was no disturbance that indicated that any ship, aside from the Canatra,
had recently passed through the system.
“Captain,”
Dar Enikal interrupted her thoughts, “I have a better reading of the
Cardassian’s ion trail now. It vanishes behind the second moon of the fourth
planet, but there it ends. They must be behind or on that moon.”
Lieutenant
Hagen craned her head to look over her shoulder. “That makes sense. Cardassian
transports are not built for atmospheric operations. If they had to land
somewhere, a moon would be their best option.”
“Agreed.” Tarin brushed an unruly strand of hair behind her ear. “Adjust course to bring us into a standard orbit around that moon.”
After
Rishana had affirmed the order, Tarin Veal swiveled her chair around to look at
the Ops station and shut off the holographic display. As useful as it was, it
sometimes got in the way and for now she had learned from it all she needed to
know about this system. “Moira, stop hailing the Canatra and
concentrate on the sensors. If any other ship comes into range I want to know
about it as soon as possible.”
* * * * *
“There
she is, down on the moon as we expected,” Commander Enikal looked up from the
tactical station, his finger hovering over the controls, as he anticipated his
captain’s next orders.
“Put
it up on the main screen.”
The
Bolian’s finger hit the control and the image of the Cardassian freighter
appeared on the bridge’s large viewer. The red-brown hull of the ship stood
out clearly from the grey surface of the unnamed moon, as did the containers
that had spilled from the two ruptured cargo modules and now marked the course
of the Canatra as clearly as the deep gouge it had ploughed into the
surface of the moon during it’s emergency landing.
“Life
signs?” Tarin asked, her gaze fixed on the image of the Cardassian transport.
“I
am reading twenty-three Cardassian life signs in the forward command section.
Some of them are weak, but all appear stable.”
Tarin
wanted to ask for more information, but she knew Dar would notify her as soon as
he had anything to report. At least she didn’t have to wait long for him to
come up with more information.
“The
rest of the ship is without atmosphere. Their main engines have sustained heavy
damage. Sensors show phaser and disruptor hits on warp drive and weapon
systems.” The Bolian manipulated the tactical controls and the image on the
main viewer zoomed in on the hull of the Cardassian transport, revealing
numerous scorch-marks at the aft section of the ship. “I am reading three, no,
make that four, different weapon signatures, including Starfleet and Bajoran
phasers.”
“What
about the cargo? Is there anything that would explain why this particular
freighter was attacked?”
“There
is nothing of military value, but among more common goods the sensors show large
quantities of Terellian spices and diamonds. There is enough of both down there
to make a serious profit, probably enough to buy heavy weapons for several
Maquis raiders.”
Captain
Veal leaned back in her chair. “Which makes it all the more unlikely this was
a typical Maquis raid. There is no reason why they would leave such a prize
behind, especially since there is nothing here that could have scared them away.
All they would have needed to do was get into transporter range and beam it
aboard one of their ships.”
“What
if it is a trap they laid for a Cardassian rescue party?” Moira O’Shea asked.
“Still
wouldn’t make sense,” Dar Enikal answered. “If it was a trap it would be
all the more reason to secure such a valuable cargo first, just in case they
attract a Cardassian force too strong for them to fight off. Leaving the cargo
down there has already made us suspicious and it would do the same for any
Cardassian Gul who has his wits about him.”
“Be
that as it may,” Tarin interjected, “can we beam the Cardassians aboard?”
“I
am afraid not.” Commander Enikal shook his head. “Their damaged engines are
releasing enough radiation to interfere with our transporters. It’s not enough
to endanger the crew for now, but still enough to make it impossible to beam
them out without using pattern enhancers.”
Tarin
Veal chuckled and slightly shook her head. “This is so obviously a trap for
any rescue party that it’s almost too obvious to be taken seriously as the
trap it must be. Very well, whatever it is, we can’t leave them down there.”
She activated the com system. “Lieutenant Alvarez, is your away team ready?”
“Yes,
Ma’am.”
“Good. Take some pattern enhancers with you and proceed to the Canatra’s command module, but make certain you gather as much information along the way as you can.” She was ready to release the com-key when she added: “I know I don’t have to tell you this, but just for the record; proceed with extreme caution. Something about all this stinks and I am certain it’s not in the environmental system.”
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
