„Stop!“
The soldier stepped in Karena Basiri’s way, his hand on his sidearm. While
that gesture didn’t spell much good, it seemed more a move produced by
training than any real concern. „Don’t you know there’s a curfew in
place“
“Yes,
I do, but I live on the other side of town and public transport is down all over
the city. I thought I’d get back to my workplace and stay there until the
curfew is over.”
“All
right. Let me see your ID card.” She handed over her documents and the soldier
briefly checked them. “So you work with the Foreign Ministry, huh. I don’t
know if that will be a very safe place, but you are right, it’s better you go
there than try to walk across town to get home.”
He
handed the ID card back and stepped out off the way. “Okay, you better hurry.
Who knows what’s going to happen next.”
“Yes,
I will, thank you.” After a few steps she stopped and turned back to the
soldier. “What do you think will happen? Will the Federation really invade
us?”
“Hell
if I know, but if they do we will be ready for them. Now move it.”
Karena
took the advice and hurried ahead, switching between jogging and walking every
few hundred meters. Soon enough she had reached the central plaza around which
the government buildings were arranged. There were soldiers everywhere, but they
all concentrated on the plaza and the streets leading into it, paying little
attention to the buildings.
Twice
more she had to show here ID card and tell her story about how she couldn’t
get home because of the shutdown of all public transportation. Both times luck
was on her side as no one bothered to check her driver’s license or vehicle
registration. If anyone had done so it would have become difficult to explain
why she wouldn’t just take her hovercar home or why it was parked only a
kilometer from the cordon the militia had drawn around the central plaza.
As
soon as she left the elevator and headed for her office one of Karena’s
colleagues rushed towards her and held her back. “Don’t go in there. There
are soldiers everywhere. They are searching all the offices and questioning
everyone.”
Karena
looked around, but there was no one else in sight. She placed a hand on her
colleague’s arm and gently steered him away from the elevators. “It’s all
right, Amir. Just tell me what is happening.”
From
the brief account her co-worker gave her it seemed that the army only bothered
about who was coming or going from the building and about what they could find
in Minister Tretyak’s office. ‘Perhaps
there aren’t enough of them yet. They have to concentrate on the most
important things first, until they can bring in more troops.’
“Amir,
do you have any idea what is going on in the other Ministries or in the Council
building?”
“No,
no I don’t. What is going on? Has the Minister really betrayed us? I can’t
believe it, but there are so many soldiers around, it has to be true, doesn’t
it?”
“No!
It is not true. It is all a big misunderstanding. All it will take is a little
time and then everything will sort itself out.” Karena forced a smile on her
lips and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “There is something we
can do to clear up this misunderstanding, but I will need your help. Just trust
me and soon everything will be sorted out.”
*****
The
Tiger lifted off in a cloud of dust that engulfed the whole privateer
base, but it didn’t matter – there was no one left on the base.
Kendall
slammed his fist against the bulkhead and rubbed his neck with his left hand.
“That asshole Vados shot me. Can you believe that!” He strode to
Lafayette’s seat and looked down at the course plot. “I knew there was
something wrong when he wanted to end our meeting so quickly and now he is
headed straight for the Valkyrie. We have to stop that damn Bolian!”
“We
can’t.” André Lafayette shook his head and fought down a grin. He had no
reason to trust Vados or his blackmailing companion, but the Bolian had stunned
Kendall and now he was making his getaway while all Kendall could do was fume.
“They are too fast for us to intercept with the head start they have.”
Kendall
cursed so vehemently that every head on the Tiger’s bridge turned to
him. The privateers were used to a lot of strong language, but the Major managed
to impress them all.
“Is
there any ship that can intercept them?”
Lafayette
studied his sensor display for a few seconds. While it would have pleased him to
no end to see Kendall loose his temper even more, there was no use lying to the
Talkhan. “Yes, two. Hartmann and Grelkov are just coming in close to a good
intercept vector.”
Kendall
reached down and activated the Tiger’s com system. “Hartmann, Grelkov,
this is Major Kendall. I herewith declare Morin Vados an enemy of the Talkhan
government. You will seize Vados’s ship and apprehend him according to our
contract. Try your best to capture him alive, but do what you must to stop him
from reaching the Valkyrie. Kendall out.”
The
Talkhan let go of the com switch and stood erect, staring at the small bridge
viewer that showed Vados’s ship rapidly outdistancing the Tiger.
“That should take care of this little problem.”
“What
about the weapons he was supposed to sell you?” Captain Lafayette asked.
Kendall
snorted. “If he sells us weapons, good. If he sells information about us to
Starfleet, too bad for him. If he had run in any other direction I might have
let him go, but today Morin Vados made his first and final mistake.”
André
Lafayette slowly nodded. “I see. If you will excuse me, Major, I have some
preparations to make.” Without waiting for his overseer’s reply André rose
and stepped to Shadira at the weapons control.
The
privateer’s fingers danced across the panel as he typed in a text message. ‘Might
have to get rid of Kendall soon. Vados could work with Starfleet. That’s too
much for us to take on.’
*****
‘So
far, so good,’
Karena thought as she moved down the dimly lit tunnel.
She
stumbled and steadied herself against the crumbling concrete wall. She brushed
one hand against the other trying to get the dust off, but all she did was
spread it between both hands. “Great.”
The
tunnels linking the government buildings were as old as the colony and they had
seen almost no maintenance in the last forty or fifty years. Knowing everything
there was to know about her work place was part of her job, but she had never
thought she would make use of her knowledge of these ancient tunnels.
‘Let’s
hope no one else pays them any more attention than I always did.’
Not that it was very likely. In every ministry there would be maybe three or
four people who knew about the subterranean network that had fallen out of use
decades ago.
She
stopped at an intersection and tried to read the markings on the wall in the dim
light a small bulb ten meters behind her provided. It was no use. The light was
too weak and the markings had succumbed to the passage of time long ago, leaving
no legible letters behind. The main tunnel followed the circumference of the
plaza, so the corridor to her right should lead to the Council building. Behind
that would be the Ministry of Industry, her destination. Minister Durham was an
old friend of the Tretyak family. She and Tretyak knew each other since their
youth. Basiri had even accompanied Minister Tretyak to some meetings with his
colleague and knew the Ministry of Industry building reasonably well. Durham was
her best choice.
Karena
hurried along the tunnel as fast as the faint light allowed and her feet would
carry her. She had lost all sense of time, but if she was not in place when Amir
started his diversion her only chance would be gone.
For
a moment her thoughts dwelled on her colleague. He had always been good with
electronics and computers. Amir could fix all the small technical problems that
cropped up in the office, yet Karena was certain he had not even once thought
about being a technician.
‘And
what about me, what could I be?’
Karena hurried down the tunnel and cursed herself for letting her mind wander
from the task at hand but the question remained, for now unanswered.
*****
“Grelkov
is moving into firing range.”
“Steady
as she goes,” Kapitän Hartmann ordered. “Stand by tractor beam. We will let
Grelkov drive them towards us, then catch them when they least expect it.”
It
just wasn’t Walter Hartmann’s lucky day. If he was the one who handed Vados
over to the Talkhans it wouldn’t do his reputation much good – Vados was too
well respected in some circles. But if he handed over Vados and spirited Risha
away she might be even more inclined to provide him with some information, but
the Talkhans would make that unlikely. Of course none of that could happen if
Grelkov blasted them into smithereens first.
Hartmann
checked his sensor display. So far Vados was doing an amazing job of avoiding
every disruptor bolt aimed at his little ship. ‘Or
maybe Grelkov is having a really bad day.’ Whatever it was, Walter
Hartmann was not in the mood for
getting between the Nausicaan and his prey. That was the kind of early
retirement he could well do without.
“Incoming
transmission for you Kapitän. It’s Vados!“
„Put
him on.“ Hartmann was stunned to see Risha on his viewscreen. As she looked
him in the eye, the Orion’s fingers deftly flew across the helm controls of
Vados’s small ship and Walter Hartmann checked his sensor readings again. Yes,
the small courier skidded through the barrage of disruptor fire effortlessly and
the Orion didn’t even break a sweat. Gathering information didn’t cover half
her talents.
“You
told me you wanted out of this life. Here is your chance Hartmann. Stand down
and withdraw. I doubt you will get more than this one chance.”
“Who
are you to tell me that?” The privateer’s voice was all curiosity, but as he
spoke his hands reached for his controls and laid in a new course.
“Lieutenant
Rishana Hagen. Conn officer, USS Valkyrie.”
Hartmann
laughed out loud as he hit the control that relayed his orders to the bridge
crew. As his ship broke away and withdraw from the engagement he shook his head
at the face on his viewscreen. “Playing me for the fool I am, that’s not
very nice of you.”
“I
am sorry.”
“Don’t
be. We all do what we have to. Good luck to you and your Bolian colleague, if a
Bolian he is.”
“Kapitän,
we have another signal incoming. It’s the Valkyrie.”
Hartmann
nodded at Rishana Hagen before he switched to the new transmission.
*****
“Captain!
Two privateers are on an intercept course to the Hawk, powering up
weapons!”
“Red
alert. Helm, get us there as fast as you can.” Tarin Veal activated her
holographic display again and studied the situation as she continued her orders.
“Tactical, prepare to fire on those privateers as soon as we are in range.
Target weapons and engines only. Moira, open hailing frequencies.”
Before
Tarin could make her transmission Lieutenants Foster and Alvarez both reported
back.
“Captain,
two Talkhan ships are trying to cut us off.”
“Ma’am,
one of the privateers just opened fire on the Hawk.”
‘Not
yet in phaser range.’
Torpedoes were too inaccurate a weapon to disable just a single system on a ship
and Starfleet rules of engagement called for them to be used as a last resort
only. “Helm, get us around those Talkhans. Lieutenant Alvarez, stand by photon
torpedoes for a warning shot.”
“Aye.”
“Yes,
Ma’am.”
“Hailing
frequencies open.”
“This
is Captain Veal of the USS Valkyrie to all ships in the Talkha system.
The vessel currently approaching the Valkyrie from Talkha B
is a Federation ship, manned by a Starfleet crew. We will defend
that ship. This is your only warning. Veal out.”
Tarin
looked down for a second and drew a deep breath. “Any reaction?”
“The
Talkhans are slowing down, not matching our course corrections,” Lieutenant
Alvarez reported. “One privateer is still firing at the Hawk, so far no hits.
Second privateer is withdrawing at high impulse.”
“Fire
two torpedoes. Warning shots only. Avoid any direct hits.”
Two
bright orange stars shot from the Valkyrie. Both torpedoes exploded in close
proximity to Grelkov’s ship, shaking the small raider like a leave caught in a
hurricane. Shields flickered off and a small cloud of freezing oxygen trailed
behind the ship before emergency forcefields cut in an closed the small hull
breaches.
Both
hits were closer than Tarin liked, but they were close enough to convince even
Grelkov that he was out off his league.
For
now out off danger the Hawk raced towards the Valkyrie and the
safety her hangar would provide.
*****
“Now
what,” André Lafayette asked, his sarcasm not registering on Kendall’s
mind.
On
Kendall’s face there was nothing left of the disciplined soldier. Rage
contorted his features into the grimace of a vicious beast. Finding the right
control to activate the com system took the last of the Major’s self-control.
“Hartmann,
you cowardly bastard! Get back here and do your duty, damn you!”
The
viewer lit up and showed Kapitän Hartmann’s face. Kendall couldn’t see it,
but Lafayette realized how hard his colleague fought to keep his self-control.
“I was hired to engage the enemies of your world, but if you have managed to
make an enemy of Starfleet that’s your business, not mine. I am not here to
correct your governments mistakes and believe me, if they managed to antagonize
Starfleet they made a serious mistake.”
Kendall
clenched and unclenched his fists several times as he tried to get a grip of
himself, his nails biting deep into his palms. “Now, listen, if Vados or
whoever he is works with the Federation, how much information do you think he
has collected on you? If you don't get back and make a stand your career as a
privateer is finished.”
“Yes.”
Hartmann’s lips twisted into something that was almost a smile. “But I’d
rather end my career alive than dead. I have survived the end of one career
already, so I am used to it. You do what you must Kendall and I will do what I
must do.”
The
privateer looked straight at André Lafayette’s face on his monitor. “Good
luck to you.” Before he closed the com link Hartmann’s lips silently formed
the name Martin.
Kendall
was too pissed off to notice it, but Shadira looked over her shoulder and raised
an eyebrow at her commanding officer.
Lafayette
shrugged. “Well, yeah, I told him. Right now we have other problems, don’t
we?”
He
hardly saw Shadira’s approving nod as he wondered what he would do if he was
ordered to go against Starfleet, but Kendall left him little time to mull over
the question.
*****
Karena
Basiri leaned against the door and tried to catch her breath. If she had done
everything right she was just one step away from the Ministry of Industry. Now
all she had to do was wait for Amir to do what she had asked of him.
‘But
will he trust me instead of Minister Novak and the army? Of course he will. He
is a fourth-generation second-class assistant. He will do what I tell him.’
Amir had no choice but to trust her, but wasn’t that what Foster had talked
about? Inflexibility, adherence to tradition regardless of what happened? ‘It
is,’ Karena thought, for the first time truly realizing how calcified not
only her life but all of Talkha’s society was.
But
there was something else she realized. The door was too thick. She would never
notice Amir doing what she had told him to do.
She
slowly opened the door half an inch. It was an old-fashioned hinged door or she
could have never taken the risk, but no one in the foyer of the Ministry of
Industry building noticed the small gap between door and doorframe.
Had
her sense of time been lost somewhere in the ancient tunnels linking the
government buildings or had Amir decided against doing it? No! Karena could hear
the sudden commotion in the Ministry’s lobby and the voices in the distance.
“What’s going on?” “No idea.” “Stay at your post!” “But sir,
they may need help out there.”
As
the fire-alarm yelled through the Foreign Ministry people started to run out
onto the plaza. Soldiers and civilians from the neighboring buildings rushed out
to meet them and find out what was going on. Everyone who stayed where they were
had their faces glued to the ministry building.
Karena
peaked around the corner and saw the lobby nearly deserted. She dashed to the
stairwell and raced up, taking two steps at a time.
On
the third floor she risked calling an elevator. Every second she had to wait
became an hour, danger lurking behind every corner.
When
the elevator doors opened on an empty cabin she entered and punched a floor two
levels below Durham’s office.
The
elevator started and suddenly time flew in quick-motion, much too fast for
Karena Basiri to make any plans. Suddenly getting so far seemed easy, the
kilometers behind her shrinking to mere meters and the few meters ahead
stretching into infinity.
*****
“Dar,
Moira, good to have you back on board safe and sound.” Tarin rose and greeted
her friends with a warm smile.
“Glad
to be back,” Dar Enikal replied. “I didn’t get much of what’s going on,
but it doesn’t look good, does it?”
“No,
it doesn’t. Which is why we need every piece of information you could get.
Plans, troop strength, equipment, everything.”
Commander
Enikal shook his head. “I think most of my information has been outdated by
recent events.”
“I
may have something,” Rishana Hagen said and produced a tricorder. “I was
able to scan some of the equipment the Talkhans were loading onto one of their
shuttles. Perhaps it will help.”
“May
I?” Lieutenant Alvarez stepped from the tactical station. After studying the
tricorder readings for a few moments he looked up at Captain Veal. “I think I
can disable the Talkhans transport inhibitors for one or two minutes, now that I
know what they are using. I will have to modify some of our torpedoes, but it
shouldn’t take longer than ten, maybe fifteen minutes.”
“Do
it. Commander Enikal, please take over the tactical station.”
“Of
course.” Dar took his customary place at the Valkyrie’s tactical
controls as Lieutenant Alvarez hurried towards the turbolift.
“Rishana,
why don’t you have a seat?” Tarin Veal motioned to the empty chair at her
left. “We may have to wait a little while, so you can fill me in on your
adventures.”
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12