“Oh, what a pleasant surprise. Haven’t seen you in donkey’s years, Kevas.” The Yridian in the far corner of the booth sipped his drink and a small gesture sent two of his four bodyguards to cover the stairs that lead to the balcony from the dance floor.
Tarin Veal left the assault of electronic noise behind as she stepped onto the balcony and an intangible forcefield shut out the heart-pounding beats booming around the dance floor. She moved along the railing as casually as she could, to leave Lieutenant Alvarez to cover both the stairs and the two men who had advanced towards them a moment ago.
“What
have you been up to all those years, Kevas?” the Yiridian trader asked in a
bored tone, that suddenly took on a note of biting sharpness. “I heard you
signed up with Starfleet. If that’s true it might be best if I wasn’t
seen with you and your friends.”
Reto
Kevas tried to force a smile on his face, but knew he only half succeeded.
“Hey, Groilag, I am here to do business. Isn’t that enough for you to
know?”
Felix
Alvarez lightly leaned against the wall at the top of the stairs. He was
confident that, together with Captain Veal and Lieutenant O’Shea, he could
deal with the Yiridian’s bodyguards, but there was still the rest of his team.
Alvarez waited until he had the undivided attention of the man keeping him under
scrutiny, before he shot a quick glance down at the seething mass of sweating
bodies on the dance floor.
“Business?”
Groilag asked, before he waved magnanimously at a chair facing him. “Why
didn’t you say so right away, my boy? Don’t just stand there, please, have a
seat. You know I never turn down an opportunity to make some money.”
Moira
O’Shea couldn’t stop the sweat running down her forehead, but desperately
hoped no one else noticed it. As Reto Kevas sank down on the plush red chair she
took position half a meter behind him and to his side. That Groilag had
surrounded himself with four bodyguards seemed excessive for someone who was
just an information broker.
“It’s
simple,” Kevas said, and the honesty of his reply – even if somewhat clouded
– washed away his doubts, “we would like to know everything you can tell us
about the Maquis operations in this sector, including whatever you know about
the targets of their recent offensive.”
“Is
that so? Well, well, well. That, my boy, would be some rather valuable
information, assuming I had it. Forgive me for doubting that you can pay more
than a fraction of what it would cost.”
The
Yridian’s indignation was written all over his wrinkly face when Moira sat
down at the table uninvited, but when she started to explain what they had to
offer, the trader’s displeasure was replaced by a cold greedy glint in his
eyes.
Something
else Tarin noticed was the growing confidence in Moira O’Shea’s voice, as
she started to barter with Groilag. Moira had never been trained for undercover
operations, but growing up in the middle of the Merchant Marine had taught her
more about trade negotiations than anyone else on the Valkyrie knew. And
there was much the Valkyrie had to offer, even if she didn’t carry much
in hard currency or latinum. Her stupendous cargo bays held ample supplies to
barter for the most valuable information– difficult to refine chemicals, the
latest in modern alloys, and hard-to-come-by medical supplies. Even someone like
Groilag who dealt mostly in information had to be tempted by the offer.
But
Tarin wasn’t paying much attention to the back and forth of the negotiations.
She turned to look down on the dance floor four meters below. After a moment she
pivoted around again, and together both half turns had carried her another meter
away from the stairs. Just a little further and she would be in a good position
to cover the booth and it’s Yridian occupant.
Lieutenant Alvarez suppressed a smile. The captain had picked the perfect moment to move a little further to the side. The bodyguard who might have caught her movement had just stepped to the railing and scanned the club below. It only took a second before the thug’s attention had turned to the four men and women slowly making their way around the dance floor without even trying to look inconspicuous. If what PO Reto had dragged up from half-forgotten memories was right, there were at least one or two of Groilag’s people in the crowd, but Felix Alvarez was confident his team could deal with them. And the obvious strangers were enough of a diversion to keep the bodyguard next to him occupied for the moment.
Groilag
finished his drink, just as Moira O’Shea finished the list of what she had to
offer. Refilling his glass from a decanter sitting in the middle of the table
the Yridian said, “that’s an impressive list of merchandise, but how much of
it are you willing to part with, considering that what you ask for in return is
quite sensitive information?”
Felix
Alvarez was dismayed that the thug he had been watching turned from the railing
sooner than he had expected. The small - almost invisible - gesture the man made
to his companions brought one of the bodyguards from the booth forward and his
body language betrayed a hint of quiet confidence. Thinking of his opponents as
mere thugs had been a mistake, Felix Alvarez realized. Apparently Groilag had
invested in some experienced protection.
“All
right, let’s seriously talk business.” The Yridian set the decanter back on
the table in its original position, before he pushed it aside. “The only
people who would want info on the Maquis are Starfleet and the Cardassians. I
know most of the Cardassian operatives on this planet and you are not them, so I
have to assume the rumors are true and you threw your lot in with Starfleet,
Kevas. And, while your offer is tempting,” he paused to sip his drink, “it
leaves me facing a little dilemma.”
Tarin Veal took the risk of turning her eyes from the nearest bodyguard and shot a glance at Lieutenant Alvarez. Their eyes met and a brief moment was enough to tell Tarin that her security chief was expecting trouble. Her hand started to creep to the phaser hidden under her jacket, but as soon as her head turned away from Alvarez her hand froze in place. The nearest of Groilag’s henchmen eyed her all too suspiciously. Tarin considered herself a moderately fast draw, but she knew that wasn’t enough unless she could get a good shot off afterwards. Any advantage speed might provide her would be offset by her poor skills with a phaser, and if the opposition was good enough to give Alvarez pause...
“What
do you mean, Groilag?” Reto Kevas knew that the Yridian wasn’t the most
trustworthy sort, but for a criminal Groilag had always struck him as a fairly
decent man. ‘But that was years ago,’
Kevas realized with a sinking feeling. Considering how much he had changed
during the last few years it had perhaps been foolish to assume that Groilag was
still the man he had once known. ‘And maybe I was just too young to see more than a facade.’
The
Yridian scratched the bridge of his wrinkly nose and regarded Kevas
thoughtfully. “Well, see, I always liked you, Kevas. And your friends are
making a tempting offer, almost too good to resist. But things have changed
around here.”
Felix Alvarez’s hand came up, slowly and for all to see, but all he did was kneed his face. What Groilag’s bodyguards saw was a sign of anxiety, not a successful attempt to hide a subvocalized transmission. “Base, Point. Take defensive position along our exit path. Get ready for trouble. Point clear.” – “Base. Roger that. Good luck. Base clear."
“And
in what way have things changed?” Tarin asked and several heads snapped around
to her. A trickle of sweat snaked its way down her neck and she suppressed a
shiver. If the situation escalated into violence Moira and Kevas would be
sitting ducks and she had to get everyone’s attention away from them. ‘And
the best I can come up with is painting a target on my chest. Great plan.’
Moira
O’Shea froze in her chair at the sound of the grim voice behind her. Only when
she noticed that she was suddenly no longer caught in the center of attention
did she realize why Tarin had decided to speak up. Her hand slid under her
jacket and grasped the handle of her phaser. She would be lucky to get a good
shot from her sitting position, but things were out off her hands now.
Groilag’s
eyes turned cold as he held Tarin Veal’s gaze for a few seconds. Suddenly his
face exploded in a wide smile that twisted every fold of skin in his mouse-gray
face. “Well, well, well. Now this is interesting. And why, pray tell,
should I answer your question?”
“I
don’t know. Maybe because I am the woman who could make you rich if you would
strike a deal with us?”
“Ahh,
an almost convincing argument.” Groilag sadly shook his head. “The problem
is that I would like to do business here a little longer and what you have to
offer isn’t enough for my retirement – or to get me out of here fast enough
to avoid the Cardassians. The Cardassians have made some inroads here, and
sooner or later they will find out that I have sold information about the Maquis
to Starfleet. That won’t do my life-expectancy any good.
“No,
I am afraid I can’t do that. But, because I always liked young Kevas here, I
will let you walk out off my club unharmed and forget we ever met. I think
that’s fair, isn’t it?”
“Yes...
yes, I think it is,” Tarin thoughtfully replied, trying her best to force her
anxiety from her voice. She didn’t believe for one second that Groilag
wouldn’t turn them over to the Cardassians in a heartbeat, but if she played
along Moira and Kevas might have a chance to get out of their chairs. “All
right everybody, we are leaving.”
Tarin
warily advanced towards the staircase. Just as she passed one of the bodyguards
she noticed from the corner of her eye that Moira and Kevas were by now
standing, and that Moira had her hand inside her jacket.
“Not
so fast.”
Tarin
looked up at the sound of Groilag’s voice, but her attention was focused on
the bodyguard by her side. That she met his smile with one of her own gave the
man just enough pause for Groilag to finish what he had to say, and for Tarin to
study her opponent.
“Your
offer is tempting, but the Cardassians are already on my back and I need some
leverage. You are it.”
“Go!”
Lieutenant
Alvarez’s hand dropped from his chin to the phaser tucked into his belt. He
dropped to a knee as his weapon flashed out and up. His first shot dropped the
nearest bodyguard before anyone else could react.
Moira
had no time to take aim, but she managed to squeeze off a shot before she ducked
behind a chair and started to pray that her flimsy cover would be enough to
protect her.
Tarin
allowed years of training to take hold of her body and reached out. She snatched
a wrist and squeezed before the man could draw his disruptor. It was a technique
that was designed to work on a Centauran. But Centauran and Human physiology
were close enough to make it work this time. A numbed hand let go of the sidearm
and Tarin followed through with a leg sweep and a strike to her opponent’s
solar plexus. She came up, drawing her phaser, but she was a split second too
late.
Felix
Alvarez stunned his second enemy with mechanical precision, the one Moira had
missed by a hair’s breadth, but there was one enemy still standing.
Groilag’s
last bodyguard knew he was outnumbered and outgunned, but whatever happened,
there were enemies close to his employer and his training overruled his instinct
for self-preservation just long enough.
Moira O’Shea saw the disruptor swinging around and she jumped up, slamming Reto Kevas out of the way of the deadly bolt of energy just in time to save the Bajoran, but the blast still found a target.
The
last thing she saw, before merciful darkness drowned out her pain, was the
seared flesh and deep cut in her left arm. ‘So this is what my bones
look,’ was her last –curiously detached - thought before her mind
decided it couldn’t take the agony any longer and all turned to black.
*****
“Base,
clear the deck. Clear the deck,” the voice of her superior sounded in Anna
Althaus’s ear with a deafening roar, but she had no time to wonder what had
happened on the balcony.
She
ducked under the stairwell and reached into her heavy jacket. A stun grenade
flew forward and took down half the people in the cavernous room, just as one of
her colleagues followed suit from the other side of the dance floor.
Those
few who escaped the almost simultaneous blasts were easy marks for the rest of
the security team. That the man behind the bar had managed to duck in time and
even got a shot off from his phaser told Anna that Groilag had invested in some
good security.
But
that the guy with the phaser missed his target by more than a meter told her
that however good he was, he had never expected to come up against someone
better than a few local thugs. Almost lazily she drew her phaser, but before she
could fire, two bolts of coherent energy had hit the man behind the bar. Her
target crumbled in a moaning heap behind the counter and she was on her feet
before she realized it.
“Tzin,
Carter, cover the doors.” She bounded up the stairs, taking three steps at a
time. “Meltos, watch my back!”
“Tiger,
fire up your engines right now!” Tarin Veal sounded desperate and Felix
Alvarez couldn’t blame her for breaking com protocols. He had seen enough
combat wounds to know that Lieutenant O’Shea had a good chance to survive, but
that didn’t help fighting down the nausea as he glanced at what used to be an
arm.
Felix
Alvarez concentrated on the options they had and that helped to focus his mind.
The Cardassian’s had two Hideki-class ships in orbit, and they would be more
than enough to take care of the Tiger. The longer local security believed
this was just a clash between local gangs, the longer they had before the
Cardies became involved. Any heavy-handed reaction would dispel the last notion
they were just allies of the planetary government, and that was a diplomatic
faux-pass the Cardassians would perhaps not be willing to make.
“We
are on our way,” a voice sounded in his ear, but Alvarez had no time to wonder
if Lafayette just had self-control working for him or if he had already
anticipated the situation to deteriorate as soon as it had. “Ready for
transport in four... three.. two... one.”
*****
“I’m
sorry this happened, Ma’am,” Felix Alvarez flatly stated.
“It’s
not your fault, Lieutenant,” Tarin replied. “I was in command.” Tarin took
a deep breath and let out a loud sigh. “You followed my orders and that makes
it my responsibility.”
“I
know that, Captain, and I know Lieutenant O’Shea will be all right, but if I
had reacted a little sooner, if I had done my job just a little better...”
Tarin
leaned against the corridor wall just outside the Tiger’s small
sickbay. “I don’t think you could have done anything. And for what it’s
worth – I think your people did an outstanding job down there.” She made a
vague gesture at the bulkhead and the planet steadily falling away behind them.
“You shouldn’t blame yourself for a lack of intelligence. None of us could
have known what would happen, but you did the best you could, based on what
little we knew.”
Tarin
didn’t give Alvarez a chance to reply, as her hand slammed down on the control
that opened sickbay door.
Stepping
through the doors before Alvarez had a chance to reply was easy. Facing the
unconscious form of Moira O’Shea was not.
Tarin took a hesitant step forward, but it was enough for the door to close behind her. At the sound the security guard standing at the end of the bed half-turned, before swiftly coming to attention. “Captain.”
“At
ease, Mr. Tzin,” Tarin was glad Felix Alvarez had instituted a rigorous
training regime for the Valkyrie’s security department, but the almost
military precision he had drilled into his subordinates sometimes irritated her
“How
is she?”
Tzin’s
expression mixed worry and regret in equal measure, as he held his Captain’s
gaze. “I stopped the bleeding and managed to regenerate most of the damaged
tissue. But there is nothing I can do about the nerve damage, and regenerating
the Lieutenant’s bones will take a while. She won’t lose her arm, but
without major surgery she won’t be able to use it either.” He paused for air
and shot a glance over his shoulder at Moira O’Shea’s unconscious form, but
Tarin’s eyes stayed on Tzin’s face all the time.
“Well
done, Mr. Tzin. You have already done more for her than I could have hoped.
Please prepare a detailed report on her condition and we’ll include it in our
next burst transmission to the Valkyrie. Perhaps Doctor Jascar can
suggest some additional treatment.” Captain Veal nodded at the PO and forced a
smile on her lips. “Would you leave us alone for a moment?”
When
Tzin had left, Tarin stared at the steadily beeping monitors for five long
minutes, before she sank into a chair by Moira’s side. She wanted to reach
out, touch Moira’s hand, but she couldn’t. Since coming back aboard she had
avoided speaking – even thinking – Moira’s name and it had been all
too easy to distance herself not from what had happened, but from the woman it
had happened to.
‘What’s
wrong with me? She’s my friend.’
Tarin had seen friends get wounded or killed – far too many of them under her
command – but she had never felt so dispassionate about it. ‘Is
the mission all I care for? If I can do my part to avoid open war with the
Cardassians, isn’t that worth risking my life – and that of my friends –
to achieve it?’
‘Am
I ready to place the good of the many above the good of the few?’
Tarin tried her best to find an answer, but couldn’t. Her intellect and
emotions were deadlocked in a struggle neither could win for now. She gathered
her courage and forced her eyes to rest on the face of her unconscious friend.
Tzin hadn’t bothered to take care of the bruises Moira had suffered when she fell down, but behind all the colorful swollen splotches was a calm, relaxed face and slow but steady breathing.
“Oh
Moira, what have I done by dragging you into this?” Tarin reached out and
cusped her friend’s limp hand in her own.
A
single tear fell from Tarin’s eye and gently rolled down her cheek, as the
tension of the last hour fell away and she started to sob herself to sleep.
*****
Martin
Alcott slowly put down his glass and for the tenth time in as many minutes he
glanced at the neighboring table. The Bajoran hadn’t moved an inch since he
sat down at the small mess table. His head was buried in his hands and his eyes
were glued to the untouched cup of raktajino.
Shadira
leaned closer to Martin and whispered something in his ear. He frowned, but then
nodded. Yes, the Orion was right. Whatever the Bajoran’s problem was, he
needed help or a kick to the posterior, maybe both. It wasn’t Martin’s job
to interfere in Starfleet business, but when Starfleet business interfered in
his life he had no choice but take matters into his own hands – he owed that
much to his crew.
He
had the replicator refill his glass again, before he sat at Kevas’s table, his
arms planted on the backrest of the chair he had just turned around. “I see
the raktajino doesn’t agree with you? Can’t blame you, kid. It’s not the
best there is, but it’s all we got.”
“I’m
not a kid.”
“No...
I guess you are not. Sorry.” The grin he showed Reto Kevas was sincere, and
the Bajoran made a small inviting gesture, despite his desire to be left alone.
“Believe
it or not,” Lafayette continued, “a few years ago I was just like you –
way in over my head and asking myself if I had made the right choices.”
“You?”
“Yep.”
Martin paused as Shadira sat down by his side, but the Bajoran’s eyes were
fixed on his face, and Martin realized that if he ever wanted to go back to his
life in the Merchant Marine he would have to make that decision now. This
Bajoran, was perhaps the key to the success of the mission that could finally
banish André Lafayette and bring Martin Alcott to life again.
But
he had a crew to take care of – friends who depended on André Lafayette,
their captain. Could he abandon them to return to a life he had left behind ages
ago? Perhaps
it would be for the best if he didn't encourage the Bajoran and let the mission
run its course to a less than stellar success. But
before Martin had time to make up his mind Shadira did it for him.
“We
all have a past of our own to deal with, Mr. Reto. What makes us who we are is
how we deal with it. That goes for you, me, even the captain here. Life is all
about present choices, even if the past plays a role in them.”
For
seconds – then minutes – the silence was only broken by the sound of Martin
Alcott sipping his drink.
Reto Kevas pushed his chair away from the table and rose. “Thanks, both of you. I’ll have to think about it some more, but thanks anyway.”
As
the doors closed behind the Bajoran Martin Alcott took a deep gulp of his drink
and stared at the untouched cup Kevas had left behind. “And what were you
thinking?”
Shadira
reached out and wrested the glass from her captain’s hand. She downed the rest
of his brandy in one gulp and shivered as the alcohol burned its way down her
throat. “I was thinking about what would be best for both of us, when all you
could think of was one of us.”
*****
“Ma’am?”
Tarin
stirred from her restless slumber when someone gently touched her shoulder. She
looked up and tried to blink the sleep away from her eyes. “Lieutenant
Alvarez.”
“You
should get some real sleep, Captain. If you want someone to be here when
Lieutenant O’Shea awakens I can take over for you.”
“No.”
Tarin groggily shook her head. “I need to be here when she comes around. I got
her into this mess and I owe her an apology for it as soon as possible.”
“It’s
not your fault.” Felix Alvarez leaned on the bed’s footboard and his eyes
darted back and forth between Lieutenant O’Shea and Captain Veal. It had been
four hours since the Tiger left Temecklia behind, but it hadn’t taken
Felix that long to work out what he needed to say. “You shouldn’t blame
yourself. I am the security officer, not you. I should have placed one more man
on the balcony.” He cleared his throat audibly. “No. I should have insisted
on my original recommendation, regardless of how suspicious that deployment
might have made the Yridian. That would have been my job and I didn’t do
it.”
“You
did your job, Lieutenant. You gave me your recommendations, and I chose to
ignore them. As you said – you are the security officer. I should have
listened to you.” Tarin cut of Alvarez’s reply with a chopping motion,
before she stood and reached for the small food dispenser. She had almost gotten
used to the tea the Tiger’s food synthesizers produced and she needed
something to banish her drowsiness. “Over two weeks and we got nowhere. A few
rumors, some not-so-educated guesses, that’s all we have.”
She took her place at Moira’s side again and sipped her tea, thankful for Alvarez’s silence. “This was the next to last contact on Kevas’s list and I didn’t want to scare him away.” But Tarin knew that hadn’t been her only reason to ignore Lieutenant Alvarez’s advice, and he deserved to know the truth.
“I
was frustrated, Lieutenant. I was running out of options, and I desperately
wanted this one to work. So I ignored your advice and Moira was wounded –
almost killed – because of it. I should have listened to you. If I had, this
wouldn’t have happened.” Tarin’s chin pointed at the motionless woman on
the bed, but her eye’s turned down.
“Don’t
be too hard on yourself, Ma’am.” Startled by Felix’s soft voice Tarin
looked up, and her lips twitched, hoping to be allowed a smile soon.
“You
just did your job. You are the Captain; you are supposed to make the
decisions around here. This time it didn’t work out as you planned, but
don’t blame yourself for just being a mortal like the rest of us. We all make
mistakes.”
“Will
you two stop it, please,” a coarse, barely audible, whisper interrupted Tarin.
Tarin
and Felix turned to the woman on the bed, just in time to catch the first
flutter of Moira’s eyelids. After a shallow breath Moira O’Shea finally
opened her eyes, her dilated pupils only slowly adjusting to the bright light of
the small sickbay. When she spoke again her voice was slurred, and it took Tarin
a moment to realize that it was just a side-effect of the painkillers.
“I
volunteered for this mission. If there’s anyone to blame it’s me.” She
looked from Tarin to Felix and back. “Stop arguing, please. I’ll live,
won’t I?”
As
two nods answered her, Moira breathed a sigh of relief. “I really need some
more sleep, but if you have a moment, Captain?”
When
Lieutenant Alvarez had left Tarin asked, “what is it, Moira?”
“I
wrote a letter to Dar. It’s in my cabin. Could you send it with our next
status report?”
“Of
course. But this mission seems to go nowhere, so we might return to the Valkyrie
soon. You could wait and tell him whatever you’d like to say face to face.”
Moira tried to shake her head, but the effort took too much of her strength. “I’d like to, but I want to give him some time to think about it.”
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3