The
harsh unfamiliar sound of the door buzzer tore Tarin from the Bajoran recipes
she had been studying.
“Open.” Her hand reached for the control panel, to brighten the light above her bunk. Reading in bed wasn’t one of her habits, but the straight metal chair had left her with little options. Her hand stopped when she recognized the silhouette of the man standing in the doorway. “Come in, Kevas. Have a seat.” She waved the padd at the only chair in her small cabin.
“Thank
you, Ma’am.” The Bajoran settled into the chair and shifted his weight
around until he had found a half-way comfortable position.
Tarin
turned to the controls and brightened the lights just enough to make out Reto
Kevas’s expression. “What brings you here, Kevas?”
“Well,
I... I wanted to tell you the whole story about me and my parents, Ma’am.”
“I
have already told you that I don’t have to know anything about it, so why do
you want to talk about it? And before you answer that, think about it for a
moment. I can keep you out of the spotlight, but once Starfleet Intelligence
takes an active interest in our current mission I am not sure if I will be
allowed to keep whatever secrets you may tell me.”
Reto
Kevas tugged at the lobe of his left ear and grimaced. “Do you trust me,
Captain?”
“If I didn’t trust you, we wouldn’t have this conversation. At least not here,” she added with a wide gesture that encompassed the whole cabin and nearly hit two of the four walls.
The
Bajoran’s hands fell down on the armrest and he pushed himself back in the
chair as far as possible. “But don’t you want to know who it is you
trust?” He gave her no chance to reply. “I want you to trust me for the right reasons,
Captain. I am not one of the people who only know you through the vid-shows –
you got me through the war. No,” Kevas shook his head vigorously, “not just
me, but most of the Eclipse crew. For that I trust you, and I’d hope
you trust me too, but I want to – I need to – have you trust me as I
really am.”
He
paused for breath and forced his eyes to meet Tarin’s. “Does that make any
sense to you?”
“Yes...
Yes, it does.”
“That
padd you showed me – all those rumors about my parents – most of it is
true.” Noticing that Tarin Veal had no intention of stopping him Kevas’s
voice picked up speed and the words started flowing over his lips faster and
faster. “My parents had their own ship and they used it to run guns to the
Bajoran resistance. But that was not all they did. They worked for whoever paid
the most. A shipment of weapons destined for Bajor could get lost along the way,
confiscated by a Glinn who was willing to take a bribe to let the smuggler go,
but still wanted to keep the weapons. At least that is what they told everyone,
and they were good liars. Only that they didn’t lose the cargo, but sold it to
someone who paid more. My parents played both sides against the middle, and if
there was no middle they played it any way that would get them the biggest
profit.”
He
paused for a brief gulp of air, before he went straight on - fast and desperate.
“When I was old enough to realize what they were doing I thought it was a good
thing – something they had to do to survive. But after a while I realized that
they were nothing like that. My parents weren’t good or cool. They were like
vultures and I didn’t want to have any part in it. Doesn’t matter how it
happened. That’s not really important. But I didn’t want to have any part in
it, so I got out the first chance I had. Starfleet just looked like the best way
to get away from everything I was, so I took the chance, even if it meant lying
on my entrance exam.”
Kevas
stopped for a long deep breath and looked at a spot above Tarin Veal’s
shoulder. “Now you know. My parents lied about who they were and I lied about
who I am. That’s what I thought you had to know before we went on with this
mission.”
Tarin
swung her legs from the bunk slowly. “It doesn’t change anything for me,
Kevas. When I saw those rumors about your past I had to think about what I would
do if it turned out to be true. It didn’t take me long to decided that it
would make no difference to me.”
“It
really doesn’t?”
“No.”
Tarin gently shook her head. “Not unless you committed a serious crime. But if
you had, I think you would be more concerned about that than anything your
parents have done.”
“Umm...
Yes, I guess I would be.”
“That’s why I trust you. You may have lied on your Starfleet application – and that you shouldn’t have done – but I see no reason to judge you by your parents’ actions.”
Tarin
reached out and pressed a few controls on the food-synthesizer. “None of us is
our parents. They may shape who we become, but in the end we all have to make
our own choices.” She took a cup of tea from the small cabinet and took a sip,
ignoring how much it disagreed with her palate. “If our origin was all that
determined who we are I would never have entered Starfleet, Moira would be in
the Merchant Marine, and Rishana...”
She
looked up with an amused expression and caught Kevas’s eye. “Rishana would
have become a counselor. Can you imagine that?”
“Lieutenant
Hagen? No, not really.” Kevas chuckled.
“You
see? It doesn’t matter if your parents are some sort of mercenary gunrunners
or not. What matters is what you have made of your own life. It may be that you
are no longer certain if you should trust yourself, but if it makes any
difference to you - I still trust you.” Tarin reached for her padd and focused
her attention on it. “Now, if that will be all, Mister Reto?”
“Yes,
Captain, I think it will be. Thank you for your time.”
After
Reto Kevas had left Tarin stared down at the padd long and hard. Bajoran cuisine
held a certain interest for her, but cooking was something she had learned at
her father’s knee. ‘And mom taught me
dancing. Yes, I have really come a long way, not.’
She
stuffed the padd into her bag of personal effects, right next to her phaser, and
killed the lights. ‘That’s one thought that will have to wait for another day.’
*****
“It
looks like the Cardassians have this sector locked up tight,” Moira O’Shea
concluded her report. The Valkyrie’s probes had been destroyed or
jammed even faster than the most pessimistic of the assembled senior officers
had predicted.
“Thank
you, Moira.” Tarin smiled at her operations officer – being angry at the
bearer of bad news was not on her mind, even if her mission had become more
difficult. “Conclusions, any one?”
“I
doubt the Cardassians are too worried about Starfleet, so I’d say they are
going out of their way to get at the Maquis.”
Dar
Enikal frowned at Commander Westmore, but he couldn’t dismiss the facts. “As
much as it pains me, I have to agree with Commander Westmore. The Cardassians
know that we don’t have the resources to mount any offensive against their
position in the Bajor sector, so their precautions must be aimed at the Maquis
or the Bajoran resistance.”
“Which
means that the Maquis are more of a problem to the Cardassians than we thought,
or they have become more paranoid than ever,” Tarin Veal inferred. “While
each alternative may have interesting implications, perhaps we should
concentrate on the data we got from our probes before we lost contact.”
“Now
that’s something interesting,” Moira replied. “We got less data than we
hoped, but it looks like the primary targets in the last Maquis offensive have
been a shipyard, a fortified listening post, and – our data is a bit sketchy
there – something that could be either a major hospital or a research facility
of some kind.”
Tarin
leaned back and worried her lower lip for a few seconds. “How certain are you
about those scan results?”
Moira
sighed and looked quite unhappy. “I am pretty certain about the shipyard; that
is easy enough to identify with long-range scans. On the listening post I’d
give you four-to-one odds. The research or hospital facility is based on a lot
of guesswork I’m afraid.”
Dar
Enikal groaned. “Which means we are back at square one. Those targets look too
random to be worth attacking all at once.” He fell silent for a second and his
eyes narrowed. “Which would make the secondary targets the more likely real
targets of the Maquis and their major efforts were just a diversion. Of course
the Cardassians know that as well as we do, which means...”
“That
I will get a major headache before we are done with this double-thinking,”
Tarin finished for him.
“Not
necessarily.” Alex Westmore rested his arms on the table. “I know a bit
about Cardassian intel ops and double-think is their stock in trade. I assume
the Maquis knows the same, so hiding the truth in plain sight would be the
Maquis’ best way to disguise their objective, at least for a little while.”
“I’ll
keep that in mind, Commander. But whatever their primary target was, we need
more solid information – something better than our long-range sensors can
provide. Speculation leads us nowhere, as interesting as it may be. No, what we
need is a way to get some information from behind enemy lines.”
Tarin
Veal rose and stepped to the window. After a long glance at the stars silently
streaking by her ship she turned to her officers again. “Sooner or later the
Cardassians will go on the offensive again, but next time we may not be as lucky
as we were at the Argolis. Any bit of information may help us determine where
and when they will strike, however insignificant that information may seem at
first.” She smiled and looked from face to face. “I know you are already
doing the best you can, but try to think outside the box. If any one of you can
come up with a novel idea just run it by me, whatever it is.
“But
take your time. We will reconvene tomorrow morning and a day or two isn’t
going to make any difference. Dismissed.”
When
the others had left, Rishana Hagen still remained seated. “May I talk with you
for a minute, Captain?”
“Of
course.” Tarin took a seat opposite the Betazoid. “What is it, Rishana?”
“I
think I may have found a way for us to get an away team deeper into the sector
undetected. There is a ship on our long-range scans that I recognized from our
mission to Talkha.”
“Talkha?
So we are talking about one of those privateers?” Rishana nodded and Tarin
thought about it, but only for a second. “All right, you have met these people
and if you think we could work with them I’ll trust your judgment. But why
didn’t you bring this up during the meeting?”
Rishana
looked down. She had made up her mind, but she still didn’t like what she had
to say. “There is a catch, not about the means, but about the away team
itself.”
“I
take it this is the part I am not going to like?”
Rishana
looked up and saw a hint of a smile on Tarin’s face. She chuckled softly,
before turning dead serious. “It’s pretty transparent, isn’t it? Anyway,
do you remember what my... other self told you about ways to change the
future?”
“Yes.
There are supposed to be a few points in the flow of time that can be
manipulated to make a lasting difference.”
“True.”
Rishana Hagen stared out the window at the warp stars as she continued. “I
have had some time to bring my new talents under control and I still couldn’t
give you any accurate predictions if my life depended on it. But I am quite
certain of one thing - if you don’t lead this mission, the future might take a
serious turn for the worse.”
She
looked back at Tarin Veal. “You could call it intuition or you could call it a
premonition – it doesn’t matter. I just know that it’s the truth.
It may just be my truth, but it’s all I can offer you.”
“All
right. Why don’t you go ahead and tell me what’s on your mind?”
*****
“You have the bridge, Commander Izquierdo.”
“Aye, Sir, I have the bridge.” Carlotta, Carla as her friends called her, Izquierdo briefly stood to attention, before she took the chair Captain Sterling had just vacated. She glanced at the small displays mounted in the armrests of the center seat, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. “Report.”
“We are still on course 298 by 010 at warp three. Cardassian activity is unchanged. They are sticking to their usual patrol patterns,” Lieutenant Vijayak replied from the ops station. “I can forward a full report to your station if you like.”
“Yes, please do.” It was a small ritual they had been going through for weeks. Unlike most of the San Marino’s crew Carla Izquierdo had come aboard only a few weeks ago, and she was glad Lieutenant Vijayak made it easy for her to establish that she was in charge while captain Sterling was absent from the bridge.
The San Marino’s former XO had received a promotion to full Commander and been given command of one of the escorts protecting cargo convoys between Betazed and Trill. Carla envied him from time to time, but the way the senior officers of her new ship had made her feel welcome made those bouts of envy a rare occurrence. And she was grateful that Telgon Vijayak had tried his best to establish some sort of routine for her work. He had been the San Marino’s second officer for years, but apparently he held no resentment for being passed over for the promotion to executive officer.
Carla devoted a moment of her attention to the report Telgon had forwarded to her station, but, it turned out as unsurprising as she had expected. “Doesn’t it sometimes worry you that the Cardassians are being so predictable, Lieutenant?”
“Ma’am?” Telgon tried to hide his surprise behind a professional voice, but part of it still showed. This wasn’t part of the little ritual he had tried to establish to make his new XO feel welcome.
“Just look at it. They are following the same routine every day, even if they must know we are watching them.” Carla turned in her chair and look at the ops station. “We are keeping an eye on them, and you bet the Maquis are doing that as well, yet the Cardassians stick to the same predictable pattern each and every day. Sometimes I think it’s just a smokescreen they are throwing up.”
“You mean they are acting predictable in front of our sensors, while more important things go on behind their own border?”
“Yes,” Carla slowly replied, gathering her thoughts, “something like that. The Cardassians know we are keeping an eye on every move they make, so sometime I wonder if they’re are so predictable because they want to lure us into a false sense of security.”
Telgon’s eyes narrowed and he focused all his attention on the Lieutenant Commander for a moment. “Could be, but there’s another possibility. There are a number of neutral worlds between us and the Cardassians. Perhaps they just want to look like strong, but not unpredictable neighbors.
“Yes,” Commander Izquierdo replied after a second, “you have a point there. Too bad we don’t have the resources to do more than patrol our own border, instead of making some friends in this sector, too.”
“Well, as long as the Cardies don’t start anything you’ll forgive me for being happy with the status quo.”
“Not a problem, Lieutenant.” Commander Izquierdo shook her head, before she turned to the latest status report again. “And perhaps I am just paranoid. I guess a few months along the Romulan border can do that to anyone.”
“So I would imagine,” Telgon Vijayak acknowledged, briefly trying to imagine what it would be like to be on a constant lookout for invisible ships.
*****
“You
can’t do this.” Commander Enikal tried to sound reasonable, but had a hard
time of it. “This is a job for someone trained in security.”
“Which
is why I am taking Lieutenant Alvarez along, not to mention several of our
security guards.” Tarin found it much easier than her XO to sound reasonable
– unlike him she had spent most of the day weighing the pros and cons of
leading the away mission, before she dropped her bomb. “And there are several
reasons why I want you to command the Valkyrie in my absence.”
“All
right, let’s hear them.”
“First
of all, even if we find someone who has the information we need, that
intelligence will come at a price. If we strike a deal we can’t honor
ourselves, it might be easier to convince Starfleet to step in and pay up, if I
am the one who tries to convince them.”
Dar
Enikal snorted. “If you pay more for any info than the Valkyrie can
provide, you are paying too much.”
“Which is why I am taking Moira and Kevas with me. Kevas knows the people and the situation we are dealing with, and Moira knows enough about commerce to help me out with any negotiations.”
“Kevas
and Moira could do the same for me.” Dar planted his elbows on the ready room
desk and leaned forward, staring at Tarin. “Perhaps Starfleet wouldn’t like
me leading those negotiations, but if the brass didn’t trust me I would not
have gotten this job. Besides, you could still put your weight behind it.
You’ll have to do better than that to convince me.”
“I
think I can do just that,” Tarin replied and inwardly smiled. Convincing Dar
would not be easy. Knowing that his protective attitude was fueled not just by
Starfleet regulations, but by his concerns for her well-being didn’t make it
any easier, but it was still good to know.
“Starfleet
Intelligence has provided us with some of the com frequencies used by the Maquis,
but we still haven’t cracked their encryption. If anyone can do that it has to
be you and Commander Westmore. I would like you to work on that while I am
gone.”
“I
don’t know as much about Westmore as you,” Dar replied, “but he seems
capable enough to do it on his own.”
“And
maybe not.” Tarin shook her head. “With some help he may be able to break
the Maquis codes, but you know a lot more about encryption protocols than I do,
so you are the help he needs.” She rose and stepped to the window.
“Convincing,
but you know that is not enough for me.”
Tarin’s
squared her shoulders and looked out the window. “Yes, I know. What you
don’t know yet is that I have some information that my presence may be crucial
on this mission. And before you ask – no, I am not telling you where my
information comes from.” She looked over her shoulder and showed her XO a wry
smile. “Let’s just say I trust my source, and so should you.
“At
Talkha you had every reason to question my decision to lead the away team, but
this is different. I need you to go along with my plan this time, Dar.”
‘Oh,
I trust your judgment, but am I willing to bet your life on it?’
Dar Enikal pondered over the question for a minute, before he realized that he
trusted Tarin to take care of herself – what he didn’t trust was her
mysterious source of information. If it had been Starfleet Intelligence Tarin
would have mentioned it during the mission briefings, or at least dropped a hint
now. And as the Valkyrie hadn’t received any transmissions for
Tarin’s personal attention during the last few days... “That source of yours
– it’s Rishana isn’t it?”
“What? No, of course not.”
“Relax.
Rishana told me about her visions. I know one of them saved her life during the
Talkha mission, so I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.”
Tarin
loudly exhaled and felt herself relax a little. “Why didn’t you tell me this
before?”
“Because
I saw no reason to talk about it. But that was before I knew you would base any
command decisions on Rishana’s psionic abilities. That aside – if one of
Rishana’s visions is the reason you want to do this I won’t stand in your
way.”
“Yes,” Tarin said, “Rishana came to me and told me she was positive I had to go on this mission. Most of the time she has very little control of her precognition and she rarely recalls any details, but whatever she saw made such a big impression on her that I can’t just ignore it. And I am glad this settles matters between us.” She nodded at Dar and stepped to her desk again, but was stopped by her XO.
“Not
so fast. I said I wouldn’t stand in your way, but there are two – no make
that three – more things.
“One.
I understand why you and Rishana want to keep her precognitions a secret, so
I’m going to add an official protest against you leading this mission to the
ship’s log, if only to keep up appearances.”
“Fair
enough. What’s number two?”
The
first twinkle of a smile shone in Dar’s eyes. “Two. You are a terrible liar
– and not just when you are caught by surprise. If you want to get through
this mission in one piece you should work on that or let others do at least some
of the talking.”
Tarin
frowned. “Believe me, I know that. I guess lying just isn’t me, but unless
Doctor Jascar has some pills against honesty I’ll take my chances.”
Her
XO chuckled and let his smile take hold of his features. “Okay. Number three.
While you are standing, why don’t you get me a large cup of coffee from the
replicator? I may agree to let you go ahead with this, but I won’t let you
risk your life until we have gone over each and every detail of mission planning
with a fine-tooth comb. That may take us quite a while.”
*****
“Please,
have a seat.” Captain Lafayette gestured toward the bunk in his small cabin,
and as Tarin could see no other place to sit down she reluctantly took his
offer.
The
privateer filled a glass and handed it to his guest without bothering to take
his feet off his desk. “There is one thing I want to get straightened out.”
Tarin
sniffed the amber liquid in her glass and every hair in her nose bristled. “I
thought we had everything cleared up, Captain?”
“Well,
I just thought I’d make sure we both understood the terms of our
arrangement.” Lafayette rammed the cork back into the bottle and looked Tarin
Veal straight in the eye.
If
his glare could have been channeled into her glass Tarin would have had more
than enough ice to water down the cheap Saurian brandy to something drinkable.
“I
stand by my word. While there was no time to talk it over with Starfleet
Command, I managed to convince two admirals to endorse our deal. But if that
fails I know someone involved in the reconstruction of Memory Alpha. I think he
could be persuaded to... misplace a few records.” Tarin smiled, not so much at
her host, but at the thought of convincing Captain Blake to go along with her.
That would be an interesting challenge.
“Even
if you manage that, what about my crew?”
“That,
Captain, depends entirely on them, or rather on their past actions.” Tarin
leaned forward, holding her glass with both hands. “You see, I will do
my best to clear your name. As far as I know you have committed no serious crime
in Federation space, but I am not going to set a bunch of criminals loose. If
your crew are just people caught on the wrong side of the law by circumstances
beyond their control I will to help the best I can. If not, they will get what
they deserve – sooner or later.”
“But
you will do nothing to turn sooner into later?”
Tarin
studied the privateer’s face for several seconds. Unsure if aggressiveness or
anxiety had motivated his last question, Tarin decided to go with what she had
always preferred - the truth. “If your crew belongs behind bars I certainly
won’t go out of my way to prevent it.”
Captain
Lafayette’s body shook slowly at first, then faster and faster until he had
worked himself up to a convulsive laughter. “Now that is all I needed to
hear.” He raised his glass and a grin spread across his face. “If I had any
real cutthroats on my crew I’d have been doing my job all wrong.” He planted
his feet on the deck of the Tiger and raised his glass. “All right. We
have a deal, Captain Veal.”
Tarin
clinked glasses with the privateer, sniffed her drink again, then decided that
it was best to get it over fast. She downed the brandy in one gulp that left her
body quivering and her brain shaking.
“You
know, if we get out off this alive you may even have a chance to get reinstated
in the Merchant Marine at you old rank, Lieutenant Alcott.”
*****
Tarin stretched out on the bunk and dimmed the lights. For five endless minutes she stared at the worn metal ceiling before she gave up her futile attempt to shut off her restless mind. Once she opened herself to her emotions Tarin finally realized how worried she was – and how well she had hid it from herself the last two days.
“But
why?”
Kevas
had claimed that the man they were going to see was only interested in profit.
All they had to do was get in unnoticed, strike a deal with Kevas’s friend,
and get out before the Cardassians noticed anything. It sounded difficult, but
it really wasn’t.
The
away team was well prepared. Lafayette and his crew had some experience in
getting in and out of places they were not supposed to be. Off-world traders
were a common sight on Regulon and the Cardassians couldn’t keep track of all
of them. It was a risk, but an acceptable one.
One
item checked off her list Tarin’s mind moved to the next possible source of
her restiveness.
Rishana
was still far from gaining full control over her precognitive abilities, but
Tarin wasn’t worried by it. Perhaps in the end it would make no difference if
she, Dar, or anyone else led the mission, but Tarin was determined to do her
best. If that wasn’t good enough she still had a first-rate team backing her
up and Alvarez knew at least as much as Dar about security protocols. No,
perhaps she had gone on this mission for the wrong reasons, but she could add
another perspective to the mission that the overlapping skills of Dar and
Alvarez would lack.
Could
she trust Lafayette to back her up and play along?
From
what little Tarin knew Lafayette – Alcott – seemed not such a bad man. Rough
around the edges yes, but he had his crew under control and he hadn’t survived
in his line of work by being a fool. If he sold Tarin and her people out to the
Cardassians, he could never set foot in Federation territory again, and the
Cardassians would always mistrust someone who was willing to change allegiances
so readily. No, Lafayette had a lot to gain by cooperating and a lot more to
lose by working against her.
There
were other risks inherent in the mission, but Tarin had weighed them carefully
and found them all acceptable. She folded her hands behind her head and resumed
her intense concentration on the ceiling. ‘No,
the mission is dangerous, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. So what’s
bugging me?’
Long
seconds ticked by and Tarin reached for the light switch. Her hand fell back on
the bunk. She had looked at every detail and yet she was still worried, even
after a careful analysis. Why was it so hard for her to fathom what still
worried her, now that she had examined everything in full detail? Why were her
thoughts still troubled?
‘My
thoughts or my emotions?’
She
tried to ignore the sudden insight, but it was too late. For once her intuition
had worked against her and had revealed a glimpse of what she had tried so hard
to push aside.
Each
individual risk inherent in the mission was acceptable, but the whole picture
had so many variables, so many imponderable details, that the end was far from
certain.
“But
why? Why have I ignored this so much?”
With
a sickening feeling the truth finally dawned on Tarin. Her mind screamed at her
subconscious to stay silent and her intellect clawed at her emotions with the
ferocity of a wild beast struggling for its survival, but it was no use.
Tarin
awoke just before she rolled off her bunk. Panting she dragged a sleeve across
her sweaty face. She couldn’t recall when she had fallen asleep, but that was
the least of her worries.
She
was about to lead her crew into mortal danger and part of her just didn’t
care, as long as the possible benefits outweighed the risks. The voice inside
her head had grown louder lately. A few months ago it had been a whisper, but
now it was becoming a strong voice in her emotional chorus.
But what troubled Tarin Veal most was how willingly she listened to the voice inside her that told her that sometimes the ends justified the means, despite all the danger.
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
