by Star Trek
will result in. The future ramifications of this day cannot be
foretold, and I find myself feeling that we are caught between the
hammer and the anvil, by our own directives."
"Though I am aware of the danger of hasty judgements, I do not
believe that we have the ability to hold off this vote of
admittance to the Federation. We must bear that in mind as the
Royal Emperor of the Klingon Realm speaks. I therefore admonish you
all, hear his words, remember who he is and what he represents.
Weigh everything you know about him with all he says and decide
within yourselves the answer to the question; do we allow the
Klingon people admittance into the Federation? Yes or no?"
A bright blue light on the podium flashed, indicating that
the Emperor was preparing to transport. "This is perhaps the most
important vote that will ever be held in this Assembly. I do not
have any advice to offer as to the direction that your vote should
go, I merely ask you this; We desire peace for all worlds, with
all worlds, but what price are we willing to pay for it? We hold
friendship with all civilized races in the highest esteem, but are
there races that, by their own actions, demonstrate that they are
PAGE 124
not yet worthy of our trust?" He looked out over the silent crowd.
They respected the man who spoke these historic words. The
President was certain that they would do what was not merely in
their various world's best interest, but equitable to all.
The President pressed the yellow button next to the flashing
blue button on his podium's console. "It is now my honor to
introduce and also greet for the first time in history, the Emperor
of the Klingon Empire." Behind him and to the left, a transporter
wave began to shimmer and hum. It took the form of the man who all
believed was the Klingon Emperor. With him were Admiral Sorr and
his Imperial Guard. "I present to the Supreme Assembly
Delegates, His Highness, Emperor Mocdar Jek Tromok, of The
Klingon Empire."
The President turned to the Emperor and bowed low, with his
hand extended towards the dais, indicating to His Highness that he
may now address the Assembly. After the President erected himself
he indicated that the Assembly may now stand and salute their guest
in the fashion of their own home worlds. This caused much clamor as
the delegates rose to salute, or bow, or spit, or honk, or wheeze
or whatever salutation was called for from their planet.
The President saw the Emperor smile upon the crowd indicating
friendliness, or was it one of mockery? He was uncertain, never
having met this Monarch before. His intellect told him Tromok was
being cordial. His gut feeling, however, was to brace himself for
attack. In the end he wrote it off as a hormonal reaction to another
rival male, one which had physical, intellectual and legislative
power that was at least equal to himself.
The Emperor offered a Klingon salute to the Assembly, then
turned towards the President and saluted him as well. He stepped
over to the podium, flanked on both sides by the Ramjep Avwi and
trailed by Sorr. The eyes were Tromok's, but it was Garth who
looked at the vast number of beings facing him. The tribute they
paid the Emperor was nothing to Garth, nothing but a taste of what
he would soon receive when it was Lord Garth they saluted. He took
the last step to the dais and rested his large hands on each side,
gripping it, and feeling the firmness of it.
"Fellow beings of the known Galaxy," The Emperor's
powerful voice echoed throughout the room, "I come to you, not in
mere friendship, but as one of you who now understands the true
meaning of what you stand for. I speak as one who sees the wisdom
and honor of this galactic brotherhood you collectively have forged
and now share." He suppressed the smile of the wolf, and expressed
the false face of an earnest man.
"We, as a people, are guilty of many things. Things that may
not be easy to forgive. But it is in the spirit of forgiveness
that I address you today. And it is forgiveness that I am compelled
to request from you and extend to you in return." Garth allowed the
Emperor to eat his crow before all to see. It was the most
difficult obstacle he had foreseen himself facing, but he consoled
himself with the knowledge that all actors must sometime play the
PAGE 125
fool. It did not alter who he was; it did not lessen him.
"We have been holding fast to traditions that have spanned
several millennia. Traditions that had purposes of self-
preservation, self-reliance and, unfortunately, self-righteousness.
But this is all we knew. This was all we were given by our
progenitors. Pride unparalleled in ourselves, and a dim view at
best, towards all others," he said, making allowances for the
Klingons that he both ruled and hated.
"Peace was nothing but an outdated religion to us and for good
reason; we had no living example of peace, apart from merciless
domination to obtain it. Peace at the point of a sword, not by
reciprocal accordance." He looked up at the ceiling, and closed his
eyes, pretending that the admission of his guilt had personally
effected him.
He opened his eyes once more and again regarded the audience.
"We have seen the example of peace in your Federation for some time
now. We had thought that we could eventually dominate you," he
stated with fraudulent regret at the notion, "or that through this
'peace', you would become weak and that the Federation would
crumble out from beneath you. My father had said as much. I myself
have been known to speak the saying... But not so!"
He spoke more boldly now, and with not just a hint of
conviction expressed for his listener's benefit. "It is a breach in
custom that I and my people should come to you this glorious day.
But if a custom is all that hinders peace, it is a custom far too
long observed! My fellow beings, I am not my father, who was a
great and noble man, but a man who would not see farther than the
bounds of tradition. The relationship between our peoples must
change, in the name of peace! And I have seen that it must start
with us! I do not petition you to join my Empire. I, as First
Ruler of all Klinzhai, request to be joined with you. To establish
a New Age of Peace, a New United Federation of Planets!"
Most of the crowd was astounded at what they saw and heard.
They had not thought it possible that the Klingon monarch could
even speak these words, and certainly not with such conviction.
Many were completely beguiled by his apparent sincerity, deeply
moved by his personal realization of the shortcomings that his
people's traditional view held. Most were stirred by his vision of
joining, of uniting the galaxy as one brotherhood under the flag of
the Federation. Sarek of Vulcan, was not one of them.
Sarek was among a minority of men who could not be swayed by
lofty words that spoke almost solely to the emotion
s of men. On the
other hand, he could not discount the Emperor's efforts towards
peace either. He merely would not be swayed into voting for the
admission of the Klingon Empire based upon one man's speech or by a
crowd that most probably would. The President was of a similar
mind.
"I will not lie to you," The Emperor continued. "We had the
inclination to declare war on you when we found that you had
PAGE 126
created a weapon of incredible destructive power. We had first
thought that you were testing it on an outpost bordering the
Federation Neutral Zone. But when the ship crossed over and we
encountered it, it became apparent that this was a rogue ship with
intentions of its own. We disposed of this ship, but not without
casualties of our own." Garth was pridefully, masterfully
maneuvering his audience into believing that the Federation should
be indebted to the Empire, not only for destroying an enemy to both
governments and paying for it in Klingon blood, but for giving the
Federation the benefit of the doubt, assuming, that the Federation
was innocent of the aggression, while allowing them to feel the
guilt within themselves for their suspicion of the Empire.
"I do not believe that I am able to demonstrate the sincerity
of my words in any greater fashion than to offer to you the people
of my Empire as members of the Federation. It is my hope that
you are in agreement to this, but if you are not... we shall keep
to ourselves, and not continue to be a burden to you any further
in galactic matters. My Empire will expand! But if it is not
hand-in-hand with you, it will be away from you, and certainly
either away from, or against the Romulan Empire! I will await your
decision from my ship. I thank you!"
A cheer arose from all corners of the auditorium, swelling to
nearly deafening levels. The Emperor turned to a somewhat
bewildered President, and extended his large hand in a gesture of
friendship.
The President took his hand in his and shook it, feeling the
strength of it and hearing the cheers become even louder. The
President cocked his head, ever so slightly. He looked into the
eyes of the Klingon and saw something disturbing. He was not sure
what he saw that moment, but it worried him. Then his attention
was drawn away from the Emperor to the Assembly delegates. He was
able to hear, deep within the cheering masses, many angry cries of
dissension. 'Regardless of the direction that the decision made
today takes, the vote may split the Federation,' he thought to
himself as he watched the Emperor step over to his beam-down location
and disappear with the rest of his entourage.
"Gentle beings," the President said, trying to regain order in
the great hall, "gentle beings!" He put both hands in the air in
order to quell the commotion. He walked over to the podium, where
he could be more easily seen and heard. "We must not let the
emotion of the moment force us to rush headlong into a vote
without careful consideration. The Emperor's speech is now being
sent to each delegate's terminal, for your further review. In
addition, all preliminary information and data which should be taken
into account is included in the transmission. Please review this
documentation carefully over the next two hours. Deliberation will
commence at 1300 hours. The vote will be held at 1200 hours two
days hence, after all members have taken advantage of their 10
minute floor time. Until then, I thank you."
The President's confidence in the delegates was greatly shaken
by their uproarious outburst of a moment ago. Sensibility seemed
PAGE 127
to be driven from them by the Emperor's speech, coupled with the
tremendous fear of invasion from the Romulan Empire, fear that
could cause much of the Federation members to gladly make a bargain
with the Devil, completely disregarding the price of such a
bargain. The President also detected the evidence of a 'willing
blindness' to rationale as the Emperor offered them a hope, and an
answer, to their fears of war. The confusion of the past few days
was maddening. It was as if a dark tide was moving the Federation
purposefully towards the center of a whirlpool, to be drawn down
into an abyss.
PAGE 128
Star Trek: "BEFORE DESTRUCTION!"
A NOVEL BY MICHAEL D. ROSSI
*Star Trek is a Registered Trademark of Paramount Pictures
Copyright 1991, by Michael Rossi
*** NINETEEN ***
Stardate 5859.4
Captain James T. Kirk stood on the glowing transporter
platform in the bowels of the still-cloaked Klingonese vessel. He
pulled the flat, palm-sized 'Phaser 1' from the top of his 'Phaser
2' pistol grip, and slid it inside his tri-corder's pouch. He then
placed the medi-scanner in his pocket, feeling the flat square
already inside it that was Spock's still-unread log entry
concerning Flint. He looked at Mara who was standing behind the
transporter controls, then tossed the pistol grip to the deck.
"Are we ready to energize?" Jim asked her.
"Not yet, but we will be in range soon," she said to her
commanding officer. She was still not used to following the orders
of this human, but she now had great admiration for the man. "Your
chances of making it down alive are still not favorable," she
added firmly.
Fear was there. Jim could feel it creeping up inside of him,
the old enemy always lurking in the shadows wherever he faced danger.
He was familiar with its bite, though he had never grown accustomed
to it. He had never attempted to deny its existence, but it was not
his master. It would not stop him.
"My chances never seem to be, Lieutenant," he said as a matter
of fact, remembering the many times that his First Officer had
stated the same thing to him. He wished that it was Spock who was
saying it to him now. He felt alone in the universe, a loneliness
much like Mara's husband had experienced quite recently. He wiped
the nervous sweat of his palms on his trousers.
"If I don't make it, Kang will have to attempt it, so please,
do your best," said the gold and black clad Captain.
"You shall have my best because that is what 'you' deserve.
Not because I wish to spare my husband the same fate," she stated
hotly. "I am honor-bound to you, both as my Captain and as the one
to whom my husband and I owe our lives."
Jim realized that he had offended her, but did not wish to
offend her further by apologizing. "That is all I needed to know,
Mara. We still have many things to learn about our respective
cultures. If we survive this, we may be able to show our
governments that we are capable of cooperation and establish a
'real' peace between us."
The moment those words escaped his lips, the words of
Ayelborne returned to him. They spoke: 'You, as all people, have
heard the message of peace...'
'Peace,' Jim echoed to himself. 'Perhaps there would be no
PAGE 129
real peace, until we, as Christ had said, 'love our neighbors,' not
merely co-exist with them. Base our relationship on 'truth', not
just a document of tolerance, not merely by the observance of
self-serving laws.
He turned these thoughts over in his mind. They spoke to him
now as never before, and it was true. He had heard the message
before but gave it no more thought than just a collection of 'good
ideas'. He had never truly believed, never truly placed his faith
in them, nor in the One who spoke them.
In times past, he had used the name of God in many ways, but
he now recalled that it had not been since his childhood that it
meant anything personal to him. The faith of a child, it was,
trusting in the God that loved him enough to die for him. Now, as
an adult, he had heard the philosophies of men and relied greatly
on his own intellect to fill any place in his heart that once was
held for the God of his youth, yet still there were times when
he found himself asking the same question; 'God, are you really
there?' the question all men, all beings ask. It is only now that
Jim remembered the very name Jehovah, meant 'I am'.
The saying, 'There are no Atheists in foxholes', was an old
Earth expression that now came into Jim's thoughts. It is human
nature, perhaps xeno nature, to turn one's thoughts to his deity
in times of trouble. It is possible that there was nothing more to
this 'searching of the heart' that Jim was now undergoing, than the
normal searching one does in post-crisis situations. It is possible,
but Jim was not certain that he could write it off that easily.
James T. Kirk opened his eyes with the surprise of not having
