A scream echoed over the fighting. Picard was writhing in blue flame again. Basha was at the control panel leaving his people to fight alone.
Worf redoubled his efforts, throwing guards, smashing anything that got in his way. Picard danced and writhed on the framework like a broken puppet.
A shot echoed in the room. Sparks flew from the control box. Basha jerked his hand back as if it were hurt.
“Stop it!”
Everyone’s attention flickered from the fight to Talanne and a handful of guards in the entrance to the torture area. They were all armed. “No more fighting, that is a direct order.”
The Orianian guards seemed willing to obey, but Basha yelled, “No, they are here to rescue their captain. You must stop them!”
“Husband, this is a Federation ambassador and his counselor. You can’t just attack them. We have the audacity to pronounce a death sentence on one of them. Do not make a worse mistake.”
“I will not be questioned, especially not by my own wife.”
“If not by me, then who, Basha?” Talanne asked. She walked into the room, the guards fanning out at her back.
“You don’t understand.”
“I think I do.” Her voice sounded tired. “You killed Alick.”
“What are you saying, Talanne?”
Troi undid the gag on Liv. The woman took a deep sobbing breath. “I didn’t know he would use it to sabotage the peace talks. I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t know the Federation ambassador would use your filthy technology to kill!” Basha said.
“No, you did it. You did it!”
“Liar, filthy lying Green!” He strode toward her, bare face flushed and mottled with rage.
“She is telling the truth,” Troi said.
“You would say anything to save your captain,” Basha said.
“Why were you executing them personally, Husband?”
“They are important prisoners,” he said.
“Why, Basha, why?”
“I simply want no mistakes about their questioning. The ambassador said that his lieutenant and the healer, both knew of his plan to kill Alick,” he said.
“Did anyone else overhear this,” Talanne asked. “Olon, you are my husband’s sentinel. You are with him always. Did the ambassador implicate the others?”
A guard stepped away from the rest. He cradled his right arm against his chest. The wrist was hanging at an odd angle and looked broken. The voice that came out was high and light, female. “I will guard your safety in all things but I cannot become a traitor to my people. I heard nothing but the screams.”
“You lie!”
“Even your own sentinel will not help you now, Basha. You murdered Alick while you offered him friendship and peace.”
“Colonel Talanne,” Worf said, “may we go to the captain?”
“By all means.”
Worf stepped through the carnage of wounded guards. Troi hurried to Worf’s side and they went to the captain together.
He was very, very still. His skin was not white but gray with pain. Sweat soaked his body. Worf touched the captain’s cheek with one hand. The flesh was cold. “Captain. Captain, can you hear me? It’s Worf.”
Troi was crying silently. “Captain, please open your eyes. Jean-Luc, please!”
His eyelids fluttered. His mouth moved but no sound came out. Worf had to place his ear nearly on top of the captain’s mouth to hear the words. “Lieutenant Worf, Counselor, glad you could come.”
Troi drew a sobbing breath that had an edge of laughter to it. The relief of hysterics.
“Enough of this,” Basha said, “They are the traitors. I don’t know how they bribed my sentinel, but they must have.”
“Husband, sentinels are honorable. You have betrayed us all. You killed the Venturi leader while he tried to make peace with us.”
“It was the only time I could get close to Alick. It was so easy. I had the smallest amount of poison tucked up my sleeve. I turned the handle on the tea urn. I dropped the poison in then, with everyone watching. It was simpler than I ever dreamed.” He sounded proud of what he had done.
“We can win the war, Talanne,” Basha said. “We can!” He held out his hands to her. “Join me in this.”
“No,” Talanne said, “no, we can’t. Two hundred years of fighting has proved that.”
“The Venturi are leaderless, we can win the war.”
“No, Basha, no. We cannot,” Talanne said.
“Yes, I have bargained with an alien race. They will give us a weapon to finish this war. To destroy the Venturies.” He strode to her, hands clenched into fists.
“Who did you bargain with?” Talanne asked.
“Milgians, a race far superior to us and to the Federation,” he said. “They lured your precious starship away.”
Worf started toward him. “It was a trap!”
“They will not harm the ship. The Orianians do not make war on children, and your ship carries families. We would not deal with anyone that would do such a vile thing. The Milgians do not have any policy of noninterference.”
“Apparently not,” Worf said. “What could you offer them in return for such a weapon?”
Basha glared at them all. The look on his face was one of fierce determination. Determination not to be wrong. “They wanted the Green technology. They wanted our genetic material.”
“How could you promise it to them,” Talanne asked. “How could you contact the Greens?”
“This one,” he pointed at Liv, “we caught this one. She bargained for her life and gave us enough.”
“Enough to kill Alick and blame the Greens,” Troi said.
“Yes!” He whirled on Troi. “The Greens could have helped me win this war, but they refused. So I decided that they would help me win this war, one way or another. With everyone believing the Greens murdered the general,” he smiled, a most unpleasant smile, “we could have hunted them down and wiped them out. No one would have protested.”
“Husband, Husband.”
Basha turned to Talanne, slowly. “Don’t you understand? Don’t you see?”
“Have you never wondered why Jeric is healthy, perfect?”
He frowned. “What are you talking about? We were simply blessed.”
“No, husband, it was bioengineering. It was the Greens that gave us our son, healthy and whole.”
“You are lying to me.”
“No, Basha, I would not lie about our son, you know that.”
He turned to stare at Audun who was still unconscious, then back to the tear-stained face of Liv. “No, they are evil. She was weak and gave me the means to destroy her own people.”
“She is weak, but they are not evil. They gave us Jeric.”
He shook his head over and over again. “No, no, I don’t believe you. I can’t. They are evil.” He took a step toward her. “Why are you lying about Jeric? Such wicked lies.”
“I swear by all we hold holy that Jeric is a product of Green bioengineering,” Talanne said.
Basha shook his head slowly. “No, no.” His voice was soft and horror filled. “Our son comes from Green technology?” he whispered it as if it were too evil a thought to be spoken out loud.
“Yes, Husband, our beautiful son.”
“Our son is one of them.” He stared at Liv. “Our son is a Green. You let this happen. You let this happen!” He drew a small object from behind his back.
Breck yelled, “Don’t, do it, General! Don’t make us kill you.”
That one action, drawing a weapon on the colonel, decided the guards. There was no more hesitation. All weapons in the room swung to point at Basha.
His breathing was coming in harsh pants. Rage and horror showed on his face. Worf watched the man’s thoughts flow over his face; it was like reading. Was killing his Green-loving wife worth his own death? The moment seemed to stretch forever, then he threw his weapon on the floor.
The guards rushed forward, pressing him against the wall. Eager hands searched fo
r more hidden weapons. Basha was quickly bound and ringed with guards. His beautiful eyes stared at Talanne, and you didn’t need to be an empath to see the hatred.
She had dealt with Greens. She had stolen his son from him, for Basha now felt that he had no son. As simple as that all his love turned to hate. Worf could not understand it. He knew there was nothing that would end his feelings for Alexander. But the look in Basha’s eyes was pure and uncompromising. The Greens were evil, anyone who dealt with them was evil—Talanne and Jeric were now evil.
Talanne turned to the guards. “Spread the word there will be no executions tonight. Contact the Venturies. Tell them we know who murdered their leader.” She glanced back at her husband. “Tell them we will give over the guilty party as soon as it can be arranged.”
The guard saluted her. “As you say, so shall it be, General Talanne.”
She nodded, and didn’t seem to hear the new title. The Torlicks had a new leader. Worf was betting that this leader would forge a lasting peace. If it could be done, Talanne would do it.
Talanne stared at her husband. He stared back, his hatred nearly touchable. Worf could not see Talanne’s face, and he didn’t want to. This was a private grief. It deserved not to be intruded upon.
Chapter Twenty-three
PICARD, TROI, AND WORF were standing in the roofed courtyard where they had first beamed down to Oriana. Talanne and Breck, with a handful of guards, were on hand to wish them farewell.
“Are you sure you will not stay with us, Ambassador Worf? I think you have much to teach our warriors about honor.”
Worf glanced at Picard, but the captain only seemed amused that the Orianians had insisted on calling them both ambassador. “I am honored that you think I am a worthy teacher, General Talanne, but peace is not a time to train warriors. Your people must learn other paths to honor.”
She nodded. “Yes.” Her voice sounded almost wistful. “It will be difficult for our people, so many years of fighting. Warriors are not good in peace-time.”
“I think you will do well, General Talanne,” Picard said. “Saving your planet will be enough of a challenge to keep any warrior occupied.”
“And as soon as we can guarantee his safety Portun will be coming to us. He and the other Earth-healers will show us the way to begin healing our planet.”
“You have taken the first step by abolishing the law that made bioengineering illegal,” Picard said.
“Yes, and the Greens are eager to help the Milgians, as well. The handful of Milgians that had plotted with my husband must have been truly desperate. Their home-world sounds as damaged as our own. The Greens are insisting on a stringent treaty to make sure their science is not misused for war.” Talanne smiled at them. “We will be needing another ambassador to negotiate the treaty. Are you sure neither of you would be willing to stay?”
“The Federation is sending out a permanent advisor, General, but I am afraid the Enterprise and her crew have other duties.”
“Then, fair traveling, Ambassador Picard, Ambassador Worf.” She held out her hand to Troi, and Troi took it, though she knew the touch would be intrusive. Happiness, sorrow, but under all was hope.
“We will have mind-healers of our own again. Soon I hope.”
Troi smiled. “I know you will. And Betazed will be sending some mind-healers of its own to help you.”
Talanne released her hand and stepped back to stand with the guards. Picard touched his communicator, “Three to beam up, energize when ready.” He leaned into Worf and said, softly, “Are you sure you don’t wish to stay, Lieutenant? We would miss you at tactical, but you could start a new career as a diplomat.” There was a very uncaptainlike shine to his eyes.
“No, Captain, I am very happy as head of security.”
“As long as you’re sure,” Troi said.
Worf frowned at both of them. “I do not think I have the disposition to be a good ambassador.”
Troi fought the smile that tried to spread across her face. Her eyes were very bright.
Picard cleared his throat sharply, obviously struggling. The tingling rush of the transporter saved both of them from outright laughter.
Look for STAR TREK fiction from Pocket Books
Star Trek®: The Original Series
Enterprise: The First Adventure· Vonda N. McIntyre
Final Frontier· Diane Carey
Strangers From the Sky· Margaret Wander Bonanno
Spock’s World· Diane Duane
The Lost Years· J.M. Dillard
Probe· Margaret Wander Bonanno
Prime Directive· Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Best Destiny· Diane Carey
Shadows on the Sun· Michael Jan Friedman
Sarek· A.C. Crispin
Federation· Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Vulcan’s Forge· Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz
Mission to Horatius· Mack Reynolds
Vulcan’s Heart· Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz
Novelizations
Star Trek: The Motion Picture· Gene Roddenberry
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan· Vonda N. McIntyre
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock· Vonda N. McIntyre
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home· Vonda N. McIntyre
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier· J.M. Dillard
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country· J.M. Dillard
Star Trek Generations· J.M. Dillard
Starfleet Academy· Diane Carey
Star Trek books by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
The Ashes of Eden
The Return
Avenger
Star Trek: Odyssey (contains The Ashes of Eden, The Return, and Avenger)
Spectre
Dark Victory
Preserver
#1 · Star Trek: The Motion Picture · Gene Roddenberry
#2 · The Entropy Effect · Vonda N. McIntyre
#3 · The Klingon Gambit · Robert E. Vardeman
#4 · The Covenant of the Crown · Howard Weinstein
#5 · The Prometheus Design · Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath
#6 · The Abode of Life · Lee Correy
#7 · Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan · Vonda N. McIntyre
#8 · Black Fire · Sonni Cooper
#9 · Triangle · Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath
#10 · Web of the Romulans · M.S. Murdock
#11 · Yesterday’s Son · A.C. Crispin
#12 · Mutiny on the Enterprise · Robert E. Vardeman
#13 · The Wounded Sky · Diane Duane
#14 · The Trellisane Confrontation · David Dvorkin
#15 · Corona · Greg Bear
#16 · The Final Reflection · John M. Ford
#17 · Star Trek III: The Search For Spock · Vonda N. McIntyre
#18 · My Enemy, My Ally · Diane Duane
#19 · The Tears of the Singers · Melinda Snodgrass
#20 · The Vulcan Academy Murders · Jean Lorrah
#21 · Uhura’s Song · Janet Kagan
#22 · Shadow Lord · Laurence Yep
#23 · Ishmael · Barbara Hambly
#24 · Killing Time · Della Van Hise
#25 · Dwellers in the Crucible · Margaret Wander Bonanno
#26 · Pawns and Symbols · Majliss Larson
#27 · Mindshadow · J.M. Dillard
#28 · Crisis on Centaurus · Brad Ferguson
#29 · Dreadnought! · Diane Carey
#30 · Demons · J.M. Dillard
#31 · Battlestations! · Diane Carey
#32 · Chain of Attack · Gene DeWeese
#33 · Deep Domain · Howard Weinstein
#34 · Dreams of the Raven · Carmen Carter
#35 · The Romulan Way · Diane Duane & Peter Morwood
#36 · How Much For Just the Planet? · John M. Ford
#37 · Bloodthirst · J.M. Dillard
#38 · The IDIC Epidemic · Jean Lorrah
#39 · Time For Yesterday ·
A.C. Crispin
#40 · Timetrap · David Dvorkin
#41 · The Three-Minute Universe · Barbara Paul
#42 · Memory Prime · Gar and Judith Reeves-Stevens
#43 · The Final Nexus · Gene DeWeese
#44 · Vulcan’s Glory · D.C. Fontana
#45 · Double, Double · Michael Jan Friedman
#46 · The Cry of the Onlies · Judy Klass
#47 · The Kobayashi Maru · Julia Ecklar
#48 · Rules of Engagement · Peter Morwood
#49 · The Pandora Principle · Carolyn Clowes
#50 · Doctor’s Orders · Diane Duane
#51 · Enemy Unseen · V.E. Mitchell
#52 · Home is the Hunter · Dana Kramer Rolls
#53 · Ghost-Walker · Barbara Hambly
#54 · A Flag Full of Stars · Brad Ferguson
#55 · Renegade · Gene DeWeese
#56 · Legacy · Michael Jan Friedman
#57 · The Rift · Peter David
#58 · Faces of Fire · Michael Jan Friedman
#59 · The Disinherited · Peter David
#60 · Ice Trap · L.A. Graf
#61 · Sanctuary · John Vornholt
#62 · Death Count · L.A. Graf
#63 · Shell Game · Melissa Crandall
#64 · The Starship Trap · Mel Gilden
#65 · Windows on a Lost World · V.E. Mitchell
#66 · From the Depths · Victor Milan
#67 · The Great Starship Race · Diane Carey
#68 · Firestorm · L.A. Graf
#69 · The Patrian Transgression · Simon Hawke
#70 · Traitor Winds · L.A. Graf
#71 · Crossroad · Barbara Hambly
#72 · The Better Man · Howard Weinstein
#73 · Recovery · J.M. Dillard
#74 · The Fearful Summons · Denny Martin Flynn
#75 · First Frontier · Diane Carey & Dr. James I. Kirkland
#76 · The Captain’s Daughter · Peter David
#77 · Twilight’s End · Jerry Oltion
#78 · The Rings of Tautee · Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch
#79 · Invasion! #1: First Strike · Diane Carey
#80 · The Joy Machine · James Gunn
#81 · Mudd in Your Eye · Jerry Oltion
#82 · Mind Meld · John Vornholt
#83 · Heart of the Sun · Pamela Sargent & George Zebrowski
#84 · Assignment: Eternity · Greg Cox
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