by Peter David
"And what's your plan?" said Sulu sarcastically. "To conquer the galaxy with a horde of clone warriors?"
"Oh, hardly anything so grandiose. However, a Tholian faction is most interested. We've had initial contact with them, opened the lines of communication. They're taken by the notion of armies upon armies of clone warriors. Of course, the Tholians keep trying to give us deadlines, and complain when we don't meet them. They're such sticklers for punctuality."
"I never thought I'd say this," said Sulu, "but Ling Sui was fortunate to have passed away when she did. Certainly preferable to being caught up in any more of your insanity."
"We were two of a kind, Ling Sui and I. At core, we both understood that. You see, Captain … what you got involved with was nothing more than a heightened lovers' quarrel."
Sulu looked at him oddly. "Lovers' quarrel? You were trying to kill each other."
"Of course. In case you didn't notice, Ling Sui was not one for half measures. But the fact is that I had prior claim to her, Captain … not to mention subsequent claim. Or haven't you figured it out yet."
"Figured out what?"
And Taine grinned lopsidedly. "Demora is my daughter. Not yours. Mine."
Janice Rand looked up from the comm board. "No response, Anik," she said, making no effort to hide her concern.
"Scan for life-forms," Anik instructed.
"Scanning," said Chafin. "Not picking up anything. Could be interference. Could be …"
"Could be he's dead," said Anik tonelessly.
The Starship Enterprise sat there in front of them, looking like she meant serious business.
On the bridge of the Enterprise, the tension was rather palpable. And it was solidly between the admiral and the captain.
"Hope I didn't overstep my bounds, Captain," said the admiral formally. From his tone, he probably thought he was being tongue-in-cheek. To his mild surprise, however, Captain Harriman didn't seem to share in the amusement.
"I am aware that, as senior officer on this vessel, you have the privilege of stepping in where you see fit," said Harriman. "I would appreciate some restraint, however, when possible."
The admiral blinked in surprise, and then his eyes narrowed slightly. "I have no problem with that," he said flatly, "as long as you get the job done."
"Don't be concerned on that score, Admiral."
"Don't give me need to be, Captain."
Upon hearing the exchange, Magnus and Chaput exchanged slightly nervous looks.
Commander Dane shifted uneasily in her chair, and Science Officer Thompson suddenly became intensely interested in the readings from her station.
And both Harrimans turned attention back to the screen.
Chapter Twenty-eight
SULU LAUGHED.
Demora was still clutching him, her mind whirling in confusion. But Taine's claim penetrated the haze. She looked up at Sulu with a mixture of befuddlement and fear, and she was even more puzzled when he started to laugh. Taine had a variety of responses in mind when he dropped the bombshell on Sulu, but that hadn't been one of them. "What's so funny?" he demanded.
"What's so funny? You're a fool, that's what's so funny."
"I'm not the one who raised the daughter of another man thinking she was my own."
"Neither am I. Doctors did a genetic testing on her when she first came to me. She's mine, Taine. I'm her father; it's incontrovertible."
Rogers looked to Taine, reacting with clear surprise. "You said—"
"Be quiet," he ordered Rogers and looked back to Sulu. "You're lying. I know she's mine."
"You're wrong. What, did you think I would spend all these years without knowing for sure? I've known since the first day who her father is. And it's not you."
"You're lying!"
Taine lashed out with one booted foot. Sulu raised an arm, managing to ward off part of the blow, catching it on his shoulder. He swayed, but didn't go down.
"She's mine," Taine said in a hoarse whisper. "I recognized her from the moment I saw her picture on the news broadcasts. You remember … the ones that went out everywhere when Kirk died. And there was Demora, big as life, shown clutching her fallen comrade next to her on the bridge of the Enterprise. The image of her mother, I knew it instantly. And sure enough, her name was reported as Demora Sulu. I laughed over that one, oh, how I laughed." He raised his voice, addressing his associates. "Didn't we laugh, gentlemen?"
Rogers was looking extremely discomfited, and Sulu couldn't blame him. Taine was acting more and more erratically, his sanity being called increasingly into question.
"Look, Taine," he began.
But Taine was paying no attention to him. "So when I discovered that the Enterprise was going to be in this sector, I put up a distress beacon I'd picked up during my wanderings and programmed it with Chinese, in the hope that her interest would be piqued. It was a long shot, I'll grant you, but I've spent my life taking long shots. And it worked. You can't argue with success."
"Or dementia," Sulu shot back.
As if Sulu hadn't spoken, Taine said, "We captured her, brought her down here, and replaced her with a clone … not quite with the alacrity of your 'amusement-park planet,' but speedily and effectively. Oh, given ten days or so the body would have fallen apart, the fakery revealed. But I was reasonably certain the body would be disposed of, either buried or cremated, so that our little secret remained safe."
Sulu was silent.
"Well, Captain? Nothing to say?"
"Only one thing: How long have I been down here?"
"Oh, under the impression that if you're gone for too long, someone will send help? I wouldn't stake too much to that if I were you. They won't find you down here; we're too well shielded. But in answer to your question … it's been precisely fifty-seven minutes. I hope that helps."
"Immensely," replied Sulu.
"It's not helping, Commander," Chafin said, turning from the science station. "I've boosted the gain to the sensor array, but we're still not detecting anything."
"Incoming hail from the Enterprise," said Rand.
Anik sighed. "Well, that was inevitable. On-screen."
Captain Harriman's image appeared. "You've been given more than enough time, Excelsior. Where's Captain Sulu?"
She drummed her long fingers on the armrest for a moment, weighed the options, and decided to go with the truth. "He's on the planet's surface, but we've been unable to locate him. No life-form readings, no communication. It is my intention to send down a search party."
"Negative," Harriman said flatly. "That will be in direct contravention of Starfleet orders and policy. I submit to you, Commander, the harsh reality that Captain Sulu may very likely already be dead. You weren't on that planet's surface, Commander. I was. Whatever happened to Ensign Sulu very likely has happened to her father as well. Perhaps, in his frenzy, he leaped off a cliff. In any event … you will not be sending anyone down after him."
"Captain, you are being unreasonable. . . ."
"Commander, I outrank you, and I have Starfleet's direct orders behind me. Now … are you going to comply? Be aware that refusal to do so will make you complicit with Captain Sulu's actions, and there will be severe penalties involved." He paused. "You have a promising career, Commander Anik. I don't suggest you toss it away now."
All eyes on the bridge were upon her. Anik didn't look back at any of them.
"Captain, I regret I cannot comply."
"Very well. You're relieved of command. Who's the next ranking officer there?"
There was deathly silence, and then Janice Rand rose from the communications console. "I am. Commander Janice Rand."
Harriman looked slightly pained. He knew who she was, knew the history that she and Sulu had. "Great," he murmured, as if he knew the answer before he even asked the question. "Commander Rand … can I expect you to act in accordance with Starfleet regulations and relieve Anik of command?"
Rand didn't hesitate. "I regret, sir, that you cannot."
&nbs
p; "Yes, I surmised that would be the answer," he sighed. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Looks like we have a situation on our hands, doesn't it."
"Yes, sir, it does."
And suddenly as if in a tremendous hurry, Harriman said, "You have five minutes to reconsider your position. Use it wisely." And then the screen blinked off.
Anik, Rand and the rest of the bridge crew looked at each other in mild confusion. "That was rushed," said Anik.
"Now what?" asked Rand.
"Now?" Anik grinned lopsidedly. "I don't know about you, but I'll probably start updating my résumé. Apparently it's time for me to start considering a career in the private sector."
"That's an unnecessarily pessimistic view, Commander," said Rand.
Anik looked at her skeptically. "Seems to me, Commander—no offense—that you're a little old to be engaging in fantasies. What's the Earth saying? We've crossed the Ruby Cam."
"Rubicon."
"Whatever it is, we've crossed it. Continue to try and raise Captain Sulu. Ready transporter room to send down a search—"
And suddenly Docksey shouted, "Photon torpedo off to starboard!"
She was right. The Starship Enterprise had fired a photon torpedo directly at the Excelsior.
"Red alert! Shields up!" called Anik, hoping it would be in time. "All engines, hard to port! Brace for impact!"
The Excelsior responded instantly, shields flaring into existence a split second before the photon torpedo smashed directly into the starboard section of the Excelsior … and shattered harmlessly.
"No impact!" called Lojur.
"Oh, there was impact, all right," said Anik. "But they removed the warhead."
"Son of a bitch was trying to scare us," Rand said.
From helm, Docksey muttered, "Well, it worked."
"Maintain red alert. Docksey, give us some distance."
"Aye, sir. Arm phasers?"
"Not yet. And not until absolutely necessary." Anik shook her head in annoyance. "Fastest five minutes I ever heard of."
And suddenly as if in a tremendous hurry, Harriman said, "You have five minutes to reconsider your position. Use it wisely." And then the screen blinked off.
"Five minutes?" came a voice that sounded like it was choking on fury.
Carefully keeping his back to the Admiral, Harriman said, "Yes, Admiral. Five minutes."
"Captain, five minutes or five hundred minutes isn't going to make a bit of difference. These people are defying you and defying Starfleet. There is no strategic advantage to giving them extra time."
And now Harriman turned to face his father. "Strategic advantage?" he said incredulously. "Admiral … that's another starship. One of ours. We're not at war here."
"Oh, yes we are," said the admiral stiffly. "We are at war against disobedience. Against contempt for regulations. Against the theatrics and outright rebellion that James Kirk and the others like him stood for. He spread his philosophies to Captain Sulu, and Sulu gave it to his people. It's like a disease … a cancer, eating away at our discipline! You see where this leads, Captain? Anarchy! Defiance! Starfleet cannot function if its officers take it into their heads to do whatever the hell they want!"
"I will handle this in my own way, Admiral," Harriman said sharply.
The air was electric between them. And then, very softly, very deadly, the admiral said, "Captain … I am giving you a direct order. I want this situation handled now. Not five minutes from now. Now. Or else."
Harriman felt the blood draining from his face. "Is that a threat, Admiral?"
"Is that a threat? No. This is a threat." Blackjack Harriman turned to Chaput and said, "Helm … load an unarmed photon torpedo … the kind you use for probes. Then target and fire."
Chaput, stunned, looked to the captain. Captain Harriman was no less stunned. "What?"
"You heard me," said the admiral evenly. "It'll just be a warning shot."
"And the next one will be what? For real?"
"If that's what it takes," said the admiral. He turned and was face-to-face with the captain. "Don't make me have to relieve you of duty, Captain."
The muscles of Harriman's jaw twitched furiously. "Helm … carry out the order," he said.
"Aye, sir," said Chaput, trying to keep the apprehension out of her voice. "Torpedo locked but not loaded."
"Fire," said Harriman.
"Torpedo away," Chaput said tonelessly.
They watched the streak of light blaze toward the Excelsior. The starship tried to get out of the way, but there wasn't enough time or distance between the vessels. The torpedo collided with the starboard warp strut but, since there was no active warhead in it, it simply shattered against it.
"Their shields are up," Dane said from the sensor station.
"Good," the admiral said with satisfaction. "It means they're taking us seriously."
"Apparently this is your game now, Admiral," Harriman told him. "What did you have in mind for the next play?"
Ignoring the sarcasm in Harriman's tone, Blackjack said, "Now, Captain … you get to have your five minutes. But it won't be five minutes of them stalling. It'll be five minutes of them sweating. You're no longer dealing from weakness, son. Now you're dealing from strength."
"In some quarters, restraint is considered strength," Harriman said.
The admiral looked at him. "There's no crime handling people with kid gloves, Captain … just as long as they know there's a fist of iron inside it. And if you don't have the stomach to deal with this in the proper fashion … then I will."
On the surface of the planet, the shuttlecraft sat motionless. But now computer commands began to kick over, and the engines of the Galileo began to surge to life.
Slowly but steadily, the shuttle rose into the air.
Thor stood guard over Sulu and Demora, who were still on the floor exactly as they'd been left. Demora had stopped trembling, and was glaring at Thor balefully.
Rogers, meantime, had brought Taine over to another section of the vast room and was talking to him in a low and hurried voice. "Listen to me, Taine," he said. "I've stuck with you through thick and thin, all these years. I always felt I owed you for that time you saved my life back on Castalan Nine. You know that. But between you and me, you haven't been a hundred percent right ever since the crash in the Sahara. Most times you're fine … but lately it's …"
"What's your point?" said Taine.
"The point is, I think you've got to take a step back. This Sulu guy was a pain in the ass twenty years ago, and I'm the first to admit that I'm as much for painful and agonizing torture as the next sadist. But there's no real percentage in vengeance. This whole taunting thing … it's serving no purpose. And this girl you fixated on: Maybe you thought she was your daughter, and that's fine. Or maybe she just reminded you of Ling and, deep down, you felt like you wanted to have her for old time's sake. That's fine, too. I went along with things this far because you never steered me wrong. But Taine … Sulu's right. This is crazy. You want to kill them, kill them. You want to indulge yourself with the girl first, then do it. I'll hold her still if you need me to. But you are way over the edge here. You're exposing us to unnecessary risks. It's got to end. So end it."
"You want me to end it," said Taine.
"That's right."
Taine's hand flew, fast and sharp, and speared Rogers in the throat. Rogers gagged as Taine kicked out, catching him in the pit of the stomach and knocking him flat on his back. Before Rogers could sit up, Taine was standing over him with Sulu's phaser rifle cradled in his arms.
"You want me to end it? I could end you right now!" He whirled and aimed the phaser at Sulu and Demora. "You want them dead, Rogers? Fine! One piece at a time, though! I'll blast them apart one damned piece at a time!"
The shuttle angled sharply upward, its preencoded course laid in. It reached sufficient height, angled around 180 degrees … and then plunged downward in a nosedive.
And Sulu said quietly, in a voice that carried neverthel
ess, "She must have meant a hell of a lot to you."
"You shut up! You don't know anything!"
"I know more than you could possibly believe," Sulu said confidently. "I know all the things you regret. I know what she meant to you. I know that—"
"I said shut up!" Taine ordered. He approached Sulu, the phaser rifle aimed squarely at him. Sulu had brought the formidable weapon with him because he'd had no idea what to expect and—since he'd been on his own—he figured he would want to pack as much firepower as possible. Now it seemed as if that was going to be a major mistake. "I know why you're doing this," Taine continued. "You hope to make me so mad that I'll simply blow you out of existence. That's what you want, isn't it. A quick, easy painless death, molecules spreading into oblivion so that you never even feel a thing. Or maybe you think there's going to be another rescue. Someone will come plunging through the skylight and save you. Well, Captain, in case you haven't noticed …" He gestured upward. "There's no skylight. So what are you going to do now, eh?"
"Improvise," replied Sulu.
And the ceiling exploded overhead. Down, down through the cathedral ceiling smashed the shuttlecraft Galileo. Debris fell like hail as the roar of the shuttlecraft's engines filled the massive room.
Thor looked upward just in time to see a huge piece of masonry plunge toward him. He barely had time to throw up his hands in a vain attempt to ward it off before it fell on him, pinning him.
