STAR TREK: TOS - Errand of Vengeance, Book Two - Killing Blow

by Kevin Ryan

  As Karel was about to call the end of the duty cycle and release the officers to seek out their evening gagh, he heard the doors to the disruptor room open. The senior weapons officer and his crew had arrived for the next duty cycle.

  They took their positions and Karel dismissed his own Klingons. He saw the senior officer looking at him, sizing him up, and made a note to himself to be wary of [39] trouble from the officer. As the day officer, Karel held the superior position. A challenge was inevitable.

  Karel watched as his Klingons left the disrupter room. After the last one was gone, Karel followed, and was immediately met by two warriors in the corridor.

  “Come,” the largest of them said.

  “What do you want?” Karel spat back.

  “The commander wants you in his quarters,” he said.

  Karel knew this moment would come. In fact, he was surprised it had not come sooner.

  Nodding, he headed for the weapons commander’s quarters, ahead of the two guards. Karel sensed the Klingons behind him bristling at the insult but he was determined to seek out his own fate—he would not be led to it.

  Once there, he entered the commander’s quarters without hesitation, every muscle alert and ready for movement. Karel noted with relief that the commander’s guards stayed outside. Clearly, the Klingon was prepared to handle Karel himself.

  Inside, the commander was on his feet and waiting for him. Though Karel had of course seen the Klingon on the ship, they had not met face-to-face since Karel’s promotion to senior weapons officer. As the bridge weapons officer, the commander was in charge of both disrupter rooms and answered only to Second Officer Klak and the captain.

  “Senior Weapons Officer Karel,” the commander said, appraising him.

  “Commander,” Karel said, meeting the other Klingon’s gaze.

  “Sit,” the commander said, pointing to a seat.

  [40] But Karel’s father had sired no fools. He would not give that advantage to his superior. “I will stand.”

  Then the commander did something Karel did not expect. He smiled.

  “As you wish,” he said, taking a seat opposite Karel.

  Was the commander insulting him? Baiting him? Karel decided to wait to see his next move.

  “You went to Second Officer Klak for information,” the commander said.

  “Yes,” Karel said.

  “It was a great insult to your superior Gash,” the commander said.

  “It was intended as an insult. Gash was a fool and had failed to act on my simple request. I had no choice but to go over his head,” Karel said.

  The commander nodded. “Gash was a fool. I would have replaced him soon if one of his subordinates had not done the job for me. You have done that, but you have left me with a new problem.”

  Karel waited for what would come now.

  “Did you intend to insult me as well?” the commander asked.

  It was a direct question and deserved a direct response. “No,” Karel said.

  “Yet you did not come to me. You went to my superior,” the commander said.

  “The second officer’s contacts and ... access to information are well known,” Karel said. “I needed immediate results.”

  “You wanted news of your brother,” the commander said.

  Karel nodded.

  [41] “Your brother had an impressive record in intelligence. He served the Empire well,” the commander said.

  For a moment, Karel was not sure if the Klingon was baiting him. Both Gash and Second Officer Klak had looked down on Kell’s service in intelligence—most Klingons looked at noncombatant service the same way.

  But the commander’s face showed no signs of falsehood.

  “A warrior like Second Officer Klak who trades in information can accomplish much without showing his face,” the commander said.

  “Only an enemy without honor refuses to show his face in battle,” Karel countered, quoting Kahless.

  “You believe this?” the commander said.

  “It is a truth whether or not I believe it,” Karel replied.

  The commander held his gaze for a long moment. “Do you wish to challenge me?” he said.

  “No,” Karel said. “Not now.”

  “Why not?” the commander asked.

  “Because I fight the enemies of the Empire,” Karel said.

  “But what about your ambitions?” the commander said.

  “I have one ambition, Commander: to crush our enemies,” Karel said.

  “Earthers?” the commander said.

  “Yes, Earthers. They killed my father at Donatu V and now my brother in a cowardly attack. I can best make them pay from my position in the disrupter room,” Karel said.

  “But to do that you will first have to leave this room alive,” the commander said, standing up.

  The commander stood up and leaned closer to Karel.

  [42] “One of your officers challenged you already. I watched the surveillance records. You let him live, why?”

  “He was a good officer, experienced. I needed him in the disrupter room,” Karel said.

  “Do I need you?” the commander said.

  “I serve the Empire. Its enemies are my enemies,” Karel said.

  The commander backed away slightly. “If you challenge me again, in any way, you will become my enemy. And then you will die. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Commander Koloth,” Karel said.

  Chapter Four

  “WHY THE CLOAK AND DAGGER, Jim?” McCoy asked.

  Kirk stepped onto the transporter. “I don’t know, Bones, but the commodore was very clear. No shore leave for the crew until we meet.”

  Spock took his place on the transporter pad next to Kirk.

  For a moment, the doctor lingered on the deck. Kirk raised an eyebrow and, frowning, McCoy stepped up to the platform.

  When he was in place, Kirk said to the technician, “Energize, Mr. Kyle.”

  The transporter beam deposited them on a transporter platform on the starbase. To Kirk’s surprise, they were met by Commodore Krinsky himself. Kirk had never met the man before, but knew him by reputation.

  As the commodore walked, his limp betrayed the [44] injury that had forced him from active service on a starship.

  “Hello, Captain,” the commodore said as he shook Kirk’s hand.

  “Commodore,” Kirk said, “this is my first officer, Mr. Spock, and my chief medical officer, Dr. McCoy.”

  Krinsky’s face was all business. He nodded to Spock and McCoy, then turned back to Kirk.

  “What is their security clearance?” he asked.

  “Top level,” Kirk replied.

  “Very well, come with me. I have Admiral Justman waiting for you on our com system,” he said, leading them out of the room.

  In the corridor, Kirk asked, “Why not just contact me directly on the Enterprise’s system?”

  “The admiral insisted on some extra security precautions. There are new codes. The code keys were hand-delivered yesterday. I have the new keys on data tapes to take back to your ship. But for now, the only secure station is in here,” the commodore said, pointing to a door that was marked communications room.

  Then Krinsky raised his hand. “I’m afraid your people will have to wait out here. The admiral will tell you what you can share with them later.”

  Nodding, Kirk entered the room. The room was not large and was dominated by consoles on three sides. A single workstation sat in the center.

  Kirk sat. The admiral’s face was already on the screen. His expression was grim.

  “Admiral Justman,” Kirk said.

  “Captain Kirk,” the admiral responded. “I wish we were speaking under better circumstances. The situation [45] is grave, Captain. I have just met with the diplomatic team working with the Klingons. Though diplomatic efforts will be ongoing, we have a revised timetable for the Klingon attack. Seven months.”

  “Is that confirmed?” Kirk asked.

  “No, Jim. It
is the ambassador’s best guess, but I believe it to be accurate,” Justman said.

  Kirk nodded. That was enough for him. No one would ever get rich betting against the admiral’s judgment.

  “Does the ambassador see any hope?” Kirk asked.

  “There’s always hope, Captain, and seven months is not tomorrow. However, it will be a long and difficult road.”

  “What can the Enterprise do?” Kirk asked.

  “Starfleet’s focus now is to follow up on the Orion connection. It is our best chance for information within Federation space.”

  Kirk nodded. “Understood. Sir, why the additional security for this communication? We have all of the secure codes on the Enterprise. No new ones have appeared on the canceled list.”

  “We have had additional problems. There have been more security breaches that we cannot trace. More disappearances and some unexplained deaths. For now, we will no longer transmit new codes via subspace, even using cleared codes. Use only the codes you received from the commodore for secure communications. Frankly, Jim, we don’t know what’s secure anymore and what isn’t. The Klingons already know more than they should about Starfleet operations. Our best chance to turn that around is by following the Orion trail,” Justman said.

  [46] “The Enterprise will do everything it can, sir,” Kirk said.

  “I know that, Captain. You and your crew have never given less than exceptional efforts and extraordinary results.” For a moment, the admiral’s face softened. “I’m sorry about the people you lost in the 1324 incident, Jim.”

  “Thank you sir, they were good people,” Kirk replied.

  The admiral nodded, “We’ve lost too many good people.”

  Justman was silent for a moment, letting that statement hang in the air for a moment.

  “I have instructed Commodore Krinsky to facilitate your departure. Make necessary repairs, but I have waived starbase engineering checks on your field repairs. I leave checks to your discretion and the discretion of your chief engineer. Resupply and make use of the starbase facilities, but get back out there quickly.”

  “How secure is what you have just told me?” Kirk asked.

  “Share this information on a need-to-know basis only. Only with the people who absolutely must know and the ones you rely on most. Good luck, Captain Kirk. Justman out.”

  The screen went dark. Kirk stared at it for a moment before he got up and met Spock and McCoy.

  The doctor took a look at his face and said, “What is it, Jim?”

  Kirk told him. When he was finished, he said, “Mr. Spock, we need to call a meeting of the department heads immediately and we need to begin liberty for the [47] crew. We will not have much time before we get under way again.”

  As Admiral Justman broke the connection he stood up and walked to the window that dominated two walls of his office. James Kirk was a good officer, a good man. There were just twelve men like him in the service—twelve captains of starships.

  Those twelve men and those twelve ships had accomplished much in the twenty-five years of the starship program. Even if Justman failed in his mission to prevent the coming war, they would do what they had to in the coming months. They would each do their share—and more, Justman had no doubt.

  Justman hoped that would somehow be enough.

  The view from his office was of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. It was spectacular, but Admiral Justman did not see it. He was light-years away and twenty-five years in the past.

  Lieutenant Robert Justman checked the weapons console in front of him. Phasers were online and photon torpedoes were armed and ready to fire. Shields were one hundred percent.

  “All systems ready, sir,” he said.

  Captain Rodriguez said, “Acknowledged. Mr. Okuda, time to Donatu system?”

  The science officer checked his computer and said, “Four minutes, sir.”

  The captain and the bridge crew waited. Justman checked and rechecked his data. The answer was the same with each repetition.

  [48] Time crawled by on the bridge.

  Finally, Lieutenant Commander Okuda announced, “Approaching system now, sir.”

  “Helm,” the captain said. “Take us to sublight on my mark. I want to come out of warp behind Donatu V. Let’s not announce ourselves until we are ready.”

  Justman watched the screen change and felt the subtle vibration of the deck as the ship dropped out of warp.

  “Full impulse to the Donatu V,” the captain said.

  Suddenly the blue-green planet dominated the viewscreen.

  “Sensors, Mr. Okuda?” Captain Rodriguez said.

  “I’m reading debris, and radiation in space,” Okuda said, studying his viewer. “Sir ... there was a warp-core breach here in the last few hours.”

  There was silence on the bridge as everyone absorbed that information.

  “The colony?” the captain asked.

  “No damage to the settlements that I can see,” the science officer replied.

  “I am reading multiple distress calls from the surface, as well as the Endeavor’s automated distress signal,” the communications officer said.

  “Maintain communications silence,” the captain said. “Status on the Endeavor?”

  “I’m reading something that might be the Endeavor, sir. And two other vessels. Klingon battle cruisers,” Okuda said.

  Justman tried to call up the ships on his tactical display. But the same planet that shielded the Yorkshire from the Klingon ships, made a tactical lock difficult. [49] And the background radiation was wreaking havoc with scanners.

  “Eliminate magnification and bring us in close to the planet,” the Captain ordered.

  The view returned to normal and the planet grew in the center of the screen.

  “Debris field up ahead,” science officer Okuda said.

  “Let’s see it,” the captain replied.

  The view switched to a close view of the space above the planet’s north pole. At first, the debris looked like a cloud. Then, as magnification increased, Justman was able to make out what looked like pieces of a hull. The lieutenant said a silent prayer that it was not pieces of the Endeavor.

  Finally, he saw something he recognized and his stomach dropped. It was the largest piece of debris, cigar-shaped. It was unmistakable. They were looking at the front half of the nacelle of a Starfleet warp vessel, of the Endeavor.

  No one on the bridge said a word, but Justman knew that everyone had seen the same thing and had come to the same conclusion. The ship had been wholly or partly destroyed. In all likelihood, the Yorkshire was now Donatu V’s only defense.

  “Time until the other Starfleet ships begin arriving?” Rodriguez said.

  “The first will be here in three hours, forty-seven minutes,” Okuda said. “I am also reading two more ships on long-range sensors. They are coming from Klingon space, sir.”

  “Keep scanning, Mr. Okuda. Apprise me of any changes,” the captain said.

  [50] The captain’s voice was steady. Justman knew it had more to do with Rodriguez’s personal confidence than with their chances at the moment. Nonetheless, the even tones relaxed him.

  Captain Rodriguez had gotten them out of tight spots before and won a number of impossible victories. If anyone could do that today, it was the captain.

  “Status of shield, Mr. Justman,” the captain asked.

  “Full power,” Justman said, trying to keep his own voice as steady as the captain’s.

  “We cannot let them get a foothold on the planet’s surface,” Rodriguez said. “Helm, bring us up above the North Pole. It’s time we face the Klingons.”

  The captain turned to the communications officer. “Wait until they can see us and then begin hailing the Klingon vessels,” he said.

  Justman watched the main viewscreen, which was still trained on the debris field. He saw something float into the frame, turning end over end. In the instant before the view shifted to their direction of travel, he made out what t
he new piece of debris was—a body, or most of one. The image held for less than a second, but Justman could see that the Starfleet officer had been male and was still wearing his duty uniform.

  The lieutenant could not make out the expression on the man’s face, but he could imagine it—he could imagine it very well.

  Chapter Five

  KELL SAT AT HIS DESK and paged through the Starfleet Survival Guide, the copy that had belonged to the human he had replaced. He scanned each page, but the words ran together. It didn’t matter; he had the book memorized. In any case, the activity was only a ruse in case his roommate walked in and asked him to beam over to the starbase.

  The Klingon checked the time on the computer, and saw that it was almost time for Benitez to begin liberty. With any luck, Benitez would be on his way to the transporter room already.

  Kell had barely finished the thought when Benitez walked in. The human took one look at him and said, “Come on, Flash, liberty begins in five minutes.”

  Shaking his head, the Klingon said, “I am reading.”

  Benitez looked at the book. “You’ve read that a hundred times. This is liberty, on a starbase. Haven’t you [52] heard? It might be the last time we get off the ship for a long time.”

  Then the human lowered his voice. “There is a lot of talk about what’s going on in the Federation. We can’t afford to miss this.”

  Kell decided the best approach was the truth. “I would rather stay on board.”

  Benitez looked at him seriously and said, “Hmmm.” Then he smiled and shook his head. “Not an option. You have to come with me.”

  “I refuse,” Kell said in a tone that would brook no argument ... from anyone other than Benitez.

  “Look, Flash, I heard about what happened between you and Parrish.”

  The Klingon was astonished that this might be true. What had happened and then ended between himself and Ensign Parrish was not a subject that would be of interest to warriors.