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

Page 10

by Kevin Ryan


  “Approaching landing site,” Brantley said.

  Kirk turned around and took his seat. “Thank you, Mr. Brantley. I will take it from here.”

  A few minutes later, the Klingon could see the tops of trees—the first sign of the surface he had seen since they entered the atmosphere. The ship slowed and Kell felt the main engines disengage and the antigravity system take over.

  Kirk quickly piloted them to a soft landing. Kell could now see trees and hills in the distance. From what he could tell, they had put down in a forest.

  Kirk and Brantley stood up and the security team followed suit. Suddenly, the unspoken agreement to keep silent was broken. Predictably, it was Benitez who broke it.

  “What do you think, Flash, piece of cake?” the human said, smiling and holding up his phaser rifle.

  “If that,” Kell said, returning the smile.

  Kell also made a point of catching Leslie’s eyes. He did not know what would happen when they went outside, and he wanted to leave her with something. When she looked his way, he smiled, and was surprised to see her return the gesture.

  Then Kirk opened the door and stepped outside. The security team filed out behind him.

  In the open air, the Klingon saw they were indeed in a forest, a thick one. In fact, Kirk had somehow guided the shuttle under a canopy of green trees, effectively hiding it from the air.

  Kirk turned to the security team and said, “This way,” then led them to the Orion installation.

  [117] They had not gotten two meters before the ground started to tremble beneath Kell’s feet. The trembling soon turned to a shaking of the ground.

  “Stay near the shuttle,” Kirk said. He headed back himself.

  Before the squad had taken position, the ground was shaking violently. Kell was only able to keep his feet by holding on to the shuttle, which was also pitching.

  A nearly deafening roar filled the air, accompanying the shaking.

  The siege lasted perhaps two minutes, then quickly dissipated.

  The squad stood up straight and looked to the captain.

  “It’s the mining,” Parrish said, studying her tricorder.

  Kirk nodded, “I think we have detected a significant threat to the indigenous population.”

  Chapter Eleven

  AT THE END OF his duty shift on the bridge, Karel went immediately to the port disrupter room. The relief weapons officer lay dead on the floor, a bloody wound showing through his uniform.

  Command Koloth was leaning over a console when Karel walked in, but turned to look him over carefully.

  “The malfunction has been repaired,” Koloth said with disgust in his voice. Then the commander walked up to Karel.

  “I had to relieve him,” he said, pointing to the dead Klingon on the floor. “Seems he was bad for efficiency.” Then Koloth looked straight into Karel’s eyes. “Are you bad for efficiency, Senior Weapons Officer Karel?”

  Karel understood the real question that Koloth was asking. Would you sabotage your own weapons room? Or more specifically, Do you have any honor?

  [119] His response came out as a snarl. “I serve the Empire with my blood and with my honor.”

  After he finished speaking, Karel realized that Koloth’s question was a fair one, given the events of the day. Yet, the commander seemed satisfied with his response and backed off slightly.

  “I see you also serve Captain Klak,” Koloth said. “Can you do both?”

  It was another good question, one for which Karel had no answer. It was also bold on Koloth’s part. Like all parts of the ship, the disrupter room was under constant surveillance. Klak would want complete loyalty from his officers, particularly his bridge crew.

  Then Karel understood that Koloth knew this and did not care. He had no doubt been loyal to Captain Kran, who now lay dead on the bridge, betrayed by his personal guard and murdered by Klak.

  If one of Kran’s guards was already loyal to Klak, Karel wondered why the Klingon had wanted him on the bridge. Up until now, he had thought it was to get him out of the disrupter room so the relief officer could perform whatever form of sabotage was required to give Klak a pretense by which to challenge Kran.

  Now Karel wondered if there was another reason. Had Klak wanted him on the bridge to deal with Koloth, if the officer tried to help his captain?

  Had Koloth surprised Klak by heading immediately to the disruptor room? Was Koloth meant to die at Karel’s hand on the bridge with Kran?

  But Koloth was still alive, and the relief officer who had performed the sabotage was dead. The matter between Klak and Koloth was far from settled.

  [120] “I am finished here,” Koloth said. Then he leaned in close to Karel and said, “The warrior who seeks favor over victory will usually find neither.”

  They were the words of Kahless the Unforgettable and the sound of them shamed Karel after his role in Klak’s murder—for it was a murder.

  Then Koloth was gone and Karel watched as the warriors on the evening duty cycle began their maintenance.

  Karel headed back to his quarters. He had much to consider. The matter between Klak and Koloth still needed to be settled. Karel’s blood told him that he would soon have to choose between his commanding officer and his captain.

  The group moved as quickly as they could through the dense forest.

  “Sir,” Parrish said. “I have something.”

  She immediately had Kirk’s attention. “It’s a group of humanoids, moving that way,” she said, pointing. “There is also some heavy equipment in the area. Might be Orion.”

  “Come on,” Kirk said leading the way.

  The landing party headed out at a run, dodging trees as they moved.

  Kirk was in the lead and the Klingon realized once again that he could take a shot now and end his mission. Once again, he dismissed the thought. He would not shoot the human in the back. The time for Kirk’s death would come soon enough.

  The last time the Enterprise’s security forces took on the Orions they had lost more people than were on this [121] current mission. And this time they were facing a larger, more fortified installation.

  Kell realized that the Orions might well do his work for him, but dismissed the thought as unworthy of a Klingon warrior. He would do his own killing.

  And he would do it soon.

  For now, he was content to follow the captain. Perhaps he could settle some debts with the Orions as a last honorable act.

  Kell noticed they were heading up a rise that became gradually steeper. He watched as Kirk came to a sudden stop at the top of the rise. The others did the same.

  Kell and Benitez came to a stop together, looking down into a ravine. It was thirty to forty meters down and fairly steep, with another similar slope opposite their position. There must have once been a river or large stream cutting through here, he realized.

  It would have been a long time ago, however, because now the ground was dry and full of trees. And at the bottom of the ravine a single humanoid was running for his life.

  Kell watched the humanoid zigzag; then he saw an energy bolt crash into the ground a few meters from the figure, creating a crater about two meters across. Tracing back about forty meters, the Klingon saw the source of the blast. He recognized it instantly. It was an Orion flying weapons platform, skimming two to three meters off the ground.

  The device was oval in shape, a little more than two meters in width. An armored console rose out of the front and carried the cannon that was now spewing deadly fire against a single, unarmed primitive. Kell’s [122] blood burned with anger as he watched the platform fire again, and again. The Orion was wearing an armored suit that hid his face.

  The shots missed the running person, who dodged nimbly, using trees as cover. The platform, however, had trouble navigating around the trees. Kell shook his head. The Orion was a fool to take such a heavy weapon into a forest environment.

  The Orions had done many foolish things during the System 1324 incident. Yet they had
killed fourteen better warriors before they had been defeated.

  And as clumsy as the platform was in the forest, it still was a powerful weapon. And Kell knew that a powerful weapon in the hands of a fool could still do a lot of damage.

  At the moment, however, the Orion was succeeding in damaging only trees and ground. A blast hit one tree squarely, obliterating its trunk and sending it crashing down.

  The falling tree almost accomplished what the energy cannon could not. The humanoid figure barely leapt out of the way of the falling trunk.

  The shield of the platform flared often as it made constant contact with low-hanging branches of the nearby trees.

  Nevertheless, the Orion was closing the distance between the platform and the running figure. Kell saw that it was just a matter of time.

  Chief Brantley spoke the Klingon’s next thought aloud.

  “Captain, request permission to intercede,” he said.

  Kirk who was studying the scene carefully, raised one hand and said, “Not yet.”

  [123] “Sir, the Prime Directive does not—”

  “It’s not the Prime Directive, Mr. Brantley. There’s something else going on here,” Kirk said.

  Then Kell saw the Orion shield shimmer for a moment, and he realized that the Orion must have turned it off, because it stopped flaring against nearby branches.

  The move made sense, because the Orion was able to increase his speed and close more of the distance between himself and the runner.

  Then the rocks began to fly.

  To Kell, they seemed to come from nowhere. At least six good-sized rocks sailed through the air. All of them made contact with either the weapons platform or the armored figure driving it. The Orion was battered by three of the projectiles but kept his hands on the controls.

  Then the Klingon saw where the rocks had come from. On his side of the ravine, the Klingon could see three figures about midway down and several meters over. They had been invisible before. But now they had revealed themselves and were pitching rock after rock at the Orion.

  On the other side, the Klingon saw that there were three more figures doing the same.

  Now the running person was almost directly below the landing party’s position. He was also in the open, since the trees gave way to a clearing there.

  The figure did something that surprised Kell. He turned and faced the Orion platform, standing still and seeming to dare the Orion to get him.

  The Orion seemed determined to do just that. He barreled on ahead. And though he was no longer navigating through trees, he now had to contend with hurled rocks. They struck the platform and the pilot’s armored suit [124] regularly as it lurched toward its prey. The whole scene took on a pattern that seemed almost familiar to the Klingon.

  It almost looked like the pincer formation Klingons used to hunt targs. The primitive who had been chased was at the apex, while the others weakened or distracted the Orion.

  And while the Orion pilot’s armored suit was protecting him from serious harm, the rocks had the effect of making his aim go wide. Yet the Orion tried to remain focused and kept up a barrage of fire from his cannon.

  Another shot came dangerously close to the primitive who was his target. Yet the humanoid stood perfectly still, again seeming to dare the Orion to come closer.

  The Orion complied. He was no more than ten meters from his target, trying to get a lock on the humanoid.

  That target removed something from his belt. He moved with a calm deliberateness that spoke of great confidence, determination, and a complete fearlessness.

  The Klingon thought it would be a shame to watch this person die.

  Then his companions let loose with a new volley of rocks, making the pilot reel from the blows. The Klingon realized something important. The Orion had never turned his shield back on. He had been completely focused on his prey and that prey’s challenge.

  The Orion got off his closest shot yet. It struck barely two meters from the humanoid, who ignored the dirt that the blast threw at him.

  He seemed to be waiting for his moment. He lifted his left hand quickly and the barrage of rocks stopped. Then his right hand was a blur of motion. Kell caught a very [125] quick glimpse of what looked like a small axe. Then the weapon went flying through the air, end over end.

  It caught the Orion right below the helmet and above armored chest plating. Reflexively, the pilot reached for the axe, which seemed embedded fairly deeply into the suit and into the Orion within it. The Orion began to flail and Kell realized that the humanoid had struck it a killing blow.

  One hand got a firm grip on the handle, but the disoriented Orion stumbled back and then pitched off the side of the platform. It was two meters to the ground. The pilot hit hard and was still. Kell was certain that the Orion was dead.

  Incredible, the Klingon thought. Seven primitives hunted and bested the same type of Orion platform that had taken so many of his comrades on the last mission. And those fallen humans had not lacked either in courage or in resourcefulness.

  The humanoid rushed to the Orion, presumably to confirm that he was dead.

  “Sir,” Kell heard Parrish call out. “Sir, I’m reading two more of those.”

  Kirk was instantly alert, scanning the ravine with his eyes. Kell did the same. This time he saw the first platform before it began to fire.

  The first blast scattered the group of primitives.

  Kirk didn’t hesitate. “Let’s move. Engage and neutralize the weapons.”

  “Prime Directive, sir?” Brantley said. Kell could hear the smile in the chief’s voice.

  “Try to keep a low profile,” Kirk said.

  Then the captain headed down the ravine at a run, his [126] phaser rifle out and ready to fire. Kell gripped his own rifle firmly and followed.

  Justman looked again at the airlock on the Endeavor’s main hull. Once again, he could see frightened human faces inside. Those officers must have known what was coming; yet they were not panicked.

  Even as he recoiled inside from the brutality of the Klingon captain’s ploy, he had to admit that it was effective. The Klingon had released twenty unprotected humans into space, forcing the Yorkshire to drop its shields to try to recover them.

  The Klingons had fired, but the Yorkshire had been able to lock on to six of the survivors and get the shields back on before the Klingon weapons found their mark. Even now, Justman’s readouts told him that the shields were almost back to one hundred percent.

  Now, the Klingons were about to send twenty more humans into space. Justman looked at the captain. He also saw through the ploy.

  Trying to recover the humans would be foolish. It was what the Klingons expected. It was also the only course Captain Rodriguez would take.

  That was what made him the Captain, and in that moment Lieutenant Commander Justman felt a deep pride. The captain would not abandon who he was because of the Klingons, or of any danger.

  Could even the fierce Klingon warriors say that? Justman felt the captain’s resolve and confidence radiate from the man. He decided that the Klingons were fools for betting against Captain Rodriguez.

  “Airlock opened,” Science Officer Okuda said. [127] Justman was sure that he was hearing the captain’s confidence speaking through the science officer’s calm voice.

  The captain ordered evasive maneuvers, and then Justman heard the order he knew was coming.

  “Drop shields,” Rodriguez said. “Fire phasers.” Then he heard, “I want transporters, now!”

  Justman’s hands moved more quickly than he would have thought capable and he was certain that it was the captain’s force of will that was guiding them. As he watched the shield indicator lights go off, he felt the deck lurch under his feet.

  Ignoring the shuddering of the ship, he targeted the lead ship, choosing the weakest point he could find in their shields—right above the starboard nacelle. The red beams found their mark, but before his mind registered the hit, he was firing at another weak spot on the
long neck of the cruiser.

  Another blast, then another.

  Then the warning light told him the Klingons had achieved a weapons lock, despite their helmsman’s aggressive maneuvers.

  Before he could announce it, the captain was shouting for him to raise shields. His hands complied with the order before it was complete. Yet, even so, he saw it was going to be close.

  Then his readout told him both Klingon ships were firing disrupters.

  It was going to be very close.

  Before the shields were fully up, he felt the ship rock violently under his feet. Three of the four Klingon disrupter blasts hit the Yorkshire directly on the primary hull.

  [128] The shields had been perhaps at thirty percent at the time of the hit. They had provided some protection but not enough.

  Justman received his first indication of the damage nearly immediately, when the panel in front of him exploded in a flash of sparks. Reflexively, he pulled his hands away.

  It took a moment for his vision to clear after the blast. When it did, he saw the captain leaning over Science Officer Okuda’s console, listening to damage reports.

  “Are you okay, Mr. Justman?” the captain asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Justman said, trying to keep his voice even. Then he was surveying the damage to his weapons console.

  “Report,” the captain said.

  “The phaser control circuits are fried,” he said. “The phaser room responds that the system checks out okay, but the bridge relay circuits are out. Shields and torpedoes are still online. I’ve got shields up to sixty percent now, sir.”

  Okuda and the communications officer were giving their reports as well. Damage was relatively light.

  “Sickbay has twelve survivors, sir,” the com officer announced.

  Justman did not have to look up to see the captain’s smile. He felt it rising on his own face.

  “Shield power is down on lead Klingon cruiser,” Okuda announced. “Significantly.”

  “Hail them,” Rodriguez said.

  “No response,” the reply came.

 

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