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

by Kevin Ryan

  West had never been inside the Starfleet situation room before. This location was not on the cadet tour. In fact, he had never seen so much as an image of the room.

  [195] West was surprised by how small it seemed. The table had chairs for about a dozen people, with a large computer console on one side of the rectangular table. Just past the other end of the table, a large viewscreen dominated the far wall.

  West recognized the people sitting around the table, not because he had met them before, but because there were few fleet admirals in the service and every first-year cadet knew who they were.

  Yet when he was a cadet, he had sat in judgment of them, criticized their past decisions, called them warmongers and worse. The men at this table had fought some battles, yes, but they had also made many peaceful first contacts. They had made many discoveries, and sacrifices, and had fulfilled their and Starfleet’s mission.

  Part of that mission was to protect the Federation. They had certainly done that. And now, he knew, they were the best chance for the Federation’s survival.

  West realized now that he was able to criticize them not because they had fought, but because they had won. And by winning, they had created an atmosphere of safety and security within the Federation. In that atmosphere, people believed that not only were those two things the basic right of all beings—but those rights could never be seriously challenged.

  Well, the Klingons were raised in a different atmosphere. And they were not only about to make that challenge, but they were in a position to win it

  The lieutenant had once believed that understanding would eventually eliminate war and the fear that caused it. Now, he understood the Klingons fairly well. He understood who they were, what drove them, and what [196] they were capable of. He understood and he was terrified for the future.

  There were no introductions. Admiral Justman and West simply sat, and then a young lieutenant commander sitting at the computer console started speaking.

  “A Klingon battle cruiser has entered Federation space,” the officer said. He hit a button on his console and a graphic of the border of Federation space appeared on the viewscreen.

  The lieutenant commander stood up and walked to the viewer, pointing to a red dot on the Federation side of the border.

  “They crossed here,” he said.

  There was something odd about that, but West could not put his finger on it

  Admiral Justman could, however, and spoke up immediately, “They crossed practically right on top of an automated sensor array?”

  “Fortunately, yes,” the young officer said.

  “I’m not so sure,” Justman said. “They can see our arrays from a sector away. This was no accident. They wanted us to see them.”

  “Is it the beginning of the invasion?” one of the junior admirals said.

  “With one ship?” Justman asked. “There’s something wrong here.” He studied the map for a moment.

  “System 7348,” Admiral Justman said finally. “It’s near 7348. Perhaps they are making a pickup at the Orion mine there.”

  Justman stood and looked at the head of the table, where Admiral Solow had sat. “Permission to send the Enterprise after them, sir.”

  [197] It struck West odd that Justman answered to anyone. Intellectually he knew it had to be true, but seeing it still surprised him. Of course, if you were going to answer to anyone, it might as well be a legend.

  Admiral Solow nodded his head. The word was given and the meeting was over.

  On the way out, West found himself thinking about a number of things he had been meaning to do for some time. He decided that he had put one of them off for too long. It was time to take decisive action.

  Chapter Eighteen

  KIRK’S COMMUNICATOR BEEPED. He reached for it and flipped it open.

  “Kirk here,” he said.

  “Captain, this is the Enterprise,” Spock’s voice said.

  “Mr. Spock,” Kirk said. “Your timing is impeccable.”

  “Are you in danger?” Spock asked.

  “Not at the moment, Spock. What made you come?” Kirk said.

  “We tracked the explosion of the shuttle with sensors and deduced that the Orions knew of your presence,” Spock said. “I will tell the transporter to prepare—”

  “No, Spock, we’re not finished down here,” Kirk said.

  “We have just received orders from Admiral Justman to intercept a Klingon battle cruiser that has violated Federation space in this sector,” Spock said.

  A Klingon ship in Federation space could do a lot of [199] damage, Kirk thought. And the Enterprise was the only ship in the sector.

  “Then the Enterprise will have to intercept,” Kirk said.

  “Then prepare for transport, Captain,” Spock said.

  “No, Spock. We still have a mission to complete here,” Kirk said.

  “Captain,” Spock said in his perfectly reasonable tone. “Command thinks the Klingon ship may be coming to pick up dilithium from the mine. Logically speaking, if we stop the Klingons, there will be no danger of that pickup being made.”

  “Perfectly logical, but I have my doubts about that,” Kirk said. “In any case, the mine still presents a danger to the planet and its indigenous population. Interesting people, by the way, Mr. Spock. I think that anthropology will have a field day down here.”

  “Captain, perhaps—” Spock began.

  “We’re not leaving, Mr. Spock, and you have your orders from Command,” Kirk said.

  “Very well. Can we beam down any additional personnel or resources?” Spock said.

  Kirk thought about it. No, he would not put any more crewmen at risk.

  “Not necessary. We have found some ... local resources. But we have one crewman to beam up. Ensign Sobel did not make it,” Kirk said.

  “Understood,” Spock said. “I will inform the transporter room.”

  “You are just going to leave Jim and the others down there?” McCoy said, his voice raised.

  Spock called on his Vulcan control. “Doctor, I am [200] going to follow the captain’s orders and the orders of Starfleet Command.”

  “But, Jim—” McCoy began.

  “Doctor,” Spock said, raising his own voice slightly. Unlike the doctor’s, his was not an emotional move. It was a calculated one and had the desired effect. The doctor was immediately silent. He was also looking at Spock in surprise, no doubt surmising that he had just witnessed the Vulcan equivalent of an emotional display.

  Spock noted with satisfaction that his logical action had worked.

  “Sir,” Uhura said. “The transporter room reports that Ensign Sobel is on board.”

  Spock nodded and said, “Mr. Sulu, please lay in a course for the Klingon vessel, maximum warp.”

  “Maximum warp, aye,” Sulu said.

  The helmsmen immediately broke orbit and prepared for warp. Clearly, he had laid in the course in advance. Efficient, Spock noted. And efficiency was important so the Enterprise could return as quickly as possible to System 7348.

  “Lieutenant Uhura, open a hailing frequency to the Klingon ship,” he said.

  After a few seconds, she reported, “No response, sir.”

  “Keep trying,” Spock said. The most efficient course he could conceive would be to convince the Klingon commander via subspace transmission to return to Klingon space. Then the Enterprise could immediately return to System 7348.

  Unfortunately, Spock’s study had shown him that the Klingons showed concern for efficiency only when it came to achieving their military objectives. And Spock [201] doubted that returning to the Empire without incident would serve any of the Klingon vessel’s objectives.

  “We are being hailed by the Federation Starship Enterprise,” the communications officer said.

  Karel felt his blood burn in his veins. A vessel full of Starfleet cowards was waiting for them. It was within reach. The beginning of his vengeance was within reach.

  The destruction of a single Earther ship w
ould not satisfy his warrior’s craving for his enemy’s blood, but, he reckoned it would be an excellent start.

  Turning his glance down toward Klak, he saw instantly that the Klingon’s blood did not burn. He wondered if Klak’s blood carried anything other than plots and his scheming plans for his own glory.

  “Ignore their hails,” Klak said. “Koloth, are they on an interception course?”

  “Yes,” Koloth said.

  “Excellent,” Klak said.

  For a moment, Karel hoped that Klak would give the word and commit them to the only honorable course.

  “Sensor operator,” Klak said, “How many systems are within our reach before the Earthers arrive?”

  Karel’s hopes rose again. Perhaps the battle cruiser D’k tahg would strike some real blows for the Empire.

  “Seven systems,” came the reply.

  “Describe them,” Klak said.

  As the sensor operator listed the astronomical characteristics of each system, Karel wondered what the commander was after.

  “Stop,” Klak said, and the sensor operator ceased his inane speech. “A red supergiant?”

  [202] “Yes, but the system is dead,” the sensor operator replied.

  “Perfect,” Klak said. “Full speed to the red star.”

  Karel shook his head. Suddenly he felt sure that battle was not in Klak’s plans for today. True, he had himself heard the orders from Command. They wanted the Enterprise detained.

  But certainly destruction would detain them. And no one in command would question a commander who won such a victory.

  Karel’s blood was filled with desire to challenge Klak himself. Yet, he knew he would not. As the new captain’s personal guard, he would not sacrifice honor to satisfy his own desires. He would do his duty and not raise a hand to Klak.

  Catching movement in his peripheral vision, he saw Koloth scowling at the commander. Suddenly, Karel was certain that Koloth was thinking of his own challenge.

  He had sensed Koloth’s strength and purpose before. Karel knew that the challenge would come. And he thought it would come soon.

  Karel and the rest of the landing party watched Ensign Sobel’s body as the ship’s transporter beam took it.

  There was a long moment of silence after Sobel disappeared, then the captain explained that the Enterprise had been called away to investigate a Klingon incursion into Federation space.

  For a moment, Kell wondered if the war was beginning, but then rejected the idea. It was too soon. And when it came, it would not be a single ship in Federation space, but an entire fleet.

  [203] “We still have a mission,” Kirk said. “This planet—”

  Then the ground began to shake. At first it was a slight tremor that seemed to pass. Kell noted that Parrish had her tricorder out and was studying it intensely.

  She was still studying it when she was thrown violently to the ground by a sudden and intense shaking of the ground.

  Kell’s own feet felt the ground swell for a moment, then toss him down as well. His face pressed into the dirt, Kell felt the ground shake more violently than before, much more violently even than the shaking they had experienced when they first arrived.

  Then the ground began not only to shake, but to move. Kell had seen oceans, though of course he had never swum in one. But he had seen the way the water moved and swelled.

  That was what the ground was doing under him now, except it was much more violent than the relatively placid movement of the water he had seen.

  The roar was deafening, its force pounding against his ears.

  His body was tossed from side to side, thrown up and down. He tried to search out the rest of his squad but found that the shifting ground made it impossible to focus on anything for long.

  He caught glimpses of trees falling nearby. He also saw the ground splitting and opening. Though he was keenly aware of these dangers, he also knew that he could do nothing to avoid them.

  Even though he knew the noise and violence of the ground’s movement was altering his perception of time, it seemed as if the shaking continued endlessly.

  [204] Then it began to subside. It was not a sudden, or even a quick process, but he gradually felt the ground settle as if after expending its awesome power it was tiring.

  Kell saw that Kirk was on his feet first. He quickly inspected himself for damage and rose. He saw that Parrish was unharmed, as was Benitez, and Clark and Jawer.

  “Everyone all right?” Kirk asked.

  “Yes, sir,” they replied.

  “Of course, I think my hearing loss is going to be permanent,” Benitez said to Kell.

  Then Kell saw the Klingons gathering a few meters away. They were studying the ground. Kirk rushed over and Kell and the others followed.

  Gorath and the others were on a rise, staring down at the ground beyond them. When Kell stepped up, he had to look for a moment to see what they were looking at. Then he saw. Klingon warriors, or parts of them, were sticking up through the dirt.

  Obviously, a fissure had opened, swallowed some of the Klingons, and closed again.

  Gorath did not hide his anger or his grief.

  Finally, he looked up at Captain Kirk and said, “Your people and mine. We can stop this?”

  Kell translated, and Kirk said, “Yes.”

  “What do we do?” the Klingon leader asked.

  Chapter Nineteen

  WITH A COMBINATION OF tricorder readings and reports from Gorath’s scouts, the two leaders were able to piece together a clear picture of where the Orions stood. Gorath had been watching the Orions for some time and estimated they had nearly two hundred personnel on the planet.

  Perhaps sixty of those now lay on the battlefield. That left one hundred and forty. Just over one hundred of those were already on the move, no doubt looking for the Klingons and the landing party. It seemed the Orions were determined to crush them quickly.

  “My warriors do not crush easily,” Gorath had said. “We will face and defeat them.”

  “My people can shut down the mine, but you cannot face a hundred armed Orions, even with your weapons,” Kirk said.

  [206] Kell judged the captain was right. Gorath had only eight warriors left after the last battle and the earthquake. Even Klingons—great Klingons—might be overwhelmed by the Orions’ greater numbers.

  Gorath simply smiled. “We have many brothers, Captain.” Then he made a loud whistle and suddenly nearly a hundred more Klingons appeared from the forest.

  “They are from other villages. I sent for them before the battle began,” Gorath said.

  “Looks like the cavalry is here, Flash,” Benitez said from beside him.

  Kell did not respond. Instead, he looked in wonder at the Klingons as they approached. Their leader walked up to Gorath and the two began conferring.

  The Klingons all wore mek’leths around their waists, and Kell felt like he was looking at one of the ancient armies of Qo’noS. He longed to join them, to throw off the burden of his dishonorable mission for the Empire.

  For a moment he indulged in the fantasy of doing so, but knew he could not. He had a new duty to Captain Kirk, to whom he owed his life. And he could do more for these Klingons by smashing the Orion mining operation. If he survived that he would have plenty of time to figure out if it was even possible for him to live out his life with honor and dignity.

  It was settled, Captain Kirk and Gorath shook hands again and separated, each returning to his own group. A single Klingon scout who knew the Orion installation would accompany the Starfleet officers.

  Kell realized that separating the two forces made [207] sense on a number of levels. A battle could have but one leader and both men were clearly used to command.

  Turning away from his Klingon brothers, Kell faced the captain, who looked at the assembled squad.

  “You did very well today, but we have more to do. The Orion mine still poses a great threat to this planet and every person on it. It is up to us to persuade them to abandon
this world,” Kirk said.

  “Persuade them, sir?” Chief Brantley said.

  “In the strongest possible terms. In the event that they insist on following their dangerous course, we will have to take it upon ourselves to put a stop to the operation. This will not be easy. It will no doubt be a fortified structure with at least forty Orions guarding it,” he said. He paused and gave them a grim smile. “On the other hand, after what I saw today, I would not bet on the Orions.”

  Then Kirk addressed Kell. “Mr. Anderson, I need you to stay close to me and our guest,” he said. Kell took a place between the captain and the Klingon scout as they headed in the direction of the Orion mine.

  It was only after they had taken a few steps that Kell realized he was still wearing the mek’leth he had used in the battle. A quick glance around told him that the captain was wearing his, as were Brantley and the others.

  For a moment, he had a flash of insight into what the Federation and Empire might accomplish if they could somehow find a way to join forces.

  He reached for the hilt and tested the comfortable weight of the ancient and honored weapon. Yes, he [208] thought. I would not wager much on the Orions’ chances today.

  “Mr. Spock, I have the Klingon commander,” Lieutenant Uhura announced.

  “Really,” Spock said, raising an eyebrow. They had been hailing the Klingon vessel continuously for an hour and the Klingons had chosen not to respond.

  Spock quickly calculated how long the Enterprise had until it intercepted the Klingon vessel. Eight minutes and forty-two seconds. Curious that the Klingon had waited until now to speak to them.

  Logically, there was only one way to determine the Klingon’s intentions.

  “Open channel, Lieutenant,” Spock said.

  A moment later, a Klingon face filled the main viewscreen.

  “This is Captain Klak of the Klingon Defense Force vessel D’k tahg,” the Klingon said.

  “This is Spock of the U.S.S. Enterprise. You are in violation of Federation space.”

  “You are a Vulcan,” the Klingon said, with some surprise in his voice.

  “Yes,” Spock replied. “What is the nature of your business?”