“Helm, alter course heading—” Chakotay began.
Lieutenant Lasren quickly interjected, “Captain, Rileez is hailing us.”
“On-screen.”
“Hold your fire, Captain,” Rileez said the moment his haggard face appeared before Chakotay. “I have conferred with the denzit and she has made a personal request of our fleet that we permit your vessel to assume orbit and transport your away team to safety.”
Chakotay watched in great relief as half of the main viewscreen showed the rest of the Rilnar vessels following the lead of the first two, forming a corridor through which Voyager could pass on her way to orbit.
A new and terrifying thought struck the captain. This could be a trap. Even at high impulse, there would be several minutes ahead when should the Rilnar choose, they could destroy Voyager.
“Did the denzit happen to mention what changed her mind?” Chakotay asked as congenially as possible.
“The denzit does not make a habit of explaining her orders, Captain. Although she is not technically part of our chain of command, we tend to defer to her wishes when they directly affect her engagements on Sormana. In this case, she indicated that she is about to destroy the location where your team is trapped. I can only assume that for her own reasons, she does not want their blood on her hands.”
“Thank you, Rileez,” Chakotay said sincerely. “Please pass along my thanks to the denzit. I’m not sure the Zahl are going to be quite as accommodating,” he added.
“You let us worry about them, Captain,” Rileez replied.
“Understood. This will be over in a few minutes. We’ll signal you when our transports are complete.”
“Very good. End transmission,” Rileez said.
“Helm, best possible speed to assume orbit,” Chakotay ordered. “Aubrey, stand by to execute attack pattern delta four. Transporter room, signal the away team. Lasren, drop our shields as soon as the transporter room has a lock on the away team’s signal.”
Brisk acknowledgments followed these orders. His part done, Chakotay sat back, wondering if he had just caught an incredibly lucky break or fallen for one of the oldest tricks in the book.
Time would tell.
SORMANA
As Tuvok made his way toward the building’s lower levels, he checked his tricorder as often as possible. He was watching for two things: confirmation that the shields surrounding the island had fallen and the safe evacuation of Lieutenant Kim and Seven.
He already knew where he was heading. Not far from the area where the chroniton torpedoes were stored was another large room where many of the building’s power lines terminated. This was likely the command center of the entire citadel, and Tuvok hoped that it was also the secondary control station for the island’s shields. Tuvok understood the Zahl’s choice to place the shield generators and primary controls on the building’s roof. Once they were operational, the island became invisible to most sensors. The only real threat was posed by a loss of control within the citadel, and if the attitude of the guards Tuvok had already encountered was any indication, no one had ever believed that to be a likely scenario.
Any critical system must have back-up generators and operational controls. If the Zahl had failed to institute this most basic of all tactical requirements, there was little Tuvok would be able to do to prevent catastrophe. Assuming they had, there was still time.
The chaos gripping the citadel was Tuvok’s ally. He moved purposefully through the halls and stairways, keeping his head down. None of the few Zahl who ran past him, bothered to look up, let alone stop him.
He would blame himself should Voyager or the away team come to harm as a result of his choice to release the Rilnar prisoners to ease his escape. The denzit could not be blamed for targeting the island. It had been a calculated risk on the admiral’s part to advise the denzit of her intention to send an away team to the surface at all. That she could not grasp the complementary nature of her goals and the away team’s was also not her fault. The Prime Directive had tied everyone’s hands.
The tension created by his fears for those he served with was difficult to subdue. When Tuvok considered how likely his own imminent death had become by his choice to infiltrate the Zahl command center, there was no fear.
Tuvok had faced death in the course of his career many times. Until this day, he had never welcomed it.
Had there been time, Tuvok might have paused to study this odd sensation more deeply. As it was, he increased his pace when he turned the corner and saw a row of six armed Zahl soldiers standing between him and the entrance to his target.
“Identify yourself,” a rough voice demanded from the end of the hall.
Tuvok halted immediately and raised his hands in the universal signal of defenselessness. “I am Commander Tuvok of the Federation Starship Titan,” he said, raising his voice and speaking slowly and clearly, as he might have to one of his children when they were very young. “I have come to speak with your commanding officer. It is imperative that you bring me to him or her. There is only one way to prevent this island’s destruction. Assist me,” Tuvok finished, giving his last words the unmistakable tone of an order.
A massive concussive blast shuddered through the floor and walls. The harsh orange lighting flickered briefly before resolving at a dimmer setting. A programmed ping from his tricorder indicated that the shields were failing. The next several minutes would determine the fate of every living being on and anywhere near Sormana.
VOYAGER
The Rilnar vessels kept their word. Voyager cleared their gauntlet and assumed orbit without incident.
“Lasren, report,” Chakotay ordered once the image on the main viewscreen showed Sormana’s browns and blues veiled by thick gray wisps of clouds.
“I’ve located the beacon,” Lasren replied. “I’m reading three combadges, but only two life-forms: Kim’s and Seven’s.”
Chakotay forced his concerns for Tuvok into the back of his mind. “Coordinate with the transporter room and get them out,” he ordered.
“There’s an energy field surrounding their location with intermittent intensity readings. Twelve surface vessels are bombing the field.”
“That would be the Rilnar,” Paris noted.
“Can you estimate how long the field will hold?” Chakotay asked.
“Not long,” Lasren reported, “but if the field strength falls low enough, we might be able to retrieve them.”
Chakotay waited. Seconds felt like hours.
“Lieutenant Kim and Seven are safely aboard,” Lasren said. A collective sigh of relief washed through the bridge.
“Bring them to the bridge right away, site-to-site transport authorized. Scan for Tuvok’s bio-signs. Conn, let me know when you have our escape route,” Chakotay ordered as the air before his chair began to shimmer, resolving within seconds into the forms of Kim and Seven.
Chakotay rose immediately. “Where’s Tuvok?”
Kim opened his hand and offered Tuvok’s combadge to his captain. “He stayed behind.”
This report didn’t surprise the captain. Tuvok’s demeanor since they had first met on Titan had been off. Chakotay had wondered, along with Kathryn, how much sympathy the denzit’s predicament might have aroused in Tuvok. But part of him refused to accept the possibility that Tuvok could betray Voyager.
“We located the Zahl’s temporal transporters,” Kim continued. “They’re also storing enough chroniton torpedoes down there to destroy the entire planet and then some. I think Tuvok is going to try and reach the denzit from the surface and get her to call off her attack.”
“Are the shields already down?” Chakotay asked.
“They’re fluctuating. She’s getting some assistance from a large group of recently freed Rilnar prisoners who were in the process of destroying the shield generator when we were transported out,” Seven advised him.
“Helm, belay my last order,” Chakotay said. “Lasren, get me Rileez.”
“Aye, sir.”
/> Lasren shifted the image on the main viewscreen from the planet to the field of battle behind the ship. The Rilnar vessels were no longer in formation. A dozen Zahl ships had entered the fray and both sides were now engaged in a fierce firefight.
“Unable to raise the Golant,” Lasren reported. “She’s been destroyed.”
“Open a channel to all Rilnar vessels. I just need to talk to one of them,” Chakotay said, conscious of the stress in his voice.
“No response, sir,” Lasren said.
“Damn it,” Chakotay murmured. “Begin searching all frequencies for the Rilnar’s surface communications signals. If Tuvok doesn’t make it, someone needs to explain to the denzit that she’s about to kill us all.”
“Do those surface vessels have shields?” Paris asked.
“Nothing like ours,” Lasren replied.
“Could you get a stable transporter signal through them?” Chakotay demanded, realizing what his first officer was thinking.
“Yes, sir.”
“Is the denzit on board one of them?”
Lasren paused briefly, running the necessary scans. Finally he confirmed, “She is, Captain.”
“I’ll go,” Paris said. “I can make her listen.”
Chakotay shook his head. “No. The bridge is yours, Commander Paris. As soon as I’ve gone, take Voyager out of orbit on the far side of the planet. Do not under any circumstances get in the middle of the Rilnar and Zahl. Lasren, forward the coordinates of the denzit’s ship to the transporter room.”
Chakotay left the bridge.
22
VESTA
Admiral Janeway considered Agent Dayne’s latest revelation as dispassionately as possible. For the thousandth time, she thanked her lucky stars for Counselor Rori Austen. Had Janeway been forced to meet this moment without the benefit of the wisdom she had gained from their counseling sessions, the crushing weight of the imminent devastation Dayne had described might have paralyzed her. Instead, her first thought was not, What have I done? It was, How do I fix this?
Dayne had already squandered her trust, sympathy, and respect. Every move he made was part of a calculation. Even if the Krenim were not engaged in the alteration of time on a scale as vast as Annorax, Janeway firmly believed that this rotten apple had not fallen very far at all from that tree.
“Should I assume that the destruction of Sormana does not trouble you or the rest of the Krenim?” Janeway asked.
Dayne shrugged. “It’s always unfortunate to witness a loss of this magnitude, but all of our agents among the Rilnar and Zahl were recalled several days ago. The Krenim won’t be the ones to suffer from your latest misstep.”
“You intended for this to happen,” Farkas said, coming to her feet and moving to stand beside Cambridge. “You alone of all the species in this sector have the ability to look forward in time. You might not be able to read the future exactly, but your calculations permit you to determine outcomes within some degree of probability.”
“That’s true.”
“So whatever is about to happen will likely cripple the Rilnar and Zahl colonial fleets as well as destroying Sormana,” Cambridge said.
“And Voyager,” Dayne added.
“It sounds to me like the Krenim Temporal Defense Agency is dedicated to preserving the events of the prime timeline so long as those events are advantageous to the Krenim,” Janeway said.
“Is your Federation really so different?”
Janeway sighed. It was probably too much to ask that the Krenim should have developed any real understanding of Federation values, despite how much time they must have spent studying her representative in the Delta Quadrant. Turning to her officers, she asked, “Why tell us about it?”
Both considered the question.
“It’s not as if he has the upper hand here,” Farkas said. “He’s on our ship. Vesta could destroy his with one shot. Maybe he’s concerned about getting back to his people in one piece and thinks this will distract us. But given his track record, I’m not sure I believe what he’s telling us about this threat.”
“Either way, he’s leaving us no choice but to return to Sormana immediately to confirm his story, which we could do in minutes using our slipstream drive,” Cambridge noted.
“If we go back to Sormana now, we’re taking him with us,” Farkas said. “I’d hate for him to miss the resolution of all this, wouldn’t you, especially if that includes our destruction upon arrival?”
Janeway turned back to Dayne and squared her shoulders. “Your move, Agent Dayne.”
In response, Dayne lifted his left hand with the palm facing up and with the forefinger of his right, tapped a small device embedded in his wrist.
“Bridge to Captain Farkas.”
“Go ahead, Commander Roach.”
“Six Krenim vessels have just arrived. They dropped out of warp a few thousand kilometers from our present position. Their shields are raised and their weapons are charged. We’re surrounded, Captain.”
“Thank you, Malcolm. Stand by,” Farkas ordered, closing the channel.
“I’m not going with you, Admiral,” Dayne said. “As soon as your shields are brought down, I’ll be transported to safety before your ship is destroyed.”
“I guess we’re done talking,” Janeway said with a shrug. “Whatever I did to your people it clearly wasn’t the restoration of a timeline in which the Krenim are masters of a vast Imperium enjoying peace and prosperity. Once you learned I was the one who beat you, the Krenim captured a woman you thought was me. You tortured her. You warped her loyalties. You turned her into your pawn. And now, she is about to die. Again. I guess all that’s left is to make me suffer as you believe I made the Krenim suffer.”
“I wasn’t lying about the debt of gratitude we owe you, Admiral,” Dayne said. “We’ve run millions of calculations based upon your recovered logs. By the time you destroyed Annorax’s ship, the alterations he had made to the timeline were so massive, the number of counter-indications to our future survival were staggering. But it has taken a long time and a few extremely precise incursions to create the reality we now enjoy.
“You and the denzit are the only individuals we can isolate as potentially capable of reversing our work. We cannot allow that.”
“He almost sounds sorry, doesn’t he?” Cambridge mused.
Farkas lifted her hand to her combadge. “Farkas to the bridge. Red alert. Bring the slipstream drive online and plot a return course to Sormana. All shields to maximum, arm all phasers and torpedoes. Advise sickbay to stand by to receive heavy casualties. We’re going to have to fight our way out of here. Commander Roach, await my order to open fire.”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Is this really what you want, Dayne?” Janeway asked. “You know us well enough by now to understand that we don’t go quietly. We won’t be the only ones to take casualties in this engagement. We’ve been here before, the Krenim and I. We fought this war once to the last man and against all odds, this chaotic variable took you down. You really want to try your luck again?”
Dayne blinked.
“Tell me,” Janeway said, “what do you want? What can I offer you in exchange for taking a step back? Despite our tortured history, I don’t have any vested interest in harming your people. We’re here to learn from and to better understand those with whom we share this galaxy. If all you really need is to see me die, maybe you’re about to get your wish. But maybe not. Tell me that there is another solution. Tell me the Krenim haven’t mastered space and time and concluded that the best way to secure their future is by learning nothing from their past.”
Dayne blinked again. “Why are you still alive?”
Janeway smiled faintly. There it is.
“The odds against the denzit’s survival were too low to bother calculating. But even still, medical miracles happen from time to time. Your survival is impossible.”
“That’s the true nature of a chaotic variable, isn’t it? You can’t predict us because yo
u lack sufficient data about our capabilities. Some of them you misunderstand because you ascribe malice to our motives that does not exist. The rest is simply a lack of information. For all your advances, you haven’t traveled as far as the Federation has. You haven’t seen the things we’ve seen. You haven’t learned what we’ve learned. No wonder we scare the hell out of you.
“I’m willing to end your ignorance, but at a price. Order your ships to retreat and agree to help me prevent Sormana’s destruction.”
“Tell me,” Dayne said. “If the intelligence you provide is helpful, I will consider your request.”
“No. Stand down. Help me. Then you get your answers.”
“This is the problem with all those lies, Agent Dayne,” Cambridge said. “Now we have trust issues.”
Dayne inhaled deeply and released his breath slowly.
“You would have to accompany me to the Truon, Admiral. You would have to come alone.”
“Not a chance,” Farkas insisted as Cambridge laughed aloud at the suggestion.
“Very well. One other officer may accompany you.”
“Where your ship goes, mine will follow,” Farkas said.
“Where we are going, you cannot follow,” Dayne said.
SORMANA
Rough hands pushed Tuvok through the doorway to the citadel’s central command room. The end of a rifle pressed firmly into the small of his back.
“Servitor Silbrit,” the rifle’s owner shouted.
The room was filled beyond capacity. Those not busy at the dozen terminals and control panels the room held were standing along the walls, studying a large screen at the far end that tracked the aerial assault now in progress. The air was stale and thick with sweat.
“Silence,” one of the officers at the center of the stations closest to the screen shouted. Another loud blast shook the room, dropping a mist of fine silt from the roof.
Star Trek: Voyager: A Pocket Full of Lies Page 29
