Day of Honor - Treaty's Law

by Dean Wesley Smith

  "Good," Kirk said. He could feel the relief easing muscles in his back and shoulders.

  "Do you have any idea, Mr. Spock, as to j ust who we're fighting ?"

  "I do not, Captain," Spock said. "Or any indication as to motive. This situation is very illogical and puzzling. "

  "And very deadly," Kirk said, thinking about Ensign Chop. "I assume you are still hailing them without success."

  "That is correct, Captain. "

  "Well, keep an eye on them. I want to know the moment any ships are headed this way that you and the Farragut can't stop. "

  "Understood, Captain," Spock said.

  "And, Mr. Spock, you mentioned something about the Klingons sending more help. "

  "Two battle cruisers will arrive in twelve hours and seven minutes. There is no Federation ship within twenty-six hours of our location."

  "Twelve hours, huh?" Kirk said. "Who knows how many more alien ships might arrive in that time. "

  "I have no way of estimating that, sir," Spock said,

  "since we know nothing of their origin. "

  "I understand, Mr. Spock. Kirk out. "

  Kirk looked around the burned-out Klingon colony in the fading light of the evening. The colony had withstood almost thirty hours of siege. It might not survive another twelve. But then again, itj ust might. If the aliens didn't change their tactics.

  "But if they change…" Kirk said aloud to himself.

  "Ifwho changes, Captain?" Sulu said.

  Kirk glanced at his officer. "Just talking to myself, Mr. Sulu." Then he frowned. Sometimes thinking aloud was good. "Do you think the aliens will change their attack pattern the next time?"

  Sulu shrugged, glancing at the horizon where one of the two suns was just touching the top edge of the mountains . "I would have thought they would change before now. And continuing an attack with wide-focus plasma beams makes no sense at all. "

  "Ah, but it does," Kirk said, finally grabbing on to what was bothering him. "It does if this enemy is interested only in clearing and sterilizing the land. "

  "I'm not following you, sir," Sulu said.

  Kirk pointed out at the burnt fields. "In the first attacks they were clearing crops and Klingons. Didn't matter which was in the way of their beams. But you and that disrupter cannon there gave them a wake-up call. Sort of like being in a garden pulling weeds and one of the weeds suddenly pulls back. Things will change now. "

  "That sounds likely, sir," Sulu said. "But if they do change, we need to figure out what they are going to do."

  Kirk looked over the colony domes at the expanse of blackened, burned-out fields . Then he realized what would happen. They had been using a scorched earth policy. It was classic military strategy. So classic that all pre-warp cultures had used it at one time or another. "Classic military strategy," he muttered.

  That was it. That was the key.

  "Sir?" Sulu asked.

  "Military strategy, Mr. Sulu. They'll change from a cleanup operation to a military operation. After you soften up the targets with air attacks, what comes next?"

  "Ground assault," Sulu said. He quickly looked around, trying to guess where the assault would come from.

  Beside him Kirk did the same thing. A ground assault was coming, most likely at sunrise. Kirk knew it. He could feel it. He would have bet his life on it.

  Now the big questions: how to prepare? And what, exactly, should they prepare for?

  Chapter Thirteen

  SCOTTY SAT at his console. His hair was mussed and his uniform was covered with dirt, equipment casings, and small metal bits that he hadn't had time to identify. His sleeve was still ripped, even though the wound was healed. In all the confusion, he hadn't had time to change his shirt.

  He was Performing several difficult mathematical equations with one hand while monitoring the computer with the other. It bothered him that the alien ships could affect the shields so quickly. They were doing something-something that he hadn't been able to pinpoint.

  Several of his staff were working on the shield problem. Others were maintaining the weaponry, and the rest were keeping an eye on the matter-antimatter container, making certain everything was running normally. These aliens were difficult in ways the Klingons were not: At least Scotty knew what to expect from Klingons. He didn't even know what these creatures looked like.

  Then Uhura's voice echoed through engineering. "Mr. Scott, I have a communication from the engineer of the Farragut. Will you take it?"

  "Aye, lass." He positioned himself in front of his small video screen. It flickered on. Projeff seemed to be sitting in the equivalent location aboard the Farragut. His dark hair was tousled, and his warm eyes had deep shadows beneath him. He looked like a man who'd been working for days with no sleep-and he probably had.

  "I got a question for you," Projeff said.

  "All right," Scotty said.

  "Remember that experiment we were doing on Starbase Eleven?"

  "I'm not likely to forget it, lad. We still haven't settled all of the technical issues. But we don't have time to play such games at the moment. "

  Projeff ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not interested in games. It's j ust that the alien ships seem to have a knack for destroying the effectiveness of our shields and-"

  "Ya noticed that too, have ya? I'm doin' some calculations on it now."

  "I was thinking perhaps we could work together on this. "

  "Laddie, you and I canna work well together," Scotty said with a grin. "We're only effective in competition with each other."

  Projeff grinned. "That's really what I had in mind," he said.

  "All right," Scotty said. "Let's hear what you've got. "

  "You first, " Projeff said.

  Then they both laughed with the pleasure of working with another mind so similar. They were considered the best engineers in the fleet, and were known to work miracles.

  They would share, and they both knew it. And together they would come up with something.

  "Here's what I have," Scotty said. "Their weapons seem to be doin' something to the shields that we're not protected against. "

  "Something new," Projeff said.

  Scotty looked at the small screen image with fondness. "You're a young one, laddie," he said. "'Tis something old. "

  "Old?" Projeff said.

  "Aye. Look into your computer files. We used to have weaponry similar to this. Our new shields were designed with the new technology in mind, not the old technology. "

  Projeff grew excited as memory clearly kicked in. "Because the designers figured the shields would be adequate enough to handle older weapons."

  "And they believed that these starships could conquer any ship with older weaponry. "

  "They didn't expect the older weaponry to be mixed up with alien technology, " Projeff said.

  "Right, lad. " Scotty smiled. "Now we're gettin' somewhere. "

  Projeff grinned. "So it's a race then, a race to see which of us can modify the shields properly."

  Scotty got suddenly serious. "I don't think a race is quite the right term, lad. I think we need to share information when we have it. We're in a serious conflict here-"

  "I know that," Projeff said. "But that can't stop us from seeing who makes the right adjustment first."

  "Ah, that's decided aforehand," Scotty said. "It'll be the Enterprise. It always is."

  Then he signed off, smiling, despite the seriousness of the operation. As he had said earlier, they did better when they were competing with each other. He liked defending the honor of the Enterprise. But both engineers knew they were working together. The competition just helped them work faster, harder, and more effectively.

  And he knew, deep down inside, that they needed all the help they could get.

  Rathbone eased herself up onto one elbow and looked around at the interior of the dirt bunker. The light coming from the open ends of the bunker was getting dimmer, and for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, she felt chilled. G
oose bumps covered the red, burned skin on her arms.

  Dr. McCoy crouched over Kor, running a medical scanner slowly over him. After a moment McCoy sighed, sat back in the dirt, and flipped the tricorder closed, looking very upset and confused.

  Kahaq, Kor's officer, glared at McCoy through the dark. "Will he live?"

  McCoy sighed again, then said, "I don't really know. His broken ribs are healing fine . But Klingon burns and dehydration are not really my specialty, as I've said a half dozen times during this hellish day. "

  "He will live," Kahaq said, answering his own question with the answer he obviously wanted.

  McCoy j ust shook his head in disgust at his own powerlessness and didn't move.

  Rathbone was impressed at the loyalty Kor received from Kahaq. Kirk on the Enterprise also got that "ignore facts, follow Kirk" loyalty from his crew. And after seeing the captain in action here, she was starting to see why. And feel the same way. At this moment she trusted him totally with her life.

  McCoy glanced over at her. Through the faint light she could see him smile.

  "Feeling better?" he asked.

  She nodded. "Much. "

  In reality she was. She had distant memories ofthe last attack, Ensign Chop's body, the intense heat, the Klingon mother dying and McCoy and Kerdoch leading her back here. But the memories felt like they had happened to someone else, as if she'd watched them on a monitor while sitting in her room.

  "Good," McCoy said. He scooted over beside her on his hands and knees and pulled out his medical scanner again. After a moment he snapped it closed, smiling. "Better, but you need to keep pouring down the water. "

  "All right, Doctor."

  "I've got to get out of this rathole," McCoy said, patting her shoulder and moving toward the open end of the bunker. "You up for a walk?"

  "Yes." She followed him out and straightened up carefully, letting the cool evening air fill her lungs and calm her slightly spinning head. After a moment she followed McCoy up onto the concrete platform holding the shelter and the disrupter cannon. Kirk and Sulu were digging through the remains of a colony dome about thirty paces away. There was no one else in sight.

  Beside her, McCoy took a long, deep breath. She did the same thing, looking out beyond the colony into the blackened fields. And then her gaze moved beyond the remains of the Klingon crops to the natural vegetation. The aliens had been careful not to destroy anything that was native to the planet. And something about that fact nagged at her.

  "Are you all right?" McCoy asked, touching her elbow.

  "I'm feeling better, Doctor," she said, then realized that he sensed her distraction. "I'm just wondering why the aliens are focusing only on the Klingon crops without touching the planet's native vegetation. That seems like such a precise attack. They must be doing that for a reason. "

  "I've been wondering the same thing. " Kirk said.

  Kirk's voice startled her, and she spun around. Kirk and Sulu had returned to the edge of the cannon platform with more fireproof panels while she'd been staring out at the fields.

  "It does seem odd," McCoy said. "They must really hate the Klingons."

  "Maybe there's more to it than that," Kirk said.

  "Nothing about this attack makes sense."

  "Not much about this planet makes sense," Sulu said.

  Kirk looked out at the blackened fields, then back to Rathbone. "Are you feeling well enough for a short mission?"

  "Put me to work," she said. And she meant it. So far it felt as if she'd been a burden to the landing party. She wanted to carry her own weight.

  "Good," Kirk said. "I want you and Mr. Sulu to make another trip into those fields, looking for anything that might give us any clues as to why they're being destroyed while the native vegetation isn't. It is just too odd an occurrence to let pass. And at this point any clues we can get might help. "

  "I agree. We'll find something, Captain," Sulu said. He moved forward and slipped on his tricorder.

  "If something's there," Vivian said with a scientist's caution.

  McCoy handed her his tricorder. "Drink some water before you go."

  "Yes, Doctor," she said, smiling. She quickly moved to the edge of the shelter, retrieved a full water bottle, and took a long drink in front of the doctor. Then she passed the bottle to Sulu, and he did the same thing.

  "Mr. Sulu," Kirk said, "I don't want you to go any farther from this shelter than a two-minute fast run. Is that understood?"

  "Yes, sir," Sulu said.

  Sulu turned and, motioning for her to follow, led her toward the edge of the burnt fields. She could feel her heart racing sllghtly again, but it felt good to be doing something to help.

  Behind her she heard Captain Kirk say, "Bones, fill me in on Kor's condition. Can he be moved?" Aherd of her, Sulu ducked past the edge of a ruined dome and moved out at a good pace. She increased her stride to keep up.

  In front of her were the burnt fields and the dry, brown natural vegetation beyond them. Again the nagging feeling that the answer was out here overwhelmed her.

  The problem was she had to find it. And do it very quickly.

  Kerdoch finished lighting the dome's emergency heater, then surveyed the rest ofthe interior. This had been Kablanti's home. Kerdoch could feel the man's presence. His essence was with this home still. Far past the age restrictions, Kablanti had managed to get on this planet simply because he had done a favor for one ofthe members ofthe High Council. As it turned out, he had been a valued member, a good fighter, and a good singer. His presence would be missed.

  Kerdoch checked the water supply. Enough. More would be needed tomorrow. Colony food supplies filled one cabinet, more than sufficient for one night.

  Kerdoch finished his inspection with a quick check for weapons or anything that might be useful to the fight. Nothing. Old Kablanti had died with his weapon in his hand, outside defending his fields during the first attack. A proud death.

  An honorable death.

  Kerdoch picked up a stein engraved with Kablanti's family crest. He held it up in a silent toast to his dead friend. Then he said, "Thank you, Kablanti, for the use of your home to shelter our commander. "

  Kerdoch placed the stein on a high shelf. The dome would welcome the commander.

  He ducked back out the emergency exit of the dome and started across the short distance to the disrupter cannon. Ahead, Kirk talked to the human doctor. In the field beyond the colony Sulu and the woman were walking away from the gun at a fast pace. Obviously they had a mission. Kerdoch had no idea what the human captain was thinking. Nothing existed in that direction except Kablanti's burnt fields and natural weeds.

  But Kirk was a crafty one. He had a very real reason, Kerdoch would wager.

  Kirk saw him coming. "Is the dome ready?" he asked. He had clipped command style that was as close to Klingon as humans seemed to get.

  "It is prepared," Kerdoch said.

  "Good," Kirk said. "We need to move Kor now while we still have light. "

  "And before the next attack," the doctor said.

  "Possibly," Kirk said. "But I doubt the next attack will come before morning. "

  "Why would you think that?" Kerdoch asked. "Their first attack was at dusk. They returned many times during the night with their evil fire. "

  Kirk looked at Kerdoch, holding his gaze. Kerdoch was amazed. This human did not back down or even look away. In the few humans that Kerdoch had met, that was not the case.

  "Because," Kirk said, "I'm betting the next attack will come on the ground. They won't risk another ship to this cannon. And the logical time for a ground attack would be at sunrise. And it will come from the same direction the planes attacked from. "

  Kerdoch stared at the captain for a moment, then said, "If you are correct, do you have a plan as to how we will stop them?"

  Kirk smiled at Kerdoch. "Not yet. " He turned and headed for the bunker. "Let's get Kor moved. "

  The human doctor laughed and whispered to Kerdoch, "Don'
t worry. He always does his best work without a plan."

  Kerdoch stood on the edge of the cannon platform and watched the two humans stride toward the end of the bunker. He had always thought of humans as enemies of the Empire. Yet they fought to defend a Klingon colony, and worked to save the life of a Klingon commander. If humans were enemies, this enemy had much honor.

  He followed the two, wondering why all Klingons were not informed of such facts.

  Kirk found it interesting that neither he nor McCoy was allowed to help carry Kor to the dome. Kerdoch and Kahaq dragged Kor out of the bunker, then picked the Commander up and supported him, as if he were actually awake and walking between them. They ended up half dragging him, half carrying him, and the toes of Kor's boots left parallel trails in the dust leading from the bunker to the dome.

  McCoy protested the unusual carry position, but not loudly. He didn't know enough about Klingon physiology to be certain that the lift would harm Kor. All he knew was that it would hurt a human in Kor's condition.

  The Klingons ignored him, and Kirk let them. They had customs that were based on things he did not understand. Often such customs had more than a symbolic significance. Often they were created with real physical reasons behind them.

  McCoy knew that too. That was probably why his protest wasn't too loud.

  McCoy paced ahead of the Klingons, and Kirk walked a few paces behind them, using his boot to smooth out the tracks Kor left. If there was a ground assault, there would be no point in leaving a direct trail from the gun to the dome for an attacker to follow. Of course, if the attackers got this far, most likely what Kirk was doing would make absolutely no difference. But he brushed out the trail anyway. It made him feel better.

  After Kor was settled on the cot near a center wall of the dome, Kirk ducked back outside and stepped up on the cannon platform. The air now had a cold bite to it, and the burns on his arms and face stung. Above him the stars were starting to appear.

  Sulu and Rathbone were faint figures in the fading light as the second sun dropped below the horizon. From what Kirk could tell, they were working along the edge of the burned Klingon crops and the remaining natural plants. He hoped they'd found something that would lend a clue to what was happening here. Anything at this point would help.