The Face of the Unknown

by Christopher L. Bennett

  He nodded to Balok, who stood by the holographic control station in the forward port segment of the bridge, out of sight of the imager. “I’m ready. Hail them.”

  In moments, a fierce Dassik visage appeared on the viewer. All Dassik looked fierce to him, but this one projected an air of exceptional power and authority. “This is War Leader Vraq of the Dassik Expeditionary Force,” he intoned in a gravelly basso. “If you call to give us warning, do not bother. Our cause is just, and we shall not turn away. Attack us if you must, for we do not fear death. But for their own sake, pray that your underlings do not fear it either.”

  Bailey opened his mouth, preparing to meet Vraq’s bluster with his own. But he hesitated. Vraq’s words resonated with his memories of Kirk’s corbomite challenge from three years ago—words he had not been on hand to hear in person, but that Balok had laughingly replayed for him many times over the years. “Death has little meaning to us. If it has none to you, then attack us now. We grow annoyed at your foolishness.” Kirk’s words had been a ­bombastic bluff to give Balok pause. But Bailey realized that Vraq was not bluffing now. His people did not fear death in battle because they knew the death of their entire ­species loomed if they did not learn the secrets the First Federation kept hidden. No threat, genuine or feigned, could outweigh that existential fear.

  If this is poker . . . then it’s time to put the cards on the table.

  Bailey stood, moved over to Balok, and shut down the entire bridge simulation save for the viewscreen, to the ­Linnik commander’s bewilderment. Then he widened the sensor angle and moved back into view of the pickup, still aware that the whole system would be watching. “War Leader Vraq. This is . . . Ambassador David Bailey of the United Federation of Planets. I’m not going to try to scare you off, and I’m not going to fight you. I just want to talk.”

  “You would plead for your fellow Federation? Try to convince us of the folly of taking on their planetary weapon? Yes, it is formidable—yet they did not wait to deploy it until my ships were in orbit. And that tells me they had no choice but to strike sooner. Which means they are vulnerable. And their weapon’s range is limited. A comet’s range is not. If you would plead for them, then convince them to surrender.”

  “Yes—they are vulnerable,” Bailey said, drawing an angry glare from Balok. “But so are you. I know what was done to your people, Vraq. I know the danger you face. If you attack that planet, you risk destroying the knowledge that would save your people.”

  “You would have me believe they would just hand that knowledge over?”

  “I believe they might. The Linnik who transformed and imprisoned your ancestors all died twelve thousand years ago. And they hid the truth of what they’d done from their allies . . . and their descendants. Most of the people on that planet now know nothing about what was done to you. They are not your enemies. They are not warriors by nature. They could easily have vaporized your ships with that radiation burst. Instead, they just crippled them.”

  “Or perhaps they have not yet found their weapon’s range.”

  “What do you have to lose by extending a little trust?” Bailey pleaded. “You said it yourself, the weapon’s reach is limited. You have the high ground. You can afford the time to get to know the real situation before you decide. Believe me, acting rashly doesn’t usually pan out well.”

  “And what can you offer us that could possibly change our minds?”

  Bailey’s eyes went to the other person in the chamber with him. “A Linnik who knows what was done to you and wants to reveal the truth,” he said. “A Linnik who was arrested and tortured for that knowledge, but who still refused to back down, because it went against everything his civilization means to him.”

  “None of the betrayers ever had such courage.”

  “Courage is being afraid but doing what you have to do anyway. It’s facing your fear and not letting it dictate your life.” He met his friend’s eyes imploringly. “Isn’t that right, Balok?”

  The childlike captain quailed at first, but Bailey’s gaze remained steadily upon him. Taking a deep breath, Balok tugged on his robes and haltingly stepped forward into view of the sensor. “War Leader Vraq . . . I am Commander Balok of the Fesarius, in service to the First Federation. My young friend here is right. We may be a timid people by nature . . . but our way has always been to provide shelter and hope for those whose futures are in peril. The fact . . . the fact that your ancestors created that peril for so many of ours . . . well, it shouldn’t matter any longer. You are in need now, and that makes it our obligation to offer you our aid. I know where to find the records of what was done to your people . . . and I am willing to work with you to find a permanent cure.”

  Vraq peered closely at Balok, narrowing his catlike eyes, and Bailey could see what a struggle it was for the Linnik captain to withstand that predatory scrutiny without retreating for cover. “And your leaders . . . they would cooperate with you on this?”

  Balok gave a breathless laugh. “Why, of course—” He broke off at Bailey’s hand on his shoulder. The lieutenant shook his head, silently imploring his friend that the time for deception had ended. “Well . . . not all of them would. But I believe the others could be convinced . . . if you showed them you were willing to negotiate.”

  It had the virtue of being honest, which Bailey was convinced was the right way to play it. But he feared it wasn’t enough. It would take something more than words from an admitted outsider to give Vraq a reason to stand down. And Bailey was fresh out of cards to play.

  “Enterprise to Dassik fleet.” It was a new voice, with a brogue Bailey recognized. “This is Commander Montgomery Scott of the U.S.S. Enterprise to the Dassik fleet. We have scanned the two damaged ships in orbit of the planet Cherela. Both ships have sustained heavy damage to propulsion, weapons, and life support. One ship’s shielding was already badly damaged before the radiation burst struck, and our scans show that its crew’s life signs are fading. I request permission to beam a team across to provide medical assistance and life-support repairs.”

  Balok chuckled softly. “Of course,” he murmured to Bailey. “Reliably altruistic as always.”

  Another transmission came in now. “This is Force Leader Grun! I refuse to allow any Federation scum aboard a Dassik ship!”

  “Force Leader Grun,” Scott replied, “that ship’s crew will die without swift medical assistance! Many of your own crew’s life readings are fading as well!”

  “Then they will die! It is fitting payment for their incompetence in failing to destroy you!”

  “Grun!” roared Vraq, his angry visage still visible on Bailey’s screen. “You are in no position to speak of incompetence, Force Leader! Your reckless attack has threatened to destroy us all!”

  “War Leader, you cannot be considering backing down! If we grovel before our killers and beg for their charity, we will doom ourselves to death with our weakness. We must keep fighting. Our pride is at stake!”

  “Pride is nothing but the fear of looking bad,” Bailey spoke up. “Are you really prepared to let your people die because of fear?”

  “We do not fear you, Federation weakling! We have surmounted all other challenges with patience and relentless will. Now that we know where the secrets are to be found, we will seize them by force!”

  “And how many more of your people will die in the process?”

  “No matter how many glorious sacrifices we must make against this infernal weapon, we will not back down! We will conquer the betrayers, rip the secrets from their throats, and destroy them once and for all.”

  “Do you hear yourself, Grun?” Vraq demanded. “Your bloodlust blinds you. What good is it to chase your prey to the ends of the world if your family has starved by the time you return?”

  “But, War Leader—”

  “You are relieved of command, Grun! Second, you will remove Grun from the command pod and t
ake his place as Force Leader. Then you will permit the Enterprise to send medical teams aboard your ships.”

  There were sounds of a scuffle from the other ship, ending with the sound of a disruptor blast. A moment later, a new voice spoke. “War Leader, this is Second—ah, Force Leader Rhuld. It seems that Grun will require medical assistance himself.”

  “A pity,” Vraq said with no hint of sincerity. Then he turned back to Bailey and Balok. “Ambassador. Commander Balok. I am willing to talk. But it now falls upon you to convince your leaders to do the same.”

  The screen went dark, and Balok looked up nervously at the lieutenant. “Why do I get the feeling this may have been the easy part?”

  * * *

  When Kirk had arrived in the situation room with Aranow and Nisu, he had found it somewhat the worse for wear. The floor was slightly slanted, cracks had formed in the walls, and a few consoles and screens had apparently blown out. In the middle of it all, Uhura had sat at a console, fingers racing across its controls as she carried on a running discussion with several technicians around her, working with them to establish new automated protocols that would take over her efforts to maintain the Web’s balance. Still, the systems had been intact enough to pick up the broadcasts from the Fesarius, Vraq’s squadron, and the Enterprise. Now Balok and Bailey appeared on the largest intact screen, listening in as the triumvirs debated the issue before them.

  “It’s a lie, all of it,” Triumvir Tirak insisted. “The Dassik try to paint their people as victims in order to justify their own atrocities against us. They must be destroyed at once, before they can take knowledge of Cherela’s location to the rest of their people.”

  “You don’t think they’ve already sent word?” Kirk asked. “Besides, most of their ships are out of range of the radiation belts. And they’ve got two comets ready to fling at Cherela if they don’t like what they hear.”

  “Exactly why we cannot submit! If we give in to their threats, we are as good as conquered. And we can concentrate the radiation belts on the comets—burn them up before they hit.”

  “At the speed they would be traveling,” Spock pointed out, “it would not be possible to concentrate enough radiation upon them to vaporize them. At best, they could be deflected toward harmless trajectories, but nothing would prevent the Dassik from launching more comets.”

  “We have buoys. Orbships.”

  “And you don’t think a massive siege warfare campaign in this system would give away Cherela’s existence?” Kirk asked, disbelieving.

  “It would be impossible to keep the Web of Worlds concealed in any case,” Spock added. “As I have been attempting to explain, the only way to restore the long-term stability of the Web is to halt all efforts to suppress the atmospheric and magnetic responses to its presence. As long as they inhibit Cherela’s natural cycles, the buildup of further instabilities is inevitable.”

  “He’s right,” Kasan Tor said over a screen. “We need to find a new balance, one that works with Cherela’s natural flow of energies, that adapts to them instead of forcing them to adapt to us.”

  “We’re still not sure of that,” Lekur told the younger Bogosrin. “We’re convinced now we should take a closer look at your findings, but it’ll be a while before we’ve sorted this whole mess out.”

  “In any case, there’s more at stake here,” Kirk went on. “The Dassik won’t leave you alone if you continue to hide from them. They need the knowledge you have if they’re to have any chance of survival.”

  “And I say again, no such knowledge exists!” Tirak insisted. “You simply take the Dassik’s side to discredit this council and conceal your own culpability in our recent disasters.”

  “The only one who’s discredited us is you, Tirak!” Balok called from the screen. “And by your own actions!”

  “You can offer nothing to back up your accusations, Balok. I am sure of that.”

  “Only because you had your agent do her best to wipe my memory,” Balok charged, drawing shocked looks from Aranow, Lekur, and Nisu. The Fesarius captain chuckled. “Luckily, I still had a few tricks up my sleeve.”

  “I can vouch for that,” Bailey added. “Both parts.”

  Nisu stepped forward. “Commander Balok . . . are you saying you can prove this allegation? That there are, in fact, records in our own data banks confirming that the ancient Linnik transformed the Dassik in a way that now endangers their survival? And that Triumvir Tirak ordered your memory erased to conceal this fact?”

  “Indeed I am, Chief Protector,” Balok assured her. “I’d be happy to show you the sealed records.”

  Suddenly, a group of armed security troops stormed into the situation room, headed by Warden Mure. “I’m afraid I can’t allow that,” Tirak announced, stepping into the center of the room as the protectors surrounded the group.

  “Tirak!” Aranow cried, her tail twitching in agitation. “It’s true? How could you?”

  “I am defending the First Federation, Triumvir. As I have always done. As you are sworn to do.”

  “By lying? By kidnapping people and wiping their memory? By holding us hostage?”

  “You do not understand! No one can know the connection between the Linnik and the Dassik. Not the Dassik, not the First, not the humans. They would see the Linnik as a threat.”

  “So to prevent that,” Balok asked, “you would make us a threat?”

  “I would do what I must to ensure our secret is kept.” Tirak turned to his Kisaja associate. “Mure! The human female controls the weapon. Transfix her.”

  “No!” Kirk cried, reflexively moving forward as Mure locked his purple gaze on Uhura. The nearest protectors raised their guns, but next to what he had just been through on the Tessegri module, it seemed a laughably feeble threat.

  But Spock held him back. “No, Jim. We cannot risk a firefight here. The equipment is too essential to maintaining the Web’s stability—we cannot let it be damaged.”

  “But Uhura . . .”

  “I have confidence in the lieutenant’s strength of will.”

  Kirk wanted to share his first officer’s faith. He could see the defiance in Uhura’s eyes, her proud refusal to capitulate. But he knew from experience how overpowering Mure’s will could be. “Compel her to operate the radiation weapon,” Tirak ordered. “Have her direct it against every Dassik ship in range—and against the Enterprise as well. Destroy them all.”

  “No, you can’t!” Kirk roared. “Tirak!”

  “Stop this, Triumvir!” Nisu demanded. “This is unconscionable!”

  “This will save our people!” insisted Tirak.

  “It will damn your people!” Kirk countered. “Even if, by some miracle, you can stop Vraq’s squadron from retaliating, you will condemn the Linnik forever.

  “Look at yourself, Tirak. Think about why you’re doing this: because you’re ashamed of what your people did so long ago. You’re afraid no one will forgive that crime, even though it was committed in the defense of your people and so many others. How do you imagine that committing yet another atrocity will erase that shame?”

  “We kept it buried for twelve thousand years, Kirk. We can hide it again, once we get rid of you and the Dassik.”

  “Will you get rid of us too, Tirak?” Lekur Zan rumbled. “Is that part of your plan?”

  “Lekur . . . Aranow . . . we protect the First together. For so long, we have kept the Web safe and hidden. Surely you can see that this is the best way.”

  “To hide your guilt?” Aranow asked. “Your crimes? Your lies?”

  “We have always thrived by concealment!”

  “And it hasn’t worked!” Kirk cried. “It’s only been a stopgap. It hasn’t solved the underlying problems, just let them fester and grow more dangerous. The more you try to hide from consequences, the harder they hit you in the end.”

  “You know nothing of our
world, Kirk! Of our ways!”

  “I know what you have it in you to be,” Kirk urged. “From Balok, and Aranow, and Nisu. I have seen the best of the First Federation, and I know you are capable of better than this.”

  “We cannot be that if the Dassik destroy us.”

  “And I’ve seen the best in them as well,” the captain went on. “Through the example of a Dassik named Koust, whom you set up to kill me, but who proved he was capable of more than that. Who just fought alongside my people and risked his life to save all of yours.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “The fact that I’m standing here proves you’re wrong about the Dassik. They’re more than murderous savages. Tirak—they’re your family. They’re no different from you, save for a few genetic quirks.”

  “They are nothing like us! They must be destroyed! And now we have the means to do it!”

  “You do not,” Spock countered. “Using the weapon again at the present time would require diverting resources away from the stabilization of the Web. Repeated use could trigger a new cascade failure—particularly if the Web comes under cometary bombardment.”

  “And even if the Web does survive,” Kirk added, “even if you somehow manage to destroy the armada out there, all you’ll do is invite more Dassik retaliation. More endless fighting that could doom both your civilizations.”

  “The Web has endured longer than your primitive civilization has existed! It will not fall now, no matter what the alarmists find it useful to claim.” Tirak spun. “Mure! What is taking so long? Destroy the aliens!”

  “She is . . . fighting me,” the warden grated out. Indeed, Uhura was clenching her teeth and sweating heavily. Her hands trembled as Mure attempted to force her to move them on the controls. “If I . . . push harder . . . I will damage her.”