by Dayton Ward
Because you’re an idiot, you idiot.
“What the hell are you looking at?” he called to the spectators, some of whom wore expressions of undisguised disapproval, while others seemed to look upon him with pity. “You never seen a drunk making bad decisions before?”
The next of those, Quinn decided, would be where to find his next drink.
6
Tapping his fingers on the polished surface of his desk, Heihachiro Nogura studied the image of the Omari-Ekon on his office’s main viewscreen. The Orion ship, moored at one of Starbase 47’s lower docking ports, appeared as innocuous as any of the other vessels that made use of the station’s facilities. Nogura knew better. To him, the ship represented nothing less than a tumor requiring excision. Left unchecked, how badly would the vessel and those who worked and played aboard it infect his station and crew?
My, aren’t we melodramatic in the morning.
Stifling an urge to yawn—itself a consequence of having been roused from slumber that was already too short and prone to interruption—Nogura reached for the steaming cup of green tea sitting on his desk. As he cradled the cup near his chest and allowed it to warm his hands, he savored its aroma. Its effects were soothing, helping to alleviate the foul mood that had hovered over him since he was awakened. If only solving all of the other problems he faced could be accomplished with such ease.
Turning his attention from the viewscreen to the cadre of officers he had assembled at far too early an hour, he took a first, tentative sip of his tea before asking, “So, what’s the story?”
Lieutenant Haniff Jackson, Starbase 47’s brawny chief of security, was the first to answer, “At approximately 2240 hours last night, one of our informants observed an altercation between Diego Reyes and one of the Omari-Ekon’s Orion employees.” Standing near the viewscreen, Jackson consulted the data slate he carried, which appeared small and fragile in his large hands. “My informant doesn’t know what caused the fight, only that it took place shortly after Reyes met with Tim Pennington near the bar in the Omari-Ekon’s central gaming hall. By his account, the Orion seemed to be acting in a belligerent manner toward Mister Reyes, before attempting to restrain him from leaving the bar.”
“Restrain him?” Nogura repeated, frowning.
Despite his composed bearing, Jackson smiled. “That was his word, Admiral, but based on his report, I don’t know if I’d go that far. Apparently, Reyes and the Orion exchanged words, and when Reyes tried to leave, the Orion grabbed him by the arm. Mister Reyes promptly demonstrated the risks that come with such foolhardy action.”
“That sounds like Reyes,” said Lieutenant Commander Holly Moyer, Starbase 47’s ranking representative of Starfleet’s Judge Advocate General Corps, from where she sat in one of the two chairs positioned before Nogura’s desk. Recently promoted to her current rank, Moyer at present was standing in as the station’s interim JAG liaison until Starfleet decided what to do about replacing Captain Desai, who had departed the station following Nogura’s granting her a transfer to an Earth-based posting. While he had been reluctant to approve her request, it had become evident from Desai’s conduct and attitude that she harbored no small measure of disapproval of Operation Vanguard’s classified nature as well as decisions and actions which had come about as a consequence of maintaining that secrecy. Following Desai’s departure, Starfleet had promised a proper replacement for her at the earliest opportunity, and until then Moyer was shouldering a formidable load. So far as Nogura could tell, the commander was adapting to her new responsibilities with aplomb.
“I take it he’s okay?” Nogura asked, blowing on his tea to cool it.
Sitting next to Moyer, the station’s intelligence officer, Commander Serrosel ch’Nayla, nodded. “Yes, Admiral. Mister Reyes was not further challenged after the incident, and our informants say that, so far, neither Ganz nor any of his people seem interested in pursuing the matter.” The Andorian chan shifted in his seat as he cleared his throat. “However, it’s worth noting that the Orion who initiated the exchange, Lekkar, seems to have gone missing.”
Moyer’s expression was one of concern. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
From where she stood behind ch’Nayla and to the left of Jackson, Lieutenant T’Prynn replied, “It would not be out of the question for Ganz or his employer, Neera, to sanction the removal of an employee who posed potential security risks.” The Vulcan woman’s hands were clasped behind her back, her expression passive even as her right eyebrow arched. “It is a proven method of Ganz’s when dealing with persons he finds threatening or otherwise undesirable.”
Turning in her seat, Moyer said, “A simple ‘yes’ would’ve sufficed. So, we believe Ganz or Neera ordered this Lekkar killed. Do we know why?”
“No,” Nogura said, “nor do I particularly care. What I do care about is whether Ganz, or Neera, or whoever, might decide that a better long-term alternative to killing their own people is simply getting rid of Reyes. We need to get him out of there.”
“So that we can arrest him again?” Moyer asked.
Nogura eyed her with annoyance. “That’s what is usually done with those who’ve divulged Starfleet secrets, and consorted with the enemy to place Starfleet or Federation personnel and property at risk.”
“With all due respect, Admiral,” Moyer countered, “we don’t know the whole story. Diego Reyes is a lot of things, but a traitor? I find that hard to believe.”
Holding up a hand, Nogura shook his head. “I’d like nothing more than to share your doubts, Commander, but at the very least, there are questions to be answered. If nothing else, Reyes is still a convicted criminal, with a prison sentence waiting in the wings if and when all of this insanity finally shakes out. Even if it’s decided that he still has to be sent to that penal colony on Earth, it’s a better fate than anything Ganz has planned for him.”
“That goes without saying,” Jackson said.
T’Prynn said, “I also do not believe Mister Reyes to be acting in a treasonous manner. I spoke with Tim Pennington following his excursion aboard the Omari-Ekon, during which he met with Reyes. Mister Pennington told me that Reyes’s actions, particularly his dealings with the Klingons, were guided by the desire to minimize any unnecessary casualties to station personnel.”
“He requested sanctuary aboard that Orion ship,” Nogura countered. “He gave the Klingons everything they needed to launch a mission of espionage and sabotage against us.”
Nodding, the Vulcan replied, “Indeed he did, sir, but as he told Mister Pennington, the Klingons were going to conduct such an operation with or without his assistance. According to him, Reyes only provided information essential to allowing the Klingon-contracted operative the access he needed to carry out his mission with a minimum of collateral damage.”
Though he started to retort, Nogura stopped himself and instead considered what he had just heard. Was it possible that Diego Reyes, faced with the possibility of watching helplessly as any number of the personnel he once commanded suffered injury or death at Klingon hands, had chosen the lesser evil, sacrificing any hope for his own freedom and perhaps even his life? Of course, the admiral conceded, but Starfleet and he were a long way from making such a determination. Doing so would require access to Reyes himself.
As though reading Nogura’s mind, Jackson asked, “Does this mean we can think about staging an operation to go in and get him?”
Ch’Nayla turned to regard the security chief, his antennae shifting atop his head. “That would not be prudent.”
“It also wouldn’t be legal,” Moyer added. “Admiral, we’ve been over this. Any attempt to extradite Diego by force would be tantamount to an act of war against the Orions.”
Nogura could not help a snort of derision. “Given everything I know about the Orions, they’ll bend over backwards to avoid an all-out confrontation with the Federation. They’re just as liable to view any ‘disagreements’ we have with Neera and Ganz as the cost of doing business,
and cut their losses.” In his experience, such decisions were the norm more often than not for the Orion central government, such as it was. The small, independent state relied heavily on trade with Federation as well as nonaligned worlds, and to a lesser degree with the Klingons, the Tholians, and other upstart adversaries of the major interstellar powers. Nogura was confident that any incident involving a lowly merchant gaming ship—which may or may not be involved in any manner of illicit activities—would suffer only brief, superficial scrutiny before being forgotten in the interests of preserving the façade of peaceful relations with the Federation.
“That may be true, sir,” Moyer replied, nodding, “but you’d still be taking a big risk. Going by the book, a court-martial wouldn’t be out of the question.”
Releasing a small chuckle, Nogura said, “Commander, you don’t get to my position and standing in Starfleet without ruffling several sets of feathers along the way. I’ve been threatened with court-martial no less than a dozen times during my career. So far, there have been no takers.” Of course, the duties with which he currently was charged, and the secrets he was responsible for keeping, far outweighed anything he had overseen during his years of service. “Still, your advice and warnings are sound. We will continue to tread carefully.” For how long, Nogura was not certain.
“Admiral,” ch’Nayla said, “there may be another avenue available to us.” He then turned and gestured toward T’Prynn.
The Vulcan stepped closer. “While Mister Pennington’s original intentions for visiting the Omari-Ekon were legitimate, in that he hoped to meet with Mister Reyes, I co-opted his excursion to the vessel for another purpose. I asked him to relay a specific phrase that was agreed upon by Mister Reyes and myself as a means of determining whether he was agreeable to undertake certain actions on our behalf. Based on his response, he has indicated his willingness to do so.”
“You mean spy?” Moyer said, making no effort to hide her disbelief. “For you?”
Nodding, ch’Nayla said, “T’Prynn enlisted Mister Penning-ton’s assistance with my authorization, Commander. It seemed an idea worth exploring, and Mister Reyes’s consent does afford us a singular opportunity.”
“How in the hell did you get a message to him in the first place?” Jackson asked. “I mean, before his meeting with Pennington.”
T’Prynn said, “I exploited a vulnerability in their subspace communications system in order to contact Reyes via the communications panel in his quarters aboard the Omari-Ekon.”
“They let him have access to the comm system?” Nogura asked.
“It was deactivated and a lockout had been placed on it,” T’Prynn replied. “However, that is not an obstacle to someone trained in the circumventing of such measures. I was able to forge an access code long enough for me to have a brief conversation with Mister Reyes. We used this opportunity to set up a means of initiating covert information exchange through the use of gobetweens to be identified at a later time. Our entire conversation lasted less than two minutes.”
Nogura pondered what he was hearing, before allowing himself a small smile. “There seems to be no end to your talents, Lieutenant.” He had at first been reluctant to grant Commander ch’Nayla’s request to retain T’Prynn’s services and give her an active role in the Andorian officer’s ongoing intelligence efforts. Despite his initial misgivings, there was no discounting T’Prynn’s skills, and her knowledge of the key players not only on the station but also on vessels like the Omari-Ekon made her a valuable asset. Regulations had required Nogura to mete out punishment and demote her for her disobedience and flouting of Starfleet regulations and protocols. He naturally wondered—if only for a moment—if T’Prynn might cast aside the logic and maturity expected from a Vulcan of her years and seek retribution for her conviction, either against him directly or against the station and its crew. Her own actions, even while acting as a fugitive from Starfleet authority, along with his own instincts, told the admiral that her engaging in any sort of traitorous behavior was an unlikely scenario. By all accounts, official and otherwise, Lieutenant T’Prynn had presented herself as someone for whom the past had been put to rest, and that she was ready to get on with whatever duties she might be assigned. For now, and while operating under ch’Nayla’s watchful eye, Nogura was willing to let things play out. “I’m sensing this contact method of yours was of the single-use variety?” he asked.
“That’s correct, Admiral,” T’Prynn replied. “I was unable to mask my entry into the system. Instead, I made the illicit communication appear as though it was initiated by one of Ganz’s lower-level enforcers to a discreet contact off the ship. According to unconfirmed reports, that person is no longer in Ganz’s employ.”
Frowning, Moyer asked, “Are you saying you set up one of Ganz’s men to take the fall for your espionage?”
“I’m saying I deflected attention from Mister Reyes,” T’Prynn replied, “thereby preserving his safety for at least a while longer. How long the status quo is maintained will depend entirely on his actions as well as our own.”
Though she clearly was uncomfortable with the harsh yet unspoken reality of the likely consequences of T’Prynn’s subterfuge, Moyer’s only other reaction to the Vulcan’s revelation was to draw a deep breath before asking, “What is it that he’s supposed to be doing?”
“We need to know where Ganz obtained the Mirdonyae Artifact he gave us,” ch’Nayla said. “The only way to get that information is to access the Omari-Ekon’s navigational logs.”
A silence fell over the room, during which Nogura leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands before him and touching his forefingers to his lips. “Interesting,” he said after a moment. As incredible as it had been to discover that Diego Reyes had somehow parlayed his way to sanctuary aboard the Orion’s ship, learning that Ganz also had in his possession a twin to the enigmatic object Ming Xiong had brought back with him from Mirdonyae V was something else altogether. While there appeared to be no evidence that the merchant prince had the slightest notion of the artifact’s origin or purpose, or how it fit into the complex tapestry that was mystery of the Shedai, Ganz was no fool. Rather, Neera, Ganz’s superior, was no fool. Even without specific knowledge of the artifact itself, she comprehended its value to Starfleet and to Nogura in particular. That, along with the possibility of somehow repatriating Reyes, was the primary reason the admiral had returned the Omari-Ekon’s station docking privileges.
“You’re kidding,” Jackson said, his eyes wide. “We think Ganz might know where those things come from?”
T’Prynn replied, “That, or he can lead us to someone who does. Given what Doctor Marcus and Lieutenant Xiong and the rest of the research team have discovered about the Mirdonyae Artifacts and the power they control, particularly with respect to the Shedai, it is vital that we find the objects’ origin before anyone else.”
“Agreed,” Nogura added. The two artifacts currently were being stored in the Vault, the secret research facility hidden within the bowels of the station and dedicated to studying all aspects of the Shedai and their technology. Each of the artifacts held a Shedai trapped within its crystalline confines. Despite what had been learned about the ancient, all-powerful alien race to this point, the research team had not yet found a way to communicate with the entities contained within the objects. Further, simple guesswork and experimentation without any true understanding of the artifacts had come at an appalling cost. After learning that the team’s use of the objects in attempts to make contact with planets suspecting of harboring Shedai technology resulted in the obliteration of eleven worlds, testing on the artifacts had been suspended.
Even the Shedai themselves seemed afraid of the power the things contained, if the attack on Starbase 47 itself by a Shedai entity was any indication. That much, at least, seemed to make sense, given Lieutenant Xiong’s theory that the crystals looked to have been constructed by some race, possibly as a weapon to be used against the Shedai. The alien that had attacked
the station in an apparent quest to get at the artifacts had wreaked considerable damage, from which Xiong and the Vault team were still recovering. Though much of the exterior repairs to the station were complete, work continued in some areas of the Vault. As for the crew and civilians residing aboard the starbase, the overwhelming majority of whom were unaware of the Shedai’s true origins and power, they had resumed their normal schedules, but Nogura knew an air of apprehension remained. Would other Shedai come? There was no way to know the answer to that question, just as there was no easy solution for how the station might deal with another, perhaps larger assault. It was only through the most fortunate stroke of luck that Xiong had figured out how to employ one of the Mirdonyae Artifacts to capture the alien. Since then, it had been learned that each of the crystals was imprisoning up to a dozen of the creatures in similar fashion.
Who knew what other abilities the objects possessed, either individually or working in concert with others of their kind? It was clear they represented something of a threat to the Shedai, which made finding their source and learning more about their capabilities a matter of paramount importance. Even in their most innocuous state, the Mirdonyae Artifacts represented unparalleled power that could not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.
The main problem with that, Nogura mused with no small amount of cynicism, is that there’s no guarantee ours are the right hands.
“With all due respect to everyone in the room who outranks me,” Jackson said after a moment, “that being everyone, we need to be sure we all understand what we’re talking about here. If we get Commo … Mister Reyes to help us, and he gets caught, the Orions won’t show him anything even remotely resembling mercy.”
“He will not be caught,” T’Prynn said. “The situation we face here is far more controlled than when we sent Cervantes Quinn and the late Commander McLellan to infiltrate the Orion freighter captured by the Gorn. We will be able to anticipate and react to unforeseen complications with greater speed and resources than what Quinn and McLellan had available on their mission.”