Keogh actually returned the smile. I was just thinking that, Major. But then, thats what you need me and my ship for. So, lets get to work, shall we? I looked over your proposal while we went to pick up Orta and his people, and I put together a plan of attack, as it were. We should start
Uh, Captain? Dax said in a voice that sounded like she was talking to a child, a tone Keogh rather resented. We already have a plan.
Lieutenant, youre using my staff, my equipment, my shipI think, therefore, that Ive earned the right to implement their deployment.
Captain
Why dont you two talk this out, Kira said quickly, stepping between the two of them. Im willing to bet that theres a common ground the two of you can find.
Major, Keogh said, I see no reason
Kira now stood right in front of Keogh. She was shorter than Keogh by half a head, but no less impressive for that. Captain, this is my project. Im the one who conceived it, Im the one who practically shoved it down the chamber of ministers throats. The Bajoran government has also put me in charge of the project.
Are you giving me an order, Major? Keogh had to admit that he liked this womans aggressiveness, but there were chain-of-command issues to be settled here. Kira was subordinate to Deep Space 9s commanderwhom Keogh outranked. He wanted there to be no question of who gave orders to whom on this mission.
Kiras smile grew widerand it was the smile of a predator swooping down on prey. Starfleet is a guest of Bajor, Captain. As your host, Im asking you to work with Lieutenant Dax. She helped me write the proposal, including developing all the technical aspects of it. Her presentation of those aspects is a lot of what sold this to the provisional government. Youve only known about this project for a day. I would think youd want the input of someone with more experience.
Nodding, Keogh said, An excellent point. Very well, Lieutenant, lets see what you have in mind.
Smiling much more sweetly than Kira was, Dax said, Happy to, Deco.
Keogh winced.
As Joe Shabalala led Kira to where Orta and his people had beamed down, she asked, How, exactly, do you put up with him?
Smiling, Shabalala said, I grind my teeth a great deal.
Kira laughed. Thats usually how I deal with the chamber of ministers. Its the main reason why they sent me up to DS9. Im far enough away that they can only hear me shouting when I contact them on subspace, and even then, they can always cut me off. They like She trailed off. Her eye was caught by something on the horizon. Shabalala followed her gaze.
Bajor was starting to rise.
Shabalala had seen an Earthrise from Luna oncethe sight of the huge blue ball slowly coming into view over Armstrong City had left him in openmouthed amazement for a good fifteen minutes. His wife had told him he was going to catch flies if he wasnt careful. He pointed out that there were no flies on the moon, but that sort of logic never deterred Aleta.
As glorious as that sight had been, Bajors rise was even more spectacular. Whether it was because the green-tinged planet took up more room in the moons sky than Earth did in Lunas, Shabalala couldnt sayand right now, he didnt care that much.
When I was younger, Kira said, I came up to the fifth moon with my resistance cell. Prylar Istani used to make me stop and watch every time there was a Bajor-rise. I used to think it was a waste of time, but she was a prylar, so I watched, waited for it to be over, and got back to work. After a while, though, I started to appreciate it. Once I started watching them without her, she said she was glad. Thats what were fighting for, Nerys, she used to say. Dont ever forget that.
Wise woman, Shabalala said.
Kira nodded. I havent forgotten, I can tell you that. She smiled sheepishly. Sorry, Commander.
Thats quite all right, Shabalala said. This project obviously means a lot to you.
Bajor means a lot to me, Kira said with a quiet vehemence that impressed Shabalala, and frightened him a bit. This project will help Bajor, so yeah, you could say its important. And I dont want it messed up because a Starfleet captains ego is larger than the quadrant.
Shabalala laughed. Dont worry, Major. Part of my job description is to keep Captain Keoghs ego at least planet-sized. Well get this done.
So theres Bajor.
Starting in surprise, Shabalala whirled around to see a Bajoran wearing a scarf around his head. The scarf obscured most of his face. The voice with which he had spoken so suddenly was mechanical and cold.
Orta.
The odd voice continued. Its good to see you again, Nerysthough Im surprised to see you in that uniform.
Im doing what I can to help our home, Orta. Now, so are you. And if you ask me, its about damn time.
Are you questioning my loyalty, Nerys? Despite his computerized voice, Orta managed to imbue his question with a fair amount of menace. Shabalala suddenly wished hed thought to bring a phaser.
Kira smiled sweetlya smile that scared Shabalala even more than her earlier vehemenceand looked Orta right in the eye. Though Orta was not as tall as Keogh, he was still taller than the major, but she managed to look bigger even as she gazed up at him. Im not questioning anything, Ortaexcept for what took you so long to come home.
Im here now. And Im eager to serve. So tell us what we are to do, and we shall do it. He pointed at the rising planet. For the greater glory of Bajor.
Kira pointed to a security detail about a quarter-kilometer away. Lieutenant Talltree had sent most of his staff down to aid in the preparations. Shabalala also noticed some Bajoran Militia security amongst them, no doubt lent by Deep Space 9.
Good, Kira said. You can start by helping those Starfleet people set up the processors. The ground needs to be properly prepared before the Odyssey can start the operation. Itll go faster if you help them out.
Orta stared down at Kira, then looked over at the security people. Two years ago, Cardassians trembled at my name. Now Im preparing ground for farming. Some would call that tragic.
Really? Shabalala said. Id call it progress.
Im sure you would, Commander. Id think that you have never had to fight for your very survival.
Unbidden, images from the final mission of the Fearless entered Shabalalas head. He banished them quickly. Youd think incorrectly. Its true that Ive never had to live in caves, or wonder where my next meal was coming from. Ive never been physically tortured or mutilated. But dont think Ive never had to fight, and dont think I dont know what it means to fight for something. The question for you is, were you fighting for Bajor or against the Cardassians? If it was the former, then now youve got a chance to make that fight mean something.
Orta stared at Shabalala for several seconds before turning and heading toward the security detail without another word.
Nicely put, Kira said, giving her fellow first officer an appreciative look.
Shrugging, Shabalala said, I simply said what I believedas you did, Major. We shall see soon enough if it actually meant anything. What was that? he added, hearing some shouting in the distance.
What was what? Kira asked.
Closing his eyes, Shabalala listened closer. Then he sighed. Captain Keogh is yelling at Lieutenant Dax. If youll excuse me, Major, Ill leave you to make sure Orta and his people prepare the ground. I need to go save my captain.
Good luck, Kira said with a chuckle.
For Shabalalas part, he winced at his own phrasing. Save my captain indeed, he thought. You arent exactly overburdened with a good track record in that regard, are you, Joe?
As he got closer, the shouting coalesced from Keogh-sounding noise to coherent words from the captains mouth and then we can fire away.
Thats ridiculous! Daxs voice was not quite as loud as Keoghs, but she, too, had raised her voice.
No, Lieutenant, whats ridiculous is wasting the time it will take to prepare the ground.
Shabalala put on his best smile and asked, Is something wrong?
Nothing is wrong, Commander Keogh started.
Except, Dax interrupted, that your captain
s not thinking things through. Keogh was about to say something else, but Dax overlaid him. With all due respect, sir, she said with no respect in her tone whatsoever, theres too much risk in what youre proposing.
It will take time to prepare the ground and modify the phasers to the right heat and magnitude and get the irrigation system up and running before were ready to begin, Keogh said. While thats going on, we can have the housing entirely constructeditll shave a good twelve hours off the start time.
Except, Dax said, that the housing then comes under the risk of being hit by a stray phaser blast. Orbital blasting isnt exactly what youd call an exact science.
We can protect the houses with force fields.
Or we can protect them by not building them at all until after theres weapons fire nearby.
My ship is capable of precision firing, Lieutenant, Keogh said tartly.
Shabalala sighed. This was typical Keogh once he got an idea into his head, you couldnt get it out with a phaser rifle. Even though Dax was obviously right, Keogh would not easily give in on this point.
Captain, Shabalala said before Dax could say another word, our timetable is such that we dont need to rush this. Yes, wed save twelve hoursbut that would be twelve hours wed spend sitting on our hands. We cant go to New Bajor for another three days in any case, as the supplies wont be at DS9 until then. Why take the chanceadmittedly, a small one, but still a chancethat something will go wrong with the phasering?
Keogh glanced at his first officer. I suppose youre right, Commander, but I still feel like were wasting time.
With that, he turned and walked away.
Dax looked at Shabalala and said, Thank you. Is he always thisthis
Single-minded? Shabalala asked with a smile.
Chuckling, Dax said, I was going to say arrogant, but that works, too. She turned toward the small mess area that had been set up a few meters away. Join me for a cup of raktajino?
Gladly, Shabalala said, following the intriguing lieutenant toward the circular array of benches and tables, in the center of which sat a replicator. About a dozen blue-and gold-shirted individuals sat at assorted benchesmostly noncommissioned engineers and science personnel who were taking a break from either irrigation or ground-preparation duty. Shabalala was proud to realize that he knew the names of each of themand after being on board this ship with its complement of a thousand only for three months. In any case, with the captain its mostly a matter of managing him. He is a good CO.
Dax snorted. Never thought Id hear that about Deco Keogh. They arrived at the replicator. Two raktajinos.
Shabalala smiled as the two Klingon coffees materialized. Dax had just given him a handy opening. All right, Lieutenant, I have to askwhy do you keep calling him that? It had, in fact, been the real reason why he agreed to join her in the raktajino.
Because thats what he asked me to call him. Daxs smile was very small and very mischievious lookingin fact, to Shabalalas amusement, she looked exactly like his eleven-year-old daughter when she did something she wasnt supposed to do. She handed him his mug, and they both sat down at an empty table. He was a brash young lieutenant when I met himand I was a cranky old male ambassador named Curzon who didnt suffer brash young officers gladly.
That cant be all there is to it?
The smile widened. No. She took a sip of raktajino. Shabalala did likewise, and was instantly reminded why he mostly avoided this particular drink. Gamely, he swallowed the bitter liquid anyhow.
So whats the rest of it? Shabalala asked, realizing that Dax wasnt about to volunteer it.
There was this woman.
Unable to help himself, Shabalala laughed. Why is it that every embarrassing story about a human male in his youth starts with the phrase, There was this woman?
Not sure, Dax said thoughtfully, but youre right, it is a universal constant. In any event, I was on the Lexington for a diplomatic assignmentthey were hosting a conference with the Antedeans. Young Lieutenant Keogh was chief of security, so he and I interacted quite a bit, since the Antedeans are prickly.
I thought they hated travelling through space.
Nodding, Dax said, They do. But as long as we didnt hit the warp drive, we were fine. Anyway, remember this was two-and-a-half decades ago. So your esteemed captain lookedwell, a bit different.
Different how?
Full head of lustrous brown hair down to his middle back, which he kept tied back in a ponytail.
Shabalala blinked. He suddenly wished hed ordered a Saurian brandya real oneinstead of raktajino. Captain Keogh? In a ponytail?
Dax nodded. And you know, looking back, he wasnt at all bad looking. Not really my type, but I can see why several women on the ship vied for his attention.
Grinning, Shabalala said, Really?
Oh yes. Now the opening reception was supposed to happen on the rec deck. The night before the Antedeans were supposed to beam on board, I went down there to make sure all the preparations and such were in order.
Unfortunately, and here Daxs smile grew deeper without growing wider somehow, somebody was using the room, and had forgotten to engage the privacy seal.
Shuddering, Shabalala said, Captain Keogh?
OlDeco himself, with a female crewmate in a very compromising position.
Now I really wish this was a Saurian brandy, Shabalala thought with a plaintive look at his beverage. I believe, Lieutenant, that that mental image will haunt me until my dying day.
How do you think I feel? Im stuck with that image for dozens of lifetimes.
He raised his mug. My sympathies.
You did ask, Commander.
Yes. Yes, I did. He drained the bitter brew, hoping it would wash the taste of the image in his head out. At that, it failed rather spectacularly. He shook his head. Its funny, these days, he wouldnt be out of place on a Vulcan ship. I wonder what happened to change him.
He got olderit happens to all of us. Well, most of us. Some of us get to do it all over again.
Lucky you. Shabalala rose. If youll excuse me, Im going to go wash my mind out with soap. Thank you for the drink.
Daxs face never lost that little smile of hers. Youre welcome.
Chapter Ten
W E RE READY TO BEGIN on your signal, Captain.
From the command center that they had set up ten kilometers from the farm site, Keogh said, Thank you, Mr. Talltree, to the image of his security chief on the small viewscreen. Stand by.
The command center included a large portable science console from which they could monitor the phasering of the future farmland. Keogh turned to look at Dax. Are we ready, Lieutenant?
The science officer frowned as she peered down at the readings she was getting. Give me a minute, she said distractedly.
The past eighteen hours had been a nightmare for Keogh. The new Dax managed to be even more irritating than the old one, and her arrogance had to be seen to be believed. She simply had to do things her way. Pulling rank was a lost cause, as she seemed to be much more the centuries-old Trill than the twenty-nine-year-old Starfleet lieutenant she appeared.
Just because she knew me when I was young and foolish is no reason
He cut the thought off as unworthy of him.
She was a talented scientist, he gave her that much at least. But how Sisko put up with her on a daily basis was beyond him.
The operation itself was, Keogh had to admit, rather elegant. The moon was, basically, a big rock made up of solidified lava and extinct volcanoes. Talltree had modified the phasers to vary temperatures so that it would pulverize the surface layer of scoria and pumice into component minerals. Phase one would have the mineral grains heat and cool, expand and contractthe functional equivalent of several decades of seasonal weathering without having to actually wait several decades. The scoria and pumice would turn into fine-grained dust, which would then be inundated with water from the irrigation system. After that, phase two would consist of more phasering to simulate more decades of seasonal weathering, resulting in a
mixture of clay, sand, and mineral grains. After that, phase three would be the simple mixing of organic matterpresently in an Odyssey cargo bay, fresh from Bajorwith the transformed lava via the transporter and, as Dax had said, Presto-change-o- poof! We have arable land.
Kira and Shabalala were on the runabout, monitoring the operation from there. It was one of the few recommendations Keogh had made that Kira and Dax had actually listened to. The likelihood of something going wrong on either the moon or on the Odyssey was minimal, but it was worth having the Rio Grande in reserve, both as a monitoring station, and as an armed vessel.
Okay, were ready, Dax said. I thought there was an anomalous reading, but it was just a higher concentration of minerals. Nothing to worry about.
If you say so, Keogh muttered. Then he turned to the viewer. He was about to instruct Talltree to prepare to fire, but the security chiefs image had been replaced by the standby screen. What the hell?
Then Gonzalezs round face appeared. Captain, we have a bit of a problem. Theres a civilian ship entering orbit, and her captain wants to speak to you.
Were a little busy down here, Commander. Tell her
Ive already told her, sir. She insists on speaking to the person in charge.
Dax smiled. I say, sic Major Kira on her.
Very funny.
Sir, shes threatening to fire on us and the Rio Grande. Its crazyshe couldnt put a dent in our shields, and even the runabout would probably give her a run for her moneybut it would be a nuisance.
Firing on a lesser vessel is hardly a nuisance, Lieutenant, Keogh snapped.
Of course, sir, Im sorry, its just
Never mind. Lets just get this over with so we can move on. Put the captain on the viewer down here.
Switching.
Gonzalezs face was replaced by the most amazing sight Declan Keogh had seen since he first met his now-ex-wife twenty years ago.
Im Aidulac, captain of the Sun , the woman said with a bright smile that seemed to light up the viewer. I have this problem that Im sure you could easily solve.
Of course, Captain, Keogh said happily. Anything you want.
STAR TREK - The Brave and the Bold Book One Page 13