I.K.S. Gorkon Book Three

by Keith R. A. DeCandido

  Nodding, Toq said, “Have the Kreltek transfers be placed there.”

  “Yes, sir.” With that, pausing only to give Leskit an annoyed glance, Lokor rose and left the secondary bridge, heading straight for the mess hall’s exit.

  Leaning back in his chair, Leskit laughed heartily. “Oh, I like him.”

  Dryly, Rodek said, “The feeling would not appear to be mutual.”

  “That’s why I like him. He shows excellent taste in enemies.”

  Just as Toq was wondering if he was ever going to understand Leskit—and hoping that someone would be kind enough to slit his throat if he ever went that insane—the intercom speakers sounded with the voice of Lieutenant K’Nir, the second-shift duty officer. “Commander Toq to the bridge.”

  “Perhaps we’ve found something worthy of our attention,” Leskit said.

  Rodek shot the pilot a look. “Were you not the one who said you were looking forward to tedium after San-Tarah?”

  “That was six weeks ago.” Leskit grinned. “When you get to be my age, it takes the blood a little while longer to boil—but it does still boil.”

  Rising from his chair, Toq said, “I don’t intend to live to your age, Leskit. I will have died in battle long before I get to the point where it takes my blood any time to boil.”

  Holding up his bloodwine mug in salute, Leskit laughed again as Toq departed.

  Perhaps it is another planet where we may plant the flag. It would be glorious indeed if we were to find another world to add to the empire so soon after San-Tarah.

  Toq was joined at the turbolift by one of the bekks from First Squad. After a moment, Toq placed him as Beyr.

  When the lift arrived, Beyr followed Toq inside, and did not indicate a deck to be taken to. Since Beyr was from the first, Toq assumed that he was now assigned to be the first officer’s bodyguard. As usual, Lokor wastes no time.

  Upon Toq’s arrival on the bridge, Beyr moved to stand amid the aft consoles, while K’Nir, an unusually tall woman, got up from the first officer’s chair, to the right of the captain’s; only the commanding officer sat in the center seat. Toq had not given the second shift much thought until he became first officer. Since then, he’d come to appreciate her value in keeping the ship running during “off hours.” Plus, since she reported to him, he grew to appreciate her beauty, from her luminous red hair to her muscular legs. Pity that our duty shifts make it difficult to arrange an off-duty liaison.

  At K’Nir’s serious expression, however, Toq put lustful thoughts in the back of his mind. “Report.”

  “We have arrived at the star system designated Kavrot vaghmaH. There are some indications of dilithium and diamonds on one of the moons, and we have set a course for it.”

  A snarl began in Toq’s throat. “That is not why you summoned me here.” He did not phrase it as a question.

  As if appalled by the very notion, K’Nir said, “Of course not, sir. When we arrived in the system, we did a standard long-range scan. Ensign Kal has picked up a great deal of warp activity near Kavrot wej’vatlh wa’maH vagh.”

  Toq thought through the reports from the other Chancellor-class ships that were also exploring the Kavrot sector. “That sector was mapped by the Kravokh, was it not?”

  “Yes, sir. It is where they were setting course for when last they reported in.”

  “When was that?”

  K’Nir fixed Toq with a hard look. “That is why I called you to the bridge, sir. It’s been eight weeks. The last message from the Kravokh was a report—”

  “Yes, I remember,” Toq said, waving her off. He had still been second officer then, and he was the one at operations when the dispatch came in. The Kravokh had encountered an alien vessel that could detect them while cloaked and then fired on them. Captain Wirrk retaliated and destroyed the vessel, and his crew was able to translate some of the aliens’ language. Their enemy was part of some kind of multiplanet nation.

  Toq also remembered how the report ended: that the enemy’s transmissions were directed to Kavrot wej’vatlh wa’maH vagh, and the Kravokh was traveling there to investigate.

  The first thought that came to Toq’s mind was of battle. He walked over to Kal at the operations console, K’Nir on his heels, to view the long-range sensor report. “Show me the scan,” he told the ensign, who obeyed instantly.

  All the Gorkon’s sensors could determine from this distance was the presence of warp activity, but just the fact that there was enough to detect meant there had to be a lot of ships.

  “Where is the captain?” Toq asked.

  Without hesitation, K’Nir said, “On the holodeck.”

  Toq smiled. Protocol required she alert me first, but she made sure to locate the captain as well. Once again, he admired the woman’s efficiency.

  “Ensign Koxx, plot a course for Kavrot wej’vatlh wa’maH vagh. Ensign Kal, prepare a report to be sent to General Goluk, but do not send it until you receive orders from myself or Captain Klag.”

  Both ensigns gave their affirmations. Goluk had been assigned to take over Talak’s duties in the Kavrot Sector expansion. If any of the Chancellor-class ships found a planet worthy of being conquered, they would begin the process, and summon the general’s fleet, which would complete it, leaving the Chancellor ship in question to continue its exploration. Besides San-Tarah, two other planets, Brenlek and Nayyvrrra, had had the Klingon flag planted on their soil, the former by the K’mpec prior to the San-Tarah mission, the latter by the Azetbur two weeks ago.

  K’Nir looked confused. “Will you not be summoning the captain to the bridge?”

  Toq smiled. “The captain does not wish to be disturbed when he is on the holodeck. I will be in his office.”

  Without another word, Toq walked to the door located to the right of the captain’s chair. As first officer, he was permitted to use the office when the captain wasn’t on the bridge, and he needed privacy for what was to happen next.

  Although his words to K’Nir were true, the captain’s desire for privacy was not the real reason for his not having the captain summoned over the intercom. If Lokor was as efficient with the captain as he was with Toq—and that was a reasonable supposition, all things considered—then a second guard would await him at the holodeck exit. Toq had not discussed Lokor’s plan with the captain yet, and did not think it would be good to surprise him with a second guard.

  Beyr had taken up a position outside the door to the office. When the door rumbled to a close behind him, Toq was alone. As soon as that was the case, he touched a control on the captain’s small, metal desk. “Toq to Lokor.”

  “Lokor.”

  “Send the second guard you were going to assign to the captain to the holodeck.”

  “Bekk K’Varia is already there.”

  No surprise. “Have him escort the captain and Leader Morr to the bridge. Tell him the captain may confirm it with me.”

  “Of course, Commander. A wise course of action. Out.”

  Smiling, Toq turned the computer station around so that it faced him—he would use the captain’s office, but he would not presume to sit in Klag’s chair—and called up the long-range sensor readings once again.

  The Kravokh simply cannot be causing that on its own. It could be an entire fleet.

  Whoever these people were, their first encounter with the Klingon Empire was a defeat at the empire’s hands. If they were massing a fleet, it could mean battle.

  Toq smiled. I’ll get that glorious death sooner than you might think, Leskit….

  For the fifth time this week, Tenth through Fifteenth Squads checked the weapons in the Gorkon’s armory.

  Leader Wol of the fifteenth finished the last of the hand disruptors in her row. “Finished,” she said, turning to her counterpart on the fourteenth, Leader Ryjjan. “I am happy to report that these same ten disruptors are in exactly the same condition they were in a day ago.”

  Ryjjan laughed. “I’m sure that the enemies of the empire are quivering in their boots at
that.”

  Mak, the leader of the thirteenth, hissed. “Be careful what you say, fools! If the QaS DevwI’ hear you—”

  “They will agree with you,” said a jovial voice from behind Wol, which she recognized instantly as the QaS DevwI’ in charge of all six squads currently checking the armory.

  Wol turned around to see Vok’s portly form and smiling face, framed by stringy brown hair. Vok had been the one to promote her to leader upon her arrival on the Gorkon when she had expected only to be simply another of the many troops assigned to the vessel. Thus far, Wol had done all she could to justify the QaS DevwI’s faith in her.

  Vok continued: “I do not mind, Leader Mak, if you decry the duty for being tedious. After all, it is tedious. That does not make it any less necessary.” He laughed, resting his hands on his ample belly. “By all means, complain all you wish—” Then he moved to stand face-to-face with Mak. “—as long as you perform the duty in question.”

  Straightening, Mak said, “Yes, QaS DevwI’ Vok!”

  Grinning, Vok turned to Leader Hovoq of the tenth. “Report, Leader.”

  Hovoq stood up so straight that Wol feared his spine would disengage from his hips. “The inspection is complete, sir. No malfunctions have been reported, sir.”

  “Again,” Ryjjan muttered only loud enough for Wol to hear. Wol managed to contain her reaction.

  “Does this mean we can leave now?” came a voice from the narrow corridor behind Wol.

  Wol turned and looked down the corridor. The walls on either side were lined with hand disruptors, and the four troops in her squad had finished checking them over. She noticed that only the newest recruit to the fifteenth, Kagak, stood at attention. Goran might have, but his great height forced him to stand stooped in the narrow corridor. Trant and G’joth, though, simply stood awaiting their orders, both looking like they wanted to be somewhere else.

  G’joth had been the one to ask the plaintive question, which prompted Vok to walk over to Wol and ask, “Is there a problem in your squad, Leader?”

  “Not at all, sir,” Wol said without hesitation. “They are simply following your orders.”

  “How so?” Vok asked with a frown.

  “You said for the troops to complain all they wish, sir,” Wol deadpanned.

  Vok stared at her for a moment; then a belly laugh exploded from his mouth. When that happened, Ryjjan and Wol laughed as well, as did two of the other leaders. Mak and Hovoq, though, remained at attention. Wol also heard some chuckles from her own squad behind her.

  Eventually, Vok stopped laughing. “Certainly Bekk G’joth is best qualified to carry out that order, Leader. In fact, he is correct—you may leave now. Report to the holodeck at the beginning of the primary shift in the morning.”

  That got everyone’s attention. Wol hoped that meant battle drills. The tedium of maintenance and inspections was wearing on them. Vok was the first among the twenty QaS DevwI’ assigned to the Gorkon, the fifteen five-soldier squads under his command comprising the cream of the crop of the fifteen hundred troops on the Chancellor-class vessel. However, the curse of being among the elite is that they were rarely given mundane assignments such as cargo duty, or assisting in engineering, or waste extraction, or any of the other duties assigned to the troops when there was no combat.

  Instead, we polish disruptors, Wol thought bitterly, though they had been given cargo duty shortly after leaving San-Tarah. Officers were permitted a small section of the cargo bay to store personal items, and the items belonging to the ones who transferred over from the Kreltek had to be placed there by troops who had not been given that privilege.

  Were I still Eral, daughter of B’Etakk, of the House of Varnak, I too could be an officer now. That thought was even more bitter, but she dismissed it quickly. Were I still Eral, I would never have joined the Defense Force. Were I still Eral, I would have been disgraced when my family chose to back Morjod when he tried his coup against Martok.

  And were I still Eral, I would have raised my son in luxury instead of killing him on the battlefield of San-Tarah.

  Cursing to herself, she shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind. She focused instead on Vok, who was still talking. “Before we arrived at San-Tarah, Lieutenant Lokor and Commander Toq devised a holodeck program that would simulate conquering a world.” The QaS DevwI’ smiled. “It was not utilized, as the real thing arrived soon after that. However, the program is still there, and tomorrow we shall make use of it. QaS DevwI’ Klaris and I will supervise a drill during which you will conquer a small, industrial city.” He turned to Ryjjan. “Do you think the fourteenth will be ready for that, Leader Ryjjan?”

  Ryjjan grinned. “Absolutely, sir.”

  “Excellent!” Vok looked at each leader in turn. “You’re all dismissed.”

  Vok turned on his heel and departed. The other five leaders turned to look down the armory corridors that they stood at the forefront of and dismissed their squads.

  Wol, however, did not.

  The fifteenth had done well at San-Tarah, but since leaving that planet, Wol had not liked the direction the squad was taking. Her words to Vok notwithstanding, there was a problem in her squad. Both G’joth and Trant lost friends at San-Tarah, and they had become more withdrawn. Kagak was a transfer from the Kreltek, but he had kept to himself. When she first took over the fifteenth, it was as solid a unit as existed on the Gorkon. But first they lost Krevor and Davok, and then they were betrayed by Trant’s friend Maris, who was subsequently killed. While Davok was a tiresome malcontent, he was as nothing compared to Trant, who would have to improve tremendously to be as inoffensive as “tiresome.” As for G’joth, Davok’s death had put the normally jovial old soldier in a permanent bad mood.

  Not that I’ve been the happiest of my life, Wol thought. Once again, she shoved aside thoughts of her son and her long-since-destroyed honor.

  Thinking back over the past six weeks, she found that what was missing was the useless conversation. G’joth and Davok were past masters at it, and they encouraged the others. But all Trant did was whine, Goran was never much for conversation, G’joth had become withdrawn, and Kagak spoke less than Goran.

  Time to change that. Thinking back on the cargo duty she’d had six weeks ago, she had an inkling of how to do so. It involved finally making use of a piece of intelligence she’d acquired while on that duty, one that simply awaited the right moment to be utilized.

  Her nondismissal of the fifteenth had not gone unnoticed by the four who served under her.

  “Is something wrong, Leader?” Goran asked, sounding confused.

  “No,” she lied, “but you are not dismissed. Instead, you are to adjourn”—she smiled—“to the mess hall. I will meet you there in five minutes. Move!”

  The four troops exchanged confused glances, then they all moved out of the corridor and headed toward the nearest turbolift.

  For her part, Wol ran in the other direction, toward the leader of the fourteenth.

  “Ryjjan!” she cried when he was in earshot.

  The tall, lanky warrior stopped and turned to face Wol. “Yes, Leader?”

  “You are hiding four barrels of bloodwine in the cargo bay. I want one of them.”

  Ryjjan’s mouth opened, then closed. “I—how did—I haven’t—” He shook his head. “You speak madness, Leader. To do such a thing would be in violation of—”

  Rolling her eyes, Wol said, “Spare me the attempt at outrage and innocence, Ryjjan. I saw the barrels in the areas designated for the ship’s pilots.”

  The leader’s hands clenched into fists. A snarl escaped his lips. “How did you find out?”

  “I noticed that the bloodwine was from the Pelgren vintner.”

  “You know your bloodwine.” Ryjjan seemed surprised that she would be able to distinguish vintners. “There are not many of our station who do.”

  I could hardly not be familiar with the vintner once owned by the House of Varnak, she thought. “Come now, Ryjjan, you sh
ould know by now that I’m not typical of those of our station.”

  At last, Ryjjan smiled. “That is certainly the case.” The smile fell. “So once you recognized the vintner—”

  “I questioned Ensign Koxx. I assumed it was his or Leskit’s, and the ensign has expressed a fondness for me in the past.” In fact, Koxx had been drooling over her from the moment she reported on board, but she’d managed to stave off his advances. That didn’t stop her from taking advantage of his infatuation when it served her purpose.

  Ryjjan shook his head. “And he told you about our deal.”

  “He said you sent a barrel of bloodwine to each of their homes on Qo’noS in exchange for their cargo space to put your four barrels.” She smiled. “Did he lie?”

  Angrily, Ryjjan said, “No. I have connections—they were selling the older vintages cheap, because they were produced by the old owners. They were supporters of Morjod’s coup, so they were disgraced. The new owners don’t want anything to do with the back stock, and my connection was trying to unload the older barrels. And now you want one of them in exchange for what?”

  “My silence. I don’t think Vok or Lieutenant Lokor would be terribly amused by your flouting of regulations.”

  Ryjjan spit. “If anything happens to me, it will also happen to Koxx and Leskit! They’ll never—”

  At that, Wol laughed. “Do you truly imagine Lokor will care about offending the officers of this ship?”

  That brought Ryjjan up short. Anyone else might hesitate to anger his fellow officers, but not Lokor.

  Letting out a long breath, Ryjjan said, “Fine, you can have the khest’n barrel. But I suggest you finish it soon, before Lokor finds out and asks you where you got it.”

  “Thank you. I’m in your debt.”

  That got Ryjjan’s attention. Had she simply taken the deal, that would have been all, but she knew that Ryjjan was truly doing her a favor by giving her access to the wine. Especially since my threat was an empty one—Lokor knows all about the barrels, because he told me after I reported it to him. He couldn’t care less who uses the cargo space, as long as the ship is secure.