Will. Her Imzadi had always wanted a ship of his own, but he had turned down offer after offer because he was learning so much by working alongside Picard. Yet lately he had been posted to temporary commands, first the Enterprise, then the Excalibur, and most recently the Enterprise again. He was ready—she knew it and she knew Command knew it. Deep down, she knew he’d take that next offer, and then where would she go?
Their relationship ended the first time because Will put duty and desire for command ahead of love. Would he do that a second time? They were older, different people today, and she privately hoped they would remain together. But would there be a place for her on Will’s new ship? As counselor or even—dare she ponder the possibility?—first officer? Was that the track she wanted? She felt ready for new challenges, but the next step after first officer was usually captain, and starship captains were more distanced from the crew. Was that something she desired?
Too many possible paths to properly consider at this moment. Instead, she had to tuck her aspirations away and concentrate on the here and now. The councillors continued to do little more than direct relief efforts and try to find ways to assign blame. They all had their own pet concerns, and the strain of the chaos was taking its toll as they made fewer decisions and dithered more.
With a cure coming, there wasn’t any more she could do until Picard broke the news to them. Then she could help with the healing. She had remained in a static situation for too long and needed to do something.
Picard had quietly entered the room, and she hadn’t even noticed until he walked right into her line of sight. She gave him a small smile and he nodded in return. The strain was having its effect on her friend too, she realized.
“Deanna, there’s nothing more for you to do here,” he began quietly. “Instead, I’d like you to contact Lieutenant Vale and begin a more intensive hunt for Will and his father.”
Deanna’s eyes widened and she said, “You must be developing telepathy.”
He gave her a tight smile but didn’t pursue the comment.
“We know that Will has found his father and they are together. The lack of bio-signs suggests as much. You can both start at the location of his last signal and see if you can pick up a trail. It would be too much to hope that he’s still at that location.”
“It’s more likely his combadge was destroyed, which explains that brief signal,” she answered.
“I agree,” Picard said. “You’re both to be armed, and I suggest you carry an emergency medical kit. I hope he won’t need a doctor’s services.”
She checked her own mind and feelings and didn’t sense anything amiss. “Not right now, anyway.” Troi brightened a bit when she saw the look of relief in the captain’s eyes. “Where will you be?”
He sighed heavily and looked around the room. “Here. Once we know the timetable for releasing the new strain, Beverly and I will speak with the councillors. Hopefully together.”
Deanna nodded and then turned to contact Vale. Her relief at finally doing something useful was mixed with a thread of fear: what would they find when they did manage to locate Will?
He was alive, and that comforted her. But what of Kyle? And were they working together, or were they at one another’s throats?
A province where the Bader were dominant was being harassed by its Dorset neighbor. As best Vale could understand it, they were arguing over which province controlled the water rights to the river that formed the natural boundary. In the past, both used the river, but maintenance was handled by the Dorset. Suddenly, the Dorset claimed the right to charge shipping tolls, which brought about Bader protests. And right now, just about every dispute on the planet was quickly escalating into a fight, and just about every fight was becoming a riot.
Vale didn’t care. Left to her own devices, she’d anesthetize the planet worse than the liscom gas. Starfleet frowned on that approach, so she continued to direct her people the best she knew how. But she was beginning to worry about them. Even with twelve hours off between planet shifts, they were fatigued. Most were unused to missions of this scope. Hell, she wasn’t used to anything this size either, and while she appreciated the captain’s unwavering support, this was rapidly becoming a no-win scenario. No one liked the no-win scenario, especially in Starfleet, where people often had to face one. She’d never taken the infamous Kobayashi Maru test, and couldn’t begin to imagine how she’d handle it.
Right now, though, as she stood on the riverbank watching columns of dark smoke rise from a burning dock on the opposite side, all that mattered was stopping these people from killing each other until the cure was introduced. The last time she checked with the ship, they were still synthesizing enough to seed. Data and La Forge were working out schedules, but nothing was approved yet, so the holding actions would continue.
She had beamed down a few minutes earlier and was being briefed by Almonte, a short, stocky ten-year veteran. His bloodshot eyes and untended scrapes told her much before the briefing had even begun. He had been trying to mediate the dispute when there was an explosion and then a fire. Almost immediately, the opposite shore had been lined with Bader who accused the Dorset of trying to destroy their way of life. As expected, the Dorset had taken to the shoreline and matched insult for insult. Vale half expected them to start throwing rocks at one another despite the width of the river.
“I don’t want to split my team in two, so I’m trying to herd these fine folk away from the river. If I can get them out of earshot, maybe they can be distracted,” Almonte said, with a trace of a soft accent.
“And we’re outnumbered.” Placing her hands on her hips, she surveyed the scene, looking for inspiration.
Troi had called a few moments after she arrived, and while the notion of hunting the Rikers had an appeal, she needed to settle this first. The counselor had agreed and was going to gather the supplies she thought they would need. That bought Vale some time, which she needed to put to good use.
On her side of the river there were over three dozen Dorset, screaming insults and waving fists. They were near a landing pier, complete with ropes, hydraulic ramps, and ODN connections for the incoming ships. The usual antigrav units were strewn about, waiting for the next time something needed to be loaded. Behind them were warehouses of varying sizes, ship repair facilities, and even a cafeteria. Nothing she could use to calm things down, but also nothing the rabble could really use as weapons. If all they were going to do was yell, she’d leave Almonte and head out.
But someone on this side had managed to launch something that started the fire. If it could be done once, it could most likely be repeated, and it was her job to stop that kind of escalation.
“What’s in the warehouses?” she asked.
“I have Nikros checking now,” Almonte replied. They both looked over in that direction, finally spotting the broad-shouldered, gray-haired woman from Rigel. With a tricorder in one hand and a phaser in the other, she was scanning buildings before entering. Vale estimated she had three more to check before finishing.
Nikros tugged on one wide door and found it locked. She consulted the tricorder and tugged again. Vale narrowed her eyes in suspicion at Nikros’s trouble. Several Dorset also seemed to notice the security guard’s situation, and they started toward her.
Without hesitation, Vale withdrew her phaser and began walking toward her subordinate, trying to match pace with the Dorset. As they hurried, she broke into a jog and yelled for them to stop.
Only one obeyed, but in stopping, he swiveled and aimed a weapon of his own at her. Vale recognized it as a wrist-mounted pulsed energy weapon, and she dove to the ground as the man snapped his wrist, activating a blast. It sizzled overhead and she looked up, took aim, and fired off one phaser burst, which found its target.
The others hadn’t hesitated and continued toward Nikros, readying their own weapons. Vale looked to Almonte, who was already yelling for the rest of his squad. A twist of her head, and she saw Nikros alert and taking aim at the appr
oaching men. Vale jumped to her feet and also took aim, coming at them from a different angle so as not to put her own officer in the way.
Three shots went off simultaneously. Vale and Nikros had both targeted the same man, who jerked like a puppet as he got hit from opposing directions. He slumped heavily to the ground. The third shot was from a man who fired at Nikros, aiming low. Vale watched the shot burn into the woman’s leg. She saw a spark of flame and then Nikros crumpled, her hands beating at her ruined knee to put out the fire.
Behind her Vale heard shouts and then the sound of feet. The Dorset were rallying behind their fallen comrades. Scattered among the approaching throng were Vale’s people. She spotted the tall, gangly Glavine, the heavily muscled Wigginton, and the lean form of the Vulcan Stenik. All were running, phasers at the ready.
It was about to become a full-scale riot, and Vale mentally calculated how many reinforcements she could summon. There were two squads that had beamed up just before she arrived here, and they could be recalled, but one team looked fairly banged up. Well, one more team was better than none. She made the call, and then broke into a run to get to Nikros before the man who had already winged her. The man had gotten closer but didn’t fire again. Vale wasn’t about to let him. She took aim and got off one shot that got him in the back. He fell to the ground, and she exchanged relieved looks with Nikros.
The sound of approaching footsteps had Vale whirling about, phaser gripped in both hands. Her field of vision was filled with approaching men, women, and, surprisingly, children, none of whom seemed anything less than in full fury. Tapping her combadge, she called out, “Vale to security team Delphi! Break them apart. Slow them down, and maybe we can get out of this!”
Without waiting for acknowledgment, she rushed forward, putting herself between Nikros, who remained down, and the mob. Something was worth protecting inside the warehouse, but she didn’t dare speculate until things were under control. Five people converged on her, and Vale set her feet, her left shoulder out, right arm with phaser tucked against her belly. As they hit her, Vale whipped out her right arm and knocked down one of the women. A roundhouse leg sweep knocked down two more, and a left jab landed on another.
As one of the Dorset ran away, Vale grabbed another by the shirt and yanked him forward into her upraised knee. One managed two quick punches into her ribs, forcing her to exhale. With cries of rage, they converged on her once more, and this time she dropped into a squat to prevent them from getting a good grip. Quickly holstering her weapon, she balled her hands into fists and propelled herself upward, fists and elbows making contact. The cluster broke apart and she kicked out, knocking one boy over another man.
Sparing a glance, she spotted Stenik applying a nerve pinch to a woman while neatly ducking another’s punch. Almonte was flailing with his fists, a veritable punching machine, keeping attackers at bay. The recalled squad, Gracin’s as it turned out, were in the rear, doing what they could to pull Dorset back and away.
A man ran at Vale with a tool in his upraised fist, one end sparking. She didn’t have time to grab her phaser, so she reached out as his arm came down, grabbed it, and spun the man around, kicking him in the backside to propel him away. Then a woman jumped on her back, and Vale reached over her head to break the hold. The woman tugged at her thick hair and wrapped her legs around Vale’s waist for greater support. Vale finally forced herself over, letting the woman’s weight carry them crashing to the hard ground. The woman’s hold broken, Vale was able to quickly disengage herself and got back on her feet.
She looked around and saw an older man pummeling Nikros. The Rigelian kicked back with her good leg and fumbled for her phaser, which had been knocked aside. Vale rushed over, but she didn’t get far before being tackled by someone she hadn’t seen. They tumbled to the ground, Vale striking her right shoulder hard, and grappled. She couldn’t get her hands free, and she was too en-twined with her attacker for her feet to do any good. With little choice, she reared back and smashed her forehead into the man’s nose. She heard cartilage break and the wet sound of blood. He screamed in pain and let go, his hands flying to his injured nose. Vale scrambled to her feet and looked for Nikros. What she saw made her jaw drop.
Nikros was a bloody heap, her injured leg at an unnatural angle. Her attacker was standing with his back to the warehouse door.
Vale didn’t hesitate. She withdrew her phaser and fired at the man. Then she dashed to her colleague’s side and saw that her breathing was shallow.
“Vale to Enterprise. Emergency beam-up for Lieutenant Nikros directly to sickbay.”
“Acknowledged,” came Nafir’s voice.
As Nikros’s broken body dematerialized, Vale uttered a short prayer.
Turning, she saw the mob had broken into clusters. In horror, she watched as her people were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Olivarez had fallen and was about to be trampled until Wigginton bodily picked up and body-slammed her attacker.
This was getting out of control and had to be stopped. Now.
“Vale to security teams Beta and Delphi! Commence stun fire. Put these people down!”
Within seconds, bright beams of coherent light scattered the Dorset. Vale took aim and knocked down those on the periphery. It didn’t take long at all for most of the Dorset to become slumbering heaps, bodies in a tangle.
Several of her people looked the worse for wear, and Vale sympathized as she rubbed her own sore right shoulder. She signaled to Almonte that all was fine and then turned back to the warehouse door. She wanted to see what was worth fighting for.
Her phaser made quick work of the lock, and she shoved the wide doors apart. Automatic lights snapped on as her body tripped a sensor. The vast space was filled from floor to ceiling with identical boxes. One of them had been dragged down and cracked open, its cushioning spilling out from beneath the top. Vale lifted the lid and saw that this box and probably all the others in the warehouse contained explosive devices. That made little sense to her, since the planet was known for its peace. There was a data chip affixed to the underside of the box top below the printed words Ree Packan Ree Construction. Suddenly it made sense. These devices were for demolition, probably for tunneling.
But the Dorset knew. They had used them to start the fire on the other side of the river.
The riots were now on the verge of becoming a race war, and Vale realized they were quickly running out of time.
Chapter Eight
“CAN’T YOU LET ME GO? I won’t be a bother to anyone again. I promise.”
Both Rikers turned and looked at their unwilling companion and then exchanged glances. It was clear to Will that his father was uncertain as to what path he should follow. Now that they seemed to be communicating, he hoped to be able to guide his father toward a reunion with Picard once they reached the capital—whenever that would be. They had been hiking through the dense forest for hours now. Twice more they encountered the running stream and were glad for the water, which seemed to be agreeing with them all. On the other hand, they had found nothing to eat and Will’s stomach was beginning to rumble.
From what Kyle could determine from their flight plan before being forced down, they might be finally nearing the edge of the forest. Neither Kyle nor Bison knew what might be on the other side, but Will was hopeful they made it out before the sun set, which was not far off.
The two Rikers were talking and it seemed there were more issues to cover, but that would have to wait for that promised drink in Ten-Forward. Between the hike, their exhaustion and the presence of the ever-complaining Bison, neither felt like getting into the heaviest issues that remained between them. Whereas Kyle might be fine with that, Will was not. He had to tread carefully so as not to ruin the mood. Will did admit to himself, things hadn’t felt this relaxed with his father since their fight on the Enterprise-D so many years ago. And those feelings didn’t last, did they?
“Excuse me, I’m asking a question here!”
“We heard you,” Will said
harshly. “You’re coming with us to the capital.”
“Swell,” Bison said grumpily.
“My thoughts exactly,” Kyle added.
“When’s supper?” Bison complained.
“When we’re hungry,” Kyle said.
“Well, I’m hungry now.”
“Shut up.”
“It’s more like when we find something safe to eat,” Will said with waning patience. He thought that would keep things quiet for a while but less than a minute later, the former test subject spoke up.
“They going to execute me?”
The question caught Will off guard. He knew nothing about the judicial system on Delta Sigma IV but was fairly certain, given what he knew of these people, that capital punishment was practiced.
“They should, you know,” Bison continued, sounding dejected. “Unoo was a bitch, but she didn’t deserve to die. Not like that.”
A Time to Hate Page 15