Keiko stopped in front of a slave’s hovel, a thin curtain pulled across its entrance. Grunts and moans filtered through the curtain. She nodded at the two Cardassian guards. They drew their disruptors, and then one of them reached out to draw back the curtain. The reek of low-grade bloodwine wafted out of the revealed chamber, forcing Keiko back a half-step. The foul thing must bathe in it, judging from the stench. Kozak lay sprawled out on the hovel’s cot, naked save for his boots. A thin young Bolian woman leaped off him and rolled into a thick fur blanket, staring toward Keiko with embarrassed surprise.
Keiko glanced at the girl. Kozak was breaking in a new slave. She recalled the latest list of arrivals, remembering that it contained a small contingent of Bolians, Andorians, and members of other assorted species. Not the most ideal welcome to Korvat, but then again, what was?
Kozak lifted his head from the thin mattress and turned glazed eyes toward Keiko. “Mwuh-uh?” He belched.
The guards gave her a questioning glance, and she nodded. The two of them aimed their disruptors at Kozak. The Klingon frowned, his ardor deflating.
Keiko said, “Overseer Kozak, you have been found derelict in your duties and are hereby relieved of your station by order of the commander of this facility, Gul Zarale.”
She stepped back. Kozak managed to utter another unintelligible grunt before the two Cardassians shot him dead. Keiko imagined he’d have a hard time getting into Sto’Vo’Kor in his condition.
Their duty done, the guards holstered their weapons and dragged Kozak’s corpse out of the Bolian’s hovel. Keiko glanced at the Bolian, whose black eyes bulged out of her powdery blue face. Keiko shrugged and said, “Welcome to Korvat colony. Things will improve for you.”
Keiko turned away from her and followed the two Cardassians toward the main slave assembly chamber. They deposited Kozak’s body in the rough center of the room and then took up protective stances next to Keiko. Some two dozen slaves filtered in, shooting one another confused or speculative looks.
Keiko cleared her throat, getting their collective attention. She gestured at Kozak. “Overseer Kozak has been relieved of duty. I am your new overseer. From here on, you will answer to me. Work hard, and you will be rewarded. Slack off, and you will be punished.”
She passed an even glance over them all, saw a mixture of expressions on their faces. Some bold, some compliant, some despairing, some resigned. She pointed at a handful of the more defiant-looking ones.
“You, you, and you. Dispose of that.” She indicated Kozak’s body. She swept a final glance over the rest of the slaves, all now her responsibility. “The rest of you, get back to work.”
The three slaves she had indicated stepped out of the crowd and approached Kozak’s body. One of them, easily recognizable from his shock of coppery-orange hair, met her eyes. “Madame Overseer.”
She nudged her chin toward him. “What is your designation?”
He glanced at the other two slaves as they gathered up Kozak’s remains. He turned back to her and, in a voice laced with anger, growled, “Tiron.”
Keiko inclined her head. “Slaves don’t have names. What is your designation?”
The man stood up straighter, fixed his bright blue eyes on her. “My name is Tiron.”
She glanced at one of the guards and nodded. The Cardassian glared into Tiron’s face and slammed a fist into the slave’s stomach. Tiron doubled over with a wheeze. The Cardassian brought his clenched fists crashing down onto Tiron’s back, knocking him to his knees. The other guard aimed a kick at Tiron’s chest. The impact flipped Tiron onto his back. He curled up into a ball, gasping for breath.
Keiko waved off the two Cardassians. She didn’t want this one dead. He had some strength in him that might prove useful someday. She leaned down close, so that only he could hear. “You may have a future here, Tiron, so I suggest you relearn your slave designation and remember it.”
He cracked open one eye and gave her a myopic look of sheer hate. She gave him a brief nod and swept out of the rough-hewn chamber, her Cardassian guards falling into step behind her.
2376
“No! There’s no bloody way!” Miles slammed his hands down on the large desk in his office. Everyone assembled in front of him flinched.
Miles pointed at Tiron. “There’s no way Keiko is working for the Alliance.”
Keiko kept her eyes forward, looking at Miles, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tiron glance at Eddington and then Shar, as if looking for support. She moved her head slightly to get a better look at the three of them. Shar looked as if he were ready to take a swing at someone, whether it was Keiko or someone else, she didn’t think he cared. Eddington looked more thoughtful, and Tiron, of course, was attempting to make his point in the most obsequious manner possible.
Tiron spread out his hands in that infuriating supplicating gesture of his. “General O’Brien”—his voice silk over velvet—“consider, for just a moment, the facts.”
O’Brien leaned toward him. “Facts? What facts?”
Tiron raised his palms toward Miles. “The facts. Miss Ishikawa led a work detail in the sabotaged area just a few days ago. Miss Ishikawa was the slave overseer at the Korvat mining colony for more than a decade. Surely, the intelligence we’ve appropriated from the Alliance can verify that.”
Eddington said, “That’s beside the point, Tiron. No matter what she may have done in the past, Keiko has proven herself time and again to our cause.”
Miles stabbed a finger toward Tiron. “Do you have any proof to back up your claim, or what? You’ve had a poor opinion of Keiko ever since you arrived on the station. I don’t need to remind you that you were a refugee on the same transport Keiko brought here from Korvat.”
Tiron nodded, clasping his hands behind his back. “Yes, I was aboard that transport. However, I believe that the entire slave liberation was a carefully staged stunt.”
Miles alternated a look between Keiko and Tiron. “Staged? What the hell for?”
Shar bristled. “Perhaps for just this reason. Perhaps it was staged to get Ishikawa into a position of importance.”
Tiron nodded. “And here she is, right at the heart of the rebellion.”
Miles furrowed his brow. Keiko knew his looks well enough to know that he wasn’t convinced, but he wasn’t ignoring what he was hearing, either.
She said, “I have never been, nor will I ever be, an Alliance agent. My cause is your cause: freedom from the Alliance.”
Miles glanced at her and nodded. Tiron took a half-step toward the desk and Miles. “At least, allow General Eddington and Shar to ask her a few questions, in a controlled environment. Surely, there is no harm in that.”
Keiko covered a flinch by crossing her arms in front of her. “I’m first officer of this station, and I will not be treated like a criminal.” She turned to Miles. “You can’t allow this.”
Miles glanced at her, then back to Tiron. “Keiko is not an agent. I’m done with this conversation.”
Tiron turned to Eddington. “General, I spent many years in Korvat colony. In that time, I saw Ishikawa manipulate more than one man. I fear that General O’Brien may be likewise influenced.”
Miles launched himself over the desk toward Tiron and hit him with a powerful right hook. Tiron slammed into Shar, and the two of them crashed to the deck in a pile of flailing limbs. Eddington managed to grab hold of O’Brien to keep him off Tiron. Keiko did her best to avoid the melee.
She glanced out the windows of the office doors, down toward ops. Several faces were aimed in her general direction. The personnel at work at their stations were starting to take notice of the commotion in the general’s office. Sloan yelled something at Leeta, then grabbed a disruptor from somewhere. He moved toward the stairs outside the office door.
Keiko turned back to the ongoing fight. Eddington had Miles in a lock, preventing him from going after Tiron. Miles yelled at Eddington to let him go. Tiron and Shar were struggling on the deck, fighting over som
ething. Keiko’s eyes widened when she saw that Tiron had Shar’s disruptor in his hand.
Shar swatted at Tiron’s hands, but Tiron managed to avoid the motion and took aim at Keiko. He cried out something about traitors and fired. Keiko saw a sudden flash of yellow energy, felt a searing pain drill into her stomach, and then she was staggering backward.
Her head hit something unyielding. The deck rushed up toward her while a variety of constellations starred her vision. The patterns spiraled around, blurred, and then winked out.
The quiet chirp of a biomonitor roused Keiko out of the cottony darkness. She cracked open one eye and found it was dim, wherever she was. Confident that she wouldn’t be blinded by a bright light in her face, she opened her eyes. She shifted her weight but groaned when the movement sent a spark of pain across her shoulders.
Miles moved into her field of vision, smiling tenderly down at her. She felt him take one of her hands in his and squeeze, the warmth of the action comforting.
“There you are,” he said. “The medics weren’t sure how soon you’d come around.” He sat down next to her, presumably on a chair out of her field of view.
She offered a weary smile. “How long was I out?”
Miles glanced at his chrono. “Maybe three hours, four at the most.”
Keiko nodded, but the motion sent another stab of pain down her neck. She winced.
The expression on Miles’s face dropped. “Keiko? Are you all right?” He turned toward the far end of the Infirmary. “Bowers!”
Keiko squeezed his hand. “No, Miles. I’m all right. Just a bit sore.”
Sam Bowers, serving double duty as a medic, joined them at the edge of her bed. “You’re awake. That’s good. Try not to exert yourself.” He glanced at the readings on the monitor. “Are you in any pain?”
“Headache.”
“You’ve got a mild concussion. I’ll get you something to take the edge off.”
Keiko glanced up at Sam in appreciation. He moved away, leaving her and Miles alone. Miles settled himself more comfortably next to her.
“I got you here as soon as I could after Tiron shot you. Bowers thinks you were lucky. Tiron missed your heart by about a dozen centimeters.”
Keiko managed another weary smile. “Then I’m glad Tiron can’t shoot as well as he talks.” She paused. “Where is he now?”
Miles glanced toward the entrance of the infirmary, as if he could track Tiron wherever he was on the station. His expression darkened. “Shar and Eddington have him in a cell.”
Keiko frowned. “Interrogating him?” The guess was probably a good one, all things considered.
Miles nodded. “Our people don’t go shooting each other for dodgy reasons. They’re…discussing the matter with him.”
Keiko squeezed his hand. “Please don’t let them kill him.”
Miles stared at her, surprise evident in his eyes. “Keiko, the man tried to kill you.”
Keiko shook her head slowly, so as not to invite another jolt of pain. “I’d like to talk to him. Give him a chance to explain himself to my face.”
His frown deepened. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
“Please, Miles? This is important.”
Miles looked away, clearly thinking about letting her near the man who had almost killed her. She squeezed his hand again, getting his attention. “Miles. I’ll be all right.” She tried a grin. “I’ll have Michael and Shar there to protect me in case Tiron tries anything again.”
Miles returned the grin, his more wolfish than hers had been. “You’re damn right about that. I’ll tell them that if he so much as blinks at you funny, they’re to take care of him.”
Keiko stared into his eyes, scared for a reason she couldn’t place. How had she been so fortunate to fall in with him? A crawling sensation wended its way down her spine. She blinked, confused. Sam returned then, distracting Keiko from her conflicting thoughts.
He reached a hypospray toward Keiko. She glanced at it. “What’s that?”
“Just a mild painkiller. Nothing heavy. It won’t put you to sleep.”
Keiko nodded, then felt him press the instrument against her skin. It was cold to the touch. A quick hiss and a sting of pain on her neck indicated that the medicine had been administered. She felt a momentary rush, and then the aches in her head and neck dissipated to a manageable blur. Sam gave the two of them a final nod and left them alone.
Miles brushed Keiko’s hair off her forehead and leaned down to give her a gentle kiss. “I’ll head out so you can get some rest.”
Keiko stared at him. “Wait, Miles. What about the station? Are we ready for an attack?”
Miles gave her a sidelong grin. “It’s been hours, and we haven’t seen anything yet. Bajor’s been quiet, too. My people are working on the repairs, though. I’ve mobilized our forces. We’re about as ready as we can be.”
Keiko kept hold of his hand, keeping him from leaving just yet. “Promise me they won’t kill Tiron until I’ve had a chance to talk to him.”
Miles looked into her eyes, searching for something she couldn’t guess at. Again, the look in his eyes set off a feeling of something in Keiko, but she couldn’t place it. She covered her confusion with a hopeful smile.
Finally, Miles relented. “All right.”
Keiko gave his hand a squeeze and pulled the thin sheet up to her chin. “Thank you, Miles.” She was surprised to feel warm tears well up in her eyes.
He pursed his lips but gave her an encouraging smile, then left her alone in the infirmary. Keiko watched him leave and sighed once he was out of sight. She settled her head deeper into the pillow and frowned.
What had made her hesitate? What was that feeling she got when she looked into Miles’s eyes? She stared at the ceiling for an interminable time, puzzling out her feelings. Finally, she gave up and sighed deeply. She slowly rolled her head from side to side, testing her neck muscles. The drug Sam had administered seemed to be doing its job—she no longer felt so much as a twinge.
She glanced at the entrance to the infirmary and then checked to make sure Sam was nowhere nearby. Satisfied that she was alone, she rolled onto one side and reached out to the computer next to her bed.
“Computer, recognize Keiko Ishikawa, command code six-six-nine-Delta-three.”
The computer uttered a few beeps, then said, “Recognized.”
Keiko stared at the wall for a time, finally nodded in determination. If she didn’t carry this through, everything that had happened up to now would have been a waste.
“Enable programs Keiko One through Six. On my mark.” She paused. She could still back out of this, maybe talk to Miles. He’d understand, in time, she was sure of it. She frowned. Well, maybe not all that sure.
Damn it! Why was she hesitating?
She shook her head once more and said, “Computer, mark.” A couple of beeps, then a confirmation flashed on the screen before it went dark. There—it was done. She was committed.
She settled back onto the bed and glanced at the entrance to the infirmary again. She hoped that Miles would understand but found that she was actually afraid he wouldn’t. She didn’t like how that made her feel.
2372
Slave 296-Theta bowed to Keiko and handed her a data padd. Keiko took it and waved the slave away, sending him back to his other duties. He was one of her more recent projects and was coming along nicely. In due time, he would follow her lead without question.
She glanced down at the data padd and thumbed through the information displayed on the screen. Ore quotas were up, mining accidents were down, and a new batch of slaves awaited her review before processing. A punishment detail also awaited her sign-off. She looked at the recommendations made by 296-Theta and nodded in approval. The suggested punishments weren’t too harsh, but they weren’t too lenient, either. He was coming along nicely.
Satisfied at that, she called up the list of new slaves. This batch consisted of two dozen Terrans and a handful of other speci
es. She pursed her lips as she scanned the list. Most of them were listed as being in good health. She had been thinking of starting up a secondary tunnel off one of the more productive mineshafts before it played out, and this new influx of personnel would almost certainly allow her to do that once they were familiarized with their new life.
She thumbed off the display screen and tucked the padd under her arm. She made her way into the central assembly area, taking in the new batch of slaves. Slave 404-Theta saw her approach and cried out, “Slaves, attention! Prepare to be addressed by Madame Overseer Ishikawa.”
Keiko grimaced mentally at the title. She hated the presumption of it, but Zarale insisted that it was necessary to maintain the proper level of respect and fear. As if he’d know—Zarale had never bothered to step into the mines under his command. He was so satisfied with Keiko’s management that he didn’t feel it necessary to see to anything personally.
Keiko allowed herself a tiny smug smile. It was just as well. If Zarale did come down there and see what she was building, he’d probably have her stripped of rank and tossed into the mines herself. Or, worse, taken outside and shot. She was confident of her hold over him, though. As long as the ore continued to flow and the quotas continued to be met, he would be happy. Keiko had turned the whole facility around after taking over for Kozak.
She returned her attention to the slaves gathered before her and realized that she was impatient to get back to work. In a loud, clear voice, she said, “Welcome to the Korvat mining facility. This is your new home. Work hard, and you will be treated well. Fail to work, or otherwise cause problems, and you will be punished. Pay attention to the Thetas in command of your work group, and you will flourish here. That is all.”
Short and sweet, just how she liked it. She nodded at 404-Theta, her signal to dismiss them.
Slave 404-Theta said, “Follow me for quarters assignment and work detail.”
Star Trek®: Mirror Universe: Shards and Shadows Page 33