“There is such joy in simplicity,” Atal said. “Don’t you agree?”
“It’s not that simple,” Kirk answered. “Your faked murder ended up killing two innocent Bajorans—Trufor and Kresin.”
“Oh, no, Captain. You sent them into the water to search for Picard. How they died is no concern, and no fault of mine.”
Picard hadn’t known the divers were dead. “How did they die, Jim?”
Kirk shrugged. “No one knows. No marks. No sign of drowning.”
“It doesn’t matter. Their deaths are of no importance.” Atal addressed Kirk again. “We were discussing how you discovered this temple.”
“Not much to discuss,” Kirk said with a shrug. “I compared the divers’ maps to the site plan, saw where they didn’t match, convinced Corrin or Rals or whoever your partner was, to come with me because I told him he was the one person I could trust.”
Atal laughed, and to Picard it sounded genuine. “Very good, Captain. I’ll remember your gift for deception. Now, what else did you discover?”
Kirk folded his arms defiantly. “You mean, did I find out where the Orb is hidden?”
Atal cocked his head like an impatient parent. “I don’t have to torture you to find out what I need to know.” He aimed his disruptor at Picard. “All I have to do to get you to talk, is to kill him again.”
Atal fired his disruptor at Picard’s feet, sending an explosion of sharp, stinging stone chips into Picard’s face, making him stumble back once more.
“Don’t tell him anything, Jim. He’s going to kill us anyway!”
“There are many ways to die, Captain Picard. What I am offering your friend is a choice. A soldier’s death, clean and with honor. Or the slow lingering extinction of an animal. Captain Kirk, your decision?”
“All right. I know where the Orb is.”
“Jim, no.”
“Be quiet, Picard,” Atal said. To Kirk, he added, “Tell me.”
Kikr’s reply was to the point. “No.”
Atal’s eyes narrowed. “You are not in a position to negotiate.”
“I’m in an extremely good position,” Kirk argued. “In just over a day the Starship Enterprise is going to enter orbit, and I guarantee you that within twenty minutes of her arrival, there will be one hundred Starfleet security officers in your camp. Within an hour, the ship’s sensors will have plotted the location of every rock and every body in Bar’trila. Within two hours, they’ll have isolated your DNA samples from your tent and they’ll know Sedge Nirra is a Cardassian. And within a day, from the DNA they’ll find in this cavern, they’ll know you were down here with us after you had been murdered. Think about that, Atal. You’ll have no place to run in the entire galaxy without Starfleet coming after you. And the fact that you’re here without a ship makes me think you can’t count on any support from your homeworld, either. So when the Federation Council says further aid to rebuild Cardassia Prime is contingent on your government’s helping track you down…I think your own people are going to be very happy to help in the hunt.”
Picard was impressed. Atal was furious, but he lowered his disruptor.
Then he seemed to have a change of heart and raised it again. “James T. Kirk. Master of the bluff. I don’t believe you’ve discovered the Orb at all.”
Picard sighed. It had been a particularly good bluff. He had half-believed it himself.
“I didn’t have to discover the Orb,” Kirk said. “The camp cook told me where it is.”
Atal lowered his disruptor again.
“Don’t act so surprised,” Kirk said, and Picard approved of the way he mimicked the surgically altered Cardassian’s superior tone. “That’s what started all this, isn’t it? The information you got from Avden Lara’s husband.”
Picard wasn’t certain he understood what Kirk was up to, or even if he had a plan at all. And he saw his doubt was shared by Atal.
“You’re still bluffing,” Atal said. “Lara would never reveal the location of the Orb to a nonbeliever.”
“She didn’t realize what she was telling me,” Kirk said. “She just passed on something enigmatic her husband told her once.” Then, to Picard, it seemed Kirk added extra emphasis to what he said next. “Just before he went to a small inn near the Lharassa spaceport.” Kirk seemed to gloat now. “And once I found this cavern, realized that it was a temple, it was very clear to me what Lara’s husband had told her.”
“I tortured Avden Trul myself,” Atal growled. “He didn’t know where the Orb was hidden. All he had was a cracked data cylinder prepared for the Obsidian Order decades ago. It confirmed the Bajoran legends of a lost Orb in Bar’trila, but nothing more. If he had known, he would have told me, Kirk. I am very skilled in my work.”
“And he was a father protecting his daughter and his wife. Torture won’t break that bond.”
“I wasn’t threatening his wife or child,” Atal said angrily.
“Because he never told you that she had had a dream of the Prophets, and that the Prophets had told her where the Orb was!”
Picard could see that Atal was wavering, and that Kirk sensed it, too.
“What’s so hard to believe about that?” Kirk asked pointedly. “Don’t Cardassians love their children?”
Atal lowered his disruptor, and this time it stayed down. “What are your terms?”
“The Orb for our lives.”
“Jim, you can’t give an Orb to a Cardassian!”
Kirk turned to Picard. “It’s an artifact, Jean-Luc. Built by worm-hole aliens. Our lives are worth more than that.”
Atal smiled broadly. “Excellent decision, Kirk. You’re absolutely right.” But the smile faded. “Unfortunately, your offer still puts me at the mercy of a Starfleet pursuit.”
Kirk did not waver. “If we’re not harmed, then there is no crime. At least, no crime that Starfleet’s interested in. You’ll only have to worry about Bajorans. And somehow, I don’t think Bajorans worry you at all.”
Atal nodded. “The offer is accepted. Now we must work out the logistics.”
“Jim,” Picard urged, “what you’re proposing goes against every agreement the Federation has with Bajor. Giving away a sacred religious artifact belonging to another culture…it’s interference of the worst kind! A Prime Directive offense!”
Kirk dismissed Picard with an angry look of annoyance. “First, you know what I think about the Prime Directive. And second, that’s a Starfleet regulation. I’m not Starfleet anymore. But I do plan on living to enjoy my retirement, so…shut up!”
Picard was about to protest again, but Kirk raised a warning finger to cut him off before he could begin.
Picard folded his arms, took another step away from Kirk. He thought it was odd that Kirk then did the same, as if still working on a joint plan of attack. Picard kept his own expression neutral, but he suddenly realized that Kirk had no intention of giving up the Orb. This was all just a bluff. But what kind? And when would he spring into action?
All Picard could be sure of was that when the time came, it would be a surprise.
With James T. Kirk, it always was.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
BAJOR, STARDATE 55598.3
THE INSTANT KIRK HAD REALIZED a transporter beam had reached into the cavern, he knew that he and Picard had lost. Whoever had been pulling the strings on Corrin Tal had a far greater advantage over the situation than did two unarmed starship captains.
But the moment Kirk learned that the resurrected Sedge Nirra was a Cardassian, he knew there was still a chance to win.
He hadn’t been bluffing when he told Corrin Tal—or Rals Salan, as it turned out—that he didn’t understand Bajor and the Prophets and the Orbs. But he did understand the emotions that pulled people to the mystical. Certainly in his life, he himself had felt that pull, and knew what it was to be humbled by the sheer wonder of existence. And how could any concrete plans be made in the face of a challenge that could not be measured, except by faith?
But
a Cardassian was a different matter. Especially a Cardassian soldier.
That was an opponent who could be weighed and measured. Who could be understood. And most encouraging of all, could be manipulated.
Kirk doubted he could ever do battle against the angels. But devils were another matter altogether. He and they spoke the same language.
“For the logistics, this is how we’re going to do it,” Kirk told Atal. “First, you’re going to drop your disruptor into the water.”
“And be defenseless?” Atal asked in disbelief.
But Kirk recognized a negotiating tactic when he heard one. “Atal, don’t bluff a bluffer. You beamed out your accomplice’s body. That means that somehow you could lock onto him. My best guess is that he had a subdermal transponder, probably one that transmits lifesigns so you knew he was dead. And if your accomplice had one, then you have one, and that’s how you plan to leave here—by sending out an automatic recall signal to your transporter, from your own transponder. And since you can leave any time you want, that means the only reason you need the disruptor is to kill us.”
Atal still remained on the defensive, but Kirk could see he was responding to superior strategy.
“All right,” the Cardassian said. “I give up my disruptor. Then what?”
“Then I tell you where to find the Orb.”
This time, Atal’s disbelief was even stronger. “As easily as that?”
“It’s not far from here,” Kirk said. “And while you go get it, Picard and I leave. As easily as that.”
“And if it turns out the Orb isn’t where you say it is?”
“It’s going to take us a good half hour to get back up to the diving platform. You have a transporter based somewhere nearby. I’m going to guess you have another disruptor there, too. If the Orb isn’t where I say it is, then I imagine you’ll be waiting for us on the platform to teach me the error of my ways.”
“Jim,” Picard said, as if he had been trying not to speak and had finally given up the struggle. “He can do that anyway!”
But Kirk shook his head. “No. Once he has the Orb, he’s going to leave as quickly as he can. Isn’t that right, Atal?”
Atal remained noncommittal.
“Otherwise,” Kirk reminded Picard, “he knows he’ll face a Starfleet manhunt.”
Atal hefted the disruptor in his hand. “One soldier to another. We have a deal. Except, you throw your bolt gun into the water first.”
Kirk didn’t hesitate, went to his discarded bolt gun, picked up the holster by one of its straps, and carried it over to the main submerged stair entrance. He smiled at Atal as he dropped the gun and holster into the water and they sank at once.
“Your turn,” Kirk said.
Atal walked over to the opening in the cavern floor where Kirk had seen the first trapped prey of the giant rayl fish that had captured Picard. He held Kirk’s eyes as he dropped the weapon into the water.
At once, Picard started forward, but Kirk held him back. “No. It’s not worth it.”
Picard shot him a look of anguish. “I know these people, Jim. This is wrong.”
And only because Picard was his friend, and only because of the long conversations they had shared, did Kirk now suddenly realize that Picard’s protestations were not genuine.
Good man, Kirk thought.
“Do anything to stop this,” Kirk said threateningly to Picard, “and I’ll drop you back in the water.”
Picard reluctantly acquiesced, but not before indignantly saying he would have Kirk brought up on charges. Atal seemed amused by the argument. Kirk was pleased for the distraction it provided.
“And now,” Atal said grandly, “the location of the Orb.”
Kirk pointed to the opening in the floor from which he had pulled Picard. “The opening closest to the stone with the symbol of Bajor and the Temple.”
Atal turned to the tall stone with its carved symbol, then studied the cavern floor to see if there were any other openings closer to it.
There weren’t.
He went to the opening in the floor, stared down, then looked back at Kirk. “How deep is it?”
“I don’t know,” Kirk answered truthfully. “But it doesn’t matter. The Orb itself is in an alcove in the rock wall, about a meter and half below the water level, on the side of the opening closest to the symbol.”
Atal looked troubled. “That makes no sense.”
“Atal,” Kirk pointed out, “this cavern hasn’t always been underwater. I think your people might have had something to do with that.”
Atal looked back into the opening. “Very well, if you’re sure…” He began to tug off his armor, sliding the rigid leather over his head. Kirk wasn’t surprised to see that he wore a thermal dive suit under his uniform. Atal was a soldier, prepared for any change in plan.
Kirk waved for Picard’s attention, pointed back to what remained of their diving gear, said quietly, “Let’s go.”
The two captains hurriedly slipped on their vests and buoyancy tubes, and Kirk put on the remaining rebreather. It would be a long, hard swim, but they could share a single air supply and still make it.
Kirk kept checking back on Atal, who had removed his boots and uniform trousers. As Kirk had planned, Atal’s attention now seemed completely focused on the opening and what was hidden within it. Though Kirk doubted the Orb now was as important to the Cardassian as the revenge he’d finally have for an act of betrayal by enemies long dead.
But then, when Kirk looked at Atal for what he hoped would be the last time, the thin-necked, pale-skinned Cardassian was grinning again, aiming a small, palm-sized weapon at Kirk, obviously plucked from a hidden holster.
“You’re all ready for a swim,” Atal said. “So why don’t you get the Orb for me?”
“I thought we had an agreement,” Kirk said. “Soldier to soldier.”
“I can’t see an alcove in the rock wall.”
Kirk held up his hand beacon. “You can use this.”
“It won’t do much good. Get over here. Now!”
Kirk and Picard walked slowly over to Atal, Kirk limping on his bandaged leg, Picard exhausted from his ordeal.
“Shine your beacon into the water,” Atal commanded.
Kirk did.
The beam of light didn’t penetrate more than a few centimeters past the surface. Might as well be ink, Kirk thought, just as he had the night before, when he gazed off the dive platform, thinking he had lost Picard.
“I’m not going in there, Kirk,” Atal said. “Until one of you proves that it’s safe.”
Kirk’s response was to aim his beacon almost directly beneath the three men—to an overhang at the edge of the opening. Then he laughed. “There’s your problem, Atal.”
Atal leaned forward suspiciously, peering into the depths. “Where?”
“Right…there!” Kirk said as he suddenly swung his beacon to catch Atal on the side of the head.
The cavern floor beside Atal exploded as a concentrated disruptor blast hit, fired from the small weapon Atal gripped so tightly.
He staggered sideways, even as he turned to bring the weapon to bear on Kirk.
But Kirk slapped Atal’s hand to the side and the disruptor fired again, ricocheting off the roof of the cavern.
Atal tried to bring the weapon back to Kirk, and this time Kirk caught his hand, forced it away.
Atal changed tactics, kicked savagely at Kirk’s bandaged leg.
Kirk gasped in shock, dropped to his knees, pushing up to keep Atal’s weapon aimed at the cavern.
Then a fist swung over Kirk’s head to connect squarely with Atal’s jaw. Picard.
Kirk held on to Atal as the disruptor fell from Atal’s hand.
A second later Atal had recovered from Picard’s attack, was twisting Kirk to the side, holding him off so he could bend down to retrieve his weapon.
Only to be met with a kick. Picard again!
The Cardassian staggered, releasing Kirk who rolled to the side,
overbalanced by the rebreather, leaving Picard a clear shot at Atal.
As Kirk watched with admiration, he saw Picard call on some unknown reservoir of strength to wade in with another kick to Atal’s head, then a flurry of punches to head and neck.
Kirk understood the strategy. Atal had said the surgical procedure which had made him look Bajoran had been painful. Picard was seeing if any of that pain remained to be awakened in the drastically reconfigured neck.
It did. Atal dropped into a crouch, holding his arms over his head to protect himself from further punches.
Picard stepped back, swaying slightly, chest heaving from exertion, but still looking for another opening.
Kirk saw what was going to happen.
“Jean-Luc! Look—”
Too late. Atal threw himself to the side, bracing on one arm while he swept his feet out at Picard, hooking his legs, swiftly taking him down.
Now both men were at the side of the cavern-floor opening.
The small disruptor lay between them.
Atal and Picard grabbed for it simultaneously.
Kirk pushed himself to his feet, intent on the same prize.
But it was Atal’s hand that came down on the weapon first, spun it around, took the proper grip. Just as Picard’s slapped down on top of his, forcing the weapon to the floor.
Atal and Picard locked eyes. Kirk knew that whoever pulled the weapon free first, the other would die.
So Kirk kicked Atal in the ribs, but the sudden force of the attack only gave Atal the momentum he needed to wrest the disruptor from Picard.
In an instant, he was on his side with the weapon, bringing it up to blast Kirk to atoms.
Kirk threw himself to the side.
Atal fired.
Kirk slammed down to the cavern floor as the rebreather on his back exploded.
Kirk saw stars, heard static, couldn’t breathe from the shock of the impact.
He turned his head in the last moments of consciousness to see Atal, grinning triumphantly, aiming his disruptor for one final shot at Kirk. One final push over the edge of the void, into the end of existence.
Kirk struggled to find the strength to at least push himself up to his feet.
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