by Dayton Ward
“With our arrival,” Taurik added, “they would know we might find out what they were doing, otherwise they would not have been watching us and been prepared to take us into custody. Our escape has undoubtedly had an effect on their long-term plans.”
“We need to warn the council,” Counselor Troi said from where she stood next to Riker. “First Minister Hjatyn and his fellow leaders may be in danger.”
The first officer countered, “That assumes none of them are impostors. What if this group, whoever they are, has managed to infiltrate the Dokaalan leadership?”
“It could explain many of the conflicting emotions I’ve sensed since the beginning,” Troi said. “Several of the Dokaalan leaders have seemed very guarded, especially when in our presence. That would make sense if they were impostors concealing their identities from real Dokaalan.”
“What about Hjatyn?” Picard asked.
Shaking her head, the counselor replied, “From what I can tell, he appears to be genuinely grateful for our presence. He regrets what has happened on Ijuuka, but is maintaining a hopeful attitude consistent with a leader in his position.”
“If he is the genuine article,” Riker said, “then he may be in danger from others posing as council members.”
“Actually, Commander,” Data said, maneuvering his chair so that he was closer to the rest of the group, “it is very likely that several members of the council as well as others in positions of power have been replaced. That would be a necessary and logical step in order to accomplish a full-scale subversion of the Dokaalan terraforming project.”
Picard nodded at the observation. In essence, Data was describing a classic example of clandestine warfare, using limited numbers to coopt an enemy’s own resources in order to wage battle from within. This time, however, it did not appear to be about destroying the Dokaalan, but simply incapacitating them in order to loot them of their possessions, which in this case could also mean their very lives.
“Hjatyn said there was disagreement about Ijuuka,” he said, not looking up from the sickbay carpeting as he walked the length of the room. “He even believed the second outpost incident was a deliberate act of sabotage.”
Riker countered, “But the first one was chalked up to an old, overused power reactor, right?” Then he shared a look with La Forge. “You didn’t like the way that one looked, either.” The chief engineer had at first suspected that age and negligence had played the key roles in the breakdown and eventual destruction of the immense reactor generating power for the first mining outpost the Enterprise had encountered. Examination of certain components of the reactor machinery had given him doubts, however.
“I could never shake the idea that it seemed…I don’t know, staged somehow,” La Forge said, “especially when the reactor blew well before our estimates.”
Picard nodded. “If this other group wanted to make sure that the Dokaalan kept up with their work on the planet, they might try to demonstrate that the asteroid colonies were unsafe or vulnerable.”
“And by making it look like accidents due to the age of the facilities,” Troi added, “people might begin to believe that their best option for long-term survival was the terraforming project.”
Continuing to pace the room, Picard tried to let his mind relax, to let the jumble of facts, suspicions, and questions coalesce into a single cohesive line of thinking. Whoever was behind this attempt to seize the Dokaalan’s terraforming efforts, the captain reasoned that they could be successful only if the Dokaalan themselves continued the project.
“It all makes sense now,” he said a moment later. “The incidents that have occurred since our arrival—the outposts, what you found on Ijuuka—they’re all connected. It seems obvious to me now that this mysterious group had been altering their plans in response to our arrival from the moment they learned we were here.” He pointed to Data. “Given what we’ve learned, does anyone really believe Data’s calculations were so far off as to all but render the planet unusable to the Dokaalan?”
“If they had placed someone in the Science Ministry,” La Forge said, “it’s possible they would be able to provide information that would let Data help them without his even knowing it.” Looking to his friend, he grimaced as he added, “Sorry, Data, but in your compromised condition, you might very well have been susceptible to something like that.”
Moving so that he stood next to Data, Picard placed a hand on the android’s shoulder. “And about that, it’s apparent to me now that what happened to you was no accident, just as it’s clear that what happened on Ijuuka was not a fault of yours.” I’m sorry I doubted you, old friend.
“I will continue my investigation into finding a way to reverse the affects to Ijuuka’s atmosphere, sir.”
Shaking his head, Picard said, “That will have to wait, Data. Right now there are larger concerns.”
“You think this spy, if there was one, might still be on the ship?” Riker asked.
“It’s very possible,” Picard replied. From the beginning, he had held doubts that the android’s incapacitation was accidental or even due to a freak side effect of the asteroid field’s radiation blanket, but he had lacked proof to back up his suspicions. He still had no hard evidence, only circumstantial information that added weight to his instincts. That was good enough, he decided, at least for the moment.
Still, he wanted that proof.
“He may still be here,” he continued a moment later, “maybe working alone or with a whole cadre. We have no way of knowing, not yet, anyway.” To La Forge, he said, “Commander, work with Dr. Crusher and Mr. Data to find a way to see the presence of these impostors. If you were able to see something different about them with your eyes, it seems reasonable that the ship’s sensors can be modified in a similar fashion.” Holding up a hand, he added, “But keep this just between us for the time being. I don’t want to risk tipping off any spies who might still be among us.”
“Aye, sir,” the chief engineer said. “We’ll get on it right away.”
Nodding as La Forge, Taurik, and Data moved for the exit, the captain turned to Riker and Troi. “The Dokaalan have been used, it’s as simple as that. Their dreams to forge a better life for themselves have been perverted by a gang of petty thugs, cowards who hide in the shadows and leech off these people’s hopes and ambitions.” This group of interlopers, whoever they were, needed the planet for themselves, and held no apparent reservations about leaving the Dokaalan in the lurch in order to reach that goal.
The very idea enraged Picard.
“Do we attempt to warn Hjatyn?” Troi asked.
Picard shook his head. “Without proof, we can’t afford to reveal our suspicions just yet.” The chances were good that someone had been alerted to La Forge and Taurik’s escape from captivity by now, which meant that the subversives would already be planning for how to best handle this latest obstacle to their plans.
“We’ll find them, sir,” Riker vowed.
Trying to draw from the conviction in his first officer’s voice, Picard found himself harboring doubts. Would they be able to track down these mysterious invaders? They seemed to be masters of stealth, but there was no way they could hide from the resources available to the Enterprise crew, could they?
“I hope you’re right, Number One,” he said, his voice quiet. “I think we owe the Dokaalan that much, at least.”
Chapter Sixteen
READING THE SITUATION REPORT provided to him by one of Nidan’s assistants, Daeniq was only just able to maintain his demeanor and avoid arousing suspicion from any of the unwary Dokaalan who surrounded him. It certainly would not be wise for him to do anything out of character for the security minister he was impersonating, after all.
Even though Nidan was among the first Dokaalan to be replaced and Daeniq had played the role from the beginning, experience and training prevented him from leaving anything to chance, especially now when there was still so much at stake. Their mission was far from over, even with the assist
ance the Starfleet ship had unwittingly given them.
He read the report a second time. The information it contained had not changed, of course.
“It is good news, yes?” the subordinate asked, happiness brightening his blue complexion. “I am happy they were found.”
Nodding, Daeniq kept his expression neutral. “Yes, it is good news. That will be all.” The lower-ranking security officer returned to his duties, leaving Daeniq with only the report for company.
The Starfleet engineers had been found and returned to their ship. Daeniq had been expecting that, had even warned his superiors of the potential hazard that came with keeping the engineers alive. He had advised killing them when they were first captured but had been overruled. Part of him took satisfaction in having been right, but it was a feeling he would have to keep to himself, at least until such time as those higher up in the chain of command saw the value in having him in charge here.
Even with this new development, Daeniq was fairly certain the Starfleet captain would not act until he had more information. There was no way for him or his crew to know the scope of the new problem they faced. The question now was whether or not Daeniq and his companions would be able to adapt to the rapidly changing situation faster than Captain Picard and his crew.
It was time, Daeniq decided, to put the next phase of the operation into motion.
Leaving the control center, he crossed the floor of the Zahanzei Council chambers and moved to the single door set into the room’s rear wall. Like other doors used throughout the central habitat, this one was a simple affair, crafted from the same utilitarian metal sheets used for all manner of construction on all of the colonies. The only thing that differentiated it from the other doors in the council chambers was the seal emblazoned on it, identifying the room beyond as the private office of the first minister.
Without knocking or otherwise announcing his presence, Daeniq opened the door, entering the office in time to see one of his own people standing over the prone body of First Minister Hjatyn.
“Lorakin! What are you doing?” Daeniq asked, his voice nearly a yelp of surprise as he beheld the sight of what appeared to be a dark metallic skeleton bending over the fallen form of the aged Dokaalan leader. He quickly closed the office door, engaging its lock in order to guarantee them a measure of privacy. Turning back toward the center of the room, he was in time to see his companion’s mimicking shroud alter and shimmer before taking on the appearance of the first minister.
“He was of no more use to us,” Lorakin said once his transformation was complete. “Now that the Starfleet captain knows we are here, I saw no more need to keep Hjatyn in place. We can effect quicker changes if one of us acts in his stead.” Lorakin had spent the past months impersonating one of Hjatyn’s low-level staff assistants. Perfect for a spy, the position allowed him to keep the Dokaalan leader under near-constant surveillance while at the same time not allowing any significant attention to be drawn to himself.
Now, however, Lorakin had decided that it was time for overt action to replace clandestine observation.
Shaking his head in disapproval, Daeniq regarded the obviously dead Hjatyn lying on the floor of his sparely decorated office. He had hoped to avoid killing the first minister, having grown to admire the elderly Dokaalan. In private moments and when time and circumstances permitted it, Daeniq had even taken the time to peruse Hjatyn’s personal journal, a record the first minister had been keeping since before the destruction of his home planet. It was fascinating reading, giving unmatched insight into Hjatyn’s prudent and compassionate approach to leadership as well as his unwavering vision of a better future for his people.
Daeniq actually found himself mourning the fact that the journal would now and forever remain incomplete. His training and discipline prevented such emotions from interfering with his mission, but that did not mean he could not pay Hjatyn the respect due him for all he had accomplished here.
He cannot even be remembered or celebrated in death, Daeniq mused—somewhat bitterly, he realized. It was yet another rumination he would have to keep to himself, at least for the time being.
Withdrawing a Klingon disruptor from the folds of his robe, Lorakin adjusted the weapon’s power setting before taking aim on Hjatyn’s lifeless body and pressing the firing stud. A bolt of vicious orange-red energy spat forth from the disruptor and enveloped the first minister’s remains, which flickered and shimmered before disappearing entirely. Not for the first time, Daeniq was thankful that the walls of Hjatyn’s office, like his own, were soundproof.
“I did not want to kill him,” Lorakin said, noticing the disapproving expression on Daeniq’s face. “You of all people should know that. He was beginning to ask questions, particularly about the incident on Mining Station Twelve. It would have been dangerous to leave him in place while trying to deal with the Starfleet ship. You know that the only reason we did not replace him before now was because we needed a defense against the empath.”
The Betazoid woman and her ability to sense the emotional state of those she came into contact with had been a threat from the moment they had learned of the Starfleet ship’s presence here. With Hjatyn left in place to interact with Captain Picard and members of his crew, his honest emotional reactions of joy and hope had been vital when interacting with Captain Picard and his crew. The empath would pick up on that and it would hopefully be enough to deflect anything she might read from Daeniq and others impersonating various Dokaalan.
“It is troubling enough that anyone from the Federation would travel so far from their home territory to investigate this place,” he said. “That it is the Enterprise only makes matters worse.”
Moving to inspect his appearance in the full-length mirror set into the wall at the back of the office, Lorakin replied, “On the contrary, I find it fitting that they are here, and that it is they who have helped us to achieve our goal. It is the least they can do, considering what they cost us during the war.”
“You mean what they cost you,” Daeniq countered. He was well aware of the reputation of the Enterprise and her captain, particularly the footnote they held in the history of the Satarran Confederation.
Turning to look at him with an expression of mild shock, Lorakin replied, “Cost us, Daeniq. Picard and his ship cost us dearly. If not for their interference, we would have crushed the Lysians once and for all and been well on our way to rebuilding.”
“I know the story,” Daeniq countered, shaking his head.
Too young for military service at the height of his people’s war with the Lysians, he had nevertheless followed events as they were reported on various news services. Even as a child, he was able to understand that Satarran forces were unable to combat those of their enemy. Losses mounted at a staggering rate, and it soon became evident that, barring a miracle, victory would belong to the Lysians.
He also knew about the various unorthodox schemes developed by the Satarran Military Command, desperate attempts to rally one last time against their enemy. One such ploy was the hijacking of the U.S.S. Enterprise and the brainwashing of its crew to make them believe the Federation was at war with the Lysians. The plan had been to use the mighty Starfleet ship’s formidable armaments to destroy a vital Lysian command center and render them powerless to resist the Satarrans any longer.
“If you know the story,” Lorakin said, “then you know that because of their interference, we were instead left with several more years of war and a world left in ruins.”
Daeniq recalled that it was not so simple as his companion believed, even if Lorakin’s emotions were not clouded by the fact that his brother had been the operative sent to infiltrate the Enterprise and put the daring scheme into motion.
It had involved the use of a specially modified sensor beam, the effects of which were to suppress the crew’s memories and make them susceptible to suggestion and direction offered by Lorakin’s brother. The plan had worked up to the point where Picard was poised to order the destructio
n of the Lysian central command, at which time the captain and his people had somehow found a way to counter the beam’s effects.
With the failure of that and other similar strategies, it soon became obvious that the Satarrans’ defeat at the hand of the Lysians was inevitable. As the war wound down and eventually sputtered out altogether, efforts turned from conflict to reconstruction.
In the case of the Satarrans, Daeniq knew that the war had taken its toll on a number of planets in the confederation, including the homeworld itself. Many parts of it had been rendered uninhabitable and there was a great need to relocate the surviving population, a task made much harder by the fact that very few planets in the galaxy were capable of supporting the Satarran species. He had heard the concept of terraforming put forth on more than one occasion, but the consensus among the scientific community was that even if the technology were available, the process would take far too long to be of any assistance to those awaiting transfer to a new home.
Therefore, it was fortunate happenstance that a Satarran reconnaissance vessel had found the Dokaalan probe. What had begun as a simple investigation of the Dokaalan system in search of anything that could be salvaged for the war effort had instead turned into the best hope for the Satarran people to save what remained of their civilization.
The planet being terraformed by the beleaguered Dokaalan was very similar to the Satarran homeworld. A scientific expedition, conducted in stealth so as to avoid attracting the Dokaalan’s attention, had determined that the world would suit their purposes, but only with additional changes in the chemical reactions being made in the atmosphere. The bulk of the work already being performed by the Dokaalan could continue, with the needed alterations being carried out in stealth. It would require subtle changes in both the machinery and computer software overseeing the terraforming process, but technical specialists theorized that such modifications could be made without detection by Dokaalan engineers.