Red-Handed

Posted on Mar 29, 2020 @ 3:35am by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane

Mission: Last Days of Empire

"RED-HANDED"

(Continued from "Confessions Over Cocoa")

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Captain's Log, supplemental - our arrival in the Beta Thoridor system has blown this case wide open. Not only have we finally tracked down the Satet, but we have stumbled across a conspiracy big enough to cause one of the biggest intergalactic incidents of the twenty-fifth century...

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Location: Beta Thoridor, midway between the star and first planet
Stardate: [2.20]0328.1930
Scene: USS Phoenix deck 1, saucer section - main bridge


Michael Turlogh Kane was on his feet when he saw it on the main viewer. The Federation starship Satet, her hull scarred and pockmarked from shipboard disruptor fire, listing to one side even as her tormentors - Klingon Birds of Prey, Orion blockade runners, and one single Romulan scoutship - scattered in all directions in response to the dreadnought's arrival. Like a gang of criminals illuminated by a sudden beam of light, they veered away as the Phoenix drove forward, giving the Satet a moment's respite.

The red alert klaxons were blaring in the background. Kane knew that, below decks, non-essential personnel were quickly clearing the corridors, moving as fast as they could towards the nearest emergency station. A red alert signified an emergency situation that represented imminent danger to the ship. On the main bridge, Jake and Eve were at their seats, and Kass was standing near Jasmine at Tactical.

The three Orion blockade runners did not wait. They pointed their noses at the Alcyonus system, and in a collective burst of light, jumped to warp. In their wake, the Klingon Birds of Prey moved closer to one another, while the Romulan scout hung in space alone.

As the smaller starships fled off-screen, he turned to Jasmine at the Tac console. "Extend our shields around the Satet. Tactical analysis."

Jasmine worked quickly. "Five Klingon Br'el-class Birds of Prey - Captain, one of them is the MoH'Jthor. Three Orion Wanderer-class blockade runners have just gone to warp. One Romulan Lanora-class."

Jake rose from his seat and faced her. "Looks like the Orions are in no mood for a confrontation. Combined, are the remaining starships a threat to the Phoenix?"

Jasmine looked up from her console, a glint in her eye. "No, Commander. I project less than thirty seconds of combat before we turn them to ash."

{{Captain,}} said Byte from the Ops seat, {{the Klingons starships all have similar markings - that of House D'Ghor.}}

Kane frowned. "What do we know about them?"

{{A mid-rank family whose power base, before the Romulan conquest, was in the Mempa sector of the old empire. Their patriarch, Vrok, died in the Battle of Prygus along with most of his retinue. Since then, Grin'Kor, a grand-nephew of Vrok through his mother, has led the family. You will recall that his was the Brid of Prey that crippled the Orion blockade runner where we found the Romulan transmission.}} Byte's brow was furrowed, and it turned in its seat to face Kane. {{Captain, if Grin'Kor is leading House D'Ghor, and Dhirissa has been manipulating Ensign Harrad-Tor, and we have found them here in the company of both Orions and Romulans - }}

Kane looked down at Byte, a deadpan expression on his face. "They're all in it together, Byte. A proper little conspiracy. One hundred and eighty trillion computations per second and you hadn't figured it out?"

"Captain," reported Jasmine, "I am receiving a transmission from Captain Book aboard the Satet."

"Keep a close eye on our friends out there, Lieutenant. Put Captain Book on screen."

The battered, listing silvery hull of the Satet winked, revealing the thin face of an older white man with a pained expression on his lined face. His crop of steel-grey hair was cut close to his scalp, and one side of his face was blackened with smoke. Behind him lay the bridge of the Satet, much smaller than the Phoenix - several of its consoles and stations had been damaged, freely sputtering sparks into the air. There were a half-dozen Human men and women standing behind him too, but none of them were wearing Starfleet uniforms. They were all dressed in nondescript clothing, the kind you'd find on any frontier world - jackets and shirts over functional pants and shoes.

When Book spoke, it was with a distinctive accent and an urgent tone. {{Captain Robert Book of the starship Satet, requesting assistance! We are on a mission for Starfleet Intelligence and carrying vital information in our memory banks!}}

"Captain Kane on the Phoenix." Kane stepped forward. "You're safe now, Captain Book. My crew and I have been searching for you on behalf of Admiral Koniki for the past six months."

Some of the tension seemed to drain out of the older man's face. {{Thank the stars. Listen, one of our engine couplings has destabilised and we can't jump to warp. I have limited armament and half the decks on the ship are without power. We badly need time to attempt repairs.}}

"Incoming transmission," reported Jasmine. "It's the Romulan scout."

Kane nodded. "Standby. Captain Book, there is no immediate danger. Our tactical analysis indicates that the Phoenix is more than a match for your assailants, and we are now being hailed by the Romulans. Begin your repairs - as soon I can arrange it, I will transport engineering support teams to assist you. Phoenix out."

The screen winked again, but the view of the wounded Satet was quickly changed when, at Kane's signal, a new image appeared - the bridge of the Romulan scout. Smaller again than the Satet, and deliberately underlit with a sickly green filter than seemed to emanate from the various computer consoles, Kane's eye was drawn to the striking female Romulan sitting in the centre foreground. She was long-limbed with flowing dark hair and chiselled features, her face covered with strange black tattoo designs that resembled jagged geometric symbols. They arced inward from her cheeks, drawing attention to her quick, black eyes. Rather than a smile, the expression on her face resembled a condescending sneer crossed with a respectful nod.

"I am Michael Turlogh Kane, captain of the Federation starship Phoenix," Kane said expectantly.

The Romulan woman inclined her head. {{Marau. My scoutship is named Aen'Akhiy - Black Wing. I represent the Romulan Tal'Shiar.}}

Kane frowned. That was an organisation he had not altogether been expecting, but when its name was mentioned, he supposed that it should not have been a surprise to hear of it. The Phoenix had recorded a message from a Tal'Shiar Commander to the captain of the Orion blockade runner they had discovered in interstellar space near the Alcyonus system, first alerting them to the likelihood of the Romulans' involvement in the conflict. It made sense - fifty years ago, the Romulans had hatched a plot to eradicate the conquered Klingons from existence, reasoning that the best way to prevent future generations of Romulans from having to fight future generations of Klingons was simply to render the latter extinct. That Ultimate Solution had been stymied by Federation political pressure, but now that that feared scenario was unfolding - a new generation of Klingons seeking to restore their empire - it made sense for the Romulans to feed assistance to the Orions. A proxy war would directly cost less Romulan lives than another prolonged war a generation hence.

It was all true, then. The clues that the Phoenix had been picking up like breadcrumbs on their journey came together like an old jigsaw puzzle. The Tal'Shiar was feeding information, and possibly more, to the Orion Syndicate in the hopes of an Orion victory in the war. At the same time, they were working with House D'Ghor to undermine Is'toQ's war effort. The Satet, dispatched by Admiral Koniki to the conflict zone, had uncovered evidence of Romulan involvement and House D'Ghor's treachery, but had been discovered and forced to flee. Anxious to prevent the Satet from returning to the Federation with her evidence, a huge hunt had been launched for the erstwhile ship, one that Dhirissa aboard the MoH'Jthor had been assisting by trying to manipulate Harrad-Tor. Except now, it had all come to naught - the Phoenix had caught the conspirators red-handed just as they were closing in on the Satet. Now there was nothing to stop the Federation being alerted as to the Romulan involvement in the conflict.

So why was Marau even making contact? Kane stared hard at the woman in the main viewscreen, knowing that everyone else on his bridge was doing the same in an attempt to notice something - anything - about her character that might give an insight as to her true motives. The best thing for her to do, Kane reasoned, would be to activate her cloaking device and return to her operating authority to report the failure of her mission. Was it that - simple self-preservation - that was prompting her to expose herself with a direct message, or did she have something else up her sleeve?

Kane drew a thumb across his throat.

Jasmine immediately cut the audio feed. "Mute. Captain, you should know that I am monitoring increased encrypted subspace messages between the Aen'Akhiy and MoH'Jthor. Marau and Grin'Kor and Dhirissa are in almost frantic communication."

"Interesting." Kane looked around at his officers. "But why aren't they running?" He set his jaw in frustration. "Now that we've arrived, why aren't they running? They can't win in a naval confrontation with the Phoenix."

Kass stepped forward. "They might know that the Satet's bin beat up. This here Marau wumman might be tryin' ta buy time so's she kin figger out sumthin' alternate."

"Such as?" Kane said. "I doubt that the Romulans are here in force. If they sent a fleet of Warbirds to fight alongside the Orions, they'd be risking a potentially devastating diplomatic incident with the Federation, just at the time when treaty negotiations are ongoing."

Kass shrugged.

"I concur," said Eve. "I urge caution, Captain. Marau must feel that she holds a stronger hand than we suspect she has. There may well be a Romulan advantage that we haven't seen yet."

"Either that, or it's an almighty bluff," said Jake. "This might be a last roll of the dice. Marau might feel that she has nothing to lose by trying to buy time, hoping that the Orions win at Alcyonus."

Kane nodded. "It would appear that more than the fate of the Satet is hinging on the outcome of that battle." He turned back to the main viewer, where Marau was watching them carefully. "Alright, Lieutenant Yu. Audio on." He gave it a moment, then spoke again. "Marau, why is the Tal'Shiar firing on the other starship here, the one manned by Humans?"

Marau paused for a moment, as if to consider her answer. {{We and our Orion colleagues were assisting a Klingon attempt to detain and search it, Captain Kane. It is present in this sector of space illegally.}}

"This sector of space belongs to neither Klingons nor Orions, Marau. They are at de facto war with each other in every other star system except this one. Why is that?"

{{Captain, please. The Beta Thoridor system was a part of the Klingon Empire until our victory over them a half-century ago. If anyone has a de jure claim on this star system, is is them.}}

"A strange thing to hear you say that, Marau. There are rumours that the Romulan Tal'Shiar has been assisting the Orion Syndicate in its war effort against the Klingons. Can you speak to that?"

{{The Romulan Star Empire enjoys good relations with the Orion Syndicate, and a number of Tal'Shiar military advisors are observing the course of the conflict. I could say more, but only if you can explain the presence of Starfleet's flagship here, Captain Kane.}}

Kane paused a moment. Then, with wolfish look on his face, he spread his arms wide. "We are responding to reports of a missing civilian freighter in this sector of space. It is the duty of all Starfleet vessels to protect Federation citizens and interests where they are threatened."

Marau's dark eyes betrayed no hint of emotion. {{I propose an in-person conference, Captain Kane. I will prevail upon our Klingon colleague Grin'Kor to attend. Would you be interesting in hosting such a conference?}}

Kane paused. "To what end? I would rather be on my way as soon as possible."

Marau chuckled. {{To discuss the inter-galactic ramifications of any foolish action taken by either of us at this time. Besides, your friends aboard the Satet are not going anywhere for a while.}}

"How did you know the name of the other Human starship?"

A dark look crossed Marau's face. {{Shall we say one hour?}}

Kane nodded. "One hour, then. Phoenix out." As soon as the screen went dark, he turned back to Jake. "Commander, will you lead an engineering support team to the Satet to assist with their repairs?"

Jake shrugged. "Malin-Argo won't be happy that I'm supplanting him. Again."

Kane shook his head. "It's not about that. I'd rather have a command officer from the Phoenix pushing them to hurry up while Book is here." He threw a nod to Jasmine. "Have Captain Book beam to the Phoenix as quickly as possible. I need to go over the details of his mission with him before our guests arrive."

While Jake and Jasmine moved to their work, Kane looked out at the strange gathering of starships, all come to decide the conclusion of this story. One way or another, the dying red sun of Beta Thoridor, orbited by three lifeless planets, was about to bear witness to the last days of someone's empire.

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Scene: Captain's ready room - deck 1, saucer section


Less than ten minutes later, Kane looked up from his ready room desk as the door chime sounded. He got to his feet. "Come."

The door hissed open, admitting both Jasmine and Robert Book. In the flesh, the South African man was a little taller than Kane, but he was thinly built, with the indentations of his bones clearly visible in his hands and face. His blue eyes energetically cast a quick glance around the ready room he entered, but there was nothing much to see - Kane's ready room was a functional, spartan affair.

Kane looked at Jasmine. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

Jasmine inclined her head professionally and exited the room. When the doors closed behind her, Book advanced to Kane's desk, his hand outstretched. "Good to meet you, Captain Kane!"

Kane shook the proferred hand as Book gestured around the room. "I have to say, Captain Kane, I had heard stories about the Phoenix, but they did not do her justice. She is a mighty weapon in our arsenal."

Kane regarded Book through quizzical eyes. "The Phoenix has only ever fired her weapons in anger once upon a time - at the Battle of Earth. I have found that her mere presence is usually enough to defuse potentially dangerous situations. Like this one." He finished pointedly.

Book's smile faded. "Indeed. While I'm glad that Koniki sent someone to find us, I didn't think it would be the Phoenix."

"For once, the interests of Starfleet Intelligence and Operations seem to have coincided." Kane gestured to the wall and sat down his seat. "Feel free to get something from the replicator, but I think we should get to business immediately."

Book seemed a little taken aback at the lack of nicety. "Of course, Captain Kane." Somewhat gingerly, he sat down opposite Kane. "Your First Officer and his engineering team have begun their work on our power coupling. They estimate that - "

"I'm not interested in that." Kane leaned forward. "What the hell went wrong with your mission? Why are we standing on the edge of a knife with the Romulans while the Klingons and Orions are killing each other?"

Book sighed. "In short, politics." He thought for a moment, looking for the right words. "The Romulans see an opportunity to recreate the balance of power in the quadrant. If their Tal'Shiar can help the Orions defeat any Klingon resurgence, then suddenly the Orion Syndicate becomes a major player in intergalactic politics. They get a seat at the table with us while the Klingons are consigned to the dustbin of history."

"I know that. So Koniki sent the Satet here to find out if there was a war underway?"

"Nothing so short-term," Book chuckled. "We were to monitor the course of the war, send regular reports back as to who was winning - that sort of thing. That's why the Satet was disguised as a simple merchant freighter. It was hoped that we could skirt the edges of the war and keep a close watch on it."

Kane felt anger burn within him. That contradicted the mission briefing given to him by Admiral T'sen, who in turn had been relaying information from Admiral Koniki. Koniki had indicated that the Satet was simply assessing the situation and had failed to report back, but Book was now saying that the Satet's mission was always supposed to last longer. He kept his expression neutral. "I see. Go on."

"I assembled a complement of fifty officers and crew and made our way here. At first, the mission went well enough - we compiled a lot of information on the Klingons, on the composition and supply chain of Is'toQ's fleet. We analysed his tactical movements and projected where and when his major attacks would be. That part was easy."

Kane could see where this was going. "But when you started spying on the Orions, it was a different story."

"Right. The Klingons were so driven to pursue their war that they weren't paying much attention to things like administering any systems they conquered. But the Orions - well, they were different. Shipping permits, transport licences, spaceport passes - you name it, they wanted it. All designed to monitor just who was on the periphery of their conflict, and you might be forgiven for thinking that it was normal, except that it wasn't. The Syndicate might be a kleptocracy but they know how to grease wheels. These new administrative steps were both novel and incredibly efficient. Over time, a description of the Satet was being cross-referenced in shipping indexes from here to - "

"Romulus," said Kane. "That's how the Tal'Shiar identified you."

Book nodded. "Got it in one. Anyway, we had been monitoring subspace communications between the Romulans and the Syndicate for months. Here and there we'd take note of a Romulan ship docked at an Orion port - hell, we once observed the visit of a Romulan senator to the Rigel system. It was obvious that they were drawing closer together."

"I can see how that might be worrying to Starfleet Intelligence," said Kane.

"The Tal'Shiar must have been laying a trap for us for weeks. Once they realised that a certain converted Luna-class transport ship was here, or there, or some other place - locations where a battle had taken place, usually - they dispatched an Orion ship to intercept us. They caught up with us near the Alcyonus system, but before they could board us, a Klingon Bird of Prey decloaked and started shooting."

Kane nodded, remembering the Orion hulk that the Phoenix had encountered. An away team had recovered a fragment of a subspace message from the Tal'Shiar to the Orions, advising them of the Satet's location. That had been the initial breadcrumb that led the Phoenix down this dark trail.

"We had been damaged during the Klingon attack, and we strongly suspected that the Orions had blown our cover. However, I was reasonably sure that the Klingons thought we were just another Human cargo freighter, so we made for the Alcyonus system hoping to get beyond the reach of the Orions."

"Ah, now we're getting to it." Kane leaned back in his seat. "You didn't know that the Klingons had built a temporary prison facility on the innermost planet."

Book shook his head. "No. Almost as soon as we dropped out of warp, the Klingons moved to intercept us. I could not let the Satet fall into their hands, so I ordered the crew to abandon the ship." He looked down at the floor. "Except for a few officers remaining behind to man some critical systems, everyone else got to the escape pods. The sudden launch of so many pods made the Klingons stop, giving us enough time to jump to warp."

Kane sighed. "The Klingons interned all your crew-members in their prison facility."

"I thought they might. I also calculated that it was possible that the Klingons would eventually torture the truth out of them - that this anonymous Luna-class freighter was actually a Starfleet Intelligence spy vessel - so I high-tailed it out of there. We had almost a year's worth of intelligence data in our memory banks - we couldn't risk capture."

"But you were caught anyway."

Book nodded. "Grin'Kor put two and two together - him or that Dhirissa woman did. He pulled his squadron out of Is'toQ's fleet and notified the Tal'Shiar that the whole scheme was in danger. They pursued us and caught us, and would have destroyed us had you not arrived in the nick of time."

Kane didn't say anything at first. Sacrificing the majority of his crew in order to buy time for his mission was a morally reprehensible thing for Book to have done, but was tactically sound. Looking back over his own career, Kane wasn't sure he could find it within himself to criticise Book's decision and not be a hypocrite. "You'll be happy to know that the majority of your crew were recovered from the prison facility on Alcyonus."

"I'm thankful to you and your crew for having facilitated that, Captain Kane."

A lull fell upon the conversation. Kane let the silence draw out. If Book was hiding anything, it might show on his face or in his body language, but Book kept his eyes down, looking at the floor. It was like he was deliberately assuming a submissive posture, which in itself was a little suspicious, given that both of them were the same rank. Kane knew that he himself was holding back - he hadn't said anything abour Harrad-Tor yet - and inwardly cursed the agendas that were feeding this whole situation. Everyone involved - Is'toQ, Book, Marau - had their own ambitions and objectives that they were moving toward, and the Phoenix risked being pulled in several directions at once. That was par for the course whenever you had to deal with Starfleet Intelligence.

"Will you remain on board the Phoenix?" he asked Book. "The Romulan Tal'Shiar agent, Marau, wants to bring Grin'Kor aboard for a conference."

Book frowned. "What's to talk about? We've got our intel. Let's get out of here as soon as the Satet is repaired."

"We will. No harm in talking in the meantime though, right?" Kane got to his feet. "Should be any minute now."

Robert Book sat back in his seat and folded his arms.

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Time passed. Not long, but the ticking of the seconds and minutes bled into one another, as many characters moved around to their tasks.

In transporter room one, Jasmine Yu supervised the arrival of the Romulans and Klingons aboard the Phoenix. She kept a close eye on Marau, and an even closer one on Marau's companion - a beautiful Romulan woman named Jerika. Jasmine kept her expression carefully neutral, realising that Marau had brought aboard the woman that had caused so much trouble between Harrad-Tor and the dead Liriss.

A few minutes thereafter, the Klingon Grin'Kor, master of House D'Ghor, beamed aboard alone. He had not dressed for battle - his single braid of hair was curled on his left shoulder, resting atop a light jerkin of leather armour that covered his torso. He had come unarmed.

Jake Crichton worked as quickly as he dared on the Satet's warp power couplings. Over a year without maintenance had caused them to become somewhat run down, but something could be jury-rigged enough, or perhaps power could be re-routed enough, so that the Satet could jump to warp as quickly as possible. The work was not easy, but of the remaining ten officers aboard the Satet, all but two were working on the repairs. The old buzz was returning - Jake gritted his teeth, determined to get this job done.

In Alcyonus, a victor was crowned.

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Location: USS Phoenix, as before
Scene: Captain's Ready Room - deck 1, saucer section


When the door to the ready room opened again, Kane and Robert Book were waiting by it.

Marau and Jerika entered carefully, followed a step behind by Grin'Kor. In the flesh, Marau was even more intimidating than on screen. She was the tallest person in the room, statuesque and lithe, and her face tattoos seemed to move of their own accord. For her part, Jerika's lightly-tanned skin was fragranced with delicate perfume, her gossamer-thin silver dress revealing as much of her body as was polite, and her black hair flowed like the tide. Her make-up accentuated her natural beauty, and she smiled shyly, fluttering her eyes at both Kane and Book.

"Sit here," said Book, leading Marau and Jerika to two seats at Kane's desk. Grin'Kor moved to the corner of the room and stood ramrod-straight, folding his meaty arms across his chest.

Jasmine approached Kane and lowered her voice. "The woman Jerika," she whispered, nodding towards her, "is who Harrad-Tor knows as a Risean named Jeeza."

Kane nodded. "Interesting. It seems that the Tal'Shiar have ended that particular game."

Jasmine looked distastefully at Jerika's curves, barely hidden by her outfit. "I think I see her new game quite clearly," she grimaced, turning to go.

When the door was closed, Kane moved to his seat. Jerika gave him a winning smile, but he ignored it - Harrad-Tor's story rendered him immune to her charms, even if Book was not. Kane focused on Marau instead, keeping his eye on Grin'Kor in the corner. "You suggested this meeting and now you are here. Say what you have to say."

Marau nodded. "As you wish. Let us speak of war."

Kane raised an eyebrow. "I would prefer to speak of peace."

"As would I," Marau said evenly. "But if the Satet returns to Federation space with its intelligence, it will lead to war between the Federation and the Empire."

"Our mission was not one of war," interjected Book.

"Consider the situation," said Marau. "If the Satet's data is returned to Starfleet Intelligence, then your superiors will learn that the Tal'Shiar has been assisting the Orions in their effort to expand their territory. They will be anxious to prevent the rise of a new Romulan-backed power on their border. What is their response most likely to be?"

Kane frowned. "It is possible that we will attempt to ally with the Klingons to counter the Romulan-Orion alliance."

"It would not stop at a simple political alliance," said Marau. "As the war ebbs and flows, both our governments would be forced into an ever-escalating proxy war, where we feed the conflict with our own resources. How long before an Agent from your new Section 31 is sent on a mission against Romulan or Orion interests in the war zone? How long before the Federation Council authorises humanitarian aid to the Klingons, aid that might take the form of a starship?"

Kane could see her point. "Your people would be carrying out their own operations at the same time."

"Indeed," Marau nodded. "You can see, then, the value of peace."

Kane leaned back in his seat, fixing his gaze on Grin'Kor in the corner. While he addressed Marau, he looked Grin'Kor dead in the eye. "And what of House D'Ghor? Are they content to be traitors, a family without honour?"

Grin'Kor bared his teeth, and made to step forward, but Marau put up a hand, and he held his ground. "I would be prepared to recommend to my superiors that we withdraw our support for House D'Ghor. They would have to make their own fortunes."

Kane recalled the Tal'Shiar message to the Orion hulk, the same one that he had ordered be sent on to Is'toQ, calculating that the Klingon warlord would be so enraged that he would immediately attack the Orion fleet at Alcyonus, thus giving the Phoenix the cover she needed to extract the Satet survivors from the prison facility. Grin'Kor likely didn't know of the existence of that message, one that condemned his entire house to death once Is'toQ put all the pieces together. Marau's offer, then, was acceptable, so he nodded slowly. "I can agree to this."

"A first step," smiled Jerika.

Kane noticed that her eyes were flickering back and forth between he and Book, the index finger on her right hand idly resting on the corner of her full lips. He glanced at Book - the older man seemed entranced. Ignoring Jerika, Kane kept his gaze on Marau. "Your companion seems to think that she can cast a spell on us with her beauty. Please advise her that, if she was in her disguise as Jeeza, I would have no hesitation in locking her up in my brig for what she has tried to do to a member of my crew."

All the colour drained from Jerika's face, and her mouth dropped open in shock. She shot an amazed glance at Marau, then back to Kane. "How long - "

"Oh, quite a while. You're not the only one who can put on a show."

Jerika's chin dropped to her chest, and she folded her arms around herself, the femme fatale act melting away like mascara in the rain. Marau's expression didn't change, and now Kane could see the added value of her face tattoos - not only did they give her a more menacing air, but they also made it much more difficult to read any emotions on her face.

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed in the room before Marau broke it. "We are in agreement that the Satet's data cannot return to Federation space?"

"No, we are not!" said Robert Book, leaning forward. "I will not invalidate a year's worth of dangerous work on the back of a veiled threat by one lying Romulan agent!"

"Not even to preserve the peace between our two powers?" asked Marau. She looked at Kane. "Not even to prevent a proxy war from escalating on both our borders?"

"I was following orders!" said Book angrily. "Just like you are, Marau! Is this your final gambit? You've lost the game, so now you try to threaten us with war to cover your failure? When you go home, you give your superiors this and hope it saves your skin?"

Marau looked at him witheringly. "Captain Book, this is not a game."

Kane cursed inwardly. Marau was making a fine point. Even though the Satet's spying mission had been authorised by Admiral Koniki, that did not mean that the Klingons, Romulans, and Orions would be pleased if news of it broke. It could damage treaty negotiations with the Romulans, affect diplomacy with the Syndicate, and might put paid to any chance of a good relationship with the nascent Klingons. Besides, he thought, wouldn't a verbal report confirming the conflict and warning of a Tal'Shiar presence suffice? Captain Book and his crew could reassemble as much information as they could from memory - it would not be same as uploading databanks of information to a computer, and it might mean that Starfleet Intelligence would lose all the specifics of the data, but that would have to be measured against dragging the Romulans and Federation into this conflict.

Book made to respond, but Kane held up a hand, and all eyes turned to him. He spoke slowly and deliberately.

"I think we can come to an agreement."

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Without much fanfare, Marau, Jerika, and Grin'Kor were escorted back to the transporter room and returned to their ships. Nobody spoke to them, and they didn't talk to anyone else, and their faces betrayed no hint of emotion as to what had been talked about in the captain's ready room, but Marau held her head high and haughty, as daring fate to stand in her way.

In a subsequent private conversation between Captains Kane and Book, the bridge crew heard the latter's voice raised in anger and frustration. Indeed, it even sounded like he had given vent to a gutteral yell, before choking it off and lowering his voice. When he emerged from the ready room, Robert Book's face looked like thunder. He made his way to guest quarters assigned to him, where he remained for the next several hours.

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Location: USS Phoenix, as before
Scene: Main bridge - deck 1, saucer section


A few minutes after Robert Book's departure below decks, Kane came out of the ready room. If he had lost his composure in there, he was careful not to show it to the crew. He moved to Eve. "I'm sorry for having to cut you out of that conversation, Counselor, but I doubt you would have changed any minds in there. Perhaps, on our voyage home, you might pay a call on Captain Book. I think he's going to need it."

Eve nodded slowly.

"We're gittin' outa here, then?" asked Kass.

Kane turned to answer her, but a series of warning chimes from Jasmine's console cut him off. He glanced up at her. "Report."

"Multiple starships dropping out of warp!" she snapped. "It's Is'toQ!"

Kane turned on his heel and watched as a dozen Klingon warships appeared in flashes of white light, decelerating to impulse power with a shocking suddenness. In their midst was the fearsome silhouette of the Leading Sword, Is'toQ's distinctive Negh'Var-class battleship, surrounded by several K'vort-class heavy cruisers and escorting Bre'el-class Birds of Prey. The Klingon ships had all been damaged to varying degrees, their hulls pockmarked with Orion disruptor hits, but none of them looked like they were in any danger of destruction.

Kane made to order Jasmine to open a hailing frequency, but events were not working to his direction. As soon as they hit impulse power, the Klingon fleet vomited forth a stream of green shipboard disruptor fire, unleashing hell not upon the Aen'Akhiy, but on the small House D'Ghor Birds of Prey.

"They're shootin' at their own ships!" exclaimed Kass.

Kane watched as the House D'Ghor ships splashed fire in space, detonating into fireballs that lit up the screen as bright as day. Somewhere in the carnage, he saw the MoH'Jthor explode as a series of disruptor hits on her hull shattered her superstructure, killing Grin'Kor and Dhirissa both. Is'toQ's Birds of Prey moved forward into the wreckage, incinerating anything that remained. At a stroke, the bulk of House D'Ghor had been obliterated.

As the fires died down, Kane turned to Jasmine. "Order Commander Crichton to evacuate the Satet immediately. Get all remaining Satet officers off the ship and bring them here. Open a channel to the Leading Sword."

Precious seconds ticked by as Jasmine worked. Kane wondered what Is'toQ's intentions were - if he decided to fight, the Phoenix would be under strain, her shields extended as they were around the Satet. If it came down to it, he was confident that the dreadnought could give Is'toQ's fleet a hard fight.

"Captain!" warned Jasmine. "Is'toQ's fleet is locking its weapons on the Aen'Akhiy!"

Kane looked. The small scoutship was turning on its axis in a leisurely fashion, pointing its nose at the distant stars of the Romulan Empire. He turned to Jasmine in desperation. "Is the Leading Sword receiving us?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Is'toQ!" yelled Kane into the comms frequency. "This is Captain Kane aboard the Phoenix! Do not attack the Romulan scout - respond to this message!"

Nothing. The silence of forever. But there was no shooting from the Klingon fleet, and the warp nacelles of the Aen'Akhiy flared into life as she prepared to jump to warp.

"I'stoQ!" called Kane again. "You already have the blood of House D'Ghor on your hands! Your enemies are all vanquished! Do not create any more by acting rashly now!"

For a moment, nothing happened, but then the viewscreen changed as Is'toQ responded to the hail. His bridge had taken a bit of a beating, but it was the same darkly-lit cave he remembered. Is'toQ's warriors were at their stations like shadows in a dream, but Is'toQ himself was standing in the foreground in front of his own main viewer. He looked unscathed, but his blood was clearly up - his fingers flexed murderously into fists, and his sharp teeth were bared. He was wearing his purple-tinged warlord's cloak over his armour, clustered with medals and charms, and his breathing was heavy. {{I see you, Captain Kane.}}

Kane advanced to his own main viewer. "And I see you, Is'toQ. Since you are here, I take it that you have been victorious at Alcyonus?"

Is'toQ's features twisted into a smile. It was a sight to chill the blood. {{The greenskin fleet is burning in space!}}

In the shadows behind him, the Klingon bridge officers erupted into a chorus of {{Qapla'!}}

Kane glanced at Jasmine, who was signaling for his attention. "Sir, Commander Crichton and the last of the Satet crew are aboard the Phoenix."

Kane acknowledged her with a nod and turned back to the main viewer. "My congratulations to you, Is'toQ. Your rule over these star systems is now unchallenged."

{{It is so. My thanks for transmitting the message that proved the traitorous actions of House D'Ghor. The Romulan plot is defeated, their ringleader captured, and the Satet is now in my hands. With the application of much pain, I will extract all the details I need to understand the full extent of what our enemies tried to do to us.}}

The turbolift door opened and closed behind him. Kane sensed Jake's presence approach his shoulder. He shook his head slowly. "No, Is'toQ. I have come to an agreement with Marau. She will be leaving this system unmolested."

Is'toQ's eyes widened with shock. {{What do you mean?}}

Kane drew himself up to his full height and tried to project as strong an image of confidence and power as he was capable of. "I mean that the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire have reached an informal accord that I hope will be secretly ratified by our respective intelligence services. There will be no more spying in this area of space by either of us. There will not be a proxy war fought here today."

{{But the Satet's data - }}

"Is going nowhere." Kane turned to Jasmine. "Target the Satet with a torpedo spread and destroy it."

Jasmine's jaw dropped. Beside him, Jake whispered, "Captain, what is this? The Satet has been repaired, we can sail her out of here and - "

{{Captain Kane,}} said Is'toQ in a dangerous tone, {{am I to understand that you are taking the side of the Romulans over the side of your former allies?}}

"Your actions at Sherman's Planet last year were not the actions of an ally," said Kane in a voice so hard he could have driven nails with it. "Lieutenant Yu, fire the torpedo spread or I will do it myself."

"Yes sir," said Jasmine.

"Captain!" hissed Jake. "I have not been briefed on your agreement with Marau! I cannot support this course of action!"

Kane kept his eyes dead ahead.

Somewhere in the bowels of the ship, a series of muted thuds signalled the launch of the quantum torpedo spread. Although the main viewer was dominated by the sight of an aghast Is'toQ and his bridge, Kane imagined the torpedoes winging their way across space and impacting upon the Satet's hull, detonating her nacelles in a fireball that ravenously ate up her primary hull until there was nothing left of her.

"Target destroyed," said Jasmine neutrally. "The Aen'Akhiy has jumped to warp."

Is'toQ was raging. {{The Satet was mine, Kane!}} he bellowed, levelling a fist at the main viewer. {{All the evidence in her memory banks was mine!}}

"The Federation will not be dragged into your wars of conquest, Is'toQ," said Kane. "There would be no Romulan alliance with the Orion Syndicate had you confined yourself to rebuilding Qo'noS and not sought to gain glory for yourself. There isn't anyone involved in this who doesn't have blood on their hands."

Is'toQ was helpless. {{By Kahless,}} he snarled, {{I swear that if I ever meet the Phoenix again it will be in battle.}} He signalled to one of his bridge crew, and the connection was cut, defaulting back to the sight of the Klingon fleet facing off against the main viewer.

Kane touched Sotaar on the shoulder. "Get us out of here, Lieutenant." He turned to face his bridge crew - all of them were staring at him with a mixture of confusion and shock. There was nothing he could say to them that would explain. There were no easy answers to make sense of all this mess, there was only the crash of the wave upon the rock, with neither giving way except to acknowledge that there would be another day for both of them. It seemed that history was full of moments like these, where two larger powers came to some agreement that a smaller power had no say in. On a thousand planets in a thousand star systems, the strong did what they can, and the weak suffered what they must. It was pragmatic, but it still didn't feel good.

The Phoenix had a voyage ahead of it to return to Starbase 56, and he promised himself that he would try to do his best to repair his relationship, such as it was, with all those men and women who were looking at him now with a sense of betrayal, especially Jake Crichton. He could think of nothing to do right now except to get away from their collective gaze. "You have the bridge, Mister Crichton. I'll be in my ready room."

He moved away, hoping, hoping, hoping that he had made the right decision. The future was an unknown road, but at least in the travelling of it, peace would still have a chance.

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NRPG: That was the climax of Last Days of Empire! The Klingons have defeated the Orions, and Is'toQ has won glory for himself and a swathe of new territory that will be added to the growing Klingon Empire. In the years ahead, the Klingons may well go from strength to strength on the back of this victory.

Robert Book and the surviving crew of the Satet will be housed in guest quarters until we return them to Starbase 56 (which, ironically, lies along the border of the Romulan Star Empire). You might decide to meet them around the ship, but Book is a veteran enough officer not to give away anything he doesn't think your character ought to know about.

We can handle the voyage back to Starbase 56 in an abstract way, and one of you might decide to write our arrival there, where we'll be spending a few days' worth of shore leave while we wait the beginning of our next story.


Jerome McKee
the Soul of Captain Michael Turlogh Kane
Commanding Officer
USS PHOENIX

"He speaks an infinite deal of nothing!"
- Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", Act 1, Scene 1.117

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