Part 13 (1/2)
”I still have one operative cruiser stationed at the starbase,” said Gruzinov. ”I could dispatch it to D'rahl at once and make certain none of those s.h.i.+ps leave orbit.”
Picard shook his head. ”No, Ivan, I wish it could be so, but with the possibility of a cloaked Romulan Warbird in the area, we don't dare leave Artemis VI unprotected.”
Gruzinov made a wry grimace. ”It wouldn't be very much protection,” he said. ”A Warbird would make short work of my light cruiser. And even if they are not holding our people prisoner, any one of those vessels in orbit above D'rahl could be used to ferry an a.s.sault force over to N'trahn.”
”Unless they already have troops in place,” Picard said. He shook his head. ”No, I cannot take the chance. The colony on Artemis VI must be protected. Dispatch your cruiser there at once and have them stand by on yellow alert.”
Gruzinov nodded. ”Mr. Worf, get me Starbase 37.”
”Aye-aye, sir.”
”If Kronak has a Warbird, then by now they are aware we have left orbit,” said Picard. ”And you can be sure that they will follow us. Yellow alert, Mr. Worf.”
”What have you done?” T'grayn said, wringing his hands in anxiety. ”You have exposed me as a liar and a collaborator! You have exposed J'drahn! You have ruined everything!”
”Be silent,” said Kronak, as he rapidly punched in a code on the viewscreen console.
”You could have withdrawn your troops!” T'grayn said. ”I could have denied everything! It would have been their word against mine!”
”I said, be silent, you miserable slug!” said Kronak.
”What ... what are you going to do?” T'grayn asked, fearfully.
The face of a K'tralli appeared on the viewscreen.
”This is Tribune Kronak. I wish to speak with Overlord J'drahn at once,” said Kronak.
”Overlord J'drahn has retired for the night, sir,” said the K'tralli.
”Then wake him! Now!”
”One moment, sir... .”
”Is everyone in this b.l.o.o.d.y culture an idiot?” said Kronak. There was a signal on his communicator. He removed it from his belt and snapped it open. ”Kronak,” he said.
”Your Excellency, the Enterprise has left orbit.”
”Predictable,” said Kronak. ”Stand by to beam me back aboard the s.h.i.+p.” He turned back to the console. ”What's keeping that fool?”
J'drahn's sleepy-looking face appeared on the screen. ”What is so important that it could not wait until morning, Kronak?” he asked, petulantly.
”Picard has Colonel Z'gral,” said Kronak. ”He is aboard the Enterprise, which has just left orbit and is undoubtedly on its way to N'trahn even as we speak.”
J'drahn grew pale. Suddenly, he was wide awake. ”B-but ... h-how is that possible?” he stammered. ”You a.s.sured me that Z'gral was going to be taken care of!”
”Regrettably, Picard reached him first and rescued him,” said Kronak. ”I did not think he had the nerve, but he is more clever than I thought. If you wish to maintain your position as overlord of the K'tralli Empire, then I suggest you see to it immediately that H'druhn is in no position to remove you from office.”
”You mean ...”
”I mean, kill him.”
”But ... my own father?” said J'drahn.
”Your own father, when confronted with your actions by Z'gral and Picard, is liable to have you executed for treason. I certainly would, if you were my son.”
”No, he could never do that,” J'drahn protested. ”I have my loyal troops-”
”And he has his,” said Kronak. ”At the very least, he will bring a civil war down on your head, and as he is considerably more popular than you, I would not give great odds for your chances. You know what you have to do, so do it. Now.”
”But the Enterprise ...”
”Leave the Enterprise to me,” said Kronak. ”Now stop wasting time. You have precious little of it left.”
Kronak cut off the transmission and called his s.h.i.+p on his communicator. ”Prepare to leave orbit,” he said. ”Beam me up now.”
”But ... what am I to do?” T'grayn asked, miserably.
”I could not care less,” said Kronak, with contempt. ”I have no further use for you.”
The transporter from the Warbird locked on to him, and an instant later he was gone.
T'grayn stood alone, wringing his hands, his chest rising and falling with his panicked, labored breathing. Sweat stood out on his high forehead. This was not how it was supposed to be, he thought. It was supposed to be nothing more than easy profits, letting the freebooters take all the risk ... and all the blame. But everything had changed when J'drahn brought Kronak into it. Kronak and Blaze.
He had been a fool not to see this coming. Blaze was uncontrollable. And that had suited Kronak's purposes perfectly. T'grayn now saw that Blaze had been nothing more than a lure to bring the Federation stars.h.i.+p. That was what Kronak had wanted all along, and J'drahn had been too greedy and too full of his own self-righteousness to see it. Or perhaps he truly didn't care if the Romulans took over. Perhaps he really believed they would retain him in his position as overlord of the K'trall. T'grayn knew better now. Kronak would discard J'drahn just as he had now discarded him. He could easily have killed me, thought T'grayn. Except that he did not even think that I was worth the trouble.
He had to get away. He had to escape while there was still time. If the Federation prevailed somehow, it would be all over for him. J'drahn's government would fall and they would both be tried for their crimes. And if the Romulans prevailed, as seemed likely, then every citizen of D'rahl would be howling for his blood. There would not be a safe place for him anywhere in the K'tralli Empire.
He sat down at the console and reached for the keyboard, his fat, beringed fingers trembling. He swallowed hard, moistened his lips, and punched in a code. When his call was answered, he took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves, and said, ”This is Governor T'grayn. I must speak with Captain Blaze at once.”
Riker got out of the turbolift on Deck 7 and made his way quickly to sickbay. When he got there, Dorn was busy tending to a couple of the Glory's crewmen, applying sealant to their wounds.
”I'll be with you in a moment,” she said, glancing at Riker as he entered. She turned back to the crewmen and gave each of them a hypospray injection. ”There, all finished.”
”Thanks, Doc,” the crewman said.
”Don't call me 'Doc,' I'm not a doctor,” she said. ”And I'm a little rusty at this, so try to finish each other off next time and save me the trouble of patching you up again.”
”You're all right, Doc.”
”Get out of here. I've got another patient and I'm still not finished taking inventory. Go.”
”Doc?” said Riker, as they left.
”It seems I'm the closest thing they've got to a s.h.i.+p's doctor,” Dorn said, wryly.
”What about Katana, with her built-in pharmacy?”