CHAPTER TWELVE
“Commander,
the
I had thought things were going entirely too well, Toreth thought with grim
amusement.
The
captain of the Imperial Romulan Warbird Khazara
stepped forward to stand beside her tactical officer and examine his readouts
for herself.
“Slow
to sublight. Is there any indication that she has detected us?” Toreth
possessed an imperious voice—it was a quality common to most Romulan officers—but
in her the tone was moderated by a certain aristocratic grace. She didn’t know
it, but those who served beneath her appreciated its steely subtlety. It could
caress, or crush.
R’vek
examined the display with renewed vigor. “I do not believe so, Commander. The
cloaking device is functioning optimally, and we have been careful to restrict
our maneuvers when within the detection sphere of their short range sensor
array.” He examined additional readings as they became available, and then
reported, “They have come to a complete stop.”
“Their
state of readiness?” she asked.
“Heightened,
but not anticipating battle.”
“Hmm.”
She eased into her command chair, and smiled slightly. “Sniffing around the
door before they enter, no doubt.”
But you will enter, Captain Picard. You have no other choice; I have been assured
that circumstance has allowed you none.
She
observed both the now-stationary
It
had been an
Then,
to add dismay to dishonor, the little demoness had been beamed right off her
own bridge to safety on the
Commanding
the Khazara? Toreth knew she was
fortunate to yet be alive.
Of
course, her patron, Senator Varel, had argued desperately to have her spared,
but she’d known it was unlikely that even his considerable influence could have
saved her unless he’d had support.
A
subspace message four days ago from her old rival Tomalak had made it clear
from where that support had come.
Toreth
had understood that the retention—both of her command and her life—had a price. She had
been more than willing to pay it.
So
it was that for the second time in as many months, the Khazara had abandoned her assigned mission and diverted to
accomplish another. She’d crossed the Neutral Zone and carefully picked her way
along the Federation border, skirting the numerous listening drones and
gravitic sensor nets; gambling that she would find a weak link before she ran
into a tachyon detection grid, or was located by the powerful and sensitive
scanners of the Earth Outpost Stations—which might be old, but were
scrupulously maintained and upgraded.
Finally,
as much on instinct as information, Toreth had ordered the Khazara into Federation space.
Her
instincts had been good; insofar as she could tell, they had escaped detection.
Less
than four hours later, her prey had appeared, and the hunt had begun.
Tomalak
had simply told her, “After you have
successfully crossed the border, you will hold position until the
“Eventually, she will move into the Neutral
Zone. Follow her to Selerria Four, and await my instructions.
“If, at any time, she attempts to turn back,
destroy her.”
At
this, Toreth had protested.
“What
if we are in range of an Earth Outpost Station, as we shall almost certainly
be?”
Tomalak
had replied, “By that time, I shall have
full approval of my plan in the Senate, and the bulk of the Federation fleet
will be... far away.
“Destroy the
Outpost, as well.”
She’d
struggled to control her shock. “These actions will mean a war with the Federation and the Klingons.”
Then,
he’d smiled, viciously, and Toreth had realized she owed her life and her
command to one who no longer saw the universe in the way she did…
…and his
vision was either brilliant or insane.
“Yes,
it will.”
“Commander,
the
Never
in her long career had Toreth hesitated. Now, though, she stared as the
Federation vessel began to turn towards her own destruction.
R’vek’s
voice was very far away.
“Orders,
Commander?”
Toreth
listened to herself direct them. “Prepare attack procedure. On my command,
disengage the cloak and raise shields. Disruptors to full power.”
In
the moment before she gave the order, she saw the distinctive flash of light
that Federation vessels gave when they went into warp; and the
“Pursuit
course, ahead flank,” she snapped.
Khazara was a powerful vessel, and
swift; but even had she been uncloaked, with her entire energy reserves
boosting her speed, she could not quite
keep pace with a Galaxy-class
starship at maximum velocity—not without damaging her warp coils beyond repair.
As
it was, the contest was over before it started.
“
R’vek
was a typical Romulan: he well knew that Khazara
had no chance even if
visible, but pride in his people and their technology would never allow him to
concede that the Federation’s fastest class of ship could outpace the glory of
the Empire.
“What
is her course?”
The
helmsman checked her instruments, and answered, “She is skirting the border
much as we did two days ago. The heading will eventually bring her to a point
in Federation space proximate to Selerria Four.”
“Stand
down from attack posture. Use any means to increase our velocity, short of
straining the engines,” ordered Toreth. “Inform me of any change in
“Yes,
Commander.”
Perhaps I can find the Tal Shiar agent on
board and turn command over to him or her.
It might be worth the gesture, just to see the expression on his or her face as
I did so. This image caused her to laugh out loud, and a centurion passing
her in the corridor nearly fainted from shock.
As
she continued toward her quarters, Toreth tried not to think anymore.
She
failed.
Am I destined to give the command that will
plunge the Empire into a war? She struggled not to add, One it cannot win?
Again,
she failed.
Against a vessel
blessed by the Elements, she thought, I have allied myself with a madman.
CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER THIRTEEN