ENT - 012 - Kobayashi Maru

FIVE

The Year of Kahless 781 The Klingon-Romulan border

B ENEATH HIS LONG MUSTACHE, Nahtan smiled, displaying the grin of a toQvulture. Today was a glorious day. His DVagh-class battle cruiser, the I.K.S. Veqlargh Jajlo,was in top shape, having just undergone a thorough refit and overhaul at the shipyards orbiting Praxis. His complement of weapons was full, and his crew was rested and ready for a battle.

And now they had one.

“Ready disruptor cannons! he ordered, standing up from his chair in the center of the ships bridge and stalking closer to the main viewer. Around him, the warriors at his service bustled to comply.

On the screen was a RomuluSnganvessel, though it wasnt a ship of the type most commonly seen in his ships database. They had first encountered the enemy vessel via long-range scanners within the past kilaan,while searching for two missing Klingon battle cruisers, the I.K.S. SImyoHand the I.K.S. MupchIch.

“What progress have you made with the scans? Nahtan asked, stalking to the workstation of Nevahk, his most intelligent technician.

Nevahk barely glanced his way, concentrating instead on moving his blunt fingers over a multitude of blinking tactical screens. “They have been successful at blocking most of the scans, but we captured some fragmentary information nonetheless. He pointed a dusky-hued finger at a diagram that was uploading to a hull-mounted monitor to his upper left. “They have shields and weapons comparable to ours, though their skill in utilizing them no doubt pales beside the strength of the Empire.

He pointed to another area of his console, upon which the screens appeared blank. “We are unable to scan thissection of the vessel, which seems to be shielded heavily.

“Then that section shall be our first target, Nahtan growled, turning on his heel and striding back to the center of the bridge.

“Open channels again! he commanded, casting the most intimidating glower he could muster toward the central viewer. “Romulan vessel, you will stand down and prepare to be boarded. You stand accused of piracy and sabotage, and will answer to the laws of the Klingon Empire!

He waited for several moments before turning his gaze toward Dekkven, his communications officer. The young warrior, a bekkwho had recently lost most of his lower teeth in a brawl over a spilled bowl of gagh,shook his head. “No response, Captain, he said, his words slightly lisped around his injuries.

“Repeat the message and continue sending, Nahtan barked. He knew that if he were to fire on the other ship unprovoked, it could be seen as an act of cowardice. But by openly accusing the RomuluSnganeven giving them a chance to surrender without a fighthe was protecting himself both tactically andpolitically. But soon, he would have no choice but to follow through on his threats. Other than that, his only concern now was whatever it was the Romulans were trying to conceal from his ships sensors.

“Captain, the Romulan ship is polarizing its hull plating, the comely Korind said from her station at the left of the viewer. “Its weapons tubes are powering up.

“Prepare to attack, Nahtan growled loudly, feeling his pulse quicken with the exhilaration of imminent combat. He felt certain that his crew was as excited as he was; they had done without the glories of battle for far too long.

“Tracking another ship coming out of warp, Korind said, even as the main viewscreen split into two images. On the left side was the Romulan ship, but on the right was a far more familiar vessel.

“The MupchIch. Nahtan was surprised but pleased. No trace of either of the missing Klingon ships had yet been found; no one had yet assumed the worst, though both vessels had been overdue long enough to cause some concern among the fleets command hierarchy.

Grinning with satisfaction, Nahtan now felt certain that he would see unequivocal and absolute victory this day. No Romulan vessel had ever been captured whole, and certainly not with its crew alive. But the enemy craft before him now was hopelessly outgunned, and might therefore be overwhelmed and seized intact. If the RomuluSnganwere smart, they would turn and run back to their sovereign space like a whipped targwhile they still stood any chance at all of doing so. The only choices that remained to them now were to display their cowardice, blow themselves up, or admit Doghjeyunconditional surrenderand await their just fate as jeghpujwI,lawfully conquered alien prisoners of the Klingon Empire.

“Hail the MupchIch,Nahtan said. “Invite her commander to share the spoils of our conquest.

“Communications are jammed, Captain, Dekkven said, his voice rising to a slightly higher than normal register.

Nahtan muttered a curse that might have shocked even his own brother. “Get them back online!

Abruptly, the yellowish lights on the bridge winked out, and the blood-hued emergency lights replaced them. Nahtan whirled toward Nevahks station, where the technician was moving his hands across multiple screens, almost in a panic. “ QaStaH QIyah nuq jay?Nahtan roared, desperate to discover the cause and meaning of whatever malevolent influence was afflicting his ship.

“Weve just lost life support! Nevahk shouted. “Other systems are beginning to fail, shipwide!

A sound like a gong reverberated through the Veqlargh Jajlos hull, and Nahtan felt the hollow, dropping sensation of the artificial gravity cutting out beneath his boots. He scrabbled to grab hold of his chair as a variety of surprised shouts, random clatterings, and other less identifiable noises reverberated from across the bridge and from other parts of the vessel.

“Shields are down, and we have explosive decompression on three decks, from Sochto Hut! Korind screamed, her voice raised to a nearly frantic pitch as she drifted upside down and clutched at the console at her station for stability.

Suddenly, the central viewscreen switched images, showing a trio of what appeared to be vulqanganstaring forward from what was obviously a Klingon bridge. The female in the center smiled viciously, uttering but a single short phrase before the image disappeared.

“Boch ghlchraj, the woman said just before vanishing. “Your nose is shiny.

Captain Nahtan of the I.K.S. Veqlargh Jajlobarely had time to wonder why a Vulcan had hailed them with Klingon taunts from the MupchIchs bridge, or why the viewscreen now showed the MupchIchfiring its disruptors directly at the Veqlargh Jajlo.

His final thought, just before the smoke and fire and darkness took him, was one of disappointment. Perhaps today was not to be such a glorious day after all.

Day Twenty-nine, Month of KriBrax Dartha, Romulus

The holographic image of the Romulan captain flickered lightly in the air as a small insect flew through it. The kekla-gnats were ever-present in the Romulan capital at this time of year, when the grekeklatrees were in fragrant bloom. Even here, within Admiral Valdores spacious office in the Romulan Hall of State, this tiniest member of the insect orders had insinuated itself.

Seated behind his heavy sherawood desk, his hands steepled under his chin, Valdore listened to Commander Dagarths report with barely contained glee. The first full-scale test of the Romulan Star Empires new tactical systemconceived by Valdore and designed and realized by the scientists under his commandhad been an outstanding success.

There had been some trepidation on all fronts, given the earlier failure against the first klivamvessel that Dagarths bird-of-prey, Nel Trenco,had attempted to seize, but their system reportedly had worked flawlessly in capturing and maintaining control over the MupchIchwhich Dagarths crew had then used to destroy the pursuing I.K.S. Veqlargh Jajlo. Had any serious operational errors occurredor had the Klingons somehow managed to summon reinforcementsthe considerable risk of causing an ill-timed war with the Klingon Empire would have loomed. Instead, as matters stood now, the best evidence available would show that one Klingon vessel had been responsible for the destruction of the others. The Klingons would be more interested in concealing their embarrassment than in engaging in another war against Romulus.

“Your service will be commended, Valdore said, gesturing toward the holographic image of the female captain of the Nel Trenco. “History will mark this day well.

“I serve the Empire,Dagarth said, bowing her head. The image rippled slightly again, then disappeared.

On the other side of the desk, Doctor Nijil, Valdores chief technologist, approached, a triumphant smile playing upon his lips even as his hands were clasped behind him in a show of submission.

“ Youhave done well, also, Valdore said, pointing toward the scientist with one hand as he reached into a recessed area under his desk with the other. He noted that Nijil flinched just a little in response to the maneuver, as though Valdore might have been retrieving a concealed disruptor pistol rather than a celebratory bottle of carallunwine.

“Relax, Nijil, Valdore said in a deep voice intended to inspire calm, uncorking the wine as he spoke. “Youre in no danger from me. He stood and hoisted the bottle above the level of his head, allowing the light from the tall windows to glint through the green ehrieurhillhglass of the bottle.

“I know that you dont normally drink, but you willshare a toast to our success. Valdore took a swig of the tart liquor, not bothering to stop to look for drinking vessels. Then he passed the bottle to Nijil, who wasted no time following Valdores lead. The scientist seemed to try not to make a face at the bitter taste, but with little success.

Valdore stoppered the bottle again and returned it to its dusty spot beneath his desktop. A few khaidoaago, he had made a point of leaving that dusty spot undisturbed by notcelebrating the Romulan Star Empires devastation of Coridan. Even though he had played a part in the execution of the attack, it had not been a proud moment for him. Not only had it seemed a dishonorable action, it had also failed to disrupt the peace pact that now united the worlds of the fledgling Coalition of Planets. The sneak attack had, however, greatly curtailed the Coalitions supply of dilithium, a material that had long been crucial to the operation of Coalition starships. Many in the Romulan military thus saw the action as a success, and Valdore was happy to accept the resulting laurels and accolades, finding such unearned praise infinitely preferable to once again facing the prospect of political disfavor, imprisonment, or even execution. He reflected that his longtime friend and former senator, Vrax, who languished in Praetor Dderidexs dungeons during the long khaidoathat had followed the Romulan militarys most recent significant tactical defeat, might not be so fortunate.

Looking beyond Coridan, Valdore was glad to focus on his other plans for furthering the military goals of the Romulan Star Empires ambitious Praetor. The half-crazy Doctor Ehrehin was still working on a singularity-powered stardrive prototype, and Nijil and his team had been engaged with multiple projects, including a stable cloaking device capable of rendering large manned vessels effectively invisible to both scans and visual observation. Unfortunately, the invisibility cloaks that had been tested so far worked only to conceal small objects, or ended up quickly overtaxing the power-production capabilities of large vesselsinvariably with explosive results. It appeared that significantly more timeor an unexpected breakthroughwould be necessary to find a truly workable solution to the cloaking problem.

Recently, however, Nijil and his team had succeeded in developing a new technology, one based in part on the principles that governed the operation of the telepathically controlled drone ships, whose recent failure had resulted in Valdores brief imprisonment alongside Vrax. This new tactical system was able to intuitively bypass ships control mechanisms, allowing the Romulans to seize control of enemy vessels.

Thanks to Valdores association with the former Vulcan Administrator VLas, Nijil had already succeeded in confirming that the tactical system would work well enough if deployed against Vulcan software, and the just-concluded field experiments against the Klingons showed that their vessels were vulnerable as well.

“We must bring our new arrenhehwiuatelecapture system to bear against Coalition vessels, Valdore said, emerging from his reverie. “Other than those of the thaessu,that is: our distant Vulcan cousins. But we must do so in a way that does not implicate the empire.

Nijil nodded, then spoke. “It is easier to unravel a weave when one has pulled a single thread. If we target a Coalition vessel that is of little intrinsic importance, something that is not likely to be missed immediately, we will have grasped the very thread that leads us to other, more consequential ships.

Valdore raised one eyebrow as he considered his chief technologists words. The time to strike against the Coalition was coming, but to assure victory, whatever specific blow he was going to deal would have to be carefully considered and flawlessly planned.

He smiled. When the hammer finally fell, the Coalition would not even have time to wonder about what had hit it.