“I apologize for any inconvenience caused by Lieutenant Nog’s action. Thank you for detaining him for us. I’ll have Ensign Gordimer escort him to our brig,” Vaughn said to Chieftain J’Maah and the other Yrythny staffers standing around, horrified by this latest development. The Yrythny had offered to meet Vaughn aboard Defiant,but not wanting to burden his hosts, he told them he would come to the Avarilto take Nog from their custody.
Vaughn nodded his head at Gordimer, who stood beside Nog. Gordimer grasped Nog’s arm, but Nog jerked away, sending a sour expression in Vaughn’s direction. Gordimer gripped Nog’s arm harder this time, refusing to be dislodged by the Ferengi’s thrashing about.
“Sir? The item Lieutenant Nog was carrying?” Gordimer said, tipping his head toward the chair where Nog’s tricorder sat.
“I’ll take care of it. Make sure Lieutenant Nog is safely ensconced on the Defiantuntil his disciplinary hearing.”
Nog glared at Vaughn as Gordimer nudged him forward. The whole pathetic display was embarrassing. Placing Nog under arrest was bad enough, but having it play out in public was humiliating, especially when it had been Nog’s Yrythny technologist friends who turned him in. When he’d arrived on the Avaril’s bridge, he discovered the entire senior staff and Minister M’Yeoh were in attendance. The more the merrier,Vaughn thought.
Shoving Nog into the inship transport car, Gordimer ordered the door closed and the car shot off, winding its way down the dozens of decks to the bay housing the Defiant.After the junior officers had left, J’Maah turned to Vaughn. “When you told me the Defiantwas repaired and ready to return to Vanìmel, I’d so hoped we’d have enough time for proper good-byes. I’m sorry our last day together had to end on such a tragic note, Commander.”
“As am I, Chieftain. But the sooner I can reunite my crew and resume our mission, the better for all of us,” Vaughn replied, “As you can see from Lieutenant Nog, the stress has taken a toll. I’ll now retrieve the rest of my crew from their accommodations, and we’ll prepare to depart.”
J’Maah clasped Vaughn by the elbows. “Farewell, Commander.”
“Farewell to you, Chieftain.” Holding the tricorder tightly in one hand, he started back toward the bay, relieved to have finished playing this act of the drama.
Within minutes, he’d arrived back at his crew’s makeshift quarters. Off-duty personnel pounced on him the minute he walked in the door, asking questions, expressing worries and concerns about how to proceed. Vaughn held up his hands to quiet them.
“One thing at a time. First, the Yrythny caught Lieutenant Nog attempting to abscond with the specs for Defiant’s cloaking device.” Gasps went up; a hum of curious murmurs emitted from each segment of the group. Vaughn shushed them again. When they were quiet, he continued, “Apparently, he believed he could negotiate a deal with the shadow trader for the matter load behind my back. He has been relieved of duty and will remain in custody until we’ve returned to Vanìmel.”
Brow furrowed with worry, Ensign Permenter called out, “Sir, who will be overseeing engineering?”
“The Defianthasn’t had a shakedown yet, there might be problems,” echoed Leishman, Nog’s designated shift chief.
“Ensigns Senkowski and Leishman will co-manage the Defiant’s engineering department until other arrangements are made,” Vaughn said. “The Defiantwill leave for Vanìmel at 2130 hours. Please prep your gear and wait for any further instructions from Lieutenant Bowers. Once we’ve cleared Consortium space, a staff meeting in the mess hall is planned for 2200. Attendance is mandatory. Ensigns Leishman and Senkowski, you’re with me. That’ll be all.”
Confusion and concern persisted among the crew; Vaughn wished he could alleviate their fears, but he knew they would have answers soon enough. Leishman and Senkowski followed him out. He would take them to the Defiant,pass over the material load, and put them to work on the final phase of the femtobot defense. Until a short while ago, Vaughn had worried that they’d end up launching without the defense system. But as he was leaving Defiantto deal with the Nog situation, Bowers had contacted him to confirm that Chao successfully procured the materials from the mining office, using the codes taken from the Cheka. Vaughn had finally relaxed. If Leishman and Senkowski asked where the load came from, Vaughn would tell them, honestly, that they discovered that a matter load belonging to them had been illegally transferred to another buyer. Nog’s assumption had been correct: Runir’s negotiations on the Exchange had been successful but their codes had been routed to the Cheka. Prynn’s covert operation was merely to reclaim what was rightfully Starfleet’s. No point in saying “stolen,” an inflammatory word indicating criminal behavior, when the phrase “returned to its rightful owner” better fit the situation.
One concern still nagged at Vaughn. All their detective work had failed to yield the identity of who might be undercutting their efforts at the Consortium. If their luck held, the bait he’d left behind might yet be taken and Vaughn would have his first solid night’s sleep since encountering the Yrythny.
Ezri almost missed the blinking light on her console.
She had returned to her quarters, immediately undressed and showered, but still feeling wound up, decided to sit and read by the courtyard fountain, hoping the distraction would help her unwind. As she unlocked her courtyard door, the reflection of the blinking light on the glass caught her eyes. Maybe it’s a message from Vaughn.By her calculations, the Defiantshould be starting home within the day. Opening the message file, she puzzled for a moment over the contents.
The sender, anonymous—though Ezri suspected one close to the talks had been responsible—felt the matter urgent enough to request her attention tonight. Her first perusal of the contents didn’t yield the implied meaning immediately; before completing the second pass through, she’d roused Assembly Chair Rashoh from sleep, and demanded that he meet her in her office; or, she would be at his apartment within the hour. What the hell did these fools think they were doing reacting with military force? Any kind of consensus she’d built—or could build—would be shattered if the patrols went into the Old Quarter to implement a crackdown.
The fools! Never pick a fight with a wounded animal. And like it or not, hundreds of Wanderer dead numbered among the day’s casualties. Who was responsible for those deaths didn’t matter one iota right now. My guess is the Wanderers believe the attack was a set up to give the military an excuse to search their properties and make arrests. The Houseborn are poised to give the underground a pantheon of martyrs if they don’t keep their tempers in check.The more she considered what the night might bring, the more worried—and angry—she became.
Flattened against the wall, Shar watched, waiting for the “all clear” signal from Keren. His hand rested on his phaser, but so far, he hadn’t drawn it once.
Word of the imminent crackdown had spread quickly. All public places in the Old Quarter had been abandoned in favor of private dwellings. The desolate plazas hosted empty merchandise carts and litter, but not much else. Even the halls, normally jammed body to body with Yrythny, were bare as far as the eye could see. The swift evacuation made Shar and Keren’s task difficult. Lacking crowds to hide in, they crept along walls, using shadows for camouflage. They avoided main thoroughfares, choosing alleys and the back doors of businesses instead.
Keren waved him across the alley. Avoiding patches of moonlight, Shar chose an irregular path, pausing behind a bin, dropping to his knees and crawling beneath a fence before dashing across a slip of open space. Upon reaching her, Shar followed Keren closely up a narrow set of stairs. At the top, where the stairs ended, she soundlessly pulled herself up and over a balcony railing. Shar joined her a minute later and they sat, catching their breath for a long moment.