Страница 58 из 81
Dismissing the aide with a wave of his hand, K’mpec sat and thumbed the padd. It sca
Lorgh’s face then appeared on the padd’s display. “I see you finally wish to hear my words, K’mpec. A pity it comes too late for the inhabitants of Narendra III. I will contact you soon.”
An alarm sounded on K’mpec’s workstation: Council was returning to session. K’mpec almost didn’t get up. What is the point?He knew that the pro-Romulan faction of the Council would see the overthrow of Dralath as a reason not to go to war with them.
But no—he had promised Dax that he would remind the Council of Garrett’s sacrifice, and he suspected that such a reminder would be needed now.
A week after his arrival on Qo’noS, Curzon Dax put through a communication to Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan. It was coded with several encryptions that Sarek and his son, Ambassador Spock—who had a facility with computers unmatched in the Federation—had developed. Dax derived a certain amusement from the contortions the Imperial Intelligence eavesdroppers would go through attempting to decode the communiqué, but Dax had every faith in Sarek and his son’s abilities to keep the conversation private.
When Sarek’s face appeared on the tiny viewscreen, Dax’s first words after the pleasantries were of the Vulcan’s son. “How was the wedding?”
“It was a most satisfactory affair.”
Dax gri
“Of course. What way twists the High Council?”
“Every which way, apparently. This situation has gotten intolerable.” He leaned back in the uncomfortable Klingon chair. “And it’s all my fault. My actions at the Betreka Nebula have led to this disaster.”
Sarek raised an eyebrow. “You can hardly blame yourself. Your solution sixteen years ago was both sound and logical. That events have transpired the way they have is not due to any fault in that logic.”
Smiling grimly, Dax said, “Loath as I am to disagree with you, old friend, I’m afraid I must. Who else am I toblame? The mistake was mine because the solution wasn’tsound and logical. It was emotional and stupid, and if I’d been thinking, I wouldn’t have done it.”
“As you yourself observed at the time, the Klingon mindset is ideally suited for a competition such as what you proposed.”
“The Klingonmindset, yes.” Dax leaned forward. “But not the Cardassian mindset. They resented this whole thing from the begi
“You can hardly be held responsible for the ambitions of a Romulan praetor.”
“No, but I can hold myself responsible for giving Chancellor Kravokh something to focus on that distracts him from the possible Romulan threat. I’ve seen a great deal of death in my time, Sarek. I’ve lived over half a dozen lifetimes, outlived everyone I’ve ever cared about, with only recent exceptions—and I fully expect to outlive them, as well, even if I die myself. The joys of joining.” Dax pursed his lips. He hoped Sarek’s encryptions were as good as they were supposed to be; Sarek was one of the few non-Trill who knew that he was both an old man named Curzon and a centuries-old symbiont named Dax, and he didn’t fancy the idea of I.I. finding out—especially this way. But he needed to say this. “So many joined Trill let themselves become inured to it—they allow each lifetime to harden them, make them accustomed to death. But do you know what I’ve learned from Lela and Torias and Tobin and all the others?”
Sarek came as close to a smile as he was ever likely to. “I presume that you learned to treasure life precisely because you have seen how fleeting it is.”
Dax shook his head. “As usual, you know me as well as I know myself.”
“Not a difficult task. You vastly overrate your own self-awareness.”
“No doubt,” Dax said with a bitter chuckle, especially given that he recalled Sarek’s father Skon saying something similar to Tobin Dax once. “But that’s why this hurts so much. It’s not enough that Garrett and Troi and General Worf and so many others are dead—it’s that I’m the one responsible.More to the point, I have to live with, and go on living with it for a very long time.” Dax let out a short laugh. “But enough of my existential ramblings. You know what’s truly ridiculous? Klingon Imperial Intelligence warnedKravokh about a possible Romulan attack, and he ignored it. His entire being has been focused on the Cardassians and on regaining Ch’gran. It’s costing him support. Some of the other councillors are managing to patch up the damage—one in particular, K’mpec, is proving to be a valuable ally—but Kravokh is still focused on Ch’gran to the exclusion of all else.”
“Klingons do have a tendency toward single-mindedness—especially when it relates to something they hold sacred, or something they fear. Since warriors do not admit fear, that makes them all the more fanatical when confronted with it.”
That got a rise out of Dax. “And what, pray tell, is the logic in telling me something you are damn well aware that I already know?”
Again, Sarek’s almost-smile. “Because, my former pupil, you are not asking the right questions.”
Rubbing his chin, Dax thought a moment. “Why is Kravokh so focused?”
“That would be a right question,”Sarek said with a nod.
Dax thought back to his address to the Council. In particular, he remembered the expression on Kravokh’s face when he cut Dax off.
“Fear.” He stared at the viewscreen. “Kravokh is afraid of something. Something having to do with Raknal V—or, more likely, Ch’gran.”
“If you learn the answer to that question, it may lead you to the path you obviously wish to tread on.”
Gri
“You will learn that when you find the answer.”
Again, Dax shook his head. “You’ve been reading Zen philosophy from Earth again, haven’t you?” He held up a hand. “Don’t answer that. In any case, you’re right. I need to find out more about our esteemed chancellor.” He gri
“Pray, then, that you do not outlive me, for who shall give you that focus after I am gone?”Before Dax could formulate an adequate retort to that, Sarek held up his hand in the Vulcan salute. “Peace and long life, my pupil.”
Dax returned the gesture. “Live long and prosper, my teacher.”
After Sarek’s face faded, Dax contacted Starbase 343 and put in a request with the communications officer there for her to track down Elias Vaughn.
As he walked alongside K’mpec toward the entryway to the seat of the House of Mogh, Lorgh felt a combination of uneasiness and pride. The latter was due to the fact that K’mpec was walking alongside him, and not behind him in an attempt to slide a dagger into his back. If all those Klingons—and Starfleet officers, if it came to that—had to die at Narendra III two turns past, at least their deaths had benefitted the Empire. In general, the Enterprise’s sacrifice led to many new trade agreements between the Federation and the Empire, a strengthening of the bonds that Chancellors Gorkon and Azetbur forged fifty-three years ago.