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“If we were in the Federation,” Dax said as they took their places standing before K’mpec, “congratulations would be in order.”
K’mpec looked up and smiled. “But we are not in the Federation.”
“Indeed. So I will simply wish you success, Chancellor.”
“What is it you want, Ambassador?” The smile was now gone, replaced by the face of a busy man who was only having this meeting because of who Dax was.
“We have information that may be of use to you regarding your predecessor—and Ch’gran.”
That got K’mpec’s attention. “What do youknow of Ch’gran?”
Vaughn chose this moment to make his presence known. “I’m Lieutenant Commander Elias Vaughn. At Ambassador Dax’s request, I did some digging into Kravokh’s background. I found out some interesting things about his family—and why he was so obsessed with recovering Ch’gran.”
“Recovering Ch’gran is the desire of allKlingons,” K’mpec said.
“For its historical value, yes. That, however, is notwhat Kravokh was after.”
K’mpec frowned. “What, then?”
Dax had been afraid of this. “You aren’t aware of what was in the records of that Ch’gran wreck they found fifty years ago, are you?”
“There wereno records.” K’mpec spoke in a low, menacing tone, as if challenging Dax and Vaughn to prove his words wrong. Unfortunately, we’re about to.
Vaughn looked at Dax. “I did warn you that he wouldn’t know. Those records were sealed by Imperial Intelligence, notthe High Council.”
Sighing, Dax said, “Yes, Vaughn, you were actually right. I suppose the law of averages was bound to catch up with you.”
K’mpec was now smoldering. “Of what records do you speak?” he asked, enunciating every word in a ma
Vaughn faced the chancellor. “The records on that wreck revealed the reasons why the Ch’gran colony was lost—it was because of a mutiny, led by Ch’gran’s second-in-command, a man named Klartak.”
“Klartak,” Dax added, “was a member of what was then known as the House of Boral, but is more properly known these days as the House of—”
“Kravokh.” The word sounded like wheels going over broken glass as it came out of K’mpec’s mouth.
“Yes,” Vaughn said. “The I.I. agent who decoded the records of the Ch’gran wreck was a descendant of Klartak’s, and he is the one who sealed the records. He told no one of this, save his son. It has remained a family secret, one that has been passed down through what is now the House of Kravokh. Dax’s proviso that the Cardassians could not touch Ch’gran until the dispensation of Raknal V was determined kept the truth hidden for as long as the competition continued. My personal opinion is that Kravokh’s efforts to fortify the Defense Force were primarily with an eye toward taking Raknal by force if necessary, perhaps even invading Cardassia, if Qaolin could not win the planet for them under Dax’s terms.”
“Ranh!” K’mpec stood angrily. “You mean to tell me that thousands of Klingons have died so that animal could protect his family’s dishonor?”
“Not quite,” Dax said with a smile.
That drew K’mpec up short. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s all right, Chancellor,” Dax said, “neither did I when Vaughn first explained it to me.”
Fixing Vaughn with a penetrating gaze, K’mpec said, “Then explain it to me— clearly,if you will, Commander.”
Vaughn inclined his head. “Of course. You see, Klartak did not mutiny until he was given the order to turn back.”
At that, K’mpec’s tiny eyes grew wide with shock, a reaction not dissimilar to Dax’s own when Vaughn had explained it to him back on B’Alda’ar.
“Ch’gran had no intention of colonizing space,” Vaughn continued. “His plan all along was to return here, destroy the First City from orbit, and install himself as the new emperor. His entire goal in having the fleet constructed wasn’t to pave the way to space, it was to give him a weapon by which he could take over Qo’noS. He only traveled with the fleet so far because he needed time to get the other six ship captains on his side.”
“Kravokh was not trying to preserve hishonor,” Dax said, “but that of one of the Empire’s greatest heroes. He did not wish the legacy of Ch’gran, the man who prompted your people to vault forward into space for the first time after the Hur’q invasion, to be that of a traitor.”
K’mpec snorted. “Our people can survive the tarnishing of the occasional legend, Ambassador. We are not human children who require our parents to prettify our stories to make them palatable.” He looked away. “And we have had our share of fallen heroes in our time.” Then he looked sharply at Vaughn. “How did you obtain this information?”
“I’d rather not say.”
Leaning forward, his fists on his desk, K’mpec said, “You will tell me the name of your informant, or I will—”
“Do nothing,” Dax said quickly. The last thing he wanted to witness right now was these two men getting into a pissing contest. “We volunteered this information to you as a show of good faith and in the hope that our people’s good relations will continue, Chancellor. We are under no obligation to provide you with anything more than we have given you. Humans have a saying about not looking a gift horse in the mouth—I suggest you abide by it in this case.”
“If there is a leak in I.I.—”
Vaughn fixed K’mpec with a stern look. “Then it is yourduty to plug it, sir, not mine.”
K’mpec looked back and forth between the two men. Dax was worried that the chancellor would try to take this to the next step, which would be dangerous for all of them—most of all, though, for the Federation–Klingon alliance, which was only just being stitched back together after fifty years of fraying.
Finally, K’mpec sat back down. “Very well. The Klingon Empire is grateful to you for bringing this matter to our attention.” He leaned back. “Since both of you were—involved in the begi
Dax frowned. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean, Ambassador, is that your arrival here has saved me the trouble of contacting you via subspace.” He touched a control on his workstation. “You will come with me.”
Without another word, K’mpec rose from his chair and left the office. A guard fell into step behind him as he proceeded to the Council Chambers, Vaughn and a bemused Dax right behind both of them. Whispering to Vaughn, Dax asked, “What do you think this is about?”
Vaughn shrugged. “You’re the expert.”
“Remind me to have you beaten before we leave, Commander.”
Soon they were in Council Chambers. Dax recognized some of the councillors from his last visit, knew others as Defense Force veterans who had been promoted to the Council. K’mpec took his place in the seat under the Klingon Empire’s trefoil emblem, a spotlight shining on his heavily lined face, and the other councillors stepped into place in a semicircle on either side of him.
As soon as he took his seat, the room quieted down. Vaughn and Dax stood off to the side, along with other observers.
K’mpec looked around the chamber for several seconds before speaking in a booming voice that belied his near-whisper back in his office. “As of this moment, the Klingon Empire cedes the world of Raknal V to the Cardassian Union.”
Dax’s own eyes went wide at that one.
“We are willing to discuss ways to obtain the Ch’gran relic through trade, but we will no longer sacrifice warriors in the wasteful ma
“In addition, the ban on Cardassian citizens within the Empire is lifted. It is the wish of this Council that Cardassia do the same for our people—if not, the ban will be reinstated.”