Reap the Whirlwind

“Not at all,” Qui

Despite himself, Pe

“I’m a work in progress,” Qui

The mottled gray bulk of the tramp freighter Rocinante sat dark and quiet in the middle of an open-air landing pad. Beyond the vessel’s large warp nacelles, its wingtips stood upright in their landing configuration; its narrow wedge-shaped fuselage was co

After several weeks of hopping from one system to another with Qui

Pe

Qui

Just as he was prepared to be serenaded by the buzzsaw of Qui

Twisting back around, Pe

“Message light’s on,” Qui

Pe

“It’s from T’Pry

“Jinoteur?” The word jogged Pe

“Yeah,” Qui

“Sure, mate, you got it,” Pe

It had been a few months since T’Pry

Now he had exclusive access to what promised to be a truly compelling and eminently newsworthy event involving another Starfleet ship—and this time his reporting would be firsthand, as an eyewitness and participant. The sweetest detail of all, however, was that he had T’Pry

Who says irony is dead? he mused as he set himself to work making room in the Rocinante’s hold—and daydreaming about the story that was about to resurrect his career.

16

“For that reason,” Captain Okagawa said via the secure cha

Dr. Fisher stood flanked by Ambassador Jetanien and Lieutenant Commander T’Pry

Jetanien asked Okagawa, “Have the Klingons made any overt threat against your ship or your people on the planet?”

“No, Your Excellency,” Okagawa said. “But I’ve put my ship on yellow alert anyway. ‘Turn the other cheek’ doesn’t mean stand there and wait to get hit.”

Reyes nodded. “My sentiments exactly.”

“Captain,” T’Pry

“About three and a half hours ago.”

T’Pry

“Then it would appear that the link between those two systems is more than merely circumstantial,” Jetanien said as he began pacing slowly in the middle of the office. Looking at Captain Okagawa on the monitor, he continued, “Do you have an estimate on when Klingon reinforcements will arrive?”

Okagawa shook his head. “Nothing definite. But considering how fast their colony ship moved in, I suspect their military can’t be far behind.”

“Getting back to the situation on the planet,” Reyes said, “how many civilians were killed at that aquifer dig?”

In the time it took Okagawa to look at his data slate for the answer, T’Pry

A few short clicks prefaced Jetanien’s query. “Are we certain beyond a reasonable doubt that the Klingons aren’t responsible for the attack on the colonists?”

“That’s for Dr. Fisher to say,” Okagawa said. “We’ve sent all the forensic data we collected at the scene. As far as deciding what it all means—“

Reyes cut in, “Point taken, Captain.” Looking at Fisher, Reyes said, “We need your report on the double, Zeke, so consider it a rush job.”

Fisher quipped with a weary smirk, “Aren’t they all?”

“Captain,” Reyes said, “continue evacuating our people. I’ll have the Endeavour pick up the pace; they should be with you in less than twenty-one hours. That should be enough to make the Klingons think twice before taking a shot at you.”