Precipice

40

Qui

A Klingon garrison patrolled outside the ruins, cracking the proverbial whip on hundreds of enslaved De

That’s at least a full company of troops,Qui

Mess hall,he figured. Barracks. Latrine. The one with the climate module is probably the CO’s office.Then he spied the only structure that was under guard. Bingo,he thought with a smile. Ammo dump and weapons cache.

He adjusted the settings on the binoculars and pointed them at the temple’s entrance. Filtering out the glare of daylight, he zoomed in on the interior of the ruins, where a Klingon scientist surrounded by high-tech gizmos was conferring with a trio of Klingon officers. True to their reputations, the three soldiers were shouting at the gray-bearded Klingon civilian, who seemed to be making protests the troops didn’t want to hear.

In short order the matter seemed to have been decided. The scientist unlocked a protective case and opened its lid. Then he reached inside the container and lifted out a peculiar object.

It was a twelve-sided crystal polyhedron; each of its pentagonal faces had five edges of equal length. The crystal’s core pulsed with an intense violet glow. As the scientist lifted it free of its case, the three military men stepped back fearfully.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Qui

The scientist carried the dodecahedron to a pedestal in front of what looked like an altar at the center of the double-arched platform. As the crystal was lowered into a pentagonal indentation on the pedestal, the glossy black surfaces of the Conduit rippled with indigo light, and a deep rumble shook the earth beneath Qui

Goddamn,he wondered, what the hell is that thing?

Just when Qui

From behind him, Zett Nilric said, “Hello, Qui

Qui

“Lookin’ good, Zett,” Qui

Zett shrugged at the compliment. “I do my best.” Lowering his chin at Qui

“Not long enough.”

“Imagine finding you of all people here,” Zett said. “I have to confess, I’m curious what you’ve been up to all this time. Last I heard, someone mysteriously settled all your debts with Ganz. And just like that”—he pantomimed huffing a feather from his fingertips—“you vanished. Quite a trick.”

“Yeah, it’s a beauty,” Qui

“Oh, I will, soon enough.” He widened his grin. “So tell me: What are you doing here, Qui

“Same as always,” Qui

“Yes and no,” Zett said. “I take their money for the occasional odd job, but that’s hardly the same thing as being on their side.” A twitch of his thumb changed his disruptor’s power setting to maximum. “Of course, I didn’t go to the trouble of safeguarding a major heist on Vanguard just to see you screw up the deal by sticking in your nose on this backwater rock.” He raised his weapon to eye level. “And killing you won’t be business—not like bombing that transport on Vanguard or setting up the hit on Reyes. No, eliminating you will be my pleasure.”

Qui

“I’ll shoot you if I have to,” Zett said. “But I’d prefer to take my vengeance one cut at a time. And because I’m such a good sport when it comes to murder, I’ll even give you a chance to defend yourself.” Gesturing with his disruptor, he added, “Drop your sidearm and grab a knife.”

It took all of Qui

He drew his hunting knife from his boot sheath, tucked its flat edge against his forearm, and held it edge-out and ready to draw blood.

Zett holstered his disruptor, drew his curved yosablade, and prowled up the slope toward Qui

“Not as much as I am,” Qui

The assassin was still a few meters from Qui

“Meet my insurance policy,” Qui

The nomads lunged to attack.

Zett pressed a button on a bracelet around his wrist and vanished in a crimson swirl of energy. Lirev and her people slashed at the transporter beam’s afterglow until it faded away.

Rubindium transponder,Qui

Lirev sheathed her sword and approached Qui

“Yeah,” Qui

The nomads murmured among themselves, and then Lirev asked Qui

“We will, if you’ll vow to stop attackin’ the Shire people and help us fight the Klingons.”

A buzz of protests began to rise from the other nomads until Lirev turned and silenced them with a frown. Then she turned back toward Qui

“All right, then,” Qui

41

The playback from Qui