What Judgments Come

As though reading his mind, Neera said, “They won’t do that, not so long as we have Reyes.” Making her way across the office, she perched atop one corner of Ganz’s desk. “At least your people didn’t kill him, too,”

Ganz grunted. “That’s the only reason Tonzak’s still alive.” After the incident with Reyes and Lekkar on the gaming floor, the Omari-Ekon’s head of security had adopted a no-tolerance policy with respect to any severe harm or “accident” anyone aboard ship might wish to inflict upon the human. He saw to Reyes’s safety with the same dedication a mother watched over her children, no doubt worried about any repercussions that might fall to him should anything happen to the fugitive former commodore. That attitude had filtered down to his security officers, who had only incapacitated Reyes during the firefight with the two Starfleet officers. Rather than shoot him, the subordinate who had restrained Reyes—and possibly prevented him from being transported off the ship—had used a stun baton on him. Ganz smiled at the thought of the discomfort from such a weapon being inflicted on the human he so loathed. “At least Reyes will have a reminder of the affair, for the rest of the day, anyway.” Every time he moved, or ate, or even wanted to empty his bladder, Diego Reyes would feel the lingering effects of the baton, and that made Ganz happy. It still was not so satisfying as the notion of simply killing the man, but for now, it was sufficient.

Soon, he promised himself.

“I talked to Tonzak,” Neera said, her tone turning more serious. “He said Reyes appeared to be resisting the escape attempt. He had a chance to get away, but didn’t take it.”

Frowning, Ganz regarded his confidante, his eyes narrowing in confusion. “The instant he steps foot on that station, he goes back to prison. Seems like an easy choice to me.”

“Maybe,” Neera said. “Then again, maybe not.”

“What are you thinking?” Ganz asked. He had been hoping for Reyes to somehow reveal his true motives for requesting asylum aboard the Omari-Ekon. So far, the former Starfleet officer had managed to avoid making such an egregious error.

“He may be a spy, after all,” Neera said.

“If he is,” Ganz countered, then he has to be the most useless spy in the history of espionage. We’ve had him under almost constant surveillance. He can’t get to any controlled areas of the ship, and his computer access is curtailed even further than for regular guests. If he’s spying, then he has to be working largely on his own, without a handler to guide his movements. The only contact he’s had with anyone from the station is that reporter, Pe

Neera nodded. “And if he’s been under cover all this time, it doesn’t make sense that they’d risk compromising him with such a sloppy rescue attempt.” Tapping one fingernail along the edge of her glass, she shook her head. “Something’s out of place here.”

“So,” Ganz said, not understanding why this had to be so complicated, “let’s get rid of him, before he does manage to do some real damage.”

Neera’s expression turned to one of disapproval. “You do that, then you’d better be ready to warp out of here, because the second Nogura finds out Reyes is dead, he’ll send every armed security guard he can find swarming onto this ship, and he’ll worry about any political fallout tomorrow.”

Although his current, strained relationship with Starbase 47 chafed him, there was no way Ganz could afford to leave the safety net afforded by being docked with the station. “And if Reyes stays alive?”

“Then Starfleet likely will be happy to keep things quiet, at least for now. The attempt to retrieve Reyes was illegal, and they won’t want to admit to it. I don’t think you want to admit that those two Starfleet officers were killed aboard my ship, and Starfleet won’t press that issue, either, if for no other reason than to keep us from taking action against Reyes.

Considering what he had just heard, Ganz could only shake his head in admiration. “There’s a reason I don’t like playing chess with you.”

“Just one of my many talents,” Neera replied.

Everything she had just outlined, reduced to its essentials, equated to one thing so far as Ganz was concerned. “So, we wait, to see what Reyes does?”

Neera nodded. “Yes.”

“I have to say, I don’t like it. Reyes is no idiot. He’s liable to figure out we’re on to him at some point. Besides, with the luck he’s had avoiding trouble, I’m begi

Moving herself off the desk, Neera turned so that she was close enough to stroke Ganz’s cheek. “Luck always runs out. Reyes’s day is coming, but for now, we keep him alive.” When her fingers reached his chin, she guided his face so that his eyes locked with hers. “Understood?”

“Yes,” Ganz replied, and Neera bent forward to kiss the top of his bald head.

“Excellent,” she said before turning and moving around the desk on her way to the bedroom. Looking back over her shoulder at him, she smiled. “Coming?”

“I’ll be right there,” Ganz replied. He waited until Neera disappeared through the doorway into his private bedchamber before reaching out to the computer interface and tapping its control pad.

Despite the confidence with which she had just outlined the situation, Ganz could not shake the nagging feeling that this entire affair was becoming too convoluted. To him, it seemed only a matter of time before something he could not control upset the entire fragile balance currently holding Starfleet—and Nogura—at the proverbial arm’s length. Even with as keen an insight as she possessed, how could Neera not see that?

The time for action, Ganz decided, was now.

He opened a communications frequency and waited until the face of his head of security, Tonzak, filled the computer screen. The muscled Orion’s large head sat atop a squat neck, and his broad torso, bare save for the pair of bandoliers he liked to wear across his chest, featured several scars and piercings, all bearing mute testimony to the demanding life he had lived as an underling within the syndicate.

“Yes?” Tonzak asked, staring out from the screen with a furrowed brow.

“Come and see me after your shift tonight,” Ganz replied, keeping his voice low. “I have a special job for you.” Even allowing for the occasional setback, the young Orion had proven valuable on more than one occasion. He, along with one or two others in Ganz’s organization, were more than capable of utilizing the proper amounts of discretion and initiative which would be required to kill Diego Reyes.

Neera will be upset, Ganz mused, but for now he elected to set aside such concerns. Besides, if he ended up resolving the Reyes matter in such a way that it moved any unwanted scrutiny away from her superiors, they in turn might feel grateful to him to such an extent that Neera was no longer an issue, either. Perhaps they would see fit to grant him a measure of autonomy, something offered with great infrequency to other male Orions at his station within the syndicate hierarchy. Rather than having to stand idle as Neera took the larger share of credit for his work, he might begin to enjoy rewards more commensurate with the risk and responsibility he undertook.

That notion, Ganz decided, held definite appeal, though all of that could come later.

For now? It was time to put an end to the irritant known as Diego Reyes.

18

Storming through the large double doors to the building that now served as the chancery for the Federation’s ambassadorial delegation, Jetanien locked eyes with his assistant, Sergio Moreno, who rose from behind his reception desk near the rear of the lobby. “How long have they been here?” The query was loud enough to echo off the prefabricated stone walls that were a common facet of nearly every structure in Paradise City.