2268
“Mister Spock,” Uhura announced, “the Klingon vessel is finally responding to our hails.”
And none too soon, Spock observed. The Enterprise remained at yellow alert, shields up, while he speculated as to why the Klingons had delayed responding until now. Perhaps they had hoped that their mere arrival would be enough to send the Enterprise retreating from the sector, or, alternatively, to provoke the Enterprise into taking preemptive action against them, thereby casting Starfleet in an even more negative light? If the latter had been their intention, they had severely underestimated this crew’s discipline and self-restraint.
“Acknowledged, Lieutenant. Put them through.”
“Aye, sir.”
Moments later, the typically bellicose visage of a Klingon officer appeared on the main viewer. A bifurcated beard ended in two separate points beneath his chin. Spock immediately recognized him as the Klingon who had commanded a D7 battle cruiser against the Enterprise during the Troyian affair months ago. On that occasion, the Klingons had been forced to retreat after a brief skirmish; that the Klingon captain still held a grudge was an almost mathematical certainty.
“This is Captain Khod of the Imperial Battle Cruiser BortaS. Your presence in this sector is a flagrant violation of treaty. On behalf of the Klingon Empire, you are ordered to depart this space at once!”
To depart, not to surrender, Spock noted. The distinction suggested that the Klingons would rather chase them away from Atraz than attempt to capture the Enterprise, perhaps because their primary objective was to secure Doctor Hamparian, not to engage in battle?
“This is Commander Spock of the U.S.S. Enterprise,” he replied. “We appreciate your concerns, but our temporary presence in this system cannot be helped. We are on a mission of mercy to rescue a Federation citizen whose escape pod found refuge on this planet after she was forced to abandon a civilian vessel during an emergency situation.” This description, while not the whole truth, was nevertheless accurate. “Rest assured that neither the Federation nor Starfleet has any long-term ambitions regarding this system. We shall depart immediately upon the completion of our mission.”
Diplomacy was his father’s vocation, not his, but Spock judged his response suitably conciliatory and nonconfrontational. He could only hope the Klingon would also find it so.
“Not good enough!” Khod’s eyes narrowed as he peered at his own viewscreen. “Where is Kirk, Vulcan?”
Confirmed: Khod had not forgotten the Enterprise.
“The captain is not available at present, but the facts as I presented them to you remain the same. You are welcome to observe our activities in this system in order to see for yourself that our rescue mission is simply that.”
“We do not require your permission, Vulcan! You have no right to be here.”
“Neither do you, per the terms of the same treaty. This is neither Federation nor Klingon space, so we would both be well advised to tread judiciously.”
“Save your advice for yourself, Vulcan. I demand to speak to Kirk.”
“That is not possible at this time.”
“You mean he is already on the planet!” Khod sneered at Spock. “It’s said that Vulcans cannot lie, but we Klingons know better than that. You’re far too logical not to bend the truth when necessary… like any other sensible species.”
“There has been no attempt to deceive you.”
“Do you deny that you have landed a shuttlecraft on Atraz? And that your captain is even now violating treaty by setting foot on the planet?”
“I see no logic in denying that which you are evidently aware of, so you will understand that the Enterprise cannot leave this system while we still have a rescue party on Atraz, engaged in the mission of mercy I spoke of earlier. We are not in the habit of deserting our fellow crew members… or an endangered civilian.”
“You can and will!” Khod shook his fist. “Their personal safety was forfeit the moment they trespassed upon forbidden soil.”
“I regret I cannot oblige you in this respect. Your government is free to file a formal protest through the proper diplomatic channels.”
“Klingons do not talk. We act.” Khod gestured to an off-screen subordinate, raising his palm as though to deliver a vicious chop. “Consider yourself warned!”
He completed the chopping motion and the transmission halted abruptly, the Klingon’s image replaced by a magnified view of the orbiting battle cruiser.
“He doesn’t mince words.” Scott scowled at the screen from his post at the engineering station. “I’ll give him that.”
“But what did he mean, Mister Spock?” Uhura asked. “About taking action, I mean.”
“That worries me as well, Lieutenant. Maintain yellow alert status.”
“He didn’t mention Doctor Hamparian,” Scott said. “You think that means they already have the lady in their clutches?”
“That is impossible to infer with certainty, but I would surmise not. Why go to such efforts to make us abandon our mission if they already have the doctor in their possession? Why not simply convey her to Klingon space with all deliberate speed, leaving us behind?”
“Aye, you’ve got a point there, Mister Spock. Maybe the captain still has a chance to find her first.”
Spock wanted to think so, but had insufficient data to calculate Kirk’s odds of success with any degree of accuracy. “Continue monitoring the battle cruiser’s movements and energy readings. Be prepared to—”
“Mister Spock!” Chekov called out excitedly from the science station. “The Klingons have launched a shuttlecraft!”
Spock overlooked the young ensign’s undue emotion, considering the urgency of his news.
“Bearing?”
“For the planet, sir! Where the captain and the others are!”
“I am quite aware of their location, Ensign.”
Rahda looked anxiously at Spock from the helm. “Shall I attempt to intercept, sir? Or fire a shot across their bow?”
“On what grounds, Lieutenant? We can hardly object to the Klingons dispatching a shuttlecraft to Atraz when we have already done the same. To take action against the Klingon shuttle invites retaliation from the BortaS, against either Enterprise or Galileo.”
“But you just know they’re going after the landing party,” Scott protested, lurching from his seat, “or Doctor Hamparian, or both! We can’t just sit by while they send a squad of bloody-minded Klingon butchers down there to stir up the devil knows what kind of mischief.”
“I share your apprehensions regarding our colleagues’ safety, Mister Scott, but escalating this confrontation will not increase our chances of recovering Hamparian and completing our mission.” His reasoned response and measured tone belied the effort required to keep his own visceral reaction to the landing party’s increased peril thoroughly under control. “Lieutenant Uhura, alert Galileo that they can expect Klingons on Atraz shortly. Instruct Ensign Akbari to relay that information to the captain at once.”
“Aye, sir. Already on it.”
Chekov looked up from the science scanner, his anxiety painfully obvious. “Do you think the captain and the landing party will be all right, sir? If we warn them in time?”
“I see no reason to assume otherwise.” Spock raised his voice, conscious of the need to maintain morale while commanding humans. “I remind you all that Captain Kirk has dealt with Klingons before, and seldom on friendly terms. He has always prevailed in the past.”
Except that I am usually there at his side, Spock thought. He suppressed an irrational urge to rush to Kirk’s aid, leaving Scott in command of the ship. Duty required him to remain on the bridge, no matter what threat the Klingon shuttlecraft posed to the landing party. He also acknowledged, silently, that this duty was not to his liking.
Be careful, Jim.