Текст книги "Kobayashi Maru"

Archer nodded toward the new viewscreen that sat on his desk; Burch had assigned a crew to install a replacement terminal after Archers “accident with the previous computer prior to his trip to QonoS. The new screen, its image area split down the middle at the moment, displayed the faces of both Hernandez and Admiral Gardner. Archer had contacted them both only a few minutes earlier, eager to see their reactions to the images taken aboard the hijacked Klingon battle cruiser.

“I had no idea what Doctor Phlox was really up to at the time, Archer said. “At least until his constant medical scanning started becoming obnoxious. He didnt feel any pressing need to tell them about Phloxs cover story about the disorder that had supposedly afflicted his third lung, or the doctors good‑natured phallic‑based putdown.

“Well, thank God that Denobulans seem to have the same capacity for sneakiness that we humans do,Gardner said. “Though using a medical scanner to eavesdrop on so much audiovisual material is a new one even to me.

“So do you agree with me that this information in Phloxs bootleg is vital? Archer asked.

Gardner shook his head. “I agree that itcould be vital, Captain Archer. If the Coalition Council believes it, it would certainly be one more nail in the coffin for the Romulans. But you have to realize that some will say that the Klingons faked the whole thing just to get themselves off the hook.

“Begging the admirals pardon,Hernandez said, a look of concern on her face, “but the idea that the Klingons would have gone as far as they havedestroying their own ships, killing their own peoplefor the sake of a propaganda video they had every reason to believe we would never seethats just paranoid talk.

“I wont take offense at your characterization, Captain Hernandez, because I know it wasnt directed at me,Gardner said. “But that still doesnt mean that the Tellarites or any of the other races wont be suspicious of the Klingons.

Perhaps it was the wound in his side or the way his ribs still ached whenever he breathed, but Archer found he was having a hard time keeping his temper in check. “How much more evidence is the Coalition Council going to need, Admiral? Do they need an engraved invitation to war, delivered by a skipping Romulan schoolgirl, before theyll believe the truth?

Gardner scowled slightly. “While Starfleets tech people get busy building countermeasures to this new Romulan weapon, Ill have my analytical staff comb through every shred of evidence weve gotincluding your doctors surreptitious recordingin order to make a presentation to the Coalition Council. But I cant make any promises as to what the politicians will finally decide to do. Especially if the Klingons arent willing to go public with thereal culprits behind the attacks on Draylax. Untilthat changes, its going to be very hard for some not to go right on blaming the Klingon Empire for what happened at Draylax.

“Admiral, Draylax was probably just thestart of hostilities,Hernandez said, worry creasing her brow. “If the Romulans can seize control of Klingon ships, then they can disguiseany of their own attacks as Klingon aggression.

Gardner moved one hand up to run his fingers through his close‑cropped gray hair. “As far as most people in this part of the galaxy are concerned, the Klingons arealready aggressive and untrustworthy. So how do you propose we differentiate between normal Klingon aggression and Romulan‑controlled Klingon aggression?

“Heres the deal,Gardner continued. “In my judgment, the best use of our forces is for both of you to resume your original tandem mission patrolling the Coalitions shipping lanes.

He held up his hands, palms outward, as if to ward off the arguments he knew must be coming. “I know neither of you thinks that will be helpful, but now at least you know what to watch for. Or at least you know what youmight face. Most of the attacks so far, other than the Draylax incident, seem to have occurred in Coalition‑controlled space. So while youre out preventing any further attacks that might lead to a Coalition‑Klingon war, Ill be doing my damnedest to get the Council on board.

“I dont know what that means yet,Gardner said. “And I have serious doubts that the Klingons will be willing to ally themselves with us, even to punish the Romulans. Whats your take on that, Captain Archer?

“Iyes, I dont think an alliance with us is in their plans, Archer said. “If theyre going to go to war against the Romulans, their crazy sense of pride is probably going to demand that they do it on their own. But if MRek was making serious plans to go to war against the Romulans anytime soon, he certainly kept them hidden from me. Which is exactly what I would expect him to do.

Gardner nodded. “Me, too. So all I have to do is convince the Council not to move against people upon whom we cant rely for help against the Romulans, even though those same Romulans can attack us any time they damn please while making it look as though the Klingons are really the ones responsible.

Pointing toward his own screenand presumably at both captainsGardner continued: “Its going to beyour job to stop any further attacks, which I know is going to be extraordinarily difficult until we find an effective countermeasure to thisRomulan hijacking device. I know youre spoiling to go on the offensive, regardless. Unfortunately, weve been forced into a defensive posture, at least for a while.

Archer listened as Gardner gave a few more instructions to both him and Hernandez, but his insides were tying themselves in knots, and not solely because of the residual pain of his injuries. Despite his own desire to take more precipitous and direct action, he had to admit that the admirals words made a good deal of sense.

Still, it was hard to calm himself in the face of the overwhelming worry that he might not be able to act in time to prevent an unnecessary interstellar warjust as he had failed to reach Coridan Prime in time to take any action that might have prevented the Romulans from effectively destroying most of the planets surface. Despite all he had doneand the combined efforts of everyone serving aboard both Enterpriseand Columbia,and Trip as wellthe duplicitous nature of the Romulan remote control system had all but perfectly framed the Klingons as the bad guys du jour.

And the Coalition Council, whose members all too frequently seemed only barely able to trust one another to begin with, might be swayed all too easily by such a convenient narrative. Even after adding to the equation the new evidence he had just acquired on QonoS, Archer could hardly fault anyone who had ever gotten on the wrong side of a Klingon captain for failing to believe the Klingon Empire to be unequivocally innocent of the Draylax incursion, much less beyond a reasonable doubt.

Still, as he said his good‑byes to Gardner and Hernandez, then reached for one of the alien herbal painkillers that Phlox had prescribed for him, Archer was at least comforted by the knowledge that he would be taking the more hazardous patrol route. According to Gardners orders, Columbiawould be headed for safer territory, while Enterprisewas to set a course for the Gamma Hydra sector, perilously near Romulan space. The fact that the region was under dispute by both the Romulans and the Klingonsas well as near the Coalition‑proposed “Neutral Zone intended to create a buffer separating both the Klingons and the Romulans from Coalition territory as well as from each othermeant that if another ship‑to‑ship engagement was in the offing, it was more likely to occur on Enterprises flight path than on Columbias.

Archer exited his ready room and entered the bridge, the determination in his stride slowly wrestling the pain from the duel with Krell into submission.

“Travis, lay in a standard commercial convoy heading for Gamma Hydra, section ten, he said. “And dont spare the horses.

THIRTY‑FOUR

Tuesday, July 22, 2155 San Francisco

I NTERIOR M INISTER H AROUN AL‑ R ASHID FELTnowhere near as serene as he strived to appear. Though he kept his hands folded meditatively atop the wide, semicircular negotiation table in the Coalition Council Chamber, he waited anxiously for the hammer to fall on a pair of urgent but still‑unresolved questions.

The foremost of these questions involved the rising likelihood of war with the Klingons. And the second, whose long‑term implications arguably outweighed most conceivable consequences of the recent Klingon‑Draylax incident, would almost certainly have a profound effect upon the outcome of the first.

The heavy oaken doors that separated the central auditorium from the small private conference rooms at the rear of the building opened with an echoing impact that made al‑Rashid believe that the metaphorical hammer had fallen at last. Momentarily glancing away from the senior representatives from Andoria, Tellar, and Vulcan who were striding purposefully through the doorway at the opposite side of the chamber, he saw his own internal feelings of tense anticipation reflected on the faces of the humans who sat at the table with him: United Earths Prime Minister Nathan Samuels and Centauri IIIs Ambassador Jie Cong Li.

Like al‑Rashid, both of his fellow humans had opted to have no staff members or junior functionaries accompany them to todays special closed‑door meeting, in hopes of blunting the prevalent nonhuman perception that Homo sapienswas attempting to dominate Coalition business. In the same spirit, al‑Rashid and his human colleagues had all agreed not to apply undue pressure on the nonhuman Coalition members to close the current human‑nonhuman political rifts in favor of Earth and Alpha Centauri.

Despite the new compromise proposal that the representatives of both the United Earth and Alpha Centauri governments had signed off on yesterdayand the looming conflicts it would no doubt engenderal‑Rashid still had no reason to think that anything had changed since the last time the full Council debated the issue; so far as he knew, Vulcan, Andoria, and Tellar still vehemently opposed Earths initiative to confer full Coalition membership upon the human‑inhabited Alpha Centauri settlements, citing as unfair the resulting “species voting bloc that would favor humanitys interests over the Coalition Councils nonhuman world.

Its going to take a long time for us all to learn to really trust each other,al‑Rashid thought as the Vulcans approached the table, followed by the Andorians, the Tellarites, and Grethe Zhor, the official diplomatic observer from Draylax. Feeling dispirited by the nearly constant birth agonies that the nascent alliance continued to experience, he tried to buoy his sense of hope by reflecting on the manifold difficulties humanity had already overcome over the past century on its painful way to resolving Earths internal strife and numerous social evils; his own people, for one, had both bled and shed the blood of others for generations prior to the eventual peaceful resolution of the long‑standing and bitter Israel‑Palestine conflict. If humanity could find peace among its own, then surely it could do so again out among the stars.

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall in that closed‑door meeting they just came out of,al‑Rashid thought, rising to his feet along with his human colleagues to face their nonhuman counterparts as they reached the opposite side of the semicircular ranks of the council tables.

But as the assembled delegates from six worlds acknowledged one another with silent and respectful nods, al‑Rashid found his eager anticipation slowly morphing into a gradually deepening sense of dread. What if today is the day it all finally falls apart?he thought, not relishing the prospect of Earth suddenly finding itself standing friendless and alone against the heavily armored belligerence of the Klingon Empire.

Although the somber Vulcan contingentwhich consisted of Vulcan Minister Soval, flanked by Ambassadors LNel and Solkar, his senior aidesreached the council table first, they remained standing until each of their colleagues had taken their seats. The hirsute Ambassador Gora bim Gral of Tellar and his two all but indistinguishable aides were the first to sit, followed by Andorian Foreign Minister Anlenthoris chVhendreni and his somewhat younger adjutant, Ambassador Avaranthi shRothress, and finally Grethe Zhor of Draylax.

“Thank you all for agreeing to attend this special meeting today, said Nathan Samuels, addressing all the nonhuman delegations simultaneously once everyone had taken their seats. Casting a significant glance at the woman from Draylax, he added, “I know I speak for everyone here when I offer my sincere hopes for our success in maintaining interstellar peace, especially beyond the present boundaries of Coalition space.

Not to mentioninside them,al‑Rashid thought, taking comfort in a bit of gallows humor.

But no amount of humor, gallows or otherwise, could contain his mounting impatience to discover the outcome of the nonhumans just‑concluded meeting‑within‑a‑meeting. Addressing his alien colleagues, al‑Rashid said, “Have you come to a decision yet about how to deal with Draylaxs, ah, Klingon problem?

Samuels scowled, evidently not comfortable with such a blunt frontal assault, while Li seemed only mildly surprised at the forwardness of al‑Rashids question. Fortunately, none of the nonhumans present appeared offended. Gral, Thoris, and Grethe Zhor merely looked silently toward Minister Soval, almost as though they had all agreed to make the phlegmatic Vulcan their spokesman regarding the matter.

Steepling his fingers contemplatively before his pursed lips, Soval said, “Vulcan, Andoria, and Tellar have each agreed to defer their final decisions about whether to declare war on the Klingons until after Earths military experts present us with a new intelligence briefing on the issue.

Minister al‑Rashid nodded, thankful for whatever restraint the other Coalition membersparticularly the Andorianswere willing to exercise.

“This decision is only a provisional one, of course, Thoris said in a cautioning manner. “As far as the Andorian government is concerned, at any rate. My people are not in the habit of allowing threats of incursion to grow unchecked, whether they arise near our homeworld or our colonies. But my government has agreed to stay the hand of the Imperial Guard for the momentat least until we have more complete information about thisKlingon problem.

“Thank you, Samuels said. Coming from the notoriously touchy Andorians, this was practically a declaration of pacifism.

Lets hope their restraint lasts long enough for us to find a way to keep the whole Coalition from being dragged into a major shooting war,al‑Rashid thought. And to keep our allies at our backs in case diplomacy with the Klingons fails at the end of the day.

“Regarding the other matter before this body, Soval said, “I believe we have come to a far more definitive decision.

“You are referring to Minister al‑Rashids compromise proposal regarding Alpha Centauris petition for Coalition membership? said Samuels.

The prime ministers gaze broke with Sovals long enough to communicate very clearly to al‑Rashid that there would be hell to pay if the Coalition continued tearing itself asunder over this extraordinarily sensitive issueparticularly with a Klingon war apparently looming on the horizon.

“Indeed, Soval said. “We have all decided to accept the interior ministers compromise offer. Vulcan, Andoria, and Tellar will support Alpha Centauris admission to the Coalitionif Earth and Alpha Centauri will both support the simultaneous admission of Draylax.

Li displayed a smile of gratitude that gave every appearance of utter sincerity. “Alpha Centauri will be pleased to share with the Coalition of Worlds all the mutual defense responsibilities to which we have already committed with both Draylax and Earth, she said.

Just as our nonhuman allies will no doubt be delighted to share in Alpha Centauris shipbuilding resources via the Coalition,al‑Rashid thought as he cast a grin back at Li. It would certainly suit their individual governments interests better than allowing humanity to keep those resources all to themselves via exclusive Earth‑Centauri arrangementseven if they still dont much like the idea of humans getting more than one vote on the Coalition Council.

Ambassador shRothresss next utterance almost made al‑Rashid wonder if the Andorian woman had somehow read his thoughts. “Andoria, likewise, will be pleased to dilute the resulting overly strong human plurality in the Council vote by adding anothernew nonhuman member to our alliance, she said, nodding toward Grethe Zhor, who stared back in silence, her vertical pupils revealing no emotion; Ambassador shRothress seemed to be trying to demonstrate that her people were most definitely notkowtowing to Earth or any other world, in or out of the Coalition.

“I trust this new Coalition member will prove far less disagreeable than have my esteemed Andorian colleagues, said Gral, who bowed his porcine, gray‑maned head toward Grethe Zhor with uncharacteristic deference. Then al‑Rashid noticed that the Tellarites gaze lingered a little too long on the Draylaxian womans conservative gray tunic, and the three breasts it concealed. Why that particular anatomical detail seemed to fascinate Gral escaped al‑Rashid completely; he thought it unlikely that Draylaxians would be considered attractive by the esthetic standards of Tellarites, who considered six nipples the norm as far as he knew.

Though she made no reply to Gral, shRothresss antennae flattened slightly against her scalp, signaling her displeasure with the Tellarites insult. But such exchanges were nothing new, al‑Rashid reflected; as long as the Andorians and the Tellarites werent reaching for knives or phase pistols, he wouldnt worry.

Maybe my plan wont go down in history alongside the Missouri Compromise,al‑Rashid thought, looking down at his hands, which remained placidly folded on the tabletop. But it should keep the Coalition from coming apart at the seams, at least for another few months.

He heard several sets of footfalls approaching rapidly from the back of the auditorium. Looking up, he saw a small group of uniformed humans walking almost at a march directly toward the council tables. At the forefront of the group were four gray‑haired men, three of whom wore formal Starfleet uniforms, complete with neckties, while a fourth was attired in MACO dress whites. All four men were distinguished from the small cluster of aides and security personnel that partially surrounded them not only by their bearing, but also by the impressive array of medals and ribbons displayed on their chests.

Right on schedule,al‑Rashid thought. The time had finally arrived for the military briefing that might well prove to be the basis for a horrific war. He knew he could do little now other than pray that whatever was to come next, the coolheadedness of the Vulcans would prevail over the excitability of the Andorians and the Tellarites.

May whatever these men have to share with us today not tear open the wound of blind fear we all have worked so hard to suture,inshallah.

Admirals Gregory Black and Sam Gardner formed almost matching bookends flanking Captain Eric Stillwell of Starfleets tactical technological branch and the commandant of United Earths MACO forces, General George Casey. Since all four military officers were already familiar to the assembled delegates, Gardner wasted no time on introductions, opting instead to plunge straight into his much‑awaited briefing about the latest news concerning the Klingon situation.

“Captain Jonathan Archer has just uncovered critical new information while he was on the Klingon homeworld of QonoS, Gardner said without preamble. “In short, Captain Archer has determined that the Klingons are notresponsible for the recent acts of aggression that have occurred in the Draylax system.

“Allah be praised, al‑Rashid muttered as the Andorian and Tellarite delegates erupted in a gabble of surprise and consternation.

“It would appear that Captain Archer has once again performed a great service to this alliance, Soval said, raising his voice slightly in an effort to restore decorum to the room.

“May we assume that you have hard evidence to back up thisextraordinary claim? Gral asked, his piggy eyes overflowing with suspicion. The Andorian contingent seated near him appeared equally skeptical.