CHAPTER THREE

     T'Laera paced nervously outside sickbay.  Inside, doctors were testing the prisoner to see if he was what he claimed to be, and to see if he hadevidence of cosmetic surgery.
     MayTa hesitated before approaching her.  He did not know his cousin all that well, and was forever trying to pin down the limits of their relationship.  Finally, he decided he was much more concerned with letting
her know she had his support, than whether or not she would bite his head off.  Casually, he rested against the wall and waited for her to look at him.
     She noticed him, and was trying to ignore him, but he was annoying the hell out of her.  "What?!"  she finally shouted, stopping her pacing.
     "You can tell me."  he said, simply.
     She wanted to be angry.  She wanted to take everything out on him; especially since he so conveniently offered himself as a potential victim.  Inside, though, she knew he was only trying to help.  Besides, she really
needed to vent the thoughts rattling around inside her head.
     "I will tell you,"  she glanced at the door, "but not here.  Come."
      MayTa followed, and was (to his surprise) led to T'Laera's quarters.  Inside, the stark room barely looked inhabited.  There were none of the usual mementos and knickknacks.  She motioned for him to sit in her only
chair, and went back to pacing.
     "You know I grew up on Jenko's planet."  she said, as he sat.
     "At the Federation/Klingon joint services compound."  he said, nodding.
     "Yes."  she paused thoughtfully.  The joint services mission turned out to be just as doomed a venture as her own parents' marriage.  "It was hard, sometimes."  she went on.  "There were very few mixed children.  The two halves of the compound got along insofar as the intelligence mission and trade of goods went, but had very little to do with each other socially.  I had very few friends, and most of them were human.  This...confused and angered me."
     "I understand."  MayTa assured her, thinking of his own mixed heritage.
     "I spent quite a lot of time alone, just me and my wolf.  I hunted, explored the desert, and spent a lot of time avoiding other people.  One day, on the edge of the high desert, I saw evidence that someone had passed that way.  After several attempts at tracking, I saw him.  He was gathering sage brush.  He was tall, and strong, and battle worn; and I was fourteen and incurably romantic."
     "The human we captured?"  May asked.
     "It is impossible."  she shook her head.  "Leaping Wolf hated the Cardassians.  In fact, he generally avoided them.  He was a retired Maquis gun runner.  There was a price on his head."
     "You think this man is disguised as...Leaping Wolf?  To what end?"
     T'Laera looked away, but held her head up.  "Before he knew I was fourteen; you see, I was tall for my age,..."  she sighed, sitting on the edge of her bunk.  "He was my first lover."
     "Ah.  I see."
     She glared at him.  "No, you do not see!  It was much more than that.  Cash taught me-"
     "Cash?"
     Pausing, she smiled and calmed down.  "His nick name, from his gun running days, was Always Pays Cash.  Of course, it was meant facetiously.  I called him Cash, for short.  He taught me everything."  she went on.  "He showed me how to rewire hundreds of devices and alter what they did.  He taught me how to make bombs out of almost anything.  And he taught me new ways to fight.  My father had left five years before this.  Cash became everything, to me."
     MayTa nodded.  "You think the Cardassians wish to use this against you, with an imitation."
     "Against us."  she corrected.   "He will probably come up with some story about being captured, or working under cover.  It most likely was a means to infiltrate us, then report back."  She shook her head.  "I don't see how they could have possibly thought it would work."  Thinking about it, she suddenly looked up.  "This could be just more smoke, to distract us."
     "It certainly seems to be working."  he agreed.
     Slowly, she nodded.  "We have to put this on a back burner.  He's not going anywhere.  We will keep him and his companions in the brig, while we investigate further what they were doing on Jenko's in the first place."
     MayTa smiled a little.  "Hadn't you better check with the captain, before you decide what we are going to do?"
     "Of course.  I'm certain, however, that he will concur."
      DaQtIq did concur, but not necessarily for the reasons she gave him.  There was something about the whole thing that smelled bad, and the further they stayed away from the prisoners, the better.  In fact, he began to think it might not be a bad idea if they had an "accident".  Meanwhile, ghurpak was busily decoding the message they'd intercepted before the Cardassians left the relay point.  Perhaps DaQtIq would question the prisoners just once, before they stumbled upon a bad end.  He put the ship on alert, and told T'Laera to get some rest before her second trip to the planet.  Then, he visited the brig.
      The man looked up to see the short, scarred Klingon on the other side of the force-field.  "So this is what she comes to?"  he asked.
     DaQtIq ignored him, and entered the cell once the force-field was down.  "We are running DNA tests."  he mentioned.
     "I thought you would."  the man said.
     "We knew you would expect it."  DaQtIq answered.  "I do not know what your plan is in all of this, and I do not care."  He sat on the opposite bunk, making himself comfortable.  "We came here to determine what role the Cardassians were playing in the recent arming of enemies of the empire.  Everything else is..." He seemed to search for a word.  "Incidental."  he sat slightly forward.  "Make no mistake; her loyalties lie with the Klingon empire, now.  What ever hold you wish to pretend you have, has long ago dissolved."
     The man peered closely at the Klingon captain.  "You?"  he asked.  "She-"
     "She is my first officer, and I trust her implicitly."  DaQtIq cut him off.
     The man shook his head.  "No Klingon commander can trust his second in command.  The right of succession insures it."
     "Nevertheless."  DaQtIq assured him.
     The man sat back, smiling.  "You trust her?  Suppose we put that trust to the test.  Let me speak to her.  I have things to tell her-"
     "You will have no opportunity to pour your poison in her ear."  DaQtIq's hand was on his knife.
     "But if you say you trust her...?"
     "Yes."  T'Laera stood on the other side of the force field.  "If you trust me, lord, why should it matter what he says?"
     DaQtIq looked up at her.  "I merely meant to spare you unnecessary-"
     "Spare me nothing."  she said.  "I am perfectly capable of killing this piece of drek myself, if I must."  she looked away.  "I requisitioned certain sources of positive DNA samples.  The match was one hundred percent."
     "wa'DIch."  DaQtIq said, standing.  "What can this mean?"
     T'Laera met his gaze.  "It means, my friend, that you must run your ship while I sort this out.  Rest assured, I will still be here when it is over."
     "I expected as much."
     "I know."  She backed up, as the force field was lowered.  "Some things, I must do for myself."  Fixing her eyes on his, she added "Trust me on this."
     "I do."  he answered, and stepped out of the cell.  As she stepped in, he grabbed her arm.  "Do not forget-"
     "All my life, I never shall."  she answered, not looking at him.
     He let her go.

.......

     MayTa was just beginning to enjoy the unexpected pleasure of fitting his rear end to the captain's seat, when DaQtIq arrived.  Time for delusions of grandeur was over.  The captain had a wild hair.
     "Why have we not done an elemental survey of the planet?"  DaQtIq demanded.
     "The entire planet, lord?"  mara asked, incredulous.
     "Yes, the entire planet!"  he assured her.  "If one alien foot, clad in a boot made from non-native materials, has pressed itself into the soil, I will know of it!  Am I making myself clear?!"
     "Yes, lord!"  the crew answered, getting busy.

......

     "Why?"  T'Laera asked, genuinely wanting to know.  "Tell me they brainwashed you.  Tell me you accepted a mission undercover.  Explain this to me."
     The man smiled.  "None of the above."
     "Then why?"
     "Oh, my Shadow Woman."   he sighed, despite her obvious irritation.  "There is certain evidence."
     "Evidence?  Of what; the deity of Cardassians?  What could possibly convince you?"  She knew, for certain, that this was Leaping Wolf she spoke to.
     He moved to make himself comfortable, delaying the painful moment.  "You believe the split between the Federation and the Klingons just happened.  After all, it had happened before; right?  The alliance had never been an easy one."
     "Your point?"
     "The split did not just happen.  It was helped."
     "No doubt; by old war-hawks who wanted to return to glory days."
     "No."  Cash answered, still wishing there was another way.  "By the governments themselves."
     "Right."  she scoffed.
     "It's the truth.  I can get proof."  He hated this, but it was necessary.  "Highly placed officials on both sides were instrumental in the Klingon/Federation split.  It was deemed...more economically sound than
alliance."
     "Speculation!"  she said, having heard such theories before.
     "Fact."  he assured her.  "I can get documentation."
     "Are you saying,"  T'Laera stood.  "that the uprising on Jenko's planet was orchestrated, as part of a plan to make the two groups enemies once more?"
     Cash leaned forward.  "That is exactly what I am saying!"  he insisted.  "That is the whole reason I am here!  I was gathering proof!"
     "With Cardassians?"  she scoffed.
     "I know their motives are selfish; but who cares?  The truth should come out, by any means."
     "No!"  she could not believe what he was saying!  "Any cause that favors the Cardassians, is tainted!  I can't believe I'm hearing this from you.  From you!  You, of all people!  The Cardassians destroyed your home; murdered your wife and children.  How can you work with them?  How can you
stand to even look at them?"
     "They were wrong to do what they did," he agreed, "but at least they came upon their mistake honestly.  At least they were seeking lands they had some prior claim to; not merely feeding the flames of racial prejudice to support defense contractors!"
     She did not even know when she attacked him.  As the red haze faded from her eyes, she saw them locked together like lovers; but with a knife between them.  Guards pried them apart, dragging her out of the cell.
     "I will prove you wrong!"  she swore.  "They have brainwashed you!  None of it is true!  None of it!"
     "T'Laera!"  he called.  "Oh, Shadow Woman!  I wish you did not have to know."
     "No!"  she refused even to listen to him; this man who had meant so much to her once.  Certain she would die or go insane, she fled the brig.

************************************************

CHAPTER FOUR

     T'Laera tromped into the turbo lift and slammed her hand against the controls.  The doors closed, but the lift only lurched a short way, then stopped.  Impatient, she slapped the control panel twice more.
     "You have such a talent with machines."  a voice came from the shadowy back corner.
     Recognizing the voice, she did not turn.  "This is not a good time for games, lord."  she breathed tensely.
     "Then refuse to play."  DaQtIq emerged from the shadows, his arms crossed over his chest.  "Of  the rules, the players, and the objective, I am not certain; but I know a game when I see one."
     "I have already considered the idea that this may be another distraction."
     "Perhaps.  Then again, perhaps not."
     She turned to face him.  "You know something!"
     "No."  he assured her.  "I will soon, though."
     "Tell me."
     Drawing the moment out for the sake of drama, he leisurely paced the length of the lift.  "At this point in space," he began, "the neutral zone bulges out in an ellipse between us and the remainder of free space."
     "Yes?"  she knew this, but also knew he wouldn't mention it unless it were important.  Mentally, she placed this piece of the puzzle on an imaginary board.
     "Ask yourself what questions, wa'DIch?"
     T'Laera blinked twice.  "Who stands to gain the most, and who stands to lose?"
     "A good start."  he nodded.  "Extrapolate."
     She leaned against the wall, thinking.  "Who gains and loses if it is true, and who gains and loses if it is false?"
     "Precisely."  he smiled.
     "Obviously, you monitored my conversation with the prisoner."  she sighed blandly.
     "Obviously."  he shrugged, as if this did not even have to be stated.
     "So, what are the answers?"
     Again, he shrugged.  "I will give you one more question.  If this is a Cardassian plot, would it be in their interest to prevent us from ascertaining and disseminating their version of the truth?"
     "Of course not.  What would be the point?"
     DaQtIq smiled.  "In that case, we should be able to enter Cardassian space with impunity.  If we do, we answer some questions.  We will know that this is a Cardassian plot, and we know they hope to gain by creating a greater rift between the Federation and the Klingons.  You see, each side will say their own involvement was limited to a few individuals; but suspect that the other's involvement was not so limited."
     "If we go through the ellipse, our safe passage will lend credence to the idea of a plot, and invalidate the evidence they claim to have."  Another piece of the puzzle went into place.
     "Yes."  he nodded.  "But we are not going through the ellipse."
     "I thought-"
     "*You* will remain on the planet, to monitor any further activity."
     T'Laera frowned.  "I am not so delicate, that you must put me safely out of the way."
     "Perish the thought."  he smiled.  "However, you are too emotionally involved to view the case objectively."
     "My lord,-!"
     "Silence!"  he held up a hand.  His eyes were cold and emotionless.  "At risk here is a moment in your personal history so profound, it could determine the course of the rest of your life.  True or false, you are the person with the most to lose, here.  I can not have someone so influenced on my bridge.  Besides,-"  he overrode her protests, "you are the one person on this ship familiar enough with the planet to live there, undetected, and witness anything that might transpire."
     She glared at him for awhile, but her anger soon faded.  In view of everything rattling around in her head right now, a period of isolation in the deserts of home sounded pretty good.  It was as if he was allowing her to run away from her problems, without risking looking bad.  On second thought, as she studied his face, that was probably exactly what he was doing.  "You will come back for me, won't you?"  she smiled a little.
     He could have answered this in any number of dramatic and superlative manners, but he chose instead to simply nod.  He made a mental note that if he ever wrote an opera about this part of his life, this would be a good place for the baritone to have an aside.  The solo would, naturally, be positively inspiring.   He heard the aria beginning in his head:

       qatlh SoHvaD bomtaH meQbogh 'IwwIj
               bomDaj DaQoylaH'a'
                  chay' qalIj

     "And you will not hide the truth from me?"  she asked, breaking in to his thoughts.
     "wa'DIch!"  he feigned shock.  "I should think you would know me better than that!"
     "Ah."  she nodded, smiling.  "You will, as my human mother used to say, lie like a bear rug."
     "I am not familiar with the expression."
     "My lord."  her smile faded.  "I am willing to ask for blood on it, if that's what it takes.  Promise me you will tell me the truth."
     He looked at his hands, the scars of past vows criss-crossing the palms.  "There is no need for blood."  he said, not meeting her eyes.  "When this is over, we will enter a room and I will tell you what I know.  Then, for good or ill, the matter will end."  Letting that sink in, he looked up at her.  "Remember your own vows.  If and when you leave that room, you will be beholden to them."
     T'Laera's eyes widened.  Another piece of the puzzle.  He suspected that Leaping Wolf's words may well prove true, and that once she found out, she would want to turn her back on the empire.  She knew with all certainty, that if she did that, he would fulfill the obligation of any other Klingon captain in that circumstance.  He would kill her.
....

     Ki-Boch took a spare moment to go check the arms room.  As weapons officer, he was accountable for the condition and count of side-arms, as well as ship's weapons.  He accomplished his inventory check in only a few minutes, and instructed the chief armorer to personally inspect each weapon and piece of equipment.  He could be wrong, but he had a feeling they would need them.
     He was relatively young for his rank and position, having left home at an early age.  His father's death in a mining accident had taught him all too well how important it is to maintain your equipment.  It was this respect for destructive power and meticulous need to control that power, that shaped him into an excellent weapons officer.  Some day he would return to pung-ghq, the filthy planet of his birth.  He would return there as a stranger, and spit the taste of it from his mouth.  Then, whether she wanted to or not, he would move his mother someplace more respectable so he need never lay eyes on that festering ball of dirt again.  Ki-Boch was a very driven young Klingon.
     Satisfied that all was in order, he went to his quarters to take his rest.  He had barely laid his head down, when he was summoned to the bridge.  Quietly and thoroughly, he listed his entire repertoire if curses (he was nothing, if not thorough), and headed for the bridge.
     On the bridge, DaQtIq glowered at the view screen.  The bright, dun planet below rotated peacefully.  Somewhere, amid the sand and cacti, fifty kilometers from her objective, was T'Laera.
     "You summoned me, lord?"  Ki-Boch entered.
     "We are going to enter Cardassian space."  DaQtIq stated plainly, secretly enjoying the collection of raised eyebrows around the bridge.
     "Yes, lord."  Ki-Boch nodded.  "I will bring all weapons on-line."
     "No."
     "Sir?"
     DaQtIq sat back.  "We will travel un-cloaked, un-shielded, and with all weapons off-line."
     "Sir?!"  Ki-Boch repeated, certain this must be a joke.
     "Issuing an invitation?"  ghurpak smiled.
     "Precisely."  DaQtIq answered.  "However, Ki-Boch,"
     "My lord?"
     "I want all systems on a hair trigger, should the unthinkable happen and it turns out I am wrong."
     mara smiled to herself, but did not look up.
     "Yes, lord."  Ki-Boch answered, and began to set up an automated tie-in, so he could do everything he needed to in an emergency with the touch of one button.
     "Take us into the breech, MayTa."  DaQtIq got comfortable.
     "Aye, sir."

CHAPTER FIVE

     Morning dawned.  Time to find a place to sleep.  In the deserts of Jenko's planet, no one dared sleep at night and no one dared try to move around in the heat of day.  T'Laera found a deep overhang in the canyon she was traversing.  After a quick check for ribbon snakes, and a hasty camouflage job, she wedged herself into the rock and slept.
     She'd been able to cover nearly thirty kilometers, the night before.  Fresh spore indicated a herd of borsabbit passed not too long ago.  Perhaps tonight, she would ride instead of walk.  So far, she'd avoided the devil cats- and the Cardassians.  Cardassian PTVs (Personal Transport Vehicles) could be heard patrolling in the distance.  In view of all the activity, maybe DaQtIq hadn't simply been getting rid of her.  She was certainly the best person for the job at hand.  Dodging Cardassians in Jenko's deserts was old hat, to her.  Somehow, she managed to sleep with one eye open.
......

     "They must see us!"  mara complained, looking at the patrols on the view screen.
     "My lord,"  Ki-Boch's finger itched intolerably.  It was an itch that could be cured with one touch of a button.
     "Steady!"  DaQtIq hissed.  "Continue to monitor their activities.  Record everything that transpires."
     "Perhaps they think the prisoner offered safe passage as proof that his story is true."  MayTa suggested.
     "It matters not."  he growled back, a satisfied look on his face.  "They have betrayed their hand."  Suddenly, he stood.  "Notify me the moment we leave Cardassian space."
     "My lord,"  ghurpak coughed.  "Do you think it wise to leave the bridge at this particular time?"
     "Do you think it wise to advise me, when you have not finished your assigned task?"
     "Sir, I believe there is no code to crack.  I think the signal was fabricated, simply to make their presence seem valid."
     "Or,"  DaQtIq shrugged, "it could be simply that you are incompetent."
     ghurpak stood suddenly, barely able to choke back a growl.
     "Nearing the neutral zone!"  MayTa interjected hurriedly.  "Leaving Cardassian space in five minutes, at current speed."
     DaQtIq had not taken his eyes off ghurpak.  He smiled, showing many teeth.  "I am going to interview our prisoners once more.  MayTa, take my chair.  ghurpak, since you have nothing to do, come with me."
     Still snarling, but controlling himself, ghurpak followed his captain.
     "Angry?"  DaQtIq asked, once they were in the turbo lift.
     "No, lord."  ghurpak answered angrily.
     "No?"  he seemed amazed.  "I could have sworn your medical report stated you were a normal, healthy, male.  Don't you have any-"
     "Sir!  I can control myself!"
     "Of course.  But...sometimes, when things go to far...?"
     ghurpak didn't know where to look.  "I know myself well enough to know I am not ready for command.  To attempt succession would be wasteful."
     DaQtIq nodded.  "Good.  But...you are angry."
     "Not uncontrollably."
     "Good."  the shorter man smiled.  "Use that."
     "Sir?"
     DaQtIq leaned back.  "You have the interrogation.  I think I would like to see you at work."
     ghurpak smiled.  "Yes, sir!"
     Under DaQtIq's watchful eye, ghurpak questioned the prisoners separately, and in turn.  He confronted them on points where their stories did not agree, he caught them in mistakes they had made in their own stories, and he coaxed unintended admissions from them; but all the while he kept his temper at bay, like a coiled snake preparing to strike.  The Cardassians found it unnerving, resorting to shouting and struggling as if to tempt him to do his worst.  The human, however, was a particularly difficult nut to crack.  To avoid having to keep his story straight, Leaping Wolf simply told a completely different one every time.  After an hour of this, ghurpak was less sure of what to think than when he'd walked in.  Finally, DaQtIq stood and rested a hand on ghurpak's shoulder.
     "You have done well."  DaQtIq said abruptly.  "Return to the bridge."
     "But my lord, I am not finished!  I know I can-"
     "You'll get no further with this one."  the captain sat back down.  "You broke the other two; that is enough.  Return to the bridge."
     ghurpak's eyes narrowed, as he detected the ruse.  He gave a short nod, saluted, and left.
     Staring across the room, DaQtIq waited for the human to react to the bit of news he'd leaked.  He was disappointed.  Leaping Wolf simply sat there, staring back.
     "There are better ways to hurt her."  DaQtIq began.  "Truly, I think you would not have had to work half so hard, for the same results."
     Leaping Wolf answered with silence.
     "We will expose your lies.  You will fail to turn her against us."  DaQtIq leaned forward.  "You will fail to turn her against me."
     Leaping Wolf flinched, almost imperceptibly.
     DaQtIq smiled.  "Maybe it would be helpful if you told me your goal.  Did you wish to be her mate?  She is unmated, I am certain we could work something out.  Or perhaps something less permanent?"
     "I didn't go through all this for a roll in the hay."  Leaping Wolf spat.
     "Ah."  DaQtIq leaned back, smiling.  "You see?  Now we are getting somewhere.  Perhaps we can eliminate all the things you did not want to do, we can come up with something helpful.  So.  You are uninterested in her, sexually."
     Leaping Wolf squirmed.
     "What's that?  You did not wish to rule that out?  Maybe your interest is less crass.  More...romantic, perhaps?"
     "You wouldn't understand."
     "I might.  I am a fairly understanding fellow."
     Leaping Wolf scoffed at that.
     "Or..." DaQtIq held one finger up.  "Perhaps it is something more complicated.  Perhaps although you do not want her for yourself, you do not wish for anyone else to have her?"
     "This is not just about T'Laera!"  Leaping Wolf blurted.  "There's much more at stake here!"
     "Such as?"
     His face darkening with anger at this pompous fool, Leaping Wolf leaned forward.  "I am not acting alone.  You can do what you want with me; the truth will still get out."
     "Truth?  I only see one truth, and it is this:  the Cardassians have used you with such skill, even I.* am envious.  They will accomplish their goal, because of or despite the truth, and they will throw you away.  They do not care about the things you do.  They do not care about you.  They fed you their "information", either partly or wholly false, and sent you out to be captured.  I will not ask why, because I know you do not know why.  One does not explain one's architectural plans to the tools, or the building materials."
     Leaping Wolf bristled at this, but held his tongue.  The years he spent in the Cardassian prisons... sometimes there were some things he was uncertain of.
     "I should kill you."  DaQtIq continued.  "However, I will not; for two reasons:  One, I fear it feeds right into their plan, and two,...."  he sighed.  "I am soft hearted."
     At this, Leaping Wolf laughed.  "You mean you're afraid of what she'll say."
     "Afraid?  No.  Considerate, perhaps."
     "She would kill you."
     DaQtIq shrugged.  "Perhaps.  She probably will some day, anyway.  There are far worse ways to die.  But, this is not even an issue for you.  You, my friend, will not die.  At least, not today."
     "What are you going to do with me?"
     "You are going to escape."
     Leaping Wolf peered at him, thinking.  "And if I refuse?"
     DaQtIq shrugged.  "At any rate, all the ship's records will show you escaped."
     The human nodded slowly.  "All right, I'll go.  But this does not mean I will hide the truth."
     "Of course not.  Take this truth, if it is the truth, and do what you feel is right.  It's the best any man can do."  He smiled, showing many teeth.  "Just leave me and my ship out of it."
     Again, Leaping Wolf nodded.

**********************
Back to Main Page

On to Part Three