Chapter Six
THE DOORS TO THE MAIN CONFERENCE ROOMat Government House swung open, and the Council of Ministers
entered, closely followed by the party of four from theEnterprise . Kerajem and the seven ministers took
their places in front of seats that ran along one side of a large, highly polished oblong table. The
table looked to Picard to have been madeno, to have beencrafted from a rich, reddish brown heartwood,
something like mahogany. Such high-quality wood might be as common as charcoal herePicard doubted that,
but it might be sobut the craftsmanship evident in the making of this table bespoke an uncommonly high
order of skill. People who were capable of doing this kind of work were to be reckoned with. Technology
was gadgets;this was civilization.
Picard took his place at the center of the other side of the table, opposite Kerajems seat, and Data
and Troi stood to his left and right, respectively. Worf stood next to Troi.
As Picard stood there, waiting for some sort of signal to be seated, he almost absently ran a finger
along the intricately carved filigree that ran all the way around the rounded rim of the table. If the
Lethanta were trying to make an impression on him with this thing, they had succeeded.
Kerajem had been watching him.
Were proud of our craftsmanship here, Captain,
the First Among Equals
said.
This conference table used to belong to thethe previous ruling class here. They used it for
banquets, usually. Its several hundred years old.
It is quite well preserved,
Data said.
Thank you, Commander,
Kerajem said, smiling.
Its been restored several times. We try to keep it in
good repair.
He leaned slightly forward and looked down at the tabletop.
I sometimes find this
restful.
Picard looked, too. It was like gazing into a pool, with only his own mirror image guarding the border
between the surface of the table and the infinity that began just below it. The gloss of the finish used
was unmarred and incredibly reflective. Out of the corner of his eye, Picard spotted Data and the others
from theEnterprise doing the same.
Its lovely,
Troi said quietly.
So peaceful.
We have it refinished every so often,
Kerajem said.
Each time we repair the table, it comes back to
us better and stronger.
Picard looked up.
I sense theres a parallel there to the experience of your entire world, First Among
Equals.
Kerajem smiled a secret smile.
I believe there is, Captain. Shall we all be seated? We have a great
deal to talk about.
Certainly.
Everyone took their seats.
If I may, Kerajem,
Picard began,
I would like to ask you about these ancient writings that Minister
Rikkadar referred to aboard the aircraft on our way here. Perhaps they might offer us further clues
about your past
Out of the corner of his eye, Picard saw Troi suddenly sit up perfectly straight. Her hands were clasped
easily in front of her on the table, but the captain saw that she was holding one forefinger slightly
elevated.Wait .
Picard saw that, suddenly, several of the faces across the table had grown clouded with something that
seemed like anger. With the skill of long practice, the captain smoothly changed the course of his
remark.
but, of course, all that can come later. We feel sure that all of you must have many questions
for us.
He smiled encouragingly.
Please proceed.
Security Minister Jemmagar had something very much like a sneer on his face.
Captain Picard, there is
only one thing we want to know about,
he said bitingly.
How did your ship get past the Krann line?
Picard looked at him.
The Krann line? I told you that we know nothing of these Krann youve been
talking about
Jemmagar slapped a hand on the flawless surface of the table, leaving a palm print. Worf stiffened.
Come, Captain!
Jemmagar prodded.
You know very well what I am talking about! How did you do it? How
did you get past the Krann?
Picard looked straight at Kerajem. The captain knew that his face was coloring with anger, and he did
not bother to hide it.
First Among Equals, this is insulting and completely needless. I have assured
you repeatedly that we have come here in peace
Captain, please,
Kerajem said, holding up a hand.
I tell you in all candor that no one here greeted
the arrival of your ship with more anticipation, more hope, than Ibut your lack of response to this
vital question is straining evenmy goodwill.
Please, Captain Picard,
Minister Klerran said, pain in his eyes.
Please tell us how you got through
the Krann line unmolested. It is so vitally important to us. Surely you must see that. Surely.
Picard shook his head in puzzlement. He did not need Troi to tell him that Klerran was sincere.
We went
through no line, sir. We have seen no Krann and have no knowledge of them. The first thing we
encountered in this star system was your very own probe.
The one that first detected you in the region of Maak Unselbe,
Jemmagar said.
Yes.
Captain Picard,
Minister Presinget said,
we really dont have much time for this nonsense. Please
tell us about the Krann.
We know of no Krann,
Data said.
Jemmagar leaned back in his seat.
Of course you dont,
the security minister said in a bored tone as
he gazed absently at the ceiling.
You came here out of simple curiosity, is that it? How nice for you.
Picard ignored his tone.
We came here because we detected a certain form of radiation, a pulse, that
was of interest to us.
Do you generally go more than eight hundred trillion kilometers out of your way just to look at
interesting forms of radiation pulses, Captain?
Frequently,
Picard responded calmly.
Our mandate is to explore, to find out what we can, and to send
back the information we gather. That is our job. That is what we do.
I believe him,
Minister Umbeltag said suddenly.
You would,
Jemmagar sneered.
Liberals!
What kind of radiation pulse was this?
Klerran asked.
It might help if we knew more about it.
Indeed it might,
Picard said,
but we have rules about revealing our technology to those who have not
yet reached that stage on their own. Suffice it to say that it was radiation relating to the method by
which we travel faster than light. Tell me,
Picard asked cautiously,
have you been working on
developing such a technology?
Dont answer that,
Jemmagar said quickly.
Kerajem looked at the security minister with a sour expression.
Oh, come now, Jemmagar,
he said.
No,
Captain, we dont have any such program under way. Wedo have a presence in space, of course. We have
many of the kind of probes you encountered, all of which are unmanned. We have people in orbit aboard
weather monitoring stations.
Sir,
Data said,
forgive me, but your peopledid come here from another star system.
Yes, we did,
Minister Terrestak said.
Ages agoif our legends are to be believed.
We will see,
Captain Picard said quickly.
We will be glad to provide the Council of Ministers with
all the data our rules permit.
The question remains, sirs,
Data continued.
How do your legends say you got here, to this planet?
Kerajem looked at them for a long moment.
I cant answer that adequately,
he said.
In fact, I
probably cant answer that at all. We have a number of ancient writings that may bear on this matter,
however.
I would like to see those writings,
Picard said.
We can provide them to you,
Kerajem said.
They are contained in a religious tract that was used when
the old theocracy ruled our world. The old religion was purged after the revolution, but there must be
some copies of the scrolls left somewhere.
I have one,
old Rikkadar said quietly.
Ive always had one.
Jemmagar sat back forward.
Thats not allowed, you know.
The finance minister shrugged.
So? What are you going to do, Jemsy boy? Arrest me?
Kerajem held up a hand.
Its all right, Rikkadar. My mother kept hers, too. Many people did. Captain,
youll have your own copy shortly.
What about the Krann?
Jemmagar said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Supply these people with all
the illegal religious documents you care to, by all means, but first I want to know about the Krann.
Picard calmed himself.
Once again, Minister Jemmagar,
he said,
we dont know anything about any
Krann.
Really?
Jemmagar continued.
You sailed through our entire solar system without seeing any Krann? You,
who were able to detect three brief radiation blips from nearly a million billion kilometers away?
We saw no Krann,
Picard said again.
We saw no one.
Jemmagar turned to Kerajem.
First Among Equals, its time we ended this farce. Show him.
Kerajem paused in thought for a long moment.
Captain Picard,
he finally said,
I suspect you might not
have been entirely forthcoming with us. I must tell you that Im disappointed. Id hoped for much more
from you.
Kerajem, I assure you
Never mind,
the First Among Equals said, holding up a hand. He addressed the air.
Raise the cover
panel,
he called, and the wall behind Picard and the others began to slide smoothly into the ceiling.
About time,
Jemmagar said under his breath.
Every one of Worfs senses was at full alert. The Klingon, unarmed as everyone in the landing party was,
had every intention of ordering an emergency beam-up should the Lethanta try anything. The sudden light
touch of Trois hand on his arm startled him.
We are in no danger from them,
she whispered to him.
They are apprehensive and angry, but nothing more.
Worf gave her a small nod. Nevertheless, he held himself in readiness.
The wall slid fully up into the ceiling to reveal a large mirror about three meters tall and five meters
wide.
Opaque,
Kerajem called, and the mirror went dead black from end to end.
Project real-time correlated view from all sentinel probes,
Kerajem called, and an image swam slowly
onto the black surface. It was a starfield, an unusually dense one.
No. Itlooked like a starfield, but there were too many stars. Far too many.
That is a 360-degree view of the Krann fleet, Captain,
Kerajem said.
As you can see, it surrounds
us.
Picards mouth opened.
Afleet? Do you mean to say that each one of those lights is?
A Krann ship, of course,
Jemmagar said impatiently.
At our last count, the oncoming Krann fleet
consisted of one hundred sixty-three thousand, two hundred forty-seven ships of various sizes and
configurations. We estimate that there are more than three billion Krann aboard those ships. Dont play
the fool for our benefit, Captain Picard. Surely you knew all this already.
I see one hundred sixty-three thousand, three hundred ninety-six Krann ships indicated on this display
panel, Captain,
Data said.
Minister Jemmagar is incorrect.
Some of those blips are false echoes,
Jemmagar grated.
A completely accurate count is impossible.
Might our friends from space condescend to allow us a certain margin for error?
Uh, thank you, Mr. Data,
Picard said distractedly.
Kerajem, you saythese are Krann ships? But we
never saw them!
The First Among Equals studied Picard for several moments.
I could almost believe that,
he almost
whispered.
Picard was still looking at the display panel.
On our way here to Government House, Kerajem, my first
officer reported to me that we had detected a brief indication of class-M conditionsthat is, normal
environmental factorsin free space near the orbit of the fifth planet in this system. He was monitoring
the situation closely, as the phenomenon could be interpreted to indicate the presence in this system of
a known adversary of ours. There was no clue that it could have been anything likethis.
The leading elements of the Krann fleet are just inside the orbit of Maak Unselbe,
Klerran pointed
out.
Your ship may well have detected a temporary failure of the camouflage system of one of the Krann
vessels. They are rare, but they occur. Weve noted them in the course of our monitoring the approach of
the Krann.
You are able to track their ships?
Worf asked.
Their camouflage system, as you call it, is of no
consequence to you?
Klerran shook his head.
It was at first, Lieutenant. We knew they were coming, though, and we kept
looking for them in all sorts of ways until we finally found them. We have gotten very good at finding
things, you know. We foundyou quickly enough, after all
First Among Equals,
came a voice from a hidden loudspeaker.
There is a priority call from Minister
Hattajek at the War Room.
Put it through immediately,
Kerajem ordered.
Yes, Hattajek. What is it?
Kerajem, we are presently tracking two large craftof unknown type approaching the city at high speed.
We are assuming that they are hostile. Estimated time to your position is three minutes.
I wonder whose they are,
Jemmagar muttered, staring at Picard.
Defense condition one,
Kerajem snapped.
How come we didnt spot them sooner, Hattajek?
Unknown, First. General Blakendet suggests that they used a new type of camouflage that we were not
initially prepared to detect. We spotted them only as they entered our atmosphere and left an ionic
trail. We are tracking them closely now.
Launch interceptor missiles,
Kerajem ordered.
Interceptors launched,
came the reply.
Picards communicator buzzed.
Enterpriseto Picard,
Riker said.
Were tracking two unmanned chemically powered spacecraft of unknown
origin. Theyre leaving a significant ionic trail behind them. The unknowns are flying at an altitude of
fifteen thousand three hundred meters at a constant speed of two hundred ninety meters per second,
bearing seventy-seven degrees grid north and heading straight for your position. Present distance from
you, forty-nine point three kilometers. Estimated time to target, two minutes fifty seconds.
Are the unknowns dangerous?
Picard asked.
Were not reading any explosive materials aboard either of the unknowns, Captain. There are power
sources aboard that seem independent of engine configuration, however. Those sources may be part of
onboard energy weapons systems. But at that speed, the two unknowns would be able to do considerable
damage to the building youre in simply by crashing into it. They need not be carrying warheads.
Understood. Stand by, Number One. Kerajem,
Picard said,
if theres anything we can do to assist you,
please let us know.
Thank you, Captain, but I believe we have this situation well in hand.
The First Among Equals
addressed the air again.
Hattajek, relay your tactical display of these two unknowns and the approach
of our interceptors.
The view of the Krann fleet on the display wall was immediately replaced by a schematic map of the
immediate region. The coast was shown as a jagged, glowing green line separating a black land mass on
the left side of the map from a light blue ocean that dominated the right. The capital city area was a
neatly bounded yellow zone between the coast and the Kajja Kojja mountains to the west. A group of six
green streaks was moving rapidly from left to right across the map toward two red squares moving more
slowly in the opposite direction.
Those unknowns are not far off the coast,
Picard observed.
They will not get much farther,
Kerajem said.
We are about to
The six green streaks suddenly disappeared from the map.
Kerajem,
came Hattajeks voice,
the interceptors are gone. Weve lost all telemetry from them.
There
was a brief pause.
General Blakendet has just launched a second flight. We will try an interception over
land.
Kerajems voice was calm.
Do you have any idea what happened to the first flight?
he asked.
No, Kerajem. It seems obvious that the unknowns shot down our interceptors somehow.
Picards communicator buzzed again.
Captain,
Rikers worried voice reported,
each of the two unknowns emitted a short, high-frequency
energy burst that cleared the sky in front of them as the interceptors were making their final approach.
The burst shattered all six interceptors. Were tracking the debris. Its crashing into the ocean in a
three-kilometer-long path approximately thirty-five kilometers east of you.
Stand by, Will.
Picard looked at the schematic map. He and everyone else in the room watched for a
minute as a flight of more than a dozen interceptors launched from near the capital headed toward the
red squares.
It looks as if they will meet not far from here,
Picard observed.
Eight point seven kilometers east of here, sir,
Data said.
However, my estimate may be off by a minor
amount if this schematic is not to consistent scale.
The dozen interceptors drew very close to the unknowns and then disappeared from the map, just as the
first flight had.
Riker to Picard. Theyve just done it again. All twelve interceptors in the second flight are gone, and
were tracking debris.
The unknowns will arrive at these coordinates in thirty seconds,
Data said.
Were dead,
Jemmagar said simply.
Kerajem turned to Picard as the red squares crossed over the boundary of the yellow zone that
represented the capital city area.
Captain, I am most deeply sorry,
the First Among Equals said.
We
have no way of stopping thosethose thingsin time. Weve involved you in our troubles, and now it seems
youre to suffer for it.
Picard said nothing. He kept his face carefully blank.
Unlessunless you can do something about this. Can you?
Yes.
Kerajem seemed a little dazed.
Then please do so.
Number One,
Picard said,
lock on to and destroy those unknowns.
Aye, sir. Phasers armed and locked. Firing phasers.
The red squares disappeared from the map as a blinding greenish white light burst through the windows.
Kerajem?
came Hattajeks voice.
What just happened? Weve lost the unknowns. We suddenly had a very
high energy reading, and now were not even reading debris. Theyre justgone. Uh, final range from
Government House, five point eight kilometers.
The First Among Equals was still blinking.
The problem has been taken care of,
he told the defense
minister.
Eh?
We have some friends upstairs,
Kerajem said.
Take us down to defense condition two, Hattajek.
Yes, First. War Room out.
Kerajem turned to address Picard.
Captain, it seems youve saved our lives. On behalf of the Council, I
thank you.
There was a murmur of agreement.
I wonder,
Picard asked,
why the unknown craft were not detected before they entered your atmosphere,
however.
I would like an answer to that myself,
Klerran said.
I believe I will get on the communication links
straight away and ask the people who are paid to know such things.
It seems likely that these unknown spacecraft were probes launched by the Krann to test your defenses,
Kerajem,
Data said.
The First Among Equals nodded.
They proved that our defenses are not as good as we thought they were,
he said.
We were lucky, thanks to you.
Captain,
Worf said,
obviously the Krann are using a cloaking device that operates in ways unfamiliar
to us. It appears that not even the Lethanta know everything there is to know about the camouflage
system developed by the Krann. I suggest we become familiar with the camouflage system as quickly as
possible.
Security Minister Jemmagar had a practiced look of disinterest.
I think,
he said,
that we have been
gulled by these people long enough. Now they want us to give them the greatest secret of our
counterintelligence operation.
Jemmagar laughed without humor.
I admire the sheer gall of it, Captain.
Im curious. Just which of the Krann ships did you command before the fleet constructed that sham
currently in orbit above us?
What?
Picard was taken aback.
You were in charge of the flagship, Ill bet,
Jemmagar said.
You have a certain style about you, Ill
admit that.
Jemmagar, mind yourself!
Kerajem barked.
Im doing my job!
Jemmagar shot back.
We first detect thisEnterprise inside the orbit of Maak
Unselbe a mere hundred million kilometers ahead of the leading edge of the Krann fleet. It was traveling
at a quarter of the speed of light. Thats fast, but not impossibly fast, and not hard to achieve if
youve got the energy budget. Call it two gravities of acceleration applied for a period of, oh, about
six weeks
Ridiculous,
Picard said.
You are mistaken.
from a distance of about a hundred and thirty billion kilometers. Quite a ways out, Captain, and a
fast, uncomfortable ride sunward to boot.
He was sneering now.
You and your people must be pretty
tired. Youlook a bit tired to me, you know.
Minister Jemmagar,
Kerajem said sharply,
control yourself. These are our guests.
The security minister paid no attention to him.
You people must have been working on this little fraud
for quite some time, constructing that so-called starship of yours,
he continued.
It took the Krann
fleet quite a while to get from that point to where it is now. Why, you almost didnt make it to our
world in time, did you? The vanguard of your fleet almost beat you here.
I dont know what youre talking about,
Picard said icily.
Certainly you do,
the security minister responded.
Weve been able to read incredible energy reserves
aboard your vesselmore than enough to provide constant boost for an indefinite period. You might even
have been able to get here much faster than I think, since you decelerated so quickly once you reached
orbit. Id even venture to guess that youve come up with some way to negate the effects of acceleration
and inertia. Wed be very interested in obtaining something like that for ourselves, you know.
This has gone far enough,
Picard said, rising, and the otherEnterprise officers stood with him.
Perhaps we should recess, let things calm down a bit. My colleagues and I will be leaving immediately.
Please, Captain
Kerajem said.
Jemmagar, this is outrageous! These people are not Krann, you idiot!
I believe they are,
Jemmagar said,
and none of them is leaving just yet. I have the building under a
security alert.
The doors to the room opened, and a squad of armed guards entered.
Guards, make these
four comfortable. They will be staying with us for a while.
On the contrary,
Worf said, tapping his communicator.
Transporter. Emergency beam up.
Well pick up the shuttlecraft later,
came Picards voice as he and his officers faded away.
The ministers and guards gaped at the empty space where Picard and the others had been standing.
You surely can clear a room, Jemmagar,
Rikkadar said.
Butbut
the security minister stammered.
Jemmagar, you screaming idiot,
Kerajem said, suddenly very weary. He rubbed his eyes with thumb and
forefinger.
Those people are our only hope. You may have doomed us. Id fire you, you complete jackass,
if there were enough time left to make firing you worthwhile.
Presider Hek was sitting at the small desk in his working quarters, waiting for the results of the
initial probe by the high-speed attack drones. He had finished his lunch, a pretty good one, and shoved
the plates and utensils into the reclaimer. Now he was just sitting there, waiting. For once, he was
leaving his military people to themselves.
Fleet tacticians were fairly sure that at least one of the probes would get through, and Hek would be
content with that. While the object of the exercise was to see what ground defenses the Lethanta might
be able to bring to bear to destroy a determined attacking spacecraft, the destruction of their
political headquarters would be a strategic bonus.
And he had thousands of drones. Thousands of them.
Hek had waited his entire life for the coming struggle. Every one of his ancestors had lived their lives
and died their deaths to bring Hek and the Krann to this point. His people had missed a chance thousands
of years before to eradicate the Lethanta from the universe, but Hek would not permit that to happen
again.
His ancestors cried out in their deaths for the completion of vengeance. Hek would not fail them.
The door signal rang.
Enter,
Hek called.
It was Graff Starboard Water Line Tester, his military attaché. The look on Graffs face fairly shouted
that the news he had to tell Hek was not good.
You look troubled, Graff,
Hek said, carefully keeping the disappointment out of his voice.
I take it
that things went poorly.
Presider, I regret to report that both of our drones were destroyed just short of their target.
Both? What happened?
The drones became detectable by the enemy upon their entry into the atmosphere of Nem Maak Bratuna,
and the Lethanta went to full military alert immediately upon seeing them.
Well have to have a little talk with the research and development people about that,
Hek said.
We
knew that the secret of our present concealment apparatus was probably compromised. I was told the new
version of the apparatus would render a concealed craft completely undetectable.
Yes, Presider,
Graff said, nodding quickly.
It was an unexpected result, perhaps due to our inability
to properly test the new apparatus in an atmosphere
Never mind that now,
the Presider said, waving a hand impatiently.
What about the destruction of the
drones? What did the enemy use to do it?
As nearly as we can tell, a phased energy weapon of some sort was used to cause the constituent
molecules of the drones to dissociate. In other words, they were vaporized.
And we didnt realize they had anything like that,
Hek said.
No, Presider,
Graft said.
They do not have such weapons at all. The phased energy weapon that was
used was not fired by the Lethanta
but by the alien ship in orbit around their world,
Hek finished for him.
Of course. The aliens have
become involved on the side of the Lethanta.
Hek chuckled, a sound that sent a shiver up his attachés
spine.
Well have to delay further action until we can sort this matter out.
He smiled a dangerous
smile.
This gets more interesting by the minute, doesnt it, Graff?
Perhaps, Presider, the aliens were operating out of self-interest,
Graff pointed out.
We already know
from our monitoring of their communications that alien representatives were to meet with the leaders of
the planetary government at about the time the drones were due to arrive. The aliens may have destroyed
the drones simply to save themselves.
The Presider looked at him in that intimidating manner he so often used on his subordinates. Graff stood
his ground, trying to appear more calm than he felt. The Presiders last two attachés had disappeared
after short terms of service, never to be seen again. Everyone in the officer corps believed the
attachés had gone through that special door in the star chamber, the recently installed air lock to
nowhere that the officers called Heks Closet.
All right,
Hek finally said, frowning harshly.
Ill admit the timing fits, Graff. You could be right.
Damn, what a dismal turn of events. We would have had the Lethantan leadership cold if only wed
launched the drones a bit earlier. Whose fault do you think it was?
There is no blame to be assigned here, Presider,
Graff said.
The alien ship had not even entered this
star system when we launched the drones several weeks ago. The transit time to target was considerable
at this distance, even for a high-velocity drone. The timing of the launch was based on the position of
the fleet relative to Nem Maak Bratuna and the tactical need for the drones to arrive during the
workday, to enhance our chances of catching the members of the leadership inside the building.
I didnt ask you that, Graff,
Hek said coldly.
I asked you whose fault you thought this disaster
was.
I, uh, I will begin investigating the matter immediately, Presider.
Do that,
Hek said abruptly.
The High Council will want to know. Ill expect your report on this desk
by the dinner hour.
He pointed at the door.
Go.
As Graff left the room, he wondered which of his friends in the officer corps he would sell out this
time. The list of Graffs sacrificial offerings to the need of Presider Hek to punish simple bad luck
was becoming a rather long one.