Chapter Eight
TEN-FORWARD WAS EMPTYwhen Picard enteredempty, of course, except for her. She was polishing a glass
that didnt need it, killing time. As usual, everything was neat as a pin, waiting for him.
Uncanny,
the captain said, standing at the entrance and shaking his head.
How did you know?
How did I know what?
Guinan asked, putting down the glass she was polishing and picking up another.
She was smiling a sly, close-lipped smile that told him quite clearly that she already knew.
Picard said it anyway.
How do you know to be here, waiting for me, whenever I feel a real need to
talk?
Its a gift,
she said, shrugging.
You find it uncanny?
I find it utterly necessary and most convenient.
He took a seat and accepted the drink proffered by
Guinan.
Ah,
he said, holding it to the light and studying the contents.
Just what I was in the mood
for.
Guinan kept her eyes on the glass she was polishing.
Uncanny, isnt it?
Picard saluted her with the glass.
Thank you for getting up in the middle of the night,
he said, and
sipped.
Who says I wasnt up already,
she said, smiling.
Well, I figure weve got about ten minutes to
ourselves before someone decides to come in here. Whats bothering you, Jean-Luc?
Were to leave orbit later this morning to make rendezvous with the craft we have identified as the
flagship of the Krann fleet.
Have identified?
Guinan asked, taking a third glass from the rack.
That implies you havent talked
to them yet.
No. They havent responded to our hails.
Guinan looked up.
And youre going to go talk to them anyway?
Yes. I must.
She nodded and turned her attention back to the glass.
Whats kept you up tonight, Jean-Luc?
Data supplied me with a report on the religious writings of the Lethanta, the inhabitants of the planet
below. Ive been going over it.
And?
And theyre about what I expected,
the captain replied.
The writings represent the usual mixture of
historical record and basic moral principles that one usually finds in the ancient literature of
humanoid cultures, but at least the writings are internally consistent. I was gratified that they bore
out what the Lethanta leadership had told me about their past.
The writings may have been lies themselves when they were written, you know.
I know that, but they do tell me that the present-day Lethanta are being as honest as they know how to
be. The writings record that the Lethanta enslaved the Krann, that there was a revolt, and that the
Lethanta eventually had to flee. There is also an account of their long voyage to this star system. Not
incidentally, the enslavement and exploitation of the Krann is described repeatedly by the Lethanta
themselves in the writings as a great evil.
I see.
Guinan kept on polishing the glass.
I think the Lethanta are sincere about wanting to open meaningful talks with the Krann,
Picard said.
Guinan said nothing. She picked up a fourth glass and began polishing it.
Youre going to wear that thing out,
Picard finally said.
Guinan looked Picard in the eye.
I think I could wear this glass out with this rag before you could get
the Krann to see sense.
Ah. So youve heard of these people?
Travelers tales,
she replied, shrugging again.
Legends. You know. Things get passed around.
What have you heard?
Nothing Id base policy on, Jean-Luc. Rumors. Word is that theyre nomads, of course. They go from
place to place, and they take a very, very long time to do it, which makes everybody happy. Some say
theyre looking for somebody. Oh, and you dont want them dropping in on you.
Why is that?
Picard asked.
If they come calling, theyll stay a long time, and theyll pick you clean before they go.
She thought
for a moment.
I recall a friend of a friend who knew somebody whod talked to a trader whod been
through a system visited by the Krann not too long after theyd gone.
And?
He didnt stay there very long,
Guinan said.
There wasntanything for him there. I mean anything.
Theyd been cleaned out.
She put down the glass shed been working on, dropped the bar rag behind the
counter, and gave Picard her full attention.
Thats what I hear, anyway,
she finished.
Never met the
folks living on those ships myself, and I dont know anyone who has. All Ive got is a feeling, a bad
one.
Picard pressed her.
But what do you think?
What do I think? I think anybody whos mad enough to go on a six-thousand-year-long joyride to find the
people who once did them dirt is sociopathic in the extreme, and I think they are likely to behave
poorly in any number of ways. Avoid them, Jean-Luc, or be prepared for the consequences.
She indicated
his empty glass.
Want another?
No,
he said, and there was a bit of a sigh in it.
No, thank you, Guinan. I think Ill turn in. Ive
got about three hours before alpha shift begins.
Sleep well, then, Captain,
Guinan said.
Come on down some night when theres not a crisis brewing.
Well raise a glass to a few old friends.
I look forward to it,
Picard said.
Good night, Guinan.
The captain turned to leave just as the doors
slid open to admit several couples who had come to unwind a bit following beta shift. He nodded
pleasantly to them as he passed.
Guinan watched her friend go with eyes that seemed as old as space itself. Then she greeted her newest
guests.
TheEnterprise was under way again three hours and two minutes later.
There was the usual quiet buzz of practiced activity on the bridge as the starship rapidly pulled away
from Nem Maak Bratuna.
Half impulse, sir,
Ensign Ro confirmed.
Distance to craft identified as Krann
flagship is presently five hundred eighty-six million kilometers at bearing one hundred eighty-seven
mark twenty-one. Well be standing right off the bow of the flagship in just over one hour.
They are still ignoring our hails, Captain,
a frowning Worf reported,
as they have been since we
initiated them yesterday.
Keep on knocking, Mr. Worf,
Riker said,
and they may let us in yet.
Picard frowned at the viewscreen.
I guarantee it. Mr. Worf, are there any signs of unusual activity
among the Krann fleet?
None, sir. The elements of the fleet are proceeding as before. Most ships are decelerating to arrive at
Nem Maak Bratuna in four days, while thousands have diverted to take up a Brunckhorst-style attack
position against the planet sooner than that.
The Klingon frowned.
Use of the Brunckhorst maneuver
makes it impossible to establish a likely ETA.
Im curious about one thing, sir,
Riker began.
The Lethanta know the Krann are coming and that they
plan to attack. Weve already seen that the Lethanta are armed to the teeth. So why arent they doing
anything about the Krann?
Thats been bothering me as well, Number One,
replied Picard.
Theres been no response by the
Lethanta whatsoever, not even to yesterdays attack on their government headquarters. I must admit that
I admire their restraint, but it is not logical.
Perhaps the Lethanta are waiting for the Krann to draw closer before doing anything,
Data said.
Why would that be, Mr. Data?
Riker asked.
I do not know, sir,
the android replied.
Perhaps the Lethanta prefer to make a stand closer to their
own world.
Thats odd,
Riker said.
If youre going to make a stand, leave yourself some room in which to fall
backeven if its to be a last stand.
Ifyoure going to make a stand at all,
Troi said, almost to herself.
Eh?
Picard said, turning in his seat.
Whats that, Counselor?
Im not sure, Captain,
Troi said, slowly shaking her head.
What Commander Riker just said made me
realize something. Nothing Ive been picking up throughout our meetings with the Lethanta leadership
suggests to me that they intend to fight an all-out battle with the Krann.
Do you actually believe that the Lethanta arenot going to resist the Krann with everything they have?
Worf asked, clearly shocked.
Aside from the disgrace involved, there is the fact that the Lethanta are
quite adequately prepared for battle. They have weapons and the people to use them. They apparently have
the needand justification to defend themselves against attack. Why would the Lethantanot fight?
I dont know, Worf,
Troi replied.
All I know is what I feel.
Is that really what youre getting from them, Counselor?
Picard asked.
Yes, Captain. The Lethanta seemwell, its almost as if theyre resigned to their fate somehow.
Another damned mystery,
Picard groused.
Well, I hope well get some answers from the Krann,
forthcoming as theyve been so far.
A few hundred million kilometers farther out from Maak Indawe, thousands of delegates to the Fleet
Congress watched the main monitor in the Great Hall located at the center of the Krann flagship. The
vast monitor occupied the entire wall behind the congressional rostrum. It showed a real-time computer
reconstruction of theEnterprise heading straight for the flagship, her white hull aglow with the golden
light of the sun astern. The greenish orb of Nem Maak Bratuna was shrinking rapidly behind the ship.
A lone, dark figure walked up to the lectern located at the center of the rostrum, just in front of the
monitor screen. A spotlight slammed on, outlining the form of Presider Hek.
They are coming,
Hek told the delegates in a booming voice that hardly needed amplification, even in
that enormous hall.
The alien ship is on a course that will intercept the flight line of this vessel.
The aliens will make rendezvous with us in less than an hour.
Are they going to attack us?
came a worried voice.
Probably,
the Presider said.
Hek knew better, of course. He had heard every single hail from theEnterprise over the past day and
more, and he had ignored them. Hek knew that this captain, this Jean-Luc, wanted to negotiate, to talk
peacebut there was no point in informing the Fleet Congress of that fact. Hek wanted the members of the
Congress excited, scared, and apprehensive. Indeed, spurred by this manufactured crisis, the Congress
was about to cede to Hek what power remained to it
for the duration
a duration that Hek and his inner
circle knew would be effectively unlimited.
What can we do to stop them?
asked a delegate.
My ship will fight valiantly, of course, but weve all
seen the energy readings on this alien craft. Even our entire squadron would be hopelessly outmatched.
Weve also seen this ship wheel about and accelerate without regard for physical law,
said
another.
Theres no ship in the Fleet that can match the maneuverability and speed of this alien craft.
Hek watched and listened, hiding his pleasure.
Why does this have to happen just at the moment of our triumph?
a third delegate cried.
Our people
have a right to deliver Retribution!
It was all going according to script.
Perhaps it is fate,
another delegate called.
Perhaps we are not intended to deliver it at all.
Hek frowned.
Traitor!
someone spat, and the Presider brightened. There was a sudden flurry of fists around the
dissenting delegate. When it ended, the delegate had disappeared.
Ive spent my whole life preparing for this,
a burly delegate snarled.
My forefathers lived and died
to bring me here. Are seven thousand years of suffering, sacrifice, and privation to be wasted just as
we are about to achieve Retribution?
The delegate suddenly stood on his seat and waved a fist above his
head, howling the rest of his speech.
No!
he cried, just as he had rehearsed it with Heks closest advisors a few hours before.
My ship
willnever surrender! We willnot disappoint our ancestors! We willnot squander their sacred devotion to
duty! Let our forebears continue to drift easy in their orbits! I dontcare about these alien friends of
the Lethanta! Let them come! Well send them and their Lethanta friends to the Black Drifts
together!Death to the Lethanta! Death to the aliens! Death! Death! Death!
Instantly there came a giant, unreserved roar of approval, an instinctive cry from the guts of nearly
every delegate in the Great Hall. Soon there came a chant:
Guide us, Hek! Guide us! Give us
Retribution!
The incantation was quickly taken up by others. The few who dared say anything in
opposition, even those delegates who appeared merely unenthusiastic, were mobbed and brought down as the
mad demonstration went on uninterrupted.
The Krann were in full cry.
The Presider looked out over the thousands of delegates in the Great Hall, left and right and center,
and then he held out his arms to them, as if to embrace them all. It was the gesture of a savior, and
the delegates responded to it with yells and cries for his intercession. They beseeched Hek to secure
for them a vengeance that had been so long denied.
Hek let them go on for several minutes, knowing that they were his now. With just the proper amount of
solemnity, the expression on his face utterly commanding, Presider Hek made the motion himself and
called for the vote.