Star Trek: ALL - Seven Deadly Sins

STAR TREK
^®
: SEVEN DEADLY SINS

Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
David A. McIntee • James Swallow
Keith R.A. DeCandido • Britta Burdett Dennison
Marc D. Giller • Greg Cox

Based on
Star Trek
and
Star Trek
:
The Next Generation
®
created by Gene Roddenberry

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
®
created by Rick Berman & Michael Piller

and
Star Trek
: Voyager ®
created by Rick Berman & Michael Piller & Jeri Taylor

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are
products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

^TM
, ® and © 2010 by CBS Studios Inc. STAR TREK and related marks are
trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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First Gallery Books trade paperback edition March 2010

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Cover art and design by Alan Dingman

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN 978-1-4391-0944-1
ISBN 978-1-4391-2342-3 (ebook)

PRIDE: The First Peer
Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore 1

GREED: Reservoir Ferengi
David A. McIntee 71

ENVY: The Slow Knife
James Swallow 145

WRATH: The Unhappy Ones
Keith R.A. DeCandido 203

LUST: Freedom Angst
Britta Burdett Dennison 269

GLUTTONY: Revenant
Marc D. Giller 327

SLOTH: Work Is Hard
Greg Cox 421

About the Authors 481

Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

Historian’s Note

This story takes place in the year 2267 (ACE), less than a month after the
Enterprise
’s resupply mission to Gamma Hydra IV and her incursion across the Romulan Neutral Zone (“The Deadly Years” TOS).

“Pride, the first peer and president of hell.”

—Daniel Defoe

Commodore Robert Wesley appears in the original
Star Trek
episode “The Ultimate Computer.”

Praetor Vrax was introduced as a senator in the
Star Trek Enterprise
episode “United.”

The characters Toqel, Sarith, Praetor Vrax, and certain members of the Romulan Senate were established in the
Star Trek: Vanguard
novel
Summon the Thunder.

Captain Thomas Blair was established as commanding officer of the
U.S.S. Defiant
in the
Star Trek: S.C.E.
novella
Interphase.

Admiral Solow was established in Kevin Ryan’s
Star Trek
trilogies
Errand of Vengeance
and
Errand of Fury,
and the authors would like to thank Kevin for his consultation during the writing of this story.

Romulan/Rihannsu Terms of Measure
(Comparisons are approximate)

dhaei
—week

eisae
—day

fvheisn
—year (380 eisae)

khaidoa
—month

Pursuit course. Stand by to divert power from the cloaking field to the shields on my order, and place all weapons on ready status.”

Standing among his subordinates on the confined bridge of the Romulan vessel
Revoth,
Commander Larael watched as his crew worked to carry out his orders. None of them spoke, focused as they were on their individual tasks, but Larael could sense the tension permeating the cramped room. He could understand their anxiety, and it rivaled his own rising excitement as the
Revoth
gave chase to the Starfleet vessel. For reasons that remained in question, the ship had crossed the Neutral Zone separating Romulan and Federation space, abrogating a treaty that had existed for generations almost without incident and thereby committing an act of war.

Of course,
he mused with a degree of bitterness,
neither side is innocent in that regard.

From where he stood at one of the four workstations positioned around the control hub at the center of the bridge, Centurion Bochir said, “Commander, the enemy vessel is proceeding without its defense fields, and its weapons do not appear to be activated.”

Interesting,
Larael mused as he moved closer to Bochir’s station, peering over the centurion’s shoulder in order to observe the sensor readings for himself. “Why would they travel in enemy space without their defenses activated?” Even while it towed the smaller, weaker vessel
it currently held in its tractor beam, Larael knew that the Federation ship—a
Constitution
-class heavy cruiser and one of the most formidable ships in the Starfleet armada—was more than a match for his own vessel. Still, the
Revoth
’s primary plasma weapon, along with its cloaking technology, helped to balance the scales so far as any direct confrontation was concerned. Despite any apparent tactical superiority the Starfleet ship possessed and even if its captain felt he was not in any immediate danger, he had placed his vessel in a vulnerable position as it made way for the Neutral Zone and what he obviously presumed was safe harbor in Federation space.

“Commander,” said another centurion, Odira, from where he stood next to the bridge’s compact communications station, “we are being hailed by the Starfleet ship.”

Frowning at the report, Larael circled around the control hub. “What?” He moved to stand abreast of the centurion. “How is that possible?” A glance at the status display mounted over the console confirmed that the
Revoth
’s cloaking field was still in operation. “Is he just broadcasting blindly?”

“I do not believe so,” Odira replied as he reached for a control. The centurion pressed one of the panel’s buttons, and an instant later the
Revoth
’s bridge intercom system blared to life.

“Attention, Romulan vessel. This is Commodore Robert Wesley, commanding the Federation
Starship Lexington.
Our sensors have detected your ship following us on an intercept course. Your current distance is five point six million kilometers off our stern and closing.”

“He’s lying!” Larael snapped, unwilling to believe what he was hearing. He glared at Odira, who turned from his station, and saw his own disbelief mirrored in the centurion’s eyes.

Odira said, “Commander, he speaks the truth. I am not certain I have properly converted the distance measurements, but he is correct with respect to our angle of approach.”

Unbelievable!

The thought echoed in Larael’s mind even as stared at the status monitor. Rumors had circulated for quite some time—ones naturally unsubstantiated by higher command echelons—of Starfleet’s apparent ability to detect a cloaked vessel—at least, one in close proximity. Larael had dismissed the unconfirmed reports. Some of the
best scientists from across the Empire had collaborated over several
fvheisn
to redesign the proven technology and eliminate the acknowledged flaws in its design. As a result, this new incarnation was far superior to anything Starfleet might bring to bear in the way of countermeasures, even with the assistance of their longtime lapdogs, the Vulcans.

Current events,
Larael conceded,
appear to undermine that conviction.

If it was true, then it might well mean a shift in thinking on the part of the Praetor. By all accounts, the supreme Romulan leader seemed to be placing a lot of faith in this latest generation of the cloaking field. It was but one weapon in an already formidable arsenal, for which he had supervised one of the most costly and comprehensive replenishment and improvement programs in recent memory. Though no one would admit to having heard the Praetor speak the words aloud, there were many in the Romulan government who believed the aged leader might well be planning another war with Earth and its allies.

Might that war begin here, today?

Ignoring the unwelcome thought, Larael folded his arms across his chest and nodded toward the centurion’s station. “Open the channel.”

In response to his order, Odira pressed several controls on the console, each button pressed emitting a short, high-pitched tone. Then one of the station’s three rectangular screens activated, a wash of multicolored static fading away as the communications circuit was completed to reveal a human male. Larael noted his gray hair as well as the creases along the human’s forehead and along his jaw. He wore the simple, now-familiar Starfleet tunic, and Larael recognized its gold hue as that worn by personnel in command positions. Rather than some young, inexperienced, and perhaps impulsive or even reckless officer, this human affected the appearance of a man with significant training and experience.

On the screen, the human said,
“Romulan vessel, we regret our trespass into your space, but we are responding to a distress call. If you’ve scanned us, then you know the ship we’re towing has lost all main power. It was unable to avoid drifting through the Neutral Zone and into your territory. At this very moment, the Federation’s Diplomatic Corps is attempting to contact your government about this issue.”

“This is Commander Larael of the Romulan vessel
Revoth.
” As he spoke, he kept his expression and tone neutral. “If what you say is true, then why not simply wait for our government to respond? I may well have been ordered to assist the freighter and its crew.”

To his credit, the human also maintained his bearing even as he said,
“Commander, I think we’re both aware that there have been a few unfortunate incidents on both sides of the border in recent months—unarmed vessels being fired upon and so forth. I didn’t want this to be another such occurrence. I’m sure you know that wars have begun that way.”

“They have also begun after spies were captured committing espionage and sabotage,” Larael countered.

Wesley nodded.
“Yes, and sometimes such tragedies were avoided, even when there was sufficient cause to proceed. Perhaps you’re aware of a recent example or two.”