Star Trek: The Original Series: The Shocks of Adversity (29 page)

Spock nodded. “Our power generation and distribution systems had been stressed to
their limits. The loss of the single shield generator was enough to effect a total
subsystem failure.” He paused, and then added, “We may need to withdraw, sir.”

Kirk knew that was the logical course of action. They’d accomplished their objective
of preventing the use of their photon weapons against Nalaing. If Satrav was still
intent on bombarding the planet, they wouldn’t be able to prevent it for very long
without any defenses of their own. But could he in good conscience fall back and let
that happen?

As the captain was weighing his choices, it occurred to him that the
814
had not fired any further salvos, either at Nalaing or the
Enterprise
. He watched the Domain ship hanging still against the backdrop of the galaxy, giving
no sign of the hostile posture adopted only minutes earlier. The rest of the bridge
crew also watched and waited intense
silence. “Spock,” Kirk whispered, careful not to break the stillness that had fallen
over the bridge, “what’s going on over there?”

“Unknown, sir,” Spock answered. “All their systems are operational. Our strike against
them caused only minor damage, which cannot explain this current state of inactivity.”

Kirk turned from his right to his left. “Uhura, hail them.”

“Aye, sir,” she answered, and then a moment later, “They’re responding.”

“On-screen,” Kirk said, turning forward again.

The
814
command center reappeared on the forward viewscreen, though this time both Laspas
and Satrav were absent, and N’Mi stood alone before the banks of operations stations.
“Hold your fire,
Enterprise.
We request a truce.”

“A truce,” Kirk immediately agreed. “What’s happened over there?”

“There was an attempted mutiny against Commander Laspas. It has been put down, but
the commander was injured in the ensuing struggle,”
N’Mi told them.

“Seriously?” Kirk asked with genuine concern.

“I cannot say,”
the chief answered, also looking highly fretful.
“As I believe you’re aware, our physician transferred off this vessel shortly after
arriving at Wezonvu.”

Kirk pivoted in his chair. “Bones . . .”

“On my way,” McCoy said over his shoulder, already stepping into the open turbolift
car, headed for the transporter room.

Kirk turned back to N’Mi. “Doctor McCoy will be there shortly. What about Second Commander
Satrav?”

“He has been placed under arrest,”
N’Mi said, betraying the slightest hint of a grin on her serious face.
“It would seem that he and several others on our crew had led the conspiracy to steal
photon torpedoes from your ship while at Wezonvu, and falsified the Defense Corps
orders to strike Nalaing. I assume you will want him transferred to your custody to
face charges?”

“That’s not something we need to worry about just now,” Kirk said. Another extradition
battle was about the last thing he was looking forward to at the moment. “Am I to
take it you are in command of the
814
now, Chief?”

“No,”
N’Mi said, as if bewildered by such an improbable assumption.
“The vessel is still Commander Laspas’s. No non-Goeg has ever commanded a Defense
Corps starvessel.”

“Yet,” Spock said, stepping down into the command well and addressing the Liruq woman
on the screen.

N’Mi answered Spock with a nod and just the slightest hint of a smile. “Yet.”

The civilian spacedock and repair facility in orbit of Nalaing was much smaller and
less technologically advanced than the one at Wezonvu. Designed to service small freighters
and other commercial space vessels, it consisted of eight wharf-like platforms branching
off at right angles from the main perpendicular habitat and support module. It was
barely big enough to accommodate a Goeg Class III starvessel, and it was dwarfed by
the
Enterprise
.

The Nalaingers insisted the Starfleet ship make port there, and further insisted on
doing all they could to assist the crew that had saved their world. Being in no position
to turn down the offer, Kirk had accepted. It took some creative navigation, but they
were able to position the ship in such a way that the overtaxed starboard pylon was
parallel to the longest platform, upside-down and at an angle relative to the station’s
orientation. Of course, it made no difference to anyone aboard the
Enterprise
, who enjoyed the same up and down provided by the ship’s artificial gravity that
they always did.
But looking out at his ship from one of the facility’s observation decks, Captain
Kirk was put in mind of a man being held by his ankle, dangling over the planet below.

Kirk chuckled at himself and shook his head as he turned away from the wide transparent
port and toward the set of doors he heard sliding open on the opposite end of the
room. Two individuals entered, the first one a Nalainger he had met previously, named
Altoing. The short, compactly built humanoid had the blue complexion of an Andorian,
without the antennae, and a tuft of wiry violet hair sprouting up from the top of
his head. He wore the brightly colored vestments of his office, which the universal
translator had given as undersecretary of interplanetary affairs, though the captain
had quickly ascertained in their prior conversations that he was no mere midlevel
bureaucrat. The person accompanying the undersecretary was a tall insectoid, and though
he had never seen a living one before now, Kirk recognized this alien as an Urpire.

“Salutations, Captain James T. Kirk,” Altoing said in his surprisingly sonorous voice.
“I would like to introduce you to Kikkikizz, Emissary of the Urpire Curia.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, James T. Kirk,” Kikkikizz said, swaying back and forth
in what Kirk assumed was their analog to a nod or a hand wave. “On behalf of the Curia,
I wish to express our
appreciation for your efforts to save the lives of our fellows.”

“Thank you, Emissary,” Kirk said. “I only wish those efforts had been more successful.”

“As do we all. But we cannot change what has come before, only what is yet to come,”
the emissary said. “We also thank you for helping uncover the truth of what happened
to Civil Transport
043
.”

“I assume, by your presence here, Emissary, that Ghalif’s claims about negotiations
between the Taarpi and the Urpire Curia were correct?” Kirk asked, and found himself
wondering what had ultimately become of the Abesian woman.

“Yes. ‘Taarpi’ is a name that’s been adopted by a vast number of people across the
Goeg Domain,” Kikkikizz explained. “It is a code word for those who oppose the imperialist
rule of the Goeg.”

“Most express that opposition in words only, or through nonviolent acts of defiance,”
Altoing added. “There is a minority who use violence and bloodshed. It’s that minority
who are the most visible, though, and who give the Domain justification for going
after any and all political dissidents.”

“Ghalif and her group of Taarpi approached the Curia some time ago to request our
help,” Kikkikizz said. “The Urpires are isolationists, and we are dispassionate about
the outside universe. We’ve watched the growing conflict within the Domain for many
years, but we had resolved not to become
involved. It was Ghalif who presented us with the argument that our neutrality was
tacit approval of Goega’s continued oppression, that the only way to end the continuing
cycle of attacks and reprisals—which has been so detrimental to all our worlds—was
to end our silence.”

“Your government is not coming out in support of the Taarpi?” Kirk asked.

“We support peace and stability,” the Urpire said.

“The Domain will never share that goal,” Altoing opined. “Nalaing has been under constant
harassment from the Goeg for decades, because we refuse to take the same draconian
measures they do against suspected Taarpi members. It’s only because we are a vital
center for commerce that they haven’t threatened to bombard the planet before now.”

“But now something’s changed,” Kirk observed.

A scratchy, sigh-like noise emitted from the Urpire’s mouth. “I fear that change is
their discovery of the Curia’s willingness to become involved. In trying to bring
peace, we’ve instead instigated the murder of a hundred innocents on transport
043
, and nearly brought about the destruction of this planet.” Despite how physiologically
different the Urpire was, and his near lack of facial expression, it was exceedingly
clear how saddened he was, and how guilty he felt.

Altoing added, “If they’re truly willing to go to
such lengths, then it will take far more than words from the Curia to sway them. If
only the Federation weren’t so distant . . .”

Altoing trailed off, but Kirk could see where he was going with his thought:
If only the Federation weren’t so distant, they could bring their huge starships and
powerful weapons to bear against their oppressors.

“Imposing a change like the one you’re hoping for from the outside is rarely the best
option,” Kirk opined. “Lasting change always comes from within. You shouldn’t give
up so easily. I see parallels between the Goeg Domain and other empires throughout
galactic history, which have eventually been forced to bend to the will of their peoples.
Change can be slow, but I believe it will eventually come.”

“I wish I could believe you, Kirk,” Altoing said, scowling. “But with respect, you
don’t know the Goeg. They are arrogant, stubborn, utterly convinced of their place
above all other races. I don’t see them ever willingly loosening their grip on the
rest of us.”

“I’ve noticed those tendencies, too,” Kirk admitted. “But, just like the Taarpi, the
Goeg are not a homogeneous race, but a collection of individuals. I have to believe
that not all of them are as intransigent as you think they are.” Kirk turned to Kikkikizz,
adding, “Emissary, a wise woman from my
planet once said, ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’ ”

“An interesting observation,” Kikkikizz said, sounding thoughtful. “Though I would
counter that much would depend on the character of those citizens, and their ability
to bring increasing numbers into their group.”

“A fair point,” Kirk said, nodding. “So the key is to cultivate such individuals.”

“Are you speaking of someone in particular?” the Emissary asked.

Kirk risked a small smile. “In fact, I am.”

*   *   *

Laspas threw an arm over his face as the door to his sleeping quarters opened, guarding
his eyes from the harsh light being cast into the gloomy interior. “For Erhokor’s
love, go away, McCoy!” he snarled.

“It’s not McCoy,” Kirk said as he stepped into the commander’s private sanctum. The
door closed behind him, and he kept his back pressed against it, waiting for his eyes
to adjust to the depressing darkness.

Another annoyed growl rumbled from Laspas. “What do
you
want?” he asked, rolling away from Kirk.

“Bones has been rough on you, has he?” Kirk asked.

Laspas sighed, and turned onto his back again, but kept his eyes on the overhead rather
than facing his visitor. “He means well,” he allowed grudgingly, “but he has shown
little of the deference due to the commander of a starvessel.”

Kirk chuckled softly and said, “Don’t take it personally; he’s the exact same way
with me.” As his eyes adjusted, Kirk noticed the disarray in the room. Clothing had
been dropped carelessly about the deck, a half-eaten tray of food sat on the bedside
table. No self-respecting Starfleet officer would allow his quarters to fall into
such a state, and Kirk was sure the same held for a Defense Corps commander. Kirk
took a step closer to the bed and asked, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m healing,” Laspas said, declining to elaborate further.

Kirk knew what it felt like to be incapacitated and rendered unable to carry out his
duties. He couldn’t imagine, though, having those injuries come at the hand of a long-trusted
fellow officer. “I wanted to tell you that it took courage for you to do what you
did. Not only to act on your own convictions and defy your orders, but to trust me
enough to send that covert message.”

“So, I have the admiration of the man I invited to attack my ship. At last, I can
sleep easy again,” Laspas said, his upper lip curled in a self-effacing sneer. “I
suppose I should also acknowledge your
restraint in firing only once at my vessel,” he added after a brief hesitation, finally
turning his head Kirk’s way.

“You’re welcome.” Kirk pulled a low stool to the side of the bed and sat, bringing
himself closer to eye level with Laspas. “What happens to Satrav now?” he asked.

Laspas turned away again and closed his eyes. “The question you should be asking is,
what happens to me, once word of what happened here gets back to Goega?” he said.
“I’m the one who defied orders, after all. Worse, I was aided by N’Mi in defying those
orders.”

“Worse, because she’s not Goeg?” Kirk asked.

Laspas nodded. “The best to be hoped for is that, once I return home and am brought
before a Corps tribunal, I will be stripped of my rank and given a nice cool stockade
cell.”

“And what of Chief N’Mi, and the other crew members who backed you?” Kirk asked.

Laspas shook his head wordlessly, and then turned to look at Kirk again. “Just between
you and me, James? I hope that, once I’ve recovered and resumed full command, she
deserts.”

“What? You hope she deserts?” Kirk asked.

“I hope she has enough sense to save her own hide,” Laspas elaborated. “She’s a brilliant
and dedicated engineer, and she does not deserve to be executed for the mistake of
coming to my defense.”