The lift plate came to a halt; the circular Solanae door split into segments and opened before him. Bergman hurried along the curving corridor to the little subsidiary control room. Du'roQ had demanded they meet there... and standard procedure was to cooperate with requests from KDF allies, even though it was not so long since they were KDF enemies.
Du'roQ was pacing impatiently across the floor when Bergman entered. He had opened the narrow lancet windows, letting in the thin cold air, and displaying, outside, the impossible curving landscape of the Dyson sphere. The Klingon smiled. There was no reason it should not have been an affable smile, but something about Du'roQ's face - perhaps the prominent cheekbones, or the slightly slanted eyes, or the smallish mouth with its plump, full lips - made it look insincere.
"Ensign Bergman. Qapla'. You have the data files I require?"
"Yes, sir." Bergman held out the PADD. Du'roQ took it, and turned to a console.
"Excellent. You have done well, Ensign. I think you will go far."
"Sir." The Klingon's arrogant carriage was intimidating all by itself, but Bergman was determined to stand up for himself. "Sir, what's it all about? Those security codes - well, properly speaking, they should have been authorized by a higher-ranking officer -"
"It would take time, and I've no desire to deal with Starfleet bureaucracy. Besides, this is a sensitive project - I'll explain. In a moment." Du'roQ laid the PADD down on a console, and started to type in commands with startling speed. "That will do," he said, after a few seconds. "But I'll need to make sure you have the proper clearances yourself. Give me your combadge."
He held out his hand. Bergman reached for the badge, then hesitated. But Du'roQ seemed so certain, so self-assured - He pulled the badge free from his uniform tunic, held it out to the Klingon.
Du'roQ took it in one hand. His other hand came round with blinding speed, striking a fast, accurate, lethal blow at the base of Bergman's neck. Before the body had time to fall, the Klingon seized it by the collar and, with an explosive effort, flung it through one of the windows, to fall far down, onto the surface of the sphere.
He strode to the window, watched Bergman's body diminish to a dot, lost against the vast and complex tapestry of the sphere's surface. Then he plucked a tool from his belt and made a swift adjustment to the combadge. He tossed it casually to the floor, then returned to the console.
He typed in commands for some minutes, then leaned back and stretched. "All done," he remarked to no one. He rose, turned to another console, tapped in another brief series of commands.
A square panel brightened into life on the console display, showing an abstract design - a holding pattern. Du'roQ waited. The pattern disappeared, was replaced by a face - a heavy-featured, humourless face, with mottled grey skin.
"General Jhey'quar," said Du'roQ. "We're ready at this end."
"We?" Jhey'quar's voice was as heavy and humourless as his face.
Du'roQ glanced at the combadge. "Me and Ensign Bergman, who's... with us in spirit." He touched the console. "Transmitting the clearance codes now. You'll be able to join the normal run of traffic through the gateways, but your passage won't show up in Joint Command's records... and once you're on the right side of the galaxy, General, you and I can get to work."
Jhey'quar nodded, slowly, once. "I have the codes. I will proceed. We will meet, soon, in person, Du'roQ."
"Ah," said Du'roQ, "well, as I'm sure you know, I've used more than one name in my time. And Joint Command will, eventually, manage to link Du'roQ to the very sad end of Ensign Bergman.... No, I'm afraid it's time for Du'roQ to retire. As it were."
"I see," said Jhey'quar. "So, by what name shall I know you?"
"I've used many names." A hard edge came into the Klingon's voice. "But there's one name... one name I used when I tried something, tried and failed. That name, now... that name needs redeeming...."
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