Fallout 29

Shalo
The interior of the King Estmere is... confusing. On the one hand, it is drab and utilitarian for the most part; on the other, the internal arrangements and the surprising shifts in the artificial gravity make for an unsettling experience.

Kluthli's quarters are spacious, as is the Federation way. My cousin gives me a minimal nod of acknowledgement as I enter.

"We should not be enemies," I say to her.

"But we are," she replies.

I sigh. "It is... a part of the times we live in, I fear. We are constrained by forces greater than ourselves, and we must make whatever accommodation we can. We have both done... what seems best, to survive."

Another minimal nod, grudging, but there. "I chose not to work with the Klingons."

"That was your choice. Mine, as you see, was otherwise. But you are not Federation, and I am not Klingon. At heart, I am still of the House of Sinoom. And I think you would not feel as you do towards me, if you were not also that. At heart."

"I remember the House of Sinoom," Kluthli says. "I miss it. But I've built a life for myself, now, within Starfleet and the Federation. If everything went back - the way it was - I'm not so sure I would go back."

"Nothing will ever be as it was," I say. "This is true for all life. Should our House undergo a resurgence, I am sure you would be valued, within it. As I would be." I allow myself a wry smile. "I would suggest that I am better placed than you to create such a resurgence."

She shakes her head. "Our House as an ally of the Klingons? It would never be believed, by those who knew us."

"But those who knew us grow scarcer as the years pass. We have lost one, just recently, of course. Cysitra Cira'tenis." I hold up the datapad in my hand. "This contains what remnants I was able to obtain of her communications codes and data stores. I share it with you, freely."

"Why?" she asks, bluntly.

"In part, as a peace offering between us. And, in part, for the most urgent practical reasons. Tayaira."

Kluthli shakes her head. She crosses the room, sits down, indicates another chair to me. I sit. "Tayaira is most definitely our enemy," she says. "And there is nothing to be done about that, now."

"I disagree. Klur is our enemy... and his unknown supporters... but his crew?"

"The Federation's position is that unlawful orders cannot be accepted - and that the crew, therefore, bear criminal responsibility for accepting them. Of course, it could be argued that they were compelled, under threat of death - the matter has been tested in the Federation's courts, I think, with conflicting outcomes. But, to bring our cousin to trial, we would first have to capture her, and I doubt whether that will be possible."

"In any event," I say, "we might at least talk to her."

Kluthli smiles and shakes her head. "And how are we to manage that?"

"With the resonant pulses used for communications through these gateways," I say. "If we are careful - and if we have a thorough understanding of the internal comms network of a Kar'fi carrier - I believe we could generate a resonant pulse that would appear as if it came from within the intercom system."

Kluthli's eyes widen. "It's possible," she says. "And then -?"

"Then we send one of Cysitra's recognition codes," I say, "and wait, and hope."

"You would have to know that intercom network very well," Kluthli says.

"I believe I do. The technology in these carriers is... interesting. I have made a study of it."

"Let's see some technical specs, then," says Kluthli. "This is going to be a challenge...."

---

We work together for close on two hours, addressing ourselves to the problem at hand, absorbed in it, our differences set aside. My cousin has a quick mind and a good understanding of the principles involved; I have the specific technical knowledge to make this work. It feels... good, to work with her. It is almost a comfort.

"Well," Kluthli says, at the end, "this is as good as it's going to get. Let's try it."

I nod. There are many things - very many things - that might still go wrong, but this is our best chance. I upload the code sequence from my datapad. With luck, it will appear only as a random burst of noise, a transient fault on the system, to any eyes but Tayaira's.

"So," says Kluthli, "nothing to do but wait. If it gets through... if she sees and understands it... if she chooses to respond...." She shrugs. "An awful lot of ifs. How long do we give her?"

"How long do we have? Until the situation changes, I suppose... until Klur moves, or your admiral completes her own task, or some other force approaches."

"Starfleet's task forces will have these gateways bottled up within forty-eight hours," Kluthli says. "The ones in Romulan space will require the cooperation of Republic forces - but they'll get it."

"I doubt we will have to wait that long."

"I don't know how long Admiral Shohl is going to take on her search, either." Kluthli stares at me, a hard, direct look. "If there's anything out there, the Admiral will find it. She's... very determined."

"Yes," I say, "she strikes me as the type." I look at Kluthli's data console, a spiky shape with a holographic screen, very Tholian in its design.

And I cannot quite keep myself from jumping when the visual display goes live.

Tayaira looks at us out of the viewer. "Shalo. And Kluthli. Quite a reunion."

"You sound surprisingly unconcerned," I say.

"It comes as something of a relief," Tayaira says, dryly. "The first thing I thought was that Cysitra Cira'tenis was haunting me, via the subsidiary plasma manifold on deck seven. Neat job of infiltration, I congratulate you. That isn't a KDF uniform," she adds, looking at Kluthli.

"We're aboard the King Estmere," Kluthli says. "I'm a science officer there. Tayaira -"

"Say what you have to," Tayaira says.

"If Klur were to be handed over," I say, "either to the Federation or to me, as J'mpok's emissary, there could be forgiveness for his crew, even at this stage. You are the first officer, you serve the captain but you speak for the crew. What would the crew say?"

Tayaira shakes her head. "Captain Klur remains confident," she says. "Even now. His morale is high, and you must know how closely a Klingon crew follows its captain's lead."

"Then he must expect support from elsewhere."

"Yes." Tayaira pulls a face. "I could not tell you, even if I wished. He sent an encrypted data transmission a short while ago, on subspace frequencies... that you can find out for yourself, if you have Cysitra's records."

"Then he must be unconcerned with being discovered."

"Oh, he realizes Federation forces are converging on him. I think he expects his way home to be cleared for him." Another grimace. "If you stand in that path... it might not be the wisest place to be."

"And Klur has other resources," I say. "We know about the freighter." A flash of - something - in Tayaira's face. "We do not know everything about the freighter."

"I don't know everything about the freighter," says Tayaira. "The captain attended to the details of the... cargo transfer... last time, and he took only Talakh with him, and Talakh is dead, now." She adds, with some reluctance, "There seems to be some sort of delay, with regard to the freighter. The captain is taking things very slowly and carefully, with many precautions."

Klur is loading tricobalt munitions. He does not need those, if he only plans to return to Klingon space - a fallback plan, then? To carry out another atrocity, as Grau suspects? "If he tries to use the tricobalt, will you let him?"

Tayaira bites her lower lip. "I don't know -"

"You know how he would use them."

Her face is anguished. "The operations officer - the one who activated the bombs at Bercera - she killed herself, afterwards. It was a terrible thing. But he is the captain -"

"He doesn't have to be," says Kluthli. "Klingon rules -"

"You can challenge him," I say.

"Challenge him, take his command, and survive," Kluthli says. "It could be the only way to survive."

And we both know, we need her to survive. There are so few left of the House of Sinoom.

"He is still the captain," says Tayaira. "No. I owe him my loyalty." Her expression turns firm. "Do not attempt this again." And the screen goes blank.

There is a short, strained silence. Then I say, "Well. It is as I said to J'mpok: loyalty which cannot withstand adversity is not loyalty."

"We're her adversity," Kluthli says.

She is right. I find I cannot meet her eyes.