"Unknown. Off the grid," Tharval replied. "My assumption is that the unpronouceable alien persuaded Captain Grak to go to ground with her. After our High Councillor's little misjudgement, he will have needed little persuading."
Thrang remained completely still and silent for several seconds, the only sign of life being the glittering of his eyes. "They can't have assimilated all the data yet. T'Khal and Dillan didn't have all the data. And it will take those agents time to piece together what parts they do have. They are keeping the ship and Captain Grak hidden until they're ready to make their move."
"They have quite enough pieces to make our lives difficult," Tharval said.
"But they have to fit them together. So, we have to move before then." Thrang sighed, and went to sit down on the couch. Tharval remained standing by the doorway. "Well. My plans always have an element of flexibility. It would have been nice if T'Khal and Dillan could have bought or cajoled or blackmailed a supermajority on the Council, but we still have enough clout to win a vote. Sarv will just have to make sure there are no backsliders."
"We will have to move faster. Sarv himself might be exposed, now. And J'mpok's agents are not fools, they will fit those pieces quickly. They have already fitted enough together to expose T'Khal and Dillan."
"Those two would have had to be retired anyway," said Thrang. "Still, it's annoying that it had to happen on their schedule and not mine." He stood up. "Well. That's life, isn't it? Never mind, I'll adapt -"
The harsh bleeping sound made both their heads turn. Thrang frowned, crossed the room, touched the sconce of a candleholder on one wall. A panel at head height slid aside, revealing a screen. It flashed once, and an image formed on it; the heavy grey face of a Kobali.
"General," said Thrang, with a smile that looked quite unforced. "A pleasure to hear from you."
"I doubt that you will think so in a moment, Thrang." Jhey'quar glowered from the screen. "I have news for you, and you will not care to hear it."
"I won't? I'm sorry to hear that, General. I always try to be obliging."
"And we have obliged you in return. But no longer." Jhey'quar's voice was icy with anger. "You have corrupted the last of our newborns, Thrang. My son Geterian is in custody, now, after your treatments so deranged his mind that he murdered our daughter Lilitsia -"
Behind him, Thrang heard a sort of sigh from Tharval.
"You did this, Thrang. You did this with your interrogation machines. You brought back the person my son was, and it was enough to break his mind. We do not know if he can be saved. We know that Lilitsia cannot. And how many others have you damaged, Thrang? It ends. It ends now."
"General." Thrang's voice was quite calm. "I'm sorry for your loss. You understand, I hope, that it was not my intention -"
"I do not care about your intentions!"
"Nevertheless," Thrang continued, "you have benefited from our arrangement, and I hope that we can put this behind us and go forward. Of course, in the circumstances, I'll discontinue the questioning sessions -"
"Your devices have already been destroyed, Thrang! You have no choice in the matter!"
"Nevertheless, we have an arrangement, and I hope we'll both continue to benefit from it. Working with me, you'll be able to extend the Kobali presence in this quadrant, and -"
"We can do that without your aid, Thrang. We can, and we will. I will implement my own plans from henceforward. This conversation, and our arrangement, is over." And the screen blanked out.
"Damn," said Thrang. "Damn." He closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and took two deep breaths. Then he opened his eyes again, and turned to Tharval. "Are you all right?"
"I -" The Lethean shook his head, slowly. "I... suppose I am. She was dead. Already. I knew that...." He shook his head again. "I am all right."
"Good," said Thrang. "We just got another push. If Jhey'quar is that angry, the chances are good he's going to do something extremely stupid, and I think we should be out of here before he does. So, we were going to have to go into high gear... now we need to go one notch higher. Call the Grand Admiral. Tell him it's time to go to war. Then call Sarv, and tell him it's time for the vote."
---
"We need more time," J'mpok said.
The nameless Lethean looked at the Chancellor, looked at the massive Gorn and the tall elegant Orion who flanked him behind his desk. "I regret, Chancellor, that I can give you no more time. My government has questions.... Important people have, or had, relatives on the Eridani moon. And the attitude of the High Council has provoked... certain reactions."
"Lethean friendship is important to our overall alliance," said Melani D'ian in calm and measured tones. "The High Council is one thing... but you are among friends here, so surely we can be reasonable together?" She smiled.
"Private assurances are one thing," said the Lethean, "but the stated will of the High Council is another."
"If we are to make the High Council see reason," said J'mpok, "we need more time." Then he snarled as the comms panel on his desk buzzed for attention. He stabbed irritably at the button. "What is it?"
"Chancellor." The voice over the comm sounded nervous. "Councillor Sarv has requested to bring a special motion before the next meeting of the Council. He has appended details... which he urges everyone to consider deeply. Including, with respect, yourself, sir."
J'mpok swore under his breath. "Transmit the documents over my data channel, and then, no calls." Behind him, S'taass pulled out a datapad from his belt, and bent his massive head over it. "No more interruptions. I hope," said J'mpok. "Now. How may we persuade you to allow us more time to act?"
"I am under pressure from my government. I speak for Lethea... and there is concern, that my voice is not heard in the Council. That concern grows with each hour that passes."
"If we can reassure you as to the state of your colony," said D'ian, "would that alleviate some of the pressure? We have agents in the vicinity of the 54 Eridani system -"
"Those agents are on the run from the High Council, as I understand it," said the Lethean. "I do not know how much weight their words would carry - and I do not see how they can operate effectively, under that burden."
"They were effective enough to dispose of two rogue Councillors," D'ian said with a smile.
"Two Councillors are not the whole of the Council. And can they tell me what has happened to our people?"
"Hrrrr." The sound S'taass made was loud and terrifying. The three others all turned their heads towards him.
"Forgive me," the Gorn said. "But I too have received my copy of Councillor Sarv's proposal. I think, Chancellor, you should read it. We should all read it."
J'mpok's eyes rolled. "Is this going to improve my mood?" he demanded.
"Oh, no," said S'taass. "Definitely not."
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