The Death House 7

"J'mpok is an old man," said Dillan.

He was sitting with Sarv and another High Councillor, T'Khal, on the verandah outside Sarv's country house; the three of them contentedly sipping bloodwine after a heavy meal, watching the sun set through the heavy clouds to the west.

"He has not lost his skill with a bat'leth," T'Khal observed. "Do you recall what happened to K'Tag? Or that Nausicaan, what was his name, Sgramash?"

"K'Tag was old too," said Dillan. "And Sgramash was a Nausicaan dolt, prey for anyone who can handle a true blade. But, in any case, fighting skill is not everything. J'mpok is old. He has held the reins of power too long."

"And who is to challenge him?" asked Sarv. "The House of Martok has bided its time so long, it has forgotten how to do anything else. Captain Ja'rod, now, he seemed plausible, for a time - the uncoverer of the qameH' quv, the hero of the Borg wars... but the Borg were beaten back, and the Undine, and then the Iconians, became J'mpok's wars. He took credit for them. He led the Empire, and the Empire still honours his leadership."

"He is not unassailable," said Dillan. "His personal estates are nothing - the three of us could buy up his property in Pheben and not even notice the money. He must maintain a coalition of supporters on the High Council, or he would fall."

"He had the support of the House of Torg," said T'Khal. "But, when they proved faithless, he discommendated them. And thus showed his own integrity. When J'mpok talks of Klingon honour, he means what he says. And he is respected for it."

"I do not say that he is dishonourable, or that he is weak, or that he is cowardly," said Dillan. "I say only that he is old, and that his time is done."

T'Khal shook his head. "The galaxy is still in turmoil. J'mpok has led us through difficult times, and, with more such yet to come, he is trusted to lead us still. He is... a safe pair of hands."

Dillan drained the last of his bloodwine and stood. "The Empire did not become a major galactic power through safe pairs of hands," he snarled. He went to the vat and filled his mug again.

"J'mpok leads the coalition of the High Council that ensures... stable government," said T'Khal. "We must have stable government. The Empire is too large, too complex, for internal disputes to be settled by honour duels between Councillors. Perhaps that should not be so - perhaps it is not Klingon tradition - but it is, nonetheless, a fact."

Dillan returned to his seat. "Bureaucracies," he said with a sneer. "Bureaucracies are best left to the Federation."

"They do well, with their bureaucracies," said T'Khal.

"As do we, in a way," Sarv said. "Alliances. J'mpok has forged alliances - with the Gorn, with Slathis and S'taass; with the Orions and Melani D'ian. For them, he speaks for the Empire - and with them, the Empire is strong. I wonder...."

"Wonder what?" demanded Dillan.

"I wonder," said Sarv, "what... other alliances... might be forged. The Gorn are not always trusted, and everyone knows D'ian is wholly self-serving. Suppose someone made other alliances, spoke for the Empire to stronger friends than Slathis and D'ian?"

"An interstellar power base, separate from J'mpok's? Where might such allies be found?" asked Dillan.

"Well, the galaxy has grown larger, these days," said Sarv.

"But J'mpok's alliances are backed by the High Council," T'Khal pointed out. "No matter how attractive your new aliens might be, many on the Council would vote to keep our existing ties with the Hegemony and the Syndicate."

"Perhaps," said Sarv. "So we come back to the same issue. J'mpok's supporters in the Council must be persuaded to change their allegiance. I do not specify how this change might be effected... but it is desirable, I think. J'mpok is not a man, not when you consider him politically. He is the sum of his allies, a figurehead for a web of power." He gazed into his bloodwine mug, as if he saw some vision in it. "Perhaps it is time he was replaced by a more amenable figurehead."

"But this simply magnifies the difficulties," said T'Khal. "We do not need merely to discredit J'mpok... we need - we would need - to tear down his allies, and he has many of those."

"But that means, also, we would have many potential targets," said Sarv. "And once momentum started to build... once support started to shift away from J'mpok, it would shift faster and faster, as more of his supporters saw his weakness." He was still studying the surface of the bloodwine. "Perhaps we could start by making his agents look foolish."