A Call to Darkness - Michael Jan Friedman [106]
“In most cases,” amended Pulaski. “Not everyone’s nervous system is set up like a human’s or a Klingon’s. But it sounds like a good idea to me.”
Picard mulled it over. It was a good idea, he decided-but it had a major shortcoming.
“From our point of view,” he said, “this would be a nonviolent effort. No question about it. But from the Klah’kimmbri point of view, it would be no different from an actual attack. And, unfortunately, we cannot ignore their point of view.” He noted the disappointment around the table, sighed. “The use of weapons is out of the question. Period.”
Suddenly, Geordi snapped his fingers. “Wait a minute. We don’t need weapons to create a light display.” He spread his hands. “All we have to do is take the debris that’s floating in space, orbiting A’klah, and use our tractor beams to give it a nudge. Create a sort of meteor shower-except, instead of meteors, it’ll be the Klah’kimmbri’s own creations coming home to roost.”
“Their own empire-building devices,” noted Troi.
“Poetic justice,” remarked Riker.
“And the flashes of light as the stuff burns up in the atmosphere… just might do the trick,” said Pulaski. She shrugged. “It’s worth a try, anyway.”
They all looked to the captain. He took their scrutiny in stride, turned the idea around in his mind so as to inspect it from all sides.
“Yes,” he said finally. “Perhaps it is worth a try.” He addressed Geordi. “Of course, I don’t want anyone hurt by falling debris. It has all got to burn up before it reaches the planet’s surface.”
The engineer nodded. “Absolutely, sir.”
“Captain?”
Picard acknowledged the android. “What is it, Data?”
“I do not mean to… what is the expression? Gum up the works?”
“That’s it, all right,” said Riker.
“I do not mean to do that, but what about the non-Federation conscripts? Do we have the right to restore their memories as well?”
Again, the scrutiny. After a moment, the captain nodded.
“I think we do,” he said. “We are not tampering with them. We are undoing the tampering that the Klah’kimmbri have already been guilty of. And the conscripts could hardly have been primitive beings to begin with, if they were snatched off spacegoing vessels.”
The android seemed satisfied with that.
Picard was satisfied too-with the entire plan, and on all levels. As captain of the Enterprise, he had taken care of the Federation’s concerns-the Prime Directive not the least of them. As someone who had been caught in the Klah’kimmbri web of tyranny and subjugation, he was grateful for the opportunity to turn the tables on his captors. Most important, as an ethical being, he was glad to be able to bring their ghastly Conflict machine to a grinding halt.
He included everyone present in his gaze. “Thank you,” he said. “All of you.”
“I guess,” said Geordi, “I’ll get us geared up to start moving all that space-junk around.”
The captain couldn’t suppress a grin-not entirely. Geordi was a good man to have around-with or without his memory.
“By all means,” agreed Picard. “Make it so, Mister La Forge.”
Weary. He was so weary.
Harr’h had thought he could put the incident of madness and slaughter behind him-just as he had counseled the others to do.
But it was harder this time. At night, he lay half-awake, wrestling with demons he had thought he’d conquered.
Is life that precious? they asked. Is survival worth the sacrifice of your pride, your very soul?
Maybe the brooding one, Worf, had been wiser than any of them. Maybe desertion was the only real answer-the only escape from one’s demons.
More and more, he had come to think so.
Now, however, he needed to put his doubts aside. Half a dozen meters below them, the enemy’s raiding party was negotiating a narrow ledge. As soon as he gave the signal, they would pounce-and the battle would begin.
Somewhere, a flyingeye machine was waiting just as they were. Perhaps a marshal as well.
All eyes were on Harr’h. He raised his arm, prepared to drop