Day of Honor 01_ Ancient Blood - Diane Carey [81]
Was the room fogging up? Worf squinted to see through his anger. He planted his hands on the slick black table and leaned forward. “We have risked our lives!”
Toledano pressed his legs against the table on his side. ” That is expected of you!”
The blood of shame rose and made Worf’s face hot. He gritted his teeth and responded with a blistering silence.
“That big mouth on Grant’s face is going to work in Khanty’s favor,” Toledano stormed on, giving no quarter to the official decorum of the starship’s briefing room or the presence of most of her senior officers. “If we continue our efforts, she’ll say we killed her husband and now we’re trying to frame her. She’ll say Grant didn’t get out in time and now he’s trying to cast blame on her. She’ll say she wanted no animosity with the Federation, but we insisted on interfering. Damn it! She’s been spoon-feeding that corpse for weeks now, stoking public sympathy and waiting for an opportunity, and we handed it to her! Attempts to keep Sindikash in the Federation have completely backfired now. She might’ve lost the election before; now she certainly won’t. You’ve handed everything to her.”
“Commissioner,” the captain began, “the decision to interfere was made by you and the Federation Council, not by Worf or Grant. Sindikash was a Federation colony with nearly fifty percent of its people still considering themselves citizens. The whole situation could’ve been handled more diplomatically, without extreme action. Much like the British who decided to flex their muscle and thereby pushed the American colonies away by power of resentment, this attempt at influence may well have cost us Sindikash.”
“We’re not the ones who made the mistake,” Toledano said. He swung back to Worf. “That whole planet will have to suffer because you and Grant botched this mission!”
“Botched?” Worf erupted. The sides of his chair were getting tight. His boots didn’t fit any more. His hair was boiling—
Straightening in his chair, Will Riker spoke very sharply. “Mr. Toledano, you’re addressing a senior officer of a starship, and I’d advise you to do it with some respect.”
Toledano twisted toward him, unintimidated, and pointed at Worf. “When he deserves it, I’ll give it.”
“Missions do sometimes fail, gentlemen,” Captain Picard commented. “Ships are lost, people die, civilizations collapse … some turnings of the cogs can’t be stopped, Commissioner. We can’t always stem a tide the size of a planet. The people of Sindikash will pay for their gullibility. After a great deal of suffering and loss, they’ll have to recover for themselves. Mr. Worf, I assume you haven’t changed your mind about your official statement.”
“I cannot say I saw something that I did not see,” Worf repeated. The words scratched his throat. He thought of Alexander again.
“That’s fine, you keep your Klingon integrity.” Toledano’s whole body tightened in anguish. “And Odette Khanty’s criminal organization gets control of the planet and a fifth of the sector. You’ll be an honest man, and millions of lives will be destroyed. Good decision.”
“Mrs. Khanty will act freely now,” Data spoke up. “Certainly she knows there will be no act of direct force from the Federation.”
Picard seemed annoyed at the confirmation of what they all knew, and he looked at Worf again. “What do you think is happening now to Mr. Grant?”
“No amount of protective custody will protect him on that planet,” Worf said with contempt. “She’ll find a way to put him on trial, or have him murdered and blame it on me. His only hope is Lieutenant Stoner, whom I believe is not corrupt. I can only hope Stoner will buy me time.”
“Time for what?” Toledano interrupted.
“To go back and rescue my partner, Commissioner.” Hadn’t it been perfectly clear?
“You can forget about that. Just forget it. Forget you ever said it. I’m going to contact Starfleet Command and have a professional recon team sent in for Mr. Grant.