Death of a Neutron Star - Eric Kotani [3]
But now was not the time to let professional respect get in the way of his plan to exact revenge from Voyager. The real question was, how he could pass the buck for his own failure to recapture the prince's yacht. The Voyager captain was no longer his immediate enemy. It was certain that someone's head would roll. His task now was to make sure that rolling head was someone else's.
"Orders?" Qubo asked.
"Start repairs on weapons. Hold position."
He watched his men start to work, then went back to the most important problem facing him: survival. Would the admiral believe it if he said his ship had been ambushed? No, that would probably not work. Nobody would believe that the renegade Lekks would have been able to set up an ambush in advance of their escape. Especially not in interstellar space. He needed a story that would be corroborated by his crew, or at least not refuted by the ship's records.
There was no doubt that Qubo was looking for an opportunity to take over as captain. There was no way that Qubo would lie for Qavim; by simply telling the truth he would be in line for promotion. That thought gave Qavim an idea. Suppose he made his executive a collaborator with the Lekks? His mind started working on a scenario that might convince the admiral. Qavim would first tell Qubo a story that was calculated to cause him to compromise himself. And, then, he would see where that would lead. With luck, he would return with ten ships and destroy this Voyager.
"Return to home base," he ordered. "Pace one."
"Captain," Ensign Kim said. "The Qavok ship has jumped to warp, heading back in the direction it came."
"Giving up, or going for reinforcements?" Jane-way said. "I'd wager on the latter."
"So would I," Paris said.
"The yacht apparently suffered damage during the pursuit," Chakotay said. "It's going to need some major work on the engines."
Janeway nodded. "Is the yacht small enough to be brought into our shuttle bay with the tractor beam?"
Chakotay glanced at his screen, then nodded.
"Fine. Do it and let me know when it's aboard. I want to talk to our guests."
Chakotay only nodded as he set to work.
Janeway stood and took her empty coffee cup. "I'll be having a word with Mr. Neelix."
Chakotay glanced up at her and smiled. "Don't worry, B'Elanna will find a way to replicate the coffee."
"I sure hope so," she said, laughing. "But until then, I'm not missing my second cup for anything."
Tyla watched the Qavok ship retreat in disbelief. In all her years, she would have never imagined such a day. But she would have also never imagined being captured and then escaping in the Qavok prince's royal yacht, either.
She dropped down into one of the plush chairs and looked around. She felt comically incongruent in the posh quarters of the princely yacht. The tapestries on the walls of the living quarters alone must have cost more than she had earned in her entire life. Even the simple boxes on the dressing cabinets were inlaid with gold and encrusted with glittering jewellery.
Unfortunately, the lavish extras hid no console for weapons systems in the ship. Judging from the absence of anything warlike, Tyla assumed the ship was never intended to travel any great distances without a military escort of some sort. The yacht was clearly designed solely for the comfort and privacy of the prince and his guests.
Tyla had laughed as she searched the vessel. The prince's taste in women was truly ecumenical, judging from the various holophotos of Qavok women in various stages of undress. She wondered how many of them were his wives. Or were they just slaves, like the Lekks were supposed to become.
The small ship jerked slightly as the alien ship Voyager took it under control.
Tyla glanced at Dr. Maalot and tried to nod reassuringly. This Captain Janeway