Dragon's Honor - Kij Johnson [70]
“It was that captain, Picard,” the traitor whined. “If not for him, the Dragon would be dead by now, and I would be the new Emperor!”
Not for long, Kakkh thought silently. It was fortunate that his pawn was only an image on a viewer and not actually on board the Fang; otherwise, Kakkh doubted if he could resist the temptation to devour the foolish Pai noble in one satisfying gulp. Two failed assassination attempts in one night! How hard could it be to kill one old mammal?
“My method was exquisite,” the Pai continued to protest. Kakkh did not need to smell his fear to know that the nervous-looking human on the screen was no longer as arrogant as once he had been. The Pai babbled as much to reassure himself as to allay Kakkh’s doubts. “It was a flawless scheme, of classical design. I mean, poisoned ma erh tsai mao tan ch’ing no less! Why, do you know that no one has been murdered by poisoned ma erh tsai mao tan ch’ing for close to two millennia?”
“Perhaps,” Kakkh snarled, “that’s because it doesn’t work!” He fixed cold, reptilian eyes on the worthless mammal whose pallid face appeared on the screen between his forelimbs. His inner eyelids winked malevolently. A forked tongue flicked between his fangs. “Be sure you understand me, Pai who would be Dragon. Tomorrow I will conquer Pai, one way or another. If you fulfill your promise before we arrive, you will be rewarded. But if we must lay claim to Pai without your assistance, then you will be merely one of many to fall beneath our claws. Do you comprehend what I am saying?”
“Yes,” the Pai gulped. “Your words are must clear. The Dragon will die before dawn!”
I’ll believe it when I smell it, Kakkh thought skeptically. He cut off the communication abruptly. Stupid humanoid! His jaws ground against each other in irritation. Dealing with these unreliable mammals made his scales itch.
Gar slithered up beside him. “Master Kakkh?”
“Yes?” Kakkh hissed.
“I have reason to believe that the Enterprise has intercepted some of our transmissions to Pai. They have also been scanning the nebula with a variety of sensor sweeps. They may have detected the presence of the fleet.”
Kakkh snarled, then sank lower into his command pit. His tail whipped back and forth a few times. “No matter,” he said finally. “The end of the game draws near, and there is little the Federation can do to stop us. We shall strike before the wedding and before the wretched treaty can be signed. Pai cannot join the Federation if Pai no longer exists!”
The more wine the Dragon drank, the more he appreciated Troi. He was openly flirting with her now, much to Picard’s irritation. The Emperor’s growing infatuation with Deanna did not make it any easier to convince him of the desperate urgency of the G’kkau situation.
At the moment, for instance, the Dragon had moved over to a seat by the fireplace next to Troi and was showing her each of the different ch’i pieces. The counselor had the slightly uncomfortable look of a woman cornered at a party. “This one is the Lascivious Wife,” the Dragon said, winking at Troi. “In most versions of the game she moves every direction but forward, in leaps of two. You see how she holds the Intemperate Staff so tenderly?”
“Excellence,” Picard broke in, hoping to rescue Troi and salvage his mission at the same time. “I must remind you that we have definite confirmation now that the G’kkau will be attacking Pai within hours. We face a crisis of interplanetary proportions.”
“Must we deal with that now?” the Dragon sighed. “I was just about to explain to your lovely woman the romantic inclinations that brought my great-grandfather the title of the Patient One.”
Troi rolled her eyes. “Please, Captain, tell us more about the dreaded G’kkau.”
“You shouldn’t trouble yourself with such matters,” the Dragon said soothingly. “Here, have some more of this wine.”
“But I find the subject fascinating,” Troi said, batting her eyelashes. “How frightening are the G’kkau, Captain?”
Deanna was definitely performing above and beyond the call of duty this mission, Picard thought. Certainly,