Dragon's Honor - Kij Johnson [79]
“Scum,” Gar said again. “You are a fool to warn us thus, and honorless.”
Data ignored the insult. “Please clarify your remark.”
“Your own Federation law,” Gar sneered, “insures our safety once we are in Imperial space.”
Data judged that this was the correct moment at which to attempt his bluff; he hoped Lieutenant Melilli was paying close attention. “The Federation and the Dragon Empire have entered into a treaty which permits us to defend Imperial territories from hostile approaches.”
“Hah,” Gar snorted. Steam rose from his nostrils, joining the other murky fumes suffusing the bridge of the Fang. “We know all about this treaty, and we know that it has not yet been ratified.”
“It shall be,” Data said. “Do you wish to take the chance, knowing that Captain Picard and the Dragon might be signing the agreement even as we speak?”
“Even so,” Gar gloated, “you can do nothing until the wedding is complete. Pai will be a smoking ruin by then, and your precious treaty with it.”
“I must again insist that you do not approach Pai,” Data said.
“And how will you prevent us?” The reptile laughed, producing a wet, sloppy sound like a soaked carpet slapped against a stone floor. Then he cut off the transmission before Data could even begin to reply. The android found himself staring at a view of Pai itself. The blue-green sphere, filigreed with intricate patterns of swirling clouds, reminded him of the ornate decoration of the Imperial Palace. He resolved to conduct a comparative analysis of astronomical scenery versus humanoid interior decoration at the next convenient opportunity.
“He called your bluff,” Lieutenant Melilli said.
“Perhaps,” Data stated. “Still, we have succeeded in ascertaining the extent of G’kkau intelligence regarding activities upon Pai itself, which is apparently considerable. This strongly implies that the G’kkau have a humanoid confederate at the palace itself, establishing a probable link between the approaching G’kkau invasion force and the attempted assassination of the Dragon.”
“So there is a traitor on Pai,” Melilli said. “But, sir, the fleet is still going to reach Pai before we can do anything at all.”
“Your analysis is correct,” Data conceded. “Therefore, we must delay the fleet’s arrival.”
“But how?” she asked. Like most Bajorans, he noted, Lieutenant Melilli was quick to question authority.
“I have an idea,” he said. “Please ask Lieutenant La Forge to report to the bridge.”
The search for the wedding gifts was going slowly. Even though many of the Pai nobles were away at the Heir’s bachelor party, their servants remained to guard their respective quarters, and, without exception, these servants required considerable persuasion before they would permit a search party to inspect their masters’ accommodations. It was necessary for Chih-li to explain each time, in painstaking detail, why the search was not a violation of anyone’s honor. Worf found himself growing more frustrated by the moment. Honor was a matter of vital importance, true, but so was the necessity for direct action, something the Pai seemed to make little allowance for.
“Tell me again,” a frail, gray-bearded Pai manservant inquired of the Minister of Internal Security. “Why does your base invasion of these premises in pursuit of stolen goods not reflect badly on the honor of the distinguished gentleman whom I have the honor to serve?”
The aged Pai, whom Worf could have blown aside with one breath, stood between the search party and the entrance to a large suite of rooms currently being occupied by one Lord Li Po, who was apparently attending the Heir’s bachelor party and so could not (or so the old man insisted) be disturbed until the morning of the wedding itself. Worf growled impatiently; time was slipping away and they had searched less than one-quarter of the Imperial Palace. Not for the first time, he wished they could simply scan the entire palace from on board the Enterprise and locate the missing gifts that way; unfortunately, the same shields that protected the palace