Enigma - Michael Jan Friedman [66]
The first officer hadn’t expected their recalcitrance to be taken lightly. In fact, he had entertained the possibility that they might be executed out of hand.
However, the alien didn’t give any sign that he was especially perturbed. He just flicked a glance at his colleague and turned back to the humans.
“Where in the ranks of your people,” said the alien, “can we find an individual called Dikembe Ulelo?”
Ulelo was no longer in sickbay. However, he wasn’t in the brig again either. He was in Captain Picard’s ready room, along with the captain and Commander Wu.
Picard was seated across his desk from Ulelo. “Commander Wu,” he said, “says you have some information for us.”
“I do,” said Ulelo. “I just don’t know what it means.”
“Commander Wu mentioned that as well,” said the captain. “Even so, we would like to hear it.”
Ulelo was happy to oblige. He told them of the places he had seen in his mind—the diamond-dust shore and the azure forest and the immense, black plain—and the people he had seen in those places, who looked so much like humans.
When he was done, Picard and Commander Wu looked at each other. “Sound at all familiar?” asked the captain.
The second officer shook her head. “Not to me.”
“Nor to me, either,” said Picard. “However, if there were humans in those places…”
“It leads credence to your suspicion that there are operatives on other starships as well.”
The captain knuckled the cleft in his chin. “We should open this up to the science section. They may be able to tell us something about the aliens’ homeworld.”
Wu nodded. “I’ll alert Kastiigan.”
Picard turned to Ulelo. “I will need you to tell Lieutenant Kastiigan what you told us.”
“Of course,” said Ulelo, glad for the chance to redeem himself. “Whatever you need me to do.”
He wished he could remember more, because that would make their job easier. But with help from the science section, maybe he could get the captain the answers he needed.
Ben Zoma looked at the alien. It was the last thing he had expected to hear. “Ulelo…?” he repeated.
“Yes,” said their captor, his expression every bit as deadly serious as before.
Ben Zoma’s mind raced. What in blazes did the invaders want with a simple com officer? For crying out loud, how did they even know that Ulelo existed?
McAteer shot Ben Zoma a look. Obviously, he was entertaining the same questions.
“If I may ask,” said the first officer, “why are you interested in this person?”
“I am the one asking the questions,” said their captor, his eyes narrowing with what was clearly impatience. “Do you or do you not know the whereabouts of Dikembe Ulelo?”
As far as Ben Zoma knew, Ulelo was still on the Stargazer. But he wasn’t about to tell the aliens that—not until he knew the reason for their curiosity.
Suddenly, McAteer pointed a finger at the alien leader and said, “He’s trying to intimidate us, Ben Zoma. He thinks we’ll give in if he’s imperious enough.”
The first officer had reached the same conclusion. But under the circumstances, he didn’t consider it a good idea to rub it in the alien’s face.
“But it won’t work,” McAteer went on, undaunted. “He may think he’s the first son of a warrior culture to try to bully a Starfleet officer. But he’s not.”
Ben Zoma saw the alien’s brow furrow. He doubted that it was a sign of amusement.
“Admiral—” said the first officer.
“We’re not going to play the game your way,” McAteer told their captor, a hint of a smile on his face. “We’re going to play it mine. I want to know why your people are attacking Federation ships, and I want to know now.”
Ben Zoma saw the aliens go stonefaced. Obviously, they weren’t pleased with the manner in which the admiral was speaking to them. And if they became a little less pleased, it could cost the away team their lives.
Ben Zoma couldn’t allow that. But what could he do about it? McAteer was on a roll.
“What’s the matter?” he demanded of their captors. “Not so talkative anymore, are you?”
The first officer put a hand on the