Gateways 07_ What Lay Beyond - Diane Carey [48]
Kira recognized him, barely, from the coins that sometimes changed hands on the docks: this was Prince Syba Avtra of Lerrit.
“You look better on your coins, Your Highness,” Kira said.
The prince looked up at her. “Very droll.”
Then he glanced at the guard, who rewarded Kira’s comment with aslap to the face. All Kira could think was, I’ve known some Cardassians in my time who would eat you for lunch. She gave the guard a contemptuous look in reply.
Avtra, meanwhile, had moved on to Torrna. “You will rise in the presence of royalty, General.”
Torrna looked up at Avtra with the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut. “As soon as I’m in the presence of some, I’ll consider it.”
Again Avtra gave the guard a glance. Since Torrna was seated, the guard elected to kick the general in the stomach rather than bend over to slap him.
After coughing for several seconds, Torrna said, “I’m disappointed. I was hoping that Her Royal Highness herself would come to gloat over our capture. It is, after all, the only true victory you have won in this war.”
The prince laughed heartily at that.
“Something amuses you?” Torrna asked the question with contempt and with a few more coughs, diluting the effect of the former.
“My “dear’ mother has been dead for some time, fool! Do you truly think she engineered this war? Or our alliance with the Bajora?”
This time Kira felt like she’d been kicked in the stomach, though the guard had made no move toward her. The Bajora? No wonder they’re so well armed!
“I can see by the look on your face that you appreciate the position you’re in, General. With the Bajora behind us, we will destroy Endtree, squash you upstart rebels and finally control the entire southern coast.” He moved toward Torrna, looking down on the general’s dirty, bruised, swollen face with a sneer on his own clean visage.
“Now I don’t suppose you’ll tell me what the troop movements are for your little band of spear carriers?”
“If I thought you were worth wasting the spit, I’d spit on you right now,” Torrna said. His voice was more subdued than usual not surprising after the ordeal they’d been through but the tone was abundantly clear.
“I assumed as much. Besides, I can’t imagine that even your soldiers are so stupid as to retain the same battle plan after one of their generals have been captured. Still, I had to ask. And I wanted to see the infamous General Torrna in our dungeon for myself. You will be publicly executed at dawn tomorrow. It was going to be yesterday, but the demand for tickets is simply outrageous, and we had to postpone so we could put in extra seating in the stadium.”
Kira wondered if that was the same stadium that had been unearthed in this region during the Occupation. After the Cardassian withdrawal, Bajoran archaeologists had speculated that sporting events had been held there as long as fifty thousand years prior to its rediscovery. That it was used for public executions was a fact of which Kira could happily have remained ignorant.
Avtra finally turned back to Kira. “As for this one I suppose we should let Torrna have one final night of companionship before we take her to the front lines. She’ll make fine arrow fodder.”
With that, he turned and left, saying, “Enough of this. I need to get the stink of this dungeon off my person.”
The guard closed the door, leaving Kira wishing she could get the stink of the prince off herself as easily.
“We have to get out of here,” Torrna said.
Kira snorted. “I’m open to suggestions. The only ones who have free rein