Gateways 07_ What Lay Beyond - Diane Carey [49]
Torrna tried to stand up, but made the mistake of bracing himself with his left arm, and he collapsed to the floor.
Kira moved to help him up, but he waved her off. “I’m fine. Just forgot about the damn wound. Stupid arm’s gone numb.” He staggered to his feet. “Damn those foul Bajora I hope those Prophets of theirs strike them down with lightning.”
The Prophets don’t work like that, Kira thought, but refrained from saying it aloud.
“We have to argh! I’m fine,” he added quickly, again brushing off Kira’s offer of help. “We have to get this intelligence back to the prefect and to Inna. If the Queen is dead, and the Bajora are helping… You were right, the fire caves’ collapse definitely made our land more attractive.”
“I don’t think that matters as much as we thought. From the way that kid was talking, he’s been wanting to start a war with us for years, but his mother’s been holding him back. The collapse of the caves probably made it easier for him to justify it, but I’m willing to bet thatwe’d have had a war on our hands as soon as the Queen died no matter what.”
Torrna nodded, and Kira could see him wincing in the dim light. He’s more hurt than he’ll admit, and the stubborn bastard won’t let me help him.
“We’ve got to find some way out of here! If we can get back, tell them about this, we can change our strategy, try to hit the supply lines the Bajora are using….”
Sure, no problem. I’ll just tap my combadge, order the runabout to lock in on our signal, and then we’ll beam out of here. Then we can transmit a subspace message with our intel. That’ll work …
The door opened suddenly again. A guard a different one came in with two buckets.
Then he closed the door. What the hell? The guards never closed the door.
The guard dropped the buckets, then reached into his cloak and pulled out a set of keys. “C’mon, c’mon, we haven’t got much time. Take these, take these.”
“Who the hell’re you?” Torrna asked.
“Right, right, the password.” The guard then uttered a phrase in Old High Bajoran that Kira only recognized two words of.
Torrna’s eyes went wide. “Moloki?”
“In the very frightened flesh, yes.”
“We thought you dead.”
“I probably will be after this stunt, believe me. Don’t know what I was thinking coming up with this ludicrous plan. They’ll use my guts for building material, they will.”
Kira took the keys from Moloki. “What happened to you?”
“Nothing happened as such. I simply couldn’t get any messages out. The moment Her Royal Senility dropped dead, all hell broke loose. Truly, a spy can no longer make anything like an honest living in this environment.”
“Can you get us” Torrna started.
“Yes, yes, I can get you out of here, just give me a moment to collect myself. I’ve never been much for impersonations, and I had to pull off being one of those imbecile guards that the prince likes to employ. Stomping ‘round all day, bellowing at the tops of their lungs so loud you can’t think.” He shuddered. “No style at all, more’s the pity.” He reached into his cloak. “In any case, here’s a map that’ll show you how to get out of here once I bring you to the surface, as well as a map that shows the supply lines the Bajora are using. Assuming you get home alive, that should be fairly useful.” He put his hand on Torrna’s shoulder. “Let me make something abundantly clear, General it will not be easy to get home. It will involve going through a swamp and then across a mountain range. Deviate even slightly from the route I’ve mapped out, and you’re guaranteed to be captured.”
“And if we stay on the route?” Kira asked.
“Then you’re just likely to be captured.”
“I was afraid of that,” Torrna muttered.
Kira looked at Torrna and winced. “He’s not going to make it with his arm in the shape it’s in.”
“He has to, dammit!” Moloki said sharply, in marked contrast to his more affable tone. Then he composed himself. “Listen to me, and listen very carefully, because I’m only going to say this once. Years ago, I offered to help Periki Remarro in whatever way was necessary not because I have