Kahless - Michael Jan Friedman [36]
His only disappointment was the lack of fresh gagh.
Apparently, he would have to settle for the cooked variety.
The food wasn’t long in coming. But at Kahless’s request, they lingered over it, giving him more time to read lips and gather information. In the end, he failed to discover anything useful.
After a rather extended stay, Lomakh and his crony paid for their meals and left the place. The captain felt a bit of tension go out of him. Lomakh hadn’t seemed to pay any undue attention to them. Apparently, they had been careful enough to avoid suspicion.
Finishing their food, which was as tasty as the clone had predicted, they gave Lomakh enough time to make himself scarce. Then Kahless took care of their bill and they departed.
Outside, the air was chill and the sun was beginning to set, turning the sky a few shades darker in the west.
Obviously, they had been in the dining hall longer than Picard had imagined.
As they retraced their steps toward the main square, which was a good half-kilometer distant, the captain asked “Now what?”
Kahless looked at him. “I was hoping you would have a suggestion, Picard. After all, the captain of the Enterprise must wield considerable power.”
Picard understood the implication-or thought he did.
“Not the kind you need, I’m afraid. We can’t exactly assume orbit around Qo’noSo, beam down a security team, and place Lomakh under arrest. That is, if we even believed that was a good idea.”
“Which it is not,” the clone agreed. “As I myself pointed out, Lomakh is only a part of this. If we were to arrest him, we would never expose the rest of the conspiracy.” His eyes narrowed beneath his bony brow. “I was speaking more in terms of your influence, Picard. Surely, the Federation maintains spies within the Empire, who would-was
The captain looked at him. “Spies?” he repeated. He laughed. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
Kahless returned the look. “It is only logical. With the surgical techniques available, I imagine-was
“The Empire and the Federation are allies, was Picard asserted. “We have no spies among the Klingons.”
The clone smiled a thin smile. “Either you are naive or you seek to conceal the truth, human. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and embrace the first possibility.”
The captain shook his head. “I am neither concealing anything nor am I naive. We conduct no espionage within the Empire, period.”
Kahless harrumphed. “Then your Starfleet Headquarters informs you of every move it makes-without exception?”
Picard could see this was getting them nowhere. “Believe what you like,” he said. “The bottom line is I have no influence here, no resources. If we are to expose Lomakh’s conspiracy, we will have to resort to other means.”
The clone frowned. “Very well. If you won’t help, or can’t, we can always call on our-was
Picard looked at him, wondering why he’d stopped in midsentence. Then he saw the masked figures emerging from the alleyway to Kahless’s right, each of them clutching a three-bladed dk tahg in either hand.
Even as the captain prepared himself for their onslaught, he spared a glance in the opposite directionand saw more trouble coming from the alley opposite.
Altogether, it looked to be six or seven against their three.
Fortunately, Picard and his allies weren’t entirely unprepared.
They hadn’t been able to carry phasers off the Enterprise, for fear of being identified by them-and disruptors might also draw undue attention. But everyone carried a blade of some sort, and Kahless had seen to it they were no exception.
Slipping his dk tahg free of the sheath on his thigh, the captain braced himself. Before he knew it, one of their assailants was on top of him. Twisting quickly to one side, Picard narrowly avoided disembowelment. And as the Klingon’s momentum carried him past, the human slammed his hilt into the back of the warrior’s head.
The masked one hit the ground and lay still. Picard barely had time to kneel and pick up a fallen dk tahg before the next assault came. This time, perhaps seeing