Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [98]
Which left Archer alone except for the two MACO troopers who had accompanied him, Corporals OMalley and Ryan, both of whom had been trained in multiple unarmed fighting techniques, including the Vulcan disciplines of Suus Mahna and VShan. Even though all three humans had been disarmed immediately upon entering the outer foyer of the Klingon High Council citadel, Archer knew he could count on the two MACOs to give a good accounting of themselves if it came down to a fight.
They had not been able to offer much in the way of moral support during the interminable shuttlepod ride down from orbit, however. Archer knew he was on his own in the Great Hall, for better or worse. As the huge iron doors before him opened with a groan and a clang, Archer stepped into the expansive inner sanctum. This wasnt the same High Council Chamber he had visited on Enterprise s first mission, during which he had returned an injured Klingon named Klaang to his homeworld. He was thankful as well that it was not the forbidding multilevel courtroom on Narendra III, where a Klingon magistrate had once sentenced him to a year mining dilithium in the frozen depths of the asteroid penal colony Rura Penthe.
Just because this place wasnt that hellish chamber of summary judgment, however, didnt make it any less intimidating, and Archer felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise like a phalanx of fighters adopting a defensive stance. Seated around the deeply shadowed, torch-lit room in a semicircular, two-level observers arena were some two dozen Klingonsall but one were malenone of whom looked particularly pleased to be present. At the apex of the semicircle sat the man whom Archer recognized as having thanked himthough Hoshi had implied it was more of a threatwhen he had returned Klaang to his people. The Klingon chancellors hair and beard had become even whiter than they had been four years ago, but the form underneath the august warrior-leaders bulky leather and armor seemed as formidable now as it had then.
Archer stepped forward, holding out a data module in one open hand. “Chancellor MRek, honorable High Council members and warriors of the great Klingon Houses, I bring you an urgent message from the Coalition of Planets.
MRek gestured to one of his guards, who strode forward and snatched the data module from Archers hand. The soldier handed it to the chancellor, who held it out, then closed his hand around it, crushing it.
“Starfleet sent you to deliver the message, human, MRek said, his voice a low snarl. “It is only because you have aided the Empire in the past that you were not executed on arrival. Deliver the message yourself, and we shall see if your stay of execution merits an extension.
Having half expected such a response, Archer had already rehearsed his answer. He stepped forward, keeping his hands at his sides in a simultaneous show of defiance and submission; he hoped his body language wouldnt distract the Klingons from the importance of his words.
“Three days ago, three Klingon battle cruisers attacked the planet Draylax, crippling its defenses and causing thousands of casualties on that worlds surface. The aggressor ships did not respond to warnings from the Starfleet ship Columbia, or from my vessel, the Enterprise . They opened fire on our ships when we drew close enough for a confrontation. Our ships defeated two of the attackers, but the third was destroyed by a second trio of Klingon ships that arrived during the battle. These vessels did not engage either our ships or the colony. Afterward, Admiral Krell told me that the original three attacking Klingon ships were manned by rogue captains and crews.
“And your Coalition leaders do not believe his words? They think we are trying to incite war with them? MRek said, his voice rising in both pitch and volume.
“Not all of them do, Chancellor. But the Coalition Council is a democratic parliamentary body. Archer wasnt used to apologizing for democracy, but as hed learned over the last four years, human cultures