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“We lose people, Jean-Luc. Be grateful that you’re losing them to captaincies and not any other way. Right now, we need our best people in big chairs all over.” He leaned back in his chair, still holding his drink up near his face. “The war’s not going so well-and to make matters worse, the Cardassians have been showing the flag at the border.”

Picard frowned. He hadn’t heard of this-but he’d been in Klingon space for some months. They only came back here now because after Khitomer, there were several days’ worth of repairs, which Lieutenant O’Brien was already undertaking. Picard had confidence that his new chief engineer-who’d received a field commission and was promoted after Riker took La Forge with him to the Sugihara-would shave at least a few hours off the repair estimate.

Haden went on. “They seem to be making moves in the Dorvan, Valo, and Salva systems. We’re sending a few ships to warn them off.”

“Can we spare them?” Picard asked bluntly. “This sounds suspiciously like-”

Holding up a hand, Haden said, “This isn’t sending Kirros’s fleet on a wild-goose chase. We can’t afford to turn our backs on the Cardassians. There are reports of a huge military buildup the last couple of years, and it’d be just like them to strike when our guard’s down.”

“It’s not down; it’s busy fighting the Romulans!” Picard snapped. Realizing his faux pas, he closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. “My apologies, sir, I didn’t mean to raise-”

“Don’t worry about it. I read your reports even before this latest foolishness. You think Martok’s trying to throw the war?”

Picard shook his head. “I wish I could say. He seems a reasonable man. But Gowron…”

“You don’t trust him?”

“The chancellor is an opportunist. Martok is a very popular general among the troops, but he also takes his orders from Gowron. Several of the troop allocations that the Defense Force have made have been questionable at best. Inadequate resources to defend important planets, too many resources to protect targets that the Romulans have shown no interest in…” Picard trailed off, then sipped more wine. It tasted better on the third sip. “It’s as if they’re trying to prolong the war.”

“Are you accusing Gowron of that?”

“Possibly.” Picard hesitated, sipped some more. “Gowron’s hold on the chancellor’s chair is tenuous. He ascended only because Worf killed Duras. After he came to power, he rewrote Klingon history to de-emphasize the roles anyone else played. For that matter, he takes all the credit for the rise of Emperor Kahless, even though he was very slow to accept the clone’s existence.”

“You’re thinking he’s trying to make Martok look bad so he can swoop in and save the war.”

“I dearly pray that I’m wrong,” Picard whispered. “It would be unthinkable, to sacrifice so many lives…”

“But not out of character?”

Picard had spent more time with Gowron than any human during his time serving as the Arbiter of Succession for Gowron’s predecessor, K’mpec. “I believe it is possible, yes.”

“Do you also believe that it’s possible that the Klingons are just stretched too thin? Seems like they’re never at full fighting strength with all the little skirmishes the Defense Force gets into. They lose ships by the truckload. We lost a few trucks’ worth to the Borg just before this started, too. Maybe they’re just out-classed.” Haden picked up a padd and made a note on it. “Still, you could be right. I’ll pass on your thoughts to the Federation Council and to the Diplomatic Corps-and to Starfleet Intelligence. We’ll see if we can get some evidence to support this, and see if we can talk some sense into Gowron.”

“I wish you luck with that,” Picard said dryly.

“Wish it on the ambassadors. Me, I’m just an old admiral trying to keep his starbase in one piece. How long you docked for?”

“At most, three days.”

“All right.” Haden got to his feet, slugging down the rest of his whiskey. “Thank you, Captain.”

“Thank you for the drink, Admiral,” Picard said, also rising and finishing his wine. “And for passing on my concerns.”

“You’re welcome, Jean-Luc.”

Picard took