Section 31_ Rogue - Andy Mangels [117]
As she adjusted the small spacecraft’s course for its rendezvous with the Enterprise, the admiral broke the uncomfortable silence. “Was it worth it, Corey?”
The question struck Zweller as a peculiar non sequitur. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that the Romulans have what they wanted: the Geminus Gulf.”
He was willing to concede that to her. Although the referendum votes would still be gathered for about the next five minutes, most of the voting districts had already reported their results. The few that had yet to transmit their tallies couldn’t possibly alter the overall result-which was the official ouster of the Federation from the Chiaros system, and thereby from the entirety of the Geminus Gulf.
“The Romulans have what they said they wanted,” Zweller said. “Who can ask for more?”
“And you have what you came here for: a list of Romulan spies for your dirty little rogue bureau. So, was all the blood that was spilled here worth it?”
He knew she was talking about Johnny as much as Tabor. Anger sparked within him, for both men had been his friends, too. “My ‘dirty little rogue bureau’ has saved the Federation more times than I can count.”
She looked unconvinced. “How about a recent ‘for instance’?”
“All right. Are you familiar with an intelligent, proto-warp-era carnivore species called the Nizak?”
“It’s a big galaxy,” she said, shaking her head. “Should I have heard of them?”
“I admit, they’re probably obscure, even to most intelligence officers. But you’d remember them if you ever ran into them. Big, scaly, conquest-bent, and mean as all get out.”
“That sounds like a fairly subjective appraisal.”
“You might not think so if any friends of yours had ever been on their dinner menu. Their own history shows the Nizak to be conquerors and predators by nature. Our exosociology branch concluded a long time ago that the Nizak constitute a clear and present danger to over a dozen nearby Federation systems.”
Her brow furrowed. “I thought you said these people were ‘proto-warp-era.’”
“They are,” Zweller said, a mischievous smile involuntarily creasing his face. “For the moment. Unfortunately for these fine folk, their most brilliant scientists and engineers can’t seem to keep their prototype warp ships from blowing up on the launch pad.”
She raised her eyebrows incredulously. “Section 31 is monkey-wrenching the Nizak’s warp experiments. Trampling on the Prime Directive.”
“That’s one way of looking at it, I suppose,” he said with a shrug. “But no one else from Starfleet can prove that without making extensive contact… and risking committing violations of the Prime Directive themselves.”
A frosty expression clouded the admiral’s features. “You’re saying that Section 31 is in the business of… neutralizing entire civilizations?”
“We only do what’s necessary to protect the Federation. No more, and no less.”
“And exactly how far does ‘what’s necessary’ go, Corey?”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Zweller lied.
Her eyes narrowed. “I mean this: Starfleet has encountered hundreds of intelligent species over the past couple of centuries. I can think of at least a few that haven’t been heard from since shortly after we made first contact with them. Your bureau wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would it?”
He looked away from her penetrating gaze and stared instead at the forward viewer. After a brief pause, he replied, “It’s like I already said, Marta. We do whatever’s necessary to fend off threats to the Federation. No more, and no less.”
When he looked back toward her he saw that she was studying him grimly, her jaw clenching rhythmically. “What’s happened to you, Corey? The Federation has never sanctioned these kinds of actions.”
He’d heard this argument often, and had long since grown weary of