The Brave and the Bold Book Two - Keith R. A. DeCandido [25]
Merely rolling his eyes in reply, DeSoto got up from the command chair. “Pipe it through to the observation lounge, Manolet, and make sure it’s secure on our end, too. You have the bridge, Dina.”
Still grinning, Voyskunsky said, “All our hopes and dreams go with you, sir.”
DeSoto snorted. “That makes it all worthwhile.”
As soon as he arrived in the observation lounge, DeSoto activated the viewscreen. It revealed a split screen, with Admiral Nechayev’s pinched features on the left and the rectangular head of Gul Evek on the right.
“Thank you for waiting, Captain,” Nechayev said.
DeSoto came within a hair of saying something offhand about needing the nap, but with Evek on the line, he needed to present the front of the outraged ship captain who’d lost an officer to the Maquis. “I didn’t have much choice, Admiral.”
“I understand. But I hope you understand that this is a delicate matter—even more delicate than you might realize. Captain Robert DeSoto, may I present Gul Evek of the Sixth Order.”
“From what Admiral Nechayev tells me, Captain,” Evek said without any kind of preamble, “the catastrophe on Nramia relates to this artifact of yours.”
DeSoto’s head swam. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to know anything about an artifact, since Tuvok’s cover story had the information wiped from the Hood’ s sensor logs. Conveniently, he also had no idea what Nramia was or what manner of catastrophe was involved. So his confusion was genuine when he said, “Excuse me?”
“My apologies,” Evek said, sounding completely unapologetic. “I had assumed the admiral briefed you.”
“That was the purpose of this call,” Nechayev said primly. “Captain, it seems that another one of the Malkus Artifacts has surfaced. You’re familiar with them, of course.”
“Of course,” DeSoto said.
“Apparently, the Maquis have discovered a third artifact. And it’s capable—”
Evek shifted in his seat. “It’s capable of destroying a planet, Captain. Right now, my entire fleet is engaged in rescue operations to evacuate Nramia because your terrorist friends warped the weather patterns sufficiently to make it uninhabitable. I can assure you, our response will be appropriate.”
Nechayev said quickly, “They’re not our ‘friends,’ Gul Evek.”
“Not hardly,” DeSoto said, trying to sound bitter. “They abandoned Federation citizenship. Admiral, I’ve already requested permission to enter the DMZ to pursue Lieutenant Tuvok. If a Malkus Artifact is in Maquis hands, that’s two reasons. General Order 16 is very clear on the subject.”
Before Nechayev could speak, Evek said, “The general orders of Starfleet are of little interest to Central Command, Captain. What we want is revenge for the indignities—”
“What you want is to escalate the situation,” DeSoto said, “and start a war.”
“You surprise me, Captain. The Maquis declared war on us when they blew up the Bok’Nor at Deep Space 9 months ago. It will end when they’re all dead.”
DeSoto didn’t like the direction this conversation was taking. “Admiral—”
“Don’t worry, Captain,” Nechayev said quickly. “We don’t plan to escalate this situation. Right now, I think it’s in the best interests of both Central Command and Starfleet to send one ship from each fleet into the zone to try to locate the Malkus Artifact and confiscate it.”
“I don’t agree,” Evek said sharply, then softened. “But I have been overridden. The Vetar will join you in the Demilitarized Zone in three days, once we have finished overseeing the evacuation of Nramia.”
“Gee, Evek, I thought you were in a rush to get revenge.” Despite DeSoto’s tone, he was glad to see that the Cardassian was putting saving the lives of those on Nramia over vengeance. That kind of attitude was the only way there was to be any hope of peace along the Cardassian/Federation border right now.
“I think we all agree that safeguarding lives is of utmost importance,” Nechayev said before Evek could respond.
“Bridge to Captain.” That was Voyskunsky’s voice.
“Hold on a second, please, Admiral, Gul.” DeSoto then muted the video and audio feed to Evek. Nechayev’s face now took