The Brave and the Bold Book Two - Keith R. A. DeCandido [35]
Ch’Ren had kept his end of the transmission tight on his face. Based on the sensor readings of the Malkus Artifact and the triangulation of the communication, he was in the capital city, and based on the fact that he wasn’t being rained on, he was indoors—according to Kojima, the capital city had gotten its entire average annual allotment of rainfall in the past two hours—but beyond that, there were no clues as to his precise location.
Dayrit whispered, “Captain, I have something.”
“Hold on a moment, please, Mr. ch’Ren, while I consult with my senior staff.”
The Andorian simply inclined his head.
DeSoto stood up and made a throat-cutting gesture. Once the transmission was muted, he said, “Report.”
“I’m picking up the wreckage of a shuttlecraft in the capital city. It doesn’t match the registry of any of the ships in the Slaybis port—but it does match the configuration of a Maquis shuttle that attacked a Cardassian freighter a couple of days ago and made off with a weapons shipment. Central Command claimed the grenades were for a supply depot in the Chin’toka system, but SI was pretty sure they were earmarked for Dorvan V. It also matches the type of shuttlecraft that would be used on the vessel that attacked Nramia.”
Voyskunsky let out an annoyed breath. “Dorvan’s one of the Cardassian worlds in the DMZ. Captain, if Manolet’s right—”
“And he usually is,” DeSoto added with an appreciative smile at his tactical officer. Dayrit inclined his head in response.
“—then ch’Ren may have crashed his ride here. We’re not reading any other ships in the area—maybe we can use it as a bargaining chip.”
“Let’s hope so.” He sat back down in his chair—it gave him more of a sense of security. Besides, standing was a sign of respect, and DeSoto wasn’t feeling especially respectful for the person responsible for the carnage on Nramia, or the similar carnage the Hood’ s sensors were picking up now.
“I’d like to avoid extermination if at all possible, Mr. ch’Ren,” DeSoto said slowly when ch’Ren’s face reappeared on the viewer. “Perhaps we can discuss a solution that is mutually beneficial to us both.”
“I see no reason to negotiate with you.”
“Right now, I’ve got four phaser banks and a dozen photon torpedoes trained on your location. I also have a means of getting you off-planet—we know your shuttle crash-landed. Besides, I’ve read up on your new toy. It has limitations. My guess is that you can’t do any further damage to the planet for a while. Until it recharges, you’re vulnerable. I don’t want to use force, but I will if I have to.”
“Do you expect me to believe that Starfleet would commit murder?”
“Do you expect me to believe that I won’t respond to your threats? You’ve already expressed a willingness to attack my ship—I’ve now expressed my willingness to respond in kind. Still, given a choice I’d rather talk this out like two intelligent beings.” He leaned back. “Of course, within a couple of days, the Vetar will be here, and I can assure you that Gul Evek will stop at nothing to destroy you after what you did to Nramia.”
“Your attempts to frighten me are pointless, Captain,” ch’Ren said in a hiss. “I have no fear of Gul Evek, nor of any other Cardassian. Do not mistake a minor vulnerability for weakness.” A pause. “However, I am willing to meet with you to discuss terms. I will transmit coordinates to you.”
DeSoto looked up at Kojima, who nodded.
“The room where we will meet will be encased in a forcefield that will prevent any communication signalsfrom penetrating. You will not be able to summon reinforcements, nor transport out of the room. You will come alone, Captain. If you send surrogates or bring others, I will destroy your ship. And if you doubt my ability to do so, I challenge you to find the Maquis vessel christened the Geronimo —or, rather, its twisted hulk.”
With that, ch’Ren cut the signal.
Voyskunsky came around to the middle of the bridge to