The Last Stand - Brad Ferguson [34]
“Yes, there was,” Kerajem said, “and Rikkadar and I helped lead it. So did Presinget. Klerran was one of our lieutenants. The theocracy tumbled very quickly, with little loss of life—on our side.”
“We killed a lot of monks,” Presinget said unsympathetically. “Too bad.”
“We established a free government and set about instituting social reforms,” Kerajem continued. “One of the first reforms we carried out was to end the constant, ceaseless preparations for the invasion of the Krann—an event we did not believe would ever happen.” The First Among Equals paused. “That was all a little over forty years ago. Thirty-three years ago, we heard the first signals from space. They were from the Krann.”
“They’d found us,” Klerran said in low tones. “They said they had been pursuing us for six thousand years, and they promised our complete destruction. They swore that none of us would escape this time. In response, we initiated a rapid defense buildup—not the superstitious preparations against bogeymen carried on by the monks as a matter of ritual, but a carefully planned program to meet a very real threat from the actual Krann.”
“Shortly after the Krann announced their presence,” Kerajem said, “we found a way to disguise our broadcast signals so that they could not be studied by the Krann. We’ve maintained that security for a generation. We don’t believe the Krann know much about us, or how we intend to resist them.”
“You say that the Krann race has been on its way here for fully six thousand years?” Picard asked.
“Yes,” Kerajem replied.
“It seems incredible,” said Troi. “How could an entire race of people stay so angry for so long? And why?”
“It does not seem to me that your enslavement of the Krann so many millennia ago would explain this … this jihad of theirs,” Worf observed. “There is something missing from your story.”
“Well, why didn’t you ask the Krann on Ma’ak Krannag about it yourself?” Presinget sputtered. “I mean, you were just there, you said.”
“Captain, perhaps we should now discuss our findings concerning Ma’ak Krannag with the Lethanta,” Data suggested. “In my opinion, it will not adversely impact their culture.”
Picard nodded. “I agree, Mr. Data,” he said. “Kerajem, ministers, I must tell you that we found no Krann living on Ma’ak Krannag. They were all gone. They and their culture are dead.”
Kerajem blinked. “No one was there? No one at all? Was their world destroyed like ours?”
“No,” Picard replied. “Ma’ak Krannag is intact. A specially bred virus killed all the land-based higher lifeforms on the planet, including the Krann.”
“This virus you speak of was used as a weapon?” Klerran asked.
“It is possible,” Data answered. “Your own people may have used the virus on the Krann in retaliation for the destruction of Eul Ma’ak Lethantana. Alternatively, the Krann may have destroyed your homeworld in retaliation for a sneak attack by you on them.”
“There is one other matter,” Picard said, “and that is the matter that originally attracted our attention. We need to know, Kerajem, if your people are working on obtaining the secret of faster-than-light drive.”
“No, Captain, we are not.”
Klerran leaned forward. “Before you came here, Captain,” the science minister said, “we had thought that traveling faster than light was an impossibility. Our entire physics was based on the notion that the speed of light represents an absolute limit.”
Picard glanced at Troi, who nodded slightly.
“Kerajem,” Picard began after a moment, “we operate under strict rules of conduct that forbid us to interfere with the affairs of others. But if you would wish it, we can initiate negotiations between you and the Krann. The Federation would be glad to act as mediator, should you both agree.”
Kerajem closed his eyes for a moment. Picard did not need Deanna to tell him that the First Among Equals was relieved. “Yes, Captain,” he said in a soft voice. “Please go ahead and do whatever you need to do to open talks with the Krann. The hopes and good wishes of everyone on our world go with you.