The Last Stand - Brad Ferguson [95]
Picard sighed. “Very well.”
The top officers of the Enterprise, except for Riker and Troi, had gathered in the conference lounge for a briefing on the Lethantan-Krann war. The first officer and the counselor had been placed in isolation by Dr. Crusher, but they were attending the meeting through the ship’s communications system.
“The third attack wave is now in progress,” Worf reported. “Presider Hek’s expectations of a quick victory seem now to have been without any basis in fact. The Lethanta have been holding their own, but their resources are not unlimited. When their stores are exhausted, they will fall quickly.”
“When will they run out of supplies, Worf?” Riker asked.
“In two or three hours, Commander. The end is close. The Lethanta prepared themselves well for this battle, but the Krann attack has been unrelenting. The Lethanta have been forced to throw their reserves into the fighting earlier than they anticipated. They are now fighting a holding action. This cannot succeed.”
“How quickly do you think they will fall after their supplies run out, Mr. Worf?” Picard asked.
“I would say immediately, Captain, for all practical purposes,” the security chief replied. “The Krann do not intend to occupy Nem Ma’ak Bratuna, but to sterilize it with highly radioactive dust. Most lifeforms on the planet will die within hours or days, depending on the strength of the dust and its distribution by the planetary winds. This distribution cannot be uniform, since it is determined by natural forces. As a result, some lifeforms may hold out in isolated areas of the planet for weeks or even months, but eventually the poisoned ecosystem will find and destroy them all. Nem Ma’ak Bratuna will be dead.”
“How do we prevent that?” asked Picard.
“We can’t negotiate a ceasefire,” Troi reminded them from her sickbed. “It takes two to make a peace but only one to conduct a war, and the Krann won’t talk peace.”
“Can we stop the Krann?” Geordi asked. “Rather, could we prevent those Krann ships from attempting to sterilize the planet with that dust?”
Picard slowly shook his head. “No. No, we can’t do that. Despite everything, we can’t take part in this war. The permission we received from both sides to negotiate a settlement, however vain any hope for a settlement has now become, does not permit us to enter the fray. The Prime Directive remains in effect.”
“Harkey to Captain,” came a voice.
“Yes, Ensign. What is it?”
“Sir, the First Among Equals is calling you.”
“Patch the audio through, please. Kerajem?”
“Captain Picard, I must ask you to leave our planetary system at once. I know you are capable of doing so at considerable speed.”
Everyone around the conference table stirred. Picard held up a hand. “Why, Kerajem?”
“I don’t believe I need to tell you why, Captain. My understanding of your Prime Directive is that you can stay here only as long as we desire it. We no longer desire it.”
“That is an aspect of the Prime Directive,” Picard said slowly. “Yes.”
“And you are bound to observe it?”
“We are sworn to do so. Scrupulously. All of us are.”
“Then please do observe it, and go. Leave our system at once.” The First Among Equals paused. “I would be remiss if I did not thank you for your help, Captain. It was not your fault that peace between us and the Krann was not possible. Go now, with our most heartfelt thanks.”
“The Lethanta have shut down the comm link, Captain,” Harkey reported.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Riker said. “It’s too sudden. It doesn’t fit with Kerajem’s past actions.”
“I agree, Number One,” Picard said. “There’s no clear reason for this. Picard to Harkey.”
“Harkey here, sir.”
“Ensign, where was Kerajem calling from?”
“He was in his office at Government House, sir.”
“Very good. Picard out.” He rose from the table. “I’m going there now for a one-on-one with Kerajem. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Mr. Data, go to the bridge and take the conn.”
“Permission to accompany you, Captain,” Worf said immediately.
“Denied. I have