Unification - Jeri Taylor [75]
Presently, she put the padd down and leaned back in her chair. “I rather enjoy writing. I don’t get to do it often in this job.”
“Perhaps you would be happier in another job,” offered Data, and she had to suppress a smile. She was intrigued by this unusual creature, and could even understand the fondness her mother had expressed for him. Sela herself had encountered him in different circumstances, and blamed him—and Picard—for her failure to sway the Klingon civil war in favor of her cohorts, Lursa and WEtor. It was delightful to have both these Starfleet men in her custody; there would be time for proper, and prolonged, retribution.
Picking up the padd, she circled the desk and handed the implement to Spock. “Please feel free to change any words that you wish. I’ve tried to make it sound Vulcan… a lot of unnecessarily long words.”
No one smiled. Spock began to read the padd. “In a few hours,” she continued, “you will deliver this statement alongside our senate proconsul, Neral. It will announce to the Vulcan people that a peace envoy is on its way from Romulus. We will transmit it on all Federation subspace frequencies.”
Picard spoke first. “A ‘peace’ envoy in a stolen Vulcan ship…” he breathed, and Sela could tell he had fit in a piece of the puzzle. She was only too happy to provide the rest. It was a wonderfully clever scheme, and she was proud of it.
“Actually, three Vulcan ships, Captain. The Enterprise is aware only of the one we stole from Qualor Two.” She smiled at his look of surprise. “Yes, we’ve been following their investigation. It has forced us to make some minor changes, including a message that was sent in your name, ordering them to stay where they are.”
Picard’s astute eyes swept her face. “The moment those Vulcan ships appear in the Neutral Zone, the Enterprise will move to intercept.” Sela almost laughed. She lovedthis—it was worth the five arduous years of planning. She had them at every turn.
“In that event,” she purred, “the Enterprise will be given more important matters to attend to.” She waited so she could enjoy the puzzled frustration on Pieard’s face. He was learning that Sela had thought of every eventuality and had provided for it. He would never underestimate her again. She circled now toward the windows of her office, and gazed out across the lofty spires of the city of Dartha. She knew that far below, the people lived in dark squalor, but here, above the streets, her view was of a maze of soaring towers, stately and pristine.
“In the meantime,” she continued, turning back to the trio, “Ambassador Spock will be telling his people to welcome the peace envoy, and when they do, our forces will seize control of the Vulcan government before anyone realizes what has happened.”
“Can you possibly believe that the Federation will not immediately intervene?” The question from Pi-card was more a flat declaration.
“Of course it will,” responded Sela, relishing these moments, savoring the feeling of thwarting the great Jean-Luc Picard. “And we’re fully prepared for that. But we’ll be there. Entrenched. And it will be very difficult to get us out once we are. A new Vulcan government will be forlned that will embrace their Romulan cousins.” She paused, and then said, with a trace of irony, “Reunification will become a fact of life.”
Spock had finished his perusal of the document she had written, and as he handed it back to her, he said dryly, “I will not read this or any other statement.”
“If you do not, you will die. All of you will die.”
“It is logical to conclude that you will kill us in any event. Therefore, I choose not to cooperate.”
Sela was annoyed. “I hate Vulcans,” she snapped. “I hate the logic. I hate the arrogance.”
But of course she had considered this eventuality and provided for it as well. She walked toward