War Stories (Book 1) - Keith R.A. DeCandido [17]
Anthony nodded in appreciation. “That must’ve required a hefty bribe.”
“Several dozen, actually, but those have been recouped a thousandfold. The Tulaberry wine business is quite profitable on that side of the wormhole. Not only that, but the person I had to give the most kickbacks to was later stripped of his standing by the Ferengi Commerce Authority, so now I keep even more profits. It’s quite a tidy arrangement.”
“Especially since you’ve been selling information about the Dominion to allied powers,” Mark said. “Not to mention arranging the talks between Gul Dukat and the Vorta that led to Cardassia joining the Dominion.”
Bart swallowed. He hadn’t known this. Based on the sputter that came from the head of the table, neither did DuVall.
“You mean to tell me that you’re responsible—”
“Now now, Commander,” Bikk said, not at all flustered by this revelation. “Don’t give me your superior, self-righteous Federation posturing. Outrage that a Ferengi will sell out to the highest bidder is a waste of your time and mine. If you didn’t think I could be bought, I wouldn’t be here.”
“I ought to haul you up on charges right now, DaiMon.”
“In which court, Commander?” Bikk stood up. “I see no reason to listen to this. Mr. Mark, I was under the impression that a serious business offer was being made.”
“It is,” Anthony said with a glare at his CO. “We’re looking for a complete linguistic database of all the Dominion member races.”
Bikk threw his bulbous head back and laughed before sitting back down. “And what makes you think I have such a thing?”
“Because you’re you, Bikk. Because you lived in the Gamma Quadrant for a year making huge profits—yet your personal bank balance when you left was almost exactly the same as when you arrived. To me, that means that you spent your profits. And again, because you’re you, you probably spent that money on amassing information that you could sell on this side of the wormhole.”
Face darkening, voice deepening, Bikk asked slowly, “How did you learn what my personal bank balance was?”
Anthony just grinned in response. Bart had to hold back a grin of his own. Starfleet Intelligence had impressive resources when they put their minds to it, and a Ferengi who lived in the Gamma Quadrant for a year was definitely going to be a very large reading on SI’s sensors.
“Never you mind how we got it,” DuVall said quickly. “The point is, we know what you’ve been up to, DaiMon.”
Realizing that he wasn’t going to get a straight answer, Bikk leaned back in his chair. “Assuming I have such esoteric information, what would you be prepared to offer me in exchange for it?”
Anthony leaned forward. “You’re familiar with the Breen energy-draining weapon, yes?”
“Of course. And only the Klingons can defend against it, which is, by the way, a sad commentary on the state of this little war you’re fighting. You’d have been better off entering a trade agreement like we did.”
“We’re not profiteers, mister,” DuVall said.
Bikk shrugged. “Your loss, our gain.”
“Your gain, anyhow.” Anthony smiled. “We’re developing a countermeasure against the Breen weapon. You can have access to all our research—”
“As if I’d need it. We’re not at war, Mr. Mark.”
“—and to the method for countering the weapon once we have it.” Anthony continued as if the Ferengi hadn’t spoken.
DuVall stood up and fixed a furious gaze on his adjutant. “Are you out of your mind?”
Without looking at DuVall, Anthony said, “Starfleet Command has already signed off on this, sir.”
“Dammit, we shouldn’t be giving these big-eared cretins access to our military secrets.”
Bikk smiled that unctuous smile again. “Your commander has a point. Besides—”
“Don’t kid yourself into thinking that the Dominion will stop with the allies. If we lose this war, Ferengi independence won’t be long for this galaxy. And you never know when you might need a defense against a Breen ship.”
A pudgy hand ran thoughtfully over the edge of Bikk’s right