What's Past_ The Future Begins (Book 2) - Michael Schuster [10]
“Why is President Zife pursuing your membership now, then?” asked Scotty.
“There is a very good reason for that,” said another of the Kropaslin. “Allow me to introduce myself: Thane Dreso Miculamor.” This new fellow tapped a button on his terminal. The white ring embedded in the center of the table suddenly lit up, revealing itself to be a holoprojector. An image of a strange, asymmetrical spaceship came into being in midair.
Scotty recognized the ship immediately. It was a Breen frigate. “The Breen?” he asked. “What do they have to do with your politics?”
“I see you recognize the ship, then, Captain Scott,” said Miculamor.
“Of course I do!” Scotty snapped. “Three of them attacked Earth. We haven’t stopped fightin’ them since.”
“Indeed,” said Miculamor. “Several months ago, a Haradin trading vessel came across one on the outskirts of the Helaspont Nebula. All the escape pods had been jettisoned, but the ship was largely intact, with only some minor damage. We still have no idea why it was abandoned. I am sure you know Breen ships are biological in nature, and their level of expertise is rumored to exceed even ours. The traders could not make use of it themselves, but they sold it to our government—for a hefty sum.”
“You have a Breen frigate!” Scotty exclaimed. “Starfleet would die to have one of those. The specs on that blasted energy-dampenin’ weapon alone could change the course of the war!”
“Regrettably,” Miculamor said, “this ship does not appear to be equipped with one. In every other way, however, it seems to be identical to those Starfleet has faced in battle.”
“Still worth a king’s ransom, then,” said Scotty. “If we knew everything about those ships, we would have a major tactical advantage.”
“Yes,” said Iamor. “However, High Cyning Forecic and the Consensus Party believe the existence of the Breen ship should be kept as secret as possible, to maximize the economic and business advantages access to the superior biotechnology will bring our planet.”
“I’ll bet Starfleet Intelligence still found out, though,” said Scotty. “No wonder the president suddenly made Kropasar’s admittance a priority.”
“That is most likely,” said the female Kropaslin.
“You may now access your sealed orders from Admiral Nechayev, Captain,” said Iamor. “The password is R0-XX4-HT33-L.”
Scotty typed the code into his padd, causing a file to suddenly appear and open. He quickly read through it. “You want me to what?”
“Captain Scott, your superiors want that ship, and we want them to have it,” said Iamor. “If they are going to…acquire it, they will need the coordinates of the spacedock where it is being analyzed.”
“But why do you want Starfleet to steal from you?” Scotty shook his head. “These orders have only made everythin’ make less sense.”
“The Federation does not honestly want Kropasar as a member,” said the female. Scotty suddenly remembered her name was Gilvatac. Or maybe Gilvatas. Not that it mattered much. “There are not only the democratic problems the Consensus Party presents, but a planet that will not disclose the existence of a ship that could change the tide of the war is obviously not the ideal member. The reason membership is being pursued now is the Breen ship.”
“And we don’t want to become a member,” Iamor said. Before Scotty could state his confusion once more, he continued. “Federation acceptance at this time would provide an enormous validation to the Consensus Party in the eyes of the public. As the leader of the opposition, I cannot let that happen if we ever want to control the Witenagemot again.”
“But why me?” Scotty asked, his voice almost a whisper. “Surely one of your people could provide the coordinates.”
“No,” said Miculamor sharply. “They are known only to the handful of pilots that make the run between the spacedock and here. There is not a single member