Star Trek - Blish, James - 02 Page 6

  Spock and the Organians retreated; Kirk stood his ground. The Klingon commander looked quickly around the room.

  "This is the ruling council?" he said contemptuously.

  Ayelborne stepped forward again, smiling. "I am Ayel-borne, temporary council head. I bid you welcome."

  "No doubt you do. I am Kor, military governor of Organia." He glared at Kirk. "Who are you?"

  "He is Baroner," Ayelborne said. "One of our leading citizens. This is Trefayne..."

  "This Baroner has no tongue?"

  "I have a tongue," Kirk said.

  "Good. When I address you, you will answer. Where is your smile?"

  "My what?"

  "The stupid, idiotic smile everyone else seems to be wearing." Kor swung on Spock. "A Vulcan. Do you also have a tongue?"

  "My name is Spock. I am a dealer in kevas and tril-lium."

  "You don't look like a storekeeper. What is trillium?"

  Spock said smoothly, and with an impassive face: "A medicinal plant of the lily family."

  "Not on Organia, it isn't," Kor said. "Obviously a Feder-ation spy. Take him to the examination room."

  "He's no spy," Kirk said angrily.

  "Well, well," Kor said. "Have we a ram among the sheep? Why do you object to us taking him? He's not even human."

  Kirk caught the warning glance Spock was trying to disguise and made a major effort to control himself as well. "He has done nothing, that's all."

  "Coming from an Organian, yours is practically an act of rebellion. Very good. They welcome me. Do you also welcome me?"

  "You're here," Kirk said. "I can't do anything about it."

  Kor stared hard at him, and then permitted himself a faint smile. "Good honest hatred," he said. "Very refreshing. However, it makes no difference whether you welcome me or not. I am here and I will stay. You are now subjects of the Klingon Empire. You will find there are many rules and regulations, which will be posted. Violation of the smallest of them will be punished by death; we will have no time for justice just now."

  "Your regulations will be obeyed," Ayelborne said.

  Kirk felt his mouth tightening. Kor saw it; apparently he missed very little. He said:

  "You disapprove, Baroner?"

  "Do you need my approval?"

  "I need your obedience, nothing more," Kor said softly. "Will I have it?"

  "You seem to be in command," Kirk said, shrugging.

  "How true." Kor began to pace. "Now. I shall need a representative from among you, liaison between the forces of occupation and the civilian population. I don't trust men who smile too much. Baroner, you are appointed."

  "Me?" Kirk said. "I don't want the job."

  "Have I asked whether or not you wanted it? As for the rest of you-we Klingons have a reputation for ruthlessness. You will find that it is deserved. Should one Klingon soldier be killed here, a thousand Organians will die. I will have order, is that clear?"

  "Commander," Ayelborne said, "I assure you we will cause you no trouble."

  "No. I am sure you will not. Baroner, come with me."

  "What about Mr. Spock?"

  "Why are you concerned?"

  "He's my friend."

  "You have poor taste in friends. He will be examined. If he is lying, he will die. If he is telling the truth, well, he will find that business has taken a turn for the worse. Guards, remove him."

  The guards, covering Spock with their weapons, ges-tured him out the door; Spock went meekly. Kirk started after him, only to be shoved back by Kor himself. Kirk could not help flushing, but Kor only nodded.

  "You do not like to be pushed," the Klingon said. "Good. At least you are a man I can understand. Come with me."

  Kor had set up shop in the citadel Kirk and Spock had seen on their first arrival. Seen close up, and from inside, the impression it gave of vast age was intensified. Kor had furnished one room with a large Klingon insignia, a desk, one chair, and nothing else; Kirk stood. Kor signed a document and thrust it across the desk at him.

  "For duplication and posting," he said. "From this day on, no public assemblages of more than three people. All publications to be cleared through this office. Neigh-borhood controls will be established. Hostages selected. A somewhat lengthy list of crimes against the state."

  Kirk glanced impassively at the list, aware that Kor as usual was watching him closely. The commander said: "You do not like them?"

  "Did you expect me to?"

  Kor only grinned. At the same time, the door opened and Spock was thrust inside, followed by a Klingon lieu-tenant. To Kirk's enormous relief, his first officer looked perfectly normal.

  "Well, lieutenant?"

  "He is what he claims to be, Commander," the lieuten-ant said. "A Vulcan trader named Spock. And he really is trading in the other kind of trillium, the vegetable kind; it seems it has value here."

  "Nothing else?"

  "The usual apprehension. His main concern seems to be how he will carry on his business under our occupation. His mind is so undisciplined that he could hold nothing back."

  "All right. Baroner, would you like to try our little truth-finder?"

  "I don't even understand it."

  "It's a mind-sifter," Kor said, "or a mind-ripper, de-pending on how much force is used. If necessary, we can empty a man's mind as if opening a spigot. Of course, what's left is more vegetable than human."

  "You're proud of it?" Kirk said.

  "All war weapons are unpleasant," Kor said. "Other-wise they would be useless."

  "Mr. Spock, are you sure you're all right?"

  "Perfectly, Baroner. However, it was a remarkable sen-sation."

  "That's enough," Kor said, with a trace of suspicion in his voice. "Vulcan, you can go. But just bear in mind that you're an enemy alien, and will be under scrutiny at all times."

  "Quite, Commander," Spock said. "I understand you very well."

  "Baroner, return to your council and get that procla-mation posted. Until the people know what's expected of them, it's up to you to keep the people in order."

  "Or I will be killed," Kirk said.

  "Precisely. I see that you too understand me very well."

  Once in the street, Kirk glanced about quickly. Nobody was within earshot, or seemed to be following them. He said quietly to Spock:"That mind-sifter of theirs must not be quite the terror they think it is."

  "I advise you not to underestimate it, Captain," Spock said. "I was able to resist it, partly with a little Vulcan discipline, partly by misdirection. But on the next higher setting, I am sure I would have been unable to protect my-self."

  "And I wouldn't last even that long. The question is now, how do we persuade these Organians to resist? To strike back, knock the Klingons off balance, maybe until the Federation fleet gets here?"

  "Verbal persuasion seems to be ineffective," Spock said. "Perhaps a more direct approach?"

  "My thought exactly. Didn't I see something that looked like a munitions dump near the citadel? I thought so. All right, let's try a little direct communication."

  "The suggestion has merit. Would tonight do?"

  "If you have no previous engagement," Kirk said. "Of course, we're short of tools."

  "I am sure," Spock said, "the Klingons will provide whatever is necessary."

  "It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Spock."

  The guards at the munitions depot were tough and highly trained, but nothing they had yet encountered on Organia had prepared them for anyone like Kirk and Spock. Two of them went quietly to sleep on duty within a few seconds of each other, were relieved of their phasers and locked in an empty storeroom, lovingly cocooned in baling wire.

  Inside the dump, Kirk located a crate that seemed to contain some form of chemical explosive. He opened it. A few moments later, Spock appeared from the shadows.

  "I have one of their sonic grenades," he murmured, "and I have improvised a delayed-action fuse. The combination should provide a most satisfactory display."

>   "Good. Fire away."

  Spock made a pulling gesture, carefully tucked the gre-nade inside the crate, and ran, Kirk at his heels.

  Three minutes later, the night lit up. Giant explosions rocked it, followed by strings of subsidiary explosions. Missiles flew in all directions. An immense cloud formed over the city, its underside flickering with the fires and detonations below it.

  "You were right, Mr. Spock," Kirk said when the clamor had begun to die down. "A most satisfactory display. I only hope that the council draws the moral. Ob-viously they can't fight the Klingons directly, but they could make Organia useless to them."

  "In the meantime," Spock said. "I earnestly suggest that we find ourselves a deep, deep hole, Captain. Somehow I cannot think that Commander Kor will believe the Organians did this."

  "Nor do I. Let's vanish."

  Perhaps one or both of them should have anticipated Kor's next move. Two hours later, in an empty, lightless hut near the outskirts of the village, they heard a distant, buzzing whine from the direction of the citadel.

  "Phasers," Spock said.

  "Yes, Klingon phasers-a lot of them, all being fired at once. Odd. It doesn't sound at all like a battle, or even a riot."

  The answer came rumbling down the street outside within another hour, in the form of an armored vehicle. From a loudspeaker atop it, a recorded voice was bellow-ing:

  "This is the military governor. In the courtyard of my headquarters, two hundred Organian hostages have just been killed. In two hours more, two hundred more will die, and two hundred more after that-until the two Federation spies are turned over to us. The blood of the hos-tages is on your hands. The executions will be carried on until the saboteurs are surrendered. This is the order of Kor. Attention, all subjects! This is the military governor. In the courtyard of my headquarters..."

  Kirk and Spock were silent for a long time after the lumbering vehicle had become inaudible. At last Kirk whispered, appalled: "That tears it."

  "Yes, Captain. And the Organians no more know where we are than Kor does. We must give ourselves up, and speedily."

  "Wait a minute. Let me think."

  "But all those lives..."

  "I know, I know. We've got to turn ourselves in. But we've still got sidearms. Just possibly, we can force Kor to call the killings off."

  "Unlikely, Captain," Spock said. "Commander Kor may be a mass murderer, but he is clearly also a soldier."

  "In that case, we'll just have to do as much damage as we can and keep them busy until the fleet shows up. The Federation invested a lot of money in our training, Mr. Spock. I think they're about due for a small return."

  Spock estimated the odds against making it all the way to Kor's office at "approximately" 7,824.7 to one; but surprise and the phasers-set to heavy stun force-both told in their favor. When they reached the door of Kor's office, it was open, and no alarm had sounded. They could see the commander inside, seated at his desk, hands over his face, brooding. It seemed almost possible that he did not relish butchering unarmed civilians. When he looked up and saw Spock and Kirk before him, phasers leveled, a look of interest and appreciation appeared on his face.

  "Just stay seated, Commander," Kirk said. "Mr. Spock, cover the door."

  "You have done well to get this far, through my guards."

  "I am afraid," Spock said, "that many of them are no longer in perfect operating condition."

  "The fortunes of war. What next?"

  "We're here. Call off your executions."

  "You have not surrendered," Kor said in a reasonable tone of voice. "Drop your weapons and I will call off the executions. Otherwise you have accomplished nothing."

  "We can certainly kill you," Kirk said grimly. "You're the Klingon governor. That might put quite a crimp in your operations."

  "Don't be hasty," Kor said. "You will be interested in knowing that a Federation fleet is due here within the hour. Our fleet is prepared to meet them. Shall we wait and see the results before you pull the trigger?"

  "I don't plan to pull it at all unless you force me to."

  "Sheer sentimentality-or at best, mercy. A useless emotion in wartime. It is not a Klingon weakness." Kor smiled. "Think of it. While we talk here, in space above us the destiny of the galaxy will be decided for the next ten thousand years. May I offer you a drink? We can toast the victory of the Klingon fleet."

  "I would suggest that you are premature," Spock said. "There are many possibilities."

  "Commander," Kirk added, "we once had a nation on Earth called the Spartans-the finest warriors who ever walked our planet. They had their hour of conquest-but it was their chief opponent, Athens, who survived. Sparta knew only the arts of war. Athens was known as the mother of all the arts."

  "A consoling analogy, but I think a little out of date," Kor said. "True, there is always some element of chance in a major war. Today we conquer; someday we may be defeated. But I am inclined to doubt it."

  He rose. The phaser in Kirk's hand did not waver by a millimeter. Kor ignored it.

  "Do you know why we are so strong?" Kor said. "Be-cause we are a unit. Each of us is part of the greater whole. Always under surveillance. Even a commander like myself, always under surveillance, Captain. As you will note."

  He waved toward the ceiling, smiling. Kirk did not look up.

  "No doubt there's a scanner up there. However, Mr. Spock has the door covered, and I have you. At the first disturbance, I fire."

  There was something remarkably like a yelp of dis-may from Spock, and then the unmistakable sound of a phaser hitting the stone floor. Kirk whirled, trying to keep Kor simultaneously in the corner of his eye. At the same instant the door, which Spock had closed, burst open again and two Klingon soldiers charged in.

  Kirk pulled the trigger. The phaser did not fire. In-stead, it turned red hot in his hand. Instinctively, he threw it from him.

  "Shoot!" Kor shouted. "Shoot, you blockheads!" There were at least five soldiers in the room now, but one after another they too dropped their weapons, which lay glowing quietly against the stone. After a moment of dismay, the guards charged. Kirk set himself and swung.

  He could feel the flesh of his fist sear as it hit. A Klin-gon grabbed him from behind-then let go with a howl. "Their bodies are hot!" one of the soldiers gasped. He was almost drowned out by a roar from the commander, who had tried to pick up a paper knife.

  After that, for an eternal ten seconds, the enemies sun-ply glared at each other incredulously. There was no sound but that of heavy breathing.

  Then Ayelborne and Claymare came in. They were wearing their eternal smiles, which even Kirk had come to loathe.

  "We are terribly sorry that we have been forced to in-terfere, gentlemen," Ayelborne said. "But we could not permit you to harm one another. There has been enough violence already."

  "What are you talking about, you sheep?"

  "We have put a stop to your brawling," Claymare said. "That is all."

  "Let me get this straight," Kirk said slowly. "You put a stop to it? You? You mean you're going to slap our wrists?"

  "Please, Captain," Claymare said. "You already know the answer. Not only your guns, but all instruments of destruction on this planet now have a potential surface tem-perature of three hundred and fifty degrees. Simple intent to use one renders it inoperative."

  "My fleet..." Kor said.

  "The same conditions exist upon both the opposing Starfleets," said Ayelborne. "There will be no battle."

  "Ridiculous," Kor growled.

  "I suggest you contact them. You too, Captain. Your ship is now within range of your communications device."

  Kirk took out his communicator. "Kirk to Enterprise. Come in."

  "Captain! Is that you?"

  "Kirk here-report, Mr. Sulu."

  "I don't know what to report, sir," Sulu's voice said. "We were just closing with the Klingon fleet when every control in the ship became too hot to handle. All except the communications board. If this is some new Kli
ngon weapon, why didn't it disable that too?"

  "I don't know," Kirk said heavily. "Stand by, Mr. Sulu. Ayelborne, how did you manage this?"

  "I could not explain it to you with any hope of being understood, Captain. Suffice it to say that as I stand here, I also stand upon the bridge of your ship, upon the bridge of every ship, upon the home planet of the Klingon Em-pire, on the home planet of your Federation. Some of my energies I share with your weapons-I and the rest of my people. We are putting a stop to this insane war."