Chapter 44: Qo'noS
May 2414
91336
Kirina looked up from her work and, for a moment, watched the Klingon fleet floating among the wreckage of Federation transports. She had to hurry. The Captain would find her absence suspicious before too long.
The Captains of the House of Kiltarak, controlling a fleet of 14 KDF warships, had been carrying out attacks on allied supply lines for weeks now. When they destroyed Federation convoys, they made sure to leave evidence of their work; when they hit Klingon convoys, they left evidence pointing to a Starfleet attack; and when the Romulans investigated their destroyed ships, evidence would be found pointing to both Starfleet and the KDF. The Iconian War had only just begun, but through their bluegill agents, the Iconians were trying to destabilize the Alpha Quadrant Alliance and shatter their resistance. And it was working.
Kirina had several chances to sneak away during her tenure pretending to be infected, but she knew she had a rare opportunity. She could hear the parasite’s thoughts. She knew what they were planning. When Kirina finished her work in the ship’s engine room she left a note, tied under a ribbon, on the frame of the warp reactor. A gift of proof. Next stop, shuttle bay.
Her shuttle cloaked before exiting the bay. She flew to a safe distance as the fleet moved into formation and turned away. Thirteen ships jumped to warp in unison. The one that remained was rocked by a series of internal explosions. Kirina smiled to herself as the Bird of Prey shuddered and drifted. Starfleet would be here soon, and this would be all the evidence they’d need to determine the truth behind the attacks.
91346
Risa is such a deceptively beautiful planet. The natives and their Federation guests tend to be so trusting, so open, so welcoming. When a Ferengi sets up a souvenir shop, nobody suspects it’s secretly the headquarters of the sector’s largest slave ring. It was the perfect cover. The Iconian servitor within the Ferengi already had all the infrastructure he needed to transport people and parasites throughout the quadrant.
Risian mornings weren’t very busy, and there only a few customers browsing the shop. Kirina nodded to the Ferengi tending the register as she entered and headed for the storeroom. It was too soon for him to have heard about their “mysteriously lost” Bird of Prey. Within the storeroom, a pair of Nausicaans slept on cots on opposite sides of the room. Between them were six slave cages - all occupied. This always gave Kirina pause. But her parasite wouldn’t balk at the sight of it, or try to help them, and so she couldn’t either. At least, not directly. Not yet.
She moved to the desk at the back of the room. It didn’t take her long to find the PADD with what she was looking for: Qo’noS System orbital defense battle plans. It wasn’t the only copy, of course, but if she hurried, she thought, she might be able to get there in time to warn someone.
Kirina quickly made her way out of the storeroom, and out towards the store’s exit. As she stepped out into the warm Risian sun, she was immediately forced to duck behind a pillar. Two all-too-familiar faces walked right past her, headed for the store. It worked, she thought. This’ll be over soon, she told herself. As the Starfleet and Republic Officers entered the shop – following the trail she’d left for them – she knew at least, if nothing else, the slaves would be rescued.
91353
The small shuttle dropped out of warp in orbit of Qo’noS, to a hail of fire. After taking a few stay hits, the small craft managed to swerve out of the kill zone. Alliance ships were trading fire with Herald dreadnoughts, and it was impossible to tell which side was winning.
I’m too late.