CHAPTER 9
"Education is the path from cocky ignorance to miserable uncertainty."
- Mark Twain – Earth (Human)
LONDON, ENGLAND, EARTH
DECEMBER 2274
That Christmas, President jav Lorg was again interviewing his intelligence chief in his Paris office. "I don't understand, Noora. This has been proceeding quite smoothly, We're almost ready to go public with the negotiations – The Klingons were even willing to have them held here on Earth! And now you're telling me something's wrong?"
Almost squirming in her chair, Noora Ahmed said, "We're not sure. The Intelligence world isn't about absolutes, Mr. President. But we're getting indications that the Dosadi and the Hydrans are not happy with a potential change in the balance of power. But that conflicts with all our other assessments, so we're not ready to assign it a high degree of certainty yet. We've also gotten hints about a bio-terror plot within the Klingon Empire and something in the Romulon Empire that sounds bad. Something to do with shape-shifters in their latest government. But that sounds pretty mythical, so we've only given that a low-order probability. We're also hearing that they're so weak that they're interested in normalizing relations. I just don't like it when I've got this many contradictory signals all popping up at the same time."
He drummed his fingers on his desk. "So what have you got that you DO have confidence in?"
"Not a lot, sir."
"That's not acceptable. The Klingon Special Ambassador is coming HERE in one month's time. You will make every effort to resolve all these little mysteries within the next two weeks, is that clear? And you will give me the answers that I require."
T'ELSH, DOSAD
DECEMBER 2274
Back on Dosad, Wilkes and Sooth where having dinner with Corin and Eletha, with the usual rollicking band of kits causing mischief throughout the roundhouse. No one had yet really gotten used to the hole that Kaileen's death had left in all their lives, but death was a normal thing to the Dosadi, and Kaileen's death had been heroic and useful. Heather had healed quickly as children of all species seem to do, her indomitable cheerfulness keeping grief at bay.
Sooth had taken to carrying on her armor the Hydran knife that Kaileen had so cherished. Wilkes had asked her about that once. "So isn't it painful to have that with you all the time? To be reminded of that?"
"No, I don't look at it like that. His knife reminds me that he was a great person, with a big heart. That he gave his utmost to protect those dear to him, and that no matter the odds, he was not going to let size or strength or anything else stand in the way of doing what had to be done. His story is being told all over Dosad, and that's a sort of immortality, isn't it?"
"What's that you're putting all over it?"
She smiled, "It's an extract from one of our plants – it's an oil that keeps metals from rusting. Helps keep them sharp. And it seems to cause most other species to break out in a horrible itchy rash." She chuckled.
"Oh THAT stuff. It's like warp-powered poison ivy – keep it the heck away from me."
But that evening, everyone was enjoying an all-too-rare moment when all four of them were home on Dosad. As was normal in that culture, there were a few extra guests at the table, which only added to the enjoyment and the stories being told around it.
During a pause in the conversations, little Heather came up to Sooth and offered her a small package.
"What's this, kit?" she asked.
"Grammy Heather taught me how to make it. And she said Christmas is when we give presents to remember those who died for us and its s'posed to be something really special."
Opening it up, she found a pink heart, just about the size of her kit's hand. "Oh, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed.
"It's a sticker! If you put it on your helmet, it'll keep you safe, too. We prayed over it and she even had the vicar bless it so it'll work!" Heather continued with all the earnest belief of a child.
There were indulgent smiles all around as Sooth tried to explain, "Oh, Heather, it's lovely, but, my armor is all those special colors so that I'm hard to see. If I put this on it..." seeing her daughter's expression, she changed her mind in mid-sentence, "...um, on the side, it'll keep me safe and bad people won't be able to see it, but I'll know it's there."
Wilkes was trying to hide a smile, as were Corin and Eletha. A pink heart on battle armor would be something to see – and would likely attract the Captain's attention as well.
Heather said, "You have to promise me, mommy. Grammy Heather said you never break a promise."
Trapped, Sooth said, "Oh, Heather, I promise. I'll put it on my helmet when we go aboard again."
Getting a kiss and a lick from her smallest kit, she carefully set the sticker aside, wondering how she was going to manage to live up to that particular promise.
One of the visitors, N'Orel himself, asked "When do you all report back aboard?"
Sooth answered "We've got almost 6 weeks until we're done refitting the Delos with all her new fighter upgrades. So we get a little vacation, and it works out perfectly – Starfleet's given Wilkes detached duty until the Delos can rendezvous with the Hood after that. He just works in Engineering with us.
Eletha chuckled "Starfleet lets you spend more time on Dosad and the Delos than your own ship, Wilkes! And didn't you spend six months on Earth doing all that training? Do your shipmates even know you any more?"
"You kidding?" Wilkes laughed back, "Chief Engineer White and Commander Thelev seem to know pretty much everything I ever do anywhere."
N'Orel asked again, "Then we'll have time to conclude our current dealings with K'mpok?"
"Sure. No problem with that at all. We should be able to wrap that up in a couple of weeks."
"And when is the tame Hydran spy coming to visit again?"
That got chuckles from pretty much everyone around the table. Before Wilkes could answer, Eletha spoke, "We've communicated quite a lot since Kaileen's death. He seems to blame himself for not getting there fast enough, or for what he taught him. I keep trying to explain to him that no one sees it that way – Kaileen was a warrior. Jons gave him the tools he needed to protect others. Anyway, I've told him to come visit soon and to bring his family. He said he's very busy on Hydra with other business but he'll be here in a month or so. Since he didn't say what it was, I assume it's spying."
More chuckles and even N'Orel tried to hide a smile.
At the pause, one of the dinner guests pulled out a flute and began to play a bouncy tune, only getting a few notes into it before Eletha's little girl Ceena picked up a small drum and began to keep time. In a few minutes, everyone was either playing or singing along.
Hours later, after songs, stories, and more than a little bit of the green Dosadi version of whiskey, folks began to drift off to find someplace to sleep. As Corin curled up around Eletha, nuzzling her as she dropped off to sleep, he wondered just when he had decided that they were mates. It had to have been shortly after Sooth's kits were born. And again he thought about Nollos. They were so different.
Holding her tightly to him, listening to her breathing getting deeper, he felt that was a good thing. Things were finally settling down in everyone's lives.