Chapter 28 —


Three days had passed since StarFleet and Bands vessels had warred in Sol system in order to settle the issues between them, and it was now that the Hegemony's armada entered Vulcan space… what thoughts, if any, occurred to the Gorn as they passed a planet now devoid of its people due to their actions can only be surmised, but the fact remains that the Gorn passed Vulcan by without pause.

Delta Vega caught their attention though, even in passing, for although the armada maintained its speed and heading for Sol system, a huge troop transport ship, fifty decks high, dropped out of warp and assumed orbit round Delta Vega… that metal leviathan was joined by three combat cruisers, there to protect the transport, for although sensors said this system was devoid of enemy ships, there were ways to spoof sensors by hiding in the shadows of various celestial bodies, and then of course The Breed and the Uhlans had that damned ceramic coating which defied Gorn scans by, and large and forced them to rely on optical scans.

Still, after two hours time and a thorough sensor scan of the planet, the Gorn determined that Echo One was the only site of interest on Delta Vega, and soon after, six shuttles departed the transport mother ship to land at Echo One, for the Gorn had long suspected that the Bands were based hereabouts, either in the Vulcan system, or the nearby Andorian system, and now they meant to find out.


And just about the time that the Gorn scouts landed on Delta Vega, the newly minted Minister Tucker held his first press conference on Earth, just after being sworn in by the Princeps Senatus, on the floor of the Senate Chambers. This whole circus was something Trip could have done without, but the ritual had symbolic value, and symbols were sometimes important. So here he was…

"Yes," said Trip, looking at an older man who'd caught his eye.

"Miles Davel, with The Telegraph," said the man. "Minister Tucker, would you care to share your plans to defend the Sol system with our readers?"

"No," said Trip.

"May I ask why?" said Davel.

"Those plans are on a need to know basis," said Trip.

A comely blond caught Trip's eye next, and the man gave the reporter a slight nod.

"Haley Ann Drake, with the Financial Times, Minister Tucker," said the reporter. "You've just been sworn in, Minister, but I see that your actions and your motives are already being questioned in the media. Your response?"

"I don't care what you say," said Trip, "so long as you spell my name with a T, not an F."

A few of the reporters found that amusing, but not Drake, who plowed onward.

"Public opinion is an important part of politics," said Drake, "and you're a politician now, Minister Tucker."

"Hopefully not for long," said Trip.

An older female caught Trip's eye next, and the woman said, "Kendra Standish, with the Guardian. Since we're on the topic, how long do you envision that your political career will last, Minister Tucker?

"Until the Gorn are defeated, or StarFleet is ready to assume defense of the Sol system on its own account."

"That could take years, Minister Tucker," said Standish.

"It could," said Trip, "but hopefully not. Even as we speak, Romulan scouts, working with The Breed's scouts, are doing constant recon missions in Hegemony space. After we beat this armada back, we hope to go for the Hegemony's jugular, and wipe out their remaining tech base, driving them back into their version of the Stone Age, and thus rendering them impotent until the next passage of Nemesis."

And so it went for the next hour, before Trip called an end to it all, and made way for his shuttle, T'Pol by his side, as well as Malcolm. He'd wanted to come here alone, Trip had, but both T'Pol and Malcolm had insisted on accompanying him here… they both seemed quite wary too, even now, and Trip wrote it off as nerves over finding themselves in the midst of undisciplined civilians.

Still, better than bringing Ke'Zrell, for the Klingon had loudly insisted on accompanying Trip as well, and had not desisted in his demands until Malcolm and T'Pol had a private word with the Klingon… God knows what they told the Klingon, but Ke'Zrell was mollified, and agreed to remain on Tek'Xzen.


TressKan, leader of the Gorn scouts on Delta Vega, now stood before a rocky outcropping some three miles to the East of Echo One. His scouts had passed through Echo One and found nothing of much interest there… what interested them all though, was the scent trail leading out of Echo One, and to the East.

See, the filth which had until recently occupied this primitive city had done a good job of concealing visual signs of their passage out of there, but 50,000 Humans, Vulcans and other alien species passing over that same ground left more than enough minute debris to mark their passage to the Gorn's sensitive olfactory sense: oils and solvents on the bottom of their shoes, organic matter such as spit and mucus, cigarette butts, chewing gums and such things.

Lasrran's scent sang with eagerness, and as TressKan's personal retainer as well as his lieutenant, Lasrran had the freedom to address his commander without pressing need.

Lassran growled a beastial noise with an odd sing-song quality to it: "I trust we hunt these hairless monkeys down into their holes, Commander?"

TressKan's growl was quite direct: "We do."


Trip, Malcolm and T'Pol had finally broken free of both the Senate's guards and the reporters with their camera crews, and they moved for the freight elevator which would take them to the roof top, and their shuttle... just as well, for Trip was exhausted after a long day, but Malcolm and T'Pol seemed fine, both looking about them as if they were fascinated by this relatively dull part of the Senate Chambers building…

Whatever, thought Trip.

A chime sounded and the lift door slid aside, Malcolm rudely pushing past Trip to be the first in the elevator… only to freeze, briefly, then curse softly.

"Not you, damn you," said Malcolm. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hello, Malcolm," said Harris.

"We'll take the next lift," said Malcolm, and Harris laughed.

"Oh, come on, Malcolm," said Harris. "We're old friends. Besides I'm here to speak with Minister Tucker, not you."

Trip had watched all this quietly, but now Harris turned to Trip, and smiled.

"Join me, Minister Tucker," said Harris. "Please."

Trip moved past Malcolm and into the lift, after which Malcolm and T'Pol followed Trip's lead, and Malcolm put the lift in motion for the roof, looking at Harris with a disgruntled look on his face, while T'Pol merely watched the stranger like a Vulcan hawk.

"I take it you and Malcolm know each other?" said Trip.

"In a matter of speaking, Minister," said Harris. "Malcolm used to work for me. He was one of my best, until he quit to join StarFleet."

"You don't say. You know, he's always been quite secretive about his past," said Trip, grinning at Malcolm. "I don't suppose you'd care to enlighten us all about Lt. Reeds's shady past?"

"I would not," said Harris. "Anyway, I'm not here to talk about Lt. Reed. I'm here to introduce myself. I'm Harris, and I'm at your service, Minister Tucker."

"And why is that?" said Trip.

"Your goal is to save the Sol system from the Gorn," said Harris. "That's reason enough, Minister."

"I suppose," said Trip. "What sort of services are you offering, Harris?

"Information, for a start," said Harris. "Protection if necessary."

"Protection," said Trip. "From whom?"

"Who knows, Minister. The world is a dangerous place," said Harris, "and your associates seem to know that, even if you do not. Or haven't you noticed how vigilant Malcolm and this large breasted Vulcan beauty have been the whole time you've been on Earth."

T'Pol merely raised brow at Harris' comment, while Malcolm ignored it, but Trip snickered even as he put everything together, only to realize that Harris was right - Malcolm and T'Pol had acted more like bodyguards than shipmates the entire night, looking back on it. Even now, T'Pol stood closer to Harris than her own mate, and though she was not directly blocking Harris, she did indeed seem ready to act, practically on the tips of her toes.

"Glad for any assistance you have to offer, Harris," said Trip, just as the lift reached the rooftop. "Good to meet you."

The lift door opened, but Harris spoke before Trip stepped out of the lift.

"Take this," said Harris, holding out a comm unit. "It's untraceable. I can always get a hold of you, but with this, you can get a hold of me when you need me."

T'Pol took the comm unit from Harris' hand, and looked at Malcolm.

"It's neither a weapon nor a bug, Commander," said Malcolm, looking at T'Pol. "Harris is a prick, and he'll try to sink his hooks into Minister Tucker if he can, but fortunately for us all, the Minister's goals align with Harris' goals. For now."

T'Pol passed the comm unit to her mate, and Trip pocketed the unit, then said, "Much obliged, Harris."

Minutes later, as the shuttle lifted off the roof, on course for Tek'Xzen, Malcolm looked at Trip, and said, "I'll counsel you to avoid Harris, but if you're really in trouble, he can deliver. Use him only as a last resort though, you understand?"

"Yeah."

"Hey," said Malcolm, fixing Trip with a stern look. "I'm serious. You don't want to owe that bastard anything if you can help it."

Trip nodded, silently wondering exactly that Malcolm had done for this Harris, in his past…


Once TressKan, the scouts leader, had notified the Priest-King on the transport of their discovery, of the thousands of warm-blooded kwiska, rightful prey, hiding beneath Delta Vega's crust, a wondrous thing happened, for unlike the three combat cruisers, the troop transport was capable of atmospheric flight and entry, and without delay, the giant ship began a rapid descent to Delta Vega's surface, even as the descent through the atmosphere created a wondrous fireball to the heat sensitive sight of the Gorn scouts…

...that fireball coming from on high, announced to all that the battle for Delta Vega had in fact just begun, though no shots had yet been fired by either combatant.