Chapter 15
"Nan?"
Jamie shook the newswoman gently and laid a damp rag across her forehead. She was rewarded with a groan. "You're awake! Let me help you sit up."
"Augh," Nan moaned. She made no move to sit up but continued to lie on the cold, hard deck of the cell.
"Come on," Jamie insisted. "Get up. You've been unconscious for hours."
"W-what?" Nan sat up. She scooted away from the doorway, her dark eyes wide and full of horror. "No!"
She shook her head. "No. Anything. I'll do anything! Stop it! I—" She broke off and focused on Jamie. "Jamie?" Then she burst into choking sobs that shook her entire body.
Jamie threw her small arms around Nan. "It's all right, Nan. They're gone. I'm sure they'll leave us alone till morning."
Nan drew a deep, ragged breath and choked back the rest of her sobs. "I'm . . . s-sorry, Jamie," she apologized. "I c-can't help it. I d-don't seem to have any c-control."
She took two more deep breaths. Then she managed a small smile. "I'm sorry I frightened you. It was like waking up from a horrible nightmare. But it's fading now. I'll be all right."
Until next time, Jamie thought, but she said nothing aloud. Instead, she smiled back. "Do you remember what happened?"
"Enough." Nan shuddered and explained a little of her experiences.
Jamie nodded. "Sounds like the agonizer. It's awful."
Nan buried her head in her hands. "Awful doesn't begin to describe it. They kept increasing the level and the duration until I thought I would die from the pain. I can't stand it."
She locked gazes with Jamie. "I'm afraid I will report the news exactly as they say. I haven't any choice."
"You don't. Be glad they only used the agonizer. There are worse things. If they thought you were hiding something, they wouldn't hesitate to use the mind-sifter on you. But . . ." Jamie sighed. "There wouldn't be much left of your mind if they did that."
Nan made a move to get up. "Help me to a bunk, would you? I feel as though I could sleep a week."
Jamie helped the newswoman collapse onto the bunk. Then she reached a tentative hand to Nan's neck and fingered the jeweled neckpiece. "What's this?"
Nan touched her neck. "I don't know. What does it look like?"
"It's a necklace, though it's awfully tight for one. More like a pretty collar. All kinds of jewels—red, blue, yellow. They twinkle." Then she shrugged. "I wonder what it's for."
"I have no idea. They must have put it on me after I collapsed. It's pretty snug." Nan sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm so tired."
Jamie boosted herself onto the cot beside her friend. "Nan?"
Nan peered at Jamie through half-closed eyes. "Yes?"
"I have an idea. It's not a very good one, but it's better than sitting around here waiting for something bad to happen." She pointed at a small square of metal near the ceiling of the cell. "See that air vent?"
Nan craned her neck and nodded.
"I want to crawl around and see where it goes," Jamie said. "Maybe I can find Meyla. Or find a way out of here. If nothing else, I'd like to find myself a good hiding place in case Ms. Feldman comes for me." She shivered. "It's not Commander Kor I'm afraid of."
"The vent looks small."
"I think I can fit. I'm not very big."
Nan shook her head wearily. "No, Jamie. It's too risky. I could never face your dad if I let you go off and get hurt."
"I won't get hurt," Jamie insisted. "And . . . and I'm going anyway."
Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do, she told herself silently. Even if a grownup says no. Especially if the grownup is so sick and hurting that she doesn't know what she's saying.
Jamie took a deep breath. "I have to find a way out. Or a place to hide. And I need you to pretend I'm still here, just in case a guard comes along to check up on us. I've already stuffed blankets under the covering on my bunk. You just need to talk to it once in a while, or pat it and cry."
"Oh, Jamie, no," Nan mumbled.
"I've had lots of time to think it through."
"What if the Klingons come back for another session with their agonizer?"
"It won't happen before morning, Nan. They have to let you recover from the agonizer before going at you again. Too much at one time might destroy your nerves, then you don't feel anything. You're not much use to them that way."
Nan sighed. "For a little girl, you certainly know a number of gruesome facts about Klingons."
"I wish I didn't know anything about Klingons," Jamie said. "I wish I had never met one in my whole, entire life!"
She instantly regretted her quick words. After all, wasn't Kor going to help her? And the boy, Kerla, had been nice to her a long time ago. It's just that there are more scary Klingons than there are nice ones.
She pulled on Nan's arm. "Can you boost me up to the air duct?"
Nan finally agreed and stumbled over to the wall. Jamie climbed onto her shoulders and yanked the vent cover loose. It swung open. Then she grabbed the edge, and with Nan's help shimmied into the narrow, cramped spaces of the Korbin's ventilation system.
Nan closed the swinging cover shut with a soft click. "Good luck."
"Thanks."
The ventilation shaft of the Korbin was much narrower than Jamie expected. It was filthy too. She soon found herself covered with a thick layer of dust. She rubbed her nose to keep from sneezing.
Jamie had no idea what she hoped to gain by this adventure. She was pretty sure wouldn't stumble onto Meyla's quarters down here on the detention level.
If Nan didn't feel so rotten, she'd know that too. In fact, she could have kept me from going if she really didn't want me to do this. She must be really, really sick.
Jamie shivered and brushed away the sudden tears that sprang to her eyes. Then she kept crawling.
Maybe I can find a storeroom and escape from detention. Or maybe I can find Commander Kor. He's nice . . . for a Klingon. Maybe he'll hide me from Ms. Feldman. I'm really scared of her.
The air shaft was pocketed with small screens that let in a fair amount of pale light, but none of the screens she peered through offered anything hopeful. They led to detention cells identical to the one she had just left.
A few minutes later, Jamie heard a clanging sound and a number of harsh voices. She brought her face close to the screen on her left. Through it she saw a large room filled with tables, chairs, games, weapons . . . and a handful of Klingons. They were lounging around the tables, eating and drinking. They looked bored. A couple of the guards were arguing.
"It's your rotation, Braas," a loud, rasping voice snapped. "Check on the prisoners, or the commander will have the agonizer on you."
Braas made no move to leave his drink. "A weakling female and a small brat are going somewhere? I'll check 'em when I'm done with this drink."
"You'll check 'em now, private!" An older Klingon yanked Braas from his seat and landed a fist to his jaw. "I don't care if this milk-run's not to our liking, or that the commander seems to have gotten soft-bellied toward our enemies, but you're going to do your job."
Braas landed with a thud against the far wall. He shook his head groggily and pulled himself up with a grunt. "You may be loyal to Kor," he growled, "but it's K'traz who'll have the last word aboard this ship."
"Get out of here before I put the agonizer on you myself!" the Klingon bellowed. "There's something going on aboard the Korbin that I don't think even Kor is aware of. Something K'traz"—he spat—"and that half-breed renegade female have cooked up between themselves. I don't like it."
"It's true the commander has been in an abominable mood the past couple of weeks," another officer agreed. "Is there a way of finding out what's happening?"
"That kind of talk will get you the agonizer. We know nothing. We follow orders. That's the best way to stay alive."
There were murmurs of agreement, then silence as the Klingons fell into their seats. The hapless Braas stumbled from the room.
Jamie shivered at the talk of trouble aboard the Korbin. She scrambled past the vent.
She was ready to concede defeat as far as finding any side passages to explore, when she saw an opening to her right. Yay! She could use it to turn around and head back. Butt as she scooted into the vent, she noticed a bright square of light brighter than any she had yet seen. Curious, Jamie approached it.
Suddenly, something grew warm against her chest. She reached down the neckline of her tunic and pulled out her Ice Flake. Then she gasped.
Jamie had forgotten she was wearing her Ice Flake. She'd kept it hidden under her shirt to avoid curious stares and questions. Now, as she pulled it out, she saw it swirling with patterns of glowing blues and purples. At the same time, it grew hotter. Jamie let it drop. She watched it pulse angrily at the end of its chain.
Why is it glowing and heating up?
Perhaps the answer lay behind the bright square of light just ahead. Cautiously, Jamie put her face to the screen. She was rewarded with the sight of a large room equipped with all kinds of high-tech equipment. It was obviously a lab.
Three Klingons dressed in lab robes stood over an odd-looking device fitted with a Seri Stone. The stone glowed in reds and yellows. It pulsed as one of the Klingons made an adjustment to the knob holding the Seri Stone and another, more familiar stone—a dilithium crystal.
Jamie watched the Klingons exchange a look of triumph as they studied a computer simulation showing the output of energy. It shot clear to the top of the screen and stayed there.
"That's it."
Jamie recognized the owner of the voice. It was K'traz. He stared at the simulation with a look of satisfaction. "You're sure Kor knows nothing?"
"We've been careful," the shorter Klingon said.
"He'll kill us, you know, if he finds out what we've been doing behind his back, and behind the back of the Klingon High Command," K'traz said. "But our discovery is worth the risk, and soon our victory over the other clans will be assured."
Jamie turned cold inside. Whatever these Klingons were doing had something to do with the Seri Stones, something they didn't want Kor to find out about. She felt for her own stone. It was still hot to the touch. Whatever they were doing to the Seri Stone in the machine was affecting her own stone, even though it wasn't anywhere near the others.
K'traz let out a long, slow breath. "Congratulations, kinsmen. We have done it. When the K'tron Clan controls the Council, you will be able to name your own price."
The tall Klingon nodded his agreement. "Anyone would pay a king's ransom for a weapon of this magnitude. Coupled with dilithium crystals, Seri Stones will make our weapons invincible." He pointed to the power curve on the screen. "They'll slice through a ship's shields like a hot knife through butter."
K'traz nodded. "We will soon control Jovita's Seri Stones." He bent close to his companions. "Tell no one of this. We will unveil our new weapon after we win the trade agreement. We will then annex Jovita into the Empire and take what we need of their stones."
K'traz exited the simulation program and pulled a small computer disk from the machine. "Here is the procedure, the matrices—all the data pertaining to our device. Make copies of this disk for the Clan. And don't forget to encrypt it. Then secure the disks in a safe place. It won't do for Kor to stumble across this."
He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Once we take Jovita, we will strike such a blow to the Federation that the Organians will be caught off guard."
The others grinned. "So be it!"
"Dismantle the equipment and store it away before Kor decides to come snooping around. He's been asking too many questions of late." K'traz smiled. "Then we'll drink in celebration."
He swept from the room without a backward glance.
The two Klingons watched him leave. "K'traz gets all the glory while we do all the work," the shorter one complained. "I'm for a drink before we tackle this. What do you say?"
"Certainly, kinsman. We'll lock the lab and be back in a minute." The two Klingons slipped quietly from the room.
Jamie let out the breath she'd been holding. She hadn't understood half of what they were talking about, but she didn't need to be an engineer to figure out that the Klingons had discovered a weapon of great power. A weapon that could be used against the small planet of Jovita and against the Federation.
She bit her lip and looked at the countertop, where the data disk lay.
This is bad, she thought. Daddy needs to warn the Federation about what the Klingons are up to. She swallowed. I guess I've got to tell him.
Jamie stared at the disk. She knew what she had to do. She just didn't want to do it. Daddy didn't believe me about Ms. Feldman being the spy. I guess I'd better get the disk, so he'll believe me this time.
Jamie's hands shook. What she was about to do was certainly the scariest, dumbest, and bravest thing she had ever tried to do.
Don't do it! A little voice warned.
Jamie didn't listen to the logical voice inside her head. She pushed hard against the wire grate covering the ventilation shaft. It swung open easily. She looked down and gulped.
Here goes nothing. She tumbled to the hard deck with a yelp.
Jamie scrambled to her feet, breathing hard. She ducked behind some crates and glanced at the door. It remained closed. She looked up at the vent from which she'd fallen and groaned. It was out of reach.
"You've really gotten yourself into a mess this time, Cadet," she muttered. "Mr. Spock would not be pleased. This is so not logical."
Jamie tried not to think about what would happen if the guards returned. Heart pounding, she raced to the countertop and snatched up the dark-bronze disk. Then she fished through the drawers and found a plastic box full of multi-colored disks—bronze, silver, magenta, and gold. She chose a bronze one and set it carefully back in place on the counter.
Sliding the data disk into her boot, she hurried across the lab and leaped for the ventilation shaft. Her fingers caught the edge, but she couldn't pull herself up. It was too high. She tumbled to the ground, breathing hard.
K'traz will make sure I never see the Enterprise again if he catches me in his secret lab.
Her heart raced in terror and she renewed her efforts to reach the duct.
Omph! No use. She simply could not jump high enough.
Shaking, Jamie scanned the lab for something she could use as a step. A couple of storage crates caught her attention, and she ran for them. They were empty.
She pushed them beneath the shaft and went back for two more. She tried to arrange them to look slightly tossed aside. She hoped the Klingons would come back and tear down their equipment with no further delays. Maybe they would be in such a hurry that they wouldn't notice a bunch of crates piled up against the wall.
Jamie scrambled up on the crates and entered the airshaft with a grateful sigh. She began scooting her way back to the brig, when the memory of the open grate slammed her to a sudden halt.
Yikes! Even the stupidest Klingon would notice a screen hanging open.
Crawling as fast as she could, Jamie made her way back to the main duct, turned the corner, backed up, then headed face-first back to that awful lab. She was panting by the time she returned. She reached out and caught the grate. Pulling with all her might, she slammed the screen shut just as the door to the lab whooshed open and the two scientists returned.
Jamie didn't wait around to watch them break down their equipment. She scurried through the air ducts. Her breath came in little gasps. She felt no pride or satisfaction in what she had just done, only a sense of relief that she had not been caught.
At least not yet.
"Nan!" she called softly when she reached the screen of her cell.
The woman stirred. "Jamie?" She stood up and made her way over to the vent. "I'm here. Come down."
Jamie pushed herself through the narrow opening and into Nan's arms. She clung to the newswoman, sobbing. Tear streamed down her face.
Nan secured the grate and carried Jamie to her bunk. "What's the matter, honey? Are you okay? You've been gone a long time."
"Oh, Nan," Jamie managed between sobs. "I've never been so scared in all my life."
"You're a sight. Anybody could see you've been up to something." She hurried to the tiny sink and returned with a moist rag. "Let's get you cleaned up."
Jamie allowed Nan to wash her face and hands and brush the dirt from her clothes. Then she crawled onto her bunk and wrapped a blanket around her trembling shoulders.
Nan sat beside her and laid a gentle hand on her back. "Everything's going to be okay, Jamie. Go to sleep. I'll stay right here beside you all night."
