Chapter 19

James Kirk turned the small bronze disk over in his hands then glanced at Ben'yla in confusion. "This is for me? What is it?"

Ben'yla shrugged. "I have no idea. Meyla insisted I give it to you as soon as I could." He laid a hand on the captain's shoulder. "She didn't tell me what it was, only that her friend Jamie had given it to her to be passed on to you." He smiled. "She made me promise. Does that make any sense?"

"None at all."

Ben'yla chuckled. "Perhaps it is only a game the girls played to pass the time aboard the Klingon vessel. At any rate, I have done what my niece asked, and now I must return to the talks. It has been a long day. The Federation news reporter is making quite a case for the Klingons." He shook his head as though he couldn't quite understand Federation behavior.

Kirk turned to Spock and gave him a questioning look. "What do you think?"

Spock took the disk and raised an eyebrow. "It is intriguing, Captain. With your permission, I will return to the ship and discover what the disk contains."

"By all means," Kirk said. He frowned. "Why would Jamie want to give me a computer disk from a detention cell on the Korbin?"

McCoy shrugged. "Maybe that disk will tell us."

Kirk agreed. "Let me know when you find out anything, Spock."

"Of course."

The captain was about to return to the observers' section, when a tight grasp on his arm brought him to a standstill.

"Jim." McCoy pulled him to the side of the crowded aisle. "Take a look."

Kirk whirled and froze. A dozen meters away, a group of Klingons were making their way toward the huge conference table. Kirk backed away and watched their approach.

K'traz was in the lead, along with a number of guards. Marrid Feldman brought up the rear. She was leading Jamie by the hand.

Kirk choked back a shout of rage. His daughter was trussed up like some kind of Klingon prize. Her head was down, and she shuffled alongside the Klingon woman like a sleepwalker.

"Jamie!" he called.

Jamie gave no response.

"What the devil is wrong with her?" he demanded. "Jamie!" he shouted and lunged forward.

McCoy stopped him. "Remember Kor's warning."

"I don't care. I won't stand around and let that Klingon woman parade Jamie around like some spoil of war." He took two more steps.

McCoy gripped his arm. "Jim. Don't."

"Excellent advice, Dr. McCoy." Marrid's voice was a sliver of ice. She gave the officers a look of triumph and drew near, Jamie firmly in tow.

"Take one last look, Captain Kirk. You will not see her again. After I use her to sway the princess to our side, I intend to take her back to Kronos."

Kirk clenched his fists and stood his ground. Only Kor's warning not to confront Marrid face to face kept him from flying into the woman and giving her the beating she so richly deserved.

"Why are you doing this?" he demanded. "What purpose does it serve? She's just a child." He reached out to touch his daughter, but Marrid yanked her close to her side.

Kirk dropped his hand. "Jamie, honey, look at me."

Jamie kept her eyes on the ground and didn't move.

"She knows whom to obey." Marrid smiled said in satisfaction. Then she nudged her prisoner. "You may look at him, this once."

Jamie raised her head, but she said nothing.

"I'll get you out of this mess, Cadet. I promise."

No answer. Not a nod or a blink. Just the terrified look of a small, helpless animal caught in a trap. It tore at his heart.

Marrid laughed. "Foolish promise, Captain." She nudged Jamie again. "Go on. You have permission to say good-bye."


Jamie looked from Marrid to her father. She didn't know if the Klingon woman meant it or not. Any second she might zap her, and it hurt so bad!

"Go on," Marrid said impatiently. "Before I change my mind."

Jamie took an uncertain step toward her father then looked back. Marrid nodded. She was smiling, but Jamie knew she wasn't being nice.

It's a mean, nasty smile. Like someone who likes to hurt people and laughs when she does. I hate her!

Marrid would enjoy watching her say good-bye for the last time.

Just then, Jamie determined that she would not give that evil Klingon woman the satisfaction of knowing how much she was hurting inside. She would be strong.

I'll show her! She can't make me cry. I'm a Starfleet cadet. Besides, Daddy promised to get me out of this mess. I just have to hang on and be strong

But as her father's strong arms went around her, Jamie couldn't hold back her tears. They had been stuck in her throat all day, and she couldn't help it. She sobbed. Great, heart-wrenching sobs.

She clung to him, squeezing his neck so tight that she was sure she was choking him. Her throat was too tight to say good-bye. It was too tight to say anything at all.

"That's enough." Marrid snapped her fingers.

Just like that, Jamie let go and jumped back. She scurried to Marrid's side without a word. Then she turned and followed her captor to the conference table.

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Kirk groaned. He took a step to follow Jamie and the Klingon woman, but a strong arm pulled him back.

It was Kor. "Leave her for now."

Kirk threw off the commander's grip. He was shaking with anger and helplessness. "Leave her? How can I leave her with that . . . monster? What's wrong, Kor? Jamie looked at Ms. Feldman before saying or doing anything. She's obviously scared out of her wits."

"I imagine she is. For a good reason. Did you see the jeweled neckband she was wearing?

Kirk nodded.

"It's a special collar. She won't misbehave often."

"What are you saying?" Kirk snapped.

"It's a training collar. It delivers a mild, or not so mild shock, depending on the trainer's whim. It's very effective on the Klingon animal population, especially those that are difficult to bring under control any other way."

Kirk stared at Kor.

"It is a variation of the agonizer, with which you are no doubt familiar. It makes even the most stubborn creature compliant." He gave Kirk a look of approval. "Jamie demonstrated considerable self-control."

"There must be something I can do. I can't abandon her."

"The settings can kill," Kor warned. "I have no doubt Marrid will use those settings if you confront her. You must leave your daughter until you come up with a plan to rescue her in such a way as not to give Marrid any warning."

He nodded toward the conference table. "And if you think it is only your daughter who is in danger, think again. Then take a good look at the jewelry around the reporter's neck. Ms. Rushmore is performing as instructed, for the same reason as Jamie."

Kor turned on his heel and left.

The communicator signaled. "Kirk here," he answered, drained.

"Spock here. Captain, you must return to the ship immediately. Something has come up that requires your attention."

"I can't leave right now, Spock. Can't it wait?"

"Negative, Captain. It is imperative that you return."

Kirk stared helplessly at his communicator then at McCoy.

"You'd better find out what's got Spock riled up," the doctor suggested. "If I didn't know better, I'd say our logical Vulcan is distressed. I'll stick around and keep track of Jamie." He smiled. "Don't worry, Jim. I won't leave her."

"All right, Bones." He spoke into the communicator. "Beam me up."

Fifteen minutes later, Kirk was staring at the computer screen with growing alarm. "Run it again." He watched the program run a second time then turned to Spock in disbelief. "Is this even possible?"

Spock's expression was grave. "If the computer simulation is accurate, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise, then this weapon is by far the most serious threat facing the Federation."

"If the Klingons win the trading rights to the Seri Stones, they . . ." Sulu's voice trailed off in obvious horror at the potential destructive power of the weapon.

"They will become a threat we may not be able to withstand," Spock finished.

"The power curve of this is incredible," Scott broke in. "On the order of ten to the—"

"Gentlemen," Kirk interrupted. "There's no time to discuss the details of this new discovery. We must take action." He looked around the table. "Recommendations?"

"The Jovitians must be warned of the true reason the Klingons want exclusive trading rights with them," Spock said. "Once they have a sufficient number of Seri Stones to construct a prototype of this weapon, the planet Jovita will be the most logical choice as a target. The Klingons rarely continue to buy what they can get for nothing."

Kirk folded his hands and laid them on the table. He locked gazes with his first officer and friend. "Mr. Spock, you know I can't take this disk down to the trade conference and project it on a screen. Have you forgotten the Klingons are holding two Federation citizens as a guarantee for securing the stones? If I reveal this new information, the Jovitians will withdraw their support of the Klingon offer. How do you suppose the Klingons will react to that?"

"Poorly," Spock admitted.

"Worse than poorly," Kirk shot back. "They will conclude, and rightly so, that someone stole this top-secret disk out from under their noses. They won't have to look far to find the guilty. Jamie will be in grave danger."

"Jamie is already in grave danger, Captain," Spock countered. "You must present this to the Jovitians. You have no choice. The Jovitians will sign their own death warrant if they support the Klingon proposition."

"I will not share this until we come up with a plan to get Nan Rushmore and Jamie out of there," Kirk insisted.

"What's preventing the Enterprise from beaming them aboard right now, Captain?" Sulu wanted to know.

"Mr. Kyle is good at his job, Lieutenant, but even he would have a hard time sorting out two specific human life signs in a conference of over ten-thousand. It's packed down there."

"But Captain," Uhura broke in. "It wouldn't be difficult to lock onto two humans with subcutaneous translators implanted."

The briefing room went quiet.

"What did you say?" Kirk whispered.

"Well, sir," Uhura continued cheerfully, "unless someone has removed the translation devices that Nan Rushmore and Jamie have been wearing the past couple of weeks, they should be easy to track. Each has its own unique signature, which comes through loud and clear."

"How long would it take you to locate them by the translator implants?"

"Would five minutes be too long?" Uhura smiled and rose from her seat.

Kirk grinned his answer then turned to his engineer. "Scotty, I want you to handle this precision beaming personally."

"Aye, sir." Scott stood.

"Uhura, when you get a fix on Jamie and Ms. Rushmore, let Mr. Scott know. I'll be in the transporter room."

"Yes, sir," came the hasty reply.

"By the way, Lieutenant . . ."

"Yes, sir?"

"Well done."

"Why, thank you, sir."