15

Barge of the Dead

Ta'Bob Bobba Dus strode into the large room and shuddered at the low temperature and ghastly feeling that crept over him. He was seldom in the morgue, the travelers rescued 95 percent of those getting injured while visiting the planet and the empaths who died held little meaning to him.

The chancellor jerked around as a man stepped out of the shadows to his right and sighed with relief as it turned out to be Doctor Tee'Pa Dus Do.

The doctor offered him a tight smile, seeing the fright in the other man's eyes. "I won't hold it against you," he said as he gestured for him to come further into the room.

It was a grisly example of a man that lay before them. Wild, yet unseeing, eyes seemed to stare at them through the grasp of death and the hair lay tousled around the face like an edgy frame. His mouth was open and revealed bloodied sharp teeth.

The chancellor frowned with dismay as he took in the sight before him and studied the protruding ridges on the Klingon's forehead which looked both sinister and foreboding at the same time. The body was toned and fit even though it was battle-scarred and wounded beyond salvation.

"This is a skilled warrior and his physique makes him a dangerous opponent," Doctor Tee'Pa Dus Do explained seriously. "Add a fanatic personality and it would be hard to come out as the winning party in a fight."

"You do not attack someone without a reason," the chancellor mused as he forced himself to look away from the dead alien and focus on the doctor who was standing opposite him. "Why would he attack the Starfleet officers?"

"Not every action in this world is rational," the chief physician pointed out.

"Unless Ta'Rex Da Od wasn't actually on to something-," he said thoughtfully. Seeing he had lost the doctor, he hastily explained; "He thought the Federation flagship appeared in orbit around Circusia to track down those savages."

"Doctor Tee'Pa Dus Do frowned, not looking overly convinced by the statement.

"Then all this is starting to make sense," the chancellor went on smartly.

The doctor jerked backwards at the raspy sound of a man's voice coming from the com-bracelet around the chancellor's left wrist.

"Come again?" Ta'Bob Bobba Dus said.

"There's a call from the battlecruiser, sir," his most trusted and senior communication's expert explained over the line.

He smiled. "Good, I was planning on talking to them myself. Can you redirect the call to the – morgue?"

"The morgue, sir?" the expert echoed with surprise.

"You heard me," he replied seriously.

The two men watched the large display of crystal-clear glass spring to life before them. The dull, grey walls of the morgue were instantly replaced by a colorful picture of the bridge onboard the USS Enterprise.

The doctor, who had not seen the large command central, reacted with amazement while the chancellor broke into a smug smile as he saw who was calling.

"Captain Christopher," Ta'Bob Bobba Dus acknowledged brightly. "I see that the rumors of your death were greatly exaggerated."

"I notice that you have a 'friend' of mine on the slab behind you," he remarked coldly.

The two Circusians shared a curious look at the captain's peculiar statement.

"Have you seen this species before, Captain Christopher?" Ta'Bob Bobba Dus finally asked, wondering, once again, if there was some truth behind Ta'Rex Da Od's earlier suggestion that the Enterprise appeared at Circusia to look for the savages.

"I have a question for you," Pike replied seriously from where he sat in a chair in the middle of the bridge. "And I do want the truth this time, chancellor. When was the last time you made contact with a new species?"

Ta'Bob Bobba Dus sighed and shook his head in defeat. "I am afraid that I don't know exactly when they got here but our estimates are a few weeks before you appeared."

Pike nodded but before he could say anything the chancellor continued.

"Is that why you are here?" he asked. "To track down and find those savages and take them back to where they came from?"

"No, not exactly," Pike replied. "We are here to establish first contact with your people. Like I told you earlier; we are explorers from the United Federation of Planets. Our journey has been long, sometimes hard and difficult. Your planet not only appeared to be well suited for a first contact mission but also for shore leave for my crew. I have not deceived you or mislead you in any way."

"But you hid the truth about the Klingons from us," Una said as she stepped down next to Chris, having come from the turbolift. She swallowed as she felt she had the entire bridge crew's eyes upon her.

Chris forced himself to stay focused on the Circusian and not his suddenly healthy XO.

"Klingons," the chancellor echoed as he turned around to look at the dead creature behind him. "So that is what they are really called."

Chris pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure, his tone of voice cold as he spoke up again. "Two years ago, the Klingon-Federation war came to an end and a truce was signed between our people."

Una made to stand closer to Chris as she looked at the view screen. "The Klingon Empire is made up of conquerors – they seek obedience from others, they seek glory in battles and they favor oppression," she explained seriously. "They were a formidable enemy."

"How do I know you're telling me the truth?" Ta'Bob Bobba Dus asked, far from pleased with the discussion so far.

Pike shrugged casually. "You don't. You will have to trust me the same way I'll have to trust you in this matter."

The chancellor opened his mouth to say something but Pike beat him to it.

"The remains of their ship – or should I say ships – have created an impressive debris field several lightyears from your planet. Now-," he leaned forward in his chair, his face serious. "-Klingons never give up; they die with glory or preferably not at all. Disgrace is one of their worst fears."

Una continued. "The crew compliment of a Klingon Bird-of-Prey is 121," she stated matter of factly. "Our sensors have found only four life signs matching the profile of a Klingon warrior. Perhaps I should ask you where the rest of them are?"

The chancellor blanched at the number given. It was clear that he hadn't considered the possibility that there could be over a hundred Klingons roaming the planet. He sat down in a nearby chair, trying to gather himself.

The chief medical officer walked up to him but the chancellor waved him off.

The doctor then turned to the Starfleet officers displayed on the screen. "How is it possible? You said their ship was gone – we've never even seen it – how did they get here?" he asked.

Ta'Bob Bobba Dus slammed his fist hard into the armrest of the chair, his teeth clenched. "Beaming technology," he said.

Pike turned to nod at someone outside the range of the screen and suddenly the Vulcan science officer stepped into view to the captain's right side.

"Chancellor," he acknowledged with a slight nod. "I do not know of your definition of 'beaming technology' but Starfleet ships has had the ability to transport human and matter for over a hundred years.

Ta'Bob Bobba Dus and Tee'Pa Dus Do shared a look of surprise.

"During our journey outside Federation territory, the knowledge of beaming matter – or teleportation as it was called in the early days – has varied. To some people it is simply unknown or unheard of while it is commonly used in certain societies," Spock explained.

Pike stepped in. "The Klingon Empire uses beaming technology to move from place to place when it is possible," he said. "However, the four individuals we have encountered are the only ones on your planet."

The chancellor straightened in the chair he'd been slumped in. "Are you sure?" he asked.

The captain nodded. "Yes, unless there are rock formations underneath the surface which the Enterprise's sensors can't scan for Klingon life-signs," he replied.

"So, you have been looking for them?" Ta'Bob Bobba Dus stated, his voice chilly. "Several days and you didn't think it polite to tell me?"

"I'd advise you to consider your own actions, chancellor," Spock spoke up evenly, standing next to the captain, his hands clasped behind his back. "You failed to mention the, so called, savages for a long time. You had plenty of opportunities to alert Captain Pike to the fact that there was an unknown species on your planet. In fact, the captain even asked you directly when your last new contact had taken place. Even then you failed to give a truthful answer."

Ta'Bob Bobba Dus glanced down at his feet, realizing his mistake.

"Lieutenant Spock saw them," Pike filled in. "They followed our arrival from a distance."

"I see," the chancellor finally mumbled as he looked up to face the screen again.

"There is something else we need to discuss," Pike said seriously. "But I think that conversation should be face to face."

"Very well, please beam down to my office early tomorrow morning – your time - and I'll see you there," Ta'Bob Bobba Dus replied.

"Good, bring your chief physician with you. It concerns the empaths," he said curtly as the connection ended.

Ta'Bob Bobba Dus stared at the screen a long after the image of the Starfleet officer had vanished.

OOOOOO

Jamila Amin broke into a grin as Number One entered the diplomat's office on deck three to join her. It was a rare sight from the somewhat stern lieutenant. "I am thankful for your speedy recovery," she said kindly and added with a twinkle in her eyes. "Although, I am still not ready to buy this miracle thing."

Una laughed as she teamed up with her, used to sit next to the other woman while on bridge duty. She had a fair idea what was on her mind as she sat down opposite her and shook her head. "One would think that, after having been through so many strange things during our first five-year-mission together, I would have learned to think outside the box – learned to expect the unexpected."

Jamila smirked amusedly. "I would say that our perspective of what is the unexpected is constantly changing," she reasoned.

"True," she answered. "So, how are we doing with the crew manifest and the shore leave schedule?"

"We're still sending people down in shuttles," Amin informed. "Louvier and I came to the decision that we would not stop shore leave unless you or the captain ordered it."

Una nodded seriously. "Have you discussed it further with Doctor Boyce or our chief of security Lieutenant Mann?"

"Phil surprisingly had no objections. He even felt it was better for the crew to be ferried down. Claimed it would boost the moral. I guess he's right about that; we've been travelling almost non-stop for several months. Effectivity is down and depressions are starting to rise amongst certain ranks."

The XO nodded.

"As for Trina – when she wasn't fuming over Klingons or Circusians – she didn't see any reasons to postpone, delay or cancel the shore leave," Amin added.

Una tilted her head and made a face. "Well, if neither medical nor security see any reason to cancel the leave, then I won't and I am sure the captain wont," she said softly.

"Is the cat out of the proverbial bag yet?" Jamila asked curiously with a smirk. "It would make life easier if we could just beam down in larger groups instead of running shuttle traffic. Or would it be looked upon with an unfriendly eye and fear of invasion?"

"I'll have a word with Chris about it later. I do have a feeling he'll have to work a little on that one," she replied.

Jamila looked at her superior officer with slight concern. "Is he all right?" she asked carefully. "Scuttle butt did say he was in a pretty bad shape before this empathic being saved him – and you."

Una sighed wearily, looking like she had aged several years in just a few minutes. She shook her head and turned to focus her eyes on her colleague's. She opened her mouth to speak, hesitating for a moment. "I'd say our captain came this close to dying down there," she finished, while holding up her hand to show her an almost invisible gap between her thumb and index finger.

Amin shuddered involuntarily at the thought and reminded herself to upgrade her fighting skills and martial arts techniques.

OOOOOO

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