The devil's cauldron.
Chapter Six.
Kathryn was exhausted but could not rest, her thoughts kept her awake planning. Before they had fallen asleep Tula and Temora had filled her in with as much information regarding the work they were doing deep in the volcanoe, and what they suspected the Tagorians were really up to.
The facade and web of lies the Proconsul had weaved to cover up the covert operation was astonishing, and regardless of Kathryn's adherence to the Prime Directive, events had been set in motion that she could not leave unchecked. Could she really sit back and do nothing, allowing her crew to be captured and used as slaves?
Stranding them in the Delta Quadrant was bad enough, getting them killed was unthinkable, and to sit back while genocide was being commited. Not on her watch. To hell with General Order # 1. If Captain James T Kirk could break it, then so could she.
Rules are always good to have as guidlines, but every problem should be judged individually. One regulation does not fit all situations. Some flexibility is required depending on the circumstances, Kathryn told herself. So now that dilema was out of the equation, she could concentrate on the more urgent problem at hand, how to shut down this operation.
Kathryn sat up and looked around. She could see no one else was awake, the guards had slunk off a while back to sleep with their women, the lackeys they'd left to watch over the prisoners, had long since dozed off. She got up quietly, but Tula sensed her movement and caught Kathryn by the arm.
"Where are you going?" She whispered alarmed.
"I need to find a way to get us out of here so that I can contact my ship."
"I'll come with you and keep look-out. Two heads are better than one.
Kathryn nodded and they tip-toed quietly past the sleeping bodies of their fellow prisoners. They could hear the sound of the graveyard shift hard at work, and went to investigate the rate of progress. Tula had heard one of the Scientists say earlier, that in another fifty feet the diggers should be through. At the pace the work was going, they estimated it would be about twenty four hours, and the final phase could be put into action.
The Proconsul had been informed of Chakotay's visit to the planet and his meeting with the Regent, but he was not unduly worried. It was down to timing now, with all evidence and the Bagothan population gone the Trade consortium would have no proof that anything unfair had been going on. Two ships had been dispatched to intercept the shuttle before it could reach it's destination to make trouble and upset his shedule.
The Senior officer Tuvok on Voyager, was proving a nigglesome annoyance, but not wishing for a time consuming confrontation the Proconsul kept communication to a bare minimum, and blocked any links they had with their engineer B'Elanna and Captain. They had sent an away team to investigate but Vazúl had them collected and locked up, he doubted Tuvok would send any more for a while.
The Krühlen would attend to Voyager when they get back from dealing with the Delta Flyer, or the Hazari if they arrived first. Vazúl just had to sit tight and stall long enough, then all the problematic people would be dealt with, he would get a tidy sum for Janeway and her ship as a nice bonus on top of what he was getting for this clean-up operation on the planet.
Vazúl chuckled to himself, he was never good at sports or accademics, but he did know how to organize and manipulate people, making a handsome profit out of it. So much for his fathers prediction that he would not amount to anything. He was in control of an army and fleet, was Proconsul over a planet and part owner of a mining colony, raking in riches way beyond his wildest dreams, he had proved his Tagorian father wrong many times over and that pleased him greatly. He had inherited his Krühlen mother's genes, and for that he was truely grateful, they had got him to where he was today.
Doing someone's dirty work was a lucrative way to get rich and powerful fast, if you had the knack and no scruples or conscience to get in the way. Vazúl was not hindered by such traits.
The Tagorians wanted the planet, and he was helping them to achieve their goal. Wealth fuels greed, greed fuels wealth, wealth was power, the more he got, the more he wanted, and nothing was going to get in his way.