Chapter Twelve

The conference room of the Beldek, if that was indeed what it was, was expansive. I sat with my hands resting on the large, onyx-black table, waiting for Spock and Picard. There were three Remans sprawled out on the floor; Weston and Johnstone had been assigned to transporting all the Remans to the brig, but they had not gotten to these yet.

Picard entered, and close at his heels was Spock. They stepped over one of the Remans and took seats at the table. Picard spoke first.

"I'll be very frank, gentlemen. I believe that we are being set up."

"What?" I said. "How so?" Spock, who now stared through his steepled fingers at the table, responded.

"The capture of this vessel was far too easy. There can be no doubt of it. The Remans expected us to take this ship."

"But that doesn't make any sense," I countered. "Think of how many Remans died back there. And surely this V'Eral character couldn't have known what was going to happen beforehand. Even if he were willing to sacrifice the lives of his men, he had no way of knowing that he himself wouldn't be killed."

"Still," Picard said, "the capture was far too easy. Any decent military ship would have had procedures in place to stop us the minute we boarded, whether their Commander gave them orders or not. It was simply too easy to have been anything but a setup." I sat back in my chair, running a hand through my hair. If it was true, then we were flying this ship right into a trap of some sort.

"There are two questions," Spock said, interrupting my thoughts. "The first is why we would be set up. The second is what we must do about it."

"We could break off and head back toward Federation space," I offered. Picard shook his head.

"Unfortunately, the other ships can detect us through the cloak, and they would pursue. We wouldn't stand a chance. And Spock is right about the first question; I think if we knew why they set us up, it might help us know what to do about it."

"If you knew that this was a setup, why the hell did you agree to what Admiral Heaton asked?" I asked. Picard leaned forward, the corners of his mouth turning down sharply.

"Because I believe Admiral Heaton is behind the plot."