Star Trek: Vanguard - 007 - What Judgments Come by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

Author:Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore [Ward, Dayton & Dilmore, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Science Fiction, Media Tie-In, Space Opera, Adventure
ISBN: 9781451608632
Google: xYGgwYExt-sC
Amazon: 1451608632
Publisher: Star Trek
Published: 2011-09-27T07:00:00+00:00

20

Wait!

Festrene called out to his companion, Hazthrene, cautioning him not to give hasty chase as the large Klingon with the weapon fell over the edge of the plateau and out of sight. Its mate—a female, if Festrene was not mistaken—lunged toward the other Klingon, disappearing down the slope. Hazthrene, young and impulsive and caught up in the stresses of the moment, followed after his prey, his weapon held up as he searched for a target. The third member of their triad, Tozhene, had already paid the price for his impatience, if what had happened to him at the hands of the Klingon was any indication. Why had he not remained hidden at the Klingons’ approach, which they had detected upon picking up the transmission from their vehicle to their settlement? Festrene had preferred to hide rather than directly confront the Klingons, waiting for an opportunity to neutralize the intruders without killing them. He could only reason that his younger companion had viewed the Klingons as a threat to the generator. However, his rash actions had now placed the entire mission at risk.

This was not supposed to happen! Festrene’s orders for this mission were simple: install the network of web generators and deploy them, without engaging any of the local Klingon population. This mission had taken a great deal of planning and coordination to conceive and carry out, not just because of the stealth required to operate without detection on the Klingon-held world but also because of the new, experimental technology with which Festrene had been charged. He had expended substantial time and effort learning the system and its operation. According to his superiors, if the experiment failed to be carried out here, it likely would be some time before another opportunity to test the weapon presented itself. This, of course, did not even take into consideration the political ramifications should the Klingons learn what was taking place on their planet.

And now, it appeared to Festrene that the entire scheme was unraveling.

He was angry that Tozhene’s impetuous actions had already caused two deaths. The whole purpose of the pacification field was to prevent unnecessary loss of life. After all, dead prisoners were of no use, and an intact infrastructure like a city or other installation was infinitely more valuable than vast swaths of irradiated rubble. Occupying such territory became easier, and those captured could in turn be added to the workforces the Tholians required to carry out all manner of tasks ill-suited to their delicate physiques. Festrene applauded the pacification field’s concept as well as the attitude that had driven its creation, as he had always been reluctant to kill, even in battle, unless circumstances offered no other alternative. There were those who had argued that such measures and mercy were wasted on the Klingons, a warrior culture that prided itself on conquest and domination with little regard to the lives of those they fought. Thankfully, several of Festrene’s colleagues shared his own views, in that such conduct on the part of an enemy did not justify compromising or discarding one’s own morality.

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