Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Highest Score by Kem Antilles

Author:Kem Antilles
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, Star Trek Young Adult, Star Trek
ISBN: 0671899368
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 1996-06-01T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

Nog stopped at an intersection of two air ducts, panting after their cramped flight through the maze of murky passages. He looked over his shoulder at Jake.

“Don’t tell me,” he said. “You want to go up again.”

Jake nodded and crawled over to sit next to Nog. “If I remember right, the command center is on the third level,” Jake said. “That’s where Kwiltek will be.” He took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. “Let’s rest for a minute. I think we’re between floors. I doubt anybody will be able to hear us.”

Nog slumped against the wobbly metal side of the air duct. “So long as no one shoots at us again,” he said. He smiled, a dreamy expression on his face. “Did you see all that latinum? Wasn’t it beautiful?”

“Yeah, very pretty,” Jake said impatiently. “But how do you explain the damage to the ore hauler? It looks like someone’s been blasting at it.”

Nog sat up straight. “But it’s only a simulation, Jake. Nobody could live on a hostile planet like that one.”

Jake frowned. “I don’t know what to think. I’m beginning to wonder if any of this really is a game.”

Nog pressed his lips together. “Maybe pirates are attacking the ore haulers as soon as they leave the surface. And maybe that Andorian guard is in on it. I bet that’s why they wanted to get rid of us so badly. They’re afraid we’ll tell Kwiltek.”

“Well, we are telling Kwiltek, as soon as we find him,” Jake said, crawling past his friend. He grasped the handholds and pulled himself up. “We’ve got to talk to him before they destroy the evidence.”

Nog followed Jake up the shaft, smiling eagerly now. “Maybe Kwiltek will pay us handsomely for the information,” Nog said. “Maybe he’ll even double our salary.”

Quickly gaining the third level, the two boys crept along. Nog paused every now and then to eavesdrop when they came to a grille over a room. “Hey, how much did that provisioner just say she paid for Saurian brandy?” Nog asked, stopping near a vent in the galley complex. “I’m sure my uncle would be happy to supply the station at a fraction of the cost.”

“Shhh! Quark isn’t going to supply anybody with anything if we don’t get out of here and find Kwiltek,” Jake whispered.

Soon they reached the command levels of the mothership. Jake stopped at another intersection. “I can’t remember enough of the ship’s schematics,” he said, glancing down the right branch of the air duct. “Do you think the command center would be to the right or the left?”

Nog hissed between his pointy teeth. “Left, I think.” Jake headed to the left, but they reached a dead end after only fifteen meters.

“I said, ‘I think,’” Nog protested when Jake gave him an exasperated look.

They crawled back, tired and anxious, taking the other fork this time. As they approached a large vent opening, whistles and clicks drifted down the shaft. It reminded Jake of an educational holoprogram about birds he had once watched.

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