Collision Course by William Shatner & Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Author:William Shatner & Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2007-08-29T04:00:00+00:00

Admiral Otago entered her office, closed the heavy wooden door behind her, and shook her head in disgust. “That was a travesty.”

Her visitor didn’t contradict her assessment. How could he? “I agree,” Mallory said.

Otago dropped her padd on her desk, letting the sharp smack it made reflect the frustration she felt. “Then why force me to do that, Eugene? They are just kids. So one of them’s a bit of a hellraiser. Show me any Starfleet brat who isn’t. But a Vulcan? Found guilty? I’m going to be up before a review panel so fast I’ll be my own warp engine.”

Mallory laughed. “I’ll handle the review panel.”

Otago regarded him sourly. “Six admirals and you’ll ‘handle’ them.”

“I told you this was big.”

“And this…well, let’s call it what it is: an illegal manipulation of Starfleet’s Uniform Code of Justice, has been signed off on by your oversight committee?”

Mallory got up from the official visitor’s chair, an antique wingback Otago had had recovered in an exuberant tropical print—not the usual sedate choice for a Starfleet judge’s office.

“It’s not illegal, Mahina. There’s nothing in the UCJ that prevents us from using deception to penetrate a criminal conspiracy.”

“Except that those two civilians aren’t part of the conspiracy, and they aren’t even part of Starfleet. They’re innocent bystanders.”

“That’s what makes them perfect for this.”

“Perfect spies, you mean.” Otago smoothed her shimmering jacket to compose herself. “Because, of course, they don’t know they’re spies, right?”

Mallory had worked with the judge long enough to understand the dilemma she faced. “I told you this morning, they’re in no danger. My department would not put innocent civilians in harm’s way. My oversight committee wouldn’t allow it, and neither would I.”

Otago sat behind her desk. She reached down and pulled off her regulation black boots, inspecting her swollen ankles with a sigh. “So how does this end?”

“It ends well.”

“Details, please.”

“Tomorrow morning, those two will be back in your courtroom, and they will choose to enlist in Starfleet.”

“Right!” Otago exclaimed in disbelief. “No Vulcan has ever joined Starfleet as an enlisted recruit, and I guarantee you their ambassador will raise hell in the Federation Council before one of theirs is forced into a decision like that. The comm lines will already be burning up. Spock is most certainly not going to be here tomorrow morning.”

“If that happens, it happens. I’m prepared to lose one.”

“Which leaves you with Kirk?”

“He’s already involved with what’s going on. He’s the one I really want.”

“Yet from his record it appears this Kirk kid has such animosity toward Starfleet that if I gave him the choice, he’d rather serve ten years in an Andorian ice prison than one year in the service.”

“Look into his earlier records. If anyone was born to be in Starfleet, this one was. He’s just forgotten, that’s all.”

“How do you ‘forget’ something like that?”

Mallory said nothing.

Otago wasn’t happy, but she understood. “The silent treatment. That means we’re talking something classified.”

Mallory remained mute.

Otago rolled her eyes. “Something so classified, you can’t even tell me it’s classified.

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