In Tempest's Wake by Dayton Ward

Author:Dayton Ward [Ward, Dayton]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, General, Adventure, Media Tie-In, Fiction
ISBN: 9781451695892
Google: v6lw6OnJZKsC
Amazon: B007JKFD9W
Barnesnoble: B007JKFD9W
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2012-10-02T07:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

Stardate 5829.6

Starbase 12

Kirk watched as Nogura, apparently needing a change of pace from the Saurian spirits they both had enjoyed to this point, retrieved a saucer holding a cup of steaming tea from the food slot at the rear of the office. Lifting the cup from the saucer, Nogura brought it to his nose and inhaled the tea’s aroma, and his expression softened as a sigh escaped his lips.

“Last chance before I sit back down,” Nogura said, prior to taking a sip of the tea.

Holding up a hand, Kirk shook his head. “No, thank you, sir.” Despite its allure, he also had opted against enjoying any more of the admiral’s exquisite brandy, not wanting to risk any real compromising of his faculties. Perhaps Nogura felt the same way, though Kirk suspected the older man never would admit any such thing.

Nogura again sipped from his cup before moving toward his chair behind the desk. “As you rightly surmised, we were well aware of the potential for the Tholians to attack the station. What we didn’t count on was bringing them down on our own heads.” Reclaiming his seat, he placed the cup and saucer on the desk. “Xiong discovered that activating the array and trying to direct its power had one major side effect: it transmitted a signal in such a manner that it was heard, or received, or felt by every Tholian, everywhere. From that, they knew what we’d done, and what we were capable of doing.” Shrugging, he added, “Neat trick, considering even we didn’t know what we might be able to do with the array.

“Xiong was against the experiments, of course, worried that we were exploiting a sentient race against their will for our own ends.” Nogura shook his head. “Even when things were at their worst, Xiong still looked for some way, any way, to find a peaceful solution and a means of somehow communicating with the Shedai. He was against the notion of simply plundering their technology, at least not so long as there were representatives with whom we might share a dialogue.” Blowing out his breath, Nogura leaned back in his chair. “I’m as realistic and even cynical as the next person, but if he’d been given enough time, I’d like to think he would’ve succeeded.”

Kirk nodded. Though his interactions with the young lieutenant had been few and infrequent, they still were sufficient for him to form an opinion on the man’s character. “We’d all probably be better off with more people like Ming Xiong.”

“Damned right,” Nogura replied as he reached for his tea. “Unfortunately, most of the people currently running Starfleet are like me, and we have only ourselves to blame for what happened in the Taurus Reach.” As Kirk opened his mouth to respond, the admiral held up his hand. “Yes, our motives may have been pure, but our methods left much to be desired. Some of the decisions we were forced to make may have been inescapable, but the circumstances that led us to those decisions were of our own creation.

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