Legacies #2 by David Mack

Author:David Mack
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek

Seventeen

Kirk knew they were already five minutes behind schedule, but he had to make Sarek see reason. “Ambassador, for your own safety, I think it would be best.”

“Absolutely not, Kirk. To let you walk at the head of the procession would diminish the Klingons’ perception of my role as the leader of this delegation.”

“If I let you take point, I might as well paint a bull’s-eye on your chest.”

“Unless I command the Klingons’ respect, these talks will end in failure.”

No wonder Spock hates arguing with Sarek. The man’s never wrong.

Behind them in the dormitory corridor stood the rest of the Federation’s negotiating team, flanked on either side by three armed security officers from the Enterprise. Spock stood a short distance ahead by the door, ostensibly content to let Kirk debate Sarek without his assistance.

The Vulcan diplomat walked toward the door. “We need to go now, Kirk.” The others who were queued up in the hallway plodded into motion behind Sarek.

Spock obliged the approaching delegation by pushing open the door, then stepping clear while holding it for them. The security officers kept pace and marched with the politicos across the quad toward the alumni center, in which the talks were slated to resume. Kirk exited the dormitory last. Spock fell in at his side as they hurried to overtake the head of the procession.

Had the choice been up to Kirk, he and his men would not have been involved at all. Their presence had been requested by Sarek—not because he expected to need their protection, but because the Klingons had informed him their delegation would return only with armed escort. Had the Federation representatives arrived without a comparable force at their side, it would have been perceived as a sign of weakness by the Klingons—and, consequently, as an invitation to more egregious abuses and demands at the bargaining table.

Bright sun and a warm breeze made for a pleasant if brief walk across the manicured lawn. Kirk and Spock reached the double doors of the alumni center ahead of the delegation. They each pulled open one door and stood to either side so that Sarek could make his grand entrance. Meanwhile, from the opposite side of the center’s main lobby, the Klingon delegation arrived through another pair of doors. Just as Sarek had predicted, Prang was at its vanguard, several steps ahead of his comrades.

A pair of security officers relieved Kirk and Spock at the doors, enabling them to catch up and fall in behind Sarek just as he met Prang in the middle of the lobby. Behind him were several Klingon military officers led by the scar-faced General Kovor and a fierce-looking female officer who wore a commander’s rank insignia.

Sarek raised his right hand in Vulcan salute—a ­V-shape formed by separating the fingers into two pairs at an uncomfortable angle. “Greetings, Councillor Prang.”

“You’re wasting your time and mine, Vulcan.”

“A curious assessment. I look forward to hearing more about it—inside.”

The two diplomats stared each other down: Prang, a storm looking for somewhere to rage; Sarek, a mountain cold and immovable.

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