Prey: Book One: Hell's Heart by John Jackson Miller

Author:John Jackson Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2016-09-27T00:00:00+00:00

Thirty

Spock hailed the Enterprise as he had promised, additionally advising Scott to begin applying the repair techniques to the other freighters. At that moment, Kirk was exiting the workpod into Enterprise ’s landing bay, had been advised of Spock’s message, and had grudgingly given consent.

The freighter’s subsequent return trip back outside the Briar Patch had been much swifter. Potok had returned to the bridge by then, extracting a confirmation from whoever was helming the bird-of-prey that it would await his reappearance. Then Spock had turned the freighter back toward Enterprise.

During his absence from the bridge, Potok had directed his passengers to lock the lord’s unconscious form in a cargo bay, along with the three minions he had arrived with. Spock suspected there had been no difficulty in that, as without their leader, not one had the nerve to challenge the general and his people. Spock had previously understood that all Klingons were expected to be warriors, but it was clear the young lord’s three escorts specialized in engineering to the exception of martial training.

Reaching the group of freighters again, Spock found that Scott’s team had nearly finished its repair work. One by one, the freighters’ impulse drives came back online. Potok’s people, who had risked the failure of their life-support systems, now had a chance.

Spock had not expected that Potok would react emotionally to that news, and he hadn’t. The general was solemn when he prepared to see Spock off. “We will return my lord to his vessel after we depart,” he said. “I expect Enterprise will be far away by the time he can act. But he will act without us.” He looked at Spock. “You will not seek to find his bird-of-prey by following us?”

“That is up to my captain. But I will tell him your story before he decides.”

Potok nodded. “Good enough.”

“General, earlier you asked about traveling through time. Was it just about undoing the circumstances of your defeat? Or something else?”

“The past is the past,” Potok said, casting his eyes out at the freighters. “No Klingon should wish to interfere with fate’s story, already sung. This is about the future.”

“There is a term to your punishment?”

“Not for me—nor for anyone in my company. But generations in the future will have the right to live again with honor.”

Spock nodded. It was about atonement. “In that case, I will not wish you long life and prosperity. But I will say this, Potok. Honor is not a title or a medal. I do not believe it is so easily stripped.”

“I wish I believed that. Qapla’, Spock.”

Joined by his security forces, Spock triggered his communicator. “Enterprise, four to beam aboard.”

U.S.S. ENTERPRISE -A

INSIDE THE BRIAR PATCH

“Let’s see if I’ve got this straight,” Kirk said in the conference room. “Three hundred Klingon convicts under a military general. A bird-of-prey with a commander who wants me dead. A commander with some kind of allegiance to the man who ordered my son’s death. A commander, I add, who hunted me and came within seconds of getting his wish.

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