Diplomatic Implausibility by Keith R. A. DeCandido Page A

vultures, picking at the bones of the empire’s conquests, but never doing any conquering themselves. Defense Force vessels had standing orders to destroy any Kreel ship that dared to challenge them.
    Toq added, “But they have made modifications. That’s why we couldn’t identify them at first—they have Breen shields.”
    Pirated or obtained legitimately?
Worf wondered. When the mission was over—if not sooner—he needed to report this to Starfleet Intelligence.
    “Destroy them, gunner,” Klag said.
    “Quantum torpedoes locked on target, and firing.” Worf turned to the viewscreen. Now that he got a good look at it, it was definitely a Kreel vessel they faced. The torpedo exploded upon impact against the Kreel’s Breen shields.
    “Minimal damage,” Rodek said.
    Klag stood up.
“Minimal?
Are our torpedoes malfunctioning?”
    “Weapons are at peak efficiency, Captain. Their shields are simply too—”
    Rodek was cut off by the impact of phaser blasts on the
Gorkon’s
shields.
    Drex bellowed, “Damage report!”
    “Shields at forty-nine percent,” said Rodek.
    “Captain,” Toq said. “The Kreel’s matter/anti-matter pods are starting to fluctuate. No, wait.” He gazed at his console. “Returning to normal. But they came close to a critical reaction when our torpedo hit.”
    Klag sat back down and smiled. “Engineering, increase power to shields. Gunner,
full
spread of torpedoes.”
    “Aye, sir.”
    Kurak’s voice came through the intercom.
“You have
full shields again, Captain.”
    Worf blinked in surprise. He knew tactical systems in general quite well, and had studied the
Gorkon’s
specs on the
Enterprise.
He didn’t see how fifty-one percent of the shields’ power could be restored that quickly.
    Klag, however, didn’t question this good fortune. He clenched his one fist. “Fire!”
    Worf frowned as he observed the dispersal pattern of the torpedoes. It was the default spread: focused on one area of the shields, to batter that section at several points in the hopes of collapsing the shields. Given the apparent situation—that the Breen shields’ power consumption was barely within the Kreel ship’s tolerances—it would have made more sense to widen the spread to hit as many different points around the ship as possible and increase the strain.
    That,
he thought,
would require a tactical officer with
some imagination. Klag proceeded on the assumption
that he had one.
Rodek wasn’t wrong—but Kurn would have widened the spread.
    “Kreel shields at eighty percent,” Rodek said.
    Toq added, “Kreel matter/anti-matter pods fluctuating. Containment breach in forty seconds.”
    “Move us out of the blast range, pilot,” Klag ordered, “Warp 1.”
    “Gladly, sir,” Leskit said.
    Within seconds, the Kreel ship exploded in a fiery barrage.
    Cheers erupted throughout the bridge. An officer at an aft station cried, “Death to the Kreel!”
    Leskit smiled. “Today was a good day for
them
to die.”
    Klag pounded the arm of his chair and laughed. “Well done, my soldiers, well done. That’s one ship’s worth of Kreel that no longer infest the galaxy. Pilot, resume course to taD, Warp 6.”
    The last two words were said while Klag looked right at Worf, and the ambassador saw the challenge in the captain’s eyes. They had been proceeding at Warp 6 since parting ways with the
Enterprise
and the
Sword of
Kahless,
but between the delay and significant coursechanges necessitated by the Kreel battle, remaining at that speed would bring them to taD several hours behind schedule. Klag had all but dared Worf to challenge his decision.
    Worf refused to rise to the bait. The situation on taD had gone on for several years; a few hours would make little difference. “I will be in my quarters, Captain,” he said, and turned on his heel and left.
    As soon as he entered his quarters, Krevor again taking up position outside his door, he asked Wu, “Did you monitor the battle?”
    “Most of it. A