Part 18 (1/2)
Sawliru raised his eyebrows. ”Any damage?” he asked. Perhaps that could be used to their advantage in the proceedings.
”Negative. But if that weapon wasn't firing at full capacity, we don't stand a chance in a firefight. It'll cut through us like an ax through an egg.”
”Have you had the science section check it out?”
”Aye, sir. Science says the resulting explosion was greater in scope than any device we have ever encountered.”
Sawliru nodded and felt a numb roar in his ears. His little fleet, the last protection his worn-out world had against invaders, didn't stand a chance against this mighty Starfleet vessel. His men would be cut down like weeds before they could fire a shot.
”Sir? The men are troubled by the rumors. The general consensus is that no one in his right mind is going to attack. Sir? Uh, perhaps you should get over here soon. Things are getting ugly. I just heard shots.”
”I hear you, Seris. Maintain position. Maintain discipline. I'll be there as soon as I can. Sawliru out.”
As he replaced his device, the captain was finis.h.i.+ng his speech.
”... and the Federation is not an organization to be entered into lightly. I almost disallowed these hearings on the grounds that they were being used to avoid possible criminal prosecution.” Picard took a deep breath.
”However, it is the decision of this board to grant the race of androids, known as Spartacans, provisional status as an a.s.sociate member of the Federation, pending full approval.”
The new Federation members grinned widely, in a most unmachinelike manner. Even Data smiled, the closest he could come to an emotional outburst. The emotions from the other side of the room were less jubilant, however.
”I can't believe this,” Alkirg said. ”You actually did it? You admitted these monsters?” She rose from her seat, furious. ”Do you know what you have done, Picard? The blood of the thousands that died unavenged on Vemla, and the thousands that continue to die is on your hands, Picard! On your hands! You cannot so easily thwart the will of the Vemlan people, who have paid for this expedition in blood! You'll pay for this in blood from the bridge of a burning s.h.i.+p!” Alkirg turned to face her subordinate.
”Force Commander Sawliru! Summon our shuttle. We will return to the flags.h.i.+p at once. We will then activate our contingency plan,” she said in a low voice, the thought of vengeance on both her android prey and their uninvited rescuers already apparently soothing her.
”I beg you to reconsider, Mission Commander,” Sawliru began. ”It would be suicide,” he insisted, pleadingly, looking warily at the Starfleet officers. They didn't know what the contingency plan was, of course, but you didn't have to be a military genius to figure it out. ”My men won't do such a thing! They're at the brink of mutiny, now!”
”You are their commander, you fool! Order them!” She declared pa.s.sionately, ”They have to obey orders!”
”Or what? Face a court-martial back home? Alkirg, we won't get back home if we do this.”
”Just do it!” the woman shouted through gritted teeth.
Sawliru paused under her fiery glare, then woodenly opened a channel to his s.h.i.+p. He stared at his superior, then looked down.
And noticed how scuffed his boots were.
He closed the channel and looked Alkirg in the eye.
”I refuse,” he said, calmly and firmly. ”I am willfully disobeying your orders.”
”You are committing high treason,” she warned.
”And mutiny.” Suddenly, the android Data was at his side. ”I could not help but overhear.”
”Shut up, android!” Alkirg spat. ”I'll do it myself! I swear, I'll see you hang for this, Sawliru!” She brought out her own comm unit, snapped it open and began speaking breathlessly into it.
There was no response.
”I took the liberty of having the power unit removed,” Sawliru said, easily. ”You are relieved of duty.”
It was as if a great weight had been lifted from him.
”You can't do that!” she insisted. ”Only the a.s.sembly of Vemla can do that! I outrank you!”
Sawliru ignored her, as he turned to face his host. ”Captain Picard, on Alkirg's orders my fleet was preparing to attack your s.h.i.+p. I apologize.”
”This is highly irregular,” murmured Picard.
”This whole mission has been highly irregular, right from the start,” Sawliru confessed. He turned back, and faced his former commander. ”Your friends, the ones in the government, concocted this whole miserable expedition from the start as a way to delude the ma.s.ses. You sent the bulk military force away at a moment of critical need to bring back the splinter that was no longer troubling the planet. And for what?” he demanded, becoming more emotional with each word. ”A televised execution? Oh, good, we killed another android. All our problems are over. Bah!” he spat in frustration.
”You won't get away with this, Sawliru!” Alkirg cried. ”I have friends! Even if you kill me, they'll find you! They'll ruin your career!”
”Career as what?” the incredulous Force Commander asked. ”A puppet in a soldier suit? No, Alkirg, I'm not going to murder you. I want you alive. And, as far as your friends go, they would drop you like a hot iron as soon as you became a political liability. That's how that small but vicious circle you travel in works.”
He thought for a moment, new visions coming to him. Just what was he going to do when he got home? An answer came to him, in startling clarity. ”But even that doesn't matter. They placed me in sole command of the biggest military force in Vemlan history to catch a few runaway androids. Well, I'm leaving the androids here and taking the fleet back to Vemla, where it belongs. Then-” he paused, ”and then we'll see what happens to you and your self-serving comrades.”
Alkirg's eyes widened. ”You're talking about overthrowing the government!” she said. ”That's dictators.h.i.+p-and tyranny! The a.s.sembly has kept the peace and order for three hundred years!”
”You call the android rebellion peace and order? It wasn't the androids you kept in slavery, it was the people! You were just lucky it was the androids that shook things up, Alkirg. They were but a few hundred thousand. Had the people risen, it would have been billions of lives lost, and we never would have recovered.”
”You took an oath to obey the will of the council!”
”I took an oath to protect Vemla. That, I believe, takes precedent.” He took a deep breath. ”And to that purpose, I plan on a.s.suming control over the government, as soon as we arrive.”
”A military coup d'etat?” Picard said. ”Force Commander, that's a very extreme measure-”
Sawliru raised his eyebrows. ”Oppression is even more extreme, Captain. You and your Federation are advanced, both technologically and politically. You have peace, prosperity, and freedom. But didn't it take you centuries of barbarism and bloodshed to achieve it?”
”Quite so,” Data replied. ”Reviewing the history of humanity, alone, is enough to make one wonder how they survived at all.”
”My people are less advanced than yours,” Sawliru continued. ”We can make wonderful mechanical men, but we can't think for ourselves yet. We aren't ready for this utopia you've labored to build.” He looked meaningfully at Jared. ”Perhaps our ... children are.”