As he approached the entrance and knowing on the other side of the door was a Starfleet Admiral, he could not help remembering scenes from his dreams. The dead corpses that came to his mind made his heartbeat race. Then he remembered her face. Her lifeless face. Now his heart felt like it was going to rip though his chest. He calmed his mind with a few breathing techniques. “Easy Asani,” he said to himself. “They are most likely hear to talk. Everything that happen in Starfleet was taken care of. No one could find out.” Another large sigh as he tried to reassure himself. “Unless someone made a deal.” His mind was turning against him once again. “Not the first time I had been double crossed.” He shook his head and gave a tiny grin thinking how awkward he must look talking to himself.
He pushed the button on the wall and the shop doors opened. He saw Commander Kili had taken him up on his offer and was swallowing the last of his Gagh. A large worm hung from his massive jaw. He slurped it up and then made all the disgusting eating sounds that all Klingons seem to make. The Admiral gave the Klingon a quick side glance, but years of Starfleet training had taught him not to be distracted, so he stood patiently awaiting Asani’s arrival.
When the Admiral saw Asani approaching, a polite smile spread across his face. “Lieutenant Nasos,” he extended his hand. “Admiral Richards. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance.”
Asani lightly shook his hand. “I am no longer with Starfleet. Asani is fine.”
“When you put on the uniform, you are Starfleet until you die,” responded the Admiral with his large grin. “Besides, I read your file and I disagree with their actions against you, but I am certain you are not wanting to talk about that.” Asani’s face remained stoic. The Klingon gave a chuckle. “We are here because Commander Kili told our council of the great work you did in helping us to track down the Tal Shiar criminals. Your little device helped us find their ship in that giant dust cloud and rid the Universe of their kind once and for all.”
Asani looked in the Klingon’s direction and Kili politely nodded. Asani was told his locator device was to find a lost vessel in the Omega Nebula. A starship filled with Romulans, Starfleet and other citizens exploring the vast world within the large space cloud. “…a two-year mission between cultures to expand their knowledge of what lies within this great nebula. … a distress signal was heard, but there was no way to track the vessel due to the endless floating debris, gas and dust. …the council needs your help.” Asani looked down and slightly shook his head. “They are all liars,” he thought. “Anybody that takes away their power needs to be destroyed.”
“We were hoping,” the Admiral continued, “that you would be able to help us with another critical situation.”
“Don’t you have people in Starfleet that can help you?” responded Asani in unfavorable tone. “Hundreds of engineers that are wanting to please you and kiss your brass… and your incredible backside.”
The Klingon chuckled again. The Admiral rubbed his chin and then the large grin appeared again. “Precisely the point. We do not want this to appear on any Starfleet records.” Asani showed confusion. “What we are asking you to do, we want no one to know where it came from, who built it, and why.”
“What are you wanting me to build?” asked Asani wishing he could transport somewhere these two could never find him again.
“A bomb,” said Admiral Richards in a tone that sounded too official. Commander Kili gave a slight grin.
After a few moments of silence due to shock, Asani replied, “I am sure you have many that can do that for you and never speak about it again after you vaporize them.”
“Asani, I promise that we will respect any decision you give us, and no harm will come to you,” responded Admiral Richards which calmed Asani’s nerves slightly. “But you are the only one that can help us.”
Asani’s face showed skepticism. “Why only me?”
“You know the Xiezios?” questioned the Admiral with a face showing he already knew the answer. The look on Klingon Commander’s face showed he knew as well.
Her lifeless face appeared in Asani’s mind once again as he heard the question. He quickly erased his mind. “You both know the answer to that question.”
Admiral Richards began to slowly walk around the large room looking and handling different parts leftover from years of work. As he did so, he talked as if telling a story that Asani knew very well. “A young Lieutenant, wanting to prove his usefulness to his new Captain, volunteered for a risky assignment. A ‘First Contact’ mission to be precise. It was to understand a new species that had discovered warp technology.” The Admiral looked quickly at Asani as he examined a small part to a warp coil. “It was a dangerous mission because this species was known for their…” He paused looking for the right word as he picked up a part to a transporter array, “unpredictable behavior.” A scary smile appeared on the Admiral’s lips. It quickly changed to empathy. “For over a year, this Lieutenant and his team discovered who were the Xiezios. They were accomplishing their mission disguised as one of the millions that lived on their planet until…” The Admiral eyes caught the irritated stare of Asani. “Let’s just say tragedy ensued. For what it is worth, I believe you made the right decision.”
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“You still have not answered my question,” Asani said almost shouting. He was close to his boiling point.
The Admiral gave his tiny grin. “What type of reactor do they use?”
Asani sighed to release his anger. “They use an Antimatter reactor with an extremely volatile mineral mined from their many moons as the fuel.”
“Precisely,” agreed the Admiral. “You know their ways. How they mined the minerals needed. How they use it to create their power, weapons,” his tone darkened, “and other useful items that they then use to inflict death on other species.” His face showed hate as he examined another part to a warp drive. “How easy would it be to plant a bomb on one of their many mining communities and send them back a couple hundred years.” His stare was cold as he thought about the disaster that would ensue after the large explosion. That annoying tiny grin returned showing that he was enjoying the thought a little too much.
“You are talking about creating another Praxis event,” said Asani with a smirking tone.
“You know your history,” remarked the Admiral while nodding to show his admiration. “Over mining nearly destroyed the Klingon moon which disintegrated the ozone layer of the Klingon homeworld. Ask Commander Kili if the Klingons are not grateful for what happened hundreds of years ago.”
“It humbled us,” answered the Commander while eating another delicacy he had replicated. “Showed us that we weren’t as strong as we thought. Made us kinder species.”
“And because of it,” replied the Starfleet Admiral while shrugging, “their lives are better.”
“Except for the hundreds of thousands that lost their lives because of it and the effects that followed,” sneered Asani.
“Can you not say,” questioned the Admiral with that same tiny grin that Asani was beginning to hate, “that millions were saved from the countless wars that would have happened between Starfleet and Klingon Empire?” He pulled a small round device from his front pocket and tossed it to Asani. “Ask the families of the millions that lost their lives on Drenis if they would not support this plan?”
Asani knew what the device was he now held in his hand. He placed it on the table in front of him and pressed the middle button. A hologram projection of a planet appeared in front of him. A Xiezios battle cruiser appeared orbiting the planet. A battle ensued. During the battle, a large object was fired from the large vessel and entered the planets atmosphere. It then broke up into thousands of pieces and then each piece engulfed in purple fire. As the large pieces hit the thousands of cities found on the planet, it appeared as if a meteor shower was pulverizing the surface. Explosions lifted hundreds of feet in the air and then began to expand. Any life found on the planet was immediately consumed. Asani saw the hateful eyes of the Admiral through the glare of the hologram. He could see he grew angrier every time he watched it.
“What is the nickname they gave this ‘extremely volatile mineral’? asked the Admiral in a tone that Asani knew he already knew the answer.
After a slight hesitation, Asani replied, “Death.”
His cold stare returned. “This attack was a warning from them. Not to interfere with their actions.” The Admiral rubbed his beard. “We interjected ourselves into their war with one of their boarding planets. A weak civilization that they were attacking for the sole purpose of showing their superiority and taking whatever resources they felt fit.” A sad face showed that this attack was personal to him. “A strong message for a bunch of cowards.”
“We will give you anything you need, Asani,” stated the Commander. “You have the full support of the council.” A grin returned to the Klingon’s lips. His sharp teeth showing once again. “Plus, many leaders of Starfleet which of course will remain nameless. No one will ever know who created the bomb, how it was created or why.” He placed his fist over his heart. “I give my oath has a Klingon. If this secret ever leaves my lips, you may stab me in the heart with my d'k tahg.” He held up the Klingon warrior’s weapon to show that he was serious. “You have my word.”
The Admiral approached Asani and placed his hands on his shoulders. “Lieutenant. This will save countless lives. You are the only one alive that knows their culture and their technology. You are the only one who knows how to build it so they cannot detect it.” His grin had returned, but it seemed friendlier this time. “I have been given full authority to expunge your record and allow you to return to Starfleet with your old rank. We may even make you the rank of Captain if this works as planned.” Asani’s face did not appear thrilled as the Admiral hoped. “If you are not wanting to return, other compensations will be made that will be worthy of your efforts.” The Admiral’s face turned serious. “Even Admiral Riker is on board with this plan.”
“There is no way he would be a part of this plan,” countered Asani.
Admiral Richards produced a PADD from his other front pocket. “Authorization Richards 56121.” The PADD lit up and he handed the device to Asani.
There on the PADD was the entire plan. The exact coordinates of the mining colony on one of their many moons. Where to deliver the bomb. How to get it through their security. The whole entire operations of the Xiezios. He scanned the details from top to bottom and could see that it was well organized and must have taken months to create. At the end were the names of eleven high ranking officials of the Federation, Klingons and Romulans. The biggest shock was not that these three Alliances would agree on something, but that Admiral William T. Riker had signed his support.
“You are the last piece of the puzzle, Lieutenant,” said Admiral Richards with the same tiny grin. His face returned to his serious Admiral face again. “This will not annihilate this species. We would never think of destroying an entire species. Too many innocent lives would be lost.” He gave a large sigh which came across as bogus. “We see what they do when they have great power. We only want to control that power.” The tiny grin was back. “Just tell me that you will think about it. Not too long. We need to know by tomorrow.”
“I will let you know by tomorrow,” responded Asani. His mind still shocked at what he just saw.
“Fine,” answered the Admiral as Commander Kili stood at the Admiral’s side. “We will be waiting on your reply with pins and needles. This service will save millions of lives. Thank you for hearing us out.”
Commander Kili made the sign of respect by placing his fist over his heart once again and then their bodies turned into millions of different atoms as they transported away to some unknown destination.