Blaze Of Glory Part 10

Gruzinov sighed, heavily. "All right, you've made your point. But in practical terms, what we are talking about still amounts to a jailbreak, so for G.o.d's sake, be careful. If you're caught, J'drahn could have you arrested and shot and then claim some overzealous guard thought you were an intruder."

"Which is why my communicator will remain on at all times, so that you and Mr. Data can monitor and record everything that happens," said Picard. "Even overzealous guards would hesitate to fire on someone in a Starfleet uniform, and if I am caught, I shall immediately advise them that they are being recorded. They would not risk harming a Starfleet captain, Ivan. At worst, they would take me into custody and inform Governor T'grayn, who would take no action without informing Overlord J'drahn. Do you perceive any flaw in my logic, Mr. Data?"

The android shook his head. "None, sir."

"Satisfied?" Picard said to Gruzinov.

"At least take a couple of security officers down with you," said Gruzinov.

"No," said Picard. "My presence alone may not be perceived as a threat, but more would increase the odds of someone getting nervous. I admit it's a calculated risk, Ivan, but I have weighed it carefully. And we need Colonel Z'gral."

Gruzinov nodded. "Yes, I am afraid we do. The old man simply wouldn't listen to anybody else."

"Then it's settled. Let's get on with it," Picard said, stepping up onto the transporter pads.

Data moved over to the control station.

"Have you got a fix on the estate, Mr. Data?" asked Picard.

"One moment, sir, I am entering the coordinates Captain Gruzinov specified right now... ." A moment later, he said, "I have a fix, sir."

"Scan for life-forms," said Picard.

"I am showing a fair number of life-forms on the grounds of the estate, sir, as well as in the outbuildings and on the first and second floors of the residence itself. However, on the third floor, in the east wing, I am scanning only one K'tralli life-form."

"That'll be Z'gral," said Gruzinov.

"Lock in those coordinates, Mr. Data, and stand by to energize," Picard said.

"Locked in, sir. Standing by."

"Energize," Picard said.

The moment Picard dematerialized, Gruzinov touched his insignia, activating his communicator. "Gruzinov to bridge," he said.

"Lieutenant Koski here, sir. Go ahead."

"Stand by to monitor Captain Picard's transmission," said Gruzinov. "We'll monitor from here, as well. Patch the signal through to the ship's data banks and begin recording now."

"Aye-aye, sir."

"Gruzinov out." He nodded to Data. "Put it through the board speakers, Mr. Data."

"Aye, sir."

"Keep a firm fix on the captain and stand by to get him out of there instantly if anything goes wrong," Gruzinov said. "And cross your fingers."

Data looked puzzled. "All of them, sir?"

Gruzinov smiled and held up his hand. "No, Mr. Data. Just these two."

Data looked puzzled, but did as he was told. "Now let's just hope that n.o.body does anything stupid," said Gruzinov.

Picard materialized in a large, airy, and well-furnished sitting room on the third floor of Colonel Z'gral's residence. He glanced around quickly. The floor was exquisitely laid in rich, highly polished, contrasting woods, and the walls were hung with ornate tapestries. There were a number of comfortable reading chairs upholstered in some sort of dark, attractively textured animal hide placed around the room, and a large sofa upholstered in the same material roughly in the center, placed so that it faced an entertainment console built into the wall. There was a large, beautifully carved table with some chairs around it and a fresh bowl of fruit placed in the center, and Picard felt a soft breeze coming in from the open doors leading to the balcony.

It did not look even remotely like a prison. It looked more like the palatial estate of some aristocrat, which was exactly what it was at one time. Gruzinov had told him that before the revolution, this sprawling estate had been the private residence of a K'tralli prince. Now, most of the old estates and palaces were the private residences of governors and high-ranking bureaucrats in J'drahn's administration. There was a new order, but for the K'tralli people, nothing much had changed.

Picard heard the tapping sounds of someone working at a computer keyboard coming from the open doors to the bedroom. He moved so that he could look through the doors and saw a figure dressed in a richly embroidered robe seated at a large desk, with his back to him. The man looked old, for his hair was completely white, falling down well below his shoulders, and his head was bald on top. However, his shoulders still looked broad and powerful, and he sat erect in his chair. It was not the figure of a frail and sickly old man, thought Picard, but of a man who, despite his age, kept himself in excellent physical condition.

"Colonel Z'gral?" he said.

The man stopped typing and turned. His dark eyes registered surprise when he saw Picard, and he rose to his feet at once with a fluid motion. Again, Picard thought, not the reaction of a frail old man on his last legs. His features showed his age, but the eyes were bright and clear, and his posture was that of a soldier. "Who are you?"

"My name is Captain Jean-Luc Picard, of the Federation starship Enterprise. And it is my understanding that you are being held here against your will."

"A Federation starship?" said Z'gral. "By the G.o.ds! At last! I had almost given up hope. Has J'drahn been removed from power? Has the government fallen?"

"No, Colonel, I am afraid not," Picard said. "That is partly why I have come to see you."

"How many men have you brought with you?"

"I am alone."

"Alone? Are you mad? How did you get past the guards?"

"I transported directly from my ship," Picard replied. "The same way we can get you out of here, sir. However, for the sake of formality, it would have to be at your request."

"Oh, yes, of course," Z'gral said. "I must request ... what do you call it? Political asylum?"

"That is correct, sir," said Picard.

Z'gral nodded. "Consider the request made, Captain," he said. "But I must first get these computer files." He sat down at the desk. "I have been writing my memoirs, with little hope of anyone ever seeing them. But it is all here, a complete record of all J'drahn's nefarious-" There was the sound of footsteps approaching from down the hall. Z'gral looked up. "Quickly, the balcony!"

Picard turned immediately and ran out onto the balcony, careful to sidle around the open doors, so that he would not be silhouetted in the light from the room behind him. He stood just outside, pressed against the wall, as the doors to Colonel Z'gral's room opened. Several guards came marching in, and Picard risked a quick glance inside. What he saw made his hand reach immediately for his phaser. The guards were wearing the uniforms of Romulan centurions.

Picard pressed himself back up against the wall, his mind racing. Romulans! Here, in Federation territory! He looked out over the balcony. It was dark outside, but in the illumination of the floodlights covering the grounds of the estate, he could make out the guards patrolling below. And they were all Romulans, as well.

"What do you want?" he heard Z'gral demand of the guards.

"Your life, Colonel," one of the Romulans replied.

"Hold it!" said Picard, coming in from the balcony. As the startled Romulans turned toward him, raising their disruptors, Picard fired with his phaser on wide beam. The Romulans fell without a sound.

"Are they dead?" Z'gral asked.

"No, merely stunned," Picard replied.

"Pity," said Z'gral.

"Enterprise to Picard!" Gruzinov's voice came over the communicator. "Jean-Luc, are you all right? What's happening?"

"Stand by, Enterprise," Picard replied. "Colonel, we must go now."

Z'gral held up the chip on which he had stored his files. "I am ready now, Captain."

"Enterprise, two to beam up," Picard said.

He heard footsteps running down the hall. The sound of his phaser firing must have alerted the guards downstairs. Moments later, they came bursting in, but Picard and Z'gral were already gone.

"What happened down there? I heard you fire your phaser," said Gruzinov, rushing up to them with an anxious expression on his face.

"We have worse trouble than we thought," Picard said grimly, as he stepped down off the staging platform with Z'gral. "I was barely in time to prevent Colonel Z'gral's a.s.sa.s.sination. By Romulan centurions."

"Romulans!" Gruzinov said.

"Colonel Z'gral, I believe you know Captain Ivan Gruzinov, commander of Starbase 37?"

"Captain," said Z'gral, with a nod. "My thanks to you both. I owe you my life."

"It is indeed a pleasure to see you alive, Colonel," said Gruzinov. "But Romulans? On D'rahl? What about the guards?"

"The guards were Romulan," Picard said. "At least, the ones I saw were."

"They were all Romulans, Captain Picard," Z'gral said. "The entire complement of guards."

"The entire complement?" Gruzinov said, with disbelief.

"Can you give us any idea of their strength, Colonel?" asked Picard.

"Two companies of Romulan centurions," Z'gral said.

"Bozhe moi!" Gruzinov said, reverting to his native Russian in his astonishment.

"'My G.o.d,' indeed," Picard said, gravely. "That's a full-scale a.s.sault force."

"The estate was more than merely my prison, Captain," said Z'gral. "With its extensive grounds, outbuildings, restricted airs.p.a.ce, and high walls, it was also an ideal barracks for them. And a place to conduct drills."

"What sort of drills?" Picard asked.

"a.s.sault drills," replied Z'gral. "They often kept me awake at night, running on the grounds and through the corridors. There is a Romulan tribune in command. His name is Kronak."

"Then Governor T'grayn is in league with the Romulans?" Picard said.

"It would be more accurate to say he is their lackey," replied Z'gral, with disgust. "And J'drahn is involved with them, as well. He always was corrupt, but now he has turned traitor, selling out his people for his own gain."

"This changes everything," Picard said, with concern. "We must bring back our landing parties at once. Mr. Data, get in touch with Mr. Worf's team and have them return to the ship immediately. Then call Mr. Riker and-no, wait, cancel that last order. If we communicate with Riker, we risk exposing him and his team to danger. Bring back Worf's landing party, then get a fix on Riker's position and report to me on the bridge."

"Aye-aye, sir."

"Colonel, if you would be so kind as to accompany me ..."

"My pleasure, Captain," said Z'gral.

They left Data behind in the transporter room and made their way to the turbolift.

"Colonel, how long has there been a Romulan presence on D'rahl?" Picard asked.

"I cannot say for certain," the old K'tralli soldier replied. "The K'tralli soldiers guarding me were all withdrawn and replaced by Romulan centurions just prior to last Liberation Day."

"That would be about three months ago," Gruzinov explained.

"Three months!" Picard said, astonished that they had been there for so long.

"However, I believe there must have been Romulan presence on D'rahl well before that time," Z'gral continued. "Contact had to be secretly established, arrangements had to be made... . I fear they have been coming here for some time, Captain. And with their cloaked vessels, they have easily been able to avoid detection."

"And our sensors could not differentiate between K'tralli and Romulan life-form readings," said Picard, grimly. "Together with the political situation, conditions could not have been more ideal for a Romulan infiltration."

"What I do not understand is why they had decided to kill me now, after all this time," Z'gral said.

"The Enterprise's arrival here had to be the reason," said Gruzinov. "T'grayn must have panicked."

"Or else the Romulans forced his hand," Picard said. "And now, unwittingly, I have forced theirs."

"The question is, what will they do?" Gruzinov said.

"More importantly, where is their ship?" Picard added.

"There may not be a ship," Colonel Z'gral said. "When they first arrived, I observed them bringing in a large number of supplies. Enough to fill several of the outbuildings. And there have been no changes in personnel since then."

Picard took a deep breath. "We may be in luck, then," he said. "If they were dropped off by a Warbird, and then the ship departed, it would mean those troops were emplaced for a long-range mission."

"An advance force for an invasion?" asked Gruzinov.

"I shouldn't think so," said Picard, as they stepped out of the turbolift and onto the bridge. "Why start a war when you can achieve your objective by other means? It comes back to Blaze again."

"Blaze?" Z'gral said, with a puzzled frown.

"A freebooter we believe is being supported by Governor T'grayn," Picard explained. "One whose ship has been equipped with a cloaking device. In fact, Colonel, it is entirely possible that some of those supplies you saw consisted of equipment meant for Blaze."

"Of course!" Gruzinov said. "It all starts falling into place. They equipped Blaze to raid Federation shipping, knowing that a cloaked pirate vessel would bring a starship in response. Proving a link between J'drahn and the freebooters alone might not be enough to get him expelled from the Federation, but at the very least, it would result in sanctions being imposed, which would force him to turn to the Romulans. But proving that J'drahn was involved in helping equip Blaze with Romulan ordnance and technology would guarantee his expulsion. Then the Romulans would have an a.s.sault force already in place to make certain J'drahn does as he is told. Either way, the Romulans get what they want."

"Unless we were to destroy the Glory in combat," said Picard, with a frown. "If we happened to destroy Blaze's ship, along with its crew, then there would be no real proof. The Romulans could not have failed to take that possibility into account." He shook his head. "There is still something we are not seeing."

"I take it that neither of you gentlemen have ever hunted game," said Z'gral.

They both turned to look at him. "No," Picard said, in a puzzled tone. He glanced at Gruzinov, who merely shook his head.

"I thought as much," Z'gral said. "Otherwise, you might have realized that if you plan to use a live beast as a lure to bring down a larger one, then you would first need to stake it down."