STAR TREK - TNG - 14 - Exiles

For

Susan

Just because . . .

Author’s Notes

Hello again. Welcome to my fourthSTAR TREK novel, my second visit to the expanding universe of

Gene Roddenberry’s highly successfulSTAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. It’s been fun

watching this television series and its characters grow and improve with age—which makes writing these

novels more fun, as well.

As you settle down to read this one, I’d like to remind you of a sobering fact. Unless we humans change

our ways, scientists estimate that we’ll be causing the extinction of something likeone hundred animal and

plant speciesevery day for the next thirty years.

What’s that—? You say you didn’t even know wehad that many different varieties of animals and

plants? Well, look fast—pretty soon, wewon’t. Think about it, okay?

Thanks and appreciation go to Dave Stern and Kevin Ryan at Pocket Books; Bob Greenberger, DC

Comics’STAR TREK editor; Dave McDonnell andStarlog magazine; John Davis and the Colorado crew

in charge ofSTAR TREK: The Official Fan Club; Marc Okrand, linguist extraordinaire and author of

The Klingon Dictionary; Peter David; my family for bemused support of many kinds; my new wife,

Susan, for extreme patience; and, as always, Mail Order Annie.

Chapter One

ZEILA WAS THEIR LEADER. But they would not let her speak.

With her usual brash stride, the Curister of the planet Alaj ascended the five steps to the platform and

sized up the scene, watching as at least a hundred thousand people overflowed the Great Plaza of

Swatarra City. Grim-faced, they waved their protest signs, pumping them high in the air, up toward a sky

tarnished by a polluted haze. Zeila knew they were not here to listen.

It was she who would have to listen.

And she did. First, to a discordant rumble ragged with anger. Then the clatter of random shouts aimed at

her like wobbly arrows, insults and accusations hurled at both her and her government.Her government,

not theirs.

Perhaps there’d been a moment when she could have broken through the resistance and reached out to

them. Perhaps not. In any case, it was gone in the space of a breath, overtaken by a collective chant that

demanded the replacement of Curister Zeila and her regime.

From somewhere to the right of the podium, the chant changed. One small group along the plaza’s edge

began to sing. It took Zeila a moment to recognize it as the Alajian anthem. They sang it not with the

stirring pomp of the march, but with the muffled cadence of a dirge. They sang with more than their

voices. They sang with their souls.

The song spread until the city square trembled with the thunder of one hundred thousand voices, echoing

off the dingy buildings bordering the perimeter.

Zeila stood transfixed, gripping the podium, the seven bracelets on each arm now bunched together at

her elbows. Her bodyguards moved closer, but stayed out of sight behind the platform. All of them were

well over the average seven-foot height of Alajian men, and all were conspicuously well-muscled

compared to the slender norm. But no escort wedge, however large, had ever made her feel especially

protected. She’d always believed that her own senses and abilities were her best source of security, and

this situation was no exception.

On a world of physically imposing people, Zeila was shorter and more slight than most, yet she carried

herself with regal pride. She had the pronounced facial structure common to her race, the prominent

cheekbones and brow, the short muzzle formed by a delicate nose blending into the outward curve of the

upper lip. Beyond that, her appearance was striking, with features like finely chiseled sculpture and a

complexion ruddy and youthful despite her middle age. Her hair was clipped into a spiked style, shining

black with flaming auburn highlights, matching the onyx and ruby stones studding her suede headband.

Yet the feature she was best known for was a scar incised along the point of her chin, most visible when

she smiled.

She was not smiling now.

As if by silent signal, the crowd moved forward, not with a mob’s panic but with the inevitability of a

tide. Barricades marking a buffer zone around the speakers’ stand crushed under their feet. Uniformed

troops ringing the plaza closed ranks and linked into a determined chain.

And that was the last Zeila saw as her own security squad hustled her down the back steps, through the

building behind, into her idling flyer, and out of Swatarra.

The flight back to the capital compound in Port Arabok took an hour. Zeila’s aides left her alone in her

private compartment, and she used the time to review the near-disaster back in Swatarra. She was most

frustrated by the fact that she’d not had the chance to say a single word. Even an argument in the street

would have been welcome, compared to a hasty retreat and a silent departure.

Arriving at the Capital Forum, Zeila was met by her chief of intelligence and security. Lef was a big pale

man, his broad shoulders stooped by a fatigue that seemed bone-deep. In contrast to Zeila’s electric

presence, he seemed cast in cool soft clay, his face lined deeply beyond his years. His hair was cropped

close, mostly gray with some leftover streaks of its former cinnamon color. The jeweled headband and

brightly colored clothing typical of Alajians of both genders looked distinctly out of place on him, but

custom was custom.

He greeted his leader with just two words. “It’s dead.”

Her lips thinned as she recalled an undeniable truth uttered by someone wiser than she:The most

perilous moment for a bad government comes when it tries to mend its ways.

A bad day had just grown worse.Much worse . . .

“You’re sure it’s dead,” said Retthew, Prefex of the Council of State on the planet Etolos. With short,

quick movements, he nervously nibbled brown seeds picked one after another from a plain ceramic dish

on his desk.

His security adviser, Ozemmik, replied without hesitation. “Absolutely.”

“When did this report come in?”

“Just now,” said Ozemmik. “It happened two days ago. And we also know that Zeila’s government on

Alaj is covering up the news. They’re afraid of even more widespread violence if their people find out.”

Retthew pushed away from his rough-hewn desk and crossed the room to the bay window, his

soft-soled moccasins whispering against the wood-plank floor. Even in private, he moved stiffly, like a

man uncomfortable inside his own body. With uncharacteristic grace and tenderness, his fingers brushed

along the half-dozen plants arranged in the window alcove, their leaves bowing toward the grow-lamps

shining on them. Outside, it was twilight, and the plants knew instinctively where to turn.

Retthew wished his own instincts were as sure. As executive of the ruling Council of State, he knew he

was privy to the most comprehensive information Ozemmik could gather, and he doubted he could ever

find a security adviser as dedicated to the job. Yet the information Retthew received could not make his

decisions for him and he’d often envied Ozemmik’s decisiveness.

They’d known each other since their middle-school days, and even as youngsters Retthew had admired

his friend’s ability to focus his formidable intelligence with uncommon discipline. Retthew was just as

bright, but known as the class scatterbrain—as Mik would often remind him.

Mik.Ozemmik had always loathed that diminutive. Some of their school chums had tried using the

nickname just to provoke Ozemmik, but his response gave them no satisfaction. With icy composure,

he’d simply remind them of his full name, and thereafter ignore anyone who failed to use it. Retthew never

tested his friend’s resolution on that or any other matter. From the day they’d met as children, both knew

who was stronger.

But now, as adults, it was Retthew who was the leader and Ozemmik the servant. In name, at least.

“The plants are doing pretty well, don’t you think?” Retthew said, trying to lose himself in the soothing

music he always had playing in the background. “Considering they haven’t seen natural sunlight stronger

than that,” he nodded out toward the dusky sky, “in four months. Don’t you think?”

Ozemmik made no comment, refusing to indulge his leader’s penchant for avoiding the issue at hand.

Retthew sighed. “Your sources—”

“The best.”

“So.” Retthew shoved his hands into the deep pockets of his pants, and shambled back to his desk. “It’s

hard to imagine there’s not a single nefittifi left on Alaj, that the handful here on Etolos are the last ones

anywhere.”

“The Alajians are destroying their whole planet. What do they care if a sacred symbol goes extinct?”

“I think they care, Ozemmik. They just don’t know how to change.”

“They knew how to banish our people,” said the security adviser, a pious edge spiking his voice. “If

we’d been there for the past three hundred years, we could have saved the nefittifi. Could’ve saved a lot

of life forms.”

“Maybe. But we weren’t, and we didn’t. And here we are, trying to save our own world.” Retthew got

up again, drawn back to the window. He’d spent too much of his time lately considering the ironies of

fate. How odd that two peoples, sharing the same origins yet estranged for centuries, now faced crises of

such magnitude that both populations could be doomed.

Though there’d been no direct contact, Etolos had pieced together a rather effective intelligence network

over time. Retthew and his predecessors in the prefex’s office were kept well-informed about life on their

ancestral homeworld. More than likely, the same was true for Alajian rulers.

If a group of Alajians suddenly found themselves wandering about the Council Center outside Retthew’s

office, they’d probably find little of great surprise. Even before the Great Exodus from Alaj, the forebears

of today’s Etolosans had developed some distinct differences in style and custom to distance themselves

from the Alajian mainstream, differences that had naturally widened through the centuries.

In contrast to smooth-faced Alajian males, for instance, Etolosan men generally still grew full beards,

although Ozemmik was an exception, carrying his flair for individualism to the extreme of also shaving his

scalp. And unlike their Alajian cousins, Etolosans shunned extravagant clothing and ornamentation,

preferring garments of simple cut and subtle color. In place of ubiquitous Alajian jewelry, Etolosan men

and women both wore woven headbands with small cylindrical pouches stitched over the right ear and

religious symbols embroidered all around.

But these were just the outer trappings.What about inside? Retthew wondered.Maybe we’ve come

together without even knowing it. Maybe the Alajians eventually learned the same lessons we

learned while we still lived there. What if that were true and we died without knowing it? Tragedy

on top of tragedy . . .

Ozemmik joined him at the window. “It’s not our fault, what’s happening out there.”

“No. Volcanic eruptions are not our fault. And yet, there they were waiting to bury us in dust and

darkness while we strolled along our self-styled path of righteousness,” Retthew said with some

bitterness.

“Cosmic injustice? Nobody ever said the right path included rewards, Rett. But we couldn’t walk any

other path even if we wanted to.”

“Why not?” Retthew searched his friend’s face for unknowable answers.

But Ozemmik always had an answer, one he believed in, no matter what the question. “Because we’re

afraid of what we’d become if we ignored the righteousness of what we’ve done, what we’ve built here.”

“And whatwould we become?”

“Just like the Alajians, just like the people we hate the most.”

“I don’t hate them. Not after three centuries.”

“I do,” said Ozemmik simply. “And my polls tell me the Etolosan people willnever forgive what was

done to our ancestors, Spirit rest their souls.”

“Polls. Sometimes I wish you wouldn’t tell me what they say.”

“You need to know.”

Retthew returned to his chair, biting more of the brown seeds between his teeth. “Are you really afraid

of becoming like them?”

“I’m not afraid of anything. But if I were, that would be my fear.”

Retthew motioned to his adviser. “Sit down, my friend. Do you remember that motto you had posted

over your dormitory bed?”

“Of course. ‘Once called, always committed.’ You know it’s still on my wall.”

“Yes. In your office. You’ve never stopped believing in that, have you?”

Ozemmik’s brow made a fractional arch, as if the answer was self-evident. And to anyone who knew

him as well as Retthew did, it was just that.

“I’ve always envied that about you,” said Retthew, “the way you can choose a direction and never look

back. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished I could be like that.”

“You shouldn’t bother, Rett,” Ozemmik said, wagging his chin. “I go through life trying my damndest to

get the universe to agree with me. It’s a burden I don’t think you’d enjoy.”

“Well . . . some of us get that calling later than others.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“I’ve been thinking about . . . about taking an extreme step.”

Ozemmik snorted a laugh. “You? Without opinion polls?”

“Don’t be so sarcastic with your prefex,” Retthew admonished, only half kidding.

“Forgive me, Excellency,” Ozemmik said with a friendly smirk. “And tell me what you’re talking about.

What calling?”

“I’ve always been an administrator. The job does not encourage great leaps of courage.”

“And that’s always suited you,” Ozemmik said, not unkindly.

“True. But the times are different. And they’re demanding something greater from me.”

“I’m not sure I like hearing you talk this way.”

“Then I doubt you’ll like what I’m considering.” Retthew took a deep breath to steady his nerves. “This

may be the time to open up a dialogue with Alaj.”

Ozemmik’s face pinched in startlement.“What?”

“No one else on the Council knows about the last Alajian nefittifi’s death, do they?”

“No. I came directly to you, as always.”

“I’ll inform them at today’s meeting,” said Retthew, avoiding his friend’s probing stare by chewing

another seed from the dish.

Ozemmik rose from his chair, leaning halfway across the desk. “Alaj is our sworn enemy—”

“An enemy who has something we need,” Retthew replied in a soft-spoken voice. But now he forced

himself to lock eyes with Ozemmik. If he couldn’t stand up to opposition here, he’d never be able to do

it in the full Council meeting.

“What do we need from them?” said Ozemmik dismissively.

“A place to live, to continue our work. The fourth planet in the Alajian system. They’ve never settled it.”

Ozemmik blinked, not quite believing what he’d heard. “Move ourwhole society? And even if we

could, do you expect them to justgive it to us?”

“There may be room for negotiation.” Retthew tried to sound forceful, but knew he had failed. “We have

things to offer Alaj.”

Ozemmik stepped back, as if distancing himself from madness, his expression dark as a thundercloud.

“There are powerful people who would oppose any dealings with Alaj. Perhaps with violence.”

“Are you one of them?”

“I’m your security adviser. I serve you. Warning you when I think you’re about to do something very

foolish is part of my job. The Council will never agree to this.”

“Our survival is at stake. I think Alaj’s may be, as well.” Retthew’s voice wavered. Then he stiffened

both his back and his resolve. “If I have to, I can invoke the emergency powers of this office and act on

my own.”

Ozemmik shook his head. “The Council will revoke your election.”

“The hearings will take months,” Retthew said evenly. “By then, the process I’ve already started will

have gone too far to stop.”

“Already started—?”

“A message to the United Federation of Planets, an official request for mediation. A Starfleet Starship is

on its way . . .” He squinted as he tried to recall the ship’s name. “TheEnterprise.”

Chapter Two

ARMS STRETCHED TO THE LIMIT, fingers straining, Lieutenant Worf reached high and snared his

prey as it hurtled past. He clutched it to his chest. Even stark naked, a Klingon could still strike fear into

any foe. Clad in protective armor, as he was now, Worf believed himself to be an ambulatory fortress.

Unconquerable.

Like any good warrior, he’d prepared by briefing himself on his opponents’ likely strategies, which

seemed almost childish in their direct simplicity. He had no doubts he could stand his ground, and he

knew there would be fewer than a dozen of them. He’d faced greater odds in past skirmishes.

But they came at him too quickly to be counted, their faces hidden inside helmets. Their feet pounded

the sod as they charged at a dead run. With a Klingon battle snarl, he braced for the onslaught of the

enemy phalanx. He was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Few adversaries could make that claim. This would always be the Klingon advantage.

They slammed into him with stunning force, his eyes wide with surprise. He recovered quickly,

summoning all his strength and instinct with no time for thought. His warrior’s blood boiled as he lashed

out. But they overwhelmed him, too many against one. He fell back on the field, the battle over . . . the

lone warrior vanquished in a matter of moments.

“Worf! Worf! Are you okay?” It was Geordi La Forge shouting, his voice racing closer from

somewhere outside the pile of bodies pinning Worf to the ground. One body at a time, the weight lifted

and Worf saw Geordi’s concerned face peering through an opening in the heap.

“Of course,” the Klingon rumbled. Another foe lying across his chest got up and Worf peeled himself off

the turf. Commander Will Riker offered him a hand. TheEnterprise security chief waved it off with

disdain and rose to his feet, still clutching the oblong prize in the crook of his arm. “An invigorating

experience.”

Geordi and Riker, both wearing colorful helmets and padded uniforms similar to Worf’s, stood there

shaking their heads.

“Nice catch,” Geordi said, “but you’re supposed to run.”

Worf’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why?”

“So you don’t end up at the bottom of a pile,” said Riker helpfully, stifling a smirk. He’d learned from

assorted experiences that it was best not to smirk at a Klingon, especially a frustrated one.

“To avoid the defense,” Geordi added.

Worf looked from one to the other, trying to grasp another of what seemed to be an endless supply of

inexplicable human quirks. “If I avoid the enemy, where is the challenge?”

Riker and La Forge traded a quick glance of exasperation. Geordi took the football from Worf and

began to reiterate the idea behind the ancient sport, but Worf stopped him with a sullen glare. “I believed

I would better understand humans and their approach to combat if I experienced their more violent

pastimes, but there are too many arcane rules and limits in this activity.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Riker concluded. “Computer, cancel program.” The computer obliged, and the

football stadium and opposing players promptly vanished, leaving only the bare holodeck and its familiar

yellow-on-black grid.

“You’ve got something in mind, Commander?” asked Geordi.

“I do,” Riker said with a sly twinkle. “Worf, I think you need something more gladiatorial, more

primitive, more like organized mayhem.”

The Klingon’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. “I was not aware there were any human games with those

characteristics.”

“Oh, there’s one. I used to play it myself,” said Riker. He looked at Geordi, who had caught the first

officer’s drift.

“What is it called?” asked Worf.

Riker and La Forge both answered at once: “Rugby!”

Before they could explain, the voice of Captain Picard filled the cavernous chamber. “Number One, Mr.

Worf, and Mr. La Forge—to the bridge, please.”

“Riker here, sir. We’re on the holodeck. Permission to clean up first?”

“Granted,” Picard replied. “Then report to the conference room. We’ve just received a message from

Starfleet Command. TheEnterprise must make an emergency diversion.”

“Ithought it felt like we changed course,” Geordi muttered.

“How could you possibly tell?” said Worf.

Geordi shrugged. “Engineer’s intuition.”

“Where are we headed, sir?” Riker asked.

“The Etolosan system.”

“Etolos?” Riker frowned, but the name didn’t register. “Never heard of it.”

“Neither had I, Number One.”

“But I’ll bet Data has,” Riker said with a grin, “and I’ll bet he’s dying to tell us about it. We’re on our

way.”

Captain’s Log, Stardate 44429.1:

TheEnterprise is en route to the planet Etolos. Although Etolos is not a member of the Federation, the

planetary government has requested Federation assistance in ending long-standing hostilities with a

neighboring planet, Alaj. It seems that the people of Etolos are descended from members of a dissident

movement banished from Alaj some three hundred years ago.

“Long-standing hostilities,” said Riker dryly, “would seem to be something of an understatement.”

Jean-Luc Picard nodded in agreement, then addressed the group gathered around the long briefing

table—Riker, Worf, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Engineer La Forge, Ship’s Counselor Deanna Troi and

Lieutenant Commander Data. “There are some odd elements involved in this mission. Not the least of

which is the fact that Etolos is not a Federation member though Alaj is. Yet the request for mediation

came from Etolos.”

“Captain,” Beverly said, “how do the Alajians feel about a third party getting involved?”

“After hearing from Etolos, the Federation contacted the Alajians. Apparently, Alaj expressed wary

interest in the idea.”

“I don’t get it,” Geordi mused, swallowing a sip of coffee. “These people haven’t said ‘boo’ to each

other in three hundred years and now, coincidentally, they both think it’s a hot idea to sit down and chat

about old times?”

“The circumstances are somewhat incongruous,” Picard agreed. “It usually takes some compelling

motivations to prompt such a rapprochement. Investigating those motivations will be part of our

assignment. Mr. Data, the pertinent background, if you please.”

The android officer’s yellow eyes glittered with enthusiasm. Though Picard had experienced some initial

misgivings about having an android on his senior bridge staff, he’d long since come to appreciate the

manner in which Data tackled all tasks, however mundane: with nothing less than exhaustive (and, to

those listening, occasionally exhausting) thoroughness.

“Sector Sigma-485,” Data began, “contains sixty-six percent fewer habitable planets than average. As a

result, worlds with sentient life and developed societies take on extra strategic significance.”

Riker scratched his beard thoughtfully. “How many developed societies are out there?”

“Twenty that we know of. Only three are Federation members. The rest are nonaligned, and there has

been considerable jockeying for power and prestige between them. Over the past fifty years, several

small wars have broken out between assorted planets in the region. At least a half-dozen alliances have

formed and shattered.”

“Sounds incredibly unstable,” said Riker.

“Instability,” Worf said, “invites trouble.”

“Precisely,” Picard agreed. “The Federation is concerned about what may happen if one world manages

to forcibly consolidate power over the others.”

Riker grasped the implications immediately. “Possibly the birth of the next Romulan Empire or Ferengi

Alliance.”

“Bigtrouble,” said Geordi.

Picard clasped his hands and rested them on the table. “By encouraging peaceful contacts and

cooperation, the Federation is attempting to offer those planets some more fruitful alternatives to endless

rounds of warfare.”

“What about the Prime Directive?” Riker asked. “There’s a fine line to be walked.”

The captain nodded. “Indeed there is. Whatever the Federation does in Sigma-485 must be done by

example and invitation. Which makes our diplomatic foray of critical importance. If we can mediate a

durable detente between such old adversaries as Etolos and Alaj, it would clearly enhance the

Federation’s standing among the other societies of the Sigma-485 region.”

“How long has Alaj been a Federation member?” Deanna Troi wondered.

“Ten years,” said Data. “In fact, Alaj was the first planet in the area to join. The other two current

members, Vorgon and Ta’Trosha 4, joined eight and five years ago, respectively.”

“Although,” said Picard, “the Alajians have kept largely to themselves during that time.”

“Quite true,” Data said. “In fact, the Alajians recalled their Federation ambassador three years ago, and

the Federation liaison office on Alaj has not been staffed for the past two years.”

“Isn’t that unusual?” asked Dr. Crusher.

Picard shrugged. “But not unheard of. The Alajians were having serious internal problems and had an

abrupt change of government. The new government never bothered to send a representative back to

Earth. And the Federation’s Interplanetary Liaison Office is always complaining that they don’t have

enough diplomats to go around. They evidently decided Alaj could do without diplomatic attention . . .

until now.”

“Captain,” Troi said, “why would the Federation accept as a member a world which uses banishment as

a way of dealing with those who disagree with government policies?” Her large dark eyes reflected deep

concern.

“It’s been quite a few years since Alaj last banished dissidents—”

“One hundred and eight, sir,” Data volunteered.

“By signing onto the Federation Charter, they accepted that it upholds certain basic human rights,”

Picard said.

Riker leaned forward. “Just out of curiosity, Data, is there any record of how many times the Alajians

banished groups they didn’t like?”

“Twelve, sir, for various political and religious differences. They have had spaceflight capability for five

hundred years. Their standard procedure entailed stocking a vessel with provisions and sending it off into

space.”

STAR TREK - TNG - 14 - Exiles

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