Slipping Away

[KVorlag 0]

K'Vorlag left the conference room, bound for the small B'Rel-class scout IKS Kij'pah docked with the station.

 

They had learned nothing in the previous hour. Drankum had repeated his official statement and had been given little room to say much else. For all the grandeur of the Diplomatic Hub, there had been little diplomacy in evidence.

 

It was clear to him now. The Federation and the Cardassians seemed incapable of treating the Ferengi with honor. They had merely traded threats over who had the bigger fleets, demanded the other side see things completely from their point of view, and made no attempt to discover the deeper causes.

 

His own attempts had been equally futile.

 

He could understand the Ferengi's consternation. The Federation had acted to move the station without even waiting for their response. If the Klingons had been delinquent in a response, would they have done the same? Unlikely. They would have feared political strain or outright military reprisal. But had they done likewise with the Ferengi? Clearly, they had feared neither.

 

Worse, it was clear the Federation, Cardassians, and now the Romulans didn't care about the Ferengi objection or their foolhearted willingness to assert their treaty rights - economically and even militarily. The allies ignored that willingness itself showed something important. So much for mutual understanding: it had become a matter of honor. Stepping out of the lift, he snorted in irony. The other allies were acting like their worst imagined characatures of Klingons.

 

He would have no part in it.

 

He passed through the connection to his ship and ordered it sealed behind him. The Empire could decide what it wanted, but he would not be baited into a senseless battle without knowing what he fought for. Klingons killed for their own reasons.

 

He could think of only one other option, but it was too distant. He didn't even know if he could make contact in time. If Muon ordered her Starfleet force at the border to close on Aegis now, the Ferengi would fight first, and it would be over before he could stop it. He dropped down into the center seat, waiting to see for whom it would be a good day to die first.