"Paved With Good Intentions"

written by

Michael Gray

Horace did his best to catch up, but in the process, nearly plowed into a reporter standing at the chamber entrance. Fortunately, Cyrus Wakernaggle caught the young aide before his impact into the beautiful woman with the camera.

But she didn't miss the opportunity it availed her. "Ambassador Wakernaggle!"

A smile formed across his face. "Annette, how are you my dear?"

The tall blonde wasn't swayed by his attempt at charm. "What's your reaction to reports that several starship captains plan to arrest members of the Council if the vote goes against the Baku?"

Other nearby reporters turned their cameras Wakernaggle's direction to capture the answer.

"Preposterous."

Annette Kovalak's lithe frame assumed the stiff posture it always did when she was unsatisfied. "This has come from three sources within Starfleet Command. How can you dismiss such a serious threat to the stability of the Federation? Isn't it true that four starships are currently on their way to the Briar Patch?"

"I have not heard reports of any such activity," Wakernaggle stated. "However, if there are ships headed there, I suspect it is on orders from Starfleet to assist the plague refugees from Darmathus Six."

"Isn't it true that the Baku have not wavered in the least on their decision to bar the refugees from landing on their world?"

"I have no doubt we will come to an agreement with the Baku which will allow the refugees the relief they seek while respecting Baku sovereignty. The Federation Council has a long history of finding such solutions amidst the chaos of the moment."

"Then why are you going into a closed meeting with other Ambassadors? Why not let the people of the Federation see how this agreement is going to be reached?"

"Come now, Annette," Wakernaggle began. "Surely you understand the need for some things to remain behind closed doors."

Even that tangential mention of her recent indiscretion with a Starfleet Admiral, known to only a few, was enough to make Annette hesitate. And that was all Wakernaggle needed.

"Now if you'll all excuse me..."

He strolled toward the large doors to the main chamber, pulling his aide along by the arm.

"How did you get her to..."

"Pay attention, Horace," Wakernaggle said, cutting him off. "What's not said is often far more important than what is."

***

Listening to the vitriolic denunciations of the Baku from certain Council members didn't interest Cyrus Wakernaggle in the least. They were accorded their time, allowing them the delusion their opinions might change matters. To Wakernaggle the only point in giving them their time to speak was it allowed everyone else the luxury of knowing their own positions weren't the most extreme presented on the issue at hand.

But while the public presentation of views was well under way in the Council Chamber, Wakernaggle and six others met in a conference room one floor down to hammer out the real solution to the present Baku crisis.

He leaned back in his chair, allowing the silence to become as uncomfortable as possible, watching for who would be the first to break it.

"I assume you asked us here to discuss something Cyrus," Vilas Y'Than blurted out, his antennae twitching. "My government didn't send me here to waste my day sipping your family's coffee."

Cyrus let a grin spread across his face. "Vilas, my friend, the Andorian government sent you here to prevent the very sort of problem we see unfolding before us, yet thus far I've not heard you offer a single idea these past two weeks."

"Ideas aren't necessary, only decisions. And we all know what the right one is."

"But that is indeed the dilemma, isn't it?" Nilos Barlon asked. "How can we allow the last of the Darmathians to die, but on the other hand, how can we chose to violate Baku sovereignty?"

"The Baku use less space on their world than that taken up by Wakernaggle's estate in Maine." The others chuckled at Y'Than's jab at their colleague. "They wouldn't have even known the Darmathians were coming if we hadn't told them."

"But that hardly takes away their right to decide who lives on their world, does it?"

"I understand you're rather sensitive on the issue of sovereignty, Nilos, considering how your world suffered under Cardassian occupation, but there is a higher principle, the extinction of an entire species and culture, for us to consider."

"Consider it, yes, but we must be careful not to let it override all other principles."

Xalan Mun set his coffee down on the table in front of him. "The Baku live under Federation protection, and up to now we've asked nothing of them in return. I believe now is the time... and more importantly, a clear majority of the council agrees with me."

Wakernaggle did his best to suppress a smile. He'd of course known for some time what the Genorian just told them, but he was quite pleased not to be the one to say it. He did a quick check of the faces in the room, seeing Mun's words were having the desired effect of crushing whatever reservations they'd had with the hammer of inevitability.

However, there was one whose countenance hadn't changed. Tharmon Pelagius, his head covered in a half bird-nest of hair, sat with the same stern face he'd entered the room with. He'd always been a thorn in Wakernaggle's side, arguing against him time and time again. Pelagius was an idealist, and there was little Cyrus hated more than an idealist.

Wakernaggle needed to draw him in to find out exactly where he stood.

"While that may indeed be the case," Cyrus said. "The question of how we go about it will determine whether the resolution is successful, or merely digs us into a far deeper hole."

"What did you have in mind, Cyrus?" Pelagius asked, breaking his long silence.

"We shall stall the debate."

Mun's eyes widened as far as they could. "Why? There's is agreement in the Council. The Baku must..."

"My proposal is we present the Baku with a choice. We can pass the current measure authorizing Starfleet to allow the Darmathians to land on the far side of the Baku world, or we will wait until after the Darmathians die out, when the Council will vote to remove the starships currently protecting the Baku. We will inform their envoy of this, and await the Baku response."

Mun smiled. "You can count on my friends in the council to support this proposal, Cyrus."

Barlon shook his head. "I don't like it. We shouldn't threaten them with the prospect of having half the Galaxy invading their world for its healing properties."

"It's either the Darmathians or half the Galaxy," Mun replied. "I like that choice."

"It isn't a choice," Pelagius said. "Barlon is right. We should not be in the business of threatening the Baku."

"It isn't a threat," Wakernaggle said. "We are merely expressing our displeasure at their reluctance to save the remaining population of another species. This Federation spends considerable resources turning away millions of desperate people every year from the Baku world. We have every right to decide not to continue that protection."

"Then stand on the Council Floor and offer a resolution to cut that protection now, Cyrus. Stop playing silly political games."

Wakernaggle caught himself before he reacted to Pelagius. His adversary had a way of getting under his skin, and he hated it. "If you don't have the stomach for politics, then go home to Amoria, Tharmon."

Pelagius smiled. "The only thing I don't have a stomach for is deception, which seems to always be at the heart of everything you do."

"Then what would you suggest? Let the current resolution pass? What will that solve?"

"I have to agree with Cyrus," Y'Than said. "If the reports of starships on their way to Baku are accurate, and they intend to prevent the Darmathians from finding sanctuary, we can't allow the current resolution to come up for a vote."

Pelagius turned to the other silent member of their group. "If Admiral James here, as the CinC of Starfleet, is still in control of his subordinates, we shouldn't have to worry about what those starships will do. And if he isn't, then we should confront Starfleet directly."

"I agree," Nilos Barlon said. "Starfleet must understand it serves the people, not the other way around."

While Wakernaggle had anticipated this reaction, especially from Pelagius, he hadn't thought Barlon would ally himself with the Amorian ambassador. This was quite troubling.

"Starfleet understands that," Admiral Bartholomew James said. "The problem is a few captains who..."

"Please spare us your explanation, Admiral," Pelagius interrupted. "This problem has been endemic within much of Starfleet for some time. Your captains believe they have the right to grant themselves veto power over the Council, rather than comprehending they serve the people of the Federation."

James wore a half smile. "They believe doing so is part of serving the people."

"By preventing them from making their own choices through the Council?"

Admiral James didn't answer. Wakernaggle needed Pelagius to at least allow his proposal to come up for a vote. Somehow he had to rescue the situation.

"My friends, you all know I am a thoughtful man," Cyrus said. "My intention is to prevent a fracture between the Council and Starfleet, one which, yes, has been brewing for some time."

"It has only brewed because many here have refused past efforts to reign in those rogue captains who possessed the deluded notion they had the right to set policy for the Federation," Pelagius said. "Even when it flew in the face of what the Council had already decided."

"Weren't you the one who decried the Council's original decision to relocate the Baku, Tharmon? And didn't you applaud the reconsideration of that bad decision? Now wasn't it one of those rogue starship captains who pushed for that reconsideration?"

"I applauded the reconsideration, but not what got us there. The ends don't justify the means, Cyrus."

"Ambassador, I admit the situation is volatile," Admiral James said.

"Volatile? When we hear rumors some captains intend to march into the Council and arrest us if we vote to locate the Darmathians on Baku, I think we're far beyond volatile, Admiral."

James didn't skip a beat. "I suggest we tread cautiously to avoid an escalation of the problem."

"You can afford to be cautious, Admiral, but we as the representatives of the people don't have that luxury." Pelagius leaned forward. "You can either reign your captains in, or I will introduce a resolution to the Council which will. I won't sit idly by while starship captains march into the Council to arrest ambassadors."

Y'Than, who appeared nervous with this talk of arrest, turned to Pelagius. "But what if that causes more captains to join their cause? The power they possess in those ships..."

"I refuse to let us sink to the level of accepting the proposition that might makes right."

"But we can't ignore..."

"The thing we can't ignore is how the people of the Federation have raised their voices. And, like them, if we have even a single shred of compassion, it becomes clear that the Darmathians cannot be allowed to die. But it's up to us to convince the Baku of this, not threaten them into submission to our authority," Pelagius said. "However, the true crisis is what these rogue starship captains intend. Perhaps they don't see it, but if they carry out what we have heard in rumor, they will destroy the very notion of democratic government. If the idea of freedom means anything to us, we cannot allow the people's will to be smothered in the protection of an elite group of Starfleet officers."

Wakernaggle smiled wide. "So you do believe in something after all, Pelagius."

"I still believe in the dream of people living the lives they choose, free from the meddling of those who think they know better. I believe it with a passion which you seem devoid of, Cyrus. Yes, I believe in the right of the people to make their own, free choices... even if on occasion they happen to be wrong."

Pelagius rose to his feet. "You all know where I stand on this. If you go along with this proposal to blackmail the Baku, I will do everything in my power to block you."

He walked out of the conference room.

"While I agree with Pelagius the thought of Starfleet officers coming to arrest us for a vote is most troubling, I find it hard to believe it is any more than a boast on the part of a few officers who see a principle they hold dear being challenged," Barlon said. "The idea they might go to the Baku world to stop the fulfillment of a Council vote I find more likely, and at the same time a reason for concern. I hope, Admiral James, that you can assure us we are not on the verge of a military dictatorship."

"No, we are not," James said. "Ever since the Leyton affair, we have had measures in place to prevent such a conspiracy from occurring."

Everyone in the room seemed to relax just a little bit at that.

Wakernaggle, while worried about Pelagius stubbornness, was pleased the man was no longer a present influence on Nilos Barlon's consideration of the issue. But whether or not that would remain the case, was a great concern.

***

"I think that went better than we might have expected," James said as he, Wakernaggle, and the ambassador's aide, Horace, stepped into Cyrus' office.

"As far as the proposal to force the Baku to accept the Darmathians on their world, yes, I would agree," Cyrus said.

"Then what's the problem?"

"Tell him, Horace."

His assistant seemed surprised at the order, but quickly rose to the occasion. "Ambassador Pelagius is gaining influence with Nilos Barlon."

Wakernaggle turned to the Admiral. "We've spent far too much time grooming Barlon for his future to allow Pelagius of all people to turn him into an insipid idealist."

"But that might be put to good use."

Both the Admiral and Ambassador turned to Horace. "How?" James asked.

"If Barlon appears allied with Pelagius, even for a short time, it would later dismiss any sense that he was merely following your lead. No one ever suspects a puppet when they are convinced the strings are not there."

Wakernaggle smiled wide. Horace was finally learning how to think like a man with vision. "Excellent point, my lad."

"Then we let this go on?" James asked as he settled into a chair.

"For now, yes." Wakernaggle stood at his window, watching evening descend on San Francisco Bay. "It will make this current issue more difficult to resolve, but I agree with Horace's assessment of its future value to us."

"I think we're taking a terrible risk," Admiral James said as he reached for a glass and the bottle of whiskey on the desk. "Barlon is critical to the future security of the Federation. If we lose him..."

"Then we will see to it that we don't lose him."

James didn't appear at all satisfied with that answer, but Cyrus was used to the Admiral's moods, and knew this momentary uncertainty would pass once he'd imbibed enough whiskey.

"Of course, there's another added benefit to Barlon allying himself to Pelagius for the time being," Horace said.

"And what is that?"

"When he is brought into whatever it is you have planned for him, it will be a great defeat for Ambassador Pelagius."

Wakernaggle couldn't help smiling at that thought. Yes, Horace seemed to have finally learned that politics was the art of taking advantage of the opportunities fate provided. And Cyrus Wakernaggle was not the kind of man who would let an opportunity to strike at Pelagius pass him by.

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Dark Horizon Story and Characters Copyright ©2007 Michael Gray

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