Lost Time Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Onscreen.”
    The viewscreen shimmered; a face blurred, then coalesced into features Gold recognized. “What do you want, Garak?”
    “Why, Captain Gold.” Gul Garak’s oily tenor undulated from the speakers. “You astound me. Isn’t it obvious? You stole something, naughty you, and now I’d like it back. You do that and I’d be ecstatic to order my ships to stand down.”
    “So generous. Let me guess: In exchange for your magnanimity, I presume I’ll be your guest and will be… convinced, in the most subtle ways you can devise, to hand over the precise location of all of Starfleet’s forces in this sector, right?”
    “Not only a brave captain but a mind reader, as well. Ah, Gold, you are a treasure. You never fail to astound me. Not as cultured as Picard by any means, may he rest in peace, but still very charming in your way.”
    “I notice that your high esteem for Picard didn’t exactly translate into any unwillingness to execute him.”
    “You wound me.” Garak placed both hands over his left breast. “When it was over, I was stricken for at least an hour. Picard was such an interesting conversation-alist, too. So bookish. Not nearly the boor Dukat was — and, oh my, such language! That man did have a mouth. Assassinating Dukat was a matter of self-preservation, I assure you.”
    “No doubt. I hear Dukat was pretty well off, too.”
    “Yes, indeed. You may rest easy that his fortune was divided fairly among his various friends. And his command, well, let us just say that I feel the weight of my responsibilities here on Terok Nor. Fortunately, Dukat’s very own, very special comfort woman is quite…well…honestly, I blush. ”
    “Spare me the details. I can’t imagine the Bajorans being anything but hospitable and oh-so-comforting to their paid thugs.”
    “Captain, you cut me to the quick. You know very well that we are here at the invitation of the Bajorans. It is you who trespass. But, oh, bother the details. Let’s bury the hatchet, shall we? Why don’t you stand down and beam on over to Terok Nor? We’ll chat over a nice snifter of Lakatian brandy: an excellent vintage, astounding nose, and the finish! To die for.”
    “In the words of an exceedingly bright engineer…up your shaft, Garak.”
    “Such a consummate wit. Captain Gold, I shall very much regret killing you. It will pain me, truly.”
    “Not half as much as this will,” said Gold. He turned to McAllan. “ Now. ”
    On cue, McAllan cut the channel; Garak’s face winked out; and Gold whirled on his heel. “Wong, show these bastards our sweet pink asses! McAllan, aft shields; give them all you’ve got! Gomez!”
    “On it, sir! Venting now…done!”
    “Fire phasers! Wong, warp three, now! ”
    Suddenly, the space around the Keldon flashed as McAllan touched off phasers into a swirl of vented plasma. The plasma pillowed into a mushrooming orange-red cloud; the Keldon and Hideki s disappeared in the fiery slurry of ignited plasma and gas, and the glare was so bright Gold blinked, looked away. In the same instant, Wong whirled the ship to starboard and the Gettysburg shot into warp.

    “Are they away?” From his office in Terok Nor, Gul Elim Garak watched space ignite. His predominant emotion was a grudging sort of admiration. “Zotat, are they away?”
    “They’re gone.” Zotat’s reply sputtered amid pops of ionization static. “Shall we give chase?”
    “No, no.” Garak raised a finger in admonishment. “Let the brave captain and his crew go. We’ll be meeting them again, very soon. Take up your stations at your prearranged coordinates and signal the other vessels to do likewise. I will notify you when it is time. Garak out.”
    In the silence that followed, Garak raised a snifter of very old, very fine Lakatian brandy to his visitor in the chair opposite. “A toast.”
    “Indeed.” The Androssi overseer was male and slim with a skin tone that was more gray than yellow. Unlike many of his kind, his face