Star Trek by Dayton Ward, Kevin Dilmore Page B

I’m the assistant helmsman.”
    â€œI just hired him on last month,” Giancarlo added from where he stood to Aldo’s right. “Dillone and Gret were begging me for extra help during the longer trips. You know how Bolians can get if you don’t give them what they want.” It was a hasty fabrication, one Giancarlo and Aldo had contrived, as well as a feeble attempt to play on the familiarity that the Corsis andMogad shared, but it was better than letting Ross talk too much.
    Mogad’s attention lingered on the commander a moment longer before he resumed his slow pacing. “There is much here that troubles me, Aldo, and my concern is compounded by the fact that we have known one another for a long time. I do not want to believe that you have engaged in any activities that might harm our relationship, but circumstances being what they are, I am not allowed the luxury of taking anything for granted.” Walking until he stood directly in front of Aldo, his smile widened as he added, “So I hope you will understand my insistence on an inspection of your vessel in order to assuage my doubts.”
    The “request” was more polite formality than anything else, Aldo knew, just as he knew that members of the gul’s crew were already sweeping the
Hope
from bow to stern in search of anything that could implicate him or his crew. Ross had assured him that the sensor equipment would not be detected with the special masking field in place, but that did little to ease Aldo’s discomfort.
    â€œWhat doubts?” Aldo asked. “Come on, Mogad, what is it you believe us to have done?”
    Leveling a scathing glare at Aldo, the gul replied, “Quite simply, I believe that you were spying, human,and the only reason I have not ordered your ship destroyed already is because of the respect you have earned from me in the past. However, if I find that trust has been violated, you will wish I had simply blown you out of space.”

    Lieutenant Hu’Ghrovlatrei had to fight the urge to fidget as the Cardassians walked through the hold, gradually making their way toward the grouping of Type XII cargo modules.
    The unit holding the Starfleet team’s equipment had been sealed and the sensor masking field activated, and other cargo had been situated around it to give the appearance that no one could easily enter the larger model. With just their tricorders to aid them, there should be no way for the Cardassians to know that any of the containers were anything but what they appeared to be.
    So why am I so nervous?
    Of course she knew the reason, and it had everything to do with being alone in a cargo hold with two Cardassians, a result of Gul Mogad’s directing Aldo to supply a crew member who could guide the search party through the labyrinthine storage bays. It was just such an opportunity that Commander Ross had been hoping for, instructing Aldo in advance to offerGhrovlatrei for the task if and when Mogad gave the order. The Starfleet officers had so far been accepted as members of the ship’s company, and her assignment to the detail had raised no suspicions as she led the way through the cargo areas, standing where she was told to stand or opening doors or moving the odd container when directed. Otherwise the Cardassians ignored her, intent as they were on their mission.
    The scans she and Donovan had conducted, despite the low power setting and the noninvasive nature of their sensors, had obviously been detected by the Cardassians. Whatever equipment had accomplished the feat had to be more powerful than that installed aboard the patrol ships presently surrounding the
Hope
. That would imply some sort of sensor installation in this vicinity, she knew. Was it located on the moon? If so, that would certainly go a long ways toward explaining the Cardassians’ reaction.
    It’s too bad we didn’t get a chance to take a closer look
, she mused, trying