The Last Stand (Book #37)

by Brad Ferguson

 

Arriving at an unexplored area of space, Picard and the crew of the Enterprise come across a small collection of planets - two of which have been stripped bare by an unknown catastrophe. All that was left on the planets were simple life forms, and a deadly virus that would kill humans on contact.
The third planet, Nem Ma'ak Bratuna holds a civilisation geared up for an impending war. All becomes apparent when, on the planet's surface, Picard sees tens of thousands of ships hovering in orbit - waiting.
7000 years ago, the Krann were little more than slaves to the Lithanta's, Nem Ma'ak Bratuna's people, on one of the destroyed planets, and after developing enough, the Krann fought back, making the Lithanta's flee. 6000 years later, the Krann finally catch up, and even after Picard's best diplomatic efforts, war begins.
Then the Lithanta reveal their secret deadly weapon - a weapon that would not only destroy the entire Krann fleet, but their own world too. Picard managed to stop them from deploying it right at the last moment.
Believing that hope now lay with the younger members on both sides - members who knew nothing of the previous atrocities, the Enterprise leaves them to settle things between themselves.
But unknown to them, many Lithanta's, thinking they were doomed fled to the skies in hidden ships, closely followed by the remaining Krann who have no intentions of ending the war.

Notable Imzadi moments:
Pages 237 to 238

Deanna's eyes opened. "A water shower? Oh, I love those. Is the water hot?"
"Let me check." Will ducked inside and ran the tap for a moment, and there came the sudden sound of a hard rain. "Yep," he reported. "Hot as all hell. Good pressure too. There's a container of thick liquid stuff that I think is soap, or a good excuse for soap. There's also a couple of towels."
"Sounds grand," Troi said, stretching. "Will, would you very much if -?"
"Hmmm? Oh. No. No, not at all."
Deanna gave him a tired grin. "Thanks, Will. Uh, I'll toss you for the bed, assuming we can find something to toss."
"No. It's yours."
"But -"
"I won't discuss it," Will insisted. "Just lend me one of the pillows. I'll be fine on the floor. Actually, I'm a little tired myself."
"With pleasure," Deanna smiled. "Thank you. Uh, there's an extra blanket, too. Here." She tossed it across the room to him. "These people thought of everything."
"Very hospitable." As Deanna disappeared into the bathroom, Will spread the blanket on the floor along side the bed, doubled it over the long way, and dropped the pillow where it belonged. He quickly doffed his Krann garb, retrieved the audio pickup bug from the trouser pocket, and inserted it into his left ear, in case the Enterprise called during the night. Dropping down to the carpet, Will crawled inside the folded blanket and made himself comfortable. The padding under the carpet proved to be soft and agreeable, and he dozed off quickly.
About twenty minutes later, a soothed and satisfied Deanna emerged from the bathroom, one bath towel wrapped around her and the other around her hair. She heard the once-familiar sound of Will's determined snoring coming from just beyond the bed. Not quite like the old days, she thought kindly, but close enough. Deanna smiled at the gentle memory as she killed the room lights, dropped one of the towels close by the nightstand, clipped her communicator to the remaining towel and got into bed. She was asleep within minutes. Will's snoring had never bothered her in the old days, and it did not bother her now.
~~~~~~~~~~


 

Thank you Carol for putting this together =)