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 =)