Finally, they arrived. They met up with a Vor'cha class cruiser, which Sean hailed. "Destiny Dog to Khitomer's Revenge. Captain Monihan, here."
"Greetings, Captain," came the reply. "I am Torg. My chief scientist, Talgan, tells me you are a trustworthy and honorable man, for a human. He also tells me he worked out an arrangement with you to provide us with iridium."
"Yessir, got it right here."
"This is good, but in the future, you will include me in any such negotiations."
"Of course. I promise ya, y'll na'er get anythin' from me again wi'out askin' for it personally."
"Good. Now, are you prepared to beam over the ore?"
"Anytime you are. But can you maybe have Talgan beam over here first? I ha'n't seen him in awhile, y'know. I'd like ta catch up. And intraduce him ta my nephews."
"Very well. You have two hours. I have a busy schedule to keep. Torg out."
When Talgan beamed over, Sean, Jax, and Jacen were waiting in the transporter room. "Good ta see ya again, Tal. I'd like ya ta meet m'nephews, Jax DeSabel and Jacen Monihan."
Talgan grunted, barely glancing up from a PADD he continuously studied and manipulated. "Pleasure. Is everything ready?"
Sean pushed a button and moved a few levers. "Cargo's beamin' over now."
Jax asked, "Is it really a good idea to be transporting crude iridium like that?"
"Oh, sure, if ya take the proper precautions. It's usually best to move it about manually, a course, but don't worry. This transport's perfectly safe."
"Okay."
The intercom sounded. "Christie here. The Khitomer's Revenge is headin' back ta its hidin' place."
"Thank you, Christie. Tal, the other ships're back there?"
"What others?" asked Jacen, as the group left the transporter room and headed for the bridge.
"Oh, na'er heard o' Torg, eh?" asked Sean.
"No," said both Jax and Jacen. "Should we have?" added Jax.
"Well, prob'ly not, he'd be nothin' ta th' two a you, a course. He's a friend o' th' house o' Duras. Heard a them, then?"
"No."
Well, y'will someday, I'm sure. Damn ironic name for th' ship, by th' way, Tal."
Tal grunted.
"Now, them Duras folks're a real bad lot. They've made plenny a trouble already fer the Federation an' the Klingons alike, an' it'll only get worse. Now, Torg is in the employ o' th' Sisters-"
"The sisters?" asked Jax.
"Yeah. Like I said, y'll hear o' them someday. Anyway, they're havin' Torg an' others, in other areas, try ta spread all sorts o' trouble. The Sisters' main goal is ta take over th' Council, an' destroy th' alliance with th' Federation."
"I hope I never see the day that happens," said Jax.
"Me too, lad, me too. Anyway, at worst, they'll eventually trigger- whether directly or they just take some part in it- a war between th' Empire an' the Federation. At best, they'll eventually trigger a civil war within th' Empire."
"That doesn't sound very best," said Jacen.
"No indeed. Bu' all we can really do is try ta hol' it off as long as possible, an' minimize the damage along th' way."
"And we're doing that now?" asked Jax.
"Yes, we are, lad." They arrived on the bridge, and Sean addressed his sister. "Christie, are we-"
"Shields are up, an' we're movin' away as fast as possible without causin' suspicion. All I have ta do is hit one button an' we'll be in warp. We're ready."
"Good. Tal?"
"Almost. I'll let you know."
"What's going on, precisely?" asked Jax.
"Torg has been massin' a small and secret force o' ships full a people loyal ta th' Sisters, an' opposed ta th' Alliance. Talgan, here, has done a real nice job o' infiltratin' them. He was, I believe, one o' Torg's most trusted men."
Talgan grunted, still not looking up from his PADD.
"…Bu' really, he's been wi' us. We developed this li'l plan months ago, an' it's finally reachin' fruition. Torg's got his little fleet hidden aroun' here."
"The iridium?" asked Jax.
"Is actually a bit more stable than most of its kind. But it does radiate a rather effective sensor-blocking aura. Inside th' shipment is a device tha'll act as a catalyst to rapidly destabilize th' ore, when we trigger it."
"That'll cause quite a big explosion-" began Jax.
"-And a chain reaction tha'll take out th' ship-" said Jacen."
"-Which, if timed right, could destroy the whole fleet," finished Jax.
"Exactly," said Sean.
"Now," said Talgan, finally looking up from the PADD.
Christie pushed her button, and the ship jumped faster than the inertial dampers could keep up. In moments, gravity was normal again. On the viewscreen, set on aft, everyone watched the explosion behind them grow, then subside.