The Oppressor's Wrong by Phaedra M. Weldon Page B

“He’s shaking.”
    The commander was right. Daniels was shivering, and he knew it was shock. He’d seen it a hundred times himself in his career in security.
    â€œâ€¦ calm down, sir,” Riker was saying. “Mr. Daniels—”
    The imposter’s body wavered in front of him.
    â€œâ€¦ medical attention. We need to
leave,”
Snowden was saying.
    Daniels’s vision blurred again and the imposter’s features shifted. Bent. Changed.
    But so subtly. Daniels blinked. Abruptly the man’s face was different. Still the same mocha skin, darkeyes, dark hair. But his face wasn’t the same. The features had morphed into someone else.
    Daniels looked at Riker. “You saw that—he changed. You saw him change.”
    Riker held up his hand. “No, Mr. Daniels,” he said. “I didn’t see him change.”
    But he
had
changed.
    It
had.
    Daniels’s vision blurred again, but this time he couldn’t clear it. His knees buckled as he lowered his hand and the phaser fell to the floor.

CHAPTER 6
What Dreams May Come
    S o far, everything had gone as planned. Even the admiral’s death could now be explained away easily enough.
    There were only two problems he could see.
    Taking a moment away from the chaos, he removed the small case, sat on the bed, and opened it.
    â€œReceiving,”
came the voice as usual. It took longer this time.
“Why have you risked contacting me now? You reported the
Enterprise’s
sensors are back online. They can detect this transmission if they look for it.”
    â€œYes, sir, but I—”
    â€œDid the blast go off as planned?”
    â€œYes, sir, but—”
    â€œAnd the signature—was it placed exactly where it should be?”
    He bristled. He was good at his job, and he disliked being drilled. “Yes, sir. But there is a problem—possibly two. I was recognized.”
    There was a pause, as he expected.
“Recognized?”
    â€œThe bomb specialist—Pádraig Daniels—he recognized the face of Jonathan DeNoux. He pulled a phaser on me and accused me of being a Changeling in front of others.”
    â€œWhat did Picard say?”
    â€œHe wasn’t there. But Commander Riker was. Luckily they didn’t believe him because he almost immediately passed out from a head wound.”
    Another pause.
“That could be a blessing.”
    â€œHe’s in sickbay on the
Enterprise,
along with the security team and Commander Riker. Snowden is, as well.” He paused. “I’ve also changed my appearance—subtly—so as not to arouse suspicion here on the station.”
    â€œGood. The average human won’t notice unless they compare images. I’ll make sure my contact at Planetary Operations disposes of the necessary records for me.”
    â€œUnless they demand a DNA screen.”
    â€œI’ll take care of that. And the other problem?”
    He paused. It might not actually be a problem. Butit was better to let his contact know. “Sir, there was a padd near the body—still active.”
    â€œSo? Those things would survive a Klingon blood feud.”
    â€œHahn claimed he had everything he needed on a chip—but I haven’t found that chip.”
    â€œYou think it’s in the padd?”
    â€œIt’s possible. But the padd is with the specialist. I’m sure it hasn’t been examined yet.”
    â€œGet it back. We can’t afford to be discovered. Not now. Not when we’ve accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Find it. And if he sees it, then he’s become a casualty of war.”
    â€œSir?” He wasn’t happy about killing again. He’d killed too often since taking this mission. More than he bargained for. He believed in the cause, and he knew they were right in taking over Earth and her facilities.
    â€œDo you have a problem with carrying out orders?”
    â€œNo, sir. It’s