by Dayton Ward
Atrelis shrugged. “One can never be too careful, Commander. For all we know, there are additional weapons which remain hidden, waiting to be triggered by some careless action on our part.”
Sighing, Vathrael shook her head. Whatever was behind the activation of the automated weapons turrets had also seen fit to disrupt communications, inhibiting her ability to contact her ship and preventing her from summoning reinforcements. This new complication only served to heighten the anxiety she felt as she regarded the tunnel walls and ceiling, which were far too close for her taste.
Enough, Vathrael thought, irritated with herself for allowing such distracting thoughts to gain any purchase within her mind. There were far more urgent matters demanding her attention, not the least of which was finding an exit from this underground maze. Finding and seizing control of the alien technology at work here was still of prime importance, but she already was beginning to wonder if that goal remained attainable. It was obvious that the Starfleet team had acquired some measure of knowledge and command of the mechanisms operating down here, but how far did that influence extend? Vathrael recalled the look of surprise on the human commander’s face at the moment the door to the control chamber closed. Had he not been expecting that to happen? It was possible that the ancient equipment was operating with complete autonomy, and the humans were as powerless as she and her people to affect anything.
An interesting notion, she decided.
Stepping closer to her, Atrelis held up his scanner. “Commander, I believe I’ve located other areas within this complex which might offer us access to the facility’s computer systems. If these readings are correct, then there are other chambers containing equipment similar to that within the room the humans currently occupy.”
Vathrael’s eyes widened at this new information. “Are you certain?”
“Yes, Commander,” replied the science officer. “There is considerable interference with my scans, but I was able to determine the location of one such chamber that is within a short walking distance. The others are at points farther away or deeper in the complex, and would require more time to reach. I was able to plot a path through the tunnels to take us to the chamber closest to us.”
“Excellent,” Vathrael said, already considering the potential of Atrelis’s report. “If we can access this chamber, do you think you’ll be able to interact with the technology we might find there?”
Atrelis glanced at his scanner before replying, “I believe so, Commander. I was able to collect some information during our skirmish with the humans. It is not much, but I think it is enough for me to begin deciphering the alien language, though I admit it likely will take some time.”
“Not too much time, I hope,” Vathrael said. Her next thought was interrupted by a string of chirps from the communications device on her belt. Retrieving the unit, she pressed its activation control and said, “This is Vathrael.”
“Commander?” said the voice of Subcommander Sirad, much clearer and more free of static than was the case during her previous attempt to contact the Nevathu. “Are you able to hear me?”
“I am indeed,” Vathrael replied. “It seems you’ve found a way to improve our communications.”
The subcommander said, “You can thank Mylas for that. A wizard, that one. He found a way of channeling power from the impulse engines to the communications array in order to strengthen our signal output and ability to receive. I do not pretend to understand a fraction of what he explained to me.”
Buoyed by the knowledge that her first officer and the rest of her crew aboard the Nevathu were continuing to work at supporting her even while she was off the ship, Vathrael said, “Pass on my compliments to Mylas and his engineers.”
“Our sensors are only just able to detect your life readings, Commander,” Sirad said. “We also register the presence of the humans. What are your orders?”
“I want you to lead another team to our location,” Vathrael replied. “If the humans are facing the same predicament that challenged us, they may be unable to contact their ship for assistance. For the moment, we may well have the advantage.”
There was a pause, and when Sirad spoke again, there was a noticeable air of uncertainty in his voice. “The advantage to do what, Commander?”
Contemplating the enormity of the task she was about to undertake and realizing that her orders and her duty provided her with no alternative, Vathrael said, “To take this facility, or to prevent the humans from doing the same, by whatever means necessary.”
TWENTY-TWO
Holding the pair of protective goggles to his face, John Kyle thought himself prepared for what was going to happen next, but he still flinched when the laser drill fired. The massive tool spat forth its beam of harsh, blue-white energy, carving with ease into the side of the Huang Zhong’s fractured hull. The accompanying whine of power emanating from the drill was enough to make Kyle wince in momentary discomfort and to scold himself for not remembering to don hearing protection before setting off the implement’s firing sequence.
And you just know Doctor McCoy will be on you about that.
Standing behind the drill as it continued to fire, Kyle studied the unit’s interface panel, noting the progress of the sequence he had programmed into its fire control system. It would take only seconds to cut through the targeted section of the Huang Zhong’s outer hull, and once it was out of the way the salvage party would be one step closer to having access to the ship’s cargo space. He waited until the drill ceased operation, hearing the residual hum of the beam emitter before removing the goggles from his face. Looking up, Kyle saw Bill Hadley and Lieutenant Marshall Elliot moving into position with handheld antigrav supports, securing them to the section of hull plating he had just cut. Working together, the two engineers were able to make short work of maneuvering the hull section out of the way, exposing the darkened interior of the wrecked ship.
“Wow,” said Christine Rideout as she walked up behind him. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one of those.” The Huang Zhong’s chief engineer ran her hand along the laser’s control panel, pausing as she studied the rest of the unit. “This one’s not standard issue, though, is it? Looks to me like someone repurposed an old-style laser cannon.”
Kyle smiled as he reached up to pat the rearmost of the drill’s two spherical prefiring chambers. “Good eye, Master Chief.” The chambers, mounted in sequence atop a movable and extendable support arm, were connected by a series of coils tasked with focusing the drill’s beam and were linked to a short, wide barrel that was the tool’s emitter. The entire apparatus sat atop a squat gray base into which was embedded the fire control panel and the unit’s circular targeting scanner. The interface was but one of the many upgrades the drill had undergone since its conversion. “This thing was taking up space in one of the lower-level cargo holds. According to Scotty—sorry, Commander Scott—it hadn’t even been used since before he came aboard as chief engineer. As the story goes, the Enterprise was surveying an uninhabited planet that was loaded with dilithium, and the geology team wanted to take some core samples. The laser drills they had weren’t powerful enough to punch through the bedrock to get at the dilithium.”
“And so your Commander Scott converted this behemoth into a supersized mining drill,” Rideout said, nodding in appreciation as she reached up to wipe her forehead with the back of her hand. “Nice.” The smudge of dirt or soot or whatever that had found its way to her face was now a streak, matching the one on her left cheek. Her dark green jumpsuit also was dirty, and there was a tear in the right leg just below her knee, which had occurred when the engineer was maneuvering through one of the Huang Zhong’s debris-littered corridors.
Shrugging, Kyle said, “He had to downgrade the power emitters and other systems, to make it more like a tool and less like a weapon capable of boring a hole straight to the center of a planet. It works well enough for various odd jobs.”
“I guess so,” Rideout replied. “Other than pictur
es in old technical manuals, I’ve never even seen one of these things outside of the Academy museum.”
“They were always more trouble than they were worth,” Kyle said. “When they’re disassembled, you can’t move the larger components without antigravs. Once they were set up, that’s where they stayed, which isn’t always the most practical idea, depending on the situation. Besides, if whatever you need to shoot at is too big for a phaser rifle, then you call up to your ship and let them have a go at it.”
Rideout laughed at that. “And what if there’s no ship in orbit?”
“Then you’ve got a whole new set of problems,” Kyle replied. The thought made him look to where he had positioned Enterprise crew members on the perimeter of the crash site, each keeping vigil while the rest of the team continued the cleanup. The news from Mister Spock, that a Romulan scout ship might be somewhere in orbit or even on the planet, had caused a blanket of unease to settle over the entire team. Though he had posted the guards, along with people overseeing the sensors aboard both shuttlecraft, Kyle knew there was precious little he could do to prepare for any kind of Romulan attack. He could only hope that the Romulans were too busy elsewhere to bother with a simple salvage effort.
Looking away from the Huang Zhong, he saw that Hadley and Elliot had finished moving the separated section of hull plating to one of several collection points set up around the wreck. Most of the material placed at these locations had been deemed scrap and would be destroyed before the salvage team departed the planet. As for the unsalvageable items and other detritus, these were being hauled to these locations by Enterprise crewmen as well as volunteers from the Havreltipa mining colony.
“I have to say,” he mused after a moment, “the Dolysians are no strangers to hard work, are they?” He had observed the volunteers as opportunity presented itself, and noted how they had labored tirelessly in support of Kyle and his team.
Rideout replied, “Just watching them makes me want to go and take a nap.” She even punctuated her statement with what to Kyle’s ears sounded very much like an authentic yawn. “I’ve been getting a lot of questions about some of the stuff we’re stacking up to scuttle. More than a few miners have expressed their regret that so much material’s being destroyed, rather than recycled in some form.” She shrugged. “I can’t say I blame them.”
“If we were on Dolysia,” Kyle said, “where our Federation liaison teams could work with them, that’d probably be okay, but once the rift’s closed, the people here are on their own. Even melting some of this stuff down, if it’s not done right, could produce toxic vapors or who knows what.” Shaking his head, he added, “No, the best option is to remove it or destroy it.” The sensitive equipment and other components earmarked for transport to the Enterprise were being staged in or near the Ballard and Heyer, the pair of shuttlecraft assigned to him in support of the salvage effort. Other shuttles had been committed to the task, but none of them had been able to leave the ship before Commander Scott placed a temporary hold on additional runs to and from Gralafi. Kyle gave silent thanks that the laser drill had been loaded aboard the Heyer and not the Copernicus, which still sat in the Enterprise’s shuttlebay, stuffed with additional equipment for him and his team. The salvage crew would have to make do for the time being, but the drill at least was able to assist with the necessary task of extracting the sensitive computer equipment, weapons, and other matériel from the Huang Zhong.
“Speaking of potential problems,” Rideout said, “even with the pace we’re keeping, there’s no way we’re going to be finished before we have to leave.” Blowing out her breath, she added, “I guess we should be thankful we didn’t crash something bigger.”
Kyle nodded. “I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.” Scarcely sixty hours remained before he and his team would be forced to change from salvaging equipment components to destroying them, after which they would flee the planet and the energy field surrounding it. “Still, you’re right; we’ll never get to it all before we have to shut down the operation, and I don’t particularly want to stay here for the next three years.”
When he turned to look at her, he saw that Rideout had cast her gaze toward the ground, and her expression was one of sadness. “I wouldn’t mind it,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper. “I’d be okay with it, if Captain Arens and the others were stuck here with me.”
As he had on the previous occasions during the past day they had spent working together and the engineer had allowed some of her grief to show through the façade she had erected around herself, Kyle remained silent, not wanting to say or do anything to upset her further. She had already demonstrated that she was more than capable of handling the understandable onslaught of emotions without assistance, though she did so by forcing back those feelings before they could overwhelm her. That carried its own cost, Kyle knew, and these brief moments were her way of releasing some of that pressure.
Aware that he was watching her, Rideout looked up at him and offered a small smile. “Sorry. I got distracted there for a second.”
“No apologies necessary,” Kyle offered. “You haven’t had a chance to catch your breath, much less take the time to rest or recover from what happened.” He made a mental note to ask Doctor McCoy to talk with her when the opportunity presented itself. Though he was not a licensed psychiatrist or mental health professional, being the chief medical officer of a starship crewed by more than four hundred people tended to hone one skills in those arenas. Further, Leonard McCoy’s natural affinity for helping people identify and seek solutions to their problems and difficulties made him the ideal shoulder on which to lean.
After another moment, Rideout smiled again, and this time Kyle saw that it did not seem to be a forced response. “Okay, that’s enough break time to hold me for a while. Time to get back at it.”
Kyle heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Liadenpor Ceeda hu Novi, the group leader for the Dolysian miners helping the Enterprise team, walking toward them. Like everyone else involved in the salvage work, Ceeda’s clothing and exposed skin were disheveled, and though Dolysian facial expressions did not always correspond to human responses, Kyle was still able to tell that the miner was tired.
“Lieutenant,” Ceeda said, then bowed his head in greeting to Rideout. “I wanted to inform you that we have completed our sweep of the crash site and have collected all loose debris. Most of it appears to be unsalvageable, but we did find a few components which we think your team should examine before a final determination is made.”
Smiling in appreciation, Kyle replied, “Excellent, Ceeda. Thank you, and thank you for everything you and your people have done to assist us. We could not have made this much progress without you.”
Ceeda seemed pleased with the compliment, if not a bit self-conscious. “You are very kind, Lieutenant.” He paused as though considering his next words. “I must admit that when we on Gralafi heard our home planet had been visited by beings from another world, there was a variety of emotional reactions. Excitement, fear, curiosity, confusion, doubt; everywhere you turned, someone had a different opinion, and a different prediction. Not a few of us wondered if you had come to conquer us.” The corners of his mouth turned upward in the Dolysian equivalent of a smile. “I am happy to say that my initial belief was proven wrong.”
Laughing at that with an intensity that nearly brought her to a coughing fit, Rideout took a moment to regain her composure. “Nicely played.” After covering her mouth for one last cough, the engineer asked, “Are you one of the colonists who will be staying here after the rift closes?”
“No,” the Dolysian answered. “My assignment with the colony is at an end. I will be leaving on the last transport once we are finished here. My family has already departed and is back at our home on Dolysia.”
“You were able to bring your family with you,” Kyle said. “That must’ve made things a lot more bearable.”
Ceeda nodded. “I have spent more time with my children during
this assignment than when I was sent to our lunar mining colony. That facility does not possess the same amenities as Havreltipa, owing to its easy accessibility. Rotations there are shorter, as well, but it can still be lonely without family.” Looking first to Kyle and then Rideout, he asked, “Do you have families?”
“Not me,” Rideout replied. “Maybe after I decide to leave Starfleet and settle somewhere, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.”
Kyle added, “Same for me. This life doesn’t really lend itself to raising a family, but maybe one day.”
“John!”
Startled by the shouting of his name, Kyle turned to see Lieutenant Donovan Washburn running toward him. A tall, lanky man, Washburn’s blue uniform tunic seemed almost a size too small as he jogged over the expanse of open ground separating what remained of the Huang Zhong from the Ballard and the Heyer as well as the Dolysian cargo transport, which was perhaps twice the size of the Enterprise shuttlecraft. He ran with his right arm extended, and Kyle saw that he was holding a communicator.
“It’s Captain Kirk!” Washburn called out between breaths as he ran up to Kyle. “Something’s happened!”
Kyle took the communicator, hearing the static emanating from the unit as he adjusted its antenna grid. “Lieutenant Kyle here, sir.”
“Kyle, we’ve got some serious problems here,” Kirk said. “Romulans have infiltrated the facility, and the defense system has reacted by sealing off the complex and closing the hole in the energy field. It’s also initiated a self-destruct sequence. We’re trapped here, so we’re doing everything we can to stop it.”
“What?” Rideout exclaimed, her eyes wide.
“It’s true, Chief,” Washburn replied. “I just tried to contact the Enterprise, and I’m getting nothing but static. We’re trapped here.”
Ceeda also was troubled by this news. “The Pass has already closed?”
