Mind Shadow [042 5.0]
by M J dillard.
Synopsis:
To James Kirk, the planet seemed like a
pastoral paradise when he and
Spock first beamed down. But when space
pirates begin ravaging and
Spock is gravely injured -- his mind
seemingly destroyed -- Kirk
realizes that things are not as they seem. The
planet hides a deadly
secret, and the key to that secret is locked in
Spock's brain -- if only
Spock can remember the secret and communicate
it to his Captain!
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This book is a work of fiction. Names,
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either the product of the author's imagination or are
used fictitiously. Any
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entirely coincidental.
An Original Publication of POCKET
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POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon and
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Copyright 1986 Paramount Pictures. All
Rights Reserved.
(5": STAR TREK is a Registered
Trademark of
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ISBN: 0-671-70420-6
First Pocket Books printing January 1986
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Printed in the U.s.a.
Chapter One
IT WAS LATE afternoon. The sun slid below the
mountain
peaks that surrounded the mesas on all sides and
the sky faded slowly to a dustier shade of blue.
Kirk
raised a hand to shield his eyes, not from the fiery
glow
of the setting sun, but from colors so vivid and
intense
that his optic nerves perceived them as almost painful,
like dazzling light: the purple of the mountains, the
brilliant blue of the sky, the incandescent
golden-red
of the vines, which crept up the sharp sides
of the
mountains and tumbled onto the plateaus below.
Kirk stood with his men on the tallest plateau in
the
valley, between the towering mountains and the terrain-four
hundred feet below, a tidy patchwork of
fastidiously tilled fields and trellised
vines stretching
almost to the horizon.
Spock motioned silently with the tricorder, and the
group crossed a thick blue-green carpet of
vegetation,
the humans with their heads tilted back to better
drink
in their surroundings, the Vulcan with his eyes on the
tricorder. They had not gone far at all when
Kirk
stopped to fill his lungs with cool damp air.
"Smell
that, Doctor."
McCoy obeyed the order and turned to smile.
"Well, I'll be... smells like the summer
jasmine we
had back home .... his
"When's the last time you had the chance
to smell
wildflowers, Bones?"
McCoy rolled his eyes even further
heavenward.
"I'd rather not think about it, if it's all the same
to you .... his
"Too long," sighed Scott, his tone
approaching reverence.
He shook his head wi/lly. "I can't believe
that anybody would want to destroy this . . . ach,
if
this place inna a sight for sore eyes .... his
Spock looked up at last from the tricorder;
he had
been studying the readout with such a detached air
that it seemed doubtful he was aware of the breathtaking
landscape surrounding him. "Atmosphere
oxygen-rich,
Captain, slightly more than Terran standard."
He
hesitated for an instant. "Are your eyes
troubling you,
Mr. Scott?" he asked blandly.
Kirk grimaced. It was impossible to tell if
his first
officer was taking Scott's remark with typical
Vulcan literalness, or merely enjoying some odd
private joke.
McCoy responded with disgust before the groaning
engineer could reply. "He's just trying to say that
it's
pretty here, Spock. Of course, I'm sure
that's something
you wouldn't understand. I'm sure you find that
tricorder readout infinitely more exciting."
"I am not incapable of aesthetic appreciation,
Doctor,"
Spock replied mildly, apparently not in the
least
bit insulted. "However, I must admit to finding
certain
data in the readout quite fascinating, particularly the
concentration of mineral elements in the soil--"
"Later, Spock." Kirk silenced him with an
absent-
MINDSHADOW
minded wave of his hand, afraid the spell cast
by the
planet's beauty might be broken. "How long
has it
been since I've been on solid land like this,
near
flowers, animals... his
"Exactly four-point-seven months since our
last
shore leave," Spock volunteered.
"Too long," McCoy muttered to himself.
Scott's voice was plaintive. "We will be
taking
shore leave after we complete this mission, won't
we,
sir?"
"If Star Fleet can't come up with any more
last
minute distress calls." Kirk's weak smile
was unconvincing.
"Let's hope for the best, gentlemen."
As the light dimmed, the four came upon a small
well-kept vineyard. Spock reactivated the
tricorder.
"Life form reading ahead, Captain.
Humanoid."
Beyond the field of trellised golden vines stood
a
small hut, nothing more than a mound of dried
gray
twigs, homely and awkward compared to its
glorious
surroundings. But the to one being who stood in front
of
the hut was as striking and deeply colorful as her
planet. Her skin was golden, her eyes as
purple as the
nearby mountains and her brows as sharply
upswept.
Silver hair spilled down her back onto a
cloak the color
of the sky. She was very, very old, and her demeanor
was that of one whose age has brought her to expect a
good deal of respect from her juniors.
As the aliens approached, she rose to her full
height
of four feet and studied them with hooded eyes.
She
spoke slowly, neither smiling nor making any form
of
obeisance. "I am Natahia, the
representative of the
growers of the Aritani."
Kirk inclined his head slightly in what he
hoped
suggested respect. "I am Captain Kirk,
representative
of the United Federation of Planets. First
Officer,
Commander Spock. Chief Medical Officer,
Dr.
Leonard McCoy. Chief Engineer,
Lieutenant Commander
Montgomery Scott."
She did not acknowledge the polite nods
directed
toward her. "What protection does the Federation
offer us? We do not welcome the intervention of
outsiders, but too many of our people have died."
Kirk matched her directness. "We can show you
how to shield your planet using a protective
device
that the raiders' ships cannot penetrate. Mr.
Spock
and Mr. Scott will install it for you and instruct you
in
its operation, and Dr. McCoy is here to help
your
wounded."
Natahia considered this information silently for a
moment; when she spoke again, her eyes were full of
Pride and sorrow. "We are a people who revere the
simplicity of life, Captain. We despise
technology and
its resultant complications, for our ancestors
once
worshipped it, as you do, and so destroyed themselves.
We have learned to let the land provide all we
need. But now we are forced to make use of your
technology to save our people and our land in order to
provide. Please understand that we welcome you with
reluctance." She looked sternly at Kirk.
"What price
does the Federation demand for this service?"
"The Federation asks for nothing. If you wish,
Aritani may ally itself with us."
She lifted an arched brow suspiciously.
"What benefit
is it to us to join you?"
"The Federation represents many planets, with no
favor shown to its stronger members. All
planets are
given a voice. We have banded together because together
we are strong. If Aritani joins, it
would have a
say in Federation matters and would receive the
protection
of the Federation."
"The affairs of the Federation are of little concern to
MINDSHADOW
us," she said coldly. "What is the penalty if
we accept
your protection, but do not join the Federation?"
"There is no penalty. Our protection is
freely offered,
regardless of your decision."
"Aritani then accepts the protection of the
Federation,
Captain Kirk. Talk to us about the glories of
your
Federation when the attacks on my people have
ceased."
Kirk privately congratulated himself for not
matching
her coldness. "Very well," he answered
politely.
"We'll beam down the necessary equipment for
con-structting
the shields. Mr. Scott and Mr.
Spock will
stay here to assemble it for you and show you its
operation."
"And if you can show me to your wounded,
ma'am," McCoy suggested, stepping forward
slightly.
"Only one still survives hhis morning's
attack. The
ships appear so quickly in the sky, as if from
nowhere,
that there is no time for those working in the fields to
hide. Five died this morning, and their fields
are
scorched, useless." She lowered her eyes. "A
terrible
thing, to see land destroyed."
Kirk and McCoy exchanged dark glances.
Spock,
however, appeared not to notice her seemingly greater
concern for her land than for her people.
"Cloaking devices, Captain," he said. "It
would
explain why we detected no vessels in the
immediate
area."
Kirk nodded. "Spock, can you compute the
maximum
amount of time that a small pirate vessel could
operate a cloaking device without refueling?"
"Certainly, Captain. Of course, it
requires an enormous
amount of fuel to operate such a device.
Depending
on the type of ship, I would say no more than
seven-point-four-two hours. That is, of
course, a
rough estimate, based on the types of vessels
currently
used for surface attacks and known to Star
Fleet
Intelligence,--"
"Thank you," Kirk silenced him. "That is
sufficient
for our purposes."
"Sir... do you propose to trap some of the
pirate
vessels beneath the shield?"
Kirk smiled. "That is exactly what I
propose to do,
Mr. Spock."
"What exactly is this shield?" Natahia
demanded.
Spock turned to her. "An electromagnetic
force that
repels any physical object coming in contact
with it.
The pirate ships will be unable to penetrate it and
will
therefore be unable to attack the populace on the
planet surface. It will also prevent those
remaining on
the surface after the installation of the shield from
escaping."
"And of course," Kirk added, "if we can succeed
in
capturing one of the pirates, we can locate their
base.
No doubt it's on a nearby planet or larger
vessel."
"Natahia," asked Spock, "do you have any
idea
why the pirates have chosen to attack your people?"
&nbs
p; She tilted her face up at him in a small
gesture of
uncertainty. "The land is full of many
things which are
not important to us. Perhaps the pirates value
some of
these things."
Spock's left eyebrow arched almost
imperceptibly.
"Perhaps."
Natahia looked with concern at the fading sun.
"It
will become dark quickly now. Soon it will be
unsafe
to be outside. Please come inside, gentlemen,
while
Dr. McCoy attends to the injured grower."
She
stretched a short arm toward the hut, the regal
coldness
in her voice melting slightly. "Accept my
hospitality."
There was something about the woman Kirk liked in
spite of himself. He smiled. "Thank you."
MINDSHADOW
Spock turned to him before they crouched down to
enter the low-ceilinged hut. "Captain, I
wonder if I
might examine the mountains for a moment before I
join you. I have found some interesting indications
that I would like to verify." His hand touched the
tricorder.
Kirk turned to Natahia. "Is that
permitted?"
"Provided he does not stay long. When the sun
has
set, the night animals come out--then it is
extremely
dangerous to be alone outside."
"My night vision and my hearing are well
developed
and will alert me to the presence of predators,"
Spock
responded. "And I will not be long."
"Five minutes," Kirk said.
"That should be adequate, Captain." The
Vulcan
turned to leave.
"Don't stay out past your bedtime," McCoy
remarked
with exaggerated paternalism.
Kirk and Scott found themselves unable to repress
grins. Spock frowned and began
to reply, then stopped
himself as though suddenly realizing that the doctor's
statement fell under the context of what humans
labeled
humor and was therefore unworthy of recognition.
"With your permission, Captain." He walked
stiffly toward the now charcoal-colored mountains
along the edge of the plateau.
The sky was indeed darkening rapidly and the
brilliant
colors had faded to shades of gray, but inside
Natahia's hut a large fire fed off the
abundant supply of
oxygen and illuminated the interior with dancing
orange-red
light. Neat, orderly, primitive. The
furnishings
were handmade and crude. Natahia motioned
Kirk and Scott to sit on the floor before the
fire while
she led McCoy behind a loosely woven
tapestry to
examine the wounded man.
Kirk relished the silence as one who never hears
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