“You coming back to bed, Pappy?” the woman purred in his ear. Then she noticed Gomez on the viewscreen and cocked her head slightly. “Oh,” she said, a trace of curious amusement in her voice. “Hello.”
Sonya fell back against her chair as Wayne said something to the Orion, but his words didn’t register. She was too busy experiencing the end of her life, because, really, after what she’d just seen, her life had to be ending.
“Sonya,” Wayne said as the Orion slinked out of view. He said her name again until she focused on the screen again. He stabbed a hand into his hair and shook his head. To his credit, he looked convincingly crestfallen. “Oh my God, Sonya, I’m—I’m so sorry. This doesn’t mean anything. And she knows it. Really. It’s just…it’s been so long since we last had any contact, I…I thought maybe you’d…”
“Given up on you?” Sonya asked, anger seeping into her voice now. Unshed tears brimmed and burned in her eyes, but she wasn’t about to let them fall right now. “You were the one who cancelled out on our vacation on Hidalgo, Wayne. Why didn’t you call me?”
Wayne’s mouth worked briefly as though he were trying to find the right words. “I’ve…I’ve been busy.” He shook his head. “I know that sounds like a lame excuse, but—”
“I know,” Sonya said, a humorless laugh in her voice. “It’s true. And it seems to be the story of our lives, doesn’t it?”
Wayne held his head in his hands for a long moment, a perfect opportunity for Gomez to close the connection. But for some reason, she kept it open, waiting. Waiting for this mess to sort itself out somehow.
Finally, he looked up at her. “Sonya, you’re right. You’re right. I should have called you. But I didn’t. And I’m sorry, all right? Please don’t think I feel any differently about you now than I did before, because I don’t. I also want to get together with you like we planned, and…Dammit, I feel like such an idiot!”
Sonya shook her head, realizing there would be no sorting out of this particular mess. At least not right now. “No, Wayne. You’re not the idiot.”
“Sonya, don’t—”
His face disappeared from view as she severed the connection. She sat there for a minute in her darkened room, just staring at the empty screen and wondering if she’d made the right decision. Truth was, she didn’t know. What she did know was that she was hurting. Sonya brushed a tear away from her cheek and leaned forward onto the table, burying her face in her arms.
“I…am such…an idiot,” she confessed into her sleeve.
Eventually, she shuffled back to bed and lay back on her pillow. The hum of the ship actually managed to calm her, but what had just happened, not to mention Corsi’s inevitable probe into Stevens’s alleged “asinine” behavior, did little to calm her into a restful sleep.
Finally, she thought of one thing that might help. It made no sense whatsoever, especially now that they were two days gone from the planet where the cube had crashed, where everything had begun and everything had almost come to an end.
But she did it anyway.
“Computer—raise light level to fifty percent.” The lights in the room came up, and the soft warmth of their illumination filled her with a sense of calm that quickly consumed her. She smiled and curled up under the bedcovers.
The Light is all, she thought as she drifted into peaceful slumber.
About the Author
JEFF D. JACQUES (pronounced “Jakes”) first found success in the world of Star Trek fiction through the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds short story contest, which saw his tales “Kristin’s Conundrum” (with Michelle A. Bottrall), “Beginnings,” and “Solace in Bloom” find print in the fifth, seventh, and ninth volumes, respectively. He is pleased and proud to have taken his first command of the da Vinci crew, and thanks Keith R.A. DeCandido for the opportunity to do so in the first place. Jeff hails from Ottawa, Canada, where he continues to live and breathe to this day.
COMING NEXT MONTH:
CELEBRATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY
OF STAR TREK,
POCKET BOOKS PROUDLY PRESENTS:
MERE ANARCHY
A new six-part epic covering thirty years of Star Trek history, continuing with an adventure that takes place between The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan!
BOOK 4: THE DARKNESS DROPS AGAIN
by Christopher L. Bennett
The rebuilding of Mestiko is starting to make progress: the atmosphere is partially restored, and Federation scientists are introducing new methods of replenishing the planet’s biosphere. But their efforts are being stymied by the growing power of the mar-Attya, who shun all offworlders.
The arrival of the Starship Enterprise under the command of James T. Kirk proves less than fortuitous, as the ship becomes a flashpoint for all of Mestiko’s troubles. Now Raya elMora, the leader of the planetary council, finds herself facing exile—which could spell doom for Mestiko….
A new eBook from the author of the acclaimed novel Ex Machina.
COMING IN FEBRUARY FROM POCKET BOOKS!
COMING IN MAY:
STAR TREK™:
CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Continuing the adventures of the U.S.S. da Vinci, as Captain David Gold, Commander Sonya Gomez, and the rest of Starfleet’s miracle workers solve the problems of the galaxy, one disaster at a time.
THE ART OF THE COMEBACK
by Glenn Greenberg
After the events of The Art of the Deal, former tycoon Rod Portlyn was left destitute, and he’s now, a year later, reduced to running archeological digs. But when he discovers a bizarre artifact, everything changes.
Portlyn sees the deadly device as his means of regaining his wealth and power—and also getting revenge on the crew of the da Vinci. And his first target is Domenica Corsi’s father….
Soon, the S.C.E. finds itself in a web of intrigue and revenge, as people close to the crew are killed, with the crew itself the next likely target!
COMING IN MAY FROM POCKET BOOKS!
OTHER STAR TREK™ EBOOKS
Star Trek: Mere Anarchy
Book 1: Things Fall Apart by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
Book 2: The Centre Cannot Hold by Mike W. Barr
Book 3: Shadows of the Indignant by Dave Galanter
COMING IN 2007:
Book 4: The Darkness Drops Again by Christopher L. Bennett
Book 5: The Blood-Dimmed Tide by Howard Weinstein
Book 6: Its Hour Come Round by Margaret Wander Bonanno
Star Trek: S.C.E.
#1: The Belly of the Beast by Dean Wesley Smith
#2: Fatal Error by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#3: Hard Crash by Christie Golden
#4: Interphase Book 1 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#5: Interphase Book 2 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#6: Cold Fusion by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#7: Invincible Book 1 by David Mack & Keith R.A.DeCandido
#8: Invincible Book 2 by David Mack & Keith R.A.DeCandido
#9: The Riddled Post by Aaron Rosenberg
#10: Gateways Epilogue: Here There Be Monsters by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#11: Ambush by Dave Galanter & Greg Brodeur
#12: Some Assembly Required by Scott Ciencin & Dan Jolley
Jolley #13: No Surrender by Jeff Marionette
#14: Caveat Emptor by Ian Edginton & Mike Collins
#15: Past Life by Robert Greenberger
#16: Oaths by Glenn Hauman
#17: Foundations Book 1 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#18: Foundations Book 2 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#19: Foundations Book 3 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#20: Enigma Ship by J. Steven York & Christina F. York
#21: War Stories Book 1 by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#22: War Stories Book 2 by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#23: Wildfire Book 1 by David Mack
#24: Wildfire Book 2 by David Mack
#25: Home Fires by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#26
: Age of Unreason by Scott Ciencin
#27: Balance of Nature by Heather Jarman
#28: Breakdowns by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#29: Aftermath by Christopher L. Bennett
#30: Ishtar Rising Book 1 by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels
#31: Ishtar Rising Book 2 by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels
#32: Buying Time by Robert Greenberger
#33: Collective Hindsight Book 1 by Aaron Rosenberg
#34: Collective Hindsight Book 2 by Aaron Rosenberg
#35: The Demon Book 1 by Loren L. Coleman & Randall N. Bills
#36: The Demon Book 2 by Loren L. Coleman & Randall N. Bills
#37: Ring Around the Sky by Allyn Gibson
#38: Orphans by Kevin Killiany
#39: Grand Designs by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#40: Failsafe by David Mack
#41: Bitter Medicine by Dave Galanter
#42: Sargasso Sector by Paul Kupperberg
#43: Paradise Interrupted by John S. Drew
#44: Where Time Stands Still by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
#45: The Art of the Deal by Glenn Greenberg
#46: Spin by J. Steven York & Christina F. York
#47: Creative Couplings Book 1 by Glenn Hauman &Aaron Rosenberg
#48: Creative Couplings Book 2 by Glenn Hauman &Aaron Rosenberg
#49: Small World by David Mack
#50: Malefictorum by Terri Osborne
#51: Lost Time by Ilsa J. Bick
#52: Identity Crisis by John J. Ordover
#53: Fables of the Prime Directive by Cory Rushton
#54: Security by Keith R.A. DeCandido
#55: Wounds Book 1 by Ilsa J. Bick
#56: Wounds Book 2 by Ilsa J. Bick
#57: Out of the Cocoon by William Leisner
#58: Honor by Kevin Killiany
#59: Blackout by Phaedra M. Weldon
#60: The Cleanup by Robert T. Jeschonek
#61: Progress by Terri Osborne (What’s Past Book 1)
#62: The Future Begins by Steve Mollmann & Michael Schuster (What’s Past Book 2)
#63: Echoes of Coventry by Richard C. White (What’s Past Book 3)
#64: Distant Early Warning by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore (What’s Past Book 4)
#65: 10 is Better Than 01 by Heather Jarman (What’s Past Book 5)
#66: Many Splendors by Keith R.A. DeCandido (What’s Past Book 6)
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
About the Author
The Light Page 9
