STAR TREK: TOS #12 - Mutiny on the Enterprise

by Robert E. Vardeman

  Kirk ignored the doctor’s outburst. It did no good trying to reason with him on some points, and McCoy hardly meant what he said. He enjoyed spouting off and releasing some of the pent-up nervousness they all felt. This was as harmless a way as any, and Kirk put up with it.

  [77] “I need your talents as a doctor. Not of the body but of the mind. I want you to accompany me and give me a report on the mental status of the crew after the accident.”

  “I don’t need to make any damn-fool trip around looking into the crew’s brains. I can tell you all you need to know.”

  Kirk waited. He knew McCoy would unleash a tirade on any topic, given the chance. It surprised him when it didn’t come this time.

  “What’s your evaluation, Bones?” he asked finally.

  McCoy shook his head. “Not good. This ship’s morale has never been lower. If I were an independent observer from Starfleet brought in to do a full status report, I’d flunk the Enterprise and just about everyone aboard it.”

  “Just about everyone?”

  “Except for Spock, dammit.” That admission cost McCoy a little pride. “He seems indestructible. That half-Vulcan, half-human mix works for him in situations that push the rest of us over the edge.”

  “Are you in any danger of becoming a space case?”

  “Hardly,” the doctor snorted. “But the others I’ve seen are. You should have listened to me when I told you to turn back, to forget this Ammdon business.”

  “So you think that’s at the heart of it.” Kirk sucked in his breath, then let it out slowly. Spock’s warnings concerning Lorelei’s effect on the crew had proven too accurate; in spite of this, he still fought mental battles with himself over the alien presence. She looked so innocuous that he put little credence in the powers Spock attributed to her. But facts built up until he had to face them, no matter how reluctantly. The idea that he continually put off speaking with her on the subject told worlds. He had a vague uneasiness she was as dangerous as his science officer claimed, but he hated to admit it.

  [78] “Let’s look over the crew, firsthand,” he suggested. “And if you don’t mind accompanying me, Bones, we can get it over with all the sooner.”

  “Are you going down to the engine room?”

  “It’s still flooded with radiation. I only intend checking the crew on the upper decks.”

  “In that case, I’ll go. I need to stretch my legs.” McCoy walked through the door and into the corridor without once looking back. He strode off but stopped less than twenty paces down the hall. Low murmurs were picked up and magnified by the metal deck plates. Kirk caught up with the doctor, then stood straining to make sense from the words.

  “... refuse to do anything. Then they’ll have to return to base.”

  “It’s war if we don’t,” came the response.

  Kirk frowned as McCoy pointed to the recreation area. He hated himself for spying like this but had to do it. The starship captain moved up to a spot beside the blocked-open door and leaned against the bulkhead, listening.

  The voices continued their earnest discussion. “We ought never to have left starbase. It was a war mission from the very beginning. It’s all so clear now. We’re supposed to promote peace.”

  “I didn’t report to work. Let’s see how they keep the phasers primed now!”

  Kirk spun through the doorway and confronted the two. A man and a woman sat, drinking coffee, looking worried. He stormed over to them and demanded, “Why aren’t you on duty? Ross and Kesselmann, isn’t it?”

  “Aye, sir,” said the woman. She didn’t bother to even rise to attention as her companion did. “I hereby refuse to ever again report to duty on the phasers. Those are weapons of war. I want only peace for everyone in the universe.”

  [79] “Ensign Ross, would you consider this an adequate response in the face of Romulan aggression?”

  “If we won’t fight, they won’t,” she ;shot back.

  “Anita,” hissed her companion. “Quiet.”

  “No, Deke, it’s time that we stood up for our beliefs. Neither of us will take part in any activity that imperils another life form. The death and destruction have to stop somewhere. It might as well be with us. We have it in our power now to do something. And we will!”

  “Is she speaking for you, Ensign Kesselmann? You’re assigned to the biosupport division, aren’t you?”

  “Life is precious, sir. Y-yes, she is speaking for me. And a lot of others in the crew,” the young ensign finished, blurting out the words as if they burned his tongue. Sweat beaded his forehead, showing the intense strain he felt.

  “Of course life is precious. That’s why our mission to Ammdon is to prevent a war.” Kirk wasn’t the least surprised when both Ross and Kesselmann scoffed at that. This was the single most prevalent opinion he’d ever encountered among his diverse crew. “Have you considered that you did not hold this odd belief until after you spoke with the alien Lorelei?”

  “She pointed it out. The seeds of that belief were already within us. The Federation makes it sound noble, going out and seeking new life forms. But we always end up destroying them. No more.”

  “When have we willfully destroyed an alien race?” demanded McCoy, finally goaded into speaking. For the most part, Kirk suspected, the doctor agreed with the two ensigns, but they’d finally stepped over the bounds of fact, and irritated McCoy. “I admit that we’ve meddled a bit in some, but destroyed? Never!”

  “That meddling destroys an alien culture as surely as if we phasered them out of existence,” Anita Ross protested [80] hotly. “What difference if we mold them to our idea of culture or outright kill them? Forcing our philosophy on an alien race is as violent a course of action as orbiting a planet and systematically destroying it with photon torpedoes!”

  “Since there’s little need for phasers or torpedoes in our present condition, your disobedience is not a serious breach of discipline, Ensign. However, I think sitting and consuming coffee is not a productive use of your time, considering our current plight. I’ll talk to your section head and have you reassigned to other duties.”

  “If they require violence, I refuse the duty.”

  “Carry on,” said Kirk, pivoting and leaving the pair in the rec room. In the corridor, he slumped and looked at McCoy. “Are there others like that?”

  “More than I care to think about, Jim. But there’s a healthy aspect to it, this part about not wanting to kill.”

  “As I tried to point out to them, try explaining that to a fully armed Romulan warship ready to blast you into plasma. War is too messy not to try to avoid, but there’s a point when avoiding it with too great a diligence reduces you to slavery. I believe it is time I spoke with your foundling.”

  “Lorelei?”

  Kirk nodded and started toward the woman’s quarters. He hadn’t wanted this confrontation. He saw now that he could no longer avoid it. The safety of his ship mattered more than the gut-wrenching fear he felt welling up inside.

  As with all other doors aboard the Enterprise, that leading to Lorelei’s quarters had been braced half-open and then the power had been cut. When every erg produced by the impulse engines was required for life support and rocket propulsion, the luxury of the self-opening doors had to be put aside.

  “Lorelei?” he called, his voice not quite quavering. Kirk [81] tried to get a better grip on himself. He hadn’t any reason to fear her. She was not violent. Quite the contrary. Yet he did fear her. Or was it her philosophy of pacifism? Did he fear her persuasiveness? Could she totally twist about everything he had come to believe in?

  “Captain Kirk—James. Please. Enter.”

  She sat on a low stool, trim legs thrust out in front of her and crossed at the ankles. She wore a thin dress that clung with static-electricity tenacity to the slender curves of her body. Her large brown eyes made her look soft, young, vulnerable. The childlike qualities of her figure added to the impression. Kirk fought down a feeling of protectiveness toward her. If anything, she w
as more in control of the situation than he was.

  “I want to ask you not to speak with any of the crew.” There. He’d got it all out in one quick sentence.

  “No? Am I such a subversive? My ideas are potent if you think they are the root of your problems.” She leaned back, balancing herself on her hands. For a woman who appeared older, this would have been a provocative pose. Kirk found himself struck even more by the childlike quality Lorelei exuded.

  “Their words sound a good deal like yours. Somehow—and I don’t know how you’ve done it—you’ve put your thoughts into their heads. Many of the crew refuse to report for duty because of their newfound pacifistic ideals. If they refuse orders at a crucial moment, whether it’s against a Romulan cruiser or an asteroid too large for our deflector screens to handle, not only their own lives will be forfeit but also those of everyone else about the Enterprise. You don’t want those deaths on your conscience, do you?”

  Sadness crossed the woman’s face, almost as if a cloud had blanked out the disk of the sun. She shook her head. “It is not so easy, James. Ideas are insidious. Once planted, [82] they grow and can never be eradicated. There is no turning back.”

  “How do you do it? Why?” He sat across from her, elbows braced on his knees. Studying her gave no hint to her motives.

  “I am a Speaker of Hyla. I am taught to choose words carefully, to tend to meanings, both overt and subtle. Perhaps the subtly phrased sentence is the most important because it triggers the thought process in the listener. I did not wish to harm you or the functioning of your precious vessel. But your mission runs counter to all that I hold to be sacred.”

  “Over and over I hear my crew saying we go to Ammdon to start a war. That is not and never has been the Federation’s purpose in sending the diplomatic mission. Ambassador Zarv and the others want peace, not war.”

  “Your ambassador is a remarkable Speaker. He would gain much honor on Hyla.” Lorelei sighed and turned to one side, again a move that would have been sexually provocative if she hadn’t appeared to be a young girl physically.

  “The Romulans want this war, not the Federation.”

  “Yes, James, I believe that. I truly do. I have examined your records, and, while it is impossible for me to view every single item, your history is one of seeking peace and not war.”

  “Then why oppose us?”

  “The Federation’s motives are peaceful, but the tool it has chosen is the wrong one. On Hyla we learned many thousands of years ago that pure motives are meaningless without effective action. Zarv might sway Ammdon and Jurnamoria and prevent the war you fear. He is that good. But the presence of the Enterprise will go against this goal. Those of Ammdon are cunning.”

  “And they’ll use the Enterprise to launch a strike against [83] Jurnamoria, who must then appeal to the Romulans for aid. I’ve heard it all. I must trust Zarv and Lorritson and Mek Jokkor. I ... I’m not a diplomat. Their ways are strange to me, for the most part.”

  “But you are not a soldier, either. You truly desire peace. Your primary mission is to discover new worlds, contact new life forms—peacefully. This is a worthy profession and one you are admirably suited for.”

  She rose in a liquid motion and dropped to her knees in front of Kirk. A slender hand reached out and lightly brushed his flushed cheek. He stared down into the limpid pools of her chocolate-colored eyes and felt himself becoming lost. The attraction he felt for Lorelei mounted. It wasn’t—quite—sexual, and yet it was, also. She embodied all that was pure and innocent and peaceful in the universe, all that was tranquil and content.

  “We of Hyla fought bitter wars hundreds of centuries ago. I have experienced those primitive feelings through a certain recording technology that your culture does not appear to have. It ... affected me greatly. All on Hyla share my loathing for warlike instincts, and we have dedicated our lives to analyzing situations and determining potential. You are blinded, or inexperienced, or naive.”

  “Naive?” Kirk demanded, stung by the criticism. It was Lorelei who appeared fragile and inexperienced. “Hardly.”

  “Perhaps a better word is tired or exhausted in both body and spirit. You and those others aboard this vessel all seem worn. It has been too long between rests for you. It is not possible to think clearly when you are tired.”

  “True, but we still must complete our assignment.”

  “Single-minded,” she said, the sadness even more apparent in her face now. “I wish that my powers were even more limited than they are. It does me no honor to disgrace you by preventing completion of your orders. We of Hyla [84] do not have such a rigid, structured society. While we are not an anarchy, we do not have leaders in the sense you do.”

  “How do you provide for the common good? Not everyone can provide everything they need in a complex culture.”

  “Hylans require little direction. If something needs doing, and we are able, we do it. All work is honorable, as long as it helps and does not harm.”

  “You make it sound like a perfect society.” Kirk felt himself responding to the woman, and he didn’t want to. Her words wove patterns about him, imprisoning him, making him feel like a savage in the presence of a sophisticate.

  “Perfect?” she said in surprise, then gave a tiny laugh that rang like silver bells in Kirk’s mind. “Hardly. We are all too aware of the many flaws. Working to achieve real peace, however, gives everyone purpose.”

  “Everyone has to have the same definition of peace.” Kirk felt himself sinking into the depths of her eyes, her intellect and arguments. What she said beguiled him. It made sense; it made perfect sense. Again she reached out and lightly touched him. He turned his face to kiss the palm of her hand.

  “I wish that your ways were more peaceful,” she said, the sadness spreading over her words like a thick, rich sauce. “It is as if I destroy your world, even if it is necessary.”

  “I’ve trained as a soldier, but peace is dear to me. I wish we could all be at peace, throughout the galaxy. The Romulans, the Klingons, the Federation.”

  She said nothing, and Kirk started to reach for her fragile cheek to touch, to caress. A strident chiming shook him from his mood.

  “Captain Kirk, you’re wanted on the bridge. Please respond.”

  [85] Kirk rose and went to the intercom, slamming the button with the side of his hand. “Kirk here. What is it, Uhura?”

  “Sir, Mr. Spock reports that the cosmic dust obscuring the star system has been left behind us. He has completed his preliminary scan of the system.”

  “Good.”

  “It’s even better, sir. The fourth planet in the system is inhabited.”

  “I’ll be right up.” Kirk glanced over his shoulder at Lorelei, who sat in the same motionless pose she had held since kneeling in front of him. “I’ve got to go,” he said to her. Deep down inside, emotions churned and boiled, threatening to confuse him again. When he’d spoken with Lorelei, everything had been so pellucid. Now the words jumbled about him. Peace. War. The boundaries were no longer clear-cut.

  “Go. Do your duty,” she said. “And I shall do mine. That is our destiny, James. Each must do what is necessary.”

  He nodded, glad to leave. He hurried for the turbolift, eager to reach the bridge.

  An inhabited planet! They weren’t lost yet!

  Chapter Six

  Captain’s Log, Stardate 4903.01

  We will soon attain orbit about the fourth planet in the system. Uhura reports no radio signals emanating from the planet, but Mr. Spock’s life-form readings indicate a highly complex civilization. The riddle posed by this seeming contradiction is only one of the items on our agenda. Nowhere in the galaxy has an advanced civilization been found that did not employ Hertzian radio, even for minor communications. Perhaps this is the first.

  “Assume standard orbit,” Kirk commanded. Chekov and Sulu worked at their consoles to obey. Behind him Kirk heard Lieutenant Uhura scanning through every conceivable [87] communication frequency, to no
avail. “Mr. Spock, what is your impression of the world below?” He studied the vast sprawl of the browns and greens and blues shown on the viewscreen as he listened.

  “Definitely advanced civilization, perhaps equal to our own.”

  “Space travel? Faster-than-light drives?” he demanded.

  “No indication of any off-planet activity, sir. Nor is there any radiation emission in the standard communication bands. I do find, however, evidence of atomic-fission plants, involved transport systems on the planetary surface and even aerial vehicles approximating those of your twenty-first century.”

  “Don’t you find it odd that they don’t use radio?”

  “I can theorize a culture lacking such. For instance, by the mid-twentieth century on Earth, little broadcast radiation leaked into space. Low-power geosynchronous communications satellites assumed an increasing burden of audio and video traffic. By the end of that century, lasers and the comsats were the primary relay methods. These, as you know, permit no leakage.”

  “Sulu, any evidence of comsats in orbit around the planet?”

  “None, sir,” came the immediate answer. “That was the first thing Mr. Spock asked me to search for.”

  Kirk smiled to himself. Spock seldom missed anything of real importance. That was why he consistently ranked as the best science officer in Starfleet. Kirk pushed away the idea of how much he’d be missed aboard the Enterprise when Spock earned a promotion to ship’s captain and had his own command one day.

  “How do you explain this discrepancy? According to Proctor’s theory of civilizations, it isn’t possible to develop a complex culture without an advanced communications network.”

  [88] “I agree with the theory. I surmise that the people on the planet below employ some method of which we are ignorant. They are advanced; they might be more advanced than we.”

  “But they don’t have space travel. Not even to their nearby planets.”

  “Some cultures feel no need to explore the cosmos. This might be one.” Spock continued working on his computer console even as he reported. “I have detected other examples of advanced status! Their agricultural patterns are definitely those of a society at peace and with highly developed biology. Waterways indicate optimal planning for irrigation, and the surface-transport system is sufficient for distributing the crops across the planet.”