by S. D. Perry
The captain was waiting in the transporter room when Scott returned to the ship, standing with his arms crossed, his impatience as plain as day. As the hum of the transporter faded, die captain was already stepping up to the platform. Scotty picked up his tool kit, sighing. As glad as he was to be back on the ship, he wasn't particularly looking forward to then- conversation.
"Well, Mr. Scott?"
"Sir, I didn't find anything you could call real evidence, exactly--but I didn't not find anything, either."
"Explain," the captain snapped.
Aye, he was in a mood. Scotty put the tool kit back down, and saw Tarn shoot a sympathetic look in his direction from behind the transporter console. Scott ignored it, though he made a mental note to later remind young Mr. Tarn that he should pay mind to his own business.
"Well, I checked Captain Darres's temporary quarters, like you asked," Scotty said. "Did a real thorough job of it, too--I went over every square centimeter with the tricorder, looking for variations of density and temperature in the walls, floor, and ceiling. I scanned the furniture, his personals--even a bottle of Saurian brandy I came across, all of it for any sign at all that something was amiss. There was no bug, sir, I would've found it... but I did find evidence that someone has been at the ventilator duct in there. The vent's grating had been pried out of place, and recently; the tiny scratches in the alloy had barely begun the oxidation process."
The captain was plainly unimpressed by the information, giving it a perfunctory nod. "Nothing we can use. What about the transporters?"
"Again, there'd be nothing I could prove, one way or another," Scott said. "There was nothing tangible, you understand--"
"I understand," Captain Kirk said briskly. "What didn't you not find in the transporter system?"
"My diagnostic matched up to theirs," Scott sighed. "The malfunction was due to a stray irregularity in the auto sequencing program--a one-in-a billion mishap, and only dangerous in about ten percent of those cases. It's probably the most common reason for transporter fatalities, though you're still looking at a very small number ... but it does happen every now and again.
"The thing is, I decided to open up the control console, just to take a look, you know, give her a once-over, scan the phase-transition coils and the like--and at the very highest tricorder setting for field readings, I picked up what could be evidence of a directed magnetic pulse." The captain was frowning. "Which means ..."
"If I was looking to get rid of someone using a transporter without raising any eyebrows, that's how I'd do it, sir," Scott said. "One tap on a standard magnetic generator, set for a specific range and quality--and they make them no bigger than a communicator, mind you--and you've got one dead man. It would only affect a single trip, too, so there'd be no chance of killing another."
"That's it, it has to be," Kirk said, seeming both agitated and excited by the discovery--which made Scott all the more reluctant to tell him the rest of it.
"Sir, I said it could be a magnetic pulse," he said heavily. "Unfortunately, with as weak as the trace was, it could also be about a dozen other things, most of them caused by natural emissions from an overused system--and with that conference going on, the station's transporters have had plenty of use lately. There's just no way to tell for sure."
The captain sighed. "I don't suppose there were any security monitors in or near that transporter room, either."
"No, Captain. Nary a one."
"What about M-20's investigation? Did you talk to the station manager?"
Here was the kicker. Scotty braced himself, fully aware that it was going to go over like a lead balloon.
"Aye, I talked to him. Mr. Miatsu walked me to the scene himself. Station security has already interviewed everyone--the guard who escorted Captain Darres to the transporters, and the young man who ran the controls, as well as a few others working in the area. It seemed it all happened just after a shift change, and with the summit and all, there were a few minutes that the room was empty and no one was watching ... but without any evidence ..."
Scotty took a deep breath. "The manager told me that unless something else turned up, he was going to have to rule Captain Darres's death an accident. He said he'd send you the report as soon as he was done with it."
Although he'd expected an angry response, Captain Kirk only shook his head. He looked frustrated and unhappy, but somehow not a bit surprised by the news.
"Captain, do you know what's happening?" Scott asked. "Is it something to do with Captain Darres's looking into the Sphinx misfortune?"
"I don't know anything for sure, not yet," the captain said grimly, looking at Scott but not seeing him, his expression troubled and deeply thoughtful. "But something's going on ... and I'm starting to think that whatever it is, it's a lot bigger than we know."
He focused on the engineer again, reaching out to clap him on the shoulder. "You did a good job, Mr. Scott."
"Thank you, sir," Scotty said, proud as always when the captain acknowledged his hard work.
"Bridge to Captain Kirk." Lieutenant Uhura's voice.
The captain stepped to the intercom. "Kirk here."
"Captain, I've managed to decipher the data chip." Uhura's pretty voice was as efficient as always, but Scott thought she also sounded thoroughly pleased with herself. "Excellent, Lieutenant. I'm on my way, Kirk out." With a nod at Scotty, and Mr. Tarn at the transporter controls, the captain headed off to the bridge looking a wee bit more hopeful than he had only a moment before. Mr. Scott was glad to see it. The afternoon he'd spent at the station had been an uncomfortable one, looking for proof that a Starfleet captain had been watched and murdered. It was enough to drive a man to drink, but if it was true, the captain would get to the bottom of it... and if he thought that some data chip would shed light on the matter, maybe it would at that.
Gladly putting the whole sorry business out of mind, Scott turned a sharp eye toward Mr. Tarn to give him a few words about good manners.
The expression on Chekov's face when he walked into sickbay made McCoy's heart sink. The boy looked undone, pale and bleak, and McCoy was suddenly absolutely certain that Karen Patterson was dead. She was dead, and his hope was dead along with her.
"Why hello, Mr. Chekov," Nurse Chapel said brightly. She was at the counter, sorting through the second to last batch of physical test results. "Is something the matter?"
Chekov managed to smile, but it was a weak affair. "No, ma'am. Dr. McCoy, may I speak to you privately for a moment?"
"Of course," McCoy said, his voice far away to his own ears. He hoped that Christine would mistake his dread for concern. "We can talk in the recovery room."
Chekov followed him, practically stepping on his heels he was so anxious. Whatever it was, it was bad.
As soon as the door closed behind them, McCoy turned to face the young navigator, bracing himself for the worst. It had been a long shot, anyway.
"Doctor, I found something--I didn't think I was going to at first, she was hard to pick up after she left Altair VI, but I tracked her down," Chekov said rapidly, and even as obviously distressed as he was, McCoy could hear a trace of pride in his statement, the accent on "I."
Maybe she's not dead after all. Chekov certainly wasn't acting like someone delivering bad news. A spark of hope rekindled.
"After Altair she took some time off, that's what made it difficult, there were no records for six months," Chekov continued. "But then she got a research job with a medical chemical company in the Tellun star system, a division of the Carter Winston Group. She was there until just two months ago, when she suddenly resigned and booked passage to Deep Space Station R-5. Her and a half-dozen other Federation doctors met there from all over, very important people, I saw the arrival logs."
"So, is that where she is now?" McCoy asked.
"No, sir," the young man replied, his eyes wide. "A ship picked her up from R-5 only a day later, and the others, and not one of them has turned up anywhere else. It's like they all just di
sappeared into thin air."
McCoy shook his head, confused and thoroughly irritated, but before he could say anything, Chekov spilled the rest. "Doctor, the ship that picked them up was the Sphinx, Jack Casden commanding."
McCoy just stared at him for a moment, speechless, until Chekov started babbling nervously about how they had to tell the captain. In spite of his shock, McCoy somehow managed to assure Chekov that he would take care of it, not to worry and not to talk about it to anyone else. Having shared the burden of knowledge, the navigator calmed down and wanted to talk about the unlikely coincidence, but McCoy made an excuse to get rid of him, thanked him and sent him along his way.
McCoy sat down on one of the diagnostic beds, thinking. He needed to decide what to tell Jim... and it was time he got caught up on what had been happening since he'd stopped paying attention to ship's business, because it appeared that his personal business was about to become a part of it. After a few minutes, he got up and went to see if he could find those station arrival logs Chekov had been talking about, wondering if he would know when it was time for him to stop hoping.
Chapter Twelve
The death of Captain Darres was most regrettable, the more so because it was highly doubtful that it had been an accident... although Spock also considered it doubtful that a murderous intent would ever be proved.
Spock was informed of Darres's demise upon his return to M-20, by an ensign who had been a part of the Sphinx investigation team. It seemed that the ensign and the other members of the team actually believed that a transporter malfunction was responsible. Spock made no attempt to dissuade them, primarily because he wished to return to the Enterprise and speak to the captain, but also because it now seemed that the overly knowledgeable had become exceedingly shortlived.
After his extensive conversation with the Romu- Ian commander about cloaking technology, Spock felt that he had enough information to present a theory to the captain. Not a complete one, there were still a number of unknowns, but he believed he'd reached a workable premise from which to take action.
The captain was in his quarters when Spock beamed back to the Enterprise. Spock decided to go to him rather than ask to be met, as he believed that the death of the captain's friend and former shipmate had likely taken an emotional toll.
As he left the transporter room and started for the captain's quarters, Spock considered some of the unknown factors they still faced. He felt reasonably certain that Dr. Kettaract was using cloaking technology for his own designs, and that he had obtained the technology from his study of the device that Starfleet Intelligence held. Spock had reached the conclusion after the commander had informed him that only the single cloaking device, the one that he and the captain had taken from her ship, had ever been lost by the Romulan Empire. However, he still did not know what Dr. Kettaract was trying to keep hidden, or who else was involved.
There was also the specific nature of the Sphinx's involvement. It seemed logical that the fatalities of Captain Casden and his crew were caused by their discovery of Dr. Kettaract's machinations; the abrupt death of Captain Darres certainly supported the theory but how they had discovered the doctor's plan was still unclear. The possibility that they had stumbled across it by chance seemed unlikely. And if the unidentified man on the Sphinx was responsible for that ship's doom, who had killed Captain Darres?
"Spock, wait up!"
Spock turned and saw Dr. McCoy hurrying down the corridor. He held a piece of paper in one hand, and by his posture and expression seemed quite anxious.
"Are you going to see Jim?" the doctor asked, upon reaching him. A logical assumption; his quarters were just around the next turn.
"Yes, Doctor."
"So am I," the doctor said, uncharacteristically amiable. "I found something that might have to do with the Sphinx--well, technically Chekov found it. I asked him for a favor, I wanted help looking for this old friend of mine, and it just turned up."
Spock cocked an eyebrow. "I'm sure the story behind this discovery is most exciting, Doctor. Apparently more so than the discovery itself."
The doctor made a familiar, thunderous face. "That's what I get for trying to tell you anything. Look, it turns out that this friend of mine, she's a doctor, and a few other top-notch research scientists and the like disappeared not so long ago, after they were picked up by the Sphinx." He held up the piece of paper. "Seven in all."
Highly intriguing. "May I see that, Doctor?"
Dr. McCoy handed him a list of the missing scientists' names ... and after reading them, it was clear that at least two of the unexplained elements of his hypothesis now had to be recategorized.
"Doctor, I believe we need to speak with the cap145 tain immediately," Spock said, and as it occasionally happened, Dr. McCoy did not disagree.
Kirk sat staring at the monitor, hoping to God that he was wrong, vaguely wishing for his earlier feelings of frustration and discouragement.
He had been frustrated after Uhura showed him what she'd uncovered. The coded data chip, the thing that was supposed to clear up the mystery, that was going to explain everything, had turned out to be nothing more than a copy of the Starfleet Charter. It was in the files of every ship and every starbase. And after taking it back to his quarters for a quick, hopeful scan, searching for concealed messages, he'd felt on the verge of giving up. No evidence, no answers, no progress, a ship and her crew destroyed, his friend and mentor dead. His unofficial investigation was officially dead in the water, and unless Spock had something up his sleeve, Kirk didn't know how to move forward.
Still, Danes had coded the thing for a reason. With nothing better to do, Kirk cued it back to the beginning and read, searching every sentence for some hidden meaning, feeling his disappointment slowly and steadily gather strength ... until he found it. Found something, anyway.
Deeply troubled, he was still gazing blankly at the monitor when someone signaled at his door. Without thinking about it, Kirk snapped the monitor off before inviting his visitor in.
Two visitors. Spock and McCoy came in together.
"How was your trip, Mr. Spock?" Kirk asked, forcing what he'd seen in the Charter out of his mind.
For now.
"Successful, Captain," Spock said. "Between my discussion with the Romulan commander and the information I've just received from Dr. McCoy, I believe I now understand the connection between Dr. Kettaract and what happened to Captain Casden's ship and crew, as well as to Captain Danes. And if I'm correct, we may have very little time in which to act."
Bones was scowling. "Then why don't you spit it out?"
"I am attempting to do so, Doctor, and if you will allow me to--"
"Knock it off," Kirk snapped. "Spock, report."
"My hypothesis is this," Spock said calmly. "The Sphinx was sabotaged by someone attempting to prevent it from leaving the Lantaru sector, where there is an illegally cloaked Federation station. There, Dr. Bendes Kettaract is leading a team of scientists in an attempt to synthesize an Omega molecule, the same energy source he postulated early in his career, which theory indicates will not maintain stabilization and is therefore exceedingly dangerous. Captain Casden probably learned of the cloak when he transported part of Kettaract's science team from Deep Space Station R-5 to the Lantaru station, approximately two months ago.
"It appears that the Sphinx traveled to the Lantaru station several times, Casden operating under the belief that his orders were from Starfleet Intelligence and highly classified--but that at some point, he recognized them as fraudulent and de147 cided to disclose Dr. Kettaract's work and location to Starfleet.
"I believe that he confronted Dr. Kettaract at the cloaked station, and that Dr. Kettaract arranged for the sabotage of the Sphinx. The deaths of Jack Cas den and his crew may have been accidental. Dr. Kettaract's work is nearing completion; therefore, he only meant for the Sphinx to be lost for a brief period, long enough for a planted rumor to taint Cas den's credibility, so that his claims would not immediately be be
lieved.
"From the evidence, there are a number of unidentified people supporting Dr. Kettaract's work. At least one of them willing to kill to maintain its secrecy, as is evidenced by the allegedly accidental death of Gage Darres. I believe it likely that a careful network of misinformation, built by an unscrupulous few, has even made unwitting participants of Starfleet officers."
My God.
Bones looked just as stunned as Kirk felt, the complexities astounding, the repercussions frightening --that all those people might have died just so an obsessed scientist could indulge his paranoia. Some of it was a total surprise, but because Spock was the one telling him, Kirk didn't waste time on disbelief.
"Why do you think he's working on Omega?" Kirk asked.
"Because of his history, and because of who he has most recently chosen to work with his team. Medical theorists and mechanical engineers, primarily, who will study the physical effects of his creation and begin seeking ways to employ its power."
"Why the rush?" Bones asked. "How do we know he's really that close?"
"Because he believes that he is," Spock said simply. "And because of the message that he received last night, from someone named Hermes. The importance that was placed on the first name, John instead of Tom--I believe it was a code. In Earth mythology, Hermes was the messenger of the gods. I don't know the significance of the first names, but I suspect "John' meant that they were to return to the station immediately. Presumably because the experiment has reached a crucial stage."
They.
"And considering the possible consequences if he should actually achieve synthesis," Spock continued, "it is incumbent upon us to stop them as soon as is possible."
"How serious are we talking about?" Kirk asked.
"A precise classification is not possible, as the molecule has never existed," Spock said. "The result of the inevitable destabilization may only be the destruction of the station itself... but depending on their containment methods, it is conceivable that an expanding energy field could form in subspace, severely damaging that continuum within an indefinite but possibly extensive range."
