by Lee Correy
It was a situation in which he was going to have to act.
Kirk turned his head to Janice Rand, who was standing next to him. "Do you have the comm channel open?"
"Yes, sir."
Kirk stepped between Lenos and Thallan and looked up at the armored Proctor, who towered above him. "Lenos, it is time I proved to you that I'm right!" He called loudly so that Janice Rand's communicator would pick up his voice, hoping as he did so that Lenos wouldn't overreact. Lenos didn't; he merely stared in disbelief as Kirk spoke. "Enterprise, this is Kirk. Spock, beam down immediately. Transporter crew, stand by to beam the entire group back aboard on my command."
He was counting on Spock's disciplined mind to follow orders precisely and immediately … and he was not disappointed.
Almost at once, there was the ringing of the transporter beam from the Enterprise off to his left. He hadn't noticed before, but there was a slight difference in the sound between the Mercan traveler and the Federation transporter unit.
Spock appeared, his gaunt form almost as tall as the Mercans around him but with his upswept eyebrows and pointed ears a definite and obvious difference. Spock had not only acted immediately but also anticipated Kirk's command, because he had a tricorder slung over his shoulder and a Type II hand phaser nestled in his right hand.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Mercan, permit me to introduce the First Officer of the star ship Enterprise and my second-in-command, Mister Spock from Vulcan … another abode of life," Kirk announced with exaggerated politeness.
Thallan was obviously surprised by this appearance of the Vulcan, but his expression slowly turned into one of excitement and pleasure as he drew his lips back in a Mercan smile.
On the other hand, Proctor Lenos appeared confused. He looked at Thallan, then at Kirk, then at Spock. "How did you do that?" Lenos asked in disbelief. "We've put a traveling blockage in the central traveler-control system to prevent anyone from traveling here except with my traveler code."
"There's a slight difference in the way our traveler works, Lenos," Kirk put in, taking a guess.
"Quite correct," Spock added. "We detected the suppressor field and were able to phase around it. And we're ready in the ship, Captain, to take whatever action is necessary."
Kirk took out his phaser and signaled his party to do the same. "All of you will travel with us. We have a Keep in the sky, our traveling device which is going around the Abode at this time. Lenos, you and your Proctors will please give us your firearms at once."
"We are the Proctors here! We give the orders! Not you!" Lenos snarled, reaching for his sidearm. "Proctors! Fire on this construct!"
The Proctors didn't have a chance. One of them raised his multi-round long-barreled pistol, but that was as far as he got. Spock reacted first.
The Proctor dropped to the ground, stunned into unconsciousness by Spock's phaser bolt.
By that time, Scotty and Janice Rand had dropped four of the other Proctors in the squad, using the stun setting on their hand phasers.
Kirk didn't even have time to react, so well-trained were his people.
There was absolute silence for a long moment while the reality of what they had just witnessed sank in for the remaining Mercan Proctors … and for the other Mercan people of the Technic group who were there.
"Thank you, Spock," Kirk said.
Spock was resetting his phaser. He merely raised his eyebrow.
"What … what happened to my Proctors?" Lenos stammered, lowering his firearm. The remaining three Proctors in his squad, seeing their leader do this, also lowered their weapons.
"They're merely unconscious. They'll be all right in a short while," Kirk said. "I told you we weren't from the Abode. I'm sorry that it took violence to demonstrate something to you that you could not believe. Now, hand us your weapons, Lenos. Thallan, if your Technic people will keep their weapons holstered, I won't require that you surrender."
"James Kirk, you and your companions are obviously not from the Abode, and you possess technical power in weaponry far beyond ours," the Technic leader said. "We're at your mercy, sir."
"On the contrary, you are our guests," Kirk replied smoothly. "And that includes you, Lenos. We've got seventeen to beam up, so we'll start with the Proctors first in groups of six. . . ."
As Kirk had expected, the Mercans were totally dazed when they materialized aboard the Enterprise. This gave the ship's security detachment time to step onto the transporter stage, one man to a Proctor.
"Put the Proctor squad in detention cabins," Kirk ordered. "Thallan, Orun, Othol, Delin, Lenos … please come with Commander Spock and me to the Bridge. Scotty, you've got work to do conserving power for our shields. Bones, find out what happened to Orun's blood sample and come to the Bridge with the details as soon as you have them."
"Right you are, Captain," Scotty murmured, and disappeared toward a turbolift that would take him to the Engineering Section.
"It's good to get back … and considerably cooler, too!" was McCoy's comment. "Now what's taken M'Benga so long with the analysis of that sample? …"
The Technic people seemed a good deal less overwhelmed by the star ship than Proctor Lenos, who gaped at everything. There was no question about it: there was fear in the Proctor's eyes. Kirk knew that the Enterprise was quite beyond the Proctor's comprehension. But both Orun and Delin actually seemed to be overjoyed at seeing the different technology around them in the star ship.
Kirk took them to the Bridge. As the turbolift doors opened, Spock immediately went to his library computer console. Kirk waved his hand around the Bridge. "Mercans, this is the control center for our traveling device."
"This is only a Technic mockery," Proctor Lenos objected. "Somehow, somewhere on the Abode, Thallan, you've managed to construct this very unusual Keep. I must congratulate you on doing a magnificent job. It's certainly much more comfortable than the Guardian Keeps … and shows evidence of a technology far greater than anything we or the Guardians had ever suspected."
Thallan was looking around, obviously impressed, but in an intellectual sense rather than with the sense of fear and apprehension that Lenos was exhibiting. "Lenos, you know that I'm one of the oldest of the Technic group. You may not know that I sit on the Technic Peer Panel of Thirteen that provides advice and guidance to others who have declared for the Technic Belief. As a member of this Panel, I know what's being done on the Abode. Lenos, I speak the truth, this is not of the Technic!"
"But what else can it be?"
"Proctor Lenos, your mind is no different than mine except that I have been trained to accept and adapt to new ways, new things, and new thoughts," Thallan told him. "You've been trained to follow the orders of the Guardians without question and to accept their dogma … without question. You may have a difficult time accepting the reality of this change that has come to Mercan from the Ribbon of Light. You'll have to learn to accept this change … or you will no longer be able to function as Prime Proctor. In fact, all of us are going to have to learn how to accept some changes we never anticipated, even in our wildest heresies about the Code."
That, of course, was precisely what was worrying Captain James Kirk at the moment.
But in spite of his concern over the possibility of having violated General Order Number One, Kirk's first thoughts were of his command—the Enterprise and her crew, who were now in mortal danger, with very few options available. In fact, Kirk had had to narrow his range of options considerably by the pressure of events.
He did have a new option now, however. He had the Prime Proctor of Mercan aboard the Enterprise, for use, if not as a hostage, then as a bargaining point with Pallar and the rest of the Guardians once the immediate problems presented by the instability of Mercaniad were solved. And he'd had to bring aboard the star ship at least four intelligent, technically cognizant Mercan inhabitants, some of whom knew what they were seeing on the Enterprise and who'd be able to apply the Federation technology to the technology of Mercan once they returned
to the planet. The point of no return had passed; there was no way that the Enterprise could ever leave Mercan, irrespective of how Scotty managed repairs, without leaving a permanent alteration of the Mercan culture behind. The door to any sort of unobtrusive visit had irrevocably closed behind Captain James T. Kirk.
Regardless of the internal conflict within him, Kirk had his priorities sorted out and knew what had to be done. If these priorities resulted in a flagrant violation of the Prime Directive, he was prepared to accept the consequences … even if it meant losing command of the star ship he had to save as his first priority.
"Mister Spock," he asked his Science Officer, leaving the Mercans for a moment and stepping over to where Spock was working with the library computer console, "what is the situation with Mercaniad?"
Spock did not divert his attention from the console. "Captain, I've been out of touch with the situation for several hours now because of the need to be present in the transporter room. I'm updating myself at this time. The best report I can provide right now is sketchy at best."
"Well, give me what you've got, Spock. What's that star doing?"
"Still increasing its emission constant across the entire electromagnetic spectrum and emitting an increasingly intense quantity of what could be termed hyper-Berthold Rays."
"How long before the ship's shielding might be compromised?"
"Unknown at present, since I have not been able to ascertain a definite trend because of instabilities even in the instabilities of this star," the Vulcan replied unemotionally. "It's the first Class G star of the irregular variable type that we've had the opportunity to investigate and observe, Captain. The other Class G stars of this type do not behave this way because they're accompanied by one or more very large gas-giant planets like Jupiter which produce a demonstrable effect because of gravitational attractions."
"Mister Spock, do I have hours before I must make a decision … or only minutes?"
Spock stopped his work at the console, looked up with his eyes focused on nothing in particular, and thought for a long moment before replying, "Captain, my best estimate indicates that you have seven-point-three hours before the radiation overcomes our shields. This is assuming, of course, that we're not able to launch the photon torpedoes into the star as planned before the radiation level becomes too great. . . ."
"Keep me informed, Mister Spock. If we have to use some of our precious power to pull back from Mercaniad, I want to know as soon as possible so we have time to evaluate all the options."
Spock's head was back in the hooded viewer of the library computer console. "Sir, you can rest assured that I will inform you of any data as quickly as I have it in hand."
Captain's Log: Stardate 5076.8
We can do nothing but wait for data from Spock's observations.
I gave the Mercans a quick tour of the ship after leaving the Bridge. The Prime Directive has already been compromised, and there was the chance that I might learn something more about the level of sophistication of these isolated people. I'm encouraged, but the Mercans may be learning more about us than we are about them.
Once Thallan discovered what Spock was doing, he and Othol began to cooperate with Spock, providing an unsuspected source of information on past Ordeals and the behavior of Mercaniad for the library computer to work on.
I didn't suspect that Orun knew enough physics to be of assistance to Commander Scott … but he has. Orun is down in Engineering with Commander Scott, advising the Engineering Officer of the exact nature of the radiation from Mercaniad so that the shields can be selectively adjusted to reject the most intense parts of the spectrum, thus saving power. Delin's in Sick Bay working with McCoy in the laboratory, assisting him in a complete biological work-up of the Mercans, donating her own blood and biopsy tissue samples as well as working alongside Doctor McCoy in the analysis, thus saving him considerable time.
These members of the Technic group on Mercan are intellectually brilliant people, and I wouldn't worry about the Prime Directive and about the possibility of bringing Mercan into the Federation if I were assured that all Mercans were of their quality of intellectual sophistication. These four are certainly our equals in many areas of science and technology, albeit sometimes from a totally different viewpoint and approach, as one might suspect from their isolation.
However, I know that all Mercans aren't like these four Technics. Having dealt with Pallar and his Guardian group, I frankly face a problem that I don't know how to solve, much less even how to approach at this time. It appears that the Guardians won't give up their dogma about being the sole abode of life in the universe. When these four Technics get back to Mercan with their acquired knowledge, they may feel strong enough to attempt to overthrow the Guardians. If this is the case, I may have triggered a planetary civil war … and I must take full responsibility for having done so if it occurs.
My big problem is Proctor Lenos, who appears to be in a state of shock at the moment after seeing the Enterprise.
In fact, my biggest problem may be the Proctorate led by Lenos and even Lenos himself. He is not a stupid person. He may well convince himself of the reality of the Enterprise and of the subtle flaws in the Code that he's charged with enforcing. If he does come around, which way will he go and which way will he be able to take the Proctorate?
These must be considered as pure speculations inserted into the record merely to indicate the development of my own line of thinking as we proceed toward what appears to be an inevitable confrontation that will undoubtedly cause a drastic change in the culture of Mercan.
I have insufficient data to take action here at this time. In fact, I have insufficient data to act at all until Mister Spock reports. . . .
"Captain Kirk, Spock reporting," the intercom unit over Kirk's bed barked.
Kirk hadn't realized he'd been so tired. He'd just stretched out for a moment … but a quick look at his chronometer indicated he'd been asleep for several hours. Shaking his head groggily, he reached for the intercom reply switch. "Kirk here."
"Captain, can you come to the Bridge at once, please?"
"I'm on my way." Kirk didn't even bother to ask why. If Spock wanted him to come to the Bridge, it was because the Science Officer either had something he wanted to show to Kirk or something that he didn't wish to entrust to the security of the ship's intercom system.
It took Kirk less than a minute to get to Spock's side on the Bridge. Both Thallan and Othol were with Spock.
"Report, Mister Spock."
"Captain, request permission to launch the photon torpedoes at once, sir."
"Of course, Mister Spock. Why do you need my permission to take an action I've already approved?" Kirk wanted to know.
"Because of negligence on my part as the Science Officer," Spock replied without emotion.
"Negligence? Explain."
"Sir, I was called away from this station to provide the necessary assistance to the transporter crews for your rescue from the planetary surface," Spock explained. "During my absence from this post, the situation with Mercaniad's instability got beyond my control. It required all my time since beaming up from the planet, plus the assistance from the Technic people here, to bring myself and the library computer up-to-date on the Mercaniad situation. . . ."
"Spock, get to the point."
"I now have discovered that it's too late to damp the flare-up of Mercaniad by launching photon torpedoes into its core."
Chapter Ten
"What do you mean, Mister Spock?" Kirk asked. "Specify."
"Mercaniad progressed into its flare-up far more rapidly than I'd anticipated," the Science Officer explained. "Additional data provided to me by Thallan and Othol have now been analyzed by the ship's computer. I have performed an independent analysis by linearizing some of the data to simplify the equations. My results agree with those of the computer by a factor of two-point-three-nine percent, which is well within the limits of agreement one should anticipate utilizing the linearization m
ethods I adopted."
Kirk mulled this over for a moment. Then he asked, "What would happen if we sent those torpedoes in there now?"
"May I have approximately two-point-four minutes to make the calculations, Captain? They're exceedingly complex because we are dealing with fusion reactions under very unstable conditions. . . ."
"Get busy, Spock. Time's running out," Kirk told him, and got out of his Science Officer's way, knowing better than to bother Spock at a time like this. He dropped into the command seat and punched the intercom button. "Mister Scott, this is Kirk. What are the latest estimates on the shielding?"
"Captain, I dinna know if she'll hold for another ten hours … which isn't enough to protect us all the way through the Ordeal … if Mister Spock's numbers are right … which they usually are. I can't keep these shields up enough to stop all those hyper-Berthold Rays, sir."
"Suppose you were to divert all available stand-by power into the shields, Scotty? Would they hold?"
"What would you like me to shut down, Captain?"
"As many internal systems as possible. As many absolutely nonessential circuits as you can drop off-line without getting us into a situation where we couldn't move in less than a few minutes' start-up time again. Drop the shields against ultraviolet; that won't get through the hull, no matter how strong it gets, and if it discolors the paint, so what? Drop the level against infrared, turn up the life-support temperature controls to the point where it endangers our electronics, and let us sweat a little bit if we have to."
"Aye, sir, will do! But that'll give us only about four more hours of protection. . . . And when we get through, we won't have enough power left aboard to boil water for tea."
