Kromm, son of Kaath, rested his fists on the conference table of the U.S.S. Prometheus, staring across at Captain Richard Adams with dark eyes.
“No.” Adams shook his head. “That is not our only option, Captain.”
“It’s the only reliable and safe one.” The Klingon pointed at the semi-transparent holographic image that was hovering above the center of the table. It was based on the sensor analyses from both the Prometheus and Kromm’s ship, the I.K.S. Bortas, depicting a region of the planet’s surface. Iad, this mysterious world hidden under a veil of chaotic radiation, was orbited by three separated sections of the Federation’s ship as well as the Klingon cruiser. All of them were protected by a joint defense shield.
The holoimage showed a city in ruins surrounded by a dense jungle. Only the foundations of the city’s buildings still existed, but the surrounding trees were no more than a hundred years old. Less than fifty kilometers to the east lay the source of the devastation: the massive impact crater at the crash site of the Federation starship Valiant. The warp drive’s explosion a century ago had leveled the planet’s surface for several kilometers in every direction.
“This creature drove the Valiant’s crew mad, forcing their ship to crash,” Kromm continued. “We cannot allow that to happen to us.”
“I watched the same recording from the Valiant’s bridge that you did, Captain,” Adams said testily. They had discovered a log buoy near Bharatrum, and the images they had been able to retrieve from the damaged data storage devices inside were disturbing to say the least. The crew went insane and tried to kill each other with weaponry that seemed to materialize from nowhere. Eventually, First Officer Edwards deliberately steered the Constitution-class ship toward the planet’s surface.
Kromm’s reply was just as testy. “Then you are fully aware of how dangerous this entity is. Your people’s incompetence freed it then, and it’s wreaking havoc now.”
Quickly, Adams said, “We still don’t know exactly how the Son of the Ancient Reds has been set free.” Even as he said the words, however, he had to concede that the evidence pointed at Starfleet. According to an ancient Renao legend, a so-called White Guardian had imprisoned the Son of the Ancient Reds on Iad. Nine thousand years of peace ensued, before the Valiant appeared and was lost during a simple cartography mission in the Lembatta Cluster. Now, more than a century later, madness had spread throughout the region and beyond.
Waving his arm in front of his face, Kromm said, “It matters little how this being awoke. What matters is that our enemy is on Iad. Either we kill him, or he will force us to raise our weapons against each other and fight to the death… repeatedly, if Ambassador Spock is correct.” He raised his gloved hand, pointing at the half-Vulcan diplomat who followed proceedings in the Prometheus’s conference room quietly and with a pensive expression. “Is that not correct?”
“I am reluctant to offer an assessment whether this entity is the same being that the Enterprise encountered many years ago,” Spock replied slowly. “That life form was indeed dangerous. It destroyed the Klingon vessel Voh’tahk, contrived to imprison that ship’s survivors on the Enterprise, and then fed on the hatred of both crews. Not only did that being influence our emotions and manipulate our memories, it was also capable of transforming matter to ensure that we had weapons available at all times and whenever we felt the urge to kill.”
Next to Spock, the Prometheus security chief, Lenissa zh’Thiin, spoke. “No weapons have appeared on board here, so the defense shields that Commander Kirk modified are working.”
Also present were science officer Lieutenant Commander Mendon, Adam’s first officer Roaas, chief medical officer Doctor Barai, and the aforementioned Kirk, the ship’s chief engineer, as well as Kromm’s personnel, first officer Commander L’emka and security chief Rooth.
Spock nodded. “We have indeed remained protected from the entity’s influence thus far, thanks to the cooperation among Commander Kirk, Lieutenant Commander Mendon, and Doctor Barai in modifying the Prometheus shields.” The telepathic Betazoid doctor had guided Kirk and Mendon according to what he sensed within the crew, so they had been able to block the radiation’s mental effects with the deflectors. Spock had also played an important role, but his typical modesty ensured that he neglected to mention that. He continued: “But that is not the only reason why I consider the current danger to both our ships as minor. Unlike the creature I and my crewmates encountered a century ago, the Son of the Ancient Reds is quite obviously trapped, as he has made no effort to leave Iad in order to reach us here in orbit.”
“Unfortunately,” Mendon said, “we remain unable to obtain accurate sensor readings thanks to the multiple radiations forming in chaotic patterns around the planet.”
Kirk snorted. “It’s easier to look out of the window with binoculars to get information about the planet’s surface.” She nodded towards the holoimage.
Kromm shook his head. “I have studied the log entries made by Dahar Master Kang aboard the Voh’tahk. The entity is malevolent. It will take advantage of every opportunity to make us fight—against each other, and against others.” The Klingon hit his chest with his gloved fist. “Far be it from me to shy from a fight, but I decide who I’m pitting myself against.”
“As if that matters,” zh’Thiin mumbled.
“What is that supposed to mean, Commander?” Kromm glared at the Andorian woman.
Her antennae bent forward belligerently. “That you’ve spent this entire mission regarding anyone and everyone as your enemy. All we’ve heard from you is about making the Renao feel your wrath. You’re simply dying to lay waste to a planet—like Xhehenem a few days ago.”
“The Renao are our enemies!” Kromm shouted. “They erased Tika IV Beta! They laid waste to Korinar! You yourselves lost a starbase and a drydock! Yet you continually refuse to take proper action! But what do you expect from a weak league of bickering planets that—”
“Captain! Commander! Get a grip.” Adams looked at both of them sternly. “We need to be extremely careful here. All of us have smoldering aggressions waiting to erupt. Our shields are tamping it down, but the entity is still working its influence, trying to draw strength from our fury. We cannot allow it to acquire that strength, or we’ll never be able to defeat it.”
The Klingon glared at Adams with ferociously glowing eyes, before taking a deep breath.
“Captain.” L’emka put a hand on his shoulder.
He brushed it off. But then he visibly relaxed. “You’re right, Adams. But that’s proof how dangerous our true enemy is, sneaking into our minds although we are in the very heart of your ship.” The Klingon glanced at the female security chief, and for a second it seemed as if he was about to say something. Instead, he just grumbled, nodding at her.
Zh’Thiin’s antennae straightened, and she tilted her head.
That was about as much peace as Adams could expect between the two of them.
“So?” Rooth, who had remained silent so far, spoke up with his harsh voice. “Are we going to bombard or not? I’m all for it.” The Bortas’s gray-haired security chief folded his arms in front of his chest.
“We should exhaust all other options first.” Adams touched the intercom control that was embedded in the conference table. “Adams to Winter.”
“Winter here, Captain,” the communications officer’s voice sounded over the loudspeakers.
“Have you been able to establish contact with the energy entity on the planet’s surface?”
“Unfortunately not, Captain,” the young human replied. “I have tried all frequencies and all established forms of communications, including light signals with our landing lights and whale songs.”
The last one surprised Adams. “Whale songs?”
“From humpback whales,” Winter said. “That worked on Earth a century ago in order to establish contact with an exotic probe.”
“I can confirm the ensign’s statement.” The corners of Spock’s mouth twitched slightly. “As chance would hav
e it, I was present during that incident.”
“I’m really grasping at every straw I can find, Captain,” Winter said, “but so far it’s been to no avail. The entity doesn’t respond, at least not in a way that I would recognize or understand. The radiation values don’t change; there are no patterns, no peaks, no nothing.”
“Thank you, Ensign. Keep trying. Adams out.” The captain closed the channel.
“It would seem the creature doesn’t share the Federation’s obsession with talking,” Kromm said with a snarl.
“Or it simply can’t communicate with us,” L’emka added. “It’s entirely possible that the being is in some state of unconsciousness—at least by its standards.”
Adams hadn’t thought of that at all. Somehow, he had been certain that the energy presence was wide awake, acting deliberately. To think that everything they had been through might be the consequence of troubled sleep was even more disturbing.
“If that’s the case I don’t want to be around when it wakes up,” Kirk mumbled.
“While the commander’s hypothesis is intriguing, I do not believe that the creature is resting,” Spock said. “I have sensed only purposeful actions from the presence. Wouldn’t you agree, Doctor?” The Vulcan gazed at the Betazoid.
Barai wiped his brow with his hand; the doctor looked haunted by the stranger’s influence. “Yes, I can sense a hunger that can’t possibly come from someone who’s asleep. A hunger for violence.”
Adams looked at his science officer. “Mr. Mendon, is there any way to neutralize this entity without bombarding it? Is it possible to counteract the radiation now that we know where it originates and how it forms?”
The Benzite took two breaths from his respirator, contemplating. Mendon needed this inhaler to enrich the Prometheus’s standard atmosphere with gases that were vital for him. “I’m afraid not—at least, not yet. Once Ambassador Spock pointed us in the direction of the entity that he had encountered on Beta XII-A, I went through all available files in our databases. We might be able to establish a shield array enveloping the entire ruined city with mobile generators and projectors, and we could possibly configure them the same way as our ship’s shields. But we still couldn’t be sure that they would stop the being. According to the files, this species—that’s if we’re indeed encountering a species of sorts—is very powerful and can’t be bound by matter and ordinary technology. Maybe one possible explanation is that the entity from Beta XII-A doesn’t originate from our reality, and has instead crossed here from a parallel universe. And we still aren’t sure that the entity on Iad is anything like the being on Beta XII-A. So far, we don’t have any viable data about either of them. Our entire working theory is based on the feeling that Ambassador Spock had when we approached Iad.”
“ Feeling is not quite the accurate term, Lieutenant Commander,” Spock said gently. “Rather, I sensed a familiar psychic energy pattern. However, I must agree that our knowledge base is limited. Although it feeds on hatred, fury, and similarly strong emotions, and has the ability to create matter, it still might be very different from the entity on Beta XII-A.”
“We’re not here to study this abomination!” Kromm growled. “We need to destroy it.”
“I agree with Captain Kromm,” said Roaas, Adams’s first officer. “The Renao need to be healed from being possessed by the Son of the Ancient Reds, or there will be many more victims on our and on their side.” He looked at Spock. “Isn’t there a Vulcan proverb? ‘The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.’”
“Or of just one,” the thin-haired ambassador finished the sentence, nodding slowly. “Yes, such a proverb exists. And I have been acting according to this precept for decades. Even today, it is most difficult to fault the logic behind those words. But I cannot conceal the fact that I would not be here among you if it hadn’t been for a certain Starfleet captain who felt that the needs of single persons carry a certain weight. Sometimes even so much so that many are willing to risk their own well-being for them.”
“With all due respect, Ambassador, this is not the right time for philosophical excursions,” said Adams. “Is there a certain point you are trying to make?”
The half-Vulcan raised an eyebrow. “I do indeed, Captain. I wish to volunteer myself to attempt to establish contact with the entity.”
“How is that supposed to work?” Kromm frowned irritably. “The ensign at communications has already admitted his failure. Are you going to attempt a Vulcan mind-meld with that thing?” He guffawed—and abruptly fell silent when his gaze met Spock’s. “You’re not serious, are you?”
“My plan is to leave the ship in a shuttle, before trying to establish some manner of mental link using purposeful meditation. It is possible that I may be able to establish some kind of telepathic exchange akin to the mind-meld. At the very least, I might be able to gain some useful information about its goals and weaknesses.”
Adams wasn’t very happy with this plan. “Do you really believe that you’ll be able to communicate with such a powerful spirit?”
The ambassador raised an eyebrow. “I have established telepathic contact with many extremely powerful entities over the decades, Captain, including a Kelvan, a sophisticated computer probe called Nomad, and more than one vast, destructive energy creature. While some of those experiences were overwhelming, I have grown stronger from them.”
Kromm snorted. “You Vulcans have never suffered from a lack of confidence.”
“Vulcans are able to self-assess with considerable accuracy, Captain Kromm.”
“All right then, let’s give it a try, Ambassador.” Adams still felt uneasy considering that Spock would be subjected to the entity’s full mental force. He saw what it did to Geron Barai, not to mention the Renao on sickbay—Kumaah ak Partam and Alai ak Yldrou. Strong sedatives were required, and even those only barely kept the madness at bay. On the other hand, his Starfleet oath demanded he tried everything in his power to avoid violence. And who was he to doubt the self-assessment of a great man such as Spock?
Adams added, “We will control the shuttle remotely from Prometheus.”
Spock tilted his head approvingly. “A wise precaution.”
“We can’t configure the shuttle’s shields the same way we did with those of the Prometheus,” Kirk said. “They’re not designed for that.”
“I have no intention to activate the shields,” Spock said, “as they would interfere with my attempts to make contact.”
“In case of emergency we will beam you straight back aboard,” Adams promised.
“And then we bombard Iad?” Kromm asked.
Adams nodded grimly. “Yes, Captain, if this fails—then we will bombard Iad.”
2
NOVEMBER 25, 2385
Space shuttle Charles Coryell, in orbit around Iad
Carefully, Spock steered the small spacecraft out of the shuttle bay in the upper secondary hull of Prometheus. The Charles Coryell was a small, sleek vessel, the latest shuttle design from the engineers at Utopia Planitia. It was capable of speeds up to warp five, and its shields were remarkably powerful for a spacecraft of its size, although they wouldn’t be able to protect Spock from the Son’s influence once he left the Prometheus’s protective shield bubble behind.
Only his experienced, focused mind would be able to achieve that. He trusted that would be sufficient.
The Vulcan part of his mind wondered why he exposed himself to the danger of a direct confrontation with this being. He had studied what little data was available in the files about the Beta XII-A entity as thoroughly as the short time had allowed. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise-E had also come across the creature, during one of his encounters with the entity known as Q, and his report matched what Spock had observed on the Enterprise a century ago: the being was purposeful and evil, and it pushed its victims into an endless blood rage. Assuming that this creature would act differently wasn’t logical, considering it manipulated the Renao in a similarly destructive
manner.
Logic is the beginning of wisdom, Spock recalled, not the end.
Thus, his human part hoped that understanding could evolve from hostility if only someone had the courage to risk their life in order to facilitate some sort of communication.
Spock’s personal history alone was full of examples that even the most diversified cultures and life forms were able to come to a consensus. There was V’Ger, a violent force that Spock had managed to communicate with and stop its destructive swath. The mine workers of Janus VI had assumed that the Horta was a murderous monster that needed eliminating—but after Spock mind-melded with her, they discovered that she was a mother protecting her young, and soon an understanding had been reached.
Several frightened Starfleet senior officers had been convinced at the end of the last century that there wasn’t a future for the Federation and warmongering Klingons. Spock and his old companions from the Enterprise had played a significant role in proving them wrong and cementing an alliance with the Klingon Empire that had been a cornerstone of the quadrant for the better part of the twenty-fourth century. He had prompted humpback whales to save Earth and Romulans to sit down at the table with Vulcans, their distant and much-hated relatives. Communication was the key to peaceful resolutions of conflicts.
Therefore, Spock had no other choice right now than to seek communication—anything else would have been illogical.
“Spock to Prometheus.” He swerved the shuttle past the arrow-shaped primary hull.
“We hear you,” Adams’s voice answered via the intercom.
“I am leaving the perimeter of the Prometheus shields and turning control of the Charles Coryell over to you, Captain.”
“Understood. Good luck and may you be successful, Ambassador Spock.”
He watched as the conn controls were taken over by Ensign Naxxa on Prometheus. Spock had only briefly met the Bolian woman serving as shuttle specialist, but she had struck him as a calm and competent young woman.
The shuttle penetrated the shield that Commander Kirk had switched to permeable for a brief moment. Behind the small spacecraft, the shimmering barricade that was constantly bombarded by exotic radiation sealed tightly.
Star Trek Prometheus - in the Heart of Chaos Page 2
