Star Trek: That Which Divides (19 page)

Scott nodded in agreement, recalling from his studies at the Academy that Triex’s initial encounters with the Romulan Star Empire, which predated the Earth-Romulan War, were not dissimilar to the first confrontations experienced by ships of humanity’s then-budding Starfleet. “Aye, they’re tough beasties, all right.”

An alert indicator from Chekov’s station made the young officer look up in confusion. “Mister Scott, the field is beginning to stabilize.”

Sitting up straighter in his chair, the engineer frowned at this latest news. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, sir,” Chekov replied as he once more directed his attention to his scanner. A moment later, he added, “I’m not detecting readings from the Romulan ship’s warp drive. I think it’s been taken offline.”

“Did they sustain damage?” Scott asked.

Chekov shook his head. “The sensors didn’t register anything. From what I can tell, the engines were deliberately deactivated.”

Interesting
, Scott mused, unable to suppress a small, wry grin. “So, they were listening to our initial hail, after all.”

Looking up from his scanner, Chekov reported, “The field readings have returned to their original levels, and I’m no longer able to track the Romulan ship, sir. I think they may have made it to the other side of the rift.”

“And we’re still not able to scan to the other side,” Scott said, frowning, “even this close to the field?”

“No, sir,” Chekov said. “The beams scatter as they attempt to penetrate the farther they travel into the rift.”

That did not sit at all well with the engineer. Swiveling the command chair so that he faced the communications station, he eyed M’Ress. “Lieutenant, we need to get word to the captain and the landing parties. Let them know what’s happened and to be on the lookout for that Romulan ship. Make sure to repeat the message at least a few times. Hopefully that’ll help punch everything through the static.” With communications to and from the other side of the rift compromised by the energy field of the barrier itself, it was Lieutenant Uhura who had suggested using tight-beam transmissions broadcast through the
Enterprise
’s navigational deflector array, which would in turn be received by similar apparatus carried aboard the various shuttlecraft tasked with transiting the conduit. The resulting connections were still laden with static and other interference, but at least Captain Kirk and the other landing parties were not completely cut off from the ship while in or near the Gralafi planetoid.

M’Ress replied while turning back to her console and setting to the task of establishing the communications link. “Aye, aye, sir. Setting up the transmission now.”

His attention on the main viewscreen and the image of the energy field displayed upon it, Chekov said, “I wonder if retuning the sensors to a tighter focus might help? Like we did with communications? We would probably lose some resolution, but we might at least be able to get a look past the barrier.”

Scott nodded. “Aye, that might work. Notify engineering
of your plan, and have them get a team on it. In the meantime, Lieutenant M’Ress, send Lieutenant Kyle the updates I made to the search program, and have him detail the
Einstein
’s sensors to scanning for the Romulan ship.” The sensor suite carried aboard the shuttlecraft did not carry the same power or range as the
Enterprise
’s systems, but it would have to serve, at least for the time being. “And inform all of our teams that the salvage operation is suspended until further notice.” As much as he might not like it, the
Huang Zhong
, Scott decided, would have to wait, as he had no desire to expose more than necessary any more of the ship’s shuttlecraft to potential danger.

There was, he realized, at least one more matter requiring attention, and one that was not at all minor. “M’Ress, prepare a message for transmission to the Dolysian governments and the heads of the mining operation. Alert them to the Romulans’ presence, and that we advise them to suspend their freight transfer operations until the area is secured and the situation is under control.”

“That won’t go over very well,” Arex said. “From everything we’ve been told, the shipping schedule to and from the mining colony doesn’t have a lot of room for delays, and they’ve got only a few days to complete all their shipments before the rift closes.”

“All true, Lieutenant,” Scott replied, “but we have to warn them, at least.” There would be nothing he could do if the Dolysians elected to continue their shipping flights, and in doing so they likely would complicate the situation so far as the Romulans were concerned. With their scout ship somewhere on the other side of the rift, possibly damaged, would its commander endeavor to avoid contact with Dolysian vessels? There was no way to know that for sure.
Despite Captain Kirk’s wishes to keep the
Enterprise
outside the unexplained energy field, Scott now was giving serious thought to powering down the ship’s warp engines in order to facilitate traversing the conduit.

“I can see what you’re thinking,” Sulu said, and Scott turned to see the helm officer regarding him with a knowing expression. “If we do that, we’d be compromising power to the weapons and the shields.”

Releasing a tired sigh, Scott replied, “Aye, but you can figure on the Romulans being in the same predicament. We might even have an advantage, if we can get through the rift without sustaining damage like they did. Besides, I don’t like the idea of the captain and our landing parties over there without the
Enterprise
to look after them.” Glancing over his shoulder, he said, “Lieutenant M’Ress, let’s get on sending that message to Captain Kirk.”

After that, Scott knew, there was precious little he could do except wait.

Sitting in the co-pilot’s seat of the
Galileo II
, Kirk rested his elbows on the arms of his chair, making a conscious choice to keep his hands at rest in his lap. Though he preferred to operate the controls himself on those rare occasions when he left the
Enterprise
aboard one of its shuttlecraft, he was doing his best to heed McCoy’s advice—as the doctor had stated with no hint of eloquence—by “letting his people do their damned jobs.” In this case, that meant allowing Lieutenant Uhura to guide the craft, rather than forcing her to sit idle as so many other junior officers and would-be pilots had been required to do during previous shuttle outings with their captain.

As though reading his mind, Uhura said, “I didn’t have a chance to say it before, Captain, but thank you for bringing me along. I don’t get to leave the ship very often, much less practice my shuttle piloting skills. I thought I might be a little rusty, but it all seems to be coming back to me.”

“You are a qualified pilot, Lieutenant,” said Ambassador Sortino from where she sat in the chair behind Kirk. “Are you not?”

Uhura nodded. “I am, Ambassador. I’m not as good as Mister Sulu, but I can hold my own.”

“You needn’t worry about your skills, Lieutenant,” Kirk said, adopting a mentoring tone. “I dare say you could give
Sulu a run for his money.” It was not meant as simple reassuring praise; Kirk was an accomplished pilot in his own right, and recognized Uhura’s natural affinity for controlling the craft. Her deft touch had been evident from the moment she had guided the
Galileo
out of the
Enterprise
’s shuttlebay, and reinforced by one of the softest, precise manual landings he had ever witnessed when the craft had arrived at the grounds of the Unified Leadership Council on Dolysia. Following the meeting with Chancellor Wiladra and Spock’s contact from Gralafi, the captain had let Uhura take the craft’s controls again as they, along with Sortino, set off for the mysterious planetoid. The communications officer had not balked at the notion of piloting the shuttle through the energy field surrounding Gralafi, though Kirk himself had experienced some measure of anxiety despite reports from Spock and other
Enterprise
personnel that their respective transits of the rift had been uneventful.

Lucky us, I suppose.
The sobering thought seemed to echo in Kirk’s mind as he considered the ill-fated
Huang Zhong
and its crew, and his mood darkened even further as he contemplated the nature of the alien technology responsible for the science vessel’s crash. Even with the preliminary reports offered by survivors as to what had happened, it still had been more than a bit sobering to hear Spock’s confirmation of those initial suspicions. The greater shock had come with the first officer’s preliminary report about the possible origins of what he and his team had discovered.

“You look pensive, Captain,” Sortino said as the
Galileo
’s engines powered down and Uhura keyed the control to open the craft’s main hatch. “What’s on your mind? The Kalandans?”

Kirk nodded, rising from his seat and moving to the now-open hatch. “We know so little about them, even after the time we spent exploring that planet they created. It’s amazing that we might find another example of their technology.”

Sortino asked, “How far away are we from that other planet you found?”

“I’m not sure,” Kirk said as he exited the shuttlecraft, stepping down to the ground and taking his first look at the plateau that served as the
Galileo
’s landing site. “Two, maybe three weeks at maximum warp.” He frowned, remembering what he could of the star charts of the region he had reviewed while the
Enterprise
was in transit to the Kondaii system. At the time, he recalled making note of the fact that they were in the same general vicinity as the Kalandan planet. It was the ship’s first time back in this area of space since that original encounter with the artificial world, which ostensibly was built by the Kalandans as an outpost for reasons that remained shrouded in mystery.

“Given what we know of their technology,” Uhura said as she joined Kirk outside the shuttlecraft, “that probably wasn’t a huge distance to them. It doesn’t sound all that crazy to think they might have more than one planet in the same neighborhood. And it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve run into an alien species with that kind of ability.”

“Lieutenant, has anyone ever told you that you can sound a lot like Spock when you want to?” Kirk asked, smiling.

The comment elicited a chuckle from Sortino as she exited the
Galileo
, then regarded Kirk as she stepped down next to him. “Remind me to read your report about that other planet when we get back to the
Enterprise
. I’ve never heard anything like that before.”

Kirk replied, “I’ll make the file available to you, Ambassador. I was planning to review it myself.” The subsequent missions he and his crew had carried out were seeing to it that the less-interesting details of that particular incident were starting to blur. On the other hand, etched forever in his memory were the finer points of the time he had spent on that enigmatic world, stranded along with McCoy, Sulu, and Lieutenant Robert D’Amato—an
Enterprise
geologist who had lost his life to the planet’s automated defense system.

Looking about the plateau, Kirk saw that it was bordered on three sides by hills and on the fourth by a yawning chasm that had looked imposing from the air as the shuttle made its descent. The shuttlecraft
Columbus
, to which Spock and his science team had been assigned, sat fifty meters behind the
Galileo
, closer to the edge of the massive ravine. Though the ground beneath his feet was little more than dirt and flat rock, lush vegetation covered the hillsides rising up around them. Unlike the areas near the mining colony, the air here was crisp and clean, and Kirk thought he detected the faintest hint of something sweet tickling his nostrils. As far as he could tell and with the exception of the two shuttlecraft, the region looked to be untouched by the intrusions of the Dolysians, or anyone else, for that matter.

“Absolutely beautiful,” Sortino said. “This view is spectacular.”

“No argument here,” Kirk replied, before looking over his shoulder. “Lieutenant, how far are we from the Havreltipa colony?”

As she stepped away from the
Galileo
’s hatch, the communications officer replied, “About four thousand kilometers, sir; not quite halfway around the planetoid. According
to the reports I’ve read, the Dolysians have explored most of the surface, though largely for the purposes of prospecting potential mining sites. This region apparently lacks any appreciable deposits of erinadium, so it’s unlikely any real mining efforts will be established here.”

“Coincidence?” Sortino asked, “Or just plain good luck for the Kalandans?”

“Excellent questions,” Kirk said, conceding the ambassador’s point. “As Mister Spock might say, it’s logical to assume that if the Kalandans are responsible for what he found, then they were here thousands of years ago, well before the Dolysian people advanced to a technological level that allowed them to travel here from their homeworld. They would’ve known about the Dolysians, and perhaps even foresaw their interest in this planet. Maybe they even anticipated how the Dolysians would find erinadium useful.”

Uhura said, “It wouldn’t be the craziest thing we’ve ever run into, that’s for sure.”

“Precognition?” Sortino asked.

“Maybe,” Kirk replied. “For all we know, the Kalandans may even have had plans for the Dolysians once they achieved a predetermined level of technological advancement.” He glanced at Uhura. “It wouldn’t be the first time we’d run into something like
that
, either.”

Sortino smiled, shaking her head. “I need to review your mission reports, Captain. I’ve heard the stories, but somehow I think I’m missing all the really good stuff.”

Looking around, Kirk asked, “Well, we’re here, and the
Columbus
is here. Where’s Spock? He said he’d meet us.” Looking to Uhura, he prompted, “Lieutenant?”

“I’m not picking up any life readings, Captain,” Uhura
replied over the quiet whine of the tricorder she held in her hands. “Wherever they are, they’re not in the shuttle, or anywhere nearby.”