Star Trek: The Original Series - 147 - Devil’s Bargain (2 page)

•   •   •

“About time you got here,” said Doctor Leonard McCoy when Kirk and Spock entered the transporter
room. “Now maybe you can explain to me what’s going on.”

“The Vesbians are refusing our aid to evacuate the planet,” said Spock. “In fact, there are no indications that an evacuation has begun.”

“What?” replied a surprised McCoy. “Don’t they realize what’s about to happen?”

“Oh, they realize it, Doctor,” said Kirk. “But I think there’s something fishy going on down there, and I want you along to help us find out what it is.”

The three men stepped onto the transporter platform. McCoy nodded. “I would like to know what’s so damn important to make twenty thousand people play chicken with an asteroid.”

“As far as we know, domesticated fowl have nothing to do with the situation, Doctor.”

McCoy eyed Spock to see whether or not the Vulcan was having him on. As usual, it was impossible to tell. “I’ll say they don’t,” McCoy replied.

“Gentlemen, let’s find out.” Kirk nodded to the transporter technician. “Energize.”

With a shimmer of dissolving atomic structure the landing party disappeared from the platform.

•   •   •

The landing party materialized on a wide stone veranda atop a hill that overlooked a broad plain. Rolling fields of grain stretched as far as the eye could see below them in the valley. Interspersed
among the fields were a variety of farmhouses and storage structures. The farmhouses looked to be two-story buildings and resembled Swiss or Austrian chalets, with their wood and wattle construction. Winding brooks and larger streams cut through the landscape and reflected the pure blue of the Vesbian sky. Cobblestone lanes and a few wide roads connected the farmhouses.

In the far distance were craggy, snowcapped mountains. The temperature on the veranda where they stood was comfortable, if a bit chilly, and fresh in comparison to the controlled atmosphere of the
Enterprise
. All in all, reflected Kirk, Vesbius looked like an incredibly pleasant place to live—at least at this latitude in the northern hemisphere. Behind them was what seemed to be a complex of office buildings. The architecture was modern Federation, but it clearly had Bavarian and Swiss influence from Earth.

“Well,” said McCoy, taking a look around, “a person could get used to living in a paradise like this. It’s a shame it can’t last.”

“Yes,” said Kirk. “It is a great shame.”

“Captain Kirk?”

The captain looked around. A group was emerging from one of the office buildings, which Kirk supposed were the colony’s government center. One of the group he recognized as Chancellor Faber. Another, a shorter man than Faber, was the person who
had whispered into Faber’s ear earlier. There were two very tall, very brawny fellows accompanying them. One might take them for a security detail, but Kirk didn’t want to jump to conclusions at this point.

And standing next to Faber was a strikingly pretty woman. She was young—Kirk guessed she was in her late twenties or early thirties—and statuesque. As she drew closer, Kirk noticed that she had light blue eyes that matched the blue of the Vesbian sky. He’d never seen eyes quite that color before. Kirk found it compelling, and—

Almost uncanny,
he thought.

“Mister Chancellor,” he said, turning to face the welcoming committee. “My ship astronomers estimate that the asteroid that is on its way toward your planet is due to arrive in under thirty days. Since it is headed on an almost direct collision vector with Vesbius, perhaps you have been unable to accurately gauge its velocity. This is the only reason I can think of to explain why we have detected no signs of a planetary evacuation.”

Chancellor Faber stood before the landing party with his hands clasped at his waist. He was worrying them together, as if under tension, Kirk noticed. But his voice did not betray any stress. “The reason you have detected no signs of evacuation, Captain, is because there are none,” Faber stated. “We’re not leaving Vesbius. We have decided, instead, to dig in.”

“Unwise,” said Mister Spock. “The vast energies
that the strike will unleash are immense. But these will pale beside the after effects—which will almost certainly be most deleterious to life. Consider what happened to the dinosaurs of Earth.”

“Yes, I know,” replied Chancellor Faber. “But this is
not
Earth, and we are no longer Earth men.” He nodded toward the office complex. “Gentlemen, please come in and refresh yourselves. We have prepared a table for you, and, though I am very busy at the moment, it would be our pleasure to join you for a while.” Faber smiled at the young woman standing near him, and this time Kirk detected only pleasure in his expression. “I would like to introduce you to my daughter, Hannah, as well, who will be joining us. She is the executive branch chief advisor for intra-colony affairs.”

“The pleasure is ours,” said Kirk, and he meant it.

They sat down at a large table that was made from the local variant of oak and were served by a staff of cooks and waiters.

“Don’t any of these people know what’s about to fall on them?” said McCoy sotto voce to Kirk and Spock.

“Doctor, I believe they know but either they don’t care or they think that they have a solution to the problem,” Kirk replied. “Let’s hear them out. We’re not going to be able to force them to do anything they don’t want to do. We’re out of our jurisdiction, for one thing.”

The meal arrived, carried by servants who seemed carefree and well fed enough, and included several varieties of meat from the local herbivores. Along with an excellent selection of carrots, potatoes, and greens, there were a couple of vegetables Kirk could not identify but found delicious.

Spock was clearly enjoying the meal. “The Vesbians are obviously masters of horticulture,” he said between mouthfuls. “And their cooking skills are considerably developed as well.”

There was Vesbian ale served with the meal. It came in large tankards, and their host led the way by quaffing enormous swallows with every bite. The ale lived up to its reputation. It was hearty and flavorful, yet somehow light and sweet at the same time—veritable ambrosia. Kirk found himself finishing off his mug without even noticing it. As quickly as his drink was done, it was whisked away and another was set down in front of him.

Finally, the meal was through and all sat back. Thick black coffee was set before everyone, along with small shot glasses of even more alcohol—this in the form of a creamed scotch meant for pouring in the coffee. Kirk was sorry that Mister Scott was not here to enjoy the drink with them. The captain tipped his drink into the coffee and imitated his hosts by mixing the two liquids together with a seesaw motion of the wrist. Kirk took a sip.

Delicious.

“Wow,” remarked McCoy beside him. “I don’t believe I’ve eaten this well in years. Must be something in the soil around here. Seems like they grow perfect vegetables, make perfect beer, and”—he nodded toward Hannah Faber—“produce perfectly beautiful women. Or haven’t you noticed?”

“I noticed, Doctor,” Kirk replied, glancing in Hannah’s direction. She caught his gaze and returned it with her clear blue eyes. Her full lips turned into the slightest upturn of a smile. “Believe me, I have.”

Chancellor Faber pushed his chair back from the table and addressed all sitting there. “Now that we are refreshed as is our custom,” he said, “I trust that you see, Captain, that Vesbian hospitality is just as strong as it ever was. But before we begin any discussions, I wish to show you around the colony, and particularly to show you the preparations we have made in the past few months. They are expansive, and I believe they will help allay your concern for our well-being.”

Faber ushered the group outside, where there were two antigravity sleds waiting. He motioned Kirk and the landing party to climb aboard. Faber’s aide, Major Merling, who had been glancing warily at Spock since the landing party’s arrival, drew back and frowned. “Do I have to ride with
that
?”

“What?” Kirk asked, genuinely puzzled.

“I believe Major Merling is referring to the fact that I am a Vulcan,” said Spock.

“Now, Merling,” Faber intoned, “I told you to keep your retrograde prejudices to yourself.”

The chancellor turned to Kirk and shrugged. “He doesn’t approve of aliens. A portion of our population shares his opinion, I’m afraid. It is an unfortunate division in our otherwise peaceful society. My daughter and I are most certainly
not
among that faction, however.” He turned to his other aides. “Hox and Ferlein, you ride together with Merling,” he said. “Hannah and I will accompany these Federation officers.”

Each party boarded its respective sled and stood on the device’s surface. They held to a guardrail around the sled body as the sleds rose into the air. The transport devices were enclosed with some sort of force field, for though the passengers rose and flew away at great speed, there was no sensation of rushing air streaming past their faces. The ride was very smooth as well. It seemed to Kirk that Vesbius was far from being a galactic backwater. Even though Vesbius was a colony planet, being here was much like being back in the heart of the Federation.

After they had been aloft for a few minutes, Kirk turned to Hannah Faber and commented, “This is quite a planet you have here. One of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen many.”

“Thank you, Captain, I agree,” Hannah replied. Her voice was as mellifluous as her appearance was beautiful. “I was born here, and I feel that I am one
of the luckiest creatures in the galaxy. I wish that you could have come at a less trying time. You seem to appreciate the finer things, and there is so much I could show you.”

“So you are native Vesbian?” Kirk asked. “And you have never left the planet?”

“Oh, I have been to Starbase Twelve and to a few other nearby Omega sector systems on short trade expeditions. But those only lasted for a standard week or so.” She looked over the rail of the antigravity sled and motioned outward. “For you see, Captain, I heard the call of my native world, I
felt
it. For a Vesbian, there is no place like home.” She turned back to Kirk. “Can you understand how I feel, Captain Kirk?”

“I don’t
quite
understand,” replied. Kirk. “But I’m beginning to.”

The antigravity sleds arrived at their destination after twenty minutes or so of flying and came to dock near a rocky outcrop in one of the snowcapped mountains.

“Welcome to the Hesse Mountains,” Hannah said. “I was born near here in a little chalet. My dear mother is buried in a cemetery at the foot of this hill.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” said Kirk.

“Since Miriam died, Hannah has been more than a daughter to me. She has been a helpmate,” the chancellor put in. “She is extremely
accomplished, and a graduate of our finest institution. It is not nepotism that led me to appoint her to her current post, but her ability.”

Kirk leaped down from his sled to the landing platform surface. He turned to aid Hannah in her descent but found that she had lithely sprung off the antigravity sled and landed gracefully beside him.

In the side of the rock before them was set a large door at least ten stories tall. It hung on enormous hinges and was in the open position.

“How thick would you say that door was, Spock?” Kirk asked.

“Approximately 9.2 meters,” Spock replied. “A formidable barrier.”

So
this
was the plan,
Kirk thought. Underground shelters. The chancellor led them through the opening and into the heart of the mountain.

It was an impressive tour. The Vesbians had dug deep. The shelter was not merely in the mountain but
under
the mountain, dug into its very roots. The Vesbians had carved a vast warren using mining phasers and hard labor. Spock provided an estimate that the space could easily house up to a third of the population of the colony, which was near twenty thousand. Under the living and working quarters were the food stores. Not only were there large stockpiles of grain and other essential nutrients in dried form, there were hydroponics labs filled with growing plants, and underground hangars filled
with all variety of the planet’s fauna, including a herd of the local cattle. In fact, the complex resembled Noah’s Ark more than it did a fallout shelter.

“Would you estimate that they have provided sufficient genetic variety to re-create the ecosystem of the planet here, Doctor?” asked Kirk of McCoy.

McCoy checked his life sciences tricorder readings and nodded. “Possible,” he said. “I think they’re very near to the threshold for that. But the thing is, Jim, how are they going to do that on the surface after that giant rock hits? When that door opens up again, it’s going to be a different planet out there. Paradise will have vanished.”

“I know,” said Kirk. “We’ve got to get them to see this.”

“Seems you’ve taken a personal interest in the matter,” McCoy said, nodding toward Hannah Faber. “And if I’m not mistaken, the matter has taken a personal interest in you.”

“You could be right, Bones,” Kirk replied.

“I often am,” McCoy said. “But any country doctor could’ve told you that.”

•   •   •

During the tour of the fallout shelter, Kirk was disturbed to see that Major Merling’s attitude toward Spock was not a singular instance on the planet. There were many glances at the Vulcan, and most of them seemed to be hostile in Kirk’s estimation. The
Vulcan, for his part, either did not notice or, more likely, he found the phenomenon interesting. Kirk, on the other hand, was bothered for his friend. Hannah Faber noticed his agitation and asked him what was wrong. When Kirk told her, she nodded.

“My people are wonderful and hospitable,” she said. “But some of us possess characteristics that are . . . some of us
do
harbor an endemic suspicion of outsiders and aliens. I, however, am not among those. And neither is my father. This attitude comes from living on such an isolated world, and I think being in close communion with the planet.”

“What do you mean, ‘close communion’?” Kirk asked.