The key to solving that mystery was the Taurus Meta-Genome and the mysterious energy waveform found in the Jinoteur system that seemed to share some of the incredibly complex DNA string’s characteristics. Xiong and his people had made some progress, and even Dr. Fisher himself had contributed several insights, but Marcus knew there still was a long way to go. Pieces of the puzzle remained to be found.
“I’ve spent nearly every waking moment up to my eyeballs in the data collected by Xiong’s team,” she said. “Even though a lot of what we’re talking about is within my field of expertise, I still feel as if I’m in over my head.” Pausing, she looked around again, satisfied that there were no eavesdroppers within earshot. Still, she kept her voice low. “If we’re ever going to get a handle on this meta-genome, we’ll have to expand our understanding not only of genetics but also of artificial intelligence and astrophysics, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Compared with the Shedai, we’re like Homo erectusemerging from a cave into modern-day San Francisco.”
Turning her attention back to the field where David and his friends continued to play, Marcus laughed once more, and it dawned on her that she had laughed more in the past few minutes than she had in weeks. Given the schedule she had been keeping and the magnitude of the work in which she was ensconced, she had not had much cause for laughter.
I should enjoy it while I can,she mused. Who knows when any of us might get another chance?
8
“Space. The big empty.”
Standing next to Lieutenants Ming Xiong and Stephen Klisiewicz at the science station on the bridge of the U.S.S. Endeavour,Captain Atish Khatami turned at the voice of Anthony Leone as the ship’s chief medical officer emerged from the turbolift. Making his way toward her, he carried a data slate in his left hand. The physician was dressed in standard-duty trousers but with the more casual blue short-sleeved tunic often worn by members of the ship’s medical staff. Though the Endeavour’s previous captain, Zhao Sheng, had preferred a certain level of formality here, Leone was the one person who always was able to flout that rule with impunity. His long friendship with the late captain likely was the primary reason, and Khatami also knew that Leone simply did not give a damn about most Starfleet rules or regulations, at least those that did not directly pertain to the practice of medicine.
Good enough for me,Khatami mused.
“Morning, Captain,” Leone said as he drew closer. Holding up the data slate, he offered the device to her, his features scrunched into his trademark expression of cynicism. “My status report, detailing the latest developments in my ongoing investigation into whether the current state of the Jinoteur system—or the lack of a system with said name—might have any harmful medical effects on the crew.”
Already knowing what she would see, Khatami suppressed a chuckle as she took the data slate from Leone and held it up to read its display. Confronting her was an empty screen.
“Same as yesterday, I see,” Khatami said, playing the game.
Leone grunted. “And the day before, and the day before that. You’ve broken through my encryption scheme and discovered the subtle pattern. Excellent. I’ve never been known for my powers of precognition, but I’m willing to bet tomorrow’s report will look a lot like today’s.”
Behind her, Khatami heard both Xiong and Klisiewicz struggling to contain their laughter. They had been spectators of this banter between her and the doctor for the past several days, and Klisiewicz had even admitted that it was one of the high points of his mornings.
“I appreciate your diligence, Doctor,” Khatami said, offering a wide grin to Leone as she handed him back the data slate. “Mr. Xiong and Mr. Klisiewicz were just making their own cases to me that we’ve spent more than enough time here.”
Leone nodded, his face pinched as he regarded the two lieutenants. “Well, lay it on me, and don’t go easy on the fourteen-syllable words. It’s not as if I’m in a hurry or anything.”
“It’s pretty simple, Doctor,” replied Klisiewicz after getting a go-ahead nod from Khatami. Turning from his station, the science officer adopted a formal resting stance, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression neutral as he regarded Leone. “We’ve been here nine days, and in that time, we’ve detected no debris, gravimetric anomalies, or variances in background radiation of any kind. We’ve detected no hint of the energy-wave patterns Xiong and the Sagittariusrecorded during their time here or any indications of active Shedai technology.”
Next to him, Xiong added, “As far as every sensor and scanner on this ship is concerned, to say nothing of four hundred thirty pairs of eyes staring through portholes, it’s as though the Jinoteur system never existed.” The young Asian man shook his head. “We have no explanations.”
No matter how many times Khatami heard some variation of this report, it never ceased to amaze her. An entire solar system vanished without a trace? She had read the reports submitted by both the captain of the Sagittariusand Xiong, who had become Starfleet’s leading expert on the Shedai in the time since the discovery of the Taurus Meta-Genome. Both reports detailed how representatives of the Shedai, an enigmatic race that apparently had ruled over a significant portion of the Taurus Reach thousands of years ago, had attacked members of the Sagittariuscrew while the ship was marooned on the system’s fourth planet. Mere days later, one of these representatives, some über-powerful being known as the Apostate, had made the Jinoteur system disappear. Whether that meant the star, planets, moons, and other astral bodies had been sent to some other plane of existence, had simply been destroyed, or had been subjected to something else entirely was unknown. What kind of power would be required to bring about any of those events? How far would a species have to evolve—physically, mentally, and technologically—to wield such power? Even Xiong’s detailed accounting of the incident, which he had witnessed firsthand, had done little to assist Khatami in understanding just what it was that the Federation, the Klingons, the Tholians, and anyone else in the Taurus Reach were facing.
We are way, way out of our league here.
“So, why are we still here?” Leone asked.
Klisiewicz shrugged. “At this point, we’re hoping we might find some indications of where some of the Shedai went. According to Ensign Theriault on the Sagittarius,the Apostate told her that thousands of Shedai could be scattered across the Taurus Reach, likely spread to planets containing caches of their technology such as what we’ve found on Erilon, Ravanar, and other worlds.”
“Even acting alone and without benefit of the influence apparently provided by the Jinoteur system,” Xiong said, “these individual Shedai still pose a major threat.” Khatami watched as the lieutenant’s face fell, as though recalling an unpleasant memory. “Captain, you’ll recall what we faced on Erilon?”
“Only too well,” Khatami said, her voice low as she recalled the tragic events of Endeavour’s first mission to that ice-bound world and the deaths that had come at the hands of a lone Shedai warrior. Among the casualties was Captain Zhao, whose death had opened the door for Khatami’s promotion and ascension to Endeavour’s center seat.
A horrible way to get promoted.The thought evoked images of the good friend and trusted mentor she had lost that day, along with other members of the Endeavour’s crew and people from the science team assigned to investigate the Shedai artifacts on Erilon.