Yeah, but it’s not as though the Shedai are weaklings, even without resources,Marcus mused.
Gek’s computer terminal beeped, and when the Tellarite turned to inspect it, Marcus saw the look of satisfaction on his face. “The computer’s determined the signal’s origin point,” he said, reaching for the workstation and entering a series of commands. In response to his query, the terminal’s monitor shifted to an image of a star map, and Gek pointed to it. “It looks to have originated in the Mirdonyae system. Based on the distance, that signal was first broadcast more than three weeks ago.”
“What do we know about that system?” Marcus asked. “Other than that it appears to be yet another world that interested the Shedai for one reason or another?”
Gek shook his head. “Almost nothing. It’s in a sector of the Taurus Reach we’ve not yet explored, but it’s close to areas where the Klingons have been traveling.”
That would make sense, Marcus decided. The Klingons were conducting their own investigations into the Shedai, but their efforts were motivated by the desire to obtain weapons or some other artifact that might give them a military advantage over their enemies. They had completely bypassed any constructive uses for the ancient Shedai technology, and as far as Starfleet Intelligence was able to determine, the empire knew nothing of the meta-genome or any of the awesome potential it carried.
“What else can you tell me about the signal itself?” Marcus asked. “Any idea what it might be trying to say?”
Nezrene replied, “Based on everything we know or have been able to translate, it appears to be nothing more than a simple hail. However, we have detected another element embedded in the signal, but it seems to have no relation to the signal itself.”
Frowning, Marcus reached up to rub her chin. “Another element, like a header or leading sequence or perhaps an encryption key?”
“No,” Gek said. “It’s wholly separate from the main signal and looks as though it was deliberately implanted in such a manner as to suggest that whoever put it there was trying to hide it. They did a pretty good job of it, too. Only when I compared it to similar transmissions made by our people on Erilon did I pick up the difference.” He reached once more for his computer. “I’ve isolated the signal. Listen.”
He touched a control to initiate a playback, and Marcus listened as a long tone was emitted from the terminal’s audio ports. It stopped abruptly, then was followed by a series of similar tones of varying duration. A gap of silence followed this beat, and when a fifth tone was played, Marcus realized that she was hearing the four tones playing in a loop.
“That’s the signal for the entire twenty-seven seconds,” Gek explained. “The whole thing repeats four times during that loop. I was just about to ask the computer to analyze it.”
Marcus nodded. “Do it.” She watched as Gek entered the necessary commands, after which only a few seconds passed before the computer beeped.
“That was fast,” Gek said, frowning as he leaned closer to the screen. Then his eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, my.”
“What is it?”
Clearing his throat, Gek turned to her. “According to the computer, there are several possibilities, but the first one is the most intriguing. It’s saying that the tones may be letters from something called Morse code, a primitive signaling scheme developed centuries ago on Earth. The code uses differing sequences of long and short sound bursts to represent letters and numbers, and the computer says that the string we’re hearing translates in Morse code to the letters ‘M’ and ‘X.’ How does an ancient code from Earth wind up in a…” The words faded even as the Tellarites eye’s widened, at the same moment as Marcus felt her jaw go slack.
Oh, my God.
“MX,” she repeated. “Ming Xiong.”
51
“Glad we could be of service, Admiral,”said the image of Captain Daniel Okagawa, from where he stood on the bridge of the U.S.S. Lovell. “Give us a call if we can ever be of further assistance.”
Standing with his arms folded before the viewscreen in his office, Nogura offered a cordial nod and smiled. “We appreciate everything you and your crew have done for us, Captain. It’s a shame Starfleet’s decided they need you elsewhere. I’d rather gotten used to having you around.”
It was true that he had been something less than confident upon getting his first look at the dilapidated Lovell,which itself had been assigned to Starbase 47 as a temporary replacement for the ill-fated U.S.S. Bombay.The ship had already visited the station on an earlier occasion, and circumstances had led to the engineering crew learning some tangential facets of the starbase’s top-secret mission. When the situation called for a ship to serve in a stopgap capacity until a formal replacement for the Bombaycould be dispatched, Commodore Reyes had requested the Lovell.He was able to take advantage of its primary mission for the Corps of Engineers as cover for assignments to planets within the Taurus Reach known to harbor Shedai technology and other artifacts. Both the ship and its crew had wasted little time impressing the hell out of him.
On the viewscreen, Okagawa said, “Well, somewhere someone needs a tunnel bored through a planet, or perhaps their sewage system needs a good dredging. Call us if your toilets get backed up.”
That actually elicited a small chuckle from Nogura, a rare occurrence. “However it happens, here’s hoping our paths cross again. Until then, safe journeys to you and your crew, Captain.”
“And best of luck to you, Admiral.Lovell out.”
The image on the screen shifted from Okagawa himself to an exterior view of space beyond the station, with the Lovellfinishing its undocking maneuver and moving away from Vanguard’s primary hull. Nogura watched as the ship turned on its axis, dwarfed even by the massive doors to the docking bay it had just vacated, its impulse engines flaring to life as they pushed the vessel away from the station.
From behind him, he heard Commander Cooper tapping on the data slate, which seemed to have become an extension of the executive officer’s hand in recent weeks. “I’ve just received an update on the Akhiel,Admiral. She’s due to arrive within thirty-eight hours.”
Nogura turned from the viewscreen and made his way across the office to his desk. “Excellent. We’ll certainly have plenty of work for her captain and crew, won’t we?”
“You’ve got a knack for understatement, sir,” Cooper replied, moving to one of the two chairs before Nogura’s desk as the admiral gestured for him to take a seat. “Captain Whitsitt likely won’t have time even to authorize any shore leave before we turn them around and send them out again.”
It was not a notion for which Nogura held any real enthusiasm, but it was a simple reality of their current operational tempo. Because of other commitments and needs throughout the quadrant, Starfleet had been unable to assign a true replacement for the Bombayuntil now. The Lovell,despite its effectiveness and that of its crew, simply had not been able to fill all of the requirements for vessels assigned to the station. What was needed was another starship possessing capabilities on par with what the Bombayhad brought to the table. As no Miranda-class ships currently were available, Nogura had decided on a frigate that could handle the cargo transportation requirements for which the Bombayhad been selected, as well as providing a greater degree of offensive and defensive power. Nogura also had asked that a fourth ship be assigned to the station—preferably a Constitution-or Saladin-class cruiser—but that request was still being considered by Starfleet Command.