Maybe we should stop making so many neighbors mad at us.
“What’s the latest on Cestus III?” he asked, leaning forward and reaching for the nearly forgotten cup of coffee on his desk.
Looking down at the data slate now perched on his lap, Cooper replied, “The outpost was almost completely destroyed. With the exception of a handful of survivors, all Starfleet personnel and civilian colonists were killed—more than five hundred casualties in all. According to the report submitted by the Enterprise’s captain, a previously unknown species called the Gorn claimed that the Cestus system lay within their territory and viewed our establishing the outpost as an aggressive action against them.” He tapped the data slate’s display window with the stylus in his right hand before adding, “Captain Kirk’s report on Gorn physiology and technology makes for some very interesting reading.”
Kirk again,the admiral thought. The young starship captain had more than his fair share of vocal supporters within the upper echelons at Starfleet Headquarters, and there was little to dispute about the man’s abilities and performance to this point. Still, Nogura was not yet convinced that Command had not erred in giving Kirk one of the most advanced vessels in the fleet. He conceded that he might not be giving the captain the benefit of the doubt and was possibly unfairly comparing him with Christopher Pike, the man he had succeeded as captain of the Enterpriseand an exceptional, consummate officer in his own right. In truth, since taking command of the Enterprise,Kirk had already rung up an impressive list of accomplishments.
I’m going to have to keep an eye on that young man.
“So,” he said, leaning back in his chair, “now we have the Gorn to worry about, on top of the Klingons and the Tholians and even the Romulans, though they seem to have gone quiet as of late.”
Cooper shrugged. “Hard to say with the Gorn, sir. After Kirk’s little adventure with the ship that led the attack on Cestus III and that weirdness that came after, an arrangement was made for us to leave the planet to them. In turn, they’ve agreed to give us a wide berth, and vice versa. That should keep things manageable on thatfront for the time being.”
It was probably the best possible outcome from such a tragic series of events, all of which had stemmed from simple lack of communication and trust. While Nogura was relieved that the Federation would not have to deal with yet another enemy during this most difficult of times, the arrangement with regard to Cestus III did have one other facet. “The planet was selected for its proximity to the Klingon border. Without the long-range sensor array we were establishing there, it’ll be harder to track Klingon ship movements in that sector.” That ability would also have proven quite useful to Starbase 47, as Klingon activity to and from the Taurus Reach also would have been detectable.
His reverie was broken by an alert indicator from his desktop computer terminal. Nogura glanced to the display, and his eyebrows rose in surprise. “Well, what have we here?”
Cooper frowned. “Sir?”
Without responding, Nogura reached for the terminal’s compact keypad interface, pressing the control to transfer the information from his desktop unit to the wall viewscreen. “This report just arrived from the Sagittarius.They’re on fast patrol out to the Aleriq system, and their long-range sensors picked up shock waves similar to those generated by the destruction of Palgrenax. Same energy signature.” Walking back to the viewer, he pointed to the computer-generated map of the Taurus Reach. Rendered in a simple two-dimensional vector-line graphic, the region appeared as a triangle, wedged between territories belonging to the Tholian Assembly and the Klingon Empire. “ Sagittariuscouldn’t get close enough, so their information is somewhat spotty.” He pointed to the area of the map dominated by Tholian space. “It’s a good distance inside their territory. We don’t even have a name for the affected system. We don’t even know which planet we’re talking about.”
“But the shock wave was the same?” Cooper asked.
Nogura nodded. “It appears so. According to the reports and theories put forth by Lieutenant Xiong, all known Shedai technology should have gone dormant after the Jinoteur system did…whatever it was that it did. So, if someone—Tholian, Klingon, us, or a player to be named later—didn’t fumble their way into one of those underground complexes and press the wrong button, then are we talking about a Shedai?”
“Remember what Ensign Theriault told us about how they’re able to move through that network of Conduits?” Cooper asked. “We don’t know how many of them escaped before Jinoteur disappeared. If we’re to believe what that…Apostate…told Theriault, there could be hundreds of them out there, searching for storehouses of Shedai technology. Even if they’re limited in what they can do because any control mechanisms that might have resided in the Jinoteur system are now gone, what the hell do beings with that kind of power do once they’re off the leash?”
Turning from the viewscreen, Nogura shook his head. “Thank you, Commander, for that image, which is sure to keep me up nights from now on.” Of course, he had already lost a lot of sleep thanks to this topic, starting from the first day he had learned that he would be commanding this station. Reports submitted by Commodore Reyes and other members of his senior staff had painted a staggering, frightening picture. The Shedai threat, in whatever form it now took after the astonishing events that had taken place since the beginning of the Federation’s investigation into the Taurus Reach, made problems posed by the Klingons, the Romulans, the Gorn, and anyone else who wanted to step up to the plate seem like schoolyard spats by comparison.
What the hell are we going to do?
There was no time to ponder an answer, as his attention was caught by his desktop intercom, followed by the voice of his assistant, Ensign Greenfield. “Admiral, I have Dr. Marcus on the intercom, requesting to speak with you. She says it’s urgent, sir.”
“Put her through, Ensign,” Nogura said, returning to the chair behind his desk and pushing the control to activate the intercom. “What can I do for you, Doctor?”
“Admiral,”Marcus replied, and Nogura immediately picked up on the excitement in her voice, “you’re not going to believe what we’ve found.”
52
Reyes had finally gotten to the good part of Sunrise on Zeta Minor,with the two fugitives escaped from the underground prison and now on the run from the malfunctioning android prison guard, when his evening of quiet reading went straight to hell.
He lay on the bunk in the single-person quarters that had been his home aboard the Nowlanfor nearly five weeks, his head propped against two pillows and with the book resting against his bent knees. Reaching to turn the next page, Reyes froze as the silence of his room was shattered by a blaring alarm Klaxon, followed by a male voice booming through the intercom system.
“Red alert. All hands to duty stations. This is not a drill!”
At first, Reyes questioned the term duty stationsrather than battle stations,but just as quickly realized that it was appropriate, given the Nowlan’s notable lack of formidable weapons. He recalled what he knew about the Antares-class transports, not liking what he remembered. His stomach twitching, Reyes pulled himself to his feet and moved toward the metal desk, which was little more than a shelf affixed to one bulkhead. An intercom keypad was attached to the desktop, and he thumbed the activation control.