"Death is the end. Also the beginning," replied the scratchy artificial voice. "The Sacred Protector is the key."

"We know that," said Melora, getting angry and frustrated. She felt someone grab her arm, and she thought it was Reg, until she saw Captain Picard shaking his head at her.

"He's right."

"What do you mean?"

"If the sh.e.l.l died, the crisis would be over," said the captain with cool understatement.

"But we'd lose our air!" protested Pazlar. "We wouldn't survive!"

"Uh ... actually I think the Lipuls would survive," said Reg. "They would probably adjust to increased gravity better than the rest of you, too."

"Of course, everyone on the Enterprise would survive, too," grumbled Pazlar. "Just you and the Lipuls."

Picard narrowed his eyes at her, but his tone stayed friendly. "I think the senior engineer is saying that shutting down the sh.e.l.l would more than likely shut down the rift as well. This is a hypothetical, worstcase scenario, but it would end the crisis."

In shock over this devastating idea, Melora turned to see the Lipul bobbing serenely in its yellow gel. The Lipuls thought in vast increments of time, where generations of Elaysians were but seconds on a lengthy timeline. They cared about their neighbors, but they were also inclined to take a long-range view of things.

More than anyone, they could probably envision a great die-off of life on Gemworld because they had spent so much time trying to delay that inevitable scenario. But not now, thought Melora, not during my lifetime.

It would be worse for her, because she would have to witness the extinction of her people from aboard the Enterprise.Then she and her crewmates would fly off, unscathed. Maybe they could save a few hundred Elaysians, but which ones? Who would choose?

Trying to control her emotions, Melora turned to consider Captain Picard. He wasn't here to save them, she realized, but to protect the interests of the entire Federation. Those interests lay in shutting down the rift in the most expedient manner possible. The needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few, and all that.

She could agree with him on one matter, however. The real target of this attack might not be Gemworld; it could be the Sacred Protector and the oxygen breathers. The planet, the Enterprise, the Federation, and the Lipuls would go on after the sh.e.l.l had been shut down.

If anyone is going to save the day, it will have to be me. Melora's heart raced unpleasantly at the thought of doing something that would get her thrown out of Starfleet, maybe even arrested and charged. But she couldn't let them destroy billions of Elaysians, Alpusta, Frills, Yiltern, and Gendlii.

She took a deep breath and blurted out, "Father, do you know who corrupted the program?"

"As you have said, one of the senior engineers," answered the Lipul. "This knowledge would not serve any purpose, even if you possessed it. Do what you must to kill the Sacred Protecter, and be swift."

The Lipul drifted upward, as if too weak to fight the slow, sparkling current. The artificial voice continued softly, "To the new one, have marrow in your bones. The crystal responds to you."

"Uh, sir? Mr. Engineer!" Barclay peered upward at the departed Lipul and motioned him back, but the amorphous creature was gone. Captain Picard removed the shard from the receptacle and hung it back around Reg's neck.

"I'm sorry, Captain," said Pazlar, gnawing her lip, "I don't know what came over me. I was out of line correcting you and the senior engineer. But I couldn't stand to hear that we had to shut down the sh.e.l.l! That might save Gemworld in some fashion-as a museum piece-but it would kill most of the life here."

"Which is why I view it as the very last resort, Lieutenant. Let's see if we have any other options." The captain scowled and gazed down the tubular corridor, as if dreading having to navigate another weightless corridor. He tapped his combadge. "Picard to Data."

"Data here," answered an efficient voice.

"What's your status?"

"As expected, we have failed to break the encryption. However, the Jeptah engineers have suggested a promising method of fooling the darkmatter collectors into collecting hydrogen, or some other harmless material. By invading the subsystems that control the collectors, we can pa.s.s a variable to the program that will effect this change. The invasion will have to take place on the s.p.a.ce-side exterior of the sh.e.l.l, but the Jeptah a.s.sure me that there are Alpusta trained for this work."

"Won't the rift affect them?"

"No, they feel they can extend the forcefield enough to afford the workers protection for a short time," answered Data. "I have no firsthand experience with these systems, but the plan appears feasible."

"What a relief," said Melora with a huge grin. She gripped Reg's arm and shook him. "Isn't that great?"

"Yes," he answered with a shaky voice.

Picard gave Data a brief account of their activities, but no specifics about what the Lipul had said. With any luck, thought Melora, the idea of turning off the sh.e.l.l will never be mentioned again.

"It will take several hours to finalize these plans," said Data. "I will stay on duty."

"So there haven't been any conflicts with the Jeptah?" asked Picard.

"None so far. They have utilized my talents well."

"Well done, Data. Picard out."

Pazlar floated closer to Picard and gave him a conciliatory bow. "Captain, please ... why don't I show you the one thing n.o.body has shown you since you've been here. Hospitality."

"Hospitality," said Picard with a wan smile. "It's true, we haven't seen much of that. But all of us have been so distracted."

"The commune of my parents is reachable in about an hour by shuttlecraft," said Melora. "I've sent them messages through the people here because our communications are down. But I wasn't sure I would have a chance to actually visit them. It's really important to me, and I would like you to meet our people outside of this place where tensions are running so high."

"I would love to go!" exclaimed Barclay. He glanced sheepishly at Picard. "If that's okay with you, sir."

The captain nodded warmly. "It sounds like an excellent idea. Thank you for the invitation."

Anything it takes, thought Melora, to keep you from shutting down the sh.e.l.l.

Chapter Fifteen.

ONCE MELORA WAS SETTLED into the pilot's seat of the shuttlecraft, she put on the artificial gravity, much to Reg's relief. Captain Picard sat beside her, relegating Barclay to the stern, but he didn't care. With artificial gravity and lots of room, he stretched out on the seats and tried to doze while they soared through the azure skies of Gemworld.

Reg was jolted awake by loud thuds and a sudden swerve. He rolled off his chair onto the deck and looked up in time to see Melora feverishly working her console. The window was filled with smoky shards and clouds of mutant crystal, exploding against the shields. They seemed to be flying through an ocean of broken chunks. Pazlar put the tiny craft through evasive maneuvers, trying to avoid the worst of it.

"Hang on!" she cautioned. "We're almost through."

"Shields are holding," said Picard, studying his console.

Just as suddenly as it began, it was over, and they blasted through the noxious cloud into clear blue skies. Only these skies seemed to shimmer and bend. Reg rubbed his eyes and peered out the window at the shifting heavens.

"What's wrong with the sky?"

"It's not just the sky," answered Melora with a smile. "You were asleep when we entered, but this is a stand of sky crystals. Named that because of their color. It's hard to differentiate the crystals from the sky, but you can if you look closely."

Reg did look closely, following the bow spit as Melora steered them between the mighty monoliths. From the way one gleaming facet blended into another, he was reminded of the house of mirrors at the amus.e.m.e.nt park he used to love as a kid. As they descended, the vivid blue facets folded over onto themselves, making the walls look like an undulating prism. It was so beautiful down here, Reg tried not to think how deadly these crystals would be if Pazlar took a wrong turn into them.

The captain never took his eyes off his instruments as he performed the copilot duties. "We're only about five minutes from the coordinates," he said.

"Good," answered Pazlar. "I can taste that home cooking now."

Barclay had no sense of perspective as they zoomed deeper into the cl.u.s.ter of crystals. It was like descending into a canyon made of gla.s.s. Finally he caught a glimpse of dark spots ahead of them, and he feared they might be more mutant crystal.

"What's that?" he asked worriedly.

"Home," Melora answered wistfully.

As they plunged deeper, the distance between the prisms narrowed, and the facets converged into a central crux. Reg could see that the dark areas were really nets strung across the crux, and he remembered the nets he had seen before. Melora slowed down, and they pa.s.sed a handful of Elaysians hovering around crevices and crannies in the old-growth crystal. Seen at close range, the aged monolith was more weathered and beaten than Reg would have imagined. He could also see the telltale signs of black crystal: ominous clouds and broken shards floating in the air like a stain.

"Normally those people would be farming," grumbled Melora. "Now it looks like they're removing the mutant growth. I wonder if the crops have been destroyed."

Reg gulped, feeling bad for Melora. Normally a person wanted to bring guests home when they could see the place at its best, not when it was threatened by disaster. The Elaysians they pa.s.sed looked up from their labors with curiosity, but they looked desultory and despondent. Some of them were just going through the motions.

As the shuttlecraft glided closer to the center of the great cl.u.s.ter, Reg got a good look at the commune. Nets were stretched across the triangular openings in the crux, arranged in layers, broken into small compartments, like bundles within bundles. Barclay found it strange that even though there was no gravity or planetary surface on Gemworld, there was always a feeling of descending deeper, going beneath the layers.

Melora gently applied thrusters and brought the shuttle to a complete stop. A few Elaysians gathered around and tethered the craft, while others peered curiously into the window.

"Oh, there's Bozwani!" said Pazlar with delight. "And my teacher for agriculture ... I forget his name."

"Why don't you go ahead," said Picard, motioning to the hatch. "I'll make sure the shuttlecraft forwards all hails to us."

"Could I? Thank you, sir." Eagerly Melora pressed her console and opened the hatch. "I'm shutting off gravity now."

Reg braced himself, although that was hardly necessary after he began to float harmlessly off his seat ... until he b.u.mped his head on the bulkhead. With Pazlar dashing ahead of him, followed by the captain, Barclay had to haul himself out.

He finally made it through the hatch only to find a mob of people fluttering around Melora. In their haste, two of the Elaysians brushed past Picard, spinning him around, and for once Reg was there to steady someone instead of the other way around. The two humans moved back toward the shuttlecraft and hovered silently over the reunion.

Melora was treated like a returning hero, which seemed to surprise her, but it made perfect sense to Reg. She called many of the Elaysians by name, and they bombarded her with questions about Starfleet and her life. If anyone had a question about the rift or the smoky crystal, they kept it to themselves. This was the time to welcome home a prodigal daughter, who also happened to be famous for her unusual path in life. In fact, many of them called her "daughter," and one child called her "mother."

These were gentle people, as Melora had insisted they were, not driven types like Tangre Bertoran. The reunion was all very heartwarming, and Reg couldn't help but feel a little teary eyed.

Finally Pazlar managed to shift the attention to the visitors. "And this is Captain Picard, master of the Enterprise, and Lieutenant Barclay, who's an engineer aboard the Enterprise. He's also our engineer-Acting Senior Engineer for the sh.e.l.l ... since the death of Zuka Juno."

This was a double dose of bad news, thought Reg, judging by the stunned reaction from the crowd of Elaysians. They looked at each other with alarm, then turned toward him with amazement, jealousy, and just plain surprise. Reg felt like a carpetbagger, an outsider who had come in to usurp the power of the locals.

He reminded himself that normal forms of communication were down on Gemworld. These people would be shocked to hear about Zuka Juno's death even without his involvement. However, they proba bly never thought that a midlevel Starfleet engineer would become one of their most revered dignitaries.

"All the more reason to welcome them to our homes!" declared one woman, crawling upside down across an expanse of netting. "h.e.l.lo, Daughter!" she called.

"h.e.l.lo, Dupanza!" called Melora excitedly. She looked as if she wanted to rush to this trusted older woman, but she stayed beside her shipmates. The Elaysians hovering in front of them backed away as Dupanza came closer. She bounced off the runners of the shuttlecraft, soared upward, and grabbed Melora in a warm hug. "My daughter, how you've grown! It's so good to see you!"

Although others had called her "daughter," Reg began to think Dupanza really was Melora's mother. At least there was a clear bond of affection between them.

Melora looked at the humans' puzzled expressions and burst out laughing. She motioned expansively at the Elaysians gathered around them. "They are all my parents! We are all each others' parents and children. No one knows who their real biological parents are because we time the Great Birthing for the same day, using herbs. The babies are shared, and everyone takes care of them. After you grow up, you can guess sometimes who your biological parents are by coloring and such, but no one knows for sure. As for romantic relationships, we're mostly monogamous."

She looked slyly at Reg. "Just like humans."

Dupanza broke in. "All of the races on Gemworld observe some sort of communal child rearing. It's a tradition that unites us. So we call each other 'mother' and 'daughter' even across species. If you're still around here in two months, you can come to the next Great Birthing."

"It's quite a party," added Melora, flashing Reg those vibrant blue eyes, which were the same color as the crystal which surrounded them.

"Yes," he said quickly. "I'd love to!"

The others laughed at his eagerness, and he could tell that it had been a long time since they had much reason for joy. These Elaysians were being brave in the face of crushing disaster, but somehow the appearance of their prodigal daughter and her comical shipmates had lifted their spirits.

"A feast!" shouted one of the Elaysians. Others took up the cry. "A feast! A feast!"

"Oh, do we have enough food for a feast?" asked Dupanza worriedly.

"We're entertaining the Senior Engineer of the Sacred Protector!" cried a woman. "We must have a feast!"

"It's traditional!" shouted someone else.

As the clamor mounted, Picard held up his hands. "We may not be here very long, and we don't want you to plan anything special on our account. We're trying very hard to solve the problem with the rift, so we may be called away at any minute."

The Elaysians stared at him somberly for a moment. Then one of them held up his fist and shouted, "A feast!"

As the cry thundered around the commune, Dupanza looked at the visitors and shrugged. "I suppose there will be a feast, although we may not be serving quite as much food as usual for these occasions. I hope you don't mind, Captain Picard."

"We don't want to waste your food stores," insisted the captain.

"Thank you, but sometimes good morale is more important than a full belly," answered the Elaysian with a smile. "Come on, let me show you around."

While the energized Elaysians rushed to and fro, preparing for their feast, Dupanza linked hands with the captain, and Melora took Reg's hand. Pushing off from the shuttlecraft, Dupanza led the visitors toward the nearest net, in which there was a small slit for a door. The netting functioned not only as walls, creating rooms and homes, but as gravity, preventing the inhabitants' belongings from drifting away. Once Barclay caught hold of the net, he found that he could pull himself along rather easily, and he didn't feel so disoriented.

They moved from room to room, slipping through almost invisible slits in the walls as they worked their way deeper into the layers of the compound. From what Reg could see, the Elaysians didn't own much except for bundles of clothing and a few personal items. Their homes were simple, and they slept wherever they floated. The group pa.s.sed a room full of children, who stared curiously at them, while the yellow-garbed teacher glared at them for interrupting her cla.s.s.

The netting also partially blocked the light, making it darker the deeper they went into the cl.u.s.ter. Reg didn't care much for that, but his uneasiness was tempered by the fact that Melora held his hand and often gave it a warm squeeze. Several inhabitants greeted the only Elaysian in Starfleet, and the younger ones called her "mother."

She shook her head in amazement and whispered to Reg, "I can't get used to the children calling me 'mother.' I was young when I grew up here and when I left, but I've come back an adult."

"A famous one," added Reg with a proud smile.

"Thanks," she whispered, squeezing his hand. "We'd better catch up."

They had fallen behind Picard and Dupanza, but the way the pa.s.sage between the prisms was narrowing, they had no problem catching their guide. The four of them finally emerged in a pyramid-shaped room at the very crux of the ma.s.sive cl.u.s.ter. Here there were pantries built into the living crystal and tubes to access water from the nutrient strands. Scattered crops sprouted from troughs in the crystal, and a phosph.o.r.escent coating on the nets gave the room a dim, lavender glow. Barclay was dismayed to see a work party removing a cl.u.s.ter of misshapen black crystal.

"Even down here," said Dupanza sadly, "there's no escape from the unsound crystal. This is our communal room, which we use for everything from dining to the Great Birthing. We'll have our feast here, although I'm sure it will spill into the other rooms as well."

She motioned to the water tubes. "May I offer you some water? Our supply is quite pure."

"Thank you, that would be welcome," answered Picard. Barclay nodded in agreement.

While they waited, a few more well-wishers came up to Melora and welcomed her home. It seemed as if everyone knew her, or knew of her, and Reg began to think that it must have given her a great sense of security to grow up in a place where everyone considered her immediate family. The open netting made it clear that this was an open society with people who held no secrets from each other. It was a true commune, with everyone sharing the work, sharing Melora, and sharing the unfolding tragedy as their unique ecosystem fell apart.