Star Trek_ Typhon Pact_ Seize the Fire.

by Michael A. Martin.

For Marco Palmieri, who first handed me the keys to t.i.tan, t.i.tan, and for Margaret Clark, who invited me back aboard for the current mission and for Margaret Clark, who invited me back aboard for the current mission.

Historian's Note

This story begins in early 2381, during the time of the ma.s.s Borg a.s.sault recounted in the Destiny Destiny trilogy, and concludes in late August 2382, more than a year later (roughly coinciding with the princ.i.p.al time frame of trilogy, and concludes in late August 2382, more than a year later (roughly coinciding with the princ.i.p.al time frame of Star Trek: Typhon Pact-Zero Sum Game Star Trek: Typhon Pact-Zero Sum Game).

Lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for.-CLARENCE D DARROWIn what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare seize the fire?-WILLIAM B BLAKE, "THE T TIGER," Songs of Experience Songs of Experience

Prologue.

WARRIOR-CASTE HATCHERY CRECHE P152, SAZSSGRERRN, GORN HEGEMONY.

First Myrmidon Gog'resssh stood upon the observation footbridge that overlooked the enclosed vastness of the incubation chamber. His claws encircling the railings, Gog'resssh recalled the first time he'd looked upon the room from this high, deceptively solid perch; he'd found the sight almost overwhelming. Apart from the immensity of the starlit nights that blanketed the three Gorn worlds where he'd dwelled throughout his span of twenty-eight Gornar suncircuits, he had never before experienced such sheer hugeness hugeness. The great translucent roof that soared overhead had created an irresistible urge to crane his head in every direction, leaving his thick neck pained afterward by several strained muscles.Far beneath the dome, which admitted only the most benign frequencies of light from Sazssgrerrn's yellow-white star, stood legions of eggs-the leathery husks that held the developing offspring of the Gorn Hegemony's warrior caste. Row upon row of ovoid shapes, each roughly the size of a mature warrior's head, rested in their individual warming chambers, their numbers multiplied out to infinity by the reflective properties of the enclosure's rounded walls. Gog'resssh took quiet comfort from the humid, sultry air that wafted up around the footbridge out of the chamber below, where it nurtured the orderly, greenish-white ranks of the eggs. Those rows of ensh.e.l.led younglings represented the future-a future that Gog'resssh was committed to safeguarding from any threat that might arise between now and the day those younglings acquired the ability to fend for themselves.Gog'resssh reveled in the antic.i.p.atory stillness of the eggs, which he likened to sentries standing an unrelieved, almost one-suncircuit-long duty shift; he regarded their apparently endless vigil as a positive augury-a portent of the disciplined Gorn shock troops they would one day become. Their first tour of duty would begin a mere handful of diurnal cycles after the growing fetuses finished clawing through their protective membranes; they would embark upon the rigorous, lifelong regimen of training and combat that was their elite military-caste birthright almost immediately after their emergence into the world.Today, however, nearly two local suncircuits into his current tour of creche-guardian duty, Gog'resssh looked upon the vista arrayed across the sprawling incubation floor beneath him with a far more jaundiced eye than had been his wont on that memorable first diurnal cycle at Sazssgrerrn. What he had once found awe-inspiring now seemed almost quotidian, a font of impatience and ennui rather than a source of wonder and fulfillment.Of course, Gog'resssh was careful not to articulate any such thought aloud, particularly so close to the works.p.a.ces of so many technological- and artisan-caste types, some of whom were no doubt inclined to send unfavorable reports about him to his military-caste superiors. Fortunately, the many adjacent environmental-regulation stations, offices, and laboratories were silent today, as though the staff had decided to take the morning off.It was odd, if also incidentally something of a relief, to find the creche's nerve center all but deserted on what should have been a typical workday. Although he was duty-bound to protect the tech-casters, Gog'resssh nevertheless found that their relatively large numbers, close proximity, and overall omnipresence grated on him.Gog'resssh tensed as he suddenly became aware of a familiar, reedy voice just behind him. "I see that you remain troubled, First Myrmidon Gog'resssh. Were your higher-rankers unable to give you any rea.s.surance?"The warrior silently cursed himself for allowing the voice's owner to approach him so closely without being noticed. He turned quickly toward the speaker, an elderly member of the technological caste, and carefully avoided staring directly into his eyes for any longer than a moment or two. Although the scientist's two golden orbs stared out in typical Gorn fashion from beneath heavy crests on either side of his skull, they lacked the hundreds of facets that comprised a warrior's motion-oriented compound eye; instead each visual organ displayed a single, eerily mammalian-looking vertical pupil.Keeping his voice as guttural and inflectionless as possible, Gog'resssh said, "Why do you believe me to be troubled, Doctor Rreszsesrr?""Because your back is bowed as though it bears the weight of worlds," the oldster said, speaking as though he were describing some matter of indisputable fact, such as the behavior of objects falling inside a gravitational field.Straightening his spine, Gog'resssh treated Rreszsesrr to a contemptuous glower before he focused his gaze back upon the apparent infinitude of warrior eggs that spread out in all directions beneath the polysteel footbridge. "Nonsense, Doctor. My back is no more bowed now than it has ever been.""Then the time you have spent living among us technologists has affected you more profoundly than you realize," Rreszsesrr said. "For instance, you appear to have acquired our alleged inability to tell convincing lies."Gog'resssh felt the scales on his crest tighten slightly; he had to struggle consciously to prevent them from bristling forward into an obviously aggressive posture. His annoyance at the oldster for being right only increased the difficulty of the effort."I have lied to no one, Doctor," the warrior said. "I have broken no oath. And I will do my duty to the Hegemony, exactly as my superiors have ordered.""But I sense you are doing so only under protest.""What have I to protest, Doctor? Protecting the next generation is one of the worthiest of tasks. And it is a task that can be done properly only by members of the strongest of Gorn castes." Gog'resssh gestured with one five-clawed ma.n.u.s toward the mult.i.tude of gestating eggs below. "Or so the Hegemonic High Command tells me."Rreszsesrr spread both of his complexly articulated forelimbs before him, the short claws on each of his three-fingered hands contrasting sharply with Gog'resssh's larger, blunter, and far deadlier-looking talons. "Your misgivings are understandable, First Myrmidon. Even by a member of the technological caste.""I do the work of the Great Egg Bringer S'Yahazah on this crecheworld, Doctor. I harbor no misgivings whatsoever about serving here."Rreszsesrr regarded him with what looked to the warrior like vague amus.e.m.e.nt. "Don't you? Your fellow warriors are fighting and bleeding as we speak, out beyond the Hegemony's furthest reaches. I know that they are attempting even now to repel an invasion fleet that has so far cut through friend and foe alike as easily as a Gorn landing trooper's killclaws can gut beached lakeprey.""The machine-mammals and their cube vessels," Gog'resssh said, doing his best to keep his words free of bitterness. He could no longer deny the essential truth of the oldster's words. I should be out there now in the Great Cyan Starcreches with my warrior brethren and their new alien allies I should be out there now in the Great Cyan Starcreches with my warrior brethren and their new alien allies, he thought. To send those unnatural creatures back to whatever cursed mammalian underworld burrow sp.a.w.ned them To send those unnatural creatures back to whatever cursed mammalian underworld burrow sp.a.w.ned them.Rreszsesrr's head bobbed in affirmation atop his relatively narrow neck. "Yes. The B'orrg. The enemy that you and every other warrior now stationed on this world would rather face right now. It would be far better, would it not? Certainly far preferable to standing guard at what most of you regard as a mere backwater hatchery world."Leave it alone, Doctor, Gog'resssh thought, carefully swallowing his emotions to avoid lending any credence to the scientist's thesis. He momentarily considered demanding an explanation for the oldster's intimate knowledge of confidential Gorn military matters, but held himself back; Rreszsesrr was a highly accomplished member of the technological caste, so his ability to obtain cla.s.sified information really shouldn't have been all that surprising."As I have said, I will do my duty to the Hegemony, without question," Gog'resssh said at length."Of that I have no doubt," Rreszsesrr said even as his forked tongue slithered quickly past his lips twice, a gesture of obvious skepticism. For one who had access to so many sensitive technological secrets, the old scientist had great difficulty concealing unspoken truths; Gog'resssh found him easy to read, even for a tech-caster. "But asking questions is no breach of discipline, Gog'resssh. Perhaps if more of your peers could find it in themselves to make the occasional harmless query, then perhaps the rest of your garrison would be less restive and angry."Gog'resssh attempted to look pleasant. "What are you talking about, Doctor?""I mean that far too many of you crecheguardians do not appear to appreciate how critically important this this hatchery world is to the continued survival and health of the entire Gorn Hegemony." hatchery world is to the continued survival and health of the entire Gorn Hegemony.""Of course course this world is important. this world is important. All All the hatchery worlds are important." Of course, Gog'resssh found it debatable that the importance of protecting this particular hatchery world was in any way comparable to the urgent need to mobilize every available Gorn warrior against the marauding machine-mammals. "But important or not, when the Hegemonic High Command sends me to protect any such place, I shall do as I am bid." the hatchery worlds are important." Of course, Gog'resssh found it debatable that the importance of protecting this particular hatchery world was in any way comparable to the urgent need to mobilize every available Gorn warrior against the marauding machine-mammals. "But important or not, when the Hegemonic High Command sends me to protect any such place, I shall do as I am bid." No matter how many Gorn worlds fall before the machine-mammal onslaught as a consequence No matter how many Gorn worlds fall before the machine-mammal onslaught as a consequence."I do not doubt the truth of that either, First Myrmidon. You warrior-casters are creatures of duty, and the political caste in particular is quite content to exploit this fact. I am simply wondering whether your superiors ever told you why why this particular world is so uniquely important to us as a species." this particular world is so uniquely important to us as a species."Gog'resssh bared a good many of his meticulously sharpened teeth. "The Hegemonic High Command is not obliged to furnish its servants with rationales or explanations for its orders."The oldster made a huffing exhalation, perhaps to demonstrate his impatience with the military worldview. Gog'resssh tried not to take offense, reminding himself that the scientist was a product of a nonmilitary caste, which made him infinitely less disciplined by definition."Indeed," Rreszsesrr said. "But explanations are my stock in trade, and the same may be said for most of my crechebrethren. And an explanation is definitely in order here, no matter what your superiors may have decided to tell you-or, conversely, to withhold from you."Gog'resssh allowed his nostrils to flare and bared several more of his very sharpest teeth. "You would dare to question the wisdom of the upper echelons of the warrior caste?""I do not answer to any any echelon of the warrior caste, my good young fellow," Rreszsesrr said, taking no apparent notice of Gog'resssh's rising indignation. "And in my judgment, you need to understand why this world is so echelon of the warrior caste, my good young fellow," Rreszsesrr said, taking no apparent notice of Gog'resssh's rising indignation. "And in my judgment, you need to understand why this world is so especially especially important-specifically to important-specifically to your your caste, if only indirectly to mine. You see, this place requires warrior protection as no other Gorn hatchery planet does. For without this planet, the entire Hegemony would quickly find itself defenseless." caste, if only indirectly to mine. You see, this place requires warrior protection as no other Gorn hatchery planet does. For without this planet, the entire Hegemony would quickly find itself defenseless."The oldster was speaking in increasingly eccentric circles. "What are you talking about?" Gog'resssh said, repeating his earlier question in more demanding tones."All of the non-warrior castes have established their respective reproduction creches on multiple worlds all across the Hegemony," Rreszsesrr said. "But the eggs that nourish and protect you warriors as they grow from blastocyst to hatchling will grow properly only here, on Sazssgrerrn. Nowhere else."The notion struck Gog'resssh as entirely preposterous. "Why would the High Command tolerate such a liability?""It isn't as though your superiors have any choice in the matter, First Myrmidon. The environmental requirements of your caste are extremely exacting, much more so than any other caste. Worlds appropriate to the warrior caste's unique nutritional requirements and gestational vulnerabilities have always been rarer than mammal-gizzards. Even the world upon which our people were believed to have evolved originally is no longer climatically fit to serve as a warrior-caste hatchery."Although Gog'resssh found the old scientist's story incredible, he felt a chill settle deep inside his guts nonetheless. What if this addled ancient's ravings were true?"Why would the High Command conceal such a terrible weakness from the rank and file of the warrior caste?""Who knows, First Myrmidon? Perhaps they reasoned that a weakness of which no warrior is aware is a weakness that cannot be revealed inadvertently to an enemy."Gog'resssh thought that made a certain amount of sense, although it was hard for him to imagine a Gorn warrior worthy of the description revealing a military secret of any kind to an enemy, be it by accident or as a consequence of torture.And Rreszsesrr's explanation left behind another vexing question as well."Why are you you telling me this?" Gog'resssh asked, the scales on his head crests slowly standing up as if in expectation of imminent combat. telling me this?" Gog'resssh asked, the scales on his head crests slowly standing up as if in expectation of imminent combat.Frustratingly, Rreszsesrr still appeared utterly unintimidated. "Because, regardless of your superiors' decisions, I believe that you . . . need to know.""All right," the warrior said. "But why do I need to know it now now? Why did you fail to tell me this story-if indeed it is anything more than merely a story-two local suncircuits ago, when my tour of duty here began?"Despite the scientist's pretense of openness, Gog'resssh knew that Rreszsesrr was holding back something else, something crucial. In his own way, the oldster was doling out information on a "need to know" basis himself, just as the Hegemonic High Command that he so clearly enjoyed criticizing had always done."Something is happening to Sazssgrerrn's primary," the scientist said after a brief pause.Primary. It took Gog'resssh a moment to understand. "You speak of the sun that shines upon this world." Why couldn't technologists ever speak plainly?"Yes. I have explained to you the long-term variable nature of this star, have I not?""You have. I did not understand much of your explanation. But I did gather that the star's radiation output can change greatly over periods of many millions of suncircuits.""It can, First Myrmidon. And we now appear to be very near the threshold of just such a change at the present moment."Another interior chill a.s.saulted Gog'resssh; this one began making a slow ascent along the length of his backbone. "I thought that such a thing was highly unlikely.""It is. The odds always favor any particular Gorn generation coming and pa.s.sing in the midst of one of Sazssgrerrn Prime's eons-long periods of stability. But my measurements are incontrovertible: you and I both have the misfortune of being here when one of the star's violent transitions is imminent. Our lives stand astride the boundary."Gog'resssh slowly shook his great head. "It seems an intractable problem, Doctor. What do you propose I do about it? Do you expect the warrior caste to intimidate the local star into better behavior?""Of course not, First Myrmidon," the oldster said, finally beginning to sound nettled. It was gratifying to break his insufferable equanimity at last. "But I do do expect you to inform the rest of your garrison. Very little time remains, and precautions must be taken. You and Second Myrmidon Zegrroz'rh must begin the process of relocating the eggs to the lower levels, where the solar shielding is strongest-" expect you to inform the rest of your garrison. Very little time remains, and precautions must be taken. You and Second Myrmidon Zegrroz'rh must begin the process of relocating the eggs to the lower levels, where the solar shielding is strongest-"Gog'resssh cut the oldster off with a wave of his claws. "Eggs are fragile things, even those of the warrior caste. You of all people should understand the risk involved in moving them from the incubation chamber, Doctor."The oldster's weirdly mammalian-looking pupils narrowed even further, giving his eyes an even more disconcerting aspect than before. "I do not make this request lightly, First Myrmidon.""Why have you waited until so little time remains to inform me of this? Why have none of your colleagues mentioned anything about this earlier? Why have they they not already begun moving the eggs?" not already begun moving the eggs?" Could it be Could it be, he thought, that none of them believes your measurements are quite so "incontrovertible" as you believe them to be? that none of them believes your measurements are quite so "incontrovertible" as you believe them to be?The footbridge beneath their feet shook for a moment. The eggs arrayed across the floor below took no notice."Please," Rreszsesrr said, a tone of pleading entering his voice. "I need your help now.""I would think that you would turn first to your your people, Doctor. Where are they?" people, Doctor. Where are they?""My colleagues have all gone to the stellar observatories. They are studying the latest evidence that I have collected, and are busy comparing it to their actual observations.""What evidence?" Gog'resssh growled."Evidence of a phenomenon that most of us have been denying for far too long.""Do you believe they will find this . . . latest evidence convincing?""Certainly. But probably not in time to allow us to do what must be done."Gog'resssh recalled an ancient tactical axiom that might have been as old as the Gorn Hegemony itself: An incoming blade is all the proof that a Gorn warrior needs that an enemy wishes him ill. But if he waits for such proof to come to him, then he has waited too long An incoming blade is all the proof that a Gorn warrior needs that an enemy wishes him ill. But if he waits for such proof to come to him, then he has waited too long.The footbridge shook again, this time considerably harder. It rattled loudly, as though an invisible hammer had struck it.Gog'resssh placed a heavy claw upon the comm device on his uniform collar and activated the emergency channel. "Second Myrmidon Zegrroz'rh," he said in his most guttural military tones. "Report to the central creche immedia-"A blinding flash of searing white light transformed the dome overhead into fire, immolating all sound, sight, and thought in a span of heartbeats."Where am I?" Gog'resssh said shortly after consciousness of a kind returned. His voice sounded alien in his own ears, distorted, processed. Though he knew he was awake, he nevertheless seemed to float in a lightless void; Gog'resssh felt more disoriented than he had as a hatchling during his first martial training sessions.A voice spoke to him from the darkness. It, too, was slightly distorted, as though it had to pa.s.s through some viscous medium in order to reach him. But it was soothing nonetheless. Sibilant. Female."You are aboard the S'alath S'alath," the voice said.The S'alath S'alath. Despite Gog'resssh's disorientation, he had no difficulty recognizing that name. S'alath was the Gorn captain whose heroism had driven the vile human K'irrk and his Federrazsh'n from Inner Eliar, one of the Far Edgeworlds, more than a hundred Gornar suncircuits ago. True, the Gorn political caste had subsequently agreed to share the planet with the primates, who eventually brought distant Inner Eliar into their Federrazsh'n under the human name "Cestus III." But that unhappy result was no fault of S'alath's; it came about because the policy-casters lacked the strength of will to resist the diktat of the Met'rr'onz."The Gorn Hegemony warship S'alath S'alath," Gog'resssh said, relieved to learn he was in the claws of his caste-peers, at least nominally. "And who . . . who are you?""I am Z'shezhira.""Technological caste?" Gog'resssh said."Yes. Communications specialist.""Communications. You would seem to have strayed from your specialty.""The fight against the machine-mammals has cost the S'alath S'alath dearly in terms of personnel. The threat has now pa.s.sed, but the crew shortages remain acute. I have also had medical training, so my captain has posted me here." dearly in terms of personnel. The threat has now pa.s.sed, but the crew shortages remain acute. I have also had medical training, so my captain has posted me here."Gog'resssh noted the apparent defeat of the machine-mammals without comment; he looked forward to reading the official reports from his caste's hierarchy. Not wishing to shine a light on his feelings of disappointment for having missed the opportunity to defend the Hegemony, he decided to steer well clear of the subject."You saved my life?" he said."I a.s.sisted, First Myrmidon," Z'shezhira said, the distortion in her voice doing nothing to filter out the self-deprecating tone. "The medical team nearly lost you."Gog'resssh felt a surge of grat.i.tude toward her for his survival. Then despair as black as s.p.a.ce descended. "I cannot see. A blind warrior is a liability. You must euthanize me.""No, First Myrmidon. Your head is bandaged. But we expect you will recover your vision soon."That was fortunate, but was not in itself a justification for continuing to live as a weakling to be cared for by others. And that was precisely the fate he feared lay ahead. "Why do I not feel my body?""You are floating in a regeneration tank, First Myrmidon. The gel that surrounds you has dulled your nerve endings while your hide heals."Gel tank. That explained the m.u.f.fled quality of Z'shezhira's voice. He suddenly became aware of a strange, crowded sensation in his skull's maxillary region. A breathing tube, no doubt, probably attached to an amphibious microphone."From what am I healing?" he asked."Severe radiation burns, sustained during the mishap on Sazssgrerrn.""Mishap?" Why couldn't he remember what had happened?"I am told it was an extremely large solar-ma.s.s ejection, First Myrmidon. It occurs when the balance of forces within a star's photosphere becomes-""Such things are known to me, Z'shezhira." Gog'resssh had never had any patience for tech-caste lecturing. "What, precisely, was the outcome of this 'mishap'?"Silence followed, irritating Gog'resssh further."I regret to inform you," Z'shezhira said at length, "that Warrior-Caste Hatchery Creche P152 was destroyed.""My soldiers?""We extracted nineteen warrior-caste survivors and twenty-two from the technological and artisan subcastes. All survivors immediately underwent treatment. Several have since died. The prognosis appears good for the rest, if guarded. Still, the neurological damage was ext-"This was too much to get his mind around. "What of the eggs?" he said, interrupting."Gone.""All of them?" of them?""I fear so. Sazssgrerrn itself is now uninhabitable."My mission was to defend those eggs. And if Dr. Rreszsesrr-the ancient scientist who had probably been reduced to a clawful of ashes by the Sazssgrerrn "mishap"-was to be believed, those eggs had represented the entirety of his own caste's hopes for the future. Not to mention the future of the Gorn Hegemony itself. The black pit of despair into which Gog'resssh had narrowly avoided plummeting moments earlier suddenly returned with a vengeance.This time he tumbled headlong into it.Intermittent voices reached across the sedative-saturated void in which Gog'resssh floated. Tech-casters speaking in their uniquely opaque argot.He heard something about severe radiation exposure. And burns. And "radiogenic damage" to someone's genes. Were they discussing his officers and troops? Or were they talking solely about Gog'resssh himself? He decided it probably didn't much matter.Then he heard one of the male doctors say "study them all, then euthanize them all" before going on to explain to somebody-Z'shezhira, perhaps?-that genetically-damaged Gorn soldiers could never be permitted to pollute what remained of the warrior caste's gene pool."After all," the voice continued, "we cannot compromise the Gorn Hegemony's health and safety."Consciousness returned more easily the next time, and the time after that. Gog'resssh was pleased to be out of the tank, though he could have done without the pain that the cessation of neutral buoyancy had brought him as he began getting used to Gorn-standard shipboard gravity. His recovery continued apace over the next several diurnal cycles, despite the awful knowledge that had settled upon him like a heavy shelf of granite sitting on his chest.My caste's next generation has been burned to a cinder, along with any prospect of replacing it. And these tech-casters will probably put us all down without a thought once they've extracted whatever useful data our suffering may generate.Though Gog'resssh studiously avoided giving voice to those thoughts-particularly when paying a supervised visit to Second Myrmidon Zegrroz'rh or any of the seventeen other officers and men who had survived the Sazssgrerrn "mishap"-he knew he could never be rid of his self-immolating misgivings.Not until he found a way out of here, preferably for both himself and his troops, and began trying to secure a new crecheworld for his caste.It wasn't until his sixth diurnal cycle aboard the S'alath S'alath, during one of Z'shezhira's infirmary visits, that Gog'resssh dared hope that his dream might be realized."You say the search for a new warrior hatchery planet is among this vessel's mission objectives?" he said after Z'shezhira had mentioned the topic in pa.s.sing while moving a scanner over the steadily healing scales of his back and shoulders."It's one of several," she said, her vertical pupils riveted to the readout on her medical scanner. "But it has been a high priority for this vessel for many Gornar suncircuits. Since the events at Sazssgrerrn, the political, technological, and labor castes now regard it as a matter of the highest priority."Of course they do, Gog'resssh thought bitterly. Now that Now that it is too late to save any part of the Sazssgrerrn Creche. Now that it is too late to cleanse me of my shame, my failure it is too late to save any part of the Sazssgrerrn Creche. Now that it is too late to cleanse me of my shame, my failure."Does this mean that you have identified some candidate replacements for Sazssgrerrn?" he asked.Her scaled, heavy brow ridges crumpled into a thoughtful posture. "Perhaps. Perhaps not."Gog'resssh bared his teeth to convey his impatience with that answer. "I do not understand.""It is difficult to explain.""You tech-casters appear to enjoy explaining things. Please, allow me to indulge you."She answered with a good-natured snort. "Very well, First Myrmidon. First, do you understand the rarity of worlds capable of supporting large-scale warrior-caste reproduction?""I understand the fact, if not the reason." Such subjects had never been included in Gog'resssh's training. All he had ever known was the highly structured life of a combat soldier, the uncompromising discipline and relentless chaos of warfare, and the extensive, all but ceaseless preparation that such a martial existence required."Then we are equals in this matter, First Myrmidon. Despite the extensive study my caste has lavished on this matter we cannot yet satisfactorily explain why so far only Sazssgrerrn, out of all the worlds in Gorn s.p.a.ce, has nurtured the eggs of our warrior caste.""That is interesting, I suppose. But it doesn't answer my question: have you found any worlds as yet that might take Sazssgrerrn's place?""Perhaps. Perhaps not. We must conduct experiments first before we can answer that question definitively.""What sort of experiments?"Z'shezhira looked down uncomfortably at the metal grillwork of the deck beneath her bare footclaws. "Perhaps I have said too much.""Nonsense. You were merely giving a recuperating patient a measure of hope. Please, tell me of these experiments."Z'shezhira's head bobbed forward and back in a gesture of a.s.sent. "All right. Before the machine-mammal crisis diverted us, the S'alath S'alath's crew had discovered a number of ancient technological artifacts. Items that may provide the key to a technological solution to the Sazssgrerrn dilemma.""What sort of technological solution?""Worldsculpting. Ecoshaping. The wholesale changing of a planetary biosphere. The idea is to find the world that represents the closest a.n.a.log to Sazssgrerrn, and then apply this technology to it.""You sound as though you believe you have tamed the power of the Egg Bringer S'Yahazah herself," Gog'resssh said with an awed growl.The scales from Z'shezhira's snout to the crests between her wide-set golden eyes reddened, as though the praise embarra.s.sed her. "I would not go quite that far, First Myrmidon. But the technology does hold great promise. Hopes are high throughout the technological and political castes."The political caste, Gog'resssh thought with distaste as she explained some of the technical particulars at too great a depth for his tastes. Politics. The vice of the bloodless weaklings who saw fit to diversify the crecheworld holdings of every caste save the only one that is indispensable to the Hegemony's Politics. The vice of the bloodless weaklings who saw fit to diversify the crecheworld holdings of every caste save the only one that is indispensable to the Hegemony's security. S'Yahazah's security. S'Yahazah's cloaca, cloaca, even the lowly laborer caste has incubation facilities on at least a half-dozen worlds even the lowly laborer caste has incubation facilities on at least a half-dozen worlds.The political caste obviously feared the warrior caste. That had been so ever since the warriors of the Black Crest had attempted-and failed-to seize the reins of power within the Hegemony almost eight Gornar suncircuits ago. Those would-be insurrectionists had failed, and now the political caste had finally exacted its patient vengeance by keeping the warrior caste vulnerable to a single calamitous extinction event. Gog'resssh's mind had hearkened back to the one and only time he'd met the legendary Captain S'alath, this vessel's namesake. S'alath had told him that while he stood vigil at one of the first Gorn-human territory negotiations that had followed his initial encounter with K'irrk, he had picked up a human aphorism: "Don't put all your eggs in a single basket."The political caste had allowed all the warrior caste's eggs to remain in one basket. And catastrophe had been the result.Banishing those thoughts lest he grow visibly angry enough to frighten Z'shezhira out of the infirmary, Gog'resssh tried instead to concentrate on what the female was telling him, in her caste's typical loquacious fashion. According to her, the warrior caste's future might not be so bleak as he had feared. Hope sparked within Gog'resssh's belly; it was his first experience with hope since he'd learned of his abysmal failure at Sazssgrerrn."Your captain must take this vessel to your best candidate world now," Gog'resssh said. "He must apply this new technology there immediately. He must use it to pull my caste back from the brink of oblivion."Z'shezhira raised a restraining ma.n.u.s, its three delicate yet sharp claws extended in a gesture of warning. "Much testing remains to be done first. Worlds similar enough to Sazssgrerrn to be good ecoshaping candidates are too rare to risk ruining. We must run a great many simulations before we can deploy the technology safely."The spark of hope quickly fanned itself into white-hot impatience. "How long a wait do you foresee?"She made a noncommittal gesture with both sets of claws. "Adequate testing could require a good many Gornar suncircuits. Especially if we experience setbacks during the simulations.""The Hegemony cannot continue to defend itself if the supply of new Gorn warriors remains interrupted for suncircuit after fallow suncircuit." Not that you expect me or my warriors to be around long enough to observe that sad outcome Not that you expect me or my warriors to be around long enough to observe that sad outcome."I understand the drawbacks of caution as well as those of haste. But it really doesn't matter what I think. Such decisions are the province of the political caste."Perhaps. But perhaps not.Z'shezhira put the scanner on a tray with a number of other obscure-looking medical instruments. Apparently satisfied that he was mending satisfactorily, she bid him farewell.He called out to her as she reached the threshold, stopping her. "May I speak to Second Myrmidon Zegrroz'rh?" he asked.After pausing to look into the adjacent healing bay, she turned toward Gog'resssh and dipped her head in a gesture of a.s.sent. "He is conscious, though he still requires somewhat more healing than you do. Please do not tire him.""I understand," he said.After Z'shezhira departed, Gog'resssh rose from the steeply inclined resting board and walked across the infirmary toward the other healing bay. Since the other injured officers and enlisted troopers were recovering elsewhere, he and his lieutenant were all alone but for one another's company."First Myrmidon," Zegrroz'rh said as he tried to stand, his pain evident. Gog'resssh needed no special medical expertise to see that his Second had suffered more extensive burns than he had.Gog'resssh gestured for Zegrroz'rh to stay down, and the injured Gorn sagged gratefully back onto the inclined resting board where he'd been recuperating. "The tech-casters aboard this ship have made plans to kill us all," Gog'resssh said without preamble.Zegrroz'rh's brow folded forward in a puzzled frown. "Why did they not do so when we were all more helpless than we are now? Why do they delay?"Gog'resssh issued a low growl that signaled his displeasure at being questioned. "Why do they do anything anything, Second? They probably wish to make further observations of the radiation damage we have suffered before deciding they are finished with us.""If you are right, we must stop them," Zegrroz'rh said, demonstrating his usual keen grasp on the obvious."Of course I am right. And we shall shall stop them. What's more, we are going to repair the damage that the politicals did to us at Sazssgrerrn. And we will find and safeguard a new crecheworld for our caste, without relying on any further 'help' from the politicals." stop them. What's more, we are going to repair the damage that the politicals did to us at Sazssgrerrn. And we will find and safeguard a new crecheworld for our caste, without relying on any further 'help' from the politicals."Zegrroz'rh appeared mystified. Or perhaps he was even more radiation-damaged than Gog'resssh had initially believed. "First Myrmidon?"Gog'resssh leaned in close to the other warrior and hissed into the earhole just above his radiation-seared zygomatic bone. "Listen very carefully, Zegrroz'rh. We will begin by taking this ship. . . ."

1.

U.S.S. t.i.tAN, DEEP IN THE VELA OB2 a.s.sOCIATION, BETA QUADRANT.

The aquamarine world that turned serenely on the main viewer had seemed hospitable enough when Captain William Riker had first looked upon it from orbit. It had seemed so when he had first set foot upon one of the small rocky continents that punctuated a planet-girdling, highly saline ocean. Other than the prevalence of strong winds, and the clouds of grit and dust they kicked up, the place had been very accommodating to t.i.tan t.i.tan's survey teams-it offered breathable air, middling-warm temperatures, and fair-to-tolerable humidity levels.But the sometimes all-but-invisible fabric that nearly always accompanied such humanoid-compatible environments-an oft-taken-for-granted little thing more commonly known as life life-was conspicuously absent from this place, from pole to pole and meridian to meridian.William Riker leaned forward in his command chair, resting his chin on his fist as he regarded the dead world that even now t.i.tan t.i.tan's planetary-science specialists were still busy trying to understand."Deanna, what do you think about naming this place 'Doornail'?" he said, turning to his left just far enough to see an amused smile split his wife's face." 'Doornail,'" repeated Commander Deanna Troi, t.i.tan t.i.tan's senior diplomatic officer, chief counselor, social-sciences department head-and beloved Imzadi Imzadi of the captain. She pitched her voice low, as if to be audible only in Riker's immediate vicinity. "That's a curious choice, Will." of the captain. She pitched her voice low, as if to be audible only in Riker's immediate vicinity. "That's a curious choice, Will."He repaid Deanna's grin with interest. After spending the past six hours down on that sterile, rocky world, he was grateful to be back aboard t.i.tan t.i.tan and in the warmth of her presence. "'Doornail,'" he said, matching her sotto voce delivery. "As in 'dead as a.' " and in the warmth of her presence. "'Doornail,'" he said, matching her sotto voce delivery. "As in 'dead as a.' "She shrugged. "I understand the idiom, Will. My father came from Earth, after all.""But you don't seem to be falling in love with it.""No, it's a fine choice," she said, though a slight wrinkling of her nose belied her endors.e.m.e.nt. "Besides, a.s.signing names to new worlds is one of your prerogatives as captain."Commander Christine Vale, who was seated in the chair to Riker's immediate right, chimed in quietly, "At least until the Federation Science Council settles on something a little more, um, dignified.""Ouch, Commander," Riker said as he turned his command chair so that he faced Vale. "Way to show loyalty to your captain."Vale answered with mock solemnity. "I wouldn't be much of a first officer if I didn't point out the captain's mistakes, sir.""Touche. But as I recall, you were quite a bit more eager than I was to get away from that dustball.""I was just more vocal about it, Captain. After all, a healthy set of lungs and a lack of hesitancy to use same are the main keys to success in this job.""So . . . an exec's job amounts to either arguing with the captain, or just bellowing the captain's orders to the crew at the top of her lungs?"Vale smirked as she pushed several strands of her shoulder-length auburn hair from her eyes. "I learned from the best, sir-aboard two ships called Enterprise Enterprise. That reminds me of another nice thing about the planet: good acoustics."Riker heard Deanna snicker behind him. "It sounds to me as if you like the planet a lot better now that you're safely back aboard t.i.tan t.i.tan.""Places like that always look better in retrospect," Vale said, gesturing toward the bluish orb that hung in the viewscreen's center. "Not to mention from nearly five hundred kilometers away. Besides, it could have been worse. At least there weren't any mosquitoes-"With an almost Vulcan-like calm, Deanna said something that Riker belatedly recognized as "Incoming!" Simultaneously, Vale interrupted herself by letting out a yelp-accompanied by a brief chorus from Lieutenant Sariel Rager at ops and Lieutenant Aili Lavena at the conn-that startled the captain into turning toward the section of the bridge at which his exec's eyes had been directed: the main viewer.An apparition had suddenly appeared directly between the screen and the forward helm and ops consoles, where it rapidly took on solidity-or at least the appearance of solidity. In the s.p.a.ce of a few heartbeats, it had become recognizable as the high-fidelity holographic avatar of Lieutenant Commander Melora Pazlar, even as it continued to hover several centimeters above the deck directly in front of the wide central screen."I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to that," Vale said."Nor will I," said Lavena. The Pacifican flight controller shuddered as though something had gone wrong with her hydration suit's temperature controls. The suit made a barely audible sloshing sound in response to her brief startle reaction."Sorry, Commander," Pazlar said. "Lieutenant."The senior science officer entered a command into the padd she carried; in response, t.i.tan t.i.tan's holographic telepresence system gingerly shifted her toward an open s.p.a.ce on the bridge's port side. Pazlar's willowy form was outfitted in an ordinary duty uniform rather than in one of the slightly bulkier contragravity suits she wore when venturing outside the comfortable variable-g environment of her stellar cartography lab or her living quarters. Being an Elaysian born, bred, and raised in the microgravity environment of the planet known as Gemworld, Pazlar's body was structurally incompatible with a Federation starship's standard one- environment of her stellar cartography lab or her living quarters. Being an Elaysian born, bred, and raised in the microgravity environment of the planet known as Gemworld, Pazlar's body was structurally incompatible with a Federation starship's standard one-g environment. environment.Riker turned his chair toward Pazlar's floating image. "Commander, I a.s.sume you're here because the department heads have reached a consensus about the origins of this planet.""Yes, Captain," Pazlar said. "At least insofar as our current knowledge can take us.""Are most of you still convinced that this planet's M-cla.s.s environment didn't come about naturally?" Deanna asked."As surprising as you might find this," Pazlar said, "the answer is 'yes.' "Riker smiled. "Huh. Maybe 'Doornail' will stick after all." As dead as they were, even doornails did not spontaneously generate themselves.Pazlar's V-ridged forehead wrinkled in puzzlement. "Sir?""Never mind. As I recall, you were part of the 'this planet's environment is a natural product of planetary evolution' camp.""I was, Captain. At least at the beginning of our a.n.a.lysis.""What changed your mind?" Riker wanted to know."Well, to give credit where credit is due, Captain, Eviku and Chamish were the first to notice the pattern-a pattern that appears to have played out in several other star systems scattered throughout the Vela OB2 a.s.sociation, and perhaps even much further into deep Beta Quadrant s.p.a.ce."Commander Christine Vale, t.i.tan t.i.tan's executive officer, spoke up from the seat at Riker's right hand. "If anybody aboard t.i.tan t.i.tan was going to find that sort of pattern, it would be our resident xen.o.biology and ecology experts." was going to find that sort of pattern, it would be our resident xen.o.biology and ecology experts.""Apparently," Pazlar said with a nod. "Unfortunately, my expertise in those fields doesn't overlap all that much with that of the biospheric scientists. My specialties are cosmology and big-bore physics. Since we hadn't found a clear-cut footprint indicating intelligence the way we had with the Sentries, I still needed a little more convincing at the outset.""Sounds like you got what you needed," Vale said.The Elaysian nodded. "Torvig and White-Blue crunched the numbers-twice, I might add-and the end results finally made a believer out of me."SecondGen White-Blue was the designation of the eight-limbed artificial intelligence that Riker had allowed to remain aboard t.i.tan t.i.tan a few months back, following the starship's harrowing encounter with White-Blue's kind, the ancient AI civilization whose members referred to themselves as "the Sentries." Although Riker couldn't deny that White-Blue had been invaluable in preventing a few months back, following the starship's harrowing encounter with White-Blue's kind, the ancient AI civilization whose members referred to themselves as "the Sentries." Although Riker couldn't deny that White-Blue had been invaluable in preventing t.i.tan t.i.tan's destruction, both at the hands of White-Blue's own kind and via the destructive energies of their extradimensional nemesis, the Null, he was also keenly aware of how much trouble the little AI had brought to his ship. The fact that White-Blue had violated the ship's security and privacy protocols on numerous occasions-to say nothing of its having briefly "uplifted" t.i.tan t.i.tan's main computer to full sentience-left the captain still wary of any judgments White-Blue might care to render. That White-Blue's conclusions were supported by calculations run by Ensign Torvig Bu-Kar-Nguv-a Choblik science specialist whose own sentience depended upon an extraordinary degree of integration between his natural biological form and his bionic components-made Riker feel only slightly better.Riker's face felt flushed as he noticed Deanna regarding him curiously from her station at his immediate left. He stood, straightening his uniform tunic as he got to his feet."Give me the gist of it, Commander. Why are you convinced that this planet couldn't have produced its atmosphere on its own the way billions of other planets across the galaxy have?""The long and short of it is the balance of gases in this planet's atmosphere, Captain," Pazlar said. "You'll note that the sensors have corroborated Lieutenant Chamish's early contention that the eighty-twenty nitrogen-oxygen mix we observe here could only have been produced by nonbiotic processes.""Are we certain of that?" Deanna asked. "Couldn't this planet's atmosphere have been produced by a thriving biosphere that was wiped out by some catastrophe in the relatively recent past?"Pazlar shook her head, her fine white hair following a heartbeat behind owing to her protective coc.o.o.n of micro-gravity. "None of the scans we've done so far have turned up any evidence that there's ever ever been any life on this planet, let alone life that was catastrophically wiped out after producing a Cla.s.s-M atmosphere." been any life on this planet, let alone life that was catastrophically wiped out after producing a Cla.s.s-M atmosphere."Riker was no scientist, but he had enough scientific training to know that all Cla.s.s-M planets' atmospheres were significantly out-of-equilibrium in comparison with those of lifeless worlds. Dead places tended to have atmospheres that were devoid of free molecular oxygen, a gas that tended to get bound up in planetary crusts as oxides, as had occurred billions of years ago on Mars. Lifeless worlds whose atmospheres were "in equilibrium" routinely became anaerobic carbon dioxide h.e.l.ls like Venus, deserts like Mars, or stillborn "primordial soups" like his ship's namesake, Saturn's moon t.i.tan.Facing Pazlar, Riker said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but there are still only two known ways to create an M-cla.s.s environment, broadly speaking. The action of organic photosynthesis or similar biospheric processes on a planet's surface over eons is one." He began ticking off his points on his fingers. "And terraforming technology is the other.""That's the basic shape of it, Captain," said Pazlar's image. "We have the evidence presented by the composition of the atmosphere itself. Our survey scans have already determined to a high degree of certainty that no biosphere has ever existed on this world. Doctor Chamish, our senior ecologist, triple-checked the figures." Although Riker didn't know Chamish all that well, he understood that Chamish's people were generally gifted with the ability to communicate telepathically with lower animals, and that their homeworld, Kazar, was renowned for producing gifted ecologists."Wait a minute," Vale said. "I may have stumbled into this exploration business by way of law enforcement and security instead of through a lab, but even I can see a flaw in your methodology."Pazlar nodded. "You mean that no matter how many numbers I might crunch, I still can't really prove to a fare-thee-well that there never really was any biota on the planet.""Indeed," Commander Tuvok said from his position behind the tactical console. "I trust that I need not point out that proving a negative is a logical impossibility."Turning her chair halfway toward Tuvok, the exec nodded in agreement. "Isn't absence of evidence sometimes just that? Absence of evidence?""As opposed to evidence of absence," said the stellar cartographer. "Point taken. But biospheres always always leave a mark on the worlds that host them. Even small, tenuous biospheres will make their presence known if your instruments are good enough. And our instruments are leave a mark on the worlds that host them. Even small, tenuous biospheres will make their presence known if your instruments are good enough. And our instruments are d.a.m.ned d.a.m.ned good." good."Riker considered the most tenuous native biosphere that existed in his own species' backyard-that of Mars. The Martian ecology, marginal though it was by the time humans had developed any capability of studying it to any significant extent, had made itself known only by dint of the traces of atmospheric methane it released and maintained at slightly-above-equilibrium levels. Absent the continued action of a relative handful of hardy subsurface extremophile native microbe colonies, that methane would have quickly been photodissociated into its component elements and then dispersed or absorbed. And before Mars had been scrutinized under a sufficiently sensitive lens, those molecular traces had been undetectable; Mars, with its whisper-thin, oxygen-free atmosphere, had appeared already to be in an equilibrium state consistent with an eternally dead, lifeless desert."But as good as our instruments are," Riker said, "couldn't there still be an ancient biological marker that n.o.body's been able to find yet-something so old it's literally buried at the very bottom of the rock pile?""There's a sharp limit to how old a fossil biosphere like that could be, Captain, given the atmosphere we've observed here. Cla.s.s-M atmospheres are inherently out of equilibrium with the surrounding environment. Without biota to maintain them, they always deteriorate into something much less friendly-especially after a few tens of millions of years go by."Deanna shrugged. "Suppose this atmosphere is being created right now by life so alien that our sensors simply couldn't recognize it as as life?" life?""According to Eviku, that's still just barely possible," said Pazlar. "But it isn't likely. Life processes, even extremely exotic ones, must involve some sort of metabolism that takes advantage of natural energy gradients-that is, materials moving from a high-energy state to a lower one. Predictable patterns of internal order being created in exchange for increased external entropy. But we simply haven't seen anything remotely resembling that here."Riker nodded toward the blue world on the screen. "So nothing is maintaining this world's atmosphere. Or at least nothing we've detected so far.""That's right," Pazlar said. "In fact, Chamish and Bralik have both confirmed that the oxygen in the atmosphere is slowly combining with the surface through natural weathering processes, even as it's being broken down by exospheric solar ultraviolet radiation. Since no detectable process is acting to maintain the atmosphere, it will succ.u.mb given enough time. Most of the free oxygen will end up in the rocks, and much of the rest will ultimately bleed off into s.p.a.ce.""In other words," Riker said, "what looks nominally like another Earth now will someday deteriorate into another Mars.""a.s.suming that the atmosphere's rate of deterioration remains relatively consistent over time, it should be possible to estimate the approximate age of this . . . non-biogenic atmosphere," said Tuvok, who had raised an eyebrow. Though the phlegmatic Vulcan's current post was tactical officer, it seemed obvious to Riker that his scientific curiosity was now fully roused."My department thought the very same thing," said Pazlar. "Bralik locked the core probes onto the rock strata that corresponds to a time-depth of about five million standard years. And that's where we've found a marker of sorts-just not a marker made by life.""What sort of marker?" Deanna asked."A very thin layer of klendthium that seems to cover the entire planet at that depth," Pazlar said.Riker nodded. "The same way a subsurface layer of radioactive iridium marks the asteroid collision that wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth around sixty-five million years ago.""Exactly," Pazlar said with a nod."Klendthium," Tuvok repeated. "That is an extremely rare mineral that I have only seen a.s.sociated with Vulcan terraforming techniques, such as the ones historically employed at the Loonkerian outpost on Klendth."Hence the name, I suppose, Riker thought.Deanna turned to face the tactical station. "Other cultures have employed methods similar to the Vulcan universal atmospheric element compensator, Commander. Vulcan is only one of that technology's more recent users.""Quite right," Pazlar said."It sounds as though you think we may have found another," Riker said."Wait a minute," Vale said, waving her hands before her as though she was dispersing a cloud of smoke. "Couldn't this 'marker' we're talking about here simply be evidence of something that could have wiped out a previously existing biosphere?"Pazlar shook her head. "Something that seems to have left no trace anywhere on the planet of the billions of years of biological and chemical evolution that must have preceded it? That doesn't seem likely. Not without destroying the planet itself-or at least creating geologic stresses that would still be detectable today.""What about comet collisions?" Deanna asked. "Couldn't the const.i.tuents of this planet's present-day atmosphere have rained down from the system's Kuiper belt?"Pazlar folded her arms before her, her body language radiating skepticism. "It's a possibility. But this system doesn't appear to have much of a Kuiper belt. And those sorts of impacts would have left behind some geologic evidence somewhere somewhere. This planet looks to be almost in mint condition, so to speak. Not even a geologically active world like Earth can cover up every last one of its old scars.""Add that to the implication of a global terraforming operation being conducted here millions of years ago," Deanna said, "and you've got a fairly tantalizing mystery.""You might have even more than that, especially if you consider two additional factors," Pazlar said, her gray eyes beginning to flash with a rare enthusiasm."What are those?" Riker said."The telemetry from our probes and the results of our long-range scans. They show that several adjacent systems have bodies that fit the general profile of this this planet-" planet-""Doornail," Riker said, glancing in Deanna's direction momentarily to underscore his determination to keep the name in place as long as possible."Doornail?" The look of perplexity Pazlar had displayed earlier abruptly returned to her face."It'll have to do until something better comes along, Commander," Deanna said around an incompletely suppressed smirk.Pazlar blinked at the counselor. "All right." Focusing her telepresent gaze back upon Riker, she added, "Doornail it is, Captain. And it looks as though there could be a bunch more Doornails out there-nominally Cla.s.s-M worlds that apparently got that way via unconventional means.""A series of artificially terraformed planets spanning an entire sector or more?" Vale said. She didn't sound quite convinced.Deanna, however, quickly took up the more optimistic side of the discussion. "Why not? We already have evidence that ancient starfaring species have transplanted entire humanoid societies from star system to star system. Some of those interventions may have even involved making deliberate, intensive genetic alterations to the relocated sapients.""Exactly," Pazlar said. "It's not much of a stretch to imagine that some long-vanished alien civilization may have manipulated whole planetary environments in much the same way. We may be on track to settling the matter definitively. There are several other Doornails within easy reach of our current position. And if any or all of those worlds appear to be as artificially created as this one does, then we could gain some insight into precisely how it was done. If we're fortunate, we might even stumble across some technological relics."Echoing Pazlar's mounting enthusiasm, Deanna said, "And if we're really really lucky, we'll find some intact machinery, or maybe some still-readable computer data, that could give us a way to reverse engineer whatever technology these paleo-terraformers were using." lucky, we'll find some intact machinery, or maybe some still-readable computer data, that could give us a way to reverse engineer whatever technology these paleo-terraformers were using."Riker stood in silence in front of Lavena's conn station and studied the viewscreen's image of a dead-yet-life-friendly world whose stately, eternal rotation was rapidly carrying its nearer hemisphere into night. The allure of seizing long-forgotten knowledge that had once made a dead world-or perhaps even countless dead worlds-capable of supporting life was undeniable. The Federation was still in the process of recovering from the devastation the Borg had wrought during the previous year. Deneva had been laid waste, as had parts of Vulcan. Beyond the Federation, Qo'noS had suffered cruelly from the invasion. If a means of accelerating the recovery of those wounded worlds really existed out here, it deserved serious attention from t.i.tan t.i.tan's captain and crew.But such a discovery also demanded a fair amount of caution. Riker was well acquainted with the dangers posed by Project Genesis, the code name of a Federation terra-forming initiative. Not only had Genesis's initial deployment nearly a century ago proved it far more effective as a biosphere-destroying weapon than as a means of planet-scale creation, the powerful, molecular-level matter-reorganizing force known as the Genesis Wave had also threatened the Federation's very existence much more recently.Once released from their bottles, genies were often notoriously difficult to coax back inside.But maybe I can afford to let the ethical agonies wait a while longer, Riker decided, chiding himself gently for getting so far ahead of himself so quickly. We don't even know whether or not this thing still exists-if it ever really did We don't even know whether or not this thing still exists-if it ever really did.Turning to face Lavena, he said, "Lieutenant, get the coordinates for the nearest candidate star system from Commander Pazlar and lay in a course, best speed."Let's find out how lucky we can be."

2.

Despite his most disciplined efforts to clear his mind for meditation, Tuvok's thoughts took wing. He was sitting before an old-style Starfleet copilot's console, alternating between sending repeatedly unheeded hails and watching through a curved transparent aluminum window as a battered, airless moon drew inexorably closer. A half-shadowed jovian planet loomed in the s.p.a.ce beyond, its ocher-and-ivory cloud tops striated by fierce cyclonic winds. Just visible near the partially obscured satellite's eastern limb, a motley, asymmetrical s.p.a.cecraft orbited.Tuvok turned to his immediate left and saw that his old friend and superior officer, the Halkan pilot Lojur, was handling the controls."It's too bad it wasn't the shuttlecraft Fujitsubo Fujitsubo and L. J. Akaar's team that managed to track these people down, Ensign," Lojur said, his bantering tone belying the sincere emotion he seemed to be struggling so hard to master. "Have I mentioned yet how much I hate this mission?" and L. J. Akaar's team that managed to track these people down, Ensign," Lojur said, his bantering tone belying the sincere emotion he seemed to be struggling so hard to master. "Have I mentioned yet how much I hate this mission?"It came to Tuvok with no small degree of either surprise or fascination that he was back aboard the shuttlecraft Amagiri, Amagiri, one of the auxiliary vessels the one of the auxiliary vessels the U.S.S. Excelsior U.S.S. Excelsior had carried during the years he had served as one of that starship's science officers. The moon that the had carried during the years he had served as one of that starship's science officers. The moon that the Amagiri Amagiri was approaching circled the gas-giant world Eurymede VI, about a pa.r.s.ec from Klingon was approaching circled the gas-giant world Eurymede VI, about a pa.r.s.ec from Klingon s.p.a.ce. Captain Sulu had pursued this mission using s.p.a.ce. Captain Sulu had pursued this mission using Excelsior's Excelsior's entire complement of shuttlecraft because of the extensive battle damage that the starship had recently sustained at the hands of rogue Klingons; at the present moment entire complement of shuttlecraft because of the extensive battle damage that the starship had recently sustained at the hands of rogue Klingons; at the present moment, Excelsior needed every available hand to effect repairs and to tend to her scores of injuries and casualties needed every available hand to effect repairs and to tend to her scores of injuries and casualties."I am certain that no one regards any a.s.signment such as this one as a pleasant undertaking, Commander," Tuvok heard himself saying in response. "However, our duty is clear. We cannot permit these individuals to deploy the device. And we are empowered to use whatever means may be necessary to ensure that outcome."Tuvok remembered that he had been but a lowly ensign at the time of the Eurymede mission. Matters of friendships aside, had he really spoken so pedantically to his superiors in those days?"We're here to confiscate the device," Lojur said grimly. "As the Terrans say, 'We get in, we get out, and no one gets hurt.'"Tuvok nodded. "That would be the ideal outcome. However, whether or not we will achieve that result is largely dependent upon the actions of the privateers who are holding the device-privateers who, I might add, are continuing to ignore my hails." Tuvok's gaze moved back and forth between his controls and the motley vessel, which was still growing considerably in apparent size moment by moment."Privateers? I thought they were refugees.""So they have told us, Commander. The fact remains, they have come into possession of illegal technology that endangers not only this entire star system, but perhaps others as well.""Give me a damage a.s.sessment on the other ship, Ensign," Lojur said.Tuvok studied the slowly approaching ship through the forward windows as he ran another sensor scan. Thanks to Lojur's delicate handling of the windows as he ran another sensor scan. Thanks to Lojur's delicate handling of the Amagiri's Amagiri's phasers, the other vessel's single torpedo bay was visibly scorched and melted phasers, the other vessel's single torpedo bay was visibly scorched and melted."Warp capability has failed, but there appears to be no immediate danger of a core breach. Minimal impulse power and life-support are available, so they cannot outrun us.""Can they deploy the device?" Lojur wanted to know."The vessel has only one torpedo launcher, but it has sustained heavy damage," Tuvok said.The comm console near Tuvok's right hand flashed, heralding an incoming signal. He tapped the console and a small viewscreen lit up, displaying the sad, careworn face of an elderly humanoid male."Please, Starfleet vessel. Withdraw. Leave us.""This is Lieutenant Commander Lojur of the Federation Starship Excelsior," Starship Exc