Part 5 (1/2)
”See what?” demanded Picard.
”It's ... it's impossible to describe ... it's like a welcoming party. Sir, you've got to see it. Oswell out.”
”Data and I have things under control here,” said Riker. ”And we'll keep trying to get a message to Starfleet.”
”Counselor, Mr. Barclay,” said Picard, rising from an auxiliary station. ”Please accompany me.”
”Yes, sir,” answered Troi, anxious to see what had brought them all this way ... into such peril.
As they rode in the turbolift to the forward observation lounge, Picard rubbed his head. ”Are you all right, sir?” asked Barclay with concern.
”Yes, but I think I will drop by sickbay after this. That way, Dr. Crusher won't chase me down, as she's certain to do otherwise.”
The turbolift doors opened, and they stepped into a broad foyer, which led to the observation lounge and the dining room beyond. Even from a distance and a side angle, Deanna could see something she had never seen before through the panoramic window: blue sky. Normally the window was filled with stars, nebulae, or the curve of a planet-simple sky looked odd. Two members of a repair team stood gaping out the window, but they scurried off to work when they saw the captain coming.
As Troi trailed the captain to the window, her jaw succ.u.mbed to the newly restored gravity. Barclay gasped, and the captain let out a sharp breath. All three of them reached out to touch the window, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Just outside the hull of the Enterprise, the blue sky was filled with hundreds of Elaysians-flying, floating, soaring. With their billowing white outfits, they looked like winged beings from the mythology of a thousand different cultures. Some of them waved, and the three stunned observers waved back. Floating among them were small hovercraft, nets, and ropes, which Troi a.s.sumed were used for hauling pa.s.sengers. It was shocking enough to see humanoids this close to the s.h.i.+p at all, not to mention without s.p.a.cesuits, surrounded by blue sky, and flying.
”Now that's something you don't see everyday,” said Barclay in a hoa.r.s.e whisper.
Captain Picard smiled like a boy at the circus. ”They're remarkable. What a unique culture this must be. But it's a little disappointing that we can't see the crystals from here.”
”What's that thing?” asked Barclay, pointing down. Deanna leaned over the wooden handrail to see what appeared to be a rocket shooting toward them. It left a long, dark vapor trail behind it, stretching out of view. But there was no flash of flame, and the object seemed too slow to be a rocket. As it drew closer, Troi realized the craft had several legs.
”Is it a landing probe?” asked Picard.
”Maybe it's a satellite,” guessed Reg. ”Or equipment the Elaysians need.”
”At least they don't seem to be concerned about it,” said the captain with some relief.
Troi was willing to believe the craft was unmanned, until she saw the legs rhythmically opening and closing. The object changed course slightly, and the vapor trail twisted around like some sort of cable. She wondered if it was an umbilical cord to the surface.
”It's ... it's moving,” said Barclay.
”Yes, I saw,” agreed the captain. ”What is that trailing behind it? Some sort of tentacle?”
That was what it looked like now, thought Deanna. In fact, the approaching object seemed to look more organic and animated the closer it came. The spindly legs, of which there had to be a dozen, opened and shut as if pus.h.i.+ng the tentacle out behind it. It was more like a web, she realized, a stiff web which kept pus.h.i.+ng the gangly creature ever higher.
The being finally stopped several meters beneath the horde of hovering Elaysians. Two of the humanoids dropped down to touch the creature, which looked black and spiny, almost like a sea urchin. The newcomer sat perched atop its gently swaying tentacle, like a bird's nest atop a flagpole. From her reading and her dream memories, Troi realized she knew what the creature was.
”That's an Alpusta,” she said.
”Of course!” exclaimed Reg. ”It's bigger than I thought it would be. What's it doing?”
”Studying us,” answered Picard. ”We need to make contact with the inhabitants.”
”Look, it's Melora!” said Reg happily. ”I mean, Lieutenant Pazlar.”
They followed his gaze to see a blond Elaysian come streaking toward them. She was gripping one of the small hoverplatforms like a swimmer grips a lap board, letting it pull her along. She turned it off about thirty meters away from them and glided the rest of the way, bouncing to a stop on the hull with her fingers and toes extended like miniature shock-absorbers.
Barclay waved, Troi smiled, and Picard tapped his combadge. ”Picard to Pazlar.”
Melora quickly found her combadge in the billowing white folds of her traditional clothing. ”Pazlar here.” It was disconcerting to hear her voice coming from the captain's combadge when she was floating only a couple of meters away on the other side of the convex window.
”This is quite a welcoming party,” said the captain. ”But we've taken serious damage, as you know. Do your people have an explanation about what's going on here?”
”Plenty of them, but none they can agree on.” Melora lifted her arms to show the triangular sails underneath. ”And, Captain, I'm sorry that I'm out of uniform, but I had to discard my anti-grav suit during the emergency. If you want to be able to fly, you'd better be able to catch a wind current. You can do it in this apparel.”
”That's understandable ... under the circ.u.mstances,”
answered Picard. ”But I expect you to comport yourself as if you were wearing a Starfleet uniform.”
”Yes, sir.” She looked around at her fellow Elaysians and the lone Alpusta. ”We have representatives from the Elaysians, Alpusta, and Lipuls who want to meet you.”
”What about the other three races?” asked Picard.
”Maybe in time we can meet them,” said Pazlar. Troi sensed a tension in her voice at that answer, and the Elaysian quickly changed the subject. ”I know I transported out, but our scientists don't advise using transporters again until we find out exactly what's causing that rift.”
”The Enterprise is not fit to go anywhere at the moment,” said Picard, ”but we should be able to use our smaller shuttlecraft without problems. They will also give us islands of gravity on your world.”
”Good idea, sir. Our Exalted Ones request that you send a small party, and that it include Counselor Troi. I wouldn't mind personally if Lieutenant Barclay also came with you.”
”No transporters?” Reg asked with surprise and relief. He sounded quite debonair as he replied, ”I'd be delighted to visit your planet.”
Picard's combadge chirped. ”Bridge to Picard!”
”Go ahead, Number One.”
”We have to put up s.h.i.+elds!”
They stared in horror at Melora and the other Elaysians, who would likely be vaporized if they put up s.h.i.+elds now.
”Belay that!” ordered Picard. ”We can't-”
Without warning, a barrage of rocks thudded into the underside of the hull, and the Elaysians were scattered by a shower of stones zooming toward s.p.a.ce. Deanna stared out the window and noted with alarm that they weren't rocks but broken crystals-dark, dangerous shards pelting everything in sight. The s.h.i.+p took a tremendous beating-it sounded like a rockslide was pounding the hull-and Melora barely dodged a fusillade of deadly missiles. Some of the other Elaysians weren't so lucky. They were struck in the onslaught. The Alpusta shrunk into a spiny ball and descended swiftly through the dark hailstorm on its retractable web.
The Enterprise couldn't escape, and they couldn't put up s.h.i.+elds-they were as helpless as the Elaysians trapped in the crystal storm.
Chapter Six.
SHOOTING UPWARD THROUGH the atmosphere of Gemworld came a deadly shower of broken crystals, raking the Enterprise and hundreds of Elaysians caught in midair. Those who could reach hoverplatforms used them to escape to the nacelles and hull of the Enterprise, looking for protection. The others scattered in all directions, but there was no escape for most of them from the onslaught of dark, gleaming shards.
Reg Barclay peered out the window of the observation lounge, looking desperately for Melora in the chaos. He was unable to spot her among the scores of panicked Elaysians.
”Picard to bridge,” said the captain's voice beside him. ”Report.”