Part 15 (1/2)
”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 fas.h.i.+on-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 s.h.i.+elds. 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.”
”s.h.i.+elds 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 s.h.i.+mmer and bend. Reg rubbed his eyes and peered out the window at the s.h.i.+fting 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.