Part 3 (2/2)
For a long moment, the captain did nothing but study his surroundings. The alien station was surprisingly ... comfortable. The walls displayed soothing earth tones, though he didn't doubt they were made of sophisticated alloys and polymers.
Each bulkhead was made of rectangular panels whose edges were molded with a simple but elegant design. The ceilings stood a comfortable two and a half meters high, and the small chamber they occupied was so pleasing as to almost seem quaint.
s.p.a.ce stations were all too often coldly functional, or intimidatingly open and airless, or dark and forbidding as he had seen in Carda.s.sian design. But the effect here was like no other station he had ever visited. It was almost like an old-fas.h.i.+oned front parlor.
”Cozy, huh?” Geordi asked.
”Yes, quite pleasant,” Picard answered. ”The builders seemed to be at least partly guided by aesthetics.”
”Wait'll you see the control center,” said the engineer. ”Come with me, sir.”
The captain did as La Forge requested, trailing the younger man out into the corridor, to what appeared to be an access tunnel. Hunkering down, Geordi crept inside, and Picard again followed suit.
The chamber on the other end was a flurry of activity. Barclay, O'Connor, and Varley had set up all kinds of diagnostic equipment, in an effort to understand the station better. They all nodded respectfully as the captain entered.
”As you were,” said Picard. He turned to a bulkhead full of differently shaped monitors and what looked like computer controls.
”Whoever constructed this place was pretty advanced,” Geordi said. ”Not only did they create a sophisticated set of instruments-and some of this stuff, I can't even guess at-but they really built it to last.”
The captain noted the single operating monitor, which was displaying a starfield. ”A portion of the equipment is still functional, I understand?”
Geordi ran his hands over the controls with what seemed like reverence to Picard. ”Yes, but it shouldn't be. This monitor started functioning shortly after we arrived.”
Watching closely, the captain saw the scene on the screen s.h.i.+ft abruptly. ”What's causing the changes?” he asked.
The engineer shook his head. ”They're random, as nearly as I can tell. I can't make heads or tails of the controls, and I can't find any correlation between the controls and the monitor.”
”Incredible,” Picard observed, watching as the scene changed again.
”If we had more time,” said Geordi, ”I'd love to hook some of this stuff up to a portable generator.”
The captain nodded. ”With luck, we will have that time after the summit.”
”I hope so, sir. For now, all I can do is continue the two-credit tour.” With a wave for his commanding officer to follow, La Forge got down on his knees and led the way back out through the access tunnel. Once they were outside in the corridor again, he stood and dusted off the legs of his uniform. ”You know,” he commented, ”it almost seems too good to be true. A fully functional station, completely empty, just waiting for us to poke around.”
As they walked, Picard listened to the slight echo of their footsteps. The sound seemed to travel ahead of them down the gently curving corridor, which was lit by a succession of portable light sources.
”We're getting some interesting energy readings from the area closest to the core,” Geordi noted, ”but for now, we're just studying what we've found in this section of the outer edge.”
Picard grunted. ”I suspect our hosts will be an interesting people to get to know.”
The engineer started to say something, then cut off his own response. He turned quickly to catch a glimpse of something behind the captain.
”Commander?” Picard asked.
La Forge frowned. ”I thought I saw something for a moment, sir. A slight electromagnetic blip. And it wasn't the first time, either.” He tapped his communicator. ”Reg, were you running any scans just now?”
”Yes, sir,” came Barclay's reply.
”Rerun your recordings from the last two minutes. Look for microsurges of power.”
Silence for a moment, and then Barclay said, ”Nothing. Sorry, sir. I'll, ah, keep my eyes open.”
”Thanks, Reg. La Forge out.”
Picard watched as his officer scanned the corridor with his VISOR. ”Anything, Commander?”
”Nothing now, sir. But I was sure I saw something.”
”The station still has active power reserves?” the captain asked.
”Yes, though after all this time, it shouldn't be possible. At least, not according to any technology I understand ...” Geordi let the statement hang in the air.
This time, even Picard saw it. A quick flash of energy between the panels on the outer wall. He noticed that the engineer was looking at the same spot.
”Bingo,” said La Forge.
”Sir,” came Barclay's voice from the commander's communicator. ”I just recorded one of those surges.”
Abruptly, Riker's voice sounded, too-this time, from Picard's communicator. ”Captain, is anyone running experiments over there? We're reading some small power spikes.”
”That was not us,” Picard replied. ”The station seems to have some active power stores.”
”Geordi,” asked the first officer, ”do you see anything that looks like an operational security system?”
The engineer checked his tricorder again and looked around. ”I don't think so,” he replied. ”But it's hard to say for sure.”
Riker's voice was calm and even, but Picard could hear the slight edge of concern. ”Captain, I recommend returning the away team to the Enterprise. We'll have plenty of time to sort this out after the summit.”
”Agreed, Number One. Commander La Forge and I will collect the others and the equipment as soon as possible.”
”We'll lock on transporters in the meantime-just in case. Riker out.”
Picard gestured in the direction of the chamber in which he had originally materialized, which was also the direction of the control center. Geordi took the lead. Before the engineer had gone very far, he'd activated his communicator.
”All away-team personnel report to the beamdown site. Bring your equipment. We're going back to the s.h.i.+p.”
Walking briskly along the corridor, the captain felt as well as saw another crackle of energy. This one seemed to run through both the floor and ceiling. Without asking La Forge, Picard knew that it was a substantial surge. There was a smell of burnt ... dust ... in the air.
Accelerating his pace, the captain noted how his previously pleasant surroundings suddenly seemed quite alien. His instincts were strongly suggesting that he get his people back to the Enterprise.
As Picard pa.s.sed the tunnel that led to the control center, he bent to get an idea of how well the engineers were coming along. La Forge stopped, too.
”Need any help?” the younger man called.
Inside the tunnel, Varley and O'Connor were crawling out of the control center, pulling their equipment after them. Barclay wasn't far behind.
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