Part 4 (1/2)

Chapter Five.

Federation Research Colony on Gamma Hydra IV Gamma Hydra Sector Section 2 Sixteen days ago ”I'M telling you, it's probably just another comet. You get them here all the time, right?”

Young Miko Tariki idolized Dr. Spurn, so the good doctor decided not to crush the new transfer with a few well-chosen words. Yes, the fresh-from-university man was imbecilic, but he agreed with every scientific paper written by J.B. Spurn, and so the boy had some promise, if little else.

”Planetary defense systems have taken care of two comets in the last three years. Sensor stations throughout the system say we're clear,” said K'leeta Mertal, head of research for the southern projects. Another imbecile heard from. She wouldn't know a comet if she was standing on its tail.

”One sensor buoy isn't responding,” Spurn said. ”Or did you forget that, my young flower?”

”Buoys fail all the time. There is sensor overlap.” A beautiful woman, but Spurn had never seen her smile, not once, in his presence. ”Or,” she added, ”did you forget that, my old weed?”

Petulant.

Horace Blake, colony leader-more a figurehead than a true decision-maker-finally stepped into the discussion he'd let meander for more than twenty minutes. ”A stars.h.i.+p will be by in three days for supplies and crew replacement. The-” Blake looked down at some notes, but didn't see the s.h.i.+p's name quickly enough.

”The Dezago,” Spurn offered.

”Yes, the Dezago.” Blake nodded.

Mertal pressed her lips into what Spurn figured was her version of a smile. ”Why don't you go with the Dezago, J.B.? Get away for a month. Or two. Or twelve.”

”As close as we are to the Romulan Neutral Zone, I should want to leave here. Who's to say our dead buoy isn't their doing?”

”We are very close to the Neutral Zone-” Tariki said.

”But Starbase 10-”

”Ignores us repeatedly, boy,” Spurn scoffed.

”Well, they don't have their own stars.h.i.+p, not since the Stacker was destroyed,” one of the other, lesser members mumbled.

Spurn didn't know the person well, and didn't care to, he was sure. ”We have a more immediate problem, ladies and gentlemen. We're running on batteries only.”

”We have food stores to last us months,” Blake said, glancing again at his notes. Chances are he didn't see that fact in his notes, and only used them to avoid the looks of others when he spoke. Spurn had yet to see the man look anyone straight in the eyes.

”I have several experiments that will falter when we lose the battery power to the labs,” Spurn said. ”There's a reason why there aren't any of the generators working, and we should find out what it is.”

Mertel smiled. ”You're a scientist, J.B.” so you tell us.”

”If I ever want to write a paper on arrogance, I know where I'll find my subject,” Spurn said.

”A mirror? Or will you look in the holosuites?”

”Listen here, I've had it with-”

”Enough!” All were taken aback. Blake rarely yelled, and never became unpleasant ”I'm afraid this is the situation, people. Subs.p.a.ce communications are out and the Dezago isn't due for three more days. In that time, we may lose our research, but we won't lose our lives. I'd call that d.a.m.ned lucky.”

”I'd call it-”

”No one cares what you'd call it, Spurn.”

”Professor Blake, do I need to take this abuse?”

Some men are crashed by pressure. Others, pressure hardens and focuses them.

”Not at all,” Blake said. ”You're not required to be at these meetings at all.”

Starfleet Sensor Monitoring Station Sector 001-Sol III [Earth] Detroit, Michigan Sixteen days ago ”Oh, come on, Hedrick, you're not working on all thrusters with that one.” Crewman Chris Spiker half chuckled, half winced at yet another of his chief's ”supposin's.”

”Hey, you don't need to believe me.” Hedrick clicked b.u.t.tons on his console with the ease of rote. ”I'm just tellin' you what the reports say.”

Spiker turned and picked up a padd. ”Hmmmm...” He poured over the text with mock intensity. ”The reports say four s.h.i.+ps have lost power under mysterious circ.u.mstances. They say nothing about some hokey Romulan invasion plot.”

Nodding matter-of-factly, Hedrick said, ”You gotta learn to read between the lines, young' un You been a sensor jockey for what? Five seconds? I been-”

”I spent thirteen months on the Jenkins.”

”Science vessel,” Hedrick scoffed. ”And thirteen months ain't nothing. You're so d.a.m.n young, I 'spect when you smile I don't know if something's funny or you got gas.”

”Spare me the southern jibes, Chief. If you're so d.a.m.n smart-” Spiker tossed the padd down and swiveled his chair toward the other console he needed to calibrate.

”Yup. Am smart. You don't think so? You tell me why four different s.h.i.+ps in three days have had this power-loss thing. And all near the d.a.m.n Romulan Neutral Zone.”

”Yeah, yeah. There's no evidence-” Spiker turned back around.

Hedrick rolled his eyes. ”Geez. There's no evidence of a cloaked s.h.i.+p until it's on top of you, is there? And I've heard about a few other things happening to other s.h.i.+ps, a few Romulan colonies.”

”You can't believe barroom talk from gossiping traders.”

”You can't. I can. Nine times outta ten, it has a kernel of truth-”

This time Spiker was the one to roll his eyes. ”See, listen to you: 'kernel of truth.” ”

”You just gotta know what sounds plausible and what doesn't. Remember the conspiracy thing with Admiral Quinn and those parasites thirteen years back?”

Crewman Spiker grinned. ”Before my time, Gramps.”

”What isn't?” Hedrick grinned back. ”Anyway, I heard 'bout that a week 'fore the press did.”

”Fine, let me get this straight. The Romulans want to go to war, despite our being allies now, and are testing some new disabling weapon. Is that the latest from the Great and Powerful Mind of Randall Hedrick?”

Hedrick shrugged. ”Maybe.”

Leaning over and resting his arm on Hedrick's console, Spiker almost whispered, as if the two of them were keeping some dark secret. ”Okay, Chief, one question: Why? Why now, and over what? We're all hurting from the Dominion War, the Romulans as much as us.”