Here There Be Dragons Part 3

"Granted," Picard admitted. "But how does this help me with my decision?"

"If Mr. Nayfack can indeed locate the tunnel for us, then we could conceivably traverse it. If he cannot, then the question of intervention becomes academic."

"But if he's lying," Worf growled, "then he might lead us into a trap. If we diverge from the safe tunnel, the s.h.i.+p will be torn apart by the tachyon fields. We must consider the possibility that Nayfack came aboard our s.h.i.+p precisely to make certain that we do not report our discovery back to Starfleet. Leading us astray would be an effective way to do that."

The thought was definitely not a pleasant one. Picard saw the faces of the team tense at the idea. The effects of the beta tachyon particles on living tissue was not pleasant. There were nastier ways to die, but not many. "Could we send a probe into the tunnel first?" he asked Geordi.

The engineer shrugged. "Hard to say, Captain. In field strengths like that, we'd probably not be able to monitor it for any useful distance."

"There is," Picard added, "another aspect to all of this." Everyone focused on him. "If Mr. Nayfack is telling any particle of truth at all, we are obviously looking at a very severe breach in the Prime Directive. And I am certain I do not need to remind any of you of our duty in that case." He was understating the case, as was his habit. It was quite clear from the expressions on everyone's face that his team understood the problem here.

"I wish it were that simple, Captain." Beverly Crusher put in. The Prime Directive prevents interference with the natural functioning of a viable planetary society." She gestured at the glorious cloud outside the viewport. "The planet that Nayfack is talking about may not exactly qualify. It is an artificially seeded world, for one thing. And, second, the society was placed on a world which appears already to have stunted its natural evolution. The Preservers obviously don't obey the Prime Directive."

Picard smiled; he might have known that she'd pick up on the one crucial point. "Precisely what I was getting to," he told her. "Is this world under the Prime Directive or not? If so, are the activities of this gang of mediocre crooks really harming it? I am inclined to accept Mr. Nayfack's estimation of their capabilities as being somewhat on the poor side. Everything suggests that they have found themselves in a situation where they are completely out of their depth. To take a valuable find like the Preserver map and the field generator and then to utilize it merely to reap a profit from unscrupulous hunters! It is evidence of a lack of imagination on a staggering scale."

"But if it should occur to the gang to try and sell this technology to one of the Federation's foes ..." said Geordi. He didn't have to complete that thought: The implications were obvious.

"There is still a further complication," Data added. "If Mr. Nayfack's account is correct, then these dragons he speaks of are presumably an endangered species. We are bound by the Federation charter to protect them from outside exploitation."

"But not from internal exploitation," Geordi pointed out. "If the world is Prime Directive material, then we cannot impose our conservation laws on the natives."

"Are we even going to think about protecting an animal species that preys on humans?" asked Ro. "Surely that's something for the natives to decide and not us."

"We have to think about it, Ensign," Picard said gently. "These ... dragons were native to this world, it seems, before the humans were. To simply allow them to be exterminated is not an option any of us would willingly consider." Picard sighed. "In short, gentlemen and ladies, we have a ghastly mess. There does seem to be only one possible course of action: We must have further information. Therefore we must investigate." He rose to his feet, signalling that the meeting was at an end. "If this Castor Nayfack can indeed lead us to a tunnel through this dust cloud, then we must penetrate it and then investigate this planet. Mr. Worf, please contact your security representative and have him escort Mr. Nayfack to the bridge. It is time for him to prove at least the first part of his tale."

The Klingon officer looked even gloomier than normal. "You intend to trust this man, Captain?" He quite obviously was not as willing.

"I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt for the moment, Mr. Worf." Picard watched the others file out of the room, returning to their posts on the bridge. Beverly remained behind. She smiled at him, but there was no humor in it. "Is something troubling you?" he asked gently.

Her face twitched for a moment. "Have you ever seen the effects of tachyon fields on the human body, Jean-Luc?" she asked.

"No. But I have read up on them."

"I'm sure you have," she agreed. "But I had to stand by and watch three people die as a result of a small slip in a laboratory accident. There was nothing I could do to save them. Nothing anyone could do. The tachyons ripped apart their molecular structure, basic particle by basic particle. They died in terrible agony."

Picard gently took her elbow. He knew that Beverly took every death as a personal loss. "I promise you," he a.s.sured her, "that my s.h.i.+p will not enter that cloud unless I am convinced that we will all be safe."

"I know that, Jean-Luc." She gave him a real smile this time. "And I'm not trying to influence your judgment in any way."

"Yes, you are," he replied good-naturedly. "And if you didn't, I'd have much less trust in you than I do. Do you want to watch this from sickbay or the bridge?"

She shrugged. "The bridge, I guess. If anything happens, there's precious little point in trying to prepare sickbay anyway. We'd have at most thirty seconds before we all died."

Picard nodded solemnly. Whatever lay ahead for the s.h.i.+p, they were skirting the edge of disaster. One false step could kill every single person aboard in a horrifyingly painful manner.

Chapter Six.

THE s.h.i.+FTING TENDRILSOF COLOR writhed in the huge viewscreen on the bridge. Picard, seated in the command chair, was fascinated by the patterns and whorls in the cloud. It was so easy to become so lost in the beauty of Creation that one could sometimes forget the savage fury that often underlay it. Furies that could shred his vessel and crew into shattered subatomic particles in microseconds.

Still, it was beautiful.

Ensign Ro was back at her seat in navigation. "Course set and on the board," she reported. "Holding steady at two-thirds impulse."

"Sensors show no evidence of any tunnel so far," Data reported from beside her.

Nayfack winced under the look of distrust that Riker shot him. "If it were visible at this distance, Captain," the agent responded, "then it would have been discovered before now, wouldn't it? Believe me, you can't detect the thing until you're right on top of it."

Beverly stared at the screen in awe. "I have to confess, it seems a little hard to believe. Why would the Preservers go to all this trouble over one small planet? Driving a hole in the protocloud and building a tunnel like this? It seems like a tremendous waste of time and effort."

"Who knows why the Preservers did anything?" Deanna answered her. "Perhaps simply because they could do it."

"Or to ensure that this world was left strictly alone," Riker suggested. "A kind of controlled experiment, cut off from the rest of the galaxy?"

"Well, it's not alone now," Nayfack said bluntly. "You'll see."

"Indeed we will," agreed Picard. He continued to watch patiently as the Enterprise moved slowly along the coordinates that Nayfack had supplied. The cloud s.h.i.+fted shape as they approached it, and the colors danced throughout the spectrum.

"No change," Data reported.

Picard could see the tension of all but the android in every move they made. Data's lack of emotions made him immune to the undercurrent of nervousness that everyone else felt. While Data was just as likely to be destroyed as the flesh-and-blood members of the crew, he simply could not worry about it. Everyone else could-and did. There was a knot of tension in Picard's own stomach. One mistake as they approached the cloud ...

"Coming up on the target," Ro reported. Her voice was even, but there was strain showing. The s.h.i.+p was far closer to the raw, primeval forces than anyone had expected to go.

"s.h.i.+elds holding," Worf called out. Not that they would be able to withstand graviton pulses if Nayfack's information was inaccurate.

Slowly the cloud drifted on the scanner.

Data suddenly inclined his head slightly. "Sensors are detecting an anomalous reading," he reported.

"Clarify!" Picard snapped. This could be the first sign of trouble, or- "It appears to be a dilation in the substance of the cloud."

"It's the tunnel!" Ro said, grinning widely.

"I believe I just said that," Data told her.

There were audible sighs of relief all around as the screen focused in on Data's anomaly. It did indeed resemble nothing as much as a tunnel. The colorful swirls of the ga.s.ses in the clouds looked as if someone had bored a long, narrow hole straight into the heart of its substance.

"Sensors show zero tachyon activity in the anomaly," Data reported. "It appears to be safe to proceed."

Picard held back the order for a moment. He caught himself strumming his fingers on his chair arm and forced himself to stop. It was a bad habit he was given to in times of great stress. This was a way in-if the tunnel didn't suddenly collapse. There was no reason why it should-and just as little reason why it shouldn't. As the Enterprise hung in s.p.a.ce directly aligned with the tunnel, Picard asked: "Data, can you probe inside the anomaly at all?"

Data shook his head. "My instruments can only penetrate about a quarter of the way in. They show nothing beyond that at the moment."

"Would there be any point in launching a probe?"

"Negative," replied the android. "It is unlikely to increase the depth of our scanning ability."

"Any sign of what is holding the tunnel open?" asked Picard.

"It would appear to be a tachyon funnel of some kind." Data gave him a very serious look. "Which is, according to current thinking, impossible, of course."

"Of course," agreed Riker with a slight smile. He looked at Picard. "Shall we investigate the impossibility, Captain?"

"Ensign?" Picard called to Ro.

"Course laid in," she reported. "Straight line math-very simple and direct. Awaiting the command, Captain." Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Now was the moment. Picard stared at the cloud and the tunnel. "Make it so," he ordered. "Ahead, one quarter impulse."

"Aye, Captain." Ro's fingers danced across her board. "One quarter impulse."

On the screen they all saw the tunnel growing in size as the s.h.i.+p approached it. They were closing in on a vast stellar nursery. The forces giving birth to stars within were perhaps the strongest since the Big Bang that began the whole process of Creation. And they were venturing inside.

"Entering the cloud perimeter ... now," reported Data. "Tachyon activity is completely absent from about the s.h.i.+p."

"s.h.i.+elds holding at full strength," Worf added.

"Keep probing ahead," Picard ordered Data. "Let me know the second you show anything at all ahead of us. Ensign, increase to one half impulse."

"Aye, sir."

Beside Picard, Beverly breathed gently. "It's incredible," she whispered.

The tunnel extended into the cloud. On the screen Picard could see the whirling madness of color surrounding them. The tendrils of the cloud were dancing feverishly outside of the anomaly. The energy fields out there were astounding. But here, within the tunnel, they were completely safe from that raw savagery.

He hoped.

It was as if the whole s.h.i.+p were traveling down the tube of some kaleidoscope of the G.o.ds. No other stars.h.i.+p crew had seen such sights. It annoyed Picard to think that a ragtag bunch of small-time crooks was withholding such a sight from the rest of the Federation.

It was several minutes before he could bring himself to say anything. Even then, he was the first to speak. Everyone else was lost in his own thoughts, staring at the wonders on the screen. "Mr. Data," he said softly, unwilling to jar the mood too much, "is there anything showing on your sensors yet?"

Data, of course, had been silent simply because he had nothing to report. Though he could admire the aesthetically pleasing configurations and colors of the cloud, he was unable to feel the awe that touched everyone else. "No, Captain," he replied. "There appears to be no incoming information at all." Puzzled, he summoned up a diagnostic on the sensor array. "Captain," he reported, "I am experiencing some form of instrument malfunction."

Picard anxiously leaned forward in his chair. The last thing they needed here was for their sensors to go down! "What kind of malfunction?"

"Unknown."

"Blast it, Data-speculate! We can't afford to lose our sensors."

With a slight bow of his head the android acknowledged the problem. "I would guess that the tachyon fields are affecting the instruments, Captain. The wave-fluxes are of an extraordinarily high level. We may indeed lose almost all of our sensory input."

Picard caught the anxious glance Riker gave him. His face twisted into a scowl. Of all the times for this to happen ... Should he have Ro back them out? Without sensors there would be no warning if the tunnel collapsed about them. But he knew that he couldn't retreat now, not without some real threat to the s.h.i.+p. He had to know if there really was a planet at the heart of this cloud. "Keep me informed of sensor status every two minutes," he ordered gruffly, then turned his attention back to the screen.

They were completely immersed in the cloud now. It was several light-years across, and they had to be at least a third of the way into it. It was fascinating-as well as frightening.

"I am getting a very sketchy reading, Captain," Data called out. Had it been two minutes already? "There would appear to be an object directly ahead of us."

"An object?" Riker managed to speak first. "What kind of an object? A s.h.i.+p?"

"Unknown, sir," replied the android. "My readings are broken up by the interference, and the object matches no known configuration."

"I can tell you what it is," Nayfack offered. He seemed unaffected by the sights on the screen. "It's the orbital station that generates the tachyon-warping fields of the tunnel."

"Interesting," Picard said. The picture on the screen was changing now. It looked as if there was more than light at the end of this tunnel.

As the stars.h.i.+p emerged, they were all struck silent by the sight ahead of them. Close by and completely visible was a huge construction, spinning slowly in s.p.a.ce. It had to be over a mile across and was coin-shaped. A large fin jutted out of the upper surface. It reminded Picard of an immense sun dial. Beyond it ...

Beyond it lay their target. In a spherical clearing burned a pair of stars. They were a binary pair consisting of a larger reddish member and a smaller, slightly blue one. There were pinp.r.i.c.ks of light about it that had to be planets. It looked as if they had entered some cosmic womb, and there ahead of them floated a strange child, awaiting its birth.

"Mr. Data?" he prompted.

"Fascinating, Captain." The android spun about to face the command circle. "Though the tunnel is evidently generated by this device, this area of the cloud seems to he swept through some unknown natural phenomenon. This region of s.p.a.ce is completely devoid of all beta tachyon infestation."

Riker frowned. "You mean that the device made the tunnel but not this bubble?"

"Correct, Commander. And the stars we are ap proaching are a purely natural phenomenon also. It is a common binary pair, with seven planets in orbit around the blue dwarf. There are a further two worlds...o...b..ting the red giant. My sensors are showing a great deal of interference because of the artifact, and I am unable to scan the planets. I am certain that the two worlds...o...b..ting the red giant cannot be the abode of life. Both are far too close to the corona and must be bathed in solar radiation."

Nayfack gestured. "The planet we're after is the closest to the blue star."

"Ensign," Picard ordered, "lay in a course for that world."

Ro glared at him. "It's easy to say that," she answered. "But when I can't get any reliable position for the d.a.m.ned thing ..." Her voice trailed off. "But you want results, not excuses, right?"

"I believe you understand me," Picard said, resisting the urge to smile. "Please carry on."

"Aye, sir." She set about doing her best, muttering under her breath in her native tongue. Picard was glad he couldn't speak Bajoran; he was certain he'd need a very good grasp of invective and bodily functions to follow what Ro was saying.

Geordi's voice came over the intercom from engineering. "Captain, I'd love to go over and find out what makes that sweet piece of machinery tick."

"I'm sure you would, Mr. La Forge," Picard replied. "But considering that that machinery is holding open our only means of egress from this place, I doubt that would be wise."

"I know that, Captain. But I can wish, can't I? I can't even get any good readings of it from the sensors."

"We all have our crosses to bear, Mr. La Forge." Picard knew how frustrated Geordi had to be-to be this close to an alien artifact and completely unable to get any hint as to what made it function.

Data called out: "There is no improvement in our sensors, Captain. We are going to be relying almost entirely on visual observations here."

Picard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Will this interference affect communications between the s.h.i.+p and an away team?"

"Almost undoubtedly," Data replied. "The fields are not constant, so communications will be possible, but not at all times."

Beverly leaned forward. "You're sending a team down there, Captain?" she asked.