Myriad Universes_ Echoes And Refractions Part 10

Seated near the farthest end of the uppermost row on the right side of the hall, Thelin bowed his head with reverence. He knew these men well-even a dignitary like Sarek, whose untimely death seemed a tragically fitting conclusion to a lifetime filled with private sorrow. At the same time, Thelin noted with chagrin that the loss of Admiral Kirk had been overlooked in the aftermath of the larger catastrophe.

The upside-if one could, in good conscience, view it as such-was that the insubordinate and possibly criminal acts of the Enterprise crew had been all but forgotten, at least pending the outcome of the current crisis. A perfunctory hearing had been held, primarily for the purpose of formally charging them with violations of Starfleet regulations, but for now they each retained their full rank and commission. The Judge Advocate General had most certainly taken under consideration the fact that they had captured a Klingon bird-of-prey with a fully functional cloaking device, which was now being examined in earnest by a science team on Vulcan.

Having allowed sufficient time for the attendees to silently pay their respects, President Roth raised his head. "Thank you. I should explain, for those who are unaware, that Admiral Morrow is not with us here today. He remains on Vulcan, working to establish a temporary base of operations for Starfleet Command, and he shall be in our thoughts during this very difficult time. Many s.h.i.+ps of the fleet have been dispatched to Vulcan, while others, specifically the Saratoga, the Shepard, and the Yorktown, remain in Earth s.p.a.cedock until the full effects of the damage from the probe's electromagnetic energy have been resolved."

For the first time, Thelin became keenly aware of just how dim the lights were being kept in the chamber for these proceedings. The probe's energy had damaged power sources around the planet, and given the inability to use solar power under the impenetrable global cloud cover, much of the planet remained in complete darkness during the night.

"We may never understand the reasons behind the probe's attack. Our own automated probes, launched from Alpha Centauri, have trailed the alien device these last few weeks, and it shows no sign of returning or deviating from its new course out of the Alpha Quadrant. Some of our greatest minds have even speculated that this was little more than a dreadfully misguided attempt at communication from an unknown but overwhelmingly powerful distant race. But we cannot dwell upon our past failures, or upon our fears of a future attack. Instead we must look to the future, beyond this tragedy, toward rebuilding and healing, and becoming stronger as a result."

The chamber responded with a smattering of polite applause.

"So without further ado," Roth continued, "I would like to yield the floor to Doctor Carol Marcus, scientist and environmental engineer, who has done extraordinary work over the past month, evaluating the damage to Earth's ecosystem and our plan for corrective action. Doctor Marcus."

A more enthusiastic response rippled through the chamber as Carol rose from one of the seats on the stage and approached the podium.

"Thank you," she began. "Ladies and gentlemen of the council, I cannot begin to express in words the magnitude of the losses that we have suffered. Most of the finer details regarding the destruction will be found in the report on your screens, and the file is freely downloadable into your personal databases. Suffice it to say that the coastal regions across the planet have been irrevocably altered by the actions of the probe, and while a complete a.s.sessment of the damage is still ongoing, the total number of casualties in these areas is in excess of thirteen million."

The figures came as a surprise to no one; nonetheless, simply hearing the statement aloud triggered a murmur of dismay throughout the a.s.sembly.

"The canopy of water vapor that still shrouds the planet will remain in place as long as the atmosphere remains so heavily ionized. Unfortunately, water vapor is a rather effective greenhouse gas, and as a result, global temperatures will continue to increase dramatically. Coastal areas that survived the initial devastation from the tidal storms will soon be inundated by rising sea levels.

"Additionally, the ability of the Earth's agricultural operations to produce a crop yield is practically nonexistent. Even once the storms subside, climate zones will be irrevocably altered, and the lack of direct sunlight will make farming impossible. Global famine is inevitable.

"The global health crisis is exacerbated by the lack of usable power sources in many communities, either due to electromagnetic damage or the lack of solar energy. Furthermore, the saline content of the saturated atmosphere has nearly destroyed the ozone layer; therefore, in a tragic irony, the only energy we are receiving from the sun is in the form of ultraviolet radiation that is harmful to biological life."

Another round of m.u.f.fled and whispered voices spread through the chamber, as the delegates wondered just how much worse the news could become. Indeed, Thelin himself would have been utterly demoralized had he not been aware of what Carol Marcus had planned.

Carol's serious expression brightened with antic.i.p.ation of what she would next be sharing. "As hopeless as things may seem, rest a.s.sured that we believe we have the technology to reverse much, if not all, of the damage to Earth's ecosystem."

She hesitated. Her eyes drifted over the crowd a.s.sembled before her and settled upon the Klingon amba.s.sador, standing at the rear of the room beneath the windows of the spectator gallery with his arms folded. Nearly everyone in the room knew the reason for his appearance, and the subject at hand would not do much to make him more agreeable.

"By this time," she continued, "you all are well aware of the controversial research project formerly known as 'Genesis.' This was the culmination of more than eleven years of research in climate modification. Unfortunately, the project's ultimate goal-the terraforming of lifeless worlds for potential colonization-has experienced some...setbacks."

Thelin silently laughed at the understatement. He was amazed that Carol was able to discuss the matter with such composure, given the events that had transpired between her son and the Klingons as a direct result of the unscheduled detonation of the prototype in the Mutara sector.

"However, those failures notwithstanding, we still believe that on a smaller scale the technology is still viable. Our plan is to deploy a low-power Genesis wave with a modified matrix into the upper atmosphere to reduce the ionization and restore the proper balance to the atmospheric layers. The risks are minimal, and with the council's permission, and a.s.sistance from Starfleet, we can begin immediately."

Carol yielded the podium to Roth but remained standing beside him. The president maintained the optimistic tone of the discussion as he asked the council whether they had any questions. An elderly human man with olive skin held up his hand, and Roth pointed to him. "Yes, the representative from Earth's Indian subcontinent, er...Doctor Patel, is it?"

"Thank you, Mr. President," the man responded. "Doctor Marcus, what risks to the Earth's population are posed by this deployment of the Genesis effect?"

Roth retreated and Carol confidently stepped back up to the podium. "An excellent question, Doctor. Our modified Genesis matrix will contain no metastatic effects-nothing that will alter biological life-forms, and most important, no protomatter. Furthermore, the range of the effect will not extend beyond the upper atmosphere. The risk to the ground-based population is negligible."

Her questioner seemingly satisfied, Carol once again yielded to Roth. When no further questions were forthcoming, the president immediately asked for a motion to take a verbal vote. The motion was made and seconded, and when the hall erupted in calls of "aye" the resolution was pa.s.sed without debate.

"And now, the discussion of Genesis brings us to the second order of business," President Roth said. "The honorable Amba.s.sador Kamarag of the Klingon Empire has asked for permission to address the council today. I yield the floor."

Kamarag slowly marched out onto the speaker's floor in the center of the hall, his confident stride exuding conviction and purpose. He stopped directly in front of the raised platform at the front of the hall and raised his head high, his eyes drifting over the rows of delegates on each side of the chamber.

"Members of the Federation," he began, "on behalf of the High Council, and the citizens of the Klingon Empire, we should like to express our deepest sympathies for the tragedy that has befallen the Federation and Starfleet, and give our a.s.surances that we are willing to a.s.sist in any way possible."

He paused as some muted clapping was heard from the delegates, but the light applause was nearly drowned out by a wave of skeptical grumbling.

"However," he continued, his tone becoming a bit firmer and less sympathetic, "the High Council remains quite concerned about the development of this new 'Genesis' super-weapon, which initial tests have shown is capable of destroying an entire planet in just a few days' time."

The grumbling grew louder. President Roth rose from his seat and hastened back to the podium, where he firmly pounded a gavel to restore order. "Please be silent," he admonished the chamber before returning to his seat.

"Thus far, the Federation's new policy of unwarranted aggression has gone unchallenged," Kamarag continued, "but we can no longer remain silent. As you are aware, just one month ago a Klingon commander, who earlier had chosen to independently investigate this threat in the interest of our imperial defense, found himself under attack in neutral territory by a Federation stars.h.i.+p. He and at least one of his officers were murdered, his s.h.i.+p captured, and now we understand that both our vessel and its surviving crewmen are being held on Vulcan. Under the terms of the Organian Peace Treaty, which expressly forbids these acts, we demand the return of our s.h.i.+p and crew, and in lieu of a formal apology, we request the sharing of the Genesis technology, so that we might formulate a defense for the preservation of our race."

Throughout Kamarag's speech, the chamber slowly became more unsettled, and the sounds of angry disagreement and outrage gradually crossed the threshold from a subtle background noise to an all-out revolt. Roth once again approached the podium and banged its top with the gavel.

"Please come to order," Roth politely demanded, the lines of stress creasing his face more deeply with each pa.s.sing second. "Amba.s.sador, your demands are heard and will be considered in due time, for our investigation is ongoing. As I'm sure you are aware, Commander Kruge and his crew have been implicated in the destruction of two Federation stars.h.i.+ps and the deaths of many Starfleet officers. The grievances indeed cut both ways. Your request is tabled until the next meeting of the council, but as long as the Klingon government continues to cooperate, I am confident that the return of your vessel can be arranged."

The amba.s.sador approached the edge of the stage and stared up at the Federation president, challenging him despite the difference in elevation, and he spoke evenly and resolutely. "And what about your secrets of the Genesis torpedo?"

Roth returned the firm stare, refusing to back down. "I give you my word, as the leader of the United Federation of Planets, that the Genesis technology is peaceful and benign. But it is also a highly cla.s.sified technology and a matter of Federation security and intelligence. This is not subject to debate."

The staredown continued for several seconds until finally Kamarag forced a polite grin. "Very well," he said. "The Chancellor shall be in touch. I look forward to our next meeting." And he turned and marched quickly out of the chamber.

Thelin watched as Kamarag pa.s.sed him by and disappeared through the doors at the far end of the chamber. "That seemed easy," the Andorian said out loud.

A Tellarite seated next to him turned and snorted loudly. "Too easy," he said dubiously, then returned his attention to Roth and the next matter at hand.

David opened his eyes, and the graceful features of Saavik's serene face slowly came into focus, even as, paradoxically, the most intense sensations of her presence gradually faded into oblivion.

She gently removed her fingers from David's temple and cheek while he looked around, reacquainting himself with his surroundings. The bed upon which he lay was warm and comfortable, and the room, while somewhat plain and sterile, was reasonably cozy by hospital standards. A hot reddish glow from the Vulcan sun helped to illuminate the room through the nearby window.

David took a moment to a.s.sess the status of his memory, and was overjoyed to discover that all of his repressed knowledge, safely hidden away in his subconscious during their Klingon captivity, had now, with Saavik's help, been restored to him. "Oh, gos.h.!.+" he exclaimed. "Saavik, I can't tell you how comforting that feels. I was afraid I'd never be able to do any scientific work again...not without starting my university studies over from scratch, anyway."

Sitting next to him on the edge of the bed, Saavik smiled. "It's just one more step toward making you whole again," she said. "How are you adjusting to your hand?"

He held up his left hand. The newly attached prosthetic was nearly indistinguishable from his lost extremity, except that the movement was a little erratic while he continued adapting to the artificially induced sensations. He tested his grip a couple of times. "It's impressive," he said. "And strong, too. I'll never have trouble with stuck bottle tops again."

Saavik raised an eyebrow. "That was a joke, correct?"

"Yeah," David laughed, "though not a very good one, I'm afraid."

Still smiling, Saavik acknowledged the humor with a nod. But then she looked down, appearing slightly anxious, and placed her hand upon David's natural one. "David, I..." She stopped herself, her expression a mix of embarra.s.sment and concern.

David c.o.c.ked his head. "What is it?"

She sighed. "It is wrong of me to intrude upon your private thoughts. But David...when I was just now joined to your mind, I was overwhelmed by the level of guilt that you are enduring."

David turned his head and gazed out the window at the skyline of the Vulcan city of s.h.i.+Kahr. "Why shouldn't I feel guilty?" he quietly mused. "My father died while trying to save my life."

"And that was his choice, not yours," Saavik replied. "But it runs much deeper than that. Everything that has happened...the ma.s.sacre at Regula One, our capture, and the torture you endured...You're unfairly bearing the weight of responsibility for all these events."

"Because it's mostly my fault!" David cried out, rising to a sitting position. "My mother gave me the responsibility of developing the matrix. She trusted me to use good judgment, and I was so smitten with the power of the technology, I never stopped to consider the consequences." He sank back onto the bed. "I don't even blame the Klingons for what they did to me. I deserved it."

"You believe that you deserved to be tortured and to have your father murdered?"

David sighed. "The point is, by creating what they perceived as a threat, I provoked them. I should have known better. Why should I hate them for doing what they always do? Would I blame a rabid animal if it attacked me after I poked it with a stick?" He took a breath to continue, but held it, and finally blew out the air and threw up his hands. "I mean, what about you?" he challenged her. "You told me what the Romulans did to your mother, and then they abandoned you as a child...yet you don't hate them!"

"I forgave them because I refused to let my circ.u.mstances define who I would become," Saavik said firmly, beginning to show a hint of anger. "I did not blame myself for actions freely chosen by other individuals. I did not wallow in self-loathing over a history that I could not change."

David turned away. He was las.h.i.+ng out blindly-he knew this. But he didn't know how else to cope with the pain. "I'm sorry," he said with chagrin. "Of course this isn't about you. It was wrong for me to bring up your past."

"Indeed, your logic was flawed," Saavik agreed. "David...This hospital offers excellent outpatient counseling. Your physical wounds have been cured, yes. But the full healing process will take much more time."

David nodded in agreement. He wasn't sure how the grief would ever subside, but he was willing to try to overcome it. Saavik touched his hand again and they sat together in silence for a while.

"So..." David said, looking to change the subject. "How goes the plan to fix Earth?"

"The plan goes well," she replied. "Your mother sends her regards, and promises that she will visit you again as soon as the mission is complete. I understand that Starfleet is granting her request to let Captain Thelin lead the mission."

"That's terrific," he said, but his dispirited voice still betrayed his regrets. He stared up at the ceiling. "You know...the whole time we were held by the Klingons, I kept thinking about what they might do to the Earth if they ever got their hands on Genesis. And yet after all that, after everything I did to resist, some unknown force comes along and destroys the d.a.m.n planet anyway." He looked into Saavik's eyes, pleading for some kind of explanation-something that would make sense in his life. "What kind of twisted universe allows that to happen?"

Saavik had no reply.

Three hundred kilometers beneath the orbiting U.S.S. Copernicus, the wounded Earth writhed in throes of misery. The sparkling blue oceans, the fruitful multicolored landma.s.ses, and the twinkling lights of civilization on the night side-all were en-shrouded by the swirling, stormy ma.s.ses of cloud cover that enveloped the planet, ensnaring the world within a trap of its own making.

Aboard the vessel, which had just departed the orbiting s.p.a.cedock under the command of Captain Thelin, Carol Marcus stood on the bridge, staring at the violence of the planet's ruined atmosphere on the viewscreen; despite her lack of credentials as a medical doctor, today billions had placed their faith in her power to heal a world.

Thelin looked about at the hastily a.s.sembled crew. Some of the men and women he knew by reputation as respected science officers, but only Lieutenant Croy at the operations console-recently granted a full commission in the wake of the destruction of Starfleet Academy-had served under him previously. All of them were human, he couldn't help but notice...but that made sense. As Earth natives, they would have a vested interest in the mission's success.

"Well, Doctor Marcus," Thelin said. "The patient is waiting. Are you prepared to administer the remedy?"

Carol walked back around the captain's chair to the science consoles at the rear of the bridge, smiling at the Andorian's clumsy metaphor. "Yes, Captain, the trajectory is laid in. We can deploy the first torpedo at your command."

"Lieutenant Croy, fire at your leisure."

"Yes, sir!" said the young officer. He eagerly pressed the firing control on his console, and the concussive discharge of a torpedo vibrated through the deck. A moment later, the object came into view on the screen, streaking down toward the planet's upper atmosphere at a very slight angle of descent.

"Tracking..." Croy called out as the data began rolling onto his display. "Device is on projected course, descending at five kilometers per second."

"Telemetry confirmed," Carol reported from her station. "Device is online, status ready."

"Crossing the Karman line," Croy said. "On track for detonation at the stratopause boundary. Discharge in five seconds...three, two, one..."

A flash erupted near the horizon, producing a ripple that diffused throughout the upper atmosphere. Many kilometers below the point of the explosion, a clearing opened up in the cloud cover and pushed back the storm systems in a radial pattern. The effect decreased as it propagated farther outward, and gradually wispy cirrus clouds spread back over the hole in the canopy as the effect dispersed. But the net result seemed to suggest an overall decrease in the density of the clouds and in the severity of the winds.

Thelin turned in his chair to face Carol. "Report, Doctor?"

"Atmospheric scans commencing, Captain," she replied. The results slowly began to populate her screen, and with each new reading her smile grew more broad and her eyes more bright, until her entire face threatened to burst with enthusiasm. "Initial results show the saturation vapor pressure point is falling...The matrix is breaking down molecular oxygen and re-bonding into ozone...And the atmospheric ionization is being neutralized. Everything seems to be happening precisely according to the simulations. It's just...perfect!"

"Excellent news, Carol," Thelin said, and turned back to face the front of the bridge. "Prepare for second deployment," he announced to the crew.

"Torpedo room is standing by, sir," Croy said.

Carol softly mumbled a few words that Thelin, even with his sensitive hearing, was barely able to make out. "Hmmm...This is strange."

The captain turned his chair again. "What is it, Doctor?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry..." she said, apparently not realizing she had spoken aloud. "It's just that I'm detecting some ion readings here...they don't make any sense."

"What sort of readings?" Thelin asked. "Are some parts of the atmosphere not being de-ionized?"

"No, no," she replied. "It's up here, in the thermosphere."

"I don't understand," the Andorian said, his face masked by confusion. "Up here the thermosphere is always ionized."

"But it's concentrated," Carol said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say it looks like a plasma trail."

"From a s.h.i.+p?" Thelin wondered. "That isn't possible. All transports have been grounded for the duration of this mission. The stars.h.i.+ps are all in s.p.a.cedock."

"Well then, what else could it be?"

"That's what I'm telling you, Carol...a s.h.i.+p is the only thing it could be. But if a s.h.i.+p were out there, we'd have visual confirmation...unless they had some sort of cloak-" He stopped short. His face suddenly grew even paler than usual.

The members of the bridge crew all stared at him. "Captain?" Croy asked with concern.

"Lieutenant," Thelin said slowly and deliberately. "Display the coordinates of Carol's ion readings on the viewer, wide angle."

"Aye, sir," Croy said, and the image on the screen changed to a wide view of the starfield, with the s.h.i.+ning blue arc of the Earth along the bottom perimeter. Not far off in the distance, the ma.s.sive structure of the orbiting Starfleet s.p.a.cedock could be seen, where the few stars.h.i.+ps left in Earth orbit were safely housed while the deployment of the Genesis matrix was under way.

Thelin rose from his seat and stepped toward the viewscreen, stopping between the two separate consoles for ops and the conn. Studying the display, he pointed to a specific region on the right side. "Magnify that region."

The area of small, tightly crowded star patterns zoomed in to fill the screen, and in its midst, two areas clearly betrayed visible distortion effects-the starfield gently rippling and pulsing in contrast with the static surroundings. As they watched, a third area slowly moved into the frame alongside the others. Aboard the Copernicus, the bridge was deathly silent save for the sound of a few m.u.f.fled gasps.

"Tactical officer," Thelin grimly addressed one of the young women stationed behind him, next to Carol. "Any indication that we've been scanned?"

"No sir," she replied nervously.

"All stations go to yellow alert," he commanded. "Ensign Lee, open a secured channel to s.p.a.cedock Command."

The communications officer quickly relayed the observations made by Thelin and his crew, and the command center of the s.p.a.cedock sprang into action. Immediate communiques were dispatched to Starfleet Command as well as the Earth defense forces, and whatever active crews were present on the docked stars.h.i.+ps were mobilized. "Stars.h.i.+p Excelsior, orders confirmed to intercept and investigate orbiting phenomena reported by Copernicus. Patching through Excelsior communications onto this channel."

An audible blip, and the internal comm traffic from the Excelsior was piped through the speakers on the Copernicus bridge. "-alert! Captain Styles to the bridge! Yellow alert!"

A pause. "Bridge, this is the captain. How can you have a yellow alert in s.p.a.cedock?"

Thelin shook his head in amazement. "That man is a danger to himself and to those around him," he muttered, sitting back down in his chair.

The entire bridge crew murmured in agreement. The rest of the Excelsior transmissions were mostly ignored.

Carol stood up from her station, gazing at the viewscreen, her sense of alarm momentarily giving way to curiosity. "So, if there are three cloaked s.h.i.+ps out there...are they Romulan, or Klingon?"

"Or someone else?" Thelin suggested. "Seems like before long, everyone will have the technology."