Ghost of a Chance by Charles G. McGraw, Mark Garland

out, I’ll bet we won’t like it,” Kim said.
    “Captain,” Tuvok said, looking up at her, “the cruiser is also in close proximity to the underground energy source we detected from Voyager.”
    “How close?”
    “Almost directly above it.”
    “Then they might be the ones who put it here,” Kim suggested.
    “Possible, but highly unlikely,” Tuvok replied.
    Janeway looked at him. “Why?”
    “The cruiser and the energy source are separated by some seven miles of earth and rock, and I am reading no direct connection between the two points, physical, radiant or radio. Also, the underground energy source has a complex energy signature, including trace tetryon emissions, while the Televek cruiser is using a conventional matter-antimatter power source.”
    “So their signatures are entirely different from each other,” Janeway said, considering. Tetryons were rare indeed. The Caretaker had produced similar emissions, but it had been extragalactic in nature.
    The Televek, most certainly, were not.
    “Any change in the readings from the underground energy source?” she asked, moving to Tuvok’s side now, examining the data for herself.
    Tuvok called up side-by-side displays of Voyager’s earlier reading and the shuttle’s current scans. “The overall output of the power source is still exhibiting a continuous, steady drop.
    Present levels continue to spike downward, then recover, though for no apparent reason.”
    “The Televek might be draining it somehow,” Janeway suggested, this time sparing Kim the task. “But maybe they’re not taking the energy directly into their cruiser. A storage facility, perhaps. Scan for anything that might fit that description.”
    “I do not believe the Televek have the capability,” Tuvok said as he made a fresh sensor sweep. He looked up after a moment. “No such facility has been detected, but I will continue to examine that possibility.”
    “Very well, Tuvok,” Janeway told him. “But I think you are quite right about Televek capabilities. Which leaves us with plenty of possibilities, certainly. Clarification, however, seems in short supply.” She grinned at the others; attempting to make light of their situation, at least for a moment. Only Kim grinned back.
    “We have to go,” she said with a sigh. “A party of Drenarians is headed this way. At least we think that’s who they are. Shut everything down and lock up. I don’t think the locals can do much more damage to the exterior. With luck, they’ll nose around for a while, then move on. After they leave, we can come back and try to get communications working.”
    “Understood,” Tuvok replied, already complying.
    Once the hatch was sealed, they made their way up the face of the steep bluff, then hid among the thickly clustered trees that crowded its edge. The knoll east of the shuttle was just tall enough to block the captain’s view of the fields beyond, but soon enough she saw thin puffs of gray smoke rising above the ridge.
    The approaching Drenarians were kicking up ash clouds, giving their position away. Janeway made a mental note to remember that.
    It wasn’t long before two dozen or more humanoid individuals appeared.
    Even at a distance they seemed somewhat taller and huskier than most humans. As they descended the gentle slope and edged slowly, cautiously, toward the shuttle, Janeway noted that their features were crude and almost brutish. Thick, long, dark hair and heavy beards obscured the heads and faces of the males, and the few females didn’t look much different, though their hair grew even longer. They wore sturdy handmade clothing, most of it apparently woven. Their shoes and packs, though, had clearly been made from animal skins.
    With the last of them came three stout wooden wagons, small and two-wheeled, drawn by oxlike beasts that stood about complaisantly, chewing on the trampled, semiclean grassy tufts beneath their feet, as the caravan reached level ground and paused. The