Star Trek by Christie Golden Page B

quickly, but with grace. Now 110 moved jerkily, awkwardly, as if he was uncertain where to put hand or foot. There was norhythm in his movements anymore. In many ways, he reminded Bart of nothing so much as a broken toy. He did not take a seat, but chose to stand next to the door.
    Gold’s sharp eyes scanned his crew. He nodded, as if satisfied.
    â€œWe got the notification from Scotty about fifteen minutes ago. We’re going to have to move quickly, boys, girls, and others. We’ve got a delicate situation on our hands. Commander, if you will?”
    La Forge touched a button. Bart felt a sinking in the pit of his stomach as he stared at the image that appeared. A large ship lay like a beached whale in the center of tons of debris. The pile of rubble had once been, if the graceful curves and arcs of the surviving buildings were any indication, a highly civilized city. The vessel was oval in shape, with four peculiar extensions jutting out of its fore and aft sections that looked like spikes. It seemed as if the impact had severely damaged the vessel, but the unfortunate city had gotten the worst of the deal.
    Faulwell’s mind raced. High population area, doubtless.
    â€œCasualties?” asked Gomez, alert and focused.
    â€œNone that we know of, fortunately,” said Gold. “It’s the capital city of Intar.”
    â€œNot Intar!” gasped Abromowitz, her eyes wide with shock. “The Intarians are famous for their friendliness. I can’t imagine anyone attacking them.”
    â€œThey also have an extremely advanced warning system,”said Gold. “It was designed so that they could address approaching ships and send them a nice hello. The other, secondary, purpose was to identify drifting space debris that might do some damage. They were able to evacuate the entire city before impact.”
    Bart felt the tension in his chest ease a little.
    â€œHowever,” Geordi continued, “according to reports on the approach of the ship, everything points to the vessel deliberately crashing into the planet. The Intarians tried to contact it, and when contact failed, they opened fire. Intar doesn’t have much of a defense system, and what little they did have seemed to have absolutely no impact on this thing. And while it’s temporarily dormant, it’s still emitting signals.” He tapped the screen with his knuckle. “It’s wounded all right, but it’s still alive.”
    â€œAny vessel we’re familiar with would have been broken to pieces on impact,” said Pattie, blinking her multifaceted eyes solemnly. “This is damaged, all right, but preliminary reports indicate it’s made out of something we’ve never seen before. It’s got a structure as impervious to damage as—”
    â€œYours,” joked Lieutenant Commander Kieran Duffy.
    Pattie looked pleased. “That’s not a bad comparison, actually. The difference between that ship’s structure and a normal vessel’s is, indeed, roughly comparable to the difference between my chitin and your thin human skin.” She extended a limb and delicately patted Duffy’s hand.
    â€œThe first volley in a war?” theorized LieutenantCommander Domenica Corsi. The chief of security was always looking for the martial explanation, and, sadly, she was often right.
    â€œAs I said, I can’t imagine a more unlikely target for such an attack than the Intarians,” said Abromowitz, frowning a little. “They don’t have a lot of resources, other than a pleasant climate and a pleasant people. Nor do they have an extensive weapons array. On Intar, it’s pretty much come when you like, stay as long as you like, and don’t forget to write.”
    â€œNonetheless, we ought to be prepared.” Corsi stuck out her chin a little. “I recommend we proceed with Tactical Code Level—”
    Gold held up a hand. “No life signs, Corsi. No one