9 Rosetta by Dave Stern

Author:Dave Stern [Stern, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure, High Tech, Star Trek fiction, Interplanetary voyages, Life on other planets, Star Trek, Radio and television novels, Media Tie-In, Archer; Jonathan (Fictitious character)
ISBN: 9781416509561
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2006-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

Emmen led her up a level and through an unmarked door, into a large room

roughly the size of Enterprise's main bridge, furnished with a single

horseshoe-shaped console (a smaller version of the ones in the chamber)

and a large display screen, on which video from the battle she'd

witnessed earlier-the lone Antianna ship against the Armada-was playing.

"Wait here," Emmen said, and then he disappeared.

With nothing else to do, Hoshi watched the screen a moment. She had no

way of knowing for sure, but the footage seemed to be from earlier in the

battle-prior to her arrival aboard S-12. The Antianna ship was motionless

in space; a handful of Armada vessels circled around it. No weapons fire

was being exchanged.

There was an audio track playing along with the footage. Barely audible,

coming from the console-no, not from the console, from a headset lying

atop it. She moved closer. It sounded to her a little like the Antianna

signal, but something was different about it.

She picked the headset up and listened. Definitely the Antianna signal,

but slowed down. Separated into its fifty-seven individual components.

Interesting. She listened a moment, focusing in on each pulse as it

played.

"If you're wondering, we are searching for correlations between the

signal pulses and the movements of the Antianna ship."

Hoshi started, almost dropping the headset. She set it back down on the

console, turned and saw Elder Green standing behind her. Or rather

turned, looked down, and then saw Elder Green, who was much shorter in

person than on the viewscreen. A whole head shorter-but for all that, no

less commanding a presence. Close-cropped silver hair, intense blue eyes,

the same coarse brown robe all the Mediators wore.

"As of yet our efforts have proven unsuccessful."

"Elder Green," Hoshi said.

"Ensign Hoshi Sato. I apologize for not greeting you sooner. It has

been-as I'm sure you can guess-a busy few hours."

"I understand, sir."

"I believe the correct honorific in your language would be ma'am."

A smile tugged at the corners of Green's mouth.

Hoshi blushed. "Excuse me."

"It is of no consequence." The Mediator shrugged. "I want to thank you

for coming to S-12. I am certain you will be of great assistance to us in

our translation efforts."

"Oh?" Hoshi said, curious. She'd hardly gotten that impression from the

Mediators at the reception the other night.

"I have been reviewing your work for the last few days," Green continued,

"at least those parts of it which are accessible through the commercially

traded databases, and have been quite impressed. You are a resilient

young woman. A resourceful young woman."

"Thank you, but&I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to."

Green clasped her hands behind her, and walked to the display screen.

"The Huantamos, for one," she said, her back to Hoshi. "You certainly

went to great lengths to learn their language. Living among them for-how

long was it-six months? Learning the culture as well as the words-an

essential skill for a linguist, that kind of empathy. Essential and in my

experience, all too rare."

Hoshi was too surprised to respond for a second. The Huantamos? That was

years ago, she'd been back on Earth, working for a private foundation

helping to catalogue some of the languages of the more remote Amazonian

tribes, of

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