Belle Terre by Dean Wesley Smith & Diane Carey

Author:Dean Wesley Smith & Diane Carey [SMITH, DEAN WESLEY & Carey, Diane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780671042974
Google: R4LCgVrmEagC
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 166215
Publisher: Star Trek
Published: 2000-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Countdown: 4 Days, 14 Hours

SUNN SLOUCHED in his captain’s chair, very glad to be back in the Rattlesnake again. This planet Nevlin, as the past residents had called it, was beautiful, of that there was no doubt. And those Elah cities were wonderful to look at from a distance, but walking around for hours inside those buildings, among the skeletons of the Elah, had gotten on all their nerves. Especially after they had learned that the entire race had basically committed suicide after an unknown black object from space sucked all the energy from all their buildings and equipment.

Why a smart, advanced race like the one that had built those cities had decided to stay inside and starve to death was beyond Sunn. It was clearly one of the more alien things he’d seen in all his years of exploring. There had clearly been something about that black thing from space that had scared them not only once, but at another time far in their past. That meant it just might live around this system somewhere, whatever it was.

“Well,” Roger said, dropping down into his station’s chair, “are we headed back to Belle Terre to tell them about our find?”

Sunn looked at Roger. He’d stopped and taken the time for a shower. Dar was doing that now and Sunn had plans to do so shortly. He felt, as Roger and Dar had felt, that he needed to wash the smell of death off of himself. But first he had needed to check on all the ship’s systems and set up some long-range system-wide scans. If that big black thing was anywhere near, or coming back this direction, he wanted to know about it.

“Nope,” Sunn said. “We got a black monster from the sky to track.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Roger asked.

“Nope,” Sunn said again. “I’m not giving this planet a clean bill of health until I know more about what sucked that energy away from it. Or at least try to find out.”

“We got time?” Roger asked.

“We’ve got at least another two days,” Sunn said, “before we have to head back for the big explosion.”

“You don’t think Kirk has found a way to stop it yet?”

Sunn laughed. “Knowing what I know of James Kirk, it wouldn’t surprise me. But just in case, I want to give him and the colonists some good news. And as much information as we can. Don’t you?”

“Actually, I do,” Roger said. “This wouldn’t be such a bad place to settle if you spent some time cleaning out those buildings.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Sunn said. “Good ground for crops, lots of water, and clean air. Even without the cities it would be a good planet.” He pushed himself to his feet. “Watch the scans I have set up. I need a shower.”

Two hours later, after studying the information they had gotten from the records of the dead race, they lifted off, this time not in search of a planet, but in search of a giant black monster that had terrorized one.

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