Star Trek: Miasma by Greg Cox

Author:Greg Cox
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, Star Trek
ISBN: 9781501125317
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2016-02-22T08:00:00+00:00

Seven

“Copernicus, you are cleared for departure.”

The space doors at the rear of the Enterprise’s cavernous landing bay were wide open, revealing the vacuum of space beyond. Instrumentation aboard the shuttlecraft confirmed that the ship’s shields were not in place. An airless black void beckoned.

“Roger that, Enterprise,” Kirk said from the helm of the shuttlecraft, replying to the launch control room overlooking the flight deck. “Firing thrusters now.”

Steaming white jets sprayed from the underside of Copernicus as the shuttlecraft lifted off from the flight deck and exited the Enterprise. Kirk waited until he was safely clear of his ship before engaging the shuttle’s impulse engine and setting a course for Varba II.

“Now to find our friends,” he said.

“Which would be substantially simpler,” Saavik observed, “if we knew where to look.”

She rode shotgun beside him in the copilot’s seat. She had volunteered to pilot the shuttlecraft, but Kirk had decided that her keen Vulcan intellect could be put to better use tracking the garbled signal from the planet and monitoring the scanners for any sign of the lost landing party. A pair of security officers, Cassano and Borkowski, occupied the passenger compartment. Kirk had been reluctant to take too many crew members down into the same amorphous peril that had apparently waylaid the crew of Galileo, but he’d decided that they might need additional manpower down on the planet, so he’d split the difference and gone with a leaner security detail. Plus they were going to need room in the shuttlecraft if they found the landing party.

No, he corrected himself. Not “if.” “When.”

The captain glanced at Saavik. “I don’t suppose you’re picking up any distress signals from Galileo or the landing party?”

“Negative, Captain. Only the original warning beacon in its distorted state. The planet’s atmosphere continues to be a significant source of interference.” She monitored the sensor displays. “It might be best to conduct our initial survey above the atmosphere, to minimize the interference.”

Kirk considered it. “But wouldn’t we have a better chance of picking something up if we went in closer?”

“Possibly,” she conceded. “I believe the human expression is ‘six of one, half a dozen of another.’ It is uncertain whether descending into the atmosphere would help or hinder our chances of detecting a signal from the landing party.”

“Understood,” Kirk said as the shuttlecraft cruised toward the planet. Patience was not his strong point, but there was something to be said for being cautious and methodical as well. “Let’s do it your way, going in slowly, and gradually lower our altitude if we don’t get any results.”

“That strikes me as a very logical approach, Captain.” She diligently worked the sensors, searching every frequency along the spectrum. “I regret that I cannot offer you a more concrete solution at this time.”

Kirk thought he caught an edge of frustration in her voice. Not that he blamed her. The planet’s infernal clouds had them flying blind, with their hands tied behind their backs. No sensors, no transporters, no communicators. Varba II might as well have been a black hole when it came to obtaining vital information.

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