Star Trek: The Next Generation: Armageddon's Arrow by Dayton Ward

Author:Dayton Ward
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, Star Trek
ISBN: 9781476782690
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2015-05-26T07:00:00+00:00

18

“Commander, there it is!”

No sooner had the words left Lieutenant Elfiki’s mouth and she was pointing through the Siouxsie’s viewing port than Worf saw it. The construction facility was cloaked in near total darkness on the moon’s far side, away from the Canborek sun and facing into the void of space, but illuminated from within by obvious artificial sources. Its forward section, an elaborate grid of metal beams and other support structures, rested on the moon’s surface, extending outward from the depths of a vast cave at the base of an immense mountain. Worf guided the shuttlecraft into hover, holding the shuttlecraft’s position so that it remained partially concealed behind the mountain range separating them from their target. Angling the craft so that the viewing port faced the cave entrance, he now saw that cocooned within the convoluted scaffolding was an elongated, tapered skeletal framework. Even though it was decades from completion, the lines of what would become the Arrow were evident.

“That tunnel extends several dozen kilometers into the mountainside,” Elfiki said. “It’s too straight and consistent in its measurements to be a natural formation, and I’m reading other tunnels and chambers extending even farther underground. The Raqilan must’ve carved it out themselves. The mineral composition of the mountain and surrounding soil shares many characteristics with what we found in the completed Arrow, so it’s likely the Raqilan processed the raw mineral ore from the tunnels to use in the ship’s construction.” She blew out her breath. “I’ll be damned.” Then, as if realizing she had spoken aloud, she added, “I’m sorry, sir. I shouldn’t be surprised—or excited—to see this, but it’s pretty amazing, and a little bizarre.”

Worf shook his head. “Your reaction is understandable, Lieutenant.” Seeing the budding spacecraft nestled within the cradle that would nurture it for years to come, he could not help but consider yet again the tangled knots of perception, reality, logic, reason, confusion, and even fantasy, all of which seemed to wrap in and around themselves and one another whenever the topic of time travel was broached. Despite whatever snide comments he might offer on the matter during casual conversation, Worf had always been fascinated with the concept of traveling through time. His later experiences with various aspects of the concept had served to fuel both his interest and his irritation at the incalculable number of variables that always came into play whenever someone or something traveled to a point in the past in a bid to influence future events. Upon learning that the Arrow was a device intended for such a purpose, and with the enormity of the mission it had been sent to complete, Worf had spent a great deal of time considering the multitudes of ways Jodis and his crew might affect the time stream. Had the Raqilan given sufficient thought to the myriad ramifications that might ensue as a consequence of the Arrow carrying out its assigned task? Even if the weapon ship failed in its mission, its crew still

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