Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Romulan Prize by Simon Hawke

Author:Simon Hawke
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, Star Trek, Fiction
ISBN: 9780671797461
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 1988-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

“KALAD TO Syrinx. Come in, Commander.” The Romulan frowned as, for the third time, there was no response. “Kalad to Syrinx. Please acknowledge.”

There was no reply from the warbird.

The Romulan frowned. “My communicator seems to be malfunctioning,” he said.

“Let me try mine,” said Dr. Crusher. “Crusher to Enterprise. Come in, please.” She waited a moment and then tried again, this time calling the Syrinx, but still with no result. “Strange, mine doesn’t seem to be working, either,” she said with a frown.

Data lowered his tricorder. “There may be nothing wrong with our communicators,” he said. “My readings indicate that there is considerable interference.”

“What sort of interference, Data?” Troi asked.

“I cannot pinpoint the source,” the android replied. “However, I am picking up highly irregular readings on my tricorder.”

“I am, too,” said Ro, looking down at the readout screen of her own instrument. She tapped it slightly on the side. “Something is affecting our instruments.”

“There was no interference with the signal earlier,” Kalad said suspiciously. “Why now?”

“I cannot say,” Data replied. “But numerous power fluctuations are taking place all the time aboard this vessel. Most of its automated systems still appear to be functioning, coming on line at different times, and it is possible that one or more of them is generating a field that is causing the interference.”

“What will Commander Valak do when he does not hear from us?” asked Dr. Crusher.

“He will either locate us and beam us back aboard the Syrinx or beam down another away team to investigate,” said Kalad.

“Perhaps we should return to our arrival point,” said Troi.

“No,” said Kalad. “We were sent down here to investigate and to report our findings. I see no immediate danger. I shall attempt to communicate with the Syrinx later. We shall carry on, for the present.” He gestured with his disruptor. “Continue. I mean to have a look inside some of these structures.”

They approached an arched entryway that led inside one of the buildings. There were no doors. They entered a sort of lobby with a corridors leading off it in three directions—to either side and straight ahead. The ceilings were high, and the corridors wide, like boulevards. Daylight came in through large windows in the outer walls, though from the outside, no windows were visible. Here and there, placed in islands in the corridors, were clusters of abstract sculptures.

Data raised his tricorder and frowned. “The interference is increasing,” he said. “It is greater here. I am not picking up any clear readings at all now.”

“This architecture is fascinating,” Dr. Crusher said as she looked around her. “But it doesn’t tell us much about the people who built it. They might have been large and very tall, or they might simply have wanted to achieve a sense of space in this closed environment. But they obviously appreciated art.” She approached a cluster of sculptures. “These are beautiful.”

She reached out to touch one, but Troi caught her hand. “Wait,” she said.

“What is it?” Dr. Crusher asked.

“I . . . don’t know,” said Troi, frowning as she gazed at the strangely shaped forms.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.