Star Trek: The Original Series - 149 - The Folded World by Jeff Mariotte

Author:Jeff Mariotte [Mariotte, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Action & Adventure, Fiction, General, Science Fiction, Media Tie-In, Space Opera
ISBN: 9781476702827
Google: 8-S9LwEACAAJ
Amazon: 1476702829
Barnesnoble: 1476702829
Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek
Published: 2013-04-29T07:00:00+00:00

Eighteen

“I canna understand why she’s so dead-set on destroyin’ that big ship,” Scotty said. “She’s just been after me about it again.”

He had met with Chan’ya and Gonzales in his quarters, where he had gone for a quick nap. He’d been asleep for less than ten minutes when they came calling, and after they’d left he had not been able to fall asleep again. A man needed his sleep, he knew that. He needed to keep his wits about him, to stay alert and sharp. The landing party had been gone for hours.

“It’s beyond me,” Sulu said. He somehow managed to look just as crisp as ever, as if he had slept for eight hours, showered, and eaten a full meal. Scotty knew that wasn’t the case. With the captain gone, Scotty had been spending more time than usual on the bridge and less in engineering, and every time he stepped onto the bridge, Sulu was there, in his place at the helm. “But I am no expert on Ixtoldan customs or psychology.”

“I’m not sure there is such a thing as Ixtoldan psychology,” Chekov offered. “They all seem crazy as loons to me.”

“We probably seem the same to them, Pavel,” Uhura said. She had spun around in her seat so she faced into the bridge. “We can’t judge what we don’t understand.”

Scotty lowered himself wearily into the captain’s chair. “I knew Captain Kirk had a hard job,” he said. “But I never appreciated how hard, before. It’s all I can do not to throw the lot of ’em into the brig and let ’em rot.”

“I do find it disturbing,” Sulu said, “that the Federation seems so eager to admit them, yet they seem so ready to embrace a violent solution. They are certainly not the peace-loving people we were told about when the mission began.”

“They believe the ship is abandoned, though,” Uhura reminded them. “They’re not saying we should destroy an inhabited vessel.”

“I suppose not,” Scotty said. “Still—”

“So we should be trying to figure out what that ship represents to them that makes them so anxious to vaporize it. If it’s not somebody they want to destroy, then it must be something,” Uhura offered.

“But then you’re back to trying to figure out the Ixtoldans,” Chekov said. “And that just can’t be done.”

“Has anyone tried asking them?”

Sulu smiled. “Uhura, you just might have something there.”

“That’s all well and good,” Scotty said. He closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. “But who’ll do the askin’?” Nobody answered, and after a few seconds, he opened his eyes again. “What are you all lookin’ at me for?”

• • •

“Captain?” O’Meara said. They had made it down two decks, but they were taking it slow, stopping and listening for signs of life, checking as many doors as they could. It was a big ship, and searching this way took time. But they couldn’t take a chance on missing anyone; because the ship was so huge, backtracking would take longer than moving cautiously in the first place.

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