Star Trek: The Original Series - 155 - From History's Shadow by Dayton Ward

Author:Dayton Ward
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, Action & Adventure, Media Tie-In, General
ISBN: 9781476719009
Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek
Published: 2013-07-29T23:00:00+00:00

NINETEEN

U.S.S. Enterprise

Earth Year 2268

It required effort for Kirk to keep from staring at the conference table’s tri-sided viewer and the small chronometer displayed in the screen’s lower left corner, which served as a reminder of how many minutes remained until the arrival of the Tandaran vessel. Every department had checked in with Spock, assuring the first officer of their readiness should events take a turn for the worse. At Scott’s suggestion, Kirk had ordered the Certoss vessel brought onto the Enterprise’s shuttlecraft deck, rather than having the starship trying to protect the smaller craft by extending its shields should a tactical situation develop with the Tandarans. The Balatir fit within the space, though getting it through the hangar bay doors had proven somewhat tricky even with the aid of tractor beams and computer guidance. With that final item addressed, there was nothing else for Kirk to do on that front but wait, and that was an activity he loathed.

Turning his chair so that he could ignore the monitor, he focused his attention on Roberta Lincoln sitting next to him at the table. “These Tandarans have access to at least some of the same information you do regarding the Temporal Cold War. How is that possible?”

Lincoln, sitting with her arms crossed, replied, “They were smart. At some point during their involvement in the conflict, a cadre of their leading scientific minds realized that time itself was being used as a weapon, altering the pasts of target worlds in order to influence the war’s outcome on several fronts. They figured the only way to know if their own planet had been messed with was to create a protected archive that could preserve information for historical review while insulating it against changes in the timeline.”

“A form of temporal stasis?” Spock asked.

Nodding, Lincoln smiled. “I think that’s the right term. We’re talking about a time capsule in the purest sense, here; a container inside which time—for all intents and purposes—has no meaning. You know about the Slavers and their stasis boxes, right?”

Spock replied, “I am familiar with such artifacts, yes.”

“Same thing here. Though changes in our timeline would affect us all, anything held within the confines of such an archive would be shielded.”

“It sounds like something that could cause its own flavor of problems,” Kirk said, admiring yet again how much Roberta Lincoln seemed to have grown in the week—the year—that for her had passed in alliance with Gary Seven. “How is someone finding such an archive and discovering its contents any different than the situation the Certoss are facing?”

“In the case of the Tandarans and a handful of other groups possessing similar technology,” Lincoln replied, “only highly trained specialists are even allowed to know of the existence of such data, and for the very reasons you bring up. Still, despite whatever organizations or other safeguards are put in place to protect against abuse of such knowledge, that’s always a risk.”

Spock said, “And this is what the Tandarans fear.”

“You got it.” Unfolding her arms, Lincoln turned her chair and leaned in the first officer’s direction.

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