Star Trek III: The Search for Spock: Short Stories by William Rotsler

Author:William Rotsler
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, Star Trek Young Adult, Star Trek
ISBN: 0671501399
Publisher: Wanderer Books
Published: 1984-01-01T07:00:00+00:00

World’s End

“Parking orbit completed, Captain,” Sulu stated. He glanced over his right shoulder at Admiral James T. Kirk, who nodded brusquely.

“Report, Mister Spock,” the captain said.

“Life forms detected, Captain. A few score, is my guess, no more, and deep down.” The Vulcan turned to look at Kirk. “May I remind you, Captain, we must report to Base IV in three days’ time.”

“Yes, Spock, I know,” Kirk said patiently, then grinned. “But how often do you find a world completely covered by a building hundreds of stories deep? And abandoned?”

“Never, sir, as far as the library reports. It is a unique situation. But we still must get the medicines to Starbase IV.”

“We have thirty hours’ leeway, Mister Spock. I propose a few hours exploring this unique situation. Is there any indication of its racial origin?”

“None detectable from space, sir. The construction is standard. It seems to vary from three to seven hundred feet deep. A strong but not unusual steel alloy was employed. The variation in depth might indicate an underlying terrain. The outer surface is varied, with starship locks, domes, towers, and other unremarkable markings all over it. Logic indicates a highly developed industrial world which has been abandoned, or devastated by some plague. I do not suggest exploration, Captain Kirk.”

“Spock, Spock,” Kirk said with amusement. “A mystery world and you don’t want us to unravel the mystery?”

“May I remind the captain of the necessity to arrive on time at Base IV?”

“Yes, yes, but none of the ships will be leaving to distribute their cargoes to the Moradaine System until all the Federation ships arrive with their cargoes. There are four others besides us, Mister Spock. Caladral vaccine from Regulus, aboard the Hood. Triasphal and megathormal on the Republic. The Steven Barnes has the biotynes and the medical assault teams. The Tajarhi has the menaprophyne, I believe. None of these things is effective without the other. We have time, a little time. I am not being irresponsible, am I?” He said it with a smile, and Spock raised his eyebrows.

“No, Captain. It is my duty to remind you of such things.”

“It will be noted in the log, Mister Spock. Now, would you care to accompany me down to the surface?” Spock nodded, and Kirk looked at the young Russian, Chekov. “Mister Chekov, you have the conn.” Kirk punched the intercom. “Doctor McCoy, meet me in the transporter room.”

• • •

“Sir, the transporter beam is set for the sixth level down, which is the first section sealed against the vacuum,” the transporter officer said.

“Air is good?” Kirk asked.

“We sent down a scoop, sir, While you were on the way from the bridge. The computer reports it within defined limits of breathable atmosphere for humans. And, uh, Vulcans, too, Mister Spock.”

Spock only raised an eyebrow. Doctor McCoy entered briskly. “What’s going on, Jim? I have a couple of crewmen in sick bay who—”

“Anything critical, Bones?”

“No, an allergic reaction to some Coridan melbar—God only knows where she got it—and a good old-fashioned case of Centaurian flu.

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