Spock was informed of Darres’s demise upon his return to M-20, by an ensign who had been a part of the Sphinx investigation team. It seemed that the ensign and the other members of the team actually believed that a transporter malfunction was responsible. Spock made no attempt to dissuade them, primarily because he wished to return to the Enterprise and speak to the captain, but also because it now seemed that the overly knowledgeable had become exceedingly short-lived.
After his extensive conversation with the Romulan commander about cloaking technology, Spock felt that he had enough information to present a theory to the captain. Not a complete one, there were still a number of unknowns, but he believed he’d reached a workable premise from which to take action.
The captain was in his quarters when Spock beamed back to the Enterprise. Spock decided to go to him rather than ask to be met, as he believed that the death of the captain’s friend and former shipmate had likely taken an emotional toll.
As he left the transporter room and started for the captain’s quarters, Spock considered some of the unknown factors they still faced. He felt reasonably certain that Dr. Kettaract was using cloaking technology for his own designs, and that he had obtained the technology from his study of the device that Starfleet Intelligence held. Spock had reached the conclusion after the commander had informed him that only the single cloaking device, the one that he and the captain had taken from her ship, had ever been lost by the Romulan Empire. However, he still did not know what Dr. Kettaract was trying to keep hidden, or who else was involved.
There was also the specific nature of the Sphinx’ s involvement. It seemed logical that the fatalities of Captain Casden and his crew were caused by their discovery of Dr. Kettaract’s machinations; the abrupt death of Captain Darres certainly supported the theory . . . but how they had discovered the doctor’s plan was still unclear. The possibility that they had stumbled across it by chance seemed unlikely. And if the unidentified man on the Sphinx was responsible for that ship’s doom, who had killed Captain Darres?
“Spock, wait up!”
Spock turned and saw Dr. McCoy hurrying down the corridor. He held a piece of paper in one hand, and by his posture and expression seemed quite anxious.
“Are you going to see Jim?” the doctor asked, upon reaching him. A logical assumption; his quarters were just around the next turn.
“Yes, Doctor.”
“So am I,” the doctor said, uncharacteristically amiable. “I found something that might have to do with the Sphinx —well, technically Chekov found it. I asked him for a favor, I wanted help looking for this old friend of mine, and it just turned up.”
Spock cocked an eyebrow. “I’m sure the story behind this discovery is most exciting, Doctor. Apparently more so than the discovery itself.”
The doctor made a familiar, thunderous face. “That’s what I get for trying to tell you anything. Look, it turns out that this friend of mine, she’s a doctor, and a few other top-notch research scientists and the like disappeared not so long ago, after they were picked up by the Sphinx.” He held up the piece of paper. “Seven in all.”
Highly intriguing. “May I see that, Doctor?”
Dr. McCoy handed him a list of the missing scientists’ names . . . and after reading them, it was clear that at least two of the unexplained elements of his hypothesis now had to be recategorized.
“Doctor, I believe we
need to speak with the captain immediately,” Spock said,
and as it occasionally happened, Dr. McCoy did not
disagree.
Kirk sat
staring at the monitor, hoping to God that he was wrong, vaguely
wishing for his earlier feelings of frustration and
discouragement.
He had been frustrated after Uhura showed him what she’d uncovered. The coded data chip, the thing that was supposed to clear up the mystery, that was going to explain everything, had turned out to be nothing more than a copy of the Starfleet Charter. It was in the files of every ship and every starbase. And after taking it back to his quarters for a quick, hopeful scan, searching for concealed messages, he’d felt on the verge of giving up. No evidence, no answers, no progress, a ship and her crew destroyed, his friend and mentor dead. His unofficial investigation was officially dead in the water, and unless Spock had something up his sleeve, Kirk didn’t know how to move forward.
Still, Darres had coded the thing for a reason. With nothing better to do, Kirk cued it back to the beginning and read, searching every sentence for some hidden meaning, feeling his disappointment slowly and steadily gather strength . . . until he found it. Found something, anyway.
Deeply troubled, he was still gazing blankly at the monitor when someone signaled at his door. Without thinking about it, Kirk snapped the monitor off before inviting his visitor in.
Two visitors. Spock and McCoy came in together.
“How was your trip, Mr. Spock?” Kirk asked, forcing what he’d seen in the Charter out of his mind.
For now.
“Successful, Captain,” Spock said. “Between my discussion with the Romulan commander and the information I’ve just received from Dr. McCoy, I believe I now understand the connection between Dr. Kettaract and what happened to Captain Casden’s ship and crew, as well as to Captain Darres. And if I’m correct, we may have very little time in which to act.”
Bones was scowling. “Then why don’t you spit it out?”
“I am attempting to do so, Doctor, and if you will allow me to—”
“Knock it off,” Kirk snapped. “Spock, report.”
“My hypothesis is this,” Spock said calmly. “The Sphinx was sabotaged by someone attempting to prevent it from leaving the Lantaru sector, where there is an illegally cloaked Federation station. There, Dr. Bendes Kettaract is leading a team of scientists in an attempt to synthesize an Omega molecule, the same energy source he postulated early in his career, which theory indicates will not maintain stabilization and is therefore exceedingly dangerous. Captain Casden probably learned of the cloak when he transported part of Kettaract’s science team from Deep Space Station R-5 to the Lantaru station, approximately two months ago.
“It appears that the Sphinx traveled to the Lantaru station several times, Casden operating under the belief that his orders were from Starfleet Intelligence and highly classified—but that at some point, he recognized them as fraudulent and decided to disclose Dr. Kettaract’s work and location to Starfleet.
“I believe that he confronted Dr. Kettaract at the cloaked station, and that Dr. Kettaract arranged for the sabotage of the Sphinx. The deaths of Jack Casden and his crew may have been accidental. Dr. Kettaract’s work is nearing completion; therefore, he only meant for the Sphinx to be lost for a brief period, long enough for a planted rumor to taint Casden’s credibility, so that his claims would not immediately be believed.
“From the evidence, there are a number of unidentified people supporting Dr. Kettaract’s work. At least one of them willing to kill to maintain its secrecy, as is evidenced by the allegedly accidental death of Gage Darres. I believe it likely that a careful network of misinformation, built by an unscrupulous few, has even made unwitting participants of Starfleet officers.”
My God.
Bones looked just as stunned as Kirk felt, the complexities astounding, the repercussions frightening—that all those people might have died just so an obsessed scientist could indulge his paranoia. Some of it was a total surprise, but because Spock was the one telling him, Kirk didn’t waste time on disbelief.
“Why do you think he’s working on Omega?” Kirk asked.
“Because of his history, and because of who he has most recently chosen to work with his team. Medical theorists and mechanical engineers, primarily, who will study the physical effects of his creation and begin seeking ways to employ its power.”
“Why the rush?” Bones asked. “How do we know he’s really that close?”
“Because he believes that he is,” Spock said simply. “And because of the message that he received last night, from someone named Hermes. The importance that was placed on the first name, John instead of Tom—I believe it was a code. In Earth mythology, Hermes was the messenger of the gods. I don’t know the significance of the first names, but I suspect ‘John’ meant that they were to return to the station immediately. Presumably because the experiment has reached a crucial stage.”
They.
“And considering the possible consequences if he should actually achieve synthesis,” Spock continued, “it is incumbent upon us to stop them as soon as is possible.”
“How serious are we talking about?” Kirk asked.
“A precise classification is not possible, as the molecule has never existed,” Spock said. “The result of the inevitable destabilization may only be the destruction of the station itself . . . but depending on their containment methods, it is conceivable that an expanding energy field could form in subspace, severely damaging that continuum within an indefinite but possibly extensive range.”
Kirk hesitated only a second, just long enough to absorb the immensity of what Spock was suggesting, to calculate whether or not they could beat Kettaract—
—and Jain, amazing, beautiful Jain—
—back to his station. Probably not, but they could come damned close.
He thumbed the intercom switch.
“Kirk to engineering. Mr. Scott, get the engines ready. We’re going back to the Lantaru sector, and we’re going to need warp eight.”