One Small Step Read online

  “What about a low-level phaser beam?” Kirk wondered to himself.

  “Sir?” Sulu asked, looking back questioningly.

  “The entrance chamber has rock ceilings. It’s only partially below the surface.”

  On screen, Commander Tasm was also watching him. “But the Teleris shield is over that chamber.”

  “Yes, but we can bounce a low-level phaser blast off the diburnium-osmium alloy so it angles up underneath the shield.”

  “Cut a new door into the place,” Sulu agreed.

  Kirk hit the intercom to give general orders, “Engineering, reconfigure the phasers for drilling. Momita, get the deflection angle. How much power will we need?”

  While his crew dealt with the task at hand, Kirk watched Tasm. “We’re going in whether you like it or not.”

  “I’ll meet you on the surface,” she assured him, closing the channel.

  Sidling up to the corridor that led from the command center down to the portal chamber, Luz could hear the echo of voices. It was difficult to understand the words because of the sound-absorbing walls.

  Pitching her voice to Kad’s clipped tones, she called out, “Mr. Scott, please help me with Marl.”

  The voices grew louder, and she withdrew around the edge of the doorway. The hypospray was ready, aimed at the spot where she would lunge at him. She didn’t care if it went into his arm or his back — better that than to miss entirely.

  Footsteps echoed down the corridor. It could be both men. She desperately hoped it wasn’t both of them.

  The officer in the red tunic stepped over the threshold. “Lad, where are ye?” he called out.

  Luz jabbed the hypospray into his shoulder and unloaded it into him. Scott staggered away, his eyes wide. Stuttering, his cry to warn his fellow officer was incoherent.

  Luz darted in and grabbed his phaser from his belt. Ripping it off its holster, she aimed it at Scott. One of his hands went out as he started to fall.

  Her finger pressed the button and a beam of pure light shot out and hit him squarely in the chest. His body flew back and hit the floor, sliding in an untidy heap.

  Luz leaped for the wall next to the doorway, aiming the phaser across it. Three down and one to go. The hardest one of all. The Vulcan, with his superior hearing, was probably aware that something was going on.

  Scott was far over to one side. Spock would have to come right to the door to see him.

  There was nothing. No sound. She was sweating under the unusual amount of hair required by the Kalandan disguise. But she didn’t make a sound, even her breathing remained perfectly silent.

  She wasn’t sure if Spock was coming or not, but her instincts told her to wait. He must have heard Scott’s strangled cry. Or the high whine of the phaser in the doorway.

  She saw him first. Her finger tightened on the phaser and caught him sideways. Spock spun, but the power was too high for him to resist.

  She fired again, for longer this time, as long as he was standing.

  The Vulcan fell in the doorway, his own phaser dropping from his hand. She waited a moment to be sure he was down, but his sudden pallor showed the effects of the prolonged phaser blast.

  Stepping over his legs, Luz ran down the corridor. So close, she was so close to getting her longed-for reward.

  Engineering was ready as soon as the computer supplied the calculations setting power and angle of impact. It was timed to match with their position over the planetoid.

  “Entering range,” Sulu reported.

  “Fire phaser banks.” Kirk sat forward to watch the screen as the low-level beam shot down at the planetoid.

  The illusion of a Class-M atmosphere churned at the point of entry. Soon a dark cloud trailed away from the phaser beam as the planetoid rotated, carrying the debris with it.

  Finally the phaser beam shut off. “Operation complete,” Sulu reported.

  Kirk nodded shortly, getting up. “Mr. Sulu, you have the bridge. I’m going down.”

  Sulu nodded sharply. “Aye, sir!”

  Kirk paused at the top of the stairs. “If I don’t signal or drop the shield in five minutes, send down a full security team.”

  “Aye, sir,” Sulu said more grimly. He waited until Kirk left the bridge before taking his seat.

  Luz was glad to see that the archway appeared unharmed by their efforts to dismantle it from the station. Truly, it was a waste of effort to salvage the arch.

  Rushing to the subprocessor, Luz let out a frustrated exclamation. The power had been shut off. It would take time for the subprocessor to cycle back on.

  Determined, Luz powered up the computer. Then she activated the anti-grav units on either side. The unit rose with a humming sound.

  She leaned against the subprocessor to push it closer to the archway. Abruptly, the monofilament cable extended to its maximum length and stopped. She was less than an arm’s length away from the arch. But if she cut the monofilament, that would sever the link to the arch that provided the proper resonance.

  She deactivated the anti-grav units. Apparently there was a minor flaw in her plan. She would have to leave the processor behind and take just the blue neutronium cylinder.

  Luz grabbed the maser-saw and held it in one hand. She would have to cut through the monofilaments leading to the cylinder while she was inside the arch. Surely there was a fail-safe delay that would keep her from losing an arm or her head. Scientists as smart as the Kalandans would not ignore such a basic technological rule.

  The subprocessor had a few crons to go before it cycled onto full power, but the shield would buy her the time she needed to get away.

  She was already thinking about her beloved birthing world. How could she think of anything else? She could almost see the smooth oval chambers, warm and soft to the touch. The glow that shone from every surface. And the matriarchs themselves in the magnificent birthing chamber.

  Luz could hardly wait to return with the interstellar transporter. Nothing would ever be the same again.

  Kirk accepted a fully charged phaser from the transporter chief. As he took position, he briefly considered waiting for the security detail to arrive. But Tasm wasn’t a threat to him. She also wouldn’t bother to wait for him now that the station had been breached.

  Kirk materialized on the planetoid, coughing a bit from the dust still hanging in the air. Slowly the yellow haze settled and he could see the gaping, blackened hole torn through the rock-strewn surface. It appeared to point directly at the large butte that was protected by the shield.

  Tasm was at the edge of the gash, looking down inside. “It may have worked.”

  With that, she jumped lightly into the phaser trench.

  Kirk stuck his phaser onto the back of his belt, and leaped down after her. The rock was melted smooth on the sides, but the top had partially caved in, leaving gaping holes in the roof and piles of rubble on the floor. As they made their way through the tunnel, Kirk reached up one hand to balance himself against the jutting rocks in the ceiling. It felt warm and fairly stable.

  They emerged at the top of the wall inside the entrance chamber. It had been ripped apart by the phaser beam. The computer node in the ceiling was vaporized, as was the lift Spock had used. The walls were peeling long ribbons of plasticized osmium.

  Tasm made a low expression of satisfaction and dropped down into the chamber. Kirk followed as soon as she got out of the way.

  He pulled his communicator out. “Report, Mr. Spock. Scotty, come in.” After a few moments, he urgently repeated, “Spock, report!”

  Tasm shook her head over her padd, quickly folding it back up and shoving it into her pouch. “My officers haven’t accessed the feed yet.”

  Kirk took one look at her face, and knew he wasn’t going to waste time deactivating the shield. Security would follow them down.

  Kirk ran through the corridor with Tasm close behind. They slid through the nexus chambers, breaking into a sprint in the long corridors.

  Then Kirk saw Scotty
lying in the command center. The captain’s heart was pounding as he raced toward his friend.

  He stopped short at the sight of Spock, lying stunned across the doorway leading to the portal chamber.

  Kirk wanted nothing more than to drop down to his knees and see if they were still alive, but the floor began to move as a strong tremor shook the station. Light flashed from the corridor leading to the chamber where the portal lay unprotected.

  “The portal!” Tasm cried out.

  Kirk sprinted down the corridor and swung through the door, rounding the computer bank.

  Luz was half-buried in the brilliant flashing discharge set off between the dimensions. She was leaning forward, a maser-saw poised over the monofilaments connecting the cylindrical unit to the Starfleet subprocessor.

  On the other side of the portal was an unimaginable vista, as if Luz stood just inside an enormous crevice that sank hundreds of kilometers into the planetary crust. On top, the windblown sand piled high against the sides of two metal-plated structures. The lurid orange sky was nearly filled by a large sun looming over the horizon.

  “No!” Tasm cried out behind Kirk. Her momentum carried her forward, knocking into him.

  Kirk lurched toward the portal, as Tasm tackled Luz. He stopped himself with one hand against the arch, giving his entire body a shock. Tasm wrestled with Luz as the monofilaments from the cylinder stretched.

  The tremor grew stronger, nearly shaking him off his feet.

  Kirk couldn’t let them get away with the interstellar transporter. In a split-second decision, he dived through the portal as they fell through.

  The flashing light blinded his eyes and the Kalandan chamber disappeared.

  Chapter Nineteen

  SINCE THE STATION had almost killed Sulu twice, he had a healthy respect for its capabilities. His eyes were fastened on the chronometer, watching the seconds tick down.

  Sulu pressed the intercom to transporter room four. “Security team ready to beam down?”

  But instead of a female voice, Dr. McCoy came on. “We’re in position.”

  “Dr. McCoy!” Sulu said in surprise.

  “You may need a doctor down there,” McCoy said by way of explanation.

  Sulu reflexively rubbed his shoulder. Only in the last day had the stiffness gone out of it. Last night he had woken in a shaking sweat, reliving those awful minutes as he and Reinhart were choked into unconsciousness.

  The shield was still holding and only one minute was left of Kirk’s original five.

  “Prepare to transport,” Sulu ordered.

  Lt. Uhura turned in her chair. “Lieutenant, we’re receiving a hail from the Kalandan ship.”

  Not now! Sulu thought. But he said, “On screen.” It was the other female Kalandan officer. “Officer Mlan here. Have you heard from your captain?”

  “Negative,” Sulu said warily. He didn’t like the way the Kalandans stood so close to the screen. It seemed like an intimidation tactic.

  Officer Mlan glanced down at her panel. “Neither have we. We’ve detected two Klingon vessels approaching.”

  Sulu let his lip raise in contempt. “Apparently making Klingon ships appear out of nowhere is your specialty.”

  He turned and made a motion for Uhura to cut transmission.

  Momita reported, “Sir, I do have two Klingon battleships on long-range sensors.”

  “Déjà vu,” Sulu muttered. He waited until the Kalandan was gone and the screen showed the planetoid again. Lt. Radha was seated at his usual station, so he told her, “Target the locations of the energy emissions, Radha.”

  “Aye, sir,” Radha acknowledged.

  The whine of the phaser banks echoed subtly through the bridge. Even in his quarters, Sulu could always tell when phasers were being fired.

  On screen, the three Klingon ships that appeared poised half a million kilometers away blinked out of existence. “They’re gone,” Chekov said.

  Sulu checked the screen on the arm of the command chair. The illusions were gone, but the Klingon vessels they had just detected on long-range sensors were still there.

  “Sir!” Momita exclaimed. “Two Klingon battleships approaching at bearing six-zero mark four.”

  Sulu hit the intercom to the transporter. “Dr. McCoy, get down there and find out what’s happening. There’s two Klingon battleships approaching!”

  Before the words were out of his mouth, the Enterprise lurched to one side. Sulu was nearly flung out of the chair. The ship heaved under him once again, then settled.

  The red-alert lights were flashing automatically as the inertial dampers compensated. Sulu pushed himself up straight, calling out, “What was that?”

  Science Officer Momita staggered back to her station, staring into the sensor hood. “A power surge from the station!”

  Sulu remembered the way the power readings had redlined on his tricorder as the Enterprise was transported one thousand light-years away.

  He hit the intercom. “Transporter room four!”

  After a pause, McCoy answered again. “We’re here. A bit shaken up, but ready to go.”

  “Losira’s on the loose again,” Sulu told McCoy, knowing he would understand the reference. “Better get down there fast!”

  Dr. McCoy was surrounded by guards in red uniforms. They swarmed over the edge of the phaser burn and clambered through the deflection tunnel into the station. McCoy appreciated their presence, remembering how efficiently the defense computer had killed D’Amato.

  Reinhart was in charge of the security team, as he was the most familiar with the station. He directed the guards down the corridor. A male and female Argelian, both with long hair tied back in flowing tails, moved swiftly just behind Reinhart, who took the lead. Other guards used their tricorders to instantly search the botany labs for life-forms — dead or alive.

  McCoy kept starting at sounds, thinking that Losira would suddenly appear, ready to murder them.

  They found the first unconscious body in one of the living quarters. But before McCoy could examine the Kalandan, he was called to help Scotty.

  In the command center, Scotty was just groggily sitting up. “What happened?” McCoy demanded, whipping out his medical scanner. “Phaser stun, level two. You’re not going to feel so great tonight.”

  Scotty was fumbling at his belt. “She took it from me! Th’ Kalandan doctor.”

  McCoy felt a sinking in his stomach. “Are you sure it was Luz?”

  “I’m as sure as I’m sitting here, Doctor!”

  McCoy didn’t want to believe it.

  Guards called out from the living quarters as they carried the two male Kalandans out. Both were unconscious and looked blue rather than yellowish. McCoy rapidly scanned them. “They’ve been given an overdose of the sporophyte antidote.”

  “She must have gotten to them first,” Scotty said, groaning as he rubbed his shoulder. “I think she got me with th’ hypospray, too. But I was about ready fer another booster.”

  McCoy was already heading for the corridor to the portal, looking for Captain Kirk. They had scanned everywhere else.

  But only Spock was leaning over the subprocessor. The portal itself was quiet, but there was a residual hum in the room, as if the plasticized osmium had absorbed a tremendous amount of power.

  “Spock! Where’s Captain Kirk?” McCoy demanded. “The captain?” It was the closest to being startled he had ever seen Spock.

  Scotty came up behind them. “What’re ye talking about, Doctor? Isn’t th’ captain on board th’ Enterprise?”

  “No, he beamed down first to find you!” McCoy’s eyes widened at the sight of the portal. “Did he . . . go through that thing?”

  Spock clasped his hands behind his back. “If you will look closely, you will see that the main component of the portal is missing.”

  McCoy moved forward, seeing for the first time the stretched and ragged ends of monofilament hanging out the hole in the side of the subprocessor. The cylindrical unit was gone.
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  “It’s ruined!” Scotty exclaimed, fingering the monofilaments. “Without th’ cylinder, there’s no way to open th’ portal.”

  “This is how I discovered the unit,” Spock explained. “The portal has recently been activated. I am awaiting a self-diagnostic of the subprocessing unit.”

  “Who else is missing?” McCoy demanded. “Commander Tasm was with Kirk. And what happened to Luz?”

  “She stunned me with Mr. Scott’s phaser.” McCoy thought he could see a wince of stun-shock in Spock’s face. Even a Vulcan could only take so much, and Spock had been working around the clock for days.

  “Could all three go through the portal at once?” McCoy asked.

  “Theoretically, it would take less power than remotely transporting the Enterprise,” Spock confirmed.

  “There was a tremendous quake just before we beamed down. It shook the whole ship.”

  “But why?” Scotty demanded. “Why would th’ captain leave without telling us where he was goin’?”

  “Perhaps he didn’t have any choice,” McCoy said darkly.

  Spock was the only one who wasn’t looking perturbed. The stoic security guards were exchanging troubled looks.

  “We’ve got to get th’ captain back!” Scott exclaimed.

  “That will be difficult without the prime component,” Spock pointed out.

  McCoy exchanged an outraged look with Scotty before turning on Spock. “Don’t you get it, Mr. Spock? The captain may have been taken by force!”

  “Doctor, I will ask you to refrain from speculation. The portal will tell us the truth momentarily.”

  Before McCoy could protest Spock’s cold-blooded attitude, the subprocessor beeped. Spock consulted the panel. “A resonance echo will appear revealing the last function the portal performed.”

  The mist began to form in the portal. Spock’s tricorder was on and aimed at it.

  The image was faint and hazy, but McCoy squinted to make out the incredible view of towering cliffs plunging straight into the ground beneath a tangerine sky. But the foreground held his attention. There was a silhouette of two slender humanoids grappling with each other in one corner of the portal. The cylindrical unit was raised between them.