V’Shel decided that it was important to impress upon the new arrival how fortunate she was to be accepted as a settler on Sigma Draconis V at such short notice. Several other applicants had been pushed back down the assignment list in favor of her, although V’Shel could not see any mitigating factors in play that made T’Leris a more valuable addition to the colony.
This he explained at length, concluding after several minutes. T’Leris only nodded. “Thank you for your clarification,” she said, rising to her feet. “May I go now? I would like to visit the flyer depot.”
V’Shel raised an eyebrow. “You’re not needed there until tomorrow. Did I not make that clear?”
“You did,” she noted. “But it has been some time since I have had the . . . the clarity of a flight control in my hands, and open sky before me. I would like to experience that once again. Before I begin my new life.”
The administrator found her attitude peculiar and added another note to his padd. “I would suggest that a far better use of your time would be to remain in the city.” He leaned forward, showing something close to enthusiasm. “I have been informed that Ambassador Spock is passing through the sector and will be arriving on-world to conduct a lecture for the colony. Perhaps you would be interested in attending? I understand he is a highly inspirational speaker.”
The woman looked at him with an expression that, for a moment, seemed almost human. The emotion was difficult to interpret: Was it sorrow? V’Shel could not be sure.
“I have other plans,” she said, striding out into the heat and the light of the day.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to: Kim Cattrall, Nicholas Meyer, Denny Martin Flynn, Michael A. Martin, Andy Mangels, Margaret Wander Bonnano, Steven H. Wilson, Geoffrey Mandel, Debbie Mirek, Larry Nemecek, Rick Sternbach, Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda, for their works in fiction and in reference.
My stalwart and supportive editors Jaime Costas, Emilia Pisani, Ed Schlesinger, and Margaret Clark, and fellow authors Dayton Ward and David Mack.
And with much love to my own Princess of Pon farr, Mandy Mills.
About the Author
James Swallow, a New York Times bestselling author, is proud to be the only British writer to have worked on a Star Trek television series, creating the original story concepts for the Star Trek Voyager episodes “One” and “Memorial.” His other Star Trek writing includes the Scribe award winner Day of the Vipers, Synthesis, the Myriad Universes novella Seeds of Dissent, the short stories “The Slow Knife,” “The Black Flag,” “Ordinary Days,” and “Closure” for the anthologies Seven Deadly Sins, Shards and Shadows, The Sky’s the Limit, and Distant Shores, scripting the videogame Star Trek Invasion, and over 400 articles in thirteen different Star Trek magazines around the world.
As well as a nonfiction book (Dark Eye: The Films of David Fincher), James also wrote the Sundowners series of original steampunk westerns, Jade Dragon, The Butterfly Effect, and novels in the worlds of Doctor Who (Peacemaker), Warhammer 40,000 (Nemesis, Black Tide, Red Fury, The Flight of the Eisenstein, Faith & Fire, Deus Encarmine, and Deus Sanguinius), Stargate (Halcyon, Relativity, Nightfall, and Air), and 2000AD (Eclipse, Whiteout, and Blood Relative). His other credits feature scripts for video games and audio dramas, including Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Battlestar Galactica, Blake’s 7, and Space 1889.
James Swallow lives in London, and is currently at work on his next book.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Star Trek® Cast no Shadow Page 38