by Ted Pedersen
“You may be right, Jake,” said Professor Kala. “In any event, we must disarm those mines.”
“But we have no idea where the mines are located,” Nog said.
“I think we do.” Dyan stepped forward with her tricorder. “I’ve been running some interface scans. Some of the alien images form a map.”
Dyan held out her tricorder so the rest of them could see. It was indeed an image of this area of Rijar, or at least how the area had been centuries before. There were dozens of blinking red dots.
“I didn’t think there would be so many mines,” Jake gasped.
“They obviously intended to destroy the entire city,” K’am observed. “But it’s no longer there.”
“No,” Professor Kala said. “The city has gone—but it’s been replaced by Space Camp.”
The four faces of the cadets were mirror images as they realized what that meant.
“We must return at once,” Jake said. “There are a lot of mines to find and deactivate.”
“Too many.” It was Dyan who spoke. They all turned to look at her. “My calculations indicate we have less than two hours before the destruct signal is initiated. There’s no way we can return and find all those mines in time.”
CHAPTER 13
No one in the pit spoke for what seemed to Jake an eternity. They all stared at the holocube, watching the alien images scroll rapidly across its crystal face.
“We have to do something!” Jake said to no one in particular.
“Excellent observation,” Professor Kala agreed. “Do you have a suggestion?”
From the tone in his voice, Jake thought that the professor was already devising a plan. He was waiting to see if one of them would come up with a similar solution—or, perhaps, an even better one.
It was Dyan who came forward with the first suggestion. “Since Nog’s holocube infiltrated the alien computer, maybe we can reverse the process and stop the destruct signal from being sent.”
Nog looked at the holocube. He didn’t like the implication that it was his fault. Not even his uncle, Quark, would have expected what was happening now.
“I don’t think the holocube is capable of that,” Nog said.
“Maybe we can boost the power through our tricorders,” K’am suggested.
“No.” Jake’s voice was loud and clear in the pit. “That’s too dangerous to try from here. We might even speed up the self-destruct sequence. We have to get to the alien computer if we want to shut it down.”
“And how do we accomplish that?” Nog asked.
Jake picked up the holocube, then stepped over to the opening that led into the bowels of the planet. “This will lead us there.”
Professor Kala thought a moment, then smiled. “I think you may have something, Jake. The signal in the holocube is very strong here. I suspect the aliens’ computer is not that far away.” He looked at the time they had left on his tricorder. “Or let us hope not.”
Quickly the professor punched some codes into his tricorder. “I’m sending an evacuation alert to Space Camp. We can rebuild the site if necessary, though the destruction of the historic artifacts would be a tragedy. But I don’t want to lose lives in case we fail.” Now he turned to Jake. “Lead the way, young Sisko.”
Jake began to move into the tunnel, thinking that while no lives at Space Camp would be lost if they weren’t in time, theirs might be forfeit by being so close to the source.
The initial descent was easy. Almost too easy, thought Jake. It shouldn’t be this effortless. His father had always warned him that when it seemed there were no problems, there was bound to be a really big one.
The tunnel shaft, which was extremely narrow at first, soon grew larger and came into what must have been an ancient series of underground tunnels. Jake could imagine that as the battles on the surface increased, the survivors would have sought refuge in these deep caverns.
It was like being inside a maze. As they progressed farther into the tunnel, there were multiple branches, and the single tunnel became many tunnels. Fortunately the holocube was able to keep them on the right path by dimming if they chose incorrectly. Without it, Jake was certain they might become lost forever.
But surprisingly they encountered no obstacles to impede their progress other than the complexity of the tunnels themselves. This continued to concern Jake. He looked over at Professor Kala who was walking next to him, while the others followed, and was about to mention his anxiety.
“You’re worried because it appears so easy,” Kala said before Jake could speak.
“They must have security traps to prevent invaders from reaching their control center,” Jake said.
“I’m sure they do,” Kala said. “We must be alert to discover them—before they discover us.”
They had their tricorders, but the alien technology was ancient and their modern probes might not function in here. Indeed Space Camp’s computer had not detected the alien presence even though the Starfleet base had been there several years.
“There’s something up ahead,” Dyan whispered to Jake and the professor. “I can sense it.”
“Nothing on the tricorder,” K’am said.
“I have a feeling our tricorders are not going to be of much use in here,” Kala said.
“You have a theory, Professor?” Jake asked.
Professor Kala stopped and the others gathered around him. “The evidence indicates that the Rijarians may have had latent psionic capabilities.” Dyan nodded and Jake remembered her suggestion of this in the holoruin.
“You mean they’re telepathic?” Nog asked.
“Not exactly. They did not seem to have the mind-reading abilities of a race like the Betazoids. But they do seem to have developed some kind of mind-enhancing devices. Which can effectively mask out tricorder scans.”
“That would explain why this underground base was never found,” Jake said.
“No!” Dyan’s voice echoed in the cavern. They all turned to stare at her.
“Dyan, what is it?” Jake asked.
“It’s … coming!”
But what was coming? Jake could see nothing, but then he felt it. The tunnel started to shake. Jake realized they were in an earthquake.
“Quake!” Professor Kala confirmed. “Take cover!”
There wasn’t a lot of shelter in the tunnels, but Jake managed to squirm under an overhanging ledge next to Nog, both hoping the ledge would not collapse on top of them. The others quickly found safe spots as the rumbling increased—and then the tunnel shook violently.
It was only seconds, but it seemed like eons. Jake and Nog huddled together and rode out the planetary upheaval.
Then, when the worst seemed to be over: “Jake!”
Jake suddenly felt himself falling backward into empty space.
The rock wall that he and Nog were crouched against had collapsed—and a great fracture opened onto a yawning abyss below.
Unable to react in time, Jake felt himself sliding down into the terrible black pit far below. He thrashed out, trying to grab on to something—and then something grabbed him.
Nog had managed to grab on to Jake’s outstretched hand. “Hold on, Jake!” the Ferengi shouted. “I’ve got you.”
“I’m too heavy, Nog. I’ll pull you down too.”
But Nog refused to release his grip, and kept Jake from falling only through sheer willpower. But the Ferengi wasn’t strong enough, and Jake could feel them both slipping.
“Got you!” It was K’am who had a hold of Nog and was pulling him back up to safe ground. Professor Kala and Dyan appeared and helped, but the Klingon’s strength was enough to enable Nog and Jake to escape from the fracture created by the quake.
For a long moment Jake sat on the ground in silence. Nog had risked his life to save him. Whatever differences they may have had, when it came to crunch time, they were friends—would always be friends.
“I didn’t think this planet had major quakes,” K’am said.
“This
is an old world, and, in spite of the occasional earth tremors, they are extremely rare,” Professor Kala admitted, then added, “I think one was caused by a sensor-bomb. That’s why Dyan was able to sense it before it happened.”
“Maybe the tremors you’ve been feeling near Space Camp were caused the same way,” Dyan suggested.
Professor Kala thought about that a moment, then nodded. “You’re probably right. The scanning by the archaeologists probably set off smaller security bombs, causing the tremors we’ve been feeling.”
“But we walked into a major booby trap here,” Jake said as he got to his feet.
“So it would appear,” Professor Kala agreed.
“It also appears that the way to the Rijarian controls has been blocked.” Dyan, who had been examining the results of the quake, now joined them.
Jake looked and saw that in addition to opening the fracture that almost swallowed him, the quake had caused a barricade of fallen rocks to block the tunnel ahead of them.
“We’ll never get through there,” Nog said.
“Then it’s over,” Jake said. “There’s no way we can save Space Camp.”
It seemed hopeless. They had come so far, but now could go no further.
“Starfleet cadets don’t give up.” Professor Kala looked at the four cadet-candidates.
Jake was reminded of the manager in one of his father’s baseball hologames whose team was going into the ninth inning down by three runs. He used to say “It isn’t over until the fat lady sings.” But this game seemed to be lost, and he couldn’t prevent the coming chaos by simply saying, “Computer, terminate.”
“Over here,” K’am shouted to them. He was standing at the edge of the fault opened by the quake. The others quickly joined him.
Jake, still a bit nervous from his near-death experience, hesitated, then moved forward to the edge and looked out over it in the direction K’am was pointing. He saw a narrow ledge that snaked its way along the chasm and disappeared past the blocked entrance into a tunnel.
“Can we make it?” Nog wondered.
“We have to,” K’am said determinedly. And, without further hesitation, the Klingon let himself down onto the ledge and began to move along it, clinging to the rock outcroppings on the wall as he proceeded.
Jake summoned up all his courage and lowered himself down onto the ledge behind K’am.
Squeezing himself flat against the wall and doing his best to ignore the long drop to the molten river that snaked far below, Jake slowly made his way. When he was about halfway to the end, he glanced back to see that Nog, Dyan, and Professor Kala were following.
The professor, in spite of his size and bulk, was as agile as a Tau Ceti cat as he maneuvered along the ledge. If an “old man” could do that well, Jake was determined to prove his own mettle. He stepped up his pace, being careful not to get reckless, and soon reached the tunnel opening.
K’am helped Jake up into the tunnel, then waited to assist the others. Realizing time was precious, Jake decided to venture on ahead.
The tunnel walls became smoother and almost artificial as he progressed. He carried the holocube to determine his direction, but there was only a single passage. Not that it mattered, Jake thought. If this did not lead to the Rijarian control center, then they wouldn’t have time to backtrack and try again.
When he traveled a few more meters, Jake came to a sharp turn in the tunnel. He stepped around the turn, and saw it.
Jake found himself standing on the edge of a vast cavernous room. This must have been where the last of the city dwellers had retreated. Their final sanctuary—and their last battlefield.
On the perimeters of the room (Jake thought of this as a “room” even though it was big enough to hold the central living quarters of Deep Space Nine) were what seemed to be living cubicles. Starfleet archaeologists would have a field day down here, he thought—if we survive to tell about it.
Near the center of the room was a “machine.” It was like Ops back on Deep Space Nine, but different. There seemed to be very few traditional control panels. Instead there were stations, which appeared almost organic, that were hooked into a huge core. The core pulsated with energy.
“It’s alive.” Jake turned to see Dyan standing beside him. “I can feel it.”
“Definitely a psionic machine,” Professor Kala said. He was examining readings on his tricorder. “An artificial intelligence … all that remains of those who once inhabited Rijar.” Jake noticed a sense of sorrow in the Professor’s words.
“We’re here. How do we stop the bombs?” Leave it to Nog to cut to the chase.
Dyan and K’am were examining the control stations. There were four of them, and they looked identical.
“How do we manipulate these?” K’am wondered as he looked at the alien images on the controls.
“We can’t,” Dyan said. “At least not from out here.” She looked up at the pulsating core. “We have to go … inside.”
The others quickly crowded around her, wanting to know what Dyan had discovered. “I can feel the intelligence inside the core,” she explained. “It’s something not human, but more than a machine. In order to shut it down and defuse the bombs, we must enter the core.”
“How is that possible?” Jake asked.
“Through these, I believe.” Professor Kala was standing in front of one of the stations. “These appear to be receptacles that enabled the Rijarian engineers to enter the core for maintenance and other tasks.”
Dyan appeared to understand, but the rest of them were still puzzled, so the professor elaborated on his theory. “The core is organic and mechanical and can only be controlled from inside. Using these stations, one can enter the core as though entering a holosuite.”
“And once inside we can shut down the machine?” K’am asked.
“Yes.” Professor Kala nodded. “Inside it’s an alien environment, but I believe Dyan’s Betazoid abilities can translate the basic functions.”
“Then we can reprogram it so the bombs won’t detonate.” Jake was smiling. Maybe they could do it after all.
“There’s no time for that,” Kala said. “It might take weeks—even months—to reprogram the system. No. You must do something else … you must unplug the core.”
“Yes,” agreed Dyan. “It’s our only chance.”
“Time is running out,” Nog interrupted. “So whatever we’re going to do … let’s do it!”
The plan was simple. Jake, Dyan, K’am, and Nog would each use one of the stations. It wasn’t certain that all of them had to enter the system, but since there were four stations Professor Kala believed they should all be used. He would remain outside, in telepathic communication with Dyan, and try to guide them as best he could.
“But how do we start these things?” Nog asked as he approached the station assigned to him.
“They appear to be self-activating,” Professor Kala replied. “On my mark each of you step into the station.”
In preparation each of the four stood directly in front of their station, which were like small shells. Jake hoped the professor was right about the self-activation. There was no way they’d figure out the alien controls if he wasn’t.
“Now,” the professor said. “And good luck.”
We’ll need it, Jake thought as he stepped into his station in unison with the others. At the last moment he had a terrible thought: What if we can’t get back out again?
CHAPTER 14
A trillion shades of nothing.
That’s what it seemed like as Jake felt himself being swept along by a mighty current in a river of pure energy. It was an incredible rush.
And then he was standing on a plain. It was a vast geometrical surface that stretched in all directions to infinity. All the colors were gray.
In the center of the plain was a platform that held a large crystal which glowed with the same pulsating yellow fire as the core in the cavern. Several transparent multicolored tubes were protruding from each of the
four sides of the crystal. The platform itself was circled by a ring of pulsating beams.
“I would suggest that those beams are part of the security system,” K’am said. Then, to prove his point, he pulled the buckle off his belt and tossed it at one of the beams. There was a sharp zap as the buckle sparked and dematerialized.
“I think you’re right,” Nog said. “So how do we get to the tubes?”
“There’s a gateway,” Dyan said. “We must pass through it to gain access to the controls.”
“If we knew the frequency, we could use a tricorder to send out a disabling pulse,” Jake said.
“True,” K’am replied. “But in order to do that, one of us must attempt to pass through the gate. And the instant it discovers an intruder, that person will suffer the same fate as my belt buckle.”
Dyan looked at Nog. “There might be a way to buy enough time for a tricorder scan.”
Nog rubbed his ears anxiously, knowing what Dyan was about to propose. “You think whatever-it-is won’t be able to read my Ferengi brain.”
“I’m almost positive of that,” Dyan said. “You only need to step into the gateway for a second, then step back out.”
Jake stepped forward. “You said almost positive. If you’re wrong, Nog could get hurt.”
But Nog wasn’t listening and stepped toward the gateway. He stopped when he was directly in front of it. “It’ll be okay.” He gulped. “I think.”
Then Nog stepped into the gateway and was engulfed in a green wave that wrapped around him like an electronic mist.
K’am immediately set his tricorder to scan. “Got it!”
“Get out of there, Nog!” Jake yelled, but Nog had already stepped backward out of the gateway.
“I’m okay,” Nog said. “Except for a headache. I feel like I’ve been put through a Vulcan mind-probe.”
While Jake and Dyan helped steady a wobbly Nog, K’am adjusted his tricorder, then placed it on the ground in the center of the gateway. There was a moment, then the security beams vanished.
“We’re in,” K’am said.