Collective Hindsight Book 2

by Aaron Rosenberg

  Other eBooks in the Star Trek™:

  Starfleet Corps of Engineers series from Pocket Books:

  #1: The Belly of the Beast by Dean Wesley Smith

  #2: Fatal Error by Keith R.A. DeCandido

  #3: Hard Crash by Christie Golden

  #4: Interphase Book 1 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

  #5: Interphase Book 2 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

  #6: Cold Fusion by Keith R.A. DeCandido

  #7: Invincible Book 1 by David Mack & Keith R.A. DeCandido

  #8: Invincible Book 2 by David Mack & Keith R.A. DeCandido

  #9: The Riddled Post by Aaron Rosenberg

  #10: Gateways Epilogue: Here There Be Monsters by Keith R.A. DeCandido

  #11: Ambush by Dave Galanter & Greg Brodeur

  #12: Some Assembly Required by Scott Ciencin & Dan Jolley

  #13: No Surrender by Jeff Mariotte

  #14: Caveat Emptor by Ian Edginton & Mike Collins

  #15: Past Life by Robert Greenberger

  #16: Oaths by Glenn Hauman

  #17: Foundations Book 1 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

  #18: Foundations Book 2 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

  #19: Foundations Book 3 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

  #20: Enigma Ship by J. Steven York & Christina F. York

  #21: War Stories Book 1 by Keith R.A. DeCandido

  #22: War Stories Book 2 by Keith R.A. DeCandido

  #23: Wildfire Book 1 by David Mack

  #24: Wildfire Book 2 by David Mack

  #25: Home Fires by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

  #26: Age of Unreason by Scott Ciencin

  #27: Balance of Nature by Heather Jarman

  #28: Breakdowns by Keith R.A. DeCandido

  #29: Aftermath by Christopher L. Bennett

  #30: Ishtar Rising Book 1 by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels

  #31: Ishtar Rising Book 2 by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels

  #32: Buying Time by Robert Greenberger

  #33: Collective Hindsight Book 1 by Aaron Rosenberg

  #34: Collective Hindsight Book 2 by Aaron Rosenberg

  Coming Soon:

  #35: The Demon Book 1 by Loren L. Coleman & Randall N. Bills

  #36: The Demon Book 2 by Loren L. Coleman & Randall N. Bills

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  An Original Publication of POCKET BOOKS

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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  Copyright © 2003 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

  STAR TREK is a Registered Trademark of Paramount Pictures.

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  ISBN: 0-7434-8084-8

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  Chapter

  1

  Stardate 53852.1—First Officer’s Log, Commander Sonya Gomez, U.S.S. da Vinci. We have encountered a ship known as the Dancing Star, an alien vessel that runs on solar radiation. During the Dominion War, the ship entered the Randall system and suffered a catastrophic buildup of its engines. Had the buildup run its course, it would have caused Randall’s sun to go nova. Rather than endanger Federation outpost R5-3791, which was hidden in one of the system’s asteroids, the alien ship’s captain contained the buildup within the vessel, instantly vaporizing the entire crew. Shortly afterward, the da Vinci was sent to investigate the ship. Commander Salek—my predecessor as first officer and head of the S.C.E. team on the da Vinci under Captain Gold—sacrificed his life in order to save the system from a second catastrophic buildup, and also to keep the knowledge of both the Dancing Star and the outpost from the enemy. After that, the S.C.E. piloted the ship into the sun, which should have destroyed it.

  However, the vessel has turned up in interstellar space, over a hundred light-years from the Randall system. Having familiarized ourselves with the da Vinci ’s previous encounter with the Dancing Star, we are now considering what to do next.

  * * *

  “Clearly, the situation was more than they could handle.”

  Fabian Stevens glared at Tev across the table in the da Vinci’s observation lounge, but the Tellarite ignored him. Sonya Gomez couldn’t stop herself from sighing. The three of them sat along with Captain Gold and P8 Blue, the former at the head of the table, the latter in her specially modified chair at the other end.

  “It’s not that simple, Tev,” she said, wondering if her second would ever learn. “The original team did a fine job completing their mission, which was to remove the Dancing Star before it endangered the outpost or drew Cardassian attention to its system.”

  “With all due respect, Commander, I disagree.” Tev always managed to make phrases like that condescending, and to turn her title into an honorific rather than something she had earned. “They were sent to analyze that vessel, determine its origins and nature, and render it harmless. The fact that it is here now, hurtling rapidly toward a planet, proves they failed.”

  “And I suppose you would have done better,” Fabian shot back.

  “Of course, Specialist.”

  “Well, now’s your chance to prove it.” Both of them stopped to look at her, which was something, anyway. “The bottom line is that we need to figure this ship out, and fast. And since Salek apparently missed something, we can’t just rely upon his observations.”

  “He did figure out how the ship worked,” Pattie offered, and Sonya nodded.

  “At least well enough to get it operational, and to vent its fuel cells, yes. But he must have missed something. That doesn’t mean he did a bad job—he didn’t have a lot of time to study the ship fully. But we don’t have to worry about giving away someone’s position, and we don’t have the distractions of a major interstellar war. Our job is to stop this ship completely, once and for all.”

  Gold leaned forward. “So how do you plan to do that, Gomez?”

  “I’m not sure yet, sir. But I think, to start with, that we need a fresh look at this ship. Tev and I are the only two who weren’t on the team the first time around, so we’re going to beam over. I want to examine it fully, and build our own theories, based only upon what we find. We can compare that to Salek’s data later.” She glanced at the rest of her team. “While we’re doing that, I want the three of you to go back over the original material. Look for anything you might have missed the first time, about where this ship came from and how it works. Find out why it was out here, who the captain was—anything you didn’t feel was crucial to the mission then. Any bit of information could be the key we need.”

  Gold nodded. “Fresh perspectives, and a resifting of old material. Sounds like a plan. We should be within transporter range now.”

  “Pattie, how much time do we have before the ship hits something?”

  The Nasat checked her padd. “Twenty-three hours, Commander. Then it slams into Riallon IX, which has a population of twenty-one million.”

  “Right. So we have twenty-two hours to figure this thing out and shut it down.” She stood up. “Let�
�s get to work. Tev, you’re with me.”

  * * *

  “I just don’t like him,” Fabian groused as he and Pattie headed back to engineering. “Sure, he’s smart, but he acts like he’s the only one with any brains, and the rest of us are all morons.”

  “He does have an ego, but that’s mainly because he won’t lie or conceal anything, including his pride in his own abilities.” Pattie’s antennae wobbled in the equivalent of a shrug. “If we put aside our modesty and talked about how good we really were at our jobs, don’t you think everyone would call us arrogant too?”

  “Maybe,” he admitted as they passed through the door. “But it’s not just that he thinks he’s so good. It’s that he thinks the rest of us suck. I know I’m good, but I know you and Commander Gomez and Soloman and Bart and Carol are too, and I’d never put you guys down or claim you were incompetent.”

  Pattie made a tinkling noise that was her equivalent of laughter. “Gee, thanks.”

  “No, I mean it. We’re a team, right? And Tev isn’t part of that, because he doesn’t want to be. He’s not willing to work with anybody else, because he’s convinced that he’s better than the rest of us and that we only slow him down.”

  “Well then, be glad that the commander is the one working with him, and not us.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, believe me, I am.”

  * * *

  “It is unnecessary for both of us to do this, Commander.” Tev’s voice sounded in Sonya’s ear as the pair of them, clad in space suits, started walking through the Dancing Star’s corridors. “I can analyze this ship while you attend to other matters on the da Vinci.”

  Sonya glanced over at him, saw her own helmeted face reflected in his faceplate. “I appreciate your confidence, Tev, but I disagree. You and I have different approaches, which means two different perspectives. I’d hate to think that we’d missed something here, and jeopardized our mission, because we were relying on a single viewpoint with all of its limitations and biases.”

  Her second drew himself up to his full height and thrust out his chin, which had the unfortunate result of making his beard jut out against his faceplate like a stiff brush. “I do not miss anything, Commander, and I resent the suggestion.”

  “Do you?” She resisted the urge to snap back at him, but also refused to coddle his ego any longer. Enough was enough. “Fine, then. Tell me what you see here.” She waved her hand, and they both glanced along the hallway.

  “A single corridor,” her second replied immediately. “Cylindrical, though flattened at the bottom for easier passage. Indirect lighting. Doors spaced along each side, inset and with manual releases. Temperature of fifty degrees Celsius. No atmosphere.”

  She nodded. “And what does all that tell you?”

  “Clearly this is the main corridor. The atmosphere has never been restored after it was ignited at Randall V, which indicates that the computers are either not fully operational or not programmed to provide air automatically.” He glanced back at her.

  “And?”

  The hint of a frown appeared. “And? There is nothing else to be gained thus far.”

  “Not true, Tev. For example, you noted that the doors have manual releases. Judging from their shape, the crew must have hands and fingers like ours.”

  He sniffed. “We know they did. The autopsy reports—”

  “But I didn’t ask you what we knew from other data. I asked what we knew from what we could see right now. That’s why we’re doing this. Ignore everything you knew about this ship before we beamed aboard.” She ran one hand along the wall. “This isn’t metal, though it feels metallic. Looks more like ceramic, which would fit with the heightened temperature. Good heat resistance. The lights are actually tiny bulbs along a shelf just below the ceiling, with a lip that hides them but lets their light shine out. There’s no carpeting—the floors are the same material as the walls and ceiling—and no decoration. This wasn’t a luxury ship, or even a home. More like a science vessel or a military ship. Nothing here that wouldn’t be useful. No time or energy for frivolities.” She met his gaze and held it, and after a moment he shrugged.

  “Point taken, Commander. Two views are more effective than one.” For the first time since she’d met him, he said her title with a hint of respect, and she nodded back.

  “Right. So let’s get back to our viewing, shall we?”

  Chapter

  2

  When the call came, Overseer Caldon was in his quarters. The message was patched through to him despite his orders to hold all messages while he slept, which meant that it must be important. The crew knew better than to disobey him without good reason.

  The minute he heard the caller’s voice, Caldon admitted that the crew’s actions had been correct. He would discipline them for disobeying him, of course, but the punishment for withholding this call would have been far worse.

  “I have a commission for you,” his sponsor informed him.

  “Of course, sir—I am at your disposal.”

  “Sensors in Quadrant Ten-Fifteen, Space Nine-Beta have detected a ship. Its configuration is unknown, though it is large—nearly of a size with your own vessel. I wish to obtain it.”

  Caldon’s mind was already considering the problem. “Have other ships been sighted in that area?”

  “Not recently, but Federation ships have been known to pass through there.”

  “Of course.” He stood, knowing his sponsor could not see the movement. “I will depart at once.” He hesitated—should he mention it, or wait for his sponsor to do so? The former could be considered presumptuous.

  “Excellent.” After a brief pause, his sponsor spoke again. “You will, of course, be compensated at your usual rates, plus a bonus for a speedy resolution.”

  Ah. He had been right to wait. “Thank you, sir.” The call ended, and Overseer Caldon headed toward the bridge, to inform his crew of their new mission. And to punish them for disturbing his rest.

  * * *

  Soloman sat and stared at his screen.

  “Something wrong, Soloman?”

  He glanced up at Pattie, and shook his head. “No, I’m just accessing the data from the older files.”

  She glanced at his console. “Is that what you and 111 recorded from its computers?”

  “Yes.” He stared at it again, and felt as much as saw the Nasat crouch down next to him.

  “What’s going on? You can talk to me.”

  He thought back to their last mission, dealing with that strange time-travel device in the Ludugian system. He and Pattie had been sent to analyze the device while Commander Gomez, Lt. Commander Tev, Lt. Commander Corsi, and Carol Abramowitz had gone after the Ferengi they’d found taking advantage of it. While the two of them had worked, they had struck up a conversation, and both of them had revealed things they’d never mentioned to their other teammates. It had certainly brought them closer.

  “I—I’m afraid,” he finally admitted quietly.

  “Afraid? Of what? The ship?”

  “No, not physically afraid.” He tried to put his thoughts into words—it was so much easier with numbers! “The last time we studied the Dancing Star, we had Commander Salek, and Lt. Commander Duffy—and 111.” It still hurt just to say her name. “I was part of a bonded pair then.”

  “Ah.” His teammate’s antennae quivered with sympathy. “And you’re afraid of reopening old wounds by looking at the data again?”

  “It’s more than that.” He glanced over at her, then back at the screen. “It does hurt, of course, but I’ve learned to accept that. Though it’s more painful than usual, reliving something we did together. But I’m also worried. I’m not 110 anymore—I’m Soloman now. I’m not part of a pair. I’m less than a pair.”

  All of them had gotten fairly good at reading Pattie’s expressions, and he recognized this one with surprise. It was rage. “Is this about those two idiots on Venus?” The Bynar pair assigned to the Venus terraforming project, 1011 and 1110, had treated Soloma
n with contempt during the da Vinci’s mission to aid the terraformers, calling him a singleton, one of their race’s worst insults. But he shook his head.

  “No, I’m not worried about what they think of me. Nor about what any of my race think. But I am not as capable as 111 and I were together—that’s a fact. I cannot process as well alone as we could united. And I worry that I may not be able to access the information as well now as we did then. What if I miss something because I can no longer read it as clearly?”

  Pattie nodded and straightened to her full height again, which only put her level with him while he sat. “I know what you mean, actually. Fabian and I feel it, too. What if we’ve lost our edge now? What if we’ve forgotten something important, and are no longer sharp enough to catch it again?” She shrugged. “But I figure whatever we’ve lost in youth and eagerness we’ve more than made up for in experience. We’re smarter than we were, and that includes you, Soloman. You may be less than the two of you were together, but you’re a lot more than you were alone. You’ll catch the important details. We all will.”

  She walked back to her own station, and Soloman glanced over at his screen again. He hoped she was right. But all he could do was his best, and that would have to be enough.

  * * *

  “Okay, how does this system work?”

  Tev turned away from the collection array to glance at his superior. Was Gomez really so dense that she could not figure out the system herself? Then he noticed the look on her face. Ah, it was another test. No, he corrected himself. Not a test—a desire to compare data and conclusions. She was posing the question half-rhetorically and half as an invitation for him to share his own discoveries thus far. It was an odd approach, and not one he would have taken himself, but he had to admit that it was proving to be effective.

  “This is the ship’s sole power source,” he replied, and wondered why she bothered to nod. He already knew he was right, or else he would not have mentioned it. Ah, but perhaps it was her way of verifying that she also knew this, and that they were in concurrence. Odd. “Stellar energy is gathered through the collection array on the exterior, funneled through these cables, and then stored in these panels.” He glanced at the panels, which shimmered slightly. “I do not recognize the material, though it resembles both glass and oil.”