A Time to Harvest

by Dayton Ward

  He was cut off by the sudden blare of an alarm klaxon echoing through the engineering room, followed by the impassive voice of the ship’s computer. “Warning. Intruder alert.”

  In accordance with the additional security protocols put in place by Lieutenant Vale, the main doorway to the engineering deck slid shut and locked into place. La Forge knew that the same thing was happening with hatches leading to sensitive areas throughout the ship.

  “Where’s the intruder supposed to be?” he asked after a moment. “The computer didn’t specify a location.”

  To his right, Taurik was already at work examining one of the status monitors overseeing the ship’s internal sensors. “I am seeing no indications of an intruder anywhere on the ship, Commander.”

  At another station, Data entered a series of commands to his console and, after studying the results his query generated, turned to La Forge. “The alert appears to have been a false alarm. I have found indications that the software for the internal sensor system has been accessed and updated within the hour.”

  “Cancel the alarm,” La Forge said to Taurik, shaking his head in irritation as he tapped his combadge. “La Forge to bridge. Captain, Data has determined that the alert was a hoax, most likely as a result of someone tampering inside the main computer again.”

  “That’s our assessment as well, Commander,” the captain’s voice replied. “Can you prevent it from happening again?”

  Data nodded to him as he continued to work and La Forge said, “Affirmative. Data’s handling that right now.” Noting one status indicator on the monitor before him, he added, “And we should have the lockdown protocols rescinded in a minute, sir.”

  A moment later, he heard the sound of magnetic locks releasing and turned to see the large pressure doors that formed the entrance to engineering begin to slide open again, revealing the empty corridor beyond.

  “If only everything else could be so easy,” he said.

  Turning away from his workstation, Data replied, “It was surprisingly easy to find where the infiltration had occurred.” He pointed to the computer screen and the lines of computer programming code displayed upon it, several of which were highlighted. “The areas I have highlighted indicate recent additions to the software. Very little was done to conceal the modifications, leading me to believe that stealth was not a primary concern.”

  “So what was?” La Forge asked. “Simple disruption? Cause confusion, maybe even panic?”

  Data nodded. “That is certainly a possibility.” He tapped another series of keystrokes to the console. “I have now activated my new search protocol. It will begin its interrogation of suspected software updates immediately, automatically isolating those modifications and, where necessary, restoring programs to their unchanged state from the computer’s protected archives.”

  “Excellent work, Mr. Data,” Picard said. “How long will this process take?”

  “At least several hours, sir,” the android replied. “I have instructed the new protocol to make a comprehensive sweep of the entire primary computer core.”

  “Very well.” There was a pause before the captain added, “Now that we know we have other spies on board, what can we do to find them?”

  Frowning, La Forge said, “Assuming they’re wearing the same kind of suits as the Satarran we captured, that won’t be easy, Captain. We’d have to modify the internal sensors to identify the dampened energy signature the garment’s stealth features emit, and that’s sure to be something they anticipated when they set up their alterations to the computer.”

  As he turned to head back toward his console positioned before the warp core, the chief engineer froze in midstride as his gaze fell upon the reaction chamber. What had he just seen? For an instant, he was sure something had been different within the kaleidoscopic swirl of colliding energies. It was not there now, of that he was certain. Had he simply imagined it?

  “Taurik,” he said, his voice low and quiet. “What are the current readings on the warp core?”

  Taking a moment to study his own set of status monitors, the Vulcan replied, “I am reading nothing unusual, sir. There was a minute dip in antimatter levels, but it was well with operational specifications. Nevertheless, I did perform the appropriate adjustments.”

  “Something’s not right,” La Forge countered as he returned to his station, his fingers playing across the computer console. “I’m increasing the plasma infusion stream by point zero zero eight. See it now?”

  Taurik’s right eyebrow arched. “Indeed.” He then pointed to another monitor. “Antimatter levels have dropped again.”

  “Geordi,” Data said, working at another console. “I have initiated a level-one diagnostic on the antimatter flow sensors.” La Forge and Taurik watched the monitor as, within seconds, the true nature of what was happening abruptly revealed itself.

  “The antimatter containment pod is failing!” La Forge said, rushing back to his workstation. His fingers danced over the console, racing against his brain as he struggled to fit the pieces of this barely believable puzzle together. “The regulation subroutines have been bypassed. At the rate we were injecting new plasma, we would have blown ourselves up.” It was a scenario that should have been impossible given the number and variety of redundant safety protocols built into the warp-drive systems. “Our saboteur is even craftier than I thought.”

  At his station, Taurik said, “We are able to vent excess plasma, Commander.” The Vulcan’s voice remained neutral despite the escalating situation unfolding around him.

  La Forge nodded. “Do that now. I’m taking the pod offline until we can balance this out.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” Data asked.

  “Yeah,” the chief engineer replied, keeping his attention focused on his console. “I’m betting the same guy who tripped the intruder alert did this, too. Maybe he did the same sloppy job covering his tracks. Go find him.”

  Data nodded. “I will begin at once.”

  As his friend resumed his own work, La Forge finally saw the results of his own efforts beginning to bear fruit. “Antimatter containment pod is offline, which means we’re without warp power for the time being.”

  “Plasma venting is under way,” Taurik reported. “Levels should be returned to normal in twenty-six seconds.”

  “Great,” La Forge said, sighing in relief. Whoever was sneaking around inside the Enterprise’s computer, the engineer decided, he was good. What else did he have up his sleeve?

  And how long before he triggered something that neither La Forge nor anyone else on the ship could counteract?

  Chapter Twenty-three

  “CAPTAIN,” LIEUTENANT VALE CALLED out from the tactical station, “my security team reports that the skiff pilots are in custody and have been transferred to the brig.”

  “Excellent,” Picard said from where he sat in his command chair, demonstrating the very epitome of calm and control as his crew worked around him.

  Seated at the engineering station, Mhuic nodded to himself in approval. The captain had left nothing to chance, waiting until the ship and its escort of two Dokaalan mining skiffs had moved beyond the communications range of the smaller craft before taking action. With the skiffs unable to send word back to the colony, Lorakin would never see the Enterprise’s attack coming until it was too late.

  There was nothing Mhuic could do about that, of course. All he could do was continue to carry out his assumed duties in his guise of Lieutenant Pauls.

  “Captain,” he said as a status message appeared on one of his station’s monitors, “Commander La Forge reports that the drive-plasma imbalance has been corrected.”

  Picard nodded. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

  Mhuic almost found the situation amusing. Working here in the ship’s command center, he was in the perfect position to keep apprised of the various initiatives currently under way. He knew about the android’s comprehensive computer sweep, and had even managed to forge himself an access code tha
t enabled him to review the newly created software protocol. It was effective, he conceded, and would almost certainly uncover most if not all of the alterations Kalsha had entered while posing as an Enterprise crew member.

  Mhuic had given serious consideration to interfering with the new program’s operation, but had abandoned the idea when he found the tracer algorithm embedded within the protocol’s complex string of instructions. Any attempt to sabotage the program would alert both engineering and security not only of the action, but also the computer interface terminal where the directive originated.

  The android is even more resourceful than I gave it credit for.

  What concerned Mhuic more than the new security program was the undercurrent of confidence and determination he was sensing among the officers here in the ship’s command center. With a strategy of action for returning to the colony in play, Picard and the key members of his staff were now fully immersed in their final planning. At the center of their preparations was the captain, who Mhuic had come to realize had never resigned himself to defeat at the hands of Lorakin.

  “Captain,” Vale said, “I’ve finished reviewing the sensor logs we recorded of the Dokaalan colony, and I’ve pinpointed thirty-two concentrations of diburnium alloy at various points around the asteroid.”

  “Let me guess,” Commander Riker said as the captain swiveled his chair to face the security officer. “Diburnium isn’t an element native to this system.”

  Nodding, Vale smiled. “Not a hint of it in any of our scans, sir. I don’t have enough information to figure out what they might have used for explosives, though. We’ll need to conduct a more intensive scan for that.”

  “I assume you have enough data to plot your firing pattern?” Picard asked.

  “Not a problem, sir,” the lieutenant said. “If the jamming signal Data came up with can give me sixty seconds, that should be plenty of time to lock on and destroy all thirty-two targets.”

  “Excellent,” Picard said. Turning to face the two officers seated at the command center’s forward stations, he ordered, “Helm, bring us about, and lay in a course back to the colony.”

  “Aye, sir,” replied Lieutenant Perim, the Trill currently seated at the helm station.

  Mhuic knew he should have foreseen this happening from the moment Picard had given an order that on its face had seemed innocuous. However, the instruction to the helm officer to proceed out of the asteroid field at a pace slower than the fastest speed obtainable by the Dokaalan mining skiffs had been the captain’s way of stalling for time. He was able to present the appearance of obeying Lorakin’s demands while also providing time for his people to prepare his response to Lorakin. When Picard ordered the ship turned around to head back for the colony, it would be with one mission in mind: to oust the Satarrans.

  Realizing well before now that there was precious little he could do to interfere with the pursuit of that goal, Mhuic had instead turned his energies toward the one meaningful action remaining to him. He had to find a way to alert Lorakin of the pending attack, a task made much more difficult by Picard’s order locking out the communications system so that no messages could be transmitted beyond the ship.

  Still seated at his engineering station, Mhuic had accessed the computer and called up the new security protocols Vale had enabled to comply with the captain’s instructions. With time, he might be able to create a program to circumvent the lockouts and give him access to communications, but would he be able to do so before the Enterprise turned back toward the colony?

  “Data to Captain Picard,” said the voice of the android over the intercom once again. “I believe I have found a way to reveal the presence of Satarran operatives on board the ship.”

  The simple statement, delivered with the android’s usual lack of urgency or other emotion, nevertheless had the immediate impact of causing everyone in the command center to turn toward the captain, who Mhuic saw was exchanging with his second-in-command what the agent interpreted was an expression of surprise.

  “Go ahead, Commander,” Picard said.

  “I have examined the suit we confiscated from the Satarran we captured,” Data replied, “particularly the network of holographic and sensor emitters it uses to scan its environment and deploy its false image of an impersonated individual. I believe that by broadcasting a hypersonic signal through the ship’s communications system, we can in effect create a type of overload that would disable the embedded systems of such a garment.”

  “That doesn’t sound like it’d be very pleasant for anyone wearing the thing, either,” Counselor Troi said from where she sat next to Picard.

  The android replied, “That is correct, Counselor.”

  “How soon can you be ready to broadcast the signal, Mr. Data?” Picard asked.

  “I am making my final preparations now, and should be ready in a moment.”

  Panic flashed through Mhuic’s mind at the report, and he began to consider courses of action. He could not leave the command center, at least not without an escort, thanks to Picard’s order that no one move about the ship alone. Besides, simply doing so might draw attention to himself even before the android’s plan was put into action.

  He gave brief thought to attacking Picard. Killing the captain might have the effect of disrupting the ship’s chain of command, after all. The idea was just as quickly discarded. Mhuic was unarmed, but Lieutenant Vale was carrying a phaser and he was certain she would not hesitate to use the weapon, especially if she felt Picard was in danger.

  The only thing for him to do, he realized, was to remain at the engineering station and continue his attempts to warn Lorakin. However, planting a covert instruction to override the lockouts to the communications system and transmitting the alert signal he had already composed would be too time-consuming. Data would almost certainly be ready to put his own plan into motion before Mhuic could complete his task.

  There is no more time for stealth, he reminded himself. You have a single chance. Do not waste it.

  He entered instructions to his console, reviewing the program he had created and trying to identify and correct any lingering errors. There had been no time to test the new protocol. If he executed it now, there was still a distinct possibility it would fail before carrying out its set of instructions.

  That does not matter now. Either it will work, or it will not, but you are almost out of time.

  “Captain,” he heard Counselor Troi say from behind him, “I’m sensing something odd.”

  “Odd?” the captain repeated.

  Mhuic did not stop what he was doing, did not look up from his console.

  “Powerful emotions. Panic, anger, determination. It just seemed to come out of nowhere, sir.”

  “Captain,” he heard Data’s voice say. “I am ready.”

  Though Mhuic did not turn to look at Picard, he noticed the momentary pause after the android’s report. Was the captain still trying to interpret what the empath had told him?

  She can sense you, he told himself. You’re sacrificing your emotional control, and she can detect that.

  He continued to work.

  “Make it so, Commander,” Picard said.

  Mhuic recorded his final changes to the new program. It needed to be moved to the proper area of the ship’s main computer core before it could be executed.

  “Captain!” Troi said, and Mhuic heard her rise from her chair. “There’s someone here.”

  “A Satarran?” Riker asked. There was no mistaking the mood of warning in the command center now.

  “Lieutenant Pauls,” Vale said, her voice hard and echoing with authority, “step away from that console, now.” Mhuic did not have to turn to know that the security chief had drawn her weapon and was almost certainly aiming at him.

  The program was in place. His hand moved toward the console key that would execute it.

  Then Mhuic’s world exploded.

  Picard flinched as Lieutenant Pauls shrieked in apparent pain, his entire body
spasming as if enveloped by an immense electrical charge.

  The engineer lunged from his chair but could do nothing but stagger about the rear of the bridge, his body writhing and, to Picard’s shock, beginning to flicker in and out of existence. In the next instant his uniform and features faded away to reveal the now familiar black and silver exoskeleton of a Satarran mimicking suit. With his true form now revealed, he continued to twitch in obvious discomfort for another several seconds before collapsing to the deck.

  Her phaser drawn and leveled at the now unmoving Satarran, Vale tapped her combadge. “Security team to the bridge.” She probed the Satarran with the toe of her boot but the intruder remained motionless. “I guess Commander Data’s dog whistle worked,” she said, and Picard saw the knowing smirk on the lieutenant’s face.

  “Captain,” Riker said, his attention on the status monitor situated next to his chair, “we’re getting reports from across the ship. So far, six Satarrans have been found, all of them reacted to Data’s signal like…” He paused as he looked over his shoulder at the fallen Satarran. “Like Lieutenant Pauls.”

  Six? Picard could only wonder which of his officers and crew members had been replaced with operatives lying in wait to betray and kill them all.

  “Engineering to Captain Picard,” Data said over the intercom. “Sir, I have detected an unauthorized computer access originating from the engineering station on the bridge.”

  The captain frowned as he looked to where the Satarran agent had been setting mere seconds earlier. What had the spy managed to do before being caught?

  His answer came in the form of an alert signal blaring to life from the tactical station.

  “What the hell is that?” Riker asked.

  Handing her phaser to the first officer so that he could keep watch on the unconscious Satarran, Vale rushed back to the tactical station. After several seconds of intense scrutiny, she looked to Picard. “He enabled some kind of invasive program to circumvent the security lockouts I put in place.”