“Me neither,” she said. She reached over and took his hand. “You’ve been hiding in here, haven’t you?”
He nodded and shrugged. “Sort of.”
“Why?”
“Because,” he said, staring into his cup, “I can’t quite figure out whether or not it’s fair. Not being dead, I mean.”
“Now why in the world would you think that, Bart?”
He looked her in the eye, determined to get it off his chest, no matter how difficult it was. “Because of the others who died and didn’t get a roll of the damned dice to bring them back. I mean, how the hell am I supposed to go blithely along with this fortuitous second chance of mine when I know every time you look at me you’ll be thinking ‘Why Bart and not Duffy?’ ”
Sonya looked down. He could see she was fighting hard to hold back tears. She and Duffy had found something miraculous together, something that had been ripped from her, never to be returned.
“You are such an idiot,” she finally said.
Faulwell, taken aback, was forced to laugh. “Excuse me?”
“Yes, I loved Kieran and always will. Yes, I would give my left arm for five more minutes with him to tell him that. And, yes, I will miss him for as long as I live, but how shallow do you think I am, Bart?”
“I never said—”
“Listen, pal,” she said with heat, “you’ve been given a gift. My God, we’ve all been given a gift. We’ve gotten back someone precious to us that we thought we had lost forever. It’s a miracle, Uncertainty Drive or no Uncertainty Drive, and it just shows me that death doesn’t have to be final, doesn’t need to be the end. As long as we’re alive, there’s still a chance, still hope, no matter how infinitesimal.”
Bart Faulwell could only sit and stare in wonder at his beautiful colleague. “I suddenly understand what Duffy saw in you, Commander.”
“And don’t you forget it, buster.” Gomez released his hand and stood. “So, okay, I’ll leave you alone now.”
Faulwell stood with her. “Naw, I think I’m done here. Thanks.”
Sonya Gomez smiled her most dazzling smile. “Don’t mention it.”
Two days later, Captain Gold logged off the computer after going over the day’s reports. Since the finish of the Minstrel’s Whisper, the opening of navigable lanes through the Sargasso Sector had proceeded without a hitch. The derelicts that could be safely moved were and those that were either of no interest for further study or deemed too dangerous to tamper with—including the now inert Minstrel’s Whisper—were being disposed of under Gomez’s black-hole demolition scheme.
Should their luck hold, the da Vinci would complete this mission well ahead of the appearance of the first colony ship.
Of course, their ordeal under the influence of the Uncertainty Drive hadn’t been entirely without repercussions. There were several of the crew who would no doubt jump in worry that it was back every time they stubbed a toe or lost a possession. And Tev could be seen stewing whenever he was reminded by Soloman’s presence of the Bynar’s ridiculous probability theory that had been proposed initially to mock the Tellarite but which wound up saving the life of everyone on board.
And then, of course, there was Soloman’s luck at cards. Ever since his return from his encounter with the Uncertainty Drive, he had displayed the most uncanny run of luck. Well, Gold thought, he deserved every winning hand for what he had done.
And speaking of hand, the captain was reminded again of his missing wedding ring. He had chalked its disappearance up to the Uncertainty Drive, but even after the Drive had shut itself down he still had not found it.
Perhaps this was simply a case of his actually having lost it. No improbability field or alien technology to explain it, just a very human case of carelessness.
But still, there was Rachel’s voice…“Odds are it’s right where you left it, David.”
He went over to that shelf again, sure he wasn’t going to find it because hadn’t he been over this room, the shelf included, a dozen times and come up empty-handed? But he had to look, just to satisfy Rachel.
And, of course, as usual, she was right. The simple gold band was right there, where he had left it.
David Gold smiled and picked it up and placed it immediately on his finger. Chance was, however it came to you, a funny thing.
About the Author
PAUL KUPPERBERG is a writer and an editor in DC Comics’ Licensed Publishing department. In addition to some seven hundred comic book stories featuring such characters as Superman, Vigilante, Supergirl, the Doom Patrol, Conan, and characters from the Cartoon Network (to name but a few), as well as of his own creations, including Arion, Lord of Atlantis, Checkmate!, and Takion, he has also written the novels Crime Campaign and Murdermoon, the young adult novel The Sirian Conspiracy (with Michael Jan Friedman), numerous short stories, satire and parody for Marvel’s Crazy Magazine, the syndicated Superman and Tom & Jerry newspaper strips, magazine articles, and nonfiction books on topics as diverse as the R.M.S. Titanic, John Glenn, and the Great Depression. Sargasso Sector is actually his third go at Star Trek, having scripted two issues of the original DC Comics run of the title in the 1980s. Paul lives in Connecticut with his wife, Robin, and their son, Max.
Coming Next Month:
Star Trek™: S.C.E. #43
Paradise Interrupted
by John S. Drew
For centuries, Risa has been the garden spot of the Alpha Quadrant, the place to go for rest, relaxation, and recreation. When the S.C.E. crew of the U.S.S. da Vinci learn their latest assignment is to Risa, they expect to find themselves in paradise.
But Paradise isn;t what it used to be. Something is draining power from the complex weather systems that keep the planet pleasant, and if the S.C.E. doesn’t determing the cause soon, Risa as they know it will cease to exist forever!
COMING IN AUGUST 2004 FROM POCKET BOOKS!
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