Gateways 07_ What Lay Beyond - Diane Carey [99]
“Yes it would,” one man said, almost with glee.
“Then help me, please,” he said.
The woman walked over to the console of controls, flipped four cobalt-blue buttons, and waited. Information streamed across a panel and she read for a moment, activated a control, and read some more. She seemed to be seeking information and while she did so, everyone, even Picard, remained quiet. There was an aloofness to these people that disturbed him. He was certain these six had never spoken to an off-worlder and his presence probably made them nervous or annoyed. He could not be sure at all.
“The computer records show we do not have the control mechanism here,” she said matter-of-factly.
Picard was stunned but kept his silence. He wanted to force her to speak, to provide more information. After several tense moments, she began again.
“It seems our ancestors left the controlling device on the last world we visited before settling here. I wonder why.” She paused, thoughtful, then continued. “The records refer to a Master Resonator, but I can access no details. We can send you to that world to seek the device.”
Now she fell silent and the captain absorbed the disheartening news. He had come a great way to seek these people and they seemed far from enlightened, far from human in their interactions. Maybe they were closer to the title “demons of air and darkness” than he ever wanted to admit.
“Do the records say what I am to do with the device?”
She shook her head, but one of the other women spoke up. “The gateways are attuned to one another, so I have believed that the Resonator can be inserted into any control panel and close down the entire system.”
Picard nodded at the logic behind having an emergency cutoff switch; the principle made sense. “And once I find the Master Resonator, how do I return to my ship?”
“Through a gateway, of course,” said the standing woman. It seemed such a simple answer, really, and her look betrayed her surprise at the question. Picard once more felt anger at the situation. “Why did you leave our region?”
The woman looked at Picard blankly and she turned to the others. A man stood, the one with the largest tattoo on his face. He spoke up to cover the distance. “Our presence threatened to tamper with the natural order on too many worlds. Such changes were not always welcome ones, as I understand it. A change of heart, a change of government… something made our people stop and reconsider our presence. As a result, we migrated across space, until we reached here. Since then, we have abandoned contact with other people, concentrating on studying realms our gateways could not reach.”
In his mind’s eye, Picard recalled the devastation he found on Iconia, and Data’s analysis that the planet had been attacked. He wondered if these descendants knew of the attack and might actually not have had a choice but to leave. The notion of other realms also caught his attention. Could they have meant time and space piercing the dimensions and centuries? The mind boggled at the notion of such power especially in the hands of a people that did not display any moral compass.
“We are merely sentries, Captain Picard,” the woman said. “We watch and protect our people. You have a charter that obligates you to protect others. I find that admirable and will help you find the item you need. But after that, we will once again merely watch.”
The man spoke up again. “If you can, Captain, please do not destroy the remaining gateways. Our history has shown that our people have changed their minds now and then. I would hate to deprive us of the option of coming home.”
Picard looked at them and realized that they were out of their element. Nothing prepared them for first contact, nothing taught them what to do on the day another race stepped foot on their planet. However great the Iconians were two hundred thousand years in the past, these people were far removed from them. Whatever realities they studied kept them from the one they lived in and they were clueless how to act.
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