Ghost of a Chance - Mark Garland [45]
"I doubt the Televek are capable of anything on that scale.
However, I find it hard to believe that their arrival here during such a major geologic event is simply a coincidence."
Janeway nodded, then wondered if they were thinking along the same lines. "Can you explain?"
"I cannot. It is what I believe humans would call a... a hunch."
Janeway paused and stood looking at him. She and Tuvok had known each other for many years. He was as logical and staid as any Vulcan she had ever met, but sometimes, she had come to realize, he was capable of much more than that. "Mr. Tuvok," she said softly, "it would seem that I am starting to rub off on you."
"I would consider that a compliment, sir," Kim told the Vulcan, butting in before the other could respond.
Tuvok drew a long, contemplative breath. "Very well then, Mr. Kim, I will take your advice."
The walk continued past stables filled with animals and emitting a smell that seemed to change very little from one part of the galaxy to another. The next large building featured double doors flung wide.
Peering in, Janeway saw what could only have been a blacksmith shop, judging by the bellows, three in all, that hung from the ceiling, with foot pedals rigged to work them. Two craftsmen were on hand, hammering at glowing bits of metal.
Building spaceships, Janeway thought, which brought her right back to the situation at hand.
"Mr. Tuvok, would you agree, then, that the Televek's proximity to the underground power source is also not likely to be a coincidence?"
"Yes, but I remain doubtful that they control it, or that they have gained access to it. We have seen no evidence of that."
Janeway nodded. "Agreed."
"But they haven't given up trying," Kim said.
A woman, trailed by three children, moved cautiously to one side, allowing the strange aliens and the small mob that surrounded them to pass. No one seemed interested in blocking the way, yet no one panicked, either, which was something Janeway might have expected. She said as much to both her officers.
"I've never met a people quite like them," Tuvok agreed.
"Neither have I," Kim said with a wry grin, "but Voyager is my first mission, after all."
"We haven't forgotten," Janeway assured him.
"They are physiologically well behind mankind on an evolutionary scale," Tuvok said, "and yet they have inventions and ideas far ahead of anything early man was capable of, or the early ancestors of present-day Vulcans, for that matter."
"But the possibility still exists that they're being manipulated by some outside presence," Kim suggested.
"Perhaps," Tuvok said, "but I would suggest that they are simply very intelligent."
"An interesting theory, Mr. Tuvok," Janeway said, finding the idea quite palatable. In man, just as with every advanced species mankind had encountered, the sudden emergence of intelligence as an evolutionary advantage, a key survival trait, had ultimately allowed those species to leap up the natural-selection ladder. With the Drenarians, things had simply gone a little faster than usual. Their first leaps had been nothing short of extraordinary, and their progress showed no signs of slowing down.
"Can you imagine Neanderthals developing villages and agriculture like this?" Kim said.
"The Drenarians are a remarkable people," Janeway agreed. "And as long as we're in it this far, I'll admit that I believe they are definitely worth saving. The trouble is, their own planet doesn't seem to agree."
"They may need protection as well, Captain," Tuvok said. "The Televek have left them alone until now, but there is no reason to believe they will continue to do so."
"Agreed. We may have to organize them somehow."
"Nan Loteth isn't one of their leaders," Kim explained, leaning toward the captain and away from the Drenarian just ahead of them, "although he does seem to be