Ghost of a Chance - Mark Garland [47]
We do believe this planet may eventually tear itself apart, and you with it, perhaps in a matter of weeks, or even days."
Nan Loteth's expression was grave, but he did not look shocked, and his nod told Janeway that she had underestimated him again.
"Something is wrong," he agreed. "Very wrong. The earthquakes and the volcanoes to the south, they are not right, not normal.
There have been no stories of such disturbances for many, many generations. We have waited for the Jun-Tath to tell us what is happening and what to do, but they have not done so."
"How long has this activity been occurring?" Tuvok asked the Drenarian, already taking tricorder readings of the current tremor.
"For one full year, since the night of the third crescent."
Tuvok nodded. "And how many quakes were as severe as the one in which the captain was injured yesterday?"
"Many. I don't know the number, but they come more often now.
We used to think the mountains would grow quiet again, and the earth would be still. Now many fear it will only grow worse, as you say."
He looked toward the east, to the angry, darkened sky.
"You mentioned a date," Janeway said, following his gaze, her thoughts just beginning to turn fully around. "The third crescent."
"A religious event of some kind?" Kim suggested.
"Perhaps," Nan Loteth said.
"You mean you don't know?" Janeway asked.
Nan Loteth looked skyward once more. "I know only what I have seen through my glass. The third crescent is like the other two, but smaller, and not so full of holes."
"Curious," Tuvok said.
Kim was still looking at the Drenarian. "What is?"
"The third moon," Janeway said, nodding to herself as she followed the Drenarian's gaze to the curved, pale sliver of light that continued to rise above the hills. "You're saying the earthquakes began when the third moon arrived."
"Soon after, yes," Nan Loteth replied.
"One year ago?" Tuvok asked.
"Yes. And I do not think they will stop until the wandering moon goes away again."
CHAPTER 9
Captain Janeway stood stunned by the realization, something she should have seen from the start. She could see, looking at him, that even Tuvok was embarrassed by his own lack of perception in this matter.
Suddenly, however, the truth seemed obvious to both of them.
The two larger moons followed similar orbits around the planet, almost trailing each other across the sky when observed from the planet's surface, though in fact one had a much smaller orbit than the other, allowing it to appear to overtake the more distant moon from time to time. The third, slightly smaller, moon was at odds with the others, and no doubt with the planet itself.
When the brown dwarf star passed by the Drenar system it had certainly dislodged a number of planetary bodies, including Drenar's new third moon, which likely had been orbiting one of the system's large, outer gas giants at the time. Drenar Four had captured the moon as it traveled sunward, and the opposing tidal forces that had resulted from the pull of the three moons amounted to a celestial tug-of-war. A war the planet was about to lose.
If all three moons came close to lining up, as it now appeared they might, it would be a noteworthy event to say the least.
"The question is, how long have we got?" Kim wondered, seeing the implications clearly enough himself.
Tuvok stood with his tricorder open, playing at its small controls with deft fingers. "I am attempting to form an extrapolation," he said in answer.
"Please do," Janeway told him, content to wait. His knowledge in many areas was equal to her own, but being a Vulcan, he was unquestionably quicker. As the moments ticked past, however, she began to wonder.
Finally, with Kim looking strained, she said, "Is there a problem, Tuvok?"
"Yes, Captain. The patterns of magma movement beneath the crust have been occurring on a tremendous scale. However, their patterns