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Their monitor readings corresponded exactly to those of Bouchard and Petriello. Doctor McCoy said somberly, “They’re in comas.”

“Sir?” asked Galloway, his forehead wrinkled in confusion and obvious worry. “The inertial dampers were fine on their deck. They didn’t even fall out of their bunks.”

Leslie shook his head. “We’ve already had two coma cases today. The doctor can’t figure out the cause there, either.”

“Not yet, Lieutenant,” the doctor said pointedly.

Nurse Chapel leaned over slightly to glance at the nearest unconscious figure.

“Okay, people,” Doctor McCoy said. “Y’all know what to do. We have three more cases of sudden-onset coma without apparent cause and rapid deterioration of brain functions. I need a steady supply of dalaphaline and three neural stimulators. What’re you waiting for?”

Chapel started toward the drug cabinet, her fatigue now a thing of the past. It was just as well; there’d be no chance for any of them to rest for a few hours.

Gaining access to the tower was simple once Tra had explained the procedure. The strange, semicircular door lifted, and the Hofstadter’s landing party went in. They were straining their necks to take in the interior.

It was breathtaking and unsettling at the same time. Scotty had expected a large space inside, like a hall of sorts. Instead, he was looking at something his mind was busy seeking comparisons for.

There were similarities to what he thought an anthill must look like inside, with tunnels and caverns. Or perhaps, if you happened to find yourself in a large block of Swiss cheese. The door had opened into a reasonably spacious cavern. A number of tunnels led into darkness. The only light they had available came from the open door and their flashlights.

After a quick security sweep by Mariella Kologwe, Spock gave them the go-ahead to search for a route to the energy source, which was near the apex of the building. Unfortunately, the structure was a labyrinth—there was no direct route. Spock, wanting to avoid further disappearances, split the landing party.

Scott and Doctor M’Benga set off to their assigned tunnel. Heads bent, they squeezed into a dark shaft leading gently upward from the entrance chamber. It was low, but wide enough to let them move side by side.

Their flashlights illuminated the passage ahead. Its sides were warped and twisted, creating nooks that could hide anything. Scotty kept glancing at his tricorder to check his surroundings. M’Benga, reticent by nature, kept pace quietly beside him. Scotty listened, hearing at first only their footsteps, but then… a whispering?

It was like someone talking very quietly, out of earshot. Scotty couldn’t pick out individual words—not even alien ones—but he knew language when he heard it.

“Do you hear that?” Scotty stopped and turned to face M’Benga.

The doctor’s face was more confused than fearful. “Hear what?”

Scotty grabbed his arm. “Dinna move,” he said, whispering. “You have to be very quiet.” M’Benga nodded and stopped where he was, waving his flashlight back and forth.

Nothing. Had his worried mind enhanced some small sound? A piece of ancient machinery stirring to life? Or had he imagined it entirely?

Or had the whisperers just fallen silent, hearing their approach?

“Let’s go,” Scott said at last. The silence was more unnerving than the whispering. “Are you picking up anything?”

M’Benga tapped some controls on his tricorder. “Nothing.”

“Aye,” said Scotty, “but I bet that’s what Yüksel thought too.”

After a few more minutes, during which the whispering never resumed, M’Benga suddenly stopped and moved his flashlight around. They’d left the shaft behind and now stood in a chamber. Scotty added his light to M’Benga’s to get an idea of where they were.

The chamber was roughly circular, and it was impossible to say where the floor ended and the walls began, because everything here was sloped and merged into something else. Even the furniture—at least, Scotty assumed it was furniture—was a part of the floor. Unlike the entrance chamber, this one