The Eyes of the Beholders - A. C. Crispin [19]
As soon as the engineer reached the bridge, he glanced around him to identify the inhabitants (their color spectra were as distinctive to the blind officer as their faces were to a sighted crew member).
“I would like your opinion on what we have just encountered, Mister La Forge,” the captain said.
“Aye, sir.” Geordi headed directly for the engineering console at the back of the bridge. As he studied the readouts there, he sucked in a surprised breath. “Thought I’d seen everything,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head ruefully. “Guess that’ll teach me.”
“Conclusions, Mister La Forge?” the captain asked.
Geordi straightened and resisted the urge to scratch his head. “It’s a previously unknown form of energy, artificial in origin, and it’s surrounded us, sir. It’s beginning to pull the ship along the same path as the Marco Polo followed. It’s very strong.”
“Artificial … ,” Picard repeated musingly. “That leaves us with two possibilities. One, that this field represents some type of new scientific discovery by beings that we already know, or …”
He gave his second-in-command a meaningful glance, and Riker concluded, “Or, that it’s generated by something we’ve never before encountered. Something alien.”
“What is our current position, Mister Crusher?” Picard asked, turning to his most junior officer.
“We’re being pulled along, sir, just as Mister La Forge said. Our speed is gradually increasing as the field overcomes our inertia.”
“If we continue at this rate, what speed are we likely to attain?” Riker asked.
Wesley frowned. Geordi could see the colors on his face ripple as his facial muscles moved. “Well, that depends on what it’s pulling us toward—I mean, how far away our destination is. I would estimate that we will reach minimum impulse speed in about two hours at this rate.”
“Is the force this energy field is exerting constant?” Picard asked.
“Yes, sir.”
The captain turned to the operations station. “Can you identify the parameters of this field, Mister Data? Are they also constant?”
“The parameters are indeed detectable, Captain, but they, unlike our speed, are neither constant nor predictable. The Enterprise did not simply drift into the influence of this field, sir. I was tracking the phenomenon before we were captured, and it seemed stable—until it actually flowed toward us to envelop the ship. At a remarkable rate of speed, I might add—nearly full impulse power.”
“How long did it take to envelop us?”
“Three point one seconds, sir.”
“Captain,” La Forge said, “I now have warp power at your disposal, so we can try to break free.”
“Do you think we can do it, Mister La Forge?”
The chief engineer hesitated. “I’m not sure, Captain. It’ll take a fair amount of power. If the force drawing us along remains constant …” He shook his head. “Well, maybe.”
“Very well,” Picard said, and he stood a moment in silent thought. “Lieutenant Worf, can we contact Starfleet Command?”
“Negative, Captain.” The Klingon’s bass voice sounded not at all regretful. There’s nothing Worf likes better than a chance to take on all comers single-handed, Geordi thought wryly. It’s been a while since we’ve faced a real challenge, and he’s hot to trot. “This field is inhibiting transmission and reception on all subspace frequencies, sir. Until we break free of it, any communication—except over very short distances—will be impossible.”
The captain turned to his first officer. “Recommendations, Number One?” he asked.
“Recommend we try to pull free now, Captain, and then attempt to follow the energy field to its source, using our sensors to trace it.”
Picard considered silently for a second, then shook his head. “No. Now is not the time to try and break free. We have been ordered to find and rescue the Marco Polo and the PaKathen, and our best chance of locating them lies in letting ourselves be taken where they were taken.”
“You mean … deliberately let ourselves be drawn into the trap?” Riker asked slowly.
The silence and tension on the bridge were almost tangible.
Picard