The Eyes of the Beholders - A. C. Crispin [30]
“The central object within the energy field appears to be approximately five kilometers at its greatest length.”
Picard pursed his lips slightly. That made the thing the size of some starbases. “Its shape, Mister Data?”
“I would judge roughly rectangular, sir, but the energy field is continuing to distort my readings, which makes its precise parameters difficult to determine. I also cannot identify the substance from which it is constructed. The only known alloys or materials registering on my sensors come from the vessels surrounding the alien artifact.”
“Vessels?” the captain queried sharply. “Plural? How many vessels?”
“I cannot be sure, Captain. Some of them are so close together that their readings overlap. However, I would estimate that there are at least one hundred.”
“One hundred?” Could it be an alien armada? “Are they similar in design and construction, Commander?”
“No, sir, they vary widely.”
“Are they docked?”
“No, sir, they appear to be stationary, just … drifting.”
Could that thing have captured so many ships? Picard glanced quickly over at Riker, who raised his eyebrows. “How does that number compare with the number of vessels that have gone missing in this sector?”
“Between fourteen and twenty vessels of known registry have gone through this sector and apparently vanished, Captain. I could not be more precise than that, because several of the small, privately owned freighters were not meticulous about recording all ports of call. Presumably because they were—or are—engaged in shipping activities that fall outside the bounds of Federation law.”
“You mean smugglers, Data,” Geordi said dryly from the other side of the bridge.
“Precisely.”
“I see,” Picard said. “Can we get a visual yet?”
“Not at this moment, sir. But we should be able to in about ten minutes.”
Time limped by, while the bridge crew sat silent and tense in their seats. Picard glanced around him, noting the rigidity in La Forge’s, Worf’s, and Riker’s shoulders, though the officers betrayed no other sign of nerves, well trained as they were. Deanna Troi sat composedly, her hands folded in her lap against her turquoise skirt, but Picard saw the troubled expression in her black eyes. Wesley Crusher was rather pale, but the young officer’s hands were steady as they moved across his instrument panel.
He’ll make a starship captain one day, Picard thought, not for the first time. That is, if he doesn’t decide to become an engineer or a scientist. For a fleeting second, Jean-Luc remembered the being they had called the Traveler, and his prediction that Wesley Crusher was destined for greatness. Only if he lives to fulfill that destiny, the captain thought sourly. And at this point, I’m beginning to wonder whether any of us will be alive tomorrow …
“Mister Worf,” he said, “can you pick up any transmissions from either the PaKathen or the Marco Polo?”
“Negative, sir,” the Klingon’s bass rumble responded a minute or so later. Picard sighed softly. “Keep trying to hail them at regular intervals, Lieutenant.”Just in case someone remains alive to answer …
“Understood, Captain.”
“Sir.” Data suddenly turned in his seat to regard the captain, his strange yellow eyes holding Picard’s unblinkingly. “I believe I can give you a visual now.”
“Onscreen,” the captain ordered. “Mister La Forge, if we get a good look at this thing, I would like you to examine its visible light spectrum.”
The chief engineer nodded. “Aye-aye, Captain.”
Data busied himself at his controls, and the starfield steadied. “That object in the immediate center of the viewscreen is our destination, sir,” Data reported. “It is mainly discernible because it is blocking out a portion of the Eta Carinae nebula. The object itself is illuminated … however, at this distance, and seen against the brightness of the stars, it appears dark.”
Picard fixed his eyes on the viewer, then, after a moment’s study, he could make out a small, dim blotch against the bright haze of the nebula. “Magnification factor ten, Mister Data.”
The viewscreen wavered, then the object was suddenly much