The Garden - Melissa Scott [17]
"Same here, Captain," Kim answered.
"Hull integrity and environmental systems are unaffected," Tuvok said.
"Everything's all right in engineering," Torres's voice said, from the intercom, "but that was a hell of a shock. What happened?"
"That's not yet clear, Lieutenant Torres," Janeway answered. "We'll keep you informed." She lifted her finger from the intercom button, and looked at Chakotay. "Any guesses?"
"A scan of some kind," the first officer answered.
"I can confirm that, Captain," Tuvok said. "We seem to have experienced a full-spectrum scan from the planet."
"Its source?" Janeway demanded.
"I cannot be certain," Tuvok said, "but all indications are that it came from the structure presently on the screen."
Well, that was no surprise, Paris thought, still rubbing his eyes. Where else would it come from? A dozen other alternatives instantly presented themselves-underground installations, the platforms, almost anything-and he was glad he hadn't spoken.
"And I'm still not reading l ife signs," Kim said. "Or a power base sufficient to have sent that pulse."
"Can you trace a communications spectrum?" Janeway asked.
Kim shook his head. "Everything reads dead now, Captain. There was just that pulse and then- nothing."
"Open hailing frequencies," Janeway said. "Our own standard set, plus anything we've seen used in this quadrant."
"Including Kazon-Ogla frequencies?" Kim asked.
"A good question," Janeway said, and Paris glanced over his shoulder to find her smiling slightly. "Yes, use them. That's one set the Kirse will be sure to monitor."
Kim nodded, hands busy on his controls, and Paris swung back to his own station. "Hailing frequencies open, Captain."
"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager," Janeway said, pitching her voice to carry to the communications relays. "We come in peace, and would like to establish trade
relations with the inhabitants of this planet. Please respond."
Paris fixed his eyes on the main screen, waiting for it to dissolve into the familiar larger-than-life figures of full communications. Instead, the complex of buildings remained on the screen, empty of life and movement. Their surfaces shone in the local sun's pale light, an odd, oily brilliance that was like nothing he'd ever seen before. Stone or metal, the shapes were graceful, weirdly beautiful-they looked, he thought, like the city sculptures he'd seen once on Delphis IV, celebrations of the Delphians' crowded, transurban world.
After a moment, Kim said, almost apologetically, "There's no response, Captain."
"Keep trying." Janeway pushed herself out of her chair, stood hands on hips, staring at the screen with narrowed eyes. "And carry on with the science scans."
"Yes, Captain."
"Check for any sign of recent fighting, too," Chako-tay said, and came to stand beside Janeway.
She lifted an eyebrow at him. "Surely if the Andir-rim had done enough damage to prevent the Kirse responding to our hail, we'd be able to see signs of it from space."
Chakotay shrugged. "We don't know how large a population the Kirse actually have. One good reason for spending resources on an automated defense system as elaborate as this one could be a small or a declining population."
"It's possible," Janeway said, but shook her head. "And right now, Mr. Chakotay, we've got too many possibilities to be useful."
She sounded almost Vulcan as she said that, and Paris hid a grin, imagining Tuvok's startled approval.
He realized that Chakotay was looking at him then, and hastily fixed his attention on his own controls, running an unnecessary diagnostic just to have something to do. The navigation sensors were as empty as the rest of the sensor screens, only the phaser platforms moving in their careful orbits, chattering to themselves, apparently oblivious of the ship hanging just outside their range. Or I hope we're outside their range, Paris amended. At least they don't seem all that interested.
"I'm not picking up any tracks of recent phaser