The Garden - Melissa Scott [31]
"Yes, Captain." Kim fumbled in his tool kit and finally found a thin extension rod. He tugged it out to its full two-meter length, and glanced back at the captain.
"Mask in place?" Janeway asked, and adjusted her own. Kim tightened his, and nodded. "Lieutenant Torres, you're recording all this?"
"Aye, Captain."
"Then let's go, Mr. Kim."
Kim took a deep breath, and reached out cautiously
with the rod, aiming at a large bloom nearly two meters from the roadway. He extended the tip toward the flower, stopped when he thought he must be in contact with the very tips of the invisible hairs. Nothing happened, and he eased the rod forward. There was another snapping sound, a heavy noise like gears suddenly releasing, and he saw two more branches snap forward, slamming their fruits against the stone of the road. The pollen or seeds rose like smoke, and Kim held his breath until the plumes faded, teased to nothing by the wind.
"This is not a natural phenomenon," Torres said.
"I'm inclined to agree with you," Paris said.
Janeway nodded thoughtfully. "The first branch is starting to rewind."
Kim could hear a faint creaking as she spoke, and looked to see one of the longer branches slowly twisting back toward its original position. The scaly bark seemed to contract along one side-the sunlit side, he clarified, so maybe the sun provided the necessary energy, or at least the stimulus-pulling the branch back into its taut spiral. The cup at the end of the branch was empty, and he wondered how long it would take to grow another gas-filled flower.
"Hey," Paris said, coming up beside him, "that flower's gone, too."
He was right, Kim saw; the blue flower he had touched had vanished, leaving only the gray-brown stump that blended perfectly with the dirt around it.
"I've traced the root system," Torres said. "It doesn't seem to run under the roadway."
"So if we stay on the road itself, we should be safe?" Renehan asked.
"Unless they have something else waiting for us," Torres answered.
Janeway folded her arms, and considered the arch
of the branches. "Not a natural phenomenon," she said, so softly that Kim barely heard the words. "No, I would say not, B'Elanna." She looked back over her shoulder. "Any sign of nonorganic components, Lieutenant Torres?"
"Not in this area," the engineer answered. "Or at least not as part of this tree. The only things I'm picking up are the same pipeline we've been following and the road itself."
"Right." Janeway turned back to the trees. "There seems to be a clear message involved here. Stay on the road, and you won't get hurt."
"Not very friendly," Paris said, almost in spite of himself, and Janeway fixed him with a quick stare.
"But not precisely hostile, either, Mr. Paris. We press on."
CHAPTER 4
THE REMAINING CREATURES KEPT THEIR DISTANCE AS THE
away team crossed the last kilometer to the citadel. Kim could see them hovering watchfully among the heavily fruited bushes, or peering from the stands of tall grain, but they kept away from the road itself, and any attempt to lure one closer sent them scurrying deeper into the protection of the fields. Ahead, the citadel seemed larger than ever, its dull, waxy walls barely reflecting the sunlight. And the sun was setting, Kim realized, declining from the near-zenith where he had last noticed its position. The citadel cast a lengthening shadow now, reaching out to engulf them-already, the shadow of the tallest tower lay along the road less than five meters ahead of him. Kim hesitated, suddenly unwilling to step into that shade, and then shook himself, angry that he'd indulged such an unscientific thought. There was nothing menacing about the shadow; it was a natural
phenomenon, perfectly benign. If he should be worrying about anything, it should be the citadel itself.
"Pretty intimidating place," Paris said,