The Red King - Michael A. Martin [11]
“What, precisely, are we looking at, Lieutenant?” Tuvok asked Pazlar, raising an eyebrow.
“A little something that Jaza, Cethente, and I spent the last two hours putting together while the computer was verifying our initial scans. It’s a map of the subspace topology of a volume of space that encompasses both the Small Magellanic Cloud and most of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy. The mathematics are complex.”
“No kidding,” Vale said, punctuating her observation with a low whistle. “Makes me glad I never opted for the sciences track at Starfleet Academy.”
Riker was growing impatient to get at the meaning of the cryptic diagram that loomed overhead. “Can you get to the point of this, Lieutenant?” he asked, gesturing toward the bizarre tubular agglomeration.
Pazlar nodded. “Certainly, Captain. The reason that two widely spaced interspatial fissures in our galaxy both ended up here, is—as near as we can tell so far—because the Small Magellanic Cloud seems to be ‘downhill’ from almost every location in the Milky Way. Interspatially speaking, of course.”
“Logical,” said Tuvok.
Akaar nodded. “I agree.”
Riker let out a low whistle of his own, wondering whether his senior science officer and stellar cartographer had just invented a mathematical proof of the nonexistence of coincidence—or if they had instead proved that coincidence itself amounted to a previously undiscovered fundamental force of nature.
“Captain, what about Donatra and her ship?” Vale asked. “The Valdore was only a few kilometers away from us when we were drawn into this…‘Great Bloom,’ or whatever the hell that thing out there is. Is it possible that the Romulans were thrown here as well?”
“That’s hard to say,” Pazlar said. “Jaza and Dakal are still scanning for any sign of the Valdore, or the fleet Donatra believes she lost inside the energy rift. So far, no one has turned up so much as a scrap of debris. Either Donatra’s ships all somehow managed to escape being sent here, or else the phenomenon is still generating too much interference for us to completely trust our sensor readings.”
Riker hated to think that Donatra, who not only had been instrumental in the defeat of the mad Praetor Shinzon weeks ago, but had also just helped him hammer out a tenuous peace between the rival political factions in contention over control of the Romulan Star Empire, might have been killed by the same energy phenomenon that had displaced Titan. He also knew that until the fate of Donatra and her lost fleet was definitively understood, any attempt to return home via the rift would pose an unacceptably high risk.
“Stay on it,” he told Pazlar. “I don’t have any intention of remaining out here indefinitely. We’re going to get Titan back to the other side of that rift. But we need to make an accurate assessment of our chances of re-crossing it in one piece before we can seriously think about going back in there.”
“That’s Jaza’s top priority,” Pazlar said, sounding somber. “As well as mine, and everybody else in astrosciences.”
Silence filled the room for the next several moments, until Riker broke it. “Well, until that’s worked out, we ought to spend some time considering the locals: specifically, the Neyel.”
“ ‘Locals’ is perhaps not the most accurate way to describe the Neyel, Captain,” Akaar said. “Have you taken the time yet to read Excelsior’s official reports about them?”
Riker nodded. “I have, Admiral. But apart from Mr. Tuvok’s original astrometric observations and Dr. Chapel’s medical and biological reports, they didn’t take long to read. In fact, they left me with a lot more questions than answers. So I’m going to have to rely on your prior experience with the Neyel.” He trained his gaze on Tuvok next. “And yours as well, Commander.”
Both Akaar and Tuvok nodded, but didn’t look at one another.
Vale shook her head, looking embarrassed. “With the repairs