The Sky's the Limit - Marco Palmieri [178]
“Then we are no closer to knowing what it was doing and how it got on board.”
“Perhaps not, but I can tell you some interesting things about it. Two things, anyway. First, I can tell you what type of species it is, and it isn’t a rodent or anything analogous.” Tropp brought up an image on a desk screen and turned it to face Worf. The screen showed the creature, its fur and flesh almost totally transparent so that networks of nerves and muscular structures were clearly delineated. “It’s not, technically, a creature.”
“It is inorganic?”
“No, no, it’s organic, but it would be more truthful to call it part of a creature. Look at the layout of the muscle structure and you’ll see quite obviously that it is intended to work in concert with other structures that are not present. Look at the terminations of several of these nerve plexus points.” He indicated spots on the screen. “At first I thought they were part of its reproductive system, but then I saw that this thing has no discrete reproductive system and that some of these nerve highways actually go from one opening in the body to another, without connecting to any part of its central system. That can mean only that this creature is merely part of the actual creature.”
Worf nodded slowly. “A gestalt.” Many subcreatures forming one main being. True gestalts, as compared to parasitic or symbiotic relationships like the Trill, were rare but not unheard of. “But you do not know of which species…”
“There are only five true gestalt species in Starfleet Medical’s records, and none of them fit this specimen.” Tropp looked admiringly at the corpse. “It’s quite fascinating: a sixth gestalt species to be added to the database. Beverly will be kicking herself that she didn’t stay aboard a few days longer.”
Worf nodded curtly. He was glad that Tropp had something to interest him. “And what is the second thing you’ve discovered?”
“I can tell you where it has been.” Tropp tapped the screen, and an image of a molecule replaced the previous view. Chemical and medical notations flowed underneath. Worf didn’t recognize more than a couple of words. “Some of these were still attached to hair follicles. They’re molecules of particulate matter formed from chemical compounds in an atmosphere.” Tropp smiled with the unmistakable satisfaction of a job well done, the sort of pleasure Worf understood well. “In this case, specifically the atmosphere of Karenzaa.”
“I have never heard of that world.”
“It’s in the Delta Quadrant. Perhaps Admiral Janeway can shed some light on the matter.”
Geordi’s investigations had also gone well, Worf soon discovered, when both commanders met with the captain again. “There’s good news and bad news,” Geordi said. “The good news is that Davis was killed by an EPS failure; it was just bad luck that he happened to be there when it went out.”
“And the bad news?” Picard asked.
“The bad news is the EPS junction failure was no accident. A refractive feedback loop had been programmed into it. That pretty much turned it into a randomly timed bomb. When enough charge had built up over a period of use…bang.”
“Deliberate sabotage?” Picard was alert immediately. “To what purpose?”
“It’s not a vital system…Maybe to test the saboteur’s ability to do the job without detection. And he succeeded.”
“Which means he will have been confident that he can sabotage more vital areas.”
“Such as helm control,” Worf said.
“Exactly.”
Picard’s lips thinned. “This is no accident. The loss of maneuverability and helm control was designed to crash us into Earth, but…” He shook his head sharply. “Whoever is responsible must have known we could be tractored out of the collision course.”
“Perhaps he didn’t think of it?” Geordi asked.
Worf shook his head. “Our opponent has great skill and intelligence. This plan is one of subtlety. He, or they, will have anticipated our actions.” He looked at Geordi. “If you were trying to destroy a ship that was being tractored, what would you do?”
Geordi sat deep in thought