The Valiant - Michael Jan Friedman [25]
The man who paid it was Kirks navigator, Gary Mitchell, in whom exposure to the barrier had touched off a gradual but startling transformation. Mitchell became a superman, a being capable of increasingly improbable feats of mental and physical prowess telepathy and telekinesis among them.
Unfortunately, Mitchells perspective began to change as well. He came to see his crewmates as insects, hardly worthy of his notice much less his compassion. In the end, Kirk was compelled to kill him.
Had he hesitated, he might have found himself in the same predicament as the captain of the Valiant , who had likely been confronted with a superman of his own-or so Mitchells transformation seemed to indicate. Then Kirk too might have been forced to destroy his vessel as a last resort.
But Daniels and Santana, Ruhalter continued, are saying the Valiant wasnt destroyed after all?
They agree that it was destroyed, Eliopoulos replied. However, they maintain that a portion of the Valiants crew survived her destruction then found an M-Class planet and settled there.
Hard to believe, said Simenon, his speech harsh and sibilant. Hundreds of years ago, escape pods didnt have any real range. And M-Class planets werent any easier to find then than they are today.
Ruhalter regarded Eliopoulos beneath bushy, gray brows. Assuming for the moment that your guests were telling the truth, what made them decide to return to our side of the barrier?
Eliopoulos smiled a tired smile. No doubt, he had grown weary of disseminating the information.
They say theyre here to warn the Federation about an impending threatan immensely powerful species called the Nuyyad, which has been conquering the scattered solar systems on the other side of the barrier and sending native populations running for their lives.
Ruhalter stared at Eliopoulos for a moment. They all did. Then the captain said, I see.
Quite a revelation, Picard remarked.
Stunning, actually, said Leach. He cast the second officer a sideways look. Assuming it has some basis in fact.
You sound skeptical, Ruhalter observed.
Im more than skeptical, the first officer told him. Im afraidand not of the Nuyyad.
Of what, then? asked Picard.
Of Daniels and Santana, said Leach. Think about it, Commander. If these peoples ancestors went through the galactic barrier more than two hundred years ago, they might eventually have developed some of the same powers Gary Mitchell displayed. And in Mitchells case, those powers came with a need to dominate others.
The second officer smiled patiently. But that doesnt mean
I know what youre going to say, Eliopoulos interrupted. The need to subjugate might have been a quirk of Mitchells personality. But I have to confess, I had the same concerns as Commander Leach. I had to be carefulI had a starbase to think about.
Ruhalter cocked his head. Wait a minute didnt Mitchells transformation have something to do with extrasensory perception?
It did, Eliopoulos agreed. He was a documented ESPer and therefore more sensitive to the barrier effect. So, apparently, was the affected crewman on the Valiant .
And so was that other crewman on the Enterprise , Cariello added. The woman who became Mitchells ally
And later turned against him, said Eliopoulos. That would be Dehner. And yes, she was an ESPer as well. However, the Enterprise had better shielding with which to filter the barriers effects. The Valiant was all but naked, by todays standards.
Picard tried to imagine it. The chaos the destruction the blinding flash of powerful, unknown energies
For all we know, Eliopoulos told them, even a hint of ESP might have been enough to trigger an eventual transformationand how many humans arent blessed at least a little in that regard?
There was silence around the table. Werber was the one who finally took the air out of it.
So what did you do with them? the weapons chief asked. Daniels and Santana, I mean?
Eliopoulos scowled. I did what I had to do. I had the two of them placed in detention cells, pending orders