Unworthy - Kirsten Beyer [57]
The Hawking reduced speed as the cube came into view.
Vorik made a point of noting that the cube’s current location was in close proximity to the endpoints of four collapsed transwarp corridors.
“Sir,” Bloom said, “there appears to be only one power system operable aboard the cube. A weak subspace transmission is being sent out on an extremely narrow frequency.”
“I would like to hear that transmission, Ensign Bloom,” Itak ordered.
Moments later, a low buzz, spiced with an occasional burst of static, came through the comm system. Then, countless voices joined as one said, Please accept the offering of the Indign .
There was a brief pause and the message repeated as Itak’s eyes found Batiste’s.
“Lieutenant Vorik, do Voyager’s logs contain any record of a race known as the Indign?” Batiste asked.
“No, Admiral.”
“Are the cube’s shields up?”
“No, Admiral.”
“Does the cube contain breathable atmosphere?”
“No, Admiral.”
“I’m going over there to take a look,” Batiste said, rising to his feet.
“Admiral, I must advise against that action,” Itak replied, clearly as alarmed as it was possible for a Vulcan to be at the suggestion.
“Your advice is noted,” Willem replied perfunctorily. “Hawking is to hold position here and maintain transporter locks. Lieutenant Vorik, Lieutenant Lern, and Security Chief Griggs, suit up. You’re with me.”
The transporter beam released Vorik in the center of a ten-square-meter room shrouded in darkness. Hand beacons were immediately activated revealing stark, unadorned walls and a single opening leading from the chamber.
“I thought this was supposed to be the ship’s bridge,” Batiste said, his gruff tone evident even through the tinny quality created by the environmental suits the team wore.
“We are in the precise center of the vessel, Admiral,” Vorik advised. “The vessel’s power systems have either been damaged or inoperable for some time, and as this is the source of the transmission, I believe that assumption was logical.”
“Spread out and let’s see if we can find the source,” Batiste replied.
The admiral played his wrist beacon over the walls and eventually discovered above the opening’s upper-right corner a small comm station. After disabling it, he signaled for the team to follow him through the opening.
Before them was a metal-framed catwalk with few visible support struts and wires but no guardrails. After fifteen ginger steps, the team’s footfalls creating disconcerting echoes all around them, Batiste made a fist, motioning for the others to halt. Vorik stepped closer and peering over the admiral’s shoulder saw a steep metal staircase that descended too far into the darkness for their light to penetrate. Vorik played his light above, and saw nothing as the blackness swallowed up his beam. The ship was vast.
Batiste lowered his hand, and the group began down the staircase.
“Steady as we go,” Batiste said. “There’s nothing to hold on to.”
Vorik wished to pull out his tricorder for a more definitive scan, but given the sharpness of the angle and the obvious safety risks he opted to refrain.
At junctures spaced approximately ten meters apart, narrow catwalks would extend from small landings to the left and right. Batiste paused at the first one, but after searching the gloom to find only more darkness, pressed forward. It seemed likely to Vorik that he intended to reach bottom before beginning a more thorough examination.
After passing seventeen landings, the team finally reached the end of the staircase. Vorik was unable to shake the sense that they were in an incredibly large, empty space. He heard Lieutenant Lern activate his tricorder and immediately did the same.
“Admiral, I am detecting organic remains,” Lern advised.
“Where?”
Lern paused to confirm the reading that Vorik was also attempting to analyze and replied, “All around us, sir. The nearest ones are one hundred fifty meters ahead.”
Batiste nodded and led the team forward. When they had closed the distance before them to fewer than twenty meters, vague shapes began to emerge from the darkness.
Vorik saw a structure