Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dimmed lighting. When they did, she scanned the room for evidence of anything amiss and saw that most everything seemed to be in place…
…Save the silver, green, and sand-colored Cardassian flag draped over one of the chairs, stripped from the pole behind it, scarred with angry, carbonized wounds. The gleaming edge of a knife blade glinted in the starlight, stabbed through the heart of the chair.
Cursing, she stepped back into the foyer, instinctively touching her combadge. “Kira to security. We have a situation on level 10, section 65, conference room 4. I want a team up here now.”
13
Shar tingled with anticipation. He had never believed in fate or luck, but if this day turned out the way he hoped, he might be persuaded to change his mind.
Two hours before, Shar and Keren had entered the farm country of the Hebshu Peninsula. Carved out by a glacier millions of years ago, the region suffered from none of the geological dangers afflicting most of the continental masses; the closest active volcano was hundreds of kilometers away and there hadn’t been an earthquake recorded in centuries. The peninsula enjoyed mild winters, rich soil and a long growing season. It was also one of the rare spots on Vanìmel (or Luthia for that matter) where Wanderers and Houseborn lived side by side on their farms. Mingling herds and sharing farm equipment wasn’t unheard of. Keren had explained that because most Yrythny didn’t consider living off the land a natural inclination, the Yrythny who ended up choosing to live here were nonconformists. Farming and ranching attracted a quirky, independent breed that followed their own rules, refusing to adhere to any but the barest caste frameworks.
Since they’d met on his first day in Luthia, Shar learned that Keren rarely acted without an ulterior motive. The trip to Hebshu proved to be consistent with her pattern, though he suspected where she was taking him concerned his research. They’d wandered down the lanes, chatting with the locals as they encountered them.
They’d eaten a basket full of berries offered to them by a group of younglings combing the forest for the tangy treasures, and Shar had his first real encounter with Yrythny children. Like most children, they were inquisitive, and spent a great deal of time studying Shar, touching his skin and hair, climbing him as they grew bolder, and laughing delightedly when he made his antennae move.
Not long after that, Shar encountered his first shmshu,the primary suppliers of the hairpieces most Yrythny wore to indicate rank and caste position. Different breeds of shmshuprovided hair in varying qualities. Shar had stood by a fence, watching as Yrythny carefully combed out their coats, waving over the animals from head to toe with a handheld version of a sonic shower. As diverting as the domesticated animals had been, Shar was ready to move on. They’d been walking for more than an hour when Keren finally explained why she’d brought him here. And when she did, Shar concurred that it was well worth skipping the meetings he was to supposed to have attended.
Hidden here in Hebshu were the most comprehensive records of Wanderer genetics on Vanìmel. For obvious reasons, genetic research was tightly controlled and kept secret. Hebshu’s rural, out-of-the-way personality made it easy to conceal equipment and files without attracting government attention. Most of the research was performed during the winter months when the ground lay fallow and the shmshugrazed in the fields instead of in the hills. Repairing equipment, reading and indoor pursuits grew tiresome. Intellectually rigorous scientific inquiry kept minds sharp and hands busy. From generation to generation, the equipment and records were passed down, with Kremoroh being one of the newest custodians.
Kremoroh descended the cellar steps first. He activated the light panel, inviting Shar and Keren to join him.
Shar’s initial disparaging thoughts quickly dissipated when he considered how much painstaking work it must have taken for these scientists to labor with antiquated equipment, limited time and few resources. Most of what he saw crammed into corners and spilling out of boxes would have been current in the Federation two hundred years ago. Still, he couldn’t help smiling, imagining these tall, gawky farmers hunched over cellular scanners, squeezing into these small underground labs, customarily used for off-season vegetable storage.
Taking a seat by one of the filing cabinets, Shar pulled open a drawer where he discovered dozens of neatly labeled, clear-lidded containers filled with data chips. Another drawer revealed identical contents. “Your records?” he asked.
Kremoroh nodded. “Those go back hundreds of years. Every Wanderer who finds their way to Hebshu ends up being mapped.”
“Mapped?” Shar asked, wanting to make sure he understood the usage.
“Gene maps.”
A miniature, cruder version of what existed in the Andorian genome database. Shar couldn’t help but be impressed. With very little training—and no assistance—they’d tackled a sophisticated area of study. Looking around him, he imagined how these scientists had made do with ill-fitting parts and poor tools with which to assemble them. Everything in the room had been designed and built using whatever technology was available. Shar admired their creativity.
“The original idea was that we were going to figure out how to identify what House the Wanderers were supposed to be from and prove to the high-thinking Houseborn that the Wanderers weren’t really wandering,” Kremoroh explained. “Storms, water temperature, predators—any number of things could set a hatchling off course.”
A variation on what I said to Dax, just yesterday.When this thought occurred to Shar, he looked over at Keren who sat, smiling serenely. She knew what she was doing bringing me here, this is all part of her plan. After years of watching the machinations of the Federation Council, you’d think I’d be a little less trusting.Shar turned to Kremoroh. “Since you’re still here and Keren is still in the Lower Assembly, I take it you haven’t been able to draw any meaningful conclusions.”
“First, we had to figure out what part of which chromosomes did what. Without Luthia’s computer power or the right splicers and scanners, it’s been hit and miss about what techniques work, and avoiding contamination. What I’d do for a decent computer!”
They need more than tools…The nucleus of an idea formed in Shar’s mind, but he needed a bit more information to assure it was feasible before he could propose it out loud. “And as a comparison group? The Houseborn?”
“The other major problem. Not many Houseborn want to be part of a Wanderer genetic study. We can compare our DNA with our own kind, but we don’t have the same basis of comparison for the Houseborn. We have a smattering from those Houseborn who’ve lived here on the peninsula, but not enough to draw conclusions.”
Surveying the room, Shar realized some of the filing cabinets stood two and three deep, with drawer after drawer filled with variations on data chip storage. These farmer/scientists appeared to have accumulated thousands of different samples. “This is your main storage facility, I take it?”
“No. We have labs like this scattered all around here. Makes it easier to go unnoticed.”
“Have you put all these into an aggregate database?” Shar said, hoping.
“In fact, that was last winter’s project.”
Keren perked up. “Is it possible—”
“The Sagan.It has the computing power—”