It had been easy for Reyes to connect the dots between the handful of planets scattered throughout the Taurus Reach where samples of the meta-genome as well as remnants of the peculiar alien architecture had been discovered. For his part, Okagawa had taken the revelations in stride. A Starfleet veteran for nearly as long as Reyes himself, the man had doubtless been witness to all manner of bizarre phenomena during the decades he had spent in space. Still, that did not prevent the captain from appreciating the scope of the situation.
“I can imagine your frustration, Commodore,” Okagawa said as he settled into the chair. “So many questions, so many uncertainties. I’m no geneticist, but even I can grasp the implications of what you’ve found here. Learning who or what’s responsible for the meta-genome might change our understanding of life and evolution at a fundamental level, and if this is the result of some kind of artificial genetic engineering, who knows what else those responsible were capable of.”
Reyes nodded, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “The Klingons are already prowling around the Taurus Reach, trying to figure out why the Federation finds this region so interesting. As unhappy as the Tholians are about us being here, they’re even more worked up over the Klingons. We’re a heartbeat away from interstellar war. The only question left unanswered is who the players will be.”
“How in the name of hell does Starfleet expect you to keep a lid on all of this?” Okagawa asked. “You’ve got a station full of people who think they’re supporting colonization and exploration initiatives. Starship crews are running back and forth across space, looking for clues and conducting research with no real idea about what they’re looking for. Only a handful of people even know the truth, and most of them are locked away in that dungeon you’ve constructed.” He indicated the Vault, the entrance to which was once again secreted behind its unexceptional bulkhead. “Speaking of which, that Dr. Gek and his gaggle don’t strike me as the kind of people who get out much.”
Despite himself, Reyes laughed at the captain’s observation. “So far as security goes, they’re the easiest ones to keep a handle on. I’d have to check access logs to be sure, but I don’t think they’ve come out of there since the station came online.”
“Well,” Okagawa said, “I suppose there’s plenty in there to keep them entertained.” His own expression faltered a bit, the small smile he had sported melting away. “What I don’t understand is why you told me this much if I’m here for only a short time. Surely you could have assigned me to missions that didn’t require me having all of this information.” He indicated the wall next to Reyes and the secrets hidden behind it with a wave of his hand. “Given the security surrounding this operation, I’d think Starfleet would have your head for revealing too much to those without a specific need to know.”
Reyes shrugged. “Maybe they will, but I don’t care.” While he agreed in principle with the idea of maintaining strict secrecy of Vanguard’s true purpose, the fact was that keeping that secret had already cost far too many lives for the commodore’s taste. Though he would continue to observe the security of the mission so far as he was able, he would never again allow that secret to stand in the way of safeguarding the people under his command.
That decision also had extended to including Ezekiel Fisher into the small cadre of people with whom he had entrusted this information. It was an unexpected turn of events, coming after the station’s computer had alerted T’Prynn and Reyes to the doctor’s research in relation to the autopsy he was performing on the Denobulan scientist brought back from Erilon. The discovery of meta-genome traces within the wound inflicted on the corpse had opened up an entire new arena of investigation, and while Fisher was not the ideal candidate to conduct that investigation, he was the most qualified person at Reyes’s disposal, to say nothing of the commodore’s utmost trust in his old friend.
Not that it’ll stop Starfleet Command from firing a photon torpedo up my ass.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Reyes continued, “I trust you’ll inform only those members of your crew who absolutely need to know the truth, and even then just enough to accomplish the tasks I’ll set for you while protecting your people. As for Starfleet”—he waved a hand as if dismissing any concern he might have over defying the strict orders he had been given upon first receiving his assignment as commander of the station—“leave them to me. That’s what commodores are for.”
Now it was Okagawa’s turn to offer a small chuckle. “Okay,” he said, “so what is it you want me to do?”
Leaning forward until he could rest his elbows on the top of the barren desk, Reyes replied, “You’re going back to Erilon. I want to know what attacked the outpost, and if or how it’s connected to what’s there.” For the sake of official Starfleet inquiries, he already had addressed the deaths of the Corps of Engineers team as well as Captain Zhao and members of the Endeavour’s crew—an action that had left a sour taste in his mouth that refused to dissipate—but of course that was not nearly enough.
Whatever the mysterious life-form was that had massacred the research team and the starship’s landing party, there was more than enough evidence to suggest that it was somehow connected to the artifacts and meta-genome fragments found on Erilon, Ravanar IV, and other planets in the Taurus Reach. The aspects of the devastating attack both on Erilon’s surface and against the Endeavourin orbit allowed for precious few other logical explanations.
Lieutenant Xiong had explained his theory with unbridled passion during the otherwise downbeat post-mission briefing. In addition, the A&A officer was certain that the full potential of Erilon as a piece of the massive Taurus Reach puzzle still was waiting to be realized. Reyes had seen the determination in the young officer’s eyes, the drive to prove his theory, not just because it was his mission but also as a means of making sure that the losses suffered to this point—the Bombay,the engineering team, as well as Captain Zhao and members of his crew—were not in vain.
Reyes was anxious to give Xiong that chance, as a means for the lieutenant to exorcise not only his own demons but perhaps those carried by the commodore as well.
“I want the research station on Erilon restored to full operation,” Reyes said after a moment. “The Endeavourwill be responsible for providing security. No holds barred this time. Your first mission will be to figure out what’s behind the planetary defense system and get control of it. I don’t want a repeat of what happened to the Endeavourbrought down on your fellow Corps engineers, but it goes deeper than that. If there’s more to this than a single planet, then we could be facing alien weapons technology that’s way out of our league.”
Okagawa nodded. “In other words, one more thing we have to keep from the Klingons and Tholians.”
Already feeling the first hints of a dull ache behind his eyes, he offered a tired smile. “Welcome to my world, Captain.”
26
Morqla’s eyes snapped open and he sat up on the hard shelf that served as his bed. Every muscle tensed and every sense strained to detect the presence of whatever it was that had disturbed his already fitful slumber.
“What?” he blurted, though of course there was no one in the room to answer the question.
The low rumbling seemed to reverberate through everything around him, emanating from the stone floor and continuing up along the coarse, dark walls that formed the simple, unassuming chamber he had chosen as his private quarters. It was only a slight vibration, and had he not been a habitual light sleeper Morqla might well not have noticed it at all. Had he been aboard ship, the governor would almost certainly have dismissed the subdued murmur as the characteristic drone of powerful warp engines.