STAR TREK - SCE - 08 - Invincible Book 2

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Star Trek S.C.E. 8

Invincible Book 2

by David Mack & Keith R.A. DeCandido

approx. 15,000 words

David Mack & Keith R.A. DeCandido

c/o Spectrum Literary Agency

111 8th Av., Suite 1501

New York, NY 10011

212-691-7556

FAX 212-691-9644

Second officer's log, Lt. Commander Kieran Duffy, U.S.S. da Vinci, Stardate 53288.1.

I'm worried about Sonnie. And I'm worried about me, too.

The da Vinci's still at yellow alert while we wait to find out what's happening at Deep Space 9. There's

every possibility that another war with the Dominion is in the offing. If that's true, we're all in for a galaxy

of trouble, especially since our first officer's so far away.

Commander Sonya Gomez, first officer of the da Vinci, my immediate superior, and a woman I have

grown very fond of over the years, is right now in the very distant Nalori Republic. That distance,

combined with the Nalori's lack of Federation relay stations, means that just a communication to her

would take two days to arrive.

I've already sent her two messages, but haven't heard anything back. I hope she's okay. The Nalori don't

like the Federation much, and only asked for her because they needed her expertise to help build a

subspace accelerator to help them get chimerium off the planet Sarindar.

A planet full of that super-dense ore is a great find, and I'm glad that we're getting to help mine it. I'm also

glad that this will probably mean improved relations with the Nalori.

But I'm not glad that we're potentially on the brink of war, and Sonnie's so far away.

I miss her. And I'm worried about her.

First officer's log, Commander Sonya Gomez, planet Sarindar, Stardate 53283.1.

There is a second "monster shii" on Sarindar. At 2342 hours, it broke through the electrified fence that

surrounds the work camp. Unlike the previous shii that I killed, and which murdered several workers, this

one suffered no appreciable injury. It immediately ripped into the nearest tent, which belonged to

Kejahna, the foreperson, and three other Nalori Erobnos, Caargenne, and Houarner. The creature

definitely killed Kejahna-who leapt in front of an attack that would have decapitated Caargenne and was

disembowelled-and gravely injured the other three.

The shii then carried all four bodies out of the camp.

I witnessed most of this, having come to investigate when I first heard the screams of the Nalori being

attacked.

While I record this log entry, my assistant Razka is organizing a second hunting party. I have composed a

hasty condolence letter to be sent to Kejahna's family. If Erobnos, Caargenne, and Houarner wind up

killed, as I suspect will be the case, I will do the same for their families-assuming I survive. I fear that this

creature will not be as easy to stop.

Razka is calling me. The party is ready to go.

Letter from Razka on Sarindar to Marig on Nalor, eleventh day of Sendrak, twenty-third year of Togh.

My wife

I write to you for the first time since arriving at this dreadful place. The reason is I fear for my life. Since

the cause of the fear still exists, I write. Before I go any further, however, I wish to make a request of

you. Please kiss each of my children for me. When you do so, tell each of them that their father loves

them. Even the ones who are too young to comprehend. You will understand why I ask this after you

read this letter. But please, do that first. Thank you.

Of all my wives, you are the one I dislike the least. So I wish you to have this record of my life in this

place. We are building a subspace accelerator here on Sarindar. It will allow our glorious government to

harvest chimerium. That, I'm sure, means as much to you as it does to me. But they're paying me, so I

won't complain.

The first thing that happened when I got here will amuse you. The foreman issued me a weapon. Me. It

took three days just to figure out which was the right end to point. But the foreman insisted. He was a big

man named Kejahna. He assigned me to be the aide to the project leader. That used to be Nalag. You

would have liked Nalag. He was pleasant. He was also driven insane by this place. Much the same way

you drive me insane, to be truthful. After he went mad, the government did something odd. They

requested help from the Federation. The Federation sent a woman from Starfleet. I thought that made

them madder than Nalag at first. But Commander Gomez has been magnificent. Several here started

calling her "Sauul" because of her work. She made the load-lifters work. She brought the project on

schedule. She fixed several errors in the subspace accelerator.

She also killed a monster shii.

No, your fears have not been confirmed. I have not gone insane. I sometimes wish I had, but no. The

monster shii is real. It is not just the stuff of legends. And Commander Gomez killed it after it attacked

and killed several workers.

The problem with legends isn't when they turn out to be true. It's when they turn out to be half-true. You

see, in all the stories I've heard about the monster shii, I've never heard anyone mention two. But there

were two here. The second one is much bigger than the first. It killed Kejahna and took three others.

Commander Gomez told me to organize a search party. She and Kejahna did that the last time a monster

shii attacked. I didn't want to go with her, but she insisted. Especially with Kejahana dead. Do you know

what she told me? That I was the only person she trusted now. Armed with my sonic rifle and this

undeserved responsibility, I went out with her.

Sarindar is a beautiful place in the daylight. At night, it is somewhat less so. When the sunlight glints off

the flora, it's like walking in a jewel. Without that light, it's like walking in a tomb. Especially when we

came across the dead bodies. Houarner, Erobnos, and Caargenne, the three who were taken. Also

Kejahna's body. We found their remains on the ground, ripped to pieces. Except, of course, for their

heads. The monster shii presumably still had them. The one Commander Gomez had killed had taken

poor Kelrek's head.

We continued to follow the trail. It led to a large cave. Commander Gomez told me that the last monster

shii was in a cave. This cave was apparently much bigger. But it had the same thing in it. Skulls. Many

many skulls from many many animals. Some of them looked quite old. The monster shii had obviously

been killing for a long time.

Commander Gomez, for some reason, kept saying that we had done something to provoke the monster.

I explained that it didn't need provocation. It simply collected heads. Then she said that if it collected

heads, it might have been rational. I suppose they teach that sort of silliness in Starfleet. Most of the party

thought her to be mad. Zilder, the religious Bolian pilot, summed it up best. "This is not one of Ho'nig's

creatures." Ho'nig is his god. From the moment we met, he tried to convert me to worshipping Ho'nig.

Unfortunately, his missionary zeal was not very convincing, and was even less so when the monster shii

cut his head off.

I froze when that happened. I just stood there and watched as the monster shii leapt out of nowhere and

ripped Zilder into pieces. Just two days ago, I was teasing Zilder about his conversion attempts. In fact, I

joked that he should have tried to convert the monster shii. Then Commander Gomez would not have

had to kill it. Instead, it killed him. Commander Gomez did not hesitate. She fired on the creature.

Several others followed suit.

I did not. I just stood there. My mouth was agape. I couldn't even raise my weapon. My first thought

was that I would never see my children again. That is why I asked you to kiss them earlier. I swore at

that moment that the first thing I would do if I made it back alive was express my love for my children.

Not that I expected to get back alive. Even as most everyone else fired on the creature, it continued its

rampage. The sonic rifle fire didn't even slow it down. This wasn't a total surprise, as it is about twice as

big as the first one to attack. That one is a corpse presently sitting in the camp hospital. Its fellow started

killing indiscriminately. After Zilder, it decapitated D'Ren and literally sliced Eridak in two. Entorr started

to run away, and G'sob ran toward it.

Still I did not move. I just stood in the cave. People were scattering around me. The shii was slicing at

anything that came near it. And the only sound I heard was the whining of the rifles. Sonic rifles don't give

off any kind of emission the way a laser would. They just make that whining sound. I heard no screams,

though I saw mouths move. I did not hear the sounds of flesh being rendered, though I saw it being done.

But all I could hear was the sound of every rifle firing. Every rifle, save my own.

At least until Commander Gomez ordered a retreat. That, I did hear. Somehow, then, I found the

wherewithal to make my legs move. We ran back to the camp. I came straight to my tent and began

writing this letter. I have now fulfilled my oath to myself. When the next window in the suns' interference

opens, we will send many messages. The primary one will be the one to request of the government that

the project be terminated and we be allowed to leave. This letter, however, will go as well.

If I die here, please let my children know who their father was. Tell them that I was a coward, or lie to

them, it does not matter. Just tell them.

Best regards,

your husband,

Razka

First officer's log, Commander Sonya Gomez, planet Sarindar, Stardate 53283.9.

I have returned with the search party. We were able to trace the "monster shii" to its lair-another cave

system, about half a kilometer farther from the camp than the smaller cave where the previous shii had its

lair. This cave was much larger, and contained a concomitantly larger number of skulls. I was hoping to

collect some skulls for samples for Dr. Dolahn to examine, but the opp ortunity did not present itself, as

the shii attacked. Zilder, D'Ren, and Eridak were all killed, and several others were injured. (Tricorder

recording of attack appended.)

It is after midnight, so our next quasar/pulsar window won't be until tomorrow afternoon. When that

happens, I intend to send a message to the Nalori government, requesting that we have permission to

suspend the SA project until we can deal with this problem. I'm also preparing a distress signal to send to

the da Vinci-based on Lt. Commander Duffy's last communiqu, they may not be able to respond to it,

but I'd rather play it safe.

I've also instructed the remaining workers to construct a sonic barrier around the camp. The electric

fence we put up didn't even slow this creature down, and we need some kind of defense. True, the sonic

weapons didn't work, but that may have been because they're not powerful enough. J'Roh-who, with

Kejahna's death, is now the foreperson-pointed out that we'd have to cannibalize some of the sonic rifles

to accomplish this, but to my mind it's worth it.

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