STAR TREK - SCE - 01 Belly of the Beast

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CHAPTER
1
Space battles never took this long.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard shook his head in amazement as he stared at the main screen of theEnterprise
bridge. He couldn’t remember how many times he had been in engagements with enemy ships, with the
fight usually only taking a few minutes. But not this time. The monster ship floating in front of them had
kept them busy for almost two hours, its dark shape and strange configuration seemingly able to take all
theEnterprise could throw at it, and then some.
And, so far, theEnterprise had withstood the enemy’s weapons as well.
Punch, counterpunch. Each ship had held its ground, wearing the other down one degree at a time. And
wearing Picard and his crew down as well. Dr. Crusher had just reported that sickbay was full with the
casualties. Luckily, no one had been killed.
Yet.
Without standing, he glanced around the bridge. Commander Riker paced in front of his chair, sweat
staining his shirt. Lieutenant Christine Vale at security just looked angry, and Troi fidgeted in her chair,
the strain of the last few hours showing clearly on her face. Only Data, his emotion chip turned off,
seemed as unruffled as ever. Picard envied that android calmness at times.
“They’re powering weapons again, Captain,” Data said.
“Target those weapons and fire before they do!” Picard ordered.
Picard could feel theEnterprise bump slightly as the phasers fired.
A small section of the alien ship’s shields flared bright red.
The alien weapons cut through the redness, pounding theEnterprise hard. The inertial dampers fought to
stop the rocking and shaking the impact had caused. As he had been doing for hours, Picard held onto
his chair with both hands, keeping himself seated.
“Forward shields at thirty-two percent,” Lieutenant Vale said. “Holding.”
“Slight damage on three decks,” Deanna said, glancing at the monitor on her chair. “No injuries.”
That fire-return-fire scene had repeated itself at least fifty times over the last two hours.
“We have got to find a way to end this,” Picard said, standing and taking a step toward the main screen,
staring at the black alien ship facing him.
It was a monster, more than fifty times bigger than theEnterprise , and at least as deadly. It was round,
like a small moon, and its surface was covered with what looked to be some type of control housing.
Two smooth rings circled the outer hull of the ship, each attached to the surface at only four places. The
rings were as thick as theEnterprise saucer section and twice as wide, with one ring circling around the
alien ship’s equator, while the other ring went around the ship’s poles. Picard had no idea what the rings
were for.
Or who had built this strange ship.
Or what powered it.
Or even, for that matter, what was the front, back, top, or bottom of it. The sensors could tell when the
alien ship was powering weapons, but little else. The alien shields had blocked every attempt they had
made to find out more.
He stared at it, studying the black, equipment-covered surface of the alien ball, trying to come up with
any way at all to put that ship out of commission. They had been able to punch through its shields in small
areas, but the damage they had done to the surface of the ship seemed to make no difference at all.
And the shields reacted like no shields he had seen before. It was almost as if they were alive, healing
damaged areas like water flowing back into a depression. Picard would give anything to learn how they
worked.
An hour ago, he had even attacked one of the intersections where the two rings met, hoping that would
cause the alien ship problems. They had managed to punch through the alien shields twice, hitting the
surface of the ship’s rings and blowing hunks out of one area of one ring. The alien shields quickly healed.
Nothing changed.
The alien ship attacked, they attacked back.
Stalemate.
Over two long hours of the same thing.
However, for the residents of Blossom IV, the fourth planet of this system, theEnterprise had to win.
TheEnterprise had been nearby when the distress call had come in from the agricultural colony. The
message said they were under attack from a massive black ball, and taking heavy damage. It had only
taken theEnterprise fifteen minutes to be on the scene, but Picard didn’t want to think about the damage
the alien ship had caused to those farmers in those minutes.
TheEnterprise had come in firing, and the alien ship had turned its attention away from the planet. But if
theEnterprise was forced to retreat, or was defeated, there was no other help for those colonists. No
other Federation ship that could stand up to this monster was nearby.
Picard also couldn’t figure out why it had attacked this planet. Blossom IV had no resources, nothing
worth taking from the two hundred thousand people farming the rich soil. Yet this unknown ship had
suddenly appeared and started to fire on the colony. It made no sense at all.
Nothing about any of this made any sense.
Picard glanced at Data, then turned around to look at Number One. “I’m open to suggestions here,
people.”
No one said a word.
Picard nodded. None of them had any more idea what to do with this ship than he did. They just didn’t
have enough information about the alien ship to even try to come up with a plan, and the alien ship’s
shields were blocking all but the most basic surface scans.
“They are powering weapons again, Captain,” Data said.
“Return fire!” Riker ordered.
The blast shook theEnterprise again, sending Picard staggering to grab the armrest of his chair.
“Shields at twenty-six percent,” Data said.
“We punched a hole in their shields again,” Lieutenant Vale said. “It has now closed.”
Picard nodded, looking back at the lieutenant’s fresh, sweating face. Vale had blue eyes, blonde hair,
and a button nose that made her look much younger than her actual age. But she was a good tactical
officer. Smart and very quick. And, from what he understood, deadly in a fight.
Suddenly, Lieutenant Vale’s statement sunk in.
“Data,” Picard said, “how long did that hole in their shields remain open?”
“One-point-three-three seconds,” Data said.
“Is that enough time to get a probe through and the information back?”
Data glanced up at Picard, his yellow eyes showing just a touch of interest.” It could be done, sir,” Data
said. “But we would have to be closer.”
“Let’s do it,” Picard said, dropping down into his chair. “Data, you take the helm and get us in close.”
Data’s fingers were flying over the panel as Picard turned to Commander Riker. “Will, ready the probe
and fire the instant you have a hole in those shields.”
“Understood.”
Picard punched the comm link for Engineering. “Geordi, I need the front shields reinforced.”
“Yes, Captain,” La Forge’s voice came back.
“Lieutenant Vale,” Picard said, glancing back at the young officer. “I want you firing constantly until I
give you the word to stop. Punch as big a hole in those shields as you can. Give Commander Riker a
large target. He might need it.”
Riker frowned. “I could fly a probe down a gopher hole.”
“Make it a big hole, Lieutenant,” Picard said.
She laughed. “Yes, sir.”
Riker only frowned and shook his head.
Picard sat back in his chair, studying the alien ship, letting his people have a few seconds to get ready. A
large empty area of the alien ship’s surface seemed to suddenly pop out at him. It was above the equator
ring, about halfway to one of the poles of the ship, and was just about the only area of the actual surface
of the alien ship not covered with equipment. He hadn’t noticed it before because it was painted exactly
the same color as everything else.
“Data,” Picard said, “take us right at that equipment-free area on the alien ship.”
Data glanced up at the screen, then nodded. “Ready, sir.”
“Make it so,” Picard said.
TheEnterprise surged directly at the alien ship on what seemed like a ramming course, firing phaser after
phaser.
The alien ship returned fire, rocking theEnterprise like a child smashing a toy into the ground.
Picard hung onto his seat as the lights flickered and the ship shook.
“Shields at sixteen percent,” Deanna said, her voice much calmer than Picard knew she was feeling.
Another blast rocked theEnterprise .
“Ten percent. Bulkhead failures on three decks.”
“Keep pounding those shields, Lieutenant!” Picard ordered.
The alien shields flared bright red from theEnterprise phaser fire and then failed, right over the empty
spot. The next phaser blast smashed into the alien ship, ripping open the black skin square in the middle
of the smooth surface area.
“Probe away!” Riker shouted.
“Stop firing!” Picard ordered.
The probe slid through the opening, heading for the damage in the alien ship’s surface.
“Bull’s-eye!” Riker said.
“Nice shot,” Picard said, nodding at his first officer’s beaming face.
“Information coming in,” Data said.
Another blast rocked them, but Picard didn’t take his gaze from the probe and the area of the ship’s
surface they had hit.
“Forward shields failing!” Lieutenant Vale shouted.
“Data, put the aft shields between us and that ship!” Picard ordered. “Take us out of firing range.”
TheEnterprise turned and started to move away as one more blast rocked them, sending Riker tumbling
from his chair. Picard managed to hold on, but just barely. That was one of the worst hits they had taken
so far.
“Damage on all decks,” Deanna said as she held on with both hands, her knuckles white.
“Aft shields holding!” Vale shouted, clearly excited.
If this didn’t work, Picard had no idea what they would do next. They had been lucky to get away from
this attempt. He just hoped the information they were getting was going to be worth it.
He watched the alien ship, expecting the hole in the alien shields to close back up. Instead, for the first
time in hours, something on that massive ship changed. The hole in the shields remained.
“Photon torpedoes! Target that opening!”
Suddenly the shields around the rest of the alien sphere flickered, flashed through blue and green colors,
and then drained backward into a dozen holes in the ship, like water flowing down a massive drain.
The alien ship was completely exposed.
Picard could see that a series of explosions was occurring just under the surface of the alien ship, where
the last phaser blast had gotten through. They had hit something, and for the moment the ship was
vulnerable. But the question was, how long?
“Full scan of that ship!” he ordered. “Give me targets. I don’t want those shields coming back up.”
“They are not going to, Captain,” Data said.
Picard pulled his attention away from the area of the alien ship that was exploding and stared at Data.
“Explain?”
“We have destroyed the ship’s control room,” Data said, studying the data coming in. Then he glanced
back at Picard, his yellow eyes intense and level. “All twelve of the alien ship’s crew are dead.”
“Dead?”
“Yes, sir,” Data said. “From the readings I am getting, there are no life signs on that ship.”
Picard stared at the now-helpless black sphere floating in space. The longest fight he’d ever been in.
And now it was over, that quickly.
It almost seemed wrong.
Almost.
CHAPTER
2
Picard sat back in his chair, a cup of Earl Grey tea in his hand, and waited, trying to get himself to relax
just a little more. The last ten hours since the fight with the alien ship had ended had been long and very
hectic. There had been a thousand things to do, both on theEnterprise and in the colony. He could feel
the exhaustion crawling over his body, making his arms and legs ache. The tea helped, but not enough. A
decent night’s rest was exactly what he needed. And he was going to get it very soon. Only a few more
things to do first.
He finished keying in the code on his communications screen, then leaned back and closed his eyes,
letting the warmth of the tea and the quiet room calm and clear his mind. This fight had been strange from
moment one, and the cleanup of both theEnterprise and the colony had been hard. And were far from
over. It would take another week before everything onboard was back to complete normal. For the
colony, it would take years; a rough count put over a thousand colonists dead and thousands more
injured.
No one had any idea why the aliens had attacked. Picard had a hunch it was going to be a question that
would trouble a lot of people for a long time to come. Maybe the answer would be found on the alien
ship, but he doubted that, with the alien crew dead.
The communications screen in front of him beeped softly, and he opened his eyes as the Starfleet insignia
was replaced by the broad, smiling face of Captain Montgomery Scott.
“Capt’n,” Scott said, his smile getting even broader. “ ’Tis good ta see ya again.”
“Likewise, Captain,” Picard said, putting his tea down and leaning forward. “It has been far too long
since we’ve had the pleasure of your company aboard theEnterprise .”
“An it’s gonna be even longer,” Scott said, laughing, “as busy as they’re keepin’ me around here.”
Picard had a hunch Scott was enjoying being busy, especially in his job. During the last months of the
war, Scott had been appointed the liaison between the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and the Starfleet
Admiralty. And he was the perfect man for the job. He was respected by everyone. Period. And he not
only knew how to navigate the world of Starfleet politics, but how to deal and work with engineers of
every type. Picard’s only thought when he had learned of the appointment was, “Of course.”
“I’m afraid,” Picard said, “that I’m not going to help your schedule much. I have a big job to dump in
your lap.”
Scott’s grin faded some. “I read your preliminary report and scanned the battle information. That’s a
strange bird all right. And big.” Scott chuckled. “TheEnterprise always was a giant-killer.”
Picard laughed. “We were a little too close to being stepped on by that giant for my blood.”
Scott shook his head. “Gonna take a lot more than a big, ugly ball to stop theEnterprise . So, what
more can ya tell me about that alien monster?”
“Not much, I’m sorry to say,” Picard said. “We’ve been so busy dealing with our own repairs and
helping the colonists that we haven’t had time to even start to explore the thing yet. I can tell you its metal
is resistant to any scanning. We have no idea why.”
Scott laughed, the sound deep and rich, then waved a hand in dismissal of Picard’s apology. “That’s our
job, Capt’n.”
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Picard said. “We’re due in the Folnar system as soon as we can get
there.”
“Don’t ya worry, Capt’n,” Scott said, “I gotta ship in the area. It will be there inside ten hours. We’ll
take good care of your friend there.”
And Picard knew they would. The S.C.E. were the ones charged with the task of boarding unknown
ships like the one they had just fought to sift through the rubble and learn what they could from the alien
technology and even the remains of the aliens themselves. At times Picard thought that searching through
alien ships for new information, new technology, would be exciting. In a way it was a branch of
archaeology, his favorite hobby. Of course, when they were digging through the alien ships, most of the
time it was in zero gravity, surrounded by intense radiation, and surrounded by far too many dead bodies.
But he knew that wasn’t all that the S.C.E. people did by a long ways. If anything in the galaxy needed
to be built, rebuilt, programmed, reprogrammed, assembled, reassembled or just understood, the S.C.E.
was who you called on.
In many ways, the S.C.E. was the branch of Starfleet with the most varied and interesting job after these
recent times of war, and Picard slightly envied them that.
“Would you mind, Captain,” Picard asked, “if my Chief Engineer stuck around and worked with your
people?”
“That monster’s got La Forge’s interest bubbling, has she?” Scott asked.
“Salivating, I think would describe it better,” Picard said. “He’s made sure all the major repairs to the
Enterprise were done in record time, just for the chance to get over there and look at those strange
shields and hull metal. But with us leaving for Folnar system, he’s not going to get the chance, unless he
stays with your people.”
Scotty nodded. “I can remember doin’ that a few times myself. I’ll tell Captain Gold he’s goin’ ta have
some help. He’ll be happy ta hear it.”
“Captain David Gold?” Picard asked. “Theda Vinci is nearby?”
“Sure is,” Scott said. “Speedin’ your way at warp six.”
Picard knew David Gold from all the way back to their Academy days. Gold had been one of the
upperclassmen Picard had beat in the Academy marathon; they had become friends and kept in touch as
often as their careers had allowed. Gold was what many called “old Starfleet.” He ruled with a solid
hand, and always kept the mission and his crew at the top of all priorities. But he had a wicked sense of
humor that Picard loved. Gold was married to Rabbi Rachel Gilman, who had a thriving congregation in
New York. Picard had lost track of all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren they had.
“I wish I could stay and say hello,” Picard said. “Shame to be this close and not get the chance, but we’ll
be leaving within the hour.”
Scotty smiled, the twinkle in his eyes clear from the contained laughter. “Well, you gotta pick up your
Chief Engineer sometime, don’t ya?”
Now it was Picard’s turn to laugh. He hadn’t thought of that at all. Geordi would have a shuttlecraft, but
meeting theda Vinci after the next mission would be even better. It would be a great time to have an
enjoyable dinner with Gold, find out how his wife and children were doing, and hear about some of the
S.C.E. adventures and discoveries.
“Thank you, Captain,” Picard said. “I just might do that. Hope your people find something worthwhile
here.”
“I’m sure we will,” Captain Scott said. “I’m sure you’ll be hearing all about it from Gold and La Forge.”
“More than likely,” Picard said, nodding at the smiling face of one of the legends of Starfleet history. “
Enterpriseout.”
Picard leaned back and took another sip of his tea, savoring not only the taste, but also the quiet of the
room. After a moment, he brought up on his screen the image of the alien ship. The massive black ball
with its strange rings seemed to just hang there, taunting him. Every time he looked at the ship, he felt a
sense of dread and unease. Even dead and helpless in space as it was, the ship looked and felt
dangerous. Picard just couldn’t shake the feeling.
Ten hours until theda Vinci arrived. Too long for Geordi to be alone with that thing, even with the colony
nearby. Picard sipped the tea, and then clicked off the screen. With a tap on his communication link, he
said, “Lieutenant Vale, report to me in my ready room.”
If theEnterprise could make it a few days without its chief engineer, it could also make it without a
security chief. And, that way, maybe he could sleep a little better as well.
CHAPTER
3
Lieutenant Vale’s light snoring filled the small main cabin of the shuttlecraftCook . Lieutenant
Commander Geordi La Forge glanced over at her and smiled. She had a young and innocent look about
her, with blond hair cut in a pageboy style, and round, blue eyes. She stood—in boots—no taller than
five-three, and looked slight. But Geordi knew someone didn’t make chief security officer in Starfleet
without knowing every fighting trick there was. So far, she hadn’t had to prove any of her skills, and she
seemed cool enough under the pressure of battle. He just hoped this side mission would be no exception.
It was certainly going to be interesting having her along.
She was slumped in the copilot’s chair, her head back, her mouth slightly open. Captain Picard had
forbidden him to enter the alien ship until the S.C.E. team arrived, but the captain had said nothing about
landing on its surface and taking readings. No doubt doing nothing but gathering data for ten hours was
boring to her, but not him.
Especially not withthis alien ship. Frustrating him, maybe, but not boring him.
At the moment, he had theCook parked on a junction where the two rings met. They were very flat and
smooth on top, and looked like wide highways leading off in four directions. Each ring was over a
hundred meters wide and twenty thick. He had taken a dozen readings, using everything he could to
penetrate the thick skin of the rings, but had had little success. The alloys that made up that hull were
almost as good as shields when it came to blocking scans. He could tell there were no life signs, could get
basic shapes and energy signatures from what appeared to be backup systems, and could tell there was a
very wide hallway and lots of rooms in the rings below him, but nothing more. This ship’s metal hull,
whatever its exact makeup, might be a very important find for the Federation and Starfleet.
It was clear that unless he, or someone on theda Vinci , came up with a way to penetrate the hull, they
were going to have to learn about this ship the old-fashioned way: by exploring it.
And finding out exactly what purpose these rings served was something hereally wanted to know.
He turned and eased theCook off its position on the ring and moved across the surface of the giant ship
like he was skimming over a moon. Unlike the surface of the rings, the surface of the sphere was almost
entirely covered with what looked like equipment. Over the last ten hours, he’d managed to identify some
of it; he’d found hundreds of redundant environmental systems, and what looked like energy collectors.
He had also pinpointed over one hundred airlocks.
But what was under that surface he had no idea, and it was driving him nuts.
He slowly lowered theCook over what had been the only smooth area of the ship’s surface before the
finalEnterprise attack. Now it was a large hole, showing layer after layer of open decks below. The top
deck appeared to have been the ship’s main control room. It was now mostly gone.
The clear surface wasn’t made up of the same material as the rest of the hull, but looked as if it might be
transparent from the inside, sort of a one-way window. Only it had been the biggest window Geordi had
ever seen. TheEnterprise could have landed on it and not even started to cover it all. On top of that, to
be that big, the material had to be fantastically strong. That interested him as well.
The control room had faced the center part of the massive window. It must have had some spectacular
view into space. Now it was nothing but a giant hole.
He scanned down through the mess, trying to penetrate into the open decks the explosion had exposed.
This ship looked like it was big enough to hold a city’s-worth of beings, yet only twelve had been aboard
flying it. Why?
He hoped to find the answer to that question before this was over. And a thousand other questions as
well.
Lieutenant Vale coughed lightly, gave a small snort, and turned to her right. A moment later her snoring
returned, light and consistent.
Geordi smiled and shook his head in amusement. For a young officer on a strange away-mission, she
certainly had a sense of comfort and self-assurance. He never would have been able to sleep in her
position.
Suddenly the proximity alert beeped, warning them that another ship was approaching.
Vale snapped awake, coming out of her chair with one hand on her phaser. Her blue eyes were very
round, and Geordi doubted she had taken a breath.
“Easy, Lieutenant,” he said, holding up his hand to her as he glanced at the sensor readings. It was theda
Vinci , dropping out of warp. “No sense in shooting who we’re here to help.”
She glared at him, then stood up straight and stretched, as if nothing unusual had happened.
“Have a nice nap?” he asked, smiling.
“Not really,” she said, using one hand to massage her neck.
“Seemed like it was pretty good, considering how you were snoring.”
Vale looked at him, at first slightly confused. Then she got this defiant look in her eyes. “I don’t snore.”
Geordi laughed. “Whatever you say. But I had to turn up the warning signal to make sure I heard it.”
“Yeah, right,” she said, turning away from him and dropping into the copilot’s chair.
He could see a little red creeping up her neck, so he just smiled and said nothing. Having her along was
going to be fun.
On the main screen, theda Vinci swept in, turning and swooping in the same motion. The sleek ship
ended up in a position just above theCook . Geordi was impressed. Their pilot must be good, and very
confident, to approach like that.
“Da Vinci toEnterprise shuttlecraft Cook.”
“Welcome,da Vinci ,” Geordi said as Captain Gold’s smiling face filled the screen.
Geordi knew that Gold was only slightly older than Captain Picard, but he looked older. He was a thick
man, with graying brown hair and bushy eyebrows. Geordi could tell from his brown eyes that the man
didn’t miss much.
“Seems like Picard has left us with a doozy this time,” Gold said. “Glad you wanted to stick around and
give us a hand.”
“Thanks to you and the S.C.E. team for having me, Captain,” Geordi said. “Just couldn’t leave this one
without knowing what makes her tick.”
Gold laughed. “We know the feeling. I assume you’ve gotten some readings in the last few hours?”
“What Icould get,” Geordi said. “It’s not giving up its secrets easily.”
“They seldom do,” Gold said. “We’re ready for docking when you are.”
Ten minutes later, Geordi had slipped theCook in beside theda Vinci ’s two shuttles, and he and Vale
摘要：

CHAPTER1Spacebattlesnevertookthislong.CaptainJean-LucPicardshookhisheadinamazementashestaredatthemainscreenoftheEnterprisebridge.Hecouldn’trememberhowmanytimeshehadbeeninengagementswithenemyships,withthefightusuallyonlytakingafewminutes.Butnotthistime.Themonstershipfloatinginfrontofthemhadkeptthembu...

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