STAR TREK - SCE - 18 - Foundations Bk 2

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

COMING NEXT MONTH: Star Trek™: S.C.E. #19 FOUNDATIONS Book 3

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the authors'

imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or

dead, is entirely coincidental.

AnOriginal Publication of POCKET BOOKS

POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

STAR TREK is a Registered Trademark of Paramount Pictures.

This book is published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., under exclusive license

from Paramount Pictures.

For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

ISBN: 0-7434-5673-4

First Pocket Books Ebooks Edition July 2002

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Visit us on the World Wide Web:

http://www.SimonSays.com/st

http://www.startrek.com

Other eBooks in the Star Trek™: Starfleet

Corps of Engineers series from Pocket Books:

#1:The Belly of the Beast by Dean Wesley Smith

#2:Fatal Error by Keith R.A. DeCandido

#3:Hard Crash by Christie Golden

#4:Interphase Book 1 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

#5:Interphase Book 2 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

#6:Cold Fusion by Keith R.A. DeCandido

#7:Invincible Book 1 by David Mack & Keith R.A. DeCandido

#8:Invincible Book 2 by David Mack & Keith R.A. DeCandido

#9:The Riddled Post by Aaron Rosenberg

#10:Gateways Epilogue:Here There Be Monsters by Keith R.A. DeCandido

#11:Ambush by Dave Galanter & Greg Brodeur

#12:Some Assembly Required by Scott Ciencin & Dan Jolley

#13:No Surrender by Jeff Mariotte

#14:Caveat Emptor by Ian Edginton & Mike Collins

#15:Past Life by Robert Greenberger

#16:Oaths by Glenn Hauman

#17:Foundations Book 1 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

#18:Foundations Book 2 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

COMING SOON:

#19:Foundations Book 3 by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

#20:Enigma Ship by J. Steven York & Christina F. York

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the authors'

imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or

dead, is entirely coincidental.

AnOriginal Publication of POCKET BOOKS

POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

STAR TREK is a Registered Trademark of Paramount Pictures.

This book is published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., under exclusive license

from Paramount Pictures.

For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

ISBN: 0-7434-5673-4

First Pocket Books Ebooks Edition July 2002

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Visit us on the World Wide Web:

http://www.SimonSays.com/st

http://www.startrek.com

Chapter

Stardate 53675.5

Isn't this the point where something usually goes wrong?

Sitting at his station on the bridge of theU.S.S. da Vinci, Kieran Duffy could not shake the thought, the

same one that tended to plague him whenever he undertook a demanding and risky assignment. He had

performed many such tasks during his career as an engineer, but it had been fortunate happenstance that

only a small number of those had entailed risk to the lives of either himself or people around him.

This, however, was most definitely one of those small number of times.

"Commander Gomez," Carol Abramowitz called out from the communications station. "They've

responded to our message and signal that they're ready for us to begin."

From where she stood near the helm console, Commander Sonya Gomez nodded in approval to the

ship's cultural liaison, who often handled the responsibilities of the communications officer when

conversing with newly encountered alien species. "Thanks, Carol." Turning her attention to the helm, she

asked, "Ensign Rusconi, what's our range?"

"Twenty thousand kilometers and closing, Commander."

On the main viewscreen, the image of the runaway ship they were pursuing stood out in sharp relief

against the starfield surrounding it. Theda Vinci had encountered the alien vessel only a few hours earlier,

its abrupt appearance on the ship's sensors having disrupted the otherwise quiet calm of gamma shift.

They had established contact with the vessel and its crew, members of a previously unknown race called

the Senuta, and learned that their ship had suffered massive damage inflicted by an ion storm.

The storm had disrupted the Senuta vessel's ion-based engines, fusing the propulsion system. With the

crew unable to slow the ship down, it had been traveling undeterred at high warp speed for weeks until

theda Vinci had detected its distress call.

Captain David Gold had assigned Duffy the arduous task of figuring out a way to slow the alien craft.

With that directive, Duffy had spent more than two hours searching through the ship's library computer,

coming away with a wealth of information on the effects of ion storms on mechanical equipment.

However, a casual conversation with his friend and shipmate Fabian Stevens had given him a last bit of

needed inspiration to devise a solution.

Deciding to use the Senuta's own engine design to his advantage, Duffy planned to slow the vessel by

using theda Vinci 's deflector dish, projecting ions charged to varying levels directly into the alien ship's

intake manifolds. With any luck, the cascading reaction of the ion stream's differing intensities would act

as a gradual braking mechanism, reducing the craft's velocity in a controlled and, hopefully, safe manner.

It looks good on the computer screen, anyway.

His finger was hovering over the controls on the panel before him. After all of his preparations, the only

thing he could do was wait for Gomez to give him the order to proceed. Only then would they find out if

this outlandish scheme of his would work or not.

"Mr. Duffy, engage the deflector beam."

Here we go,Duffy told himself as his finger pressed the control.

Though his computer simulations had told him that the effects of the varying streams of ions would be

fast acting, he was still unprepared for what happened next.

"Reading a fluctuation in their ion drive, Duff," Fabian Stevens reported from the science station. "And a

disruption in their warp field." Smiling, he added, "Looks like this crazy idea of yours is working."

From his command chair, Captain Gold said, "Stevens, isn't it a bit early to be inflating the lieutenant

commander's ego?"

The witty response that had already formed on Duffy's tongue vanished as an alarm sounded at his

station. Turning his attention back to his console, it took only seconds for him to determine the cause of

the problem.

"It's the ion stream," he reported, his fingers stabbing at controls as he spoke. "Their warp field is

collapsing faster than I wanted it to." He shook his head in mounting frustration. "The damage to their ion

drive must be more extensive than we thought. Damn it! We're tearing them out of subspace. I'm

disengaging the deflector."

On the main viewer, the effects of the ion stream were plainly visible even as it dissipated in response to

Duffy's commands. The Senuta ship was shuddering and bucking wildly as its engines struggled against

the unexpected assault.

What the hell did I do wrong?

There would be plenty of time later to figure out where he had so obviously screwed up, however. Right

now there were more important things that needed his attention, such as how to keep the Senuta vessel

from tearing itself apart.

"Their speed is dropping radically," he reported, his eyes glued to the console before him.

Still seated in his command chair and possessing an outward calm that Duffy envied, especially now,

Gold called out, "Rusconi, match their speed. Stay with them."

"Fabian," Gomez said as she jumped from the command well and made her way to the science station,

"get me a damage report."

"Already on it," Stevens replied, all business once more as he worked. "There's some hull plate buckling,

and I'm detecting internal space frame damage." Shaking his head, he added, "They're not built for that

kind of punishment."

"What about a tractor beam?" Gomez asked. "We could use it to steady them."

Duffy's fingers were already entering the necessary commands, moving as if free of his conscious control.

"Yes! That just might do the trick!"

From his own station, Stevens frowned. "Maybe, but with the damage they've already suffered, it might

just make things worse, Duff."

Nodding, Duffy replied, "I know. As small as that ship is, a half-strength tractor should still do the job

while being gentle about it." He made no effort to hide the doubt in his voice, concentrating instead on

entering commands to make the proper adjustments. That completed, he turned back to Gomez. "It's

ready."

"Activate tractor beam."

All eyes on the bridge turned to the main viewer as theda Vinci 's tractor beam reached out across the

void and enveloped the Senuta vessel. The alien ship's violent gyrations continued for a moment before

beginning to subside under the beam's influence.

"It's working," Duffy said, remembering to breathe as the ship's tumbling was arrested. Only a few more

seconds passed before the craft was once again traveling on a steady course.

Congratulations,Duffy told himself with a sigh of relief.But you shouldn't have had to do it in the first

place.

Rising from the center seat, Gold nodded in approval. "Excellent work, people. Open a channel to the

Senuta ship, and let's see how bad off our new friends really are over there."

It didn't take long for Abramowitz to respond, however. "They're not answering, Captain."

"There could be damage to their communications system," Stevens said.

Gold said, "Well, since we were planning to beam over anyway, now seems as good a time as any."

Looking to Gomez, he asked, "What do you say, Gomez?"

Nodding, Gomez replied, "Duffy and his team will have their hands full with the engines, and I'd like

Soloman to take a look at their computer. Maybe he can figure out why it won't let the Senuta engineers

in. Bart will be helpful over there, too, since we'll need to communicate with their computer techs. I'd like

Dr. Lense to beam over and check out the medical situation."

"Good," Gold said. "Proceed at your own discretion." To the rest of the bridge crew he added, "It looks

as though we've still got plenty of work ahead of us, people, so let's snap to it."

Personnel set about their various tasks, and at his own station Duffy began composing the lists of

equipment and people he would need to transport with him to the alien ship when he felt a tap on his

shoulder. He turned to see Gold, hands clasped behind his back, regarding him with the fatherly air that

the captain affected so very well.

"I'm sensing a bit of tension with you, Duffy," Gold said. "Anything you'd like to share?" Though the

question was offered in a gentle manner, Duffy knew from experience that the captain would not settle for

him declining the offer to say what was on his mind.

"I screwed up, Captain," he said simply. "I missed something in my calculations and I could have

destroyed that ship."

Gold frowned. "But you didn't, and you managed to overcome the error and create a solution that

salvaged the operation. I also suspect that once this is all over, you'll spend however long it takes to find

what it was you overlooked. Am I correct?"

A sheepish expression formed on Duffy's face. "Yes, sir."

"I don't expect my people to be perfect, Duffy," Gold said calmly, "but I do expect them to give their

best effort. I've seen nothing to indicate that you've done anything less than that, on this or any other

occasion. I also expect my people to learn from their mistakes and use that knowledge to better

themselves. I've seen everything to indicate that you will do so in this instance, as well. But right now

there's a ship full of people over there who need you to focus on the problem at hand, so my advice to

you is to concentrate on that."

Somewhat relieved by the captain's words, Duffy nodded. "Understood, Captain. Thank you."

Gold smiled and his eyes narrowed as he added, "Besides, look on the bright side. Once you get over

there, you'll have a whole new audience for that Tellarite story of yours."

"Aye, it sounds as though ye've got things under control, Captain."

From the main viewer in theda Vinci 's conference lounge, Captain Montgomery Scott regarded Gold,

Gomez, Abramowitz, and the captain of the Senuta ship, Daltren.

Basically humanoid in appearance, Daltren and Nirsrose, who had been introduced as the Senuta ship's

second in command, possessed physiques and stature comparable to that of Soloman and other Bynars.

Daltren stood no more than 1.5 meters tall, while Nirsrose was slightly shorter. Both Senuta were slight

of build, with pale skin and hair that contrasted sharply with the dark, loose-fitting clothing they wore.

Gomez had found herself drawn almost immediately to their eyes. They were colored an iridescent blue,

conveying intelligence and intense curiosity that became evident the moment the Senuta began talking.

The questions were seemingly endless, with the Senuta inquiring about anything they happened to see as

they moved through the ship. Their enthusiasm was infectious, prompting Domenica Corsi to express her

customary concern about providing too much information to these all-but-unknown aliens. Gomez,

however, had convinced her to relent in her desire to have a security team present in the conference

lounge while the Senuta were there.

"Commander Gomez and her people are handling all of the hard work," Gold said, smiling affably in the

direction of the viewer from his seat at the head of the conference table. The viewer itself had been

segmented into two sections. One half displayed the wizened visage of Captain Scott, while the other

featured Duffy, who with several members of the S.C.E. team had transported to the Senuta ship more

than an hour before. "I just get to sit back and take all the credit," the captain continued. "Judging by the

initial reports we've received from the away team, they should have everything repaired in less than a

day."

"That's right,"Duffy said."The engines themselves are actually in pretty good shape. There's some

structural damage along with those systems taken out by the storm. We've got Senuta engineers helping

us to identify the functionality of certain components so we can fashion replacements for the parts they

don't have. There's plenty of work to be done and it'll take some time, but nothing too complex, sir."

Gomez noted a renewed confidence in Duffy's voice, a quality that had not been there when he had first

beamed over to the Senuta ship. She knew that he still hadn't forgiven himself for whatever error he may

have made while putting his plan to decelerate the alien vessel into motion. She had offered her own

encouragement to him prior to his departure, but if there was one thing that she knew about Kieran

Duffy, it was that he would continue to feel guilty until he alone had resolved the question over what had

gone wrong. That sense of responsibility and obligation was one of the qualities she loved about Kieran,

of that she was sure.

It was also one of those things that could make her want to smack him silly.

"Sounds good, Commander," she said. "Keep us informed of your progress." On the viewer, Duffy

nodded and severed his connection, leaving only the image of Captain Scott.

"What about our computer, Captain?" Daltren asked. "It controls nearly every system aboard our ship.

Many of those same systems are beyond our ability to control without its assistance. The engineering area

of our vessel is especially dependent on a number of integrated systems that are fully automated."

"Soloman is making some progress," Gomez reported. "But we may have to come up with some sort of

alternative in the short term, at least until my people can learn the ins and outs of your computer system."

Faulwell and Soloman had reported that they could be busy for quite a while, as two of the three Senuta

crewmembers who had been killed during the ion storm were the ones assigned to oversee the ship's

computer. None of the other Senuta possessed the necessary knowledge to really dig in and understand

the operating system at a purely technical level, so Gomez knew that her people had their work cut out

for them.

"I appreciate the effort your crew is expending on our behalf, Captain," Daltren said. "You must

understand, ours is a society that places a great deal of respect and trust in computers. On our world,

they autonomously oversee countless routine and mundane tasks, completely removing the need for our

people to handle or even to think about them."

Leaning forward in her chair, Abramowitz added, "Mr. Daltren tells me that on his planet, all forms of

public transportation, even most orbital and interplanetary travel, are run almost exclusively via automated

computer control. It's been that way for generations, with nearly flawless performance and safety

records. Their society isn't as reliant on computers as, say, the Bynars, but it is similar to Earth's

dependence on them during their equivalent level of technology at the start of the twenty-third century. At

the rate they're progressing, however, they could rival the Bynars in a century or so."

"Quite impressive, if ye ask me,"Scott said."However, I'd be remiss if I dinna point out that in my

experience, such dependence on automation isn't always a good thing."

"You speak wisely, Captain," Daltren said. "For all the wonders our computers are capable of, the one

aboard my ship could not have foreseen what happened to us, nor could it have predicted that the

specialists charged with its care would be killed." Pausing a moment, he cast a downward glance to the

conference table, and Gomez saw the pain at the loss of his companions in the Senuta's eyes. Shaking his

head, he continued. "I sincerely hope that unfortunate instances such as this, rare though they may be, will

serve to remind my people of the potential folly for entrusting ourselves so completely to the power of the

machines."

Gold nodded soberly. "We've seen our fair share of societies that got themselves into trouble by relying

too much on computers. I can certainly sympathize with your sentiments, Daltren."

Gomez agreed as well. "We've encountered two in the past few months alone." The chaos that had

ensued when Ganitriul, the mammoth computer system that had overseen for millennia every facet of life

on the planet Eerlik, began to malfunction remained a particularly powerful memory.

"I appreciate your insight," the Senuta captain replied. "But you must understand that my people have

relied on automation for so long that I fear we may forever be enraptured by its spell. Adopting any kind

of philosophy that lessened that dependence would undoubtedly be met with stark resistance."

From the viewscreen, Scott said,"Take heart, sir. You at least have the presence of mind to know the

dangers and limitations of allowing computers to have so much control. There have been numerous

societies that dinna have that luxury."

Smiling, Gold said, "If anyone here would know about that, it's you, Captain Scott. How many planetary

supercomputers did Captain Kirk end up convincing to turn themselves off, anyway?"

"More than his share, I'm afraid,"Scott replied, chuckling."And of course ye know about one of them,

that blasted contraption they called Landru."

Gomez could not help smiling as she remembered theda Vinci 's recent encounter with a group of

Ferengi who had managed to acquire components from the world computer that Captain Kirk and the

Enterprise had encountered more than a century before.

"That was one of Captain Kirk's earlier missions," she said, a playful grin on her face, "so he hadn't quite

polished his computer deactivation skills yet. If your mission to Beta III had come a few years later, there

would have been nothing left for us." Of course, Gomez knew that theEnterprise 's original encounter with

the Landru computer had been at least indirectly responsible for the evolution of the S.C.E. into the

organization it was today.

"We only thought we were finished with Landru when Captain Kirk turned the beastie off,"Scott replied.

"But it was really just the beginning."

Chapter

Stardate 3176.9

Will this never end?

Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott leaned into his stride as he slogged through watery muck that

rose above his knees. A worklight attached to the hood of his orange environmental suit helped guide him

through the tunnel, its illumination reflecting off the water's brackish surface and the damp slime coating

the walls around him. Sloshing sounds marked his progress and echoed up and down the sewer pipe, all

but drowning out the crinkling and crunching of his suit's protective material. In an effort to fight the

oppressive heat in the tunnel, Scott had shrugged off the upper half of the suit and tied the sleeves around

his waist, leaving him clad in a standard Starfleet undershirt.

But the headgear stays on, Scotty, lest this ungodly smell make you lose your breakfast.

"So, how's the view down there?"said a voice from the communicator Scott carried in his other hand.

The voice belonged to his friend and fellow engineer, Lieutenant Commander Mahmud al-Khaled.

"Oh, it's quite the visual treat," Scott replied as he trudged onward. "You'll hafta let me give you the tour

before we go."

Laughter came through the communicator's speaker grid."Well, you know that you could put a merciful

end to this."

"Don't I know it." With a simple call to theU.S.S. Lovell, orbiting somewhere above the surface of Beta

III, this sweaty, smelly, dirty walk could be swapped for an almost-instant journey to where he was

already headed. However, skipping a naked eye tour of this main sewer connection might have meant his

overlooking a fouled pump or a cracked seam or anything else that would lead to a malfunction of the

village's wastewater treatment system.

Besides, if you'd not taken the easy ride yesterday,he chided himself,maybe you'd not find yourself back

in this stinkin' place.

Scott continued through the pipe, the tricorder in his hand adding a smaller measure of illumination as it

outlined the engineer's course. On its miniature display a blinking dot indicated his goal: a broken proton

pump inhibitor located just a few meters ahead. From his review of the sewer system, he knew that the

inhibitor played a rather minor role in the overall scheme of things. However, experience had taught him

with hard-learned lessons that even a simple problem could quickly escalate into a major crisis if left

unattended.

"You should be getting close to the inhibitor assembly's access panel,"al-Khaled said over the

communicator.

Sloshing a few more steps through the muck, Scott spied the slightest swelling in the left side of the

tunnel, the outline of what looked to be a panel perhaps a meter square.

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CONTENTSChapter1Chapter2Chapter3Chapter4Chapter5Chapter6Chapter7Chapter8Chapter9ABOUTTHEAUTHORSCOMINGNEXTMONTH:StarTrek™:S.C.E.#19FOUNDATIONSBook3Thisbookisaworkoffiction.Names,characters,placesandincidentsareproductsoftheauthors'imaginationsorareusedfictitiously.Anyresemblancetoactualeventsorlocale...

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