STAR TREK - TOS - 19 - Flag Full Of StarsThe Tears Of The Singers

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STAR TREK

THE TEARS OF THE SINGERS

MELINDA SNODGRASS

PUBLISHED BY POCKET BOOKS NEW YORK

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents

are either the product of the author's imagination or are used

fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,

living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Another Original publication of POCKET BOOKS.

PO KET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 21230C Avenue of

the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020

Cover artwork copyright 0 1984 by Boris Vallejo

portions thereof in any form whatsoever. Fbr information address Pocket

Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020

This book is Published by Pocket Books, a Division of Simon & Schuster,

Inc., Under Exclusive License from Paramount Piotures Corporation, The

Trademark Owner.

ISBN 0-671-50284-0

Fust Pocket Books Science Rction printing September, 1984

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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

STAR TREKO is A Trademark of Paramount Pictures Corporation Registered In

the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Printed in the U.S.A.

Prologue

An ice green sea lapped softly at the sparkling sands and crystal ch& of the

strange, silver-lit world. Along the length and breadth of the glittering

beach played the junior Singers. Cubs, perhaps, although the adults resting

in their icrystal

grottos showed no parental interest in the small furry youngsters who

tumbled, hummed, chirruped and warbled on the beach below them.

The hunters stepped carefully, yet uninterestedly, through the gamboling

packs of silver white creatures. The little fellows were cute enough, with

their pale blue eyes and ingeniously smiling faces, but the money lay with

the adults. Long and sleek they reclined M*' their grottos, unmoved by the

icy wind that whipped off the whitecapped ocean. Their eyes had darkened to

the profound midnight blue of adulthood, and they seemed to be stanng into

a place beyond time as they blended their strange siren voices into an

intricate and never-ending song.

It behooved a man not to look into those eyes when he fired

The Tears of the Singers

the electric current that stilled yet another voice in the mighty chorus.

Those who had, described it as looking into eternity, and they didn't seem

like men who had enjoyed the sight.

So they learned to do their work cleanly and efficiently, concentrating

only on the rewards to be gained when the crystal tears were marketed back

on Earth or Rigel, or any of a hundred other Federation worlds where men

and women adomed themselves.

The creatures made no move to escape or even acimowledge their destroyers.

They merely continued their particular harmony as the humans laboriously

climbed the treacherous cliffs, and placed their shockwands at the base of

a Singees skuEL One of the hunters fired, and a discordant cry pierced

through the perfect harmony of the song. The creature rolled ponderously

onto its side, its eyes secreting a viscous blue substance. The "tears," as

the humans had dubbed them, soon solidified into the gleaming gems so

prized on civilized worlds.

The man swept the seven crystals into a soft leather pouch. Something

caught his attention, and he fished back the last jewel. He held it up to

the diffuse light, and frowned when he noticed a minute flaw in the

crystal. A bit of sand had become embedded in the gem, warping its perfect

symmetry and color. Grumbling, he tossed it down the rock wall, where it

shattered with the sound of a thousand bells. It was an eerie and

melancholy sound in the frigid air.

Chapter One

James Kark was bored. Tim was an unusual state for the captain of the U.S.S.

Enterprise, but one which was an too common when he found himself trapped at

a star base for routine maintenance.

He fiddled with Ids desk communicator, and debated about calling that

attractive maintenance engineer he had met yesterday when she had been

poking about the computers, much to Spock's irritation.

He dismissed the notion with a quick shake of his head. He wasift in the

mood for groundside company, however attractive. What he really wanted was

the companionship of his own people, and God alone knew where they had

gotten to. He supposed he could make a circuit of the more exotic sakmxm,

and no doubt stumble across McCoy or Sootty or both, but even bar crawling

had lost its allure.

With a sigh he poured a drink, Ilipped on the reader and tried not to think

about the four days still remaunng before

The Tears of the Singers

they could leave. He had barely found his place among Nelson's strategies at

Trafalgar when his door page chimed.

"Come," he called eagerly, and snapped off the reader. In his present mood

it didn't matter who was outside so long as they took him away from his own

company, and the nineteenth century.

"Captain," Uhura said as she stepped through the door. 66 I'm glad we

caught you in." Her slender body was swathed in a wrap of gold material

which left one dark shoulder provocatively bare. Long golden earrings swung

from her lobes, and tinkled softly with each step she took. Spock followed

her through the door, his hands clasped characteristically behind his back.

Uncharacteristically, he was wearing his dress uniform.

Kirk raised an eyebrow in unconcious finitation of his first officer, and

a smile tugged at his lips. "You two are dressed to the nines. What's the

occasion?"

"I fail to understand what the numeral nine has to do with the lieutenant's

or my choice of attire, Captain."

Kirk swallowed a sigh. "Old Earth phrase, Spock," he explained. Spock

nodded slowly, and seemed to withdraw into that Vulcan space he inhabited

so much of the'time.

"I had a feeling you might be getting itchy, so we came to see if you'd

like to attend a concert with us," Uhura said.

- "Concert," Kirk said somewhat dubiously. Music was not one of his

favorite pastimes although he did enjoy listening to Spock and Uhura's

impromptu performances aboard the Enterprise.

"It is highbrow, Captain, but it's really worth hearing. Guy Maslin is hem

for two days only, and he'll be performing Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Weston,

Turak, and several of his own works as well." She gave him a pleading look.

"The bad boy of classical music, eh?" Kirk asked, tugging at his lower lip.

"He might better be described as this century's Mozart or Vurak," Spock

stated.

The Tears of the Singers

"However, his interstellar temper tantrums are of more interest to a tin

ear like myself, Mr. Spock," Kirk said with a twinkle in his hazel eyes.

"I managed to beg an extra ticket from Commander Li," Uhura said. "And it

would be nice if you would join us."

"How about you, Spock? I don't want to horn in on you and the lieutenant,"

he said with a teasing glance to the beautiful communications officer.

"Hardly, sir. The lieutenant and I merely share an.interest in classical

music. Your presence would offer no intrusion."

Kirk spread his hands in a gesture of surrender. "What can I say to such a

generous offer but-I accept." He left his friends and offi6ers waking while

he quickly changed into a dress uniform.

Kirk was enjoying the concert. Maslin really was a virtuoso pianist, and

the beauty of the outdoor concert hall, with its surrounding umbrella trees

silhouetted against the night sky, diamond-hard stars and form-contouring

chairs seemed to ease the jitters he had felt earlier in the evening. The

Star Base 24 symphony orchestra wasn't precisely the Terran Philharmonic,

but they were certainly enthusiastic, and Kirk had a feeling that Maslin's

talent and presence could have made a jug band sound good.

The fights dimmed for the second half. Spock slid into a half-meditative

state while Uhura sat bolt upright on the edge of her seat, hands clasped

tightly about the program, eyes riveted on the still-empty piano stool.

Kirk leaned in to her and whispered, "Are you about to develop a crush,

like ten thousand other women on a hundred other worlds?"

Uhura gave him a decidedly insubordinate look, and turned back to the

stage. There was a ripple of applause as Mastin strode into view. He took

his place at the piano and, with an impatient gesture, brushed back his

falling black forelock.

The Tears of the Singers

Kirk had just settled back into his seat when there was a light touch on

his sleeve. He looked up to find a young ensign standing nervously in the

aisle next to him.

"Sir," he whispered under the rising opening chords of the orchestra. "I

have an urgent message from Commander Li. He requests that you report to

his office at once, sir."

Kirk leaned across Uhura to touch Spock on the arm. Instantly he was the

focus of the Vulcan's attention. "We've got a problem upstairs, and I think

I'd like to have you along.19

Spock nodded, and followed the captain into the aisle. Uhura rose to

accompany them, but Kirk pushed her firmly back into her seat. "Stay and

enjoy for us. I'll let you know if I need you."

"Yes, sir," she said gratefully.

Kirk and Spock trailed the ensign out of the hall as Maslin joined the

orchestra with a brilliant allegro run that marked the entrance of the

piano in his Concerto for a Dying World. Spock paused briefly to listen,

then gave a nod of satisfac tion and stepped into the courtyard lobby of the

outdoor concert hall.

Commander Li's office was on the top floor of an immense skyscraper at the

edge of the spaceport. The commander's desk was framed by a

floor-to-ceiling picture window which overlooked the shuttle landing area.

Li rose from behind his desk, hand outstretched; and Kirk wondered, as he

stepped forward, why all base commanders had similarly situated offices. It

was either a bureaucratic mandate from Star Fleet or a way for

now-deskbound captains to get closer to the stars they had lost.

Us office was, however, less austere than most. Several fate Chinese

scrolls hung on the walls, and a celadon bowl rested on the broad desk.

Spock picked up the fragile bowl, turning it almost reverently between his

long fingers.

Tim Tears of the Singers

"Tang dynasty,- Li said with a proud smile. "A fine piece, isn't it?"

"Exquisite would be more accurate, Commander."

"Tbank you, Mr. Spock." Kirk took a chair, and declined one of the thin,

maroon-colored Beleteguese cigars that the tall Chinese commander affected,

to the ruination of the atmosphere in any room.

"sorry to pull you out of the concert. I would be there myself if this

problem hadn't arisen. My wife is still there, and probably cursing me with

every breath for deserting her." He paused to puff the cigar to life.

"I take it from your call to Captain Kirk that this represents an off-world

problem requiring a starship's assistance?"

"Correct." U pressed a button on his desk, and a large viewing screen slid

over the window. "A week ago the freighter Wanderlust sighted a strange

spatial effect near the Thygeta V system. The freighter was returning to

pick up some hunters which it had dropped on Thygeta, which is the only

planet of any interest in the entire system. It was then that it noticed

the phenomenon.

"Ibey radioed us for instructions, and we requested they take a closer

look. Apparently something happened to the Wanderlust during that

investigation, for all that remained to be found by one of our patrol

scouts was their jettisoned communications buoy."

"No debris?" Kirk asked.

"None. It's as if Captain Ridly realized he was in trouble, jettisoned the

buoy, and then vanished--he and his ship with him.99

"This phenomenon?" Spock prodded gently.

"Oh yes." The commander ffipped another switch on the desk console. The

room darkened, and the holograms taken by the Wanderlust in its last

moments Bowed across the screen. Captain Ridly's voice maintained a running

commentary under the swirling images.

The Tears of On Singers

"It's like nothing I've ever seen before. It's almost as if the granddaddy

of all aurorae boreales had been rolled up and moved to this remote comer

of the galaxy. We're coming in

for some buffeting now, and wait Ridly gave a

nervous laugh. "An insane sensation ... I just tasted

music." There was a long pause while the incandescent lights

played and rippled across the screen. "We're all beghming to

experience strange sensory hallucinations. People are feeling

colors, tasting and smelling sounds. It's weird-no, wait!

Something's beginning to happen to the ship!" A babble of

voices rose over Ridly's rapidly hysterical commentary.

"Thrul" they heard him shout. "Tam! Jettison buoy! Jettison

buoyl"

The screen went dark.

Kirk felt the air gust from his straining lungs, and he realized he had

been holding his breath during the death throes of the Wanderlust. There

was an almost subliminal shivering along his nerve endings, and he felt

suddenly cold even though the room was a comfortable seventy-two degrees.

He realized that he could have dealt with the loss of the freighter more

easily if there had been a blast of destructive force that had left debris

and rubble in its wake. This sense of nothingness, of a ship and her crew

helpless in the face of something they could not understand, filled turn

with disquiet. That could have been his ship. The emotion passed as Kirk

pushed away his foreboding.

"So you want the Enterprise to check out this phenomenon?"

"I'm afraid we have no other choice. Computer analysis by the scout ship

indicated that the space/time distortion is spreading outward from the

Thygeta system. I know it pulls you off your assigned course toward the

Romulan neutral zone, but I've cleared it with Star Fleet. They agree this

should take precedence over brandishing the big stick."

The Tears of the Singers

Kirk smiled at Li's sally, and cocked an inquiring eyebrow at Spock. "Any

questions, Mr. Spock?"

The Vulcan shifted in his seat, and steepled his hands before his face. "I

would question whether there is anything peculiar to this area of space,

the local star or surrounding planets which might account for this effect."

1A shook his head. "We've had computer analyses of the star and the

surrounding area drawn from the data banks of the survey craft which listed

the system. As for the planets, aside from Thygeta they are lifeless balls

of rock or gas giants."

",And Uygeta?"

"The area has only recently been opened to exploration, and the only point

of interest would be to exDbiologisft or zoologists. Unfortunately there

hasn't been enough money to mount an expedition to Thygeta."

"And what's on Thygeta that the Federation would want to?" Kirk asked.

"The planet is inhabited by a strange mammalian species."

"Intelligent?"

"One hopes not, since the planet has become a mecca for fortune hunters."

Kirk looked puzzled, and Li enunciated two words. "Crystal tears."

"Oh," Kirk said. "I see."

Spock broke in. "Forgive me, Captain, but I do not see. What are crystal,

tears?"

"The galaxy's newest and most costly craze," Li explained. "My daughters

are all hounding me for a tear. So far I've been holding them at bay since

the cost is astronomical."

"I gather that these tears are garnered on Thygeta?"

"Not from Thygeta, Mr. Spock, rather from the inhabitants of Thygeta. The

tears are formed by an eye secretion emittrA at the moment of a Singer's

death."

"Singers, Commander?" Spock repeated, sitting forward attentively.

The Tears of the Singers

"The name that's been given to the creatures who dwell on Thygeta. The

beasts seem to sing constantly. Not like any human or humanoid music known,

but a very definite and complex song. That's one of the questions an

expedition would have answered, along with how the creatures maintain

themselves, since they never-seem to feed."

"I am disturbed by this failure of Federation policy. Ile evidence of such

complex behavior wou'ld argue against the nonsentience of the creatures. If

such were the case the Federation's action in allowing the hunters access

to the planet may be destroying an intelligent species."

Li spread his hands. "As with all governments, Mr. Spock, there are

failures and oversights. The present issue before us, however, is not the

inhabitants of Thygeta, intelligent or otherwise, but with this strange

warp in space." He shifted in his chair, and looked back to Kirk. "Captain,

how soon can you be ready to leave dock?"

. "As soon as I get to the Enterprise I'll cancel all shore leave. With

Scotty back on board we ought to be able to get the inspectors off in a

matter of hours."

"Good, and if we need to fudge a bit on any inspection certificates just

let me know."

"I like a man who knows how to cut through red tape," Kirk said with a

smile. He rose, and shook hands with Li. Spock politely inclined his head

to the base commander, and they left the office.

Spock hesitated in the hall rather than following Kirk toward the lifts.

"Captain, with your permission I would like to delay my return to the

Enterprise by perhaps as much as an hour."

"Why, what's this, Spock? Are you beginning to pine over the loss of a

shore leave?" Kirk teased.

Spock drew himself regally erect. "Hardly, Captain! I merely wish to pursue

a possible line of investigation while I have the libraries of a star base

at my disposal."

The Tears of the Singers

Kirk paused and looked thoughtfully at his first officer. Sometimes Spock's

logical or intuitive leaps_ seemed farfetched, but Kirk had learned not to

question them. Many times Spock's seemingly outlandish lines of research

had provided the solution to a particular knotty problem. If Spock wanted

to go off and study a species of singing aliens there was, no doubt, a very

good reason for it.

"Request granted, Mr. Spock. But see to it that it only takes an hour. I

want to be ready to pull out by morning.

Spock nodded. "Very good, Captain."

As Kirk thumbed the lift for the ground floor he noticed that the last

trace if his boredom had vanished.

The crowd in the Green Room had begun to thin, and still Uhura waited. She

was mentally castigating herself for foolish and adolescent behavior, but

it didn't help. She couldn't bring herself to walk out of the room.

A tall woman swathed totally in gold-tipped Ssravat fur gave one final

gushing comment, took her escort's arm and they swept toward the door, and

Maslin stood revealed. He made a rude gesture toward the pair's departing

backs, and then turned toward his dressing room. He halted after only a few

steps, and looked back as if arrested by Uhura's close scrutiny.

Brilliant green eyes stared suspiciously out of a thin, pale face made even

paler by the shock of jet black hair which fell across the man's high

forehead. There was a world of exhaustion and cynicism in those eyes, and

Uhura almost blanched when he said in an infinitely weary and sardonic

tone, "I suppose you want an autograph too?"

Anger that her idol should possess such obvious feet of clay, and anger at

herself for having waited literally at the stage door like some star-struck

schoolgirl, swept away her embarrassment.

"Not anymore, thank you," she said coolly. "I did when I

The Tears of the Singers

walked in here, but I find that after a few minutes of exposure to your

personality I've changed my mind." She crossed the room to the door, her

head held high.

"Wait," Maslin said, eyeing her curiously. "You're not like these vapid

socialites. What are you?"

She found it odd that he asked her what rather than who she was, but she

ignored it, and answered, "I'm a Star Fleet officer assigned to the U.S.S.

Enterprise."

"Impressive, if one happens to be awed by that institution. But what's a

technocrat like you doing at one of my concerts, Madam Star Fleet?"

"I'm also a musician, Mr. Maslin, and you're displaying an appalling amount

of ignorance and bias in assuming that all Star Fleet personnel lack an

appreciation or understanding of the arts."

Maslin walked slowly up to her, and Uhura noticed that he was a small man.

They were eye to eye, and she was wearing sandals.

"What are you doing now?" he asked abruptly.

"Now? I'm going back to my hotel room."

"Why don't you come to supper with me? I may be a royal son of a bitch most

of the time, but I pride myself on an open mind. I think I'd like to be

lectured and corrected by you, Madam Star Fleet."

It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse, but there was a compelling power

about Maslin when he dropped his prickly, sarcastic mien, and concentrated

his not inconsiderable charm on a person.

"All right," she said at last. "But only if you ask my name, and stop

calling me Madam Star Fleet. I'm owed that courtesy at least."

"I think you might be owed a good many others as well," Maslin retorted

with an appraising look. "And what is your name?"

"Uhura."

The Tears of the Singers

"A powerful name for a powerful lady. Just let me change, and you can try

to teach me some manners."

"That's too large an undertaking for a single evening, Mr. Maslin," she

replied easily.

He mimed a touchd, and suddenly smiled. The expression softened the harsh

lines around his mouth, and made him seem younger. He vanished into his

dressing room, and Uhura realized that she hadn't felt this giddy in years.

She decided to enjoy the sensation and the moment for as long as they

lasted.

When Mashn returned he had shed his formal attire, and wore slacks, a

sweater and a long, knee-length jacket. Uhura noticed the height of his

boot heels, and decided that Guy Maslin was not a man who lived comfortably

with his size.

The composer held the stage door for her, and they stepped out into the

warm night air. Capella was a lush and hospitable world, and Uhura breathed

in the scent of citrus and alien fruit which was carried to her by the

wind.

"Do you mind if I don't call a cab?" Maslin asked. "On a night like this

I'd rather walk."

"Fine. It isn't often that rm planetside, and I enjoy the feel of earth

underfoot."

"How do you stand it?" he asked, thrusting his hands into his pockets, and

striding along beside her.

.611A(hatTl

"Being closed in on a ship all the time."

She smiled at him. "A common misconception that people have. First, the

Enterprise is one of the largest ships in the fleet, so I'm hardly cramped.

Also, we have rec rooms, and gyms, and a botanical garden where a person

can relax, and more importantly--I love it. My work is interesting, and

you never know what new experience is going to confront you when you're on

board an exploratory vessel like the Enterprise. I don't think I'd be as

happy making a milk run between Earth and Vulcan, say."

The Tears of the Sinsm

"An adventuresome as well as a beautiful ladyt" he murmured with a sideways

glance at her-

"That's coming on a bit too strong."

"I never pay empty compliments."

'-And I wonder how many women have heard that line?"

-And she's also a lady who reads the gossip columns.9

Uhura blushed with vexation. "I do not. Your reputation transcends even the

gossip columns."

.,Touch,6 again.9, He stopped walking, and Pulled a gold cigarette case

from his coat Pocket. He thumbed a tiny button on the side of the case, and

a cigarette slid smoothly from the recesses of the case already burning.

Uhura a brow at the expensive toy. He returned the case to his Pocket, and

studied her as he took a thoughtful drag on the cigarette. ,,How does a

manget to you?" he finally asked.

"By not playing games with me."

'IF& enough. Okay, no more empty Compliments) but YOU Will permit me to buy

your dinner, won't you?"

"Of course. You invited me."

They walked on in silence until they reached an awningcovered doorway.

Maslin indicated the bright blue canopy. "What passes for elegance on this

backwater. I suppose I should be grateful that there is anyplace other than

bars that is open at this hour,99 he added as he held open the door.

-I take it you've never been out to the frontier before."

,-This is the first and the last time. I like my caviar to be Beluga, my

champagne aged and my jumps between worlds to be short. And those amenities

you only find in the settled

99 areas.

"A luxury-minded and wt very adventuresome man," Uhura murmured in

imitation of his earlier remark.

"No, you are definitely not going to be easy," Maslin said in a low voice

as they followed the maitre d' to the table. The composer ordered quickly,

choosing an elegant and expensive supper. When the waiter left he leaned

back in the booth and

The Tears of the Singers

studied Uhura. "You're the first Star Fleet type I've ever really talked

to."

"Yet you seem to have formed some pretty strong opinions about us on the

basis of little or no information."

He shrugged, and took a sip of champagne. "You represent a lot of things I

don't like."

"Such as?"

"Discipline.,'

"You have to be disciplined to be a musician."

"That's self-discipline, not discipline imposed from outside."

"We're not precisely keelhauled if we step out of line, and remember we

choose to join the service. There are no conscripts in Star Fleet."

"You said you were a musician," he said, switching subjects.,"What do you

play?"

"Not play, sing. I can handle the Vulcan lyrette, though Spock tells me my

attempts are feeble at best."

"I'm surprised you tackled it at all. It's a difficult instrument.,,

"I like challenges, Mr. Mashn."

"Guy, please.,'

"AM right, Guy.,,

"And who's Spock that he sees fit to comment on your musical skill?"

"He's our half-Vulcan first officer. He plays the lyrette very well, and

has given me a few lessons."

"After supper will you sing for me?"

Uhura felt her throat constrict at the thought. Maslin had performed with

some of the greatest voices in the Federation. What was acceptable aboard

the Enterprise became ridiculous when in the company of this man. She

quickly shook her head.

"Come now, if you don't I'll think my original impression, that all Star

Fleet personnel are technocrats, was the correct one.1t

The Tears of the Singers

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STARTREKTHETEARSOFTHESINGERSBYMELINDASNODGRASSPUBLISHEDBYPOCKETBOOKSNEWYORKThisnovelisaworkoffiction.Names,characters,placesandincidentsareeithertheproductoftheauthor'simaginationorareusedfictitiously.Anyresemblancetoactualeventsorlocalesorpersons,livingordead,isentirelycoincidental.AnotherOriginalp...

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STAR TREK - TOS - 19 - Flag Full Of StarsThe Tears Of The Singers

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