Star Trek - Blish, James - 04 Page 6

(D. C. Fontana)

  The honor guard of eight security men was lined up be-fore the airlock, four men to a side, with Kirk, Spock and McCoy, all three in formal dress blue uni-forms, at the end of this human tube. McCoy tugged at his collar, which he had previously described as "like having my neck in a sling." He asked Spock, "How does that Vulcan salute go?"

  Spock demonstrated. The gesture was complex and McCoy's attempt to copy it was not very convincing.

  The surgeon shook his head. "That hurts worse than the uniform."

  The uniforms were the least of their discomforts, Kirk thought a little grimly. They'd soon be out of those, after the formal reception tonight, and the Vulcans were the last group of delegates the Enterprise had to pick up. Then would come the trip to the neutral planetoid code-named "Babel"-a two-week journey with a hundred and fourteen Federation delegates aboard, thirty-two of them ambassadors, half of them mad at the other half, and the whole lot touchier than a raw anti-matter pile over the Coridian question. Now that was going to be uncomfort-able.

  The airlock opened, and the Vulcan Ambassador, Sarek, stepped through. Because of Vulcan longevity, it would have been impossible to guess his age-he looked to be no more than in his late forties-but Kirk knew it to be in fact a hundred and two, which was middle age by Vulcan standards. He was followed, several paces behind, by a woman wearing a traveling outfit with a colorful hooded cloak; she in turn was followed by two Vulcan aides.

  Kirk, Spock and McCoy stood at attention as the party walked past the honor guard to the Captain. Spock stepped formally in front of Sarek and gave the complex salute.

  "Vulcan honors us with your presence," he said. "We come to serve."

  Sarek pointedly ignored him and saluted Kirk instead. When he spoke, his voice was almost without inflection.

  "Captain, your service honors us."

  "Thank you, Ambassador," Kirk said with a slight bow. "Captain James Kirk. My First Officer, Commander Spock. Dr. McCoy, Chief Medical Officer."

  Sarek nodded briefly in turn and indicated the rest of his party. "My aides." He held up his hand, first and second fingers extended. The woman stepped forward and touched her first and second fingers to his. "And Amanda, she who is my wife."

  "Captain Kirk," the woman said.

  "My pleasure, madam. Ambassador, as soon as you're settled, I'll arrange a tour of the ship. My First Officer will conduct you."

  I prefer another guide, Captain," Sarek said.

  He was absolutely expressionless, and so was Spock. This snub was just as baffling and even more pointed than before, but it would not be a good idea to offend a rank-ing ambassador.

  "Of course-if you wish. Mr. Spock, we have two hours until we leave orbit. Would you like to beam down and visit your parents?"

  There was a slight but noticeable silence. Then Spock said, "Captain-Ambassador Sarek and his wife are my parents."

  Was I just telling myself, Kirk thought glumly after the first shock, that this trip was going to be just "uncom-fortable"?

  Upon reflection, Kirk gave himself the job of guiding the tour. He found Spock's mother especially interesting-re-markable, even-though she was hard to study because she habitually walked behind and to the side of any man, her husband most notably. This was a Vulcan ritual to which she had adapted, for Amanda was an Earthwoman; almost everyone in the crew knew that much about Spock.

  Though in her late fifties, she was still straight, slim and resilient. She had married a Vulcan and come to live on his world where her human-woman emotions had no place. Kirk strongly suspected that she had not lost any of her human humor and warmth, but that it was buried in-side, in deference to her husband's customs and society.

  He led them into the Engineering Room. Spock, by now in regular uniform, was working at the computer banks behind the grilled partition.

  "This is the engineering section," Kirk told his guests. "There are emergency backup systems for the main con-trols. We also have a number of control computers here."

  Amanda was still behind them and, without Sarek appearing to notice, she moved over to Spock. Out of the corner of his eye, Kirk saw each of them cross hands and touch them, palms out, in a ritual embrace. Then they began to murmur. Spock's face was expressionless, as usual. Once, Amanda shook her head ruefully.

  Kirk continued his lecture, hoping to avoid trouble, but Sarek's eyes were as alert as his own. "My wife, attend," the Ambassador said. He held up his first and second fin-gers. Without a word, Amanda nodded to Spock to ex-cuse herself and obediently moved to Sarek, joining her fingers with his, though Kirk guessed that she was really not much interested in the console and its instruments.

  Spock, gathering up a handful of tapes, rose and headed for the door. Kirk had a sudden idea.

  "Mr. Spock-a moment, please."

  The First Officer turned reluctantly. "Yes, Captain?"

  "Ambassador, I'm not competent to explain our com-puter setup. Mr. Spock, will you do so, please?"

  "I gave Spock his first instruction in computers," Sarek said woodenly. "He chose to devote his knowledge to Starfleet rather than the Vulcan Science Academy."

  That tore it. In trying to be helpful, Kirk had un-wittingly put his foot right into the heart of the family quarrel. Apologetically, he nodded dismissal to Spock, and turned to Sarek.

  "I'm sorry, Ambassador. I didn't mean to offend you in..."

  "Offense is a human emotion, Captain. For other rea-sons, I am returning to my quarters. Continue, my wife."

  Amanda bowed her head in characteristic acceptance, and Sarek left. Kirk, puzzled and confused as never before by his First Officer and his relatives, turned to her, shaking his head.

  "I'm afraid I don't understand, Mrs. Sarek."

  "Amanda," she said quickly. "I'm afraid you couldn't pronounce the Vulcan family name."

  "Can you?"

  A smile fluttered on her lips, then vanished as habit overtook her. "After a fashion, and after many years of practice... Shall we continue the tour? My husband did request it."

  "It sounded more like a command."

  "Of course. He's a Vulcan. I'm his wife."

  "Spock is his son."

  Amanda glanced at him sharply, as though surprised, but recovered quickly. "You don't understand the Vulcan way, Captain. It's logical. It's a better way than ours- but its not easy; It has kept Spock and Sarek from speaking as father and son for eighteen years."

  "Spock is my best officer," Kirk said. "And my best friend."

  "I'm glad he has such a friend. It hasn't been easy for Spock-neither Vulcan nor human; at home nowhere, except Starfleet."

  "I gather Spock disagreed with his father over his choice of a career."

  "My husband has nothing against Starfleet. But Vul-cans believe peace should not depend on force. Sarek wanted Spock to follow his teaching as Sarek followed the teaching of his father."

  "And they're both stubborn."

  Amanda smiled. "Also a human trait, Captain."

  Abruptly, Uhura's voice interrupted from a console speaker. "Bridge to Captain Kirk."

  Kirk snapped a toggle. "Kirk here."

  "Captain, I've picked up some sort of signal; just a few symbols, nothing intelligible."

  "Source?"

  "That's what bothers me, sir. Impossible to locate. There wasn't enough of it. Sensors show nothing in the area. But it was a strong signal, as though it was very close."

  "Go to alert status four. Begin long-range scanning. Kirk out." Kirk frowned thoughtfully and flicked off the switch. "Madame-Amanda-I'll have to ask you to ex-cuse me. I shall hope to see you again at the reception this evening."

  "Certainly, Captain. Both Vulcans and humans know what duty is."

  The reception was already going full blast when Kirk ar-rived. Amid a murmur of conversation, delegates circulated, or sampled the table of exotic drinks, hors d'oeuvre. There was a fantastic array of them from many cultures.

  Over it all was a fault aura of edgy politeness verging on ho
stility. The Interplanetary Conference had been called to consider the petition of the Coridian planets to be admitted to the Federation. The Coridian system had already been claimed by some of the races who now had delegates aboard the Enterprise, races who therefore had strong personal reasons for keeping Coridan out of the Federation. Keeping open warfare from breaking out among the delegates before the Conference even began was going to be a tough problem; many of them were not even trained diplomats, but minor officials who had been handed a hot potato by bosses who did not want to be saddled with the responsibility for whatever happened on Babel.

  Kirk spotted Spock and McCoy in a group which in-cluded a Tellarite named Gav, two Andorians called Shras and Thelev, and Sarek and Amanda. Well, at least Spock was-er-associating with his family, however distantly.

  As Kirk joined the group, McCoy was saying, "Mr. Ambassador, I understood that you had retired from pub-lic service before this conference was called. Forgive my curiosity, but, as a doctor, I'm interested in Vulcan physiology. Isn't it unusual for a Vulcan to retire at your age? You're only a hundred or so."

  As was characteristic of Andorians because of their sensitive antennae, Shras was listening with his head down and slightly tilted, while Gav, sipping a snifter of brandy, was staring directly into Sarek's face. For an Earthman unaccustomed to either race, it would have been hard to say which of them, if either, was being rude.

  Sarek said, "One hundred and two point four three seven, measured in your years. I had other-concerns."

  Gav put his snifter down and leaned still farther for-ward. When he spoke, his voice was rough, grating and clumsy; English was very difficult for all his people, if he spoke it better than most. "Sarek of Vulcan, do you vote to admit Coridan to the Federation?"

  "The vote will not be taken here, Ambassador Gav. My government's instructions will be heard in the Council Chamber on Babel."

  "No-you. How do you vote, Sarek of Vulcan?"

  Shras lifted his head. "Why must you know, Tellarite?" His voice was whispery, almost silken.

  "In Council, his vote carries others," Gav said, stabbing a finger toward Sarek. "I will know where he stands, and why."

  "Tellarites do not argue for reasons," Sarek said. "They simply argue."

  "That is a..."

  "Gentlemen," Kirk interrupted firmly. "As Ambassador Sarek pointed out, this is not the Council Chamber on Babel. I'm aware the admission of Coridan is a highly debatable issue, but you can't solve it here."

  For a moment the three Ambassadors stared defensive-ly at each other. Then Sarek nodded to Kirk. "You are correct, Captain. Quite logical."

  "Apologies, Captain," Shras whispered.

  Gav remained rigid for a moment, then nodded and said in an angry voice, "You will excuse me," and left the group.

  "You have met Gav before, Ambassador," Shras said softly to Sarek.

  "We debated at my last Council session."

  "Ambassador Gav lost," Amanda added with a straight face. If Shras was amused, his face was incapable of showing it. He nodded solemnly and moved off.

  "Spock, I've always suspected you were more human," McCoy said, in an obvious attempt to lighten the atmo-sphere. "Mrs. Sarek, I know about the rigorous training of Vulcan boys, but didn't he ever run and play like human youngsters? Even in secret?"

  "Well," said Amanda, "he did have a sehlat he was very fond of."

  "Sehlat?"

  "It's rather like a fat teddy bear."

  McCoy's eyes went wide. "A teddy bear?" Several other crew personnel had overheard this and there was a general snicker. Quickly, Sarek turned to his wife and took her arm firmly.

  "Excuse us, Doctor," he said. "It has been a long day for my wife." He propelled her toward the door amid a barrage of "good nights."

  McCoy turned back to Spock, who did not appear the least bit discomforted. "A teddy bear!"

  "Not precisely, Doctor," Spock said. "On Vulcan, the 'teddy bears' are alive and have six-inch fangs."

  McCoy, no Vulcan, was obviously rocked. He was bailed out by a nearby wall communicator, which said in Chekov's voice, "Bridge to Captain Kirk." "Kirk here."

  "Captain, sensors are registering an unidentified vessel pacing us."

  "On my way. Duty personnel on yellow alert. Pas-sengers are not to be alarmed... Mr. Spock!"

  The intruder turned out to be a small ship, about the size of a scout, of no known configuration, and unautho-rized in this quadrant. It had been paralleling the course of the Enterprise for five minutes, outside phaser range and indeed at the extreme limit of the starship's sensors, and would not answer hails on any frequency or in any language. An attempt to intercept showed the intruder not only more maneuverable than the Enterprise, but faster, by a nearly incredible two warps. Kirk ordered full analysis of all sensor readings made during the brief approach, and went back to the reception, leaving Spock in com-mand.

  It seemed to be petering out. Gav was still there, sitting isolated, still working on the brandy. If he was trying to get drunk, he was due for a disappointment, Kirk knew; alcohol had no effect on Tellarites except to shorten their already short tempers. Shras and Thelev were also still present, heads down, plus a few other delegates.

  Most interestingly, Sarek had returned, by himself. Now why? Had his intent been only to get Amanda off the scene before she could further embarrass their son? There could be no emotional motive behind such a move. What would the logical one be? That whether Sarek approved of Starfleet or not, Spock was an officer in it, and could not function properly if he did not command respect? It seemed as good a guess as any; but Kirk knew that his understanding of Vulcan psychology was, to say the least, insecure.

  While he was ruminating, Sarek had gone to a drink dispenser, with the aid of which he seemed to have downed a pill of some kind, and Gav had risen and come up behind him. Sensing trouble, Kirk moved unobtru-sively closer. Sure enough, Gav had brought up the Coridan question again.

  Sarek was saying; "You seem unable to wait for the Council meeting, Ambassador. No matter. We favor ad-mission."

  "You favor? Why?"

  "Under Federation law, Coridan can be protected-its wealth administered for the benefit of its people."

  "It's well for you," Gav said. "Vulcan has no mining interest."

  "The Coridians have a nearly unlimited wealth of di-lithium crystals, but are underpopulated and unprotected. This invites illegal mining operations."

  "Illegal! You accuse us...?"

  "Of nothing," Sarek said. "But reports indicate your ships have been carrying Coridian dilithium crystals."

  "You call us thieves?" Without an instant's warning, Gav leaped furiously forward, grasping for Sarek's throat.

  Sarek blocked the Tellarite's hands and effortlessly slammed him away, against a table. As Gav started to lunge at Sarek again, Kirk caught him and forced him back. "Lies!" Gav shouted over his shoulder. "You slander my people!"

  "Gentlemen!" Kirk said.

  Gav stopped struggling and Kirk stepped back, glaring coldly at both Ambassadors. "Whatever arguments you have among yourselves are your business," Kirk said. "My business is running this ship-and as long as I command it, there will be order."

  "Of course, Captain," Sarek said.

  "Understood," Gav said sullenly after a moment. "But Sarek, there will be payment for your slander."

  "Threats are illogical," Sarek said. "And such 'pay-ment' is usually expensive."

  However, the fight seemed to be over-and the recep-tion as well. Kirk went to his quarters, almost too tired to worry. It had been a day full of tensions, not one of which was yet resolved. Most of the ship was on night status now, and it was a weary pleasure to go through the silent, empty corridors.

  But it was not over yet. In his quarters, he had just gotten out of the dress uniform with relief when his intercom said: "Security to Captain Kirk."

  What now? "Kirk here."

  "Lt. Josephs, sir. I'm on Deck 11, Section A-3. I just found one of the Te
llarites, murdered and stuffed into the Jefferies tube. I think it's the Ambassador himself, sir."

  So a part of his mission-to keep the peace on board -had failed already.

  McCoy knelt in the corridor next to the Jefferies tube and probed Gav's body, using no instruments but his sur-geon's fingers. Kirk and Spock watched; Lt. Josephs and two security guards waited for orders to remove the body. At last McCoy rose.

  "How was he killed?" Kirk asked.

  "His neck was broken. By an expert."

  Spock glanced sharply at McCoy and then bent to examine the body himself. Kirk said, "Explain."