Captain's Log, Stardate 6191.7:
(First Officer Spock reporting)
It has now been two days since Captain Kirk ordered the ship through the region of nebulosity rather than detouring around the navigational hazard as is standard procedure. Though he and I have been standing alternating six-hour watches, the interval has been refreshingly free of troublesome incidents. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Enterprise will reach Epsilon Delta 4 in two more days. Chief Engineer Scott informs me that all systems will be properly functioning for the emergency evacuation by that time. In all, I can report that conditions aboard ship are exactly what they should be under the given circumstances.The Bridge was quiet as Spock sat calmly in the command chair. Though most of the people on duty at the moment were from the second or third shift, they were all more than capable at their jobs and they knew Spock's preference for quiet efficiency. There was little joking or personal byplay as there sometimes was when the captain was in this chair; although there was no concrete evidence that such behavior detracted from efficiency, Spock disapproved of anything that took the crew's attention away from the performance of their duties.
Spock liked a quiet Bridge--it gave him that much more time to think. Unfortunately, the Bridge of the
Enterprise was seldom as quiet as he would have preferred; the very nature of the ship's mission was to seek out the unique and the unusual, which frequently led to trouble and disquieting activities. Spock would not avoid trouble if it confronted him, but neither did he seek it out. That was not always the case, he felt, with his captain; at times it seemed as though James Kirk actually went to great lengths to ensure that the
Enterprise would see more than the optimum share of excitement.
The current situation was a case in point. To Spock, there was no logical reason why the
Enterprise had to be placed in a position of danger by traveling through this nebula. The saving of one day from the total duration of their trip would make little if any difference to the success of their mission; the argon poisoning was such a slow-acting phenomenon that none of the colonists was likely to die of an extra day's exposure. If Spock had been commanding the vessel, he would have weighed the time gained by the shortcut against the possible harm to the ship by traveling through uncharted territory and decided against taking the extra risk.
But that was where he and his captain differed. Kirk was a man with a strong flair for the dramatic, and even Spock had to admit that Kirk was at his absolute best when the element of danger was present in whatever he was doing. This shortcut, while pointless in its overall effect, would be symbolic to Kirk of a triumph against nature; and Terrans, Spock had noticed, were particularly influenced by such petty symbolism.
When they had first entered the nebula the temperature of the hull had increased dramatically, even with the shields up. Spock had kept a very close eye on the increasing heat, ready to inform the captain the instant critical tolerances were reached. Fortunately, the temperature climb had evened out shortly before the critical level, just as Spock had calculated it would, so there was no actual reason to cease the traveling through the nebula and return to normal space.
Since then, there had been little trouble. The
Enterprise had encountered small pieces of cosmic debris along its route, the largest being a meteoroid nearly a kilometer in diameter. They could avoid the larger objects with ease, while the smaller ones grazed effortlessly off the shields almost as though they didn't exist at all. It was beginning to look as though the captain's gamble had paid off once more, and Mr. Spock was currently speculating about the nature of luck and why James Kirk seemed to have more of it than most other people he'd met.
The helmsman's sharp cry broke his mild reverie. "Mr. Spock, sensor readings show something dead ahead!"
Spock was instantly alert as his computerlike mind raced through the priorities of action. His first move was to press the intercom button that would connect him with the captain's quarters, where Kirk was sleeping during the off-shift. "Captain Kirk, to the Bridge," he said tersely. "Helmsman reports sighting of a potential obstacle." Kirk had left standing orders that he was to be notified the instant anything was detected.
That act accomplished, Spock turned back to the helmsman. "Lieutenant Rodrigues, what is the nature of the obstacle?"
"Sensors show an incredible outpouring of energy."
"A star?"
"No, sir, not quite like anything I've ever seen before: It's coming up awfully fast, though; the instruments show it's approaching us at several times our own speed."
"Alter course fifteen degrees to starboard, Lieutenant."
"Aye aye, sir." Rodrigues expertly punched the instructions into his navigational computer, and the ship responded instantly. There was the gentle push of a sideways acceleration as the ship veered slightly from its original path.
Without turning in his seat, Spock aimed a remark over his shoulder at Ensign Chekhov, who was currently manning the science console where Spock himself would normally be stationed. "Mr. Chekhov, I want detailed readings on this energy source, including distribution curve and..."
"Sir!" Rodrigues interrupted. His voice was sharp and slightly edged with panic. "The obstacle has shifted course along with us, and is still coming straight at the ship. It...it seems to be getting faster all the time."
Spock recognized the incipient hysteria in Rodrigues's voice, and was determined to quash any such outbreak of emotion before it could do any damage. Panic on the Bridge must be avoided at all costs; even Captain Kirk, for all his blatant emotionalism, recognized that fact. "Indeed, Lieutenant?" he said in a voice as dry as he could manage. For emphasis, he lifted an eyebrow as he gazed calmly at the helmsman. "That could very well indicate some artificial nature to this phenomenon. Put a view up on the forward screen so we may all examine it."
The coolness of Spock's voice had its desired effect; Rodrigues was once again all business as he worked his controls. Within seconds, the forward screen image shifted to reveal the obstacle that was rapidly closing with the Enterprise.
"Most peculiar," Spock muttered half under his breath--and, as usual, it was an understatement.
Everyone on the Bridge stared at the sight before them. Against the dark background of interstellar space--almost barren of stars because of the obscuring nebular material through which they were passing-- was a shining filament that grew noticeably larger with each passing second. It appeared to be nothing less than an enormous rift, a tear in the very fabric of space. Through the opening, the crew could see tantalizing glimpses of something that seemed to be of another universe altogether. This hole in reality was speeding toward them at a rate totally uncharacteristic of natural objects.
To test the rift still further, Mr. Spock said calmly, "Return to original course, Mr. Rodrigues."
As the lieutenant worked his controls, the
Enterprise shifted its course back fifteen degrees to port. The rift disappeared from the forward screen momentarily, then suddenly reappeared even closer than before. "The thing has shifted back, too, Mr. Spock!"
"So I see." Again, Spock refused to be perturbed. "Cut power, Mr. Rodrigues. Let's see what it does when we stop."
A ship the size of the
Enterprise, massing 190,000 metric tons and traveling at Warp 5.8, could not come to a dead stop instantaneously. Nevertheless, it had been designed for intricate battlefield maneuvering, where almost any command might be necessary. In a short time, the
Enterprise was almost literally stopped in its tracks, and hung suspended in space before the onrushing hyperspatial rift.
But, as was obvious from the forward screens, that did not deter the forward motion of the strange obstacle before them. If anything, the rift only seemed encouraged by the ship's maneuver, and accelerated still further.
Whatever it was, it was behaving exactly like a predator chasing its prey. It wanted the
Enterprise-- and just as surely, Spock wanted to avoid that. "Full speed astern," he ordered.
Lieutenant Rodrigues remained frozen at his spot, mesmerized by the approaching image of the rift. Spock was tempted to leap out of his seat and work the controls himself, but he decided to let his voice do the work for him. "Now, Mr. Rodrigues."
Though his tone was no louder than he had used before, there was such an air of authority behind it that Rodrigues jumped as though stung by the crack of a whip. He worked the appropriate controls to put the massive battle cruiser into reverse at once. The entire ship underwent a massive jolt, and those crew members not on the Bridge, unaware of precisely what was happening, were startled and badly shaken by the experience.
Unfortunately, Spock could not allow them the time to...
