had dawned clear and sunny. Only the presence of crews working atop the headquarters’ tower and around the crash scene at its base indicated that anything out of the ordinary had occurred. Repairs were being made to the eightieth floor, and the wreckage of the shattered jumpship was being hauled away. Not far from the damaged headquarters, oceangoing commerce on the bay moved normally.
Waiting for Kirk and Spock near the building’s undamaged entrance, Montgomery Scott was cradling a piece of debris.
Kirk arrived out of breath. “Scotty. I got your message.” He frowned at the mangled lump of metal, metallic glass, and synthetics. “Please tell me that you’ve got something that’ll help us find who did this.”
The Enterprise’s chief engineer hefted the mass of battered and fused material. Within its depths, like spots of color in a pointillist painting, could be seen individual components that were still recognizable. Most were shocked and scorched, but some stood out as nearly intact.
“This was recovered from the crashed jumpship.” Turning, Scott nodded at where the salvage team was still picking apart the remaining wreckage. “Nobody was quite sure what it might be, so images were flashed around. As soon as I saw it, I came down and requested possession. Close inspection confirms that I saw what I thought I saw . . . I think.”
Kirk cocked his head to one side. “So what is it you saw that you say you think you saw? Something worth saying?”
“I’ll say.” Scott turned serious. “If I’m right, and I’d bet ’alf the contents of the best back bar in Aberdeen that I am, this is the remains of a portable transwarp beamin’ device. No wonder the scrap iron boys cuttin’ apart that mess o’ a jumpship didn’t recognize it!”
Kirk stared hard at the engineer. “You know what happened here?”
The chief nodded somberly. “Makes no sense. Word is it might be some kind o’ personal vendetta or somethin’.”
“We’ll learn the motivation when we find the perpetrator.” Reaching out, Kirk tapped the ruined transporter. “Do you think there’s enough math left in this thing’s memory for you to trace where he went?”
“I already did, sir.” Scott’s tone was unusually grim. “And you’re not gonna like it.”
Though the device Scott cradled showed ample evidence of the damage it had suffered, one readout was intact. It showed only a simple number:
2314-3456
Kirk knew what it signified, and it only confirmed what the chief engineer had said.
He did not like it at all.
VI
The sheer number of security and administrative personnel packed into the office of Admiral Marcus made it difficult for anyone else to enter. Kirk and Spock lingered outside until the crowd had thinned considerably before deciding they could wait no longer. Ignoring frowns of disapproval and annoyed stares, they pushed their way forward until they stood in front and slightly to one side of Marcus’s desk.
Though he spoke with resolve and clarity, the admiral had the look of a horse rode too long and put up wet. Kirk found himself sympathizing with the senior Starfleet officer. The higher up that one rose in the chain of command, the greater the pressure to perform. An emergency situation like the present one soon separated out those who could handle stress from those who crumpled beneath its weight.
“. . . triple security details outside all major Federation facilities: Paris, Rome, Sydney. All automatics are to be activated, and I want anyone requesting access to a sensitive area to have to pass visual inspection based on the latest distributed data, as well as face-to-face querying from a live human being. Right now we can’t trust security to mere machines. I want yellow alert imposed on—”
“Admiral.” As Kirk rushed into the conference room, he spoke rapidly to get Marcus’s attention. Before the senior officer could lay into him for interrupting the string of orders he was unspooling, Kirk charged forward. “There’s no need for the enhanced security, sir. Not if your intention is to take him into custody. He’s no longer on Earth.” With the image of the dying Admiral Pike still at the forefront of his thoughts, it was all Kirk could do to maintain his composure. The fact that the ever-unshakable Spock was standing behind him helped. Aware that everyone including Marcus was now staring at him, Kirk breathlessly continued.
“He’s on Qo’noS, sir.”
Dead silence enveloped the room until Marcus spoke anew. “Gentlemen, ladies, others—give us a minute.”
Casting curious glances at the two newly arrived officers, the security and administration personnel filed out of the