Star Trek Into Darkness Page 0,27
office. The quiet that took the place of their absence was almost painful. Marcus did not allow it to last.
“Qo’noS?”
Kirk straightened. “Yes, sir.”
“And you know this how?”
“Mr. Montgomery Scott, my—former—chief engineer, is an expert on many things, from the newest warp drive to the oldest scotch. Something in the widely disseminated visuals of the wreck of the jumpship Harrison used to attack Starfleet caught Mr. Scott’s attention. At his request, this object was delivered to him. Upon more detailed examination and analysis, it was determined to be a portable transwarp beaming device. Externally it was a mess, but internally, much of it remained intact. By examining its innards and its inner records, Mr. Scott was able to divine the receive point from its last use.” His gaze flicked upward. “Obviously no matter how advanced its tech, a unit small enough to fit on a jumpship wouldn’t have the power to transport anyone much farther than orbit. Under Mr. Scott’s probing, the device gave up a whole sequence of numbers and coordinates. Harrison transported to an automated cargo station. Before anyone on a nearby inhabited monitoring station could think to question what he was doing there, he had accessed its heavy-load transporter to continue on his way. According to Mr. Scott, that transporter was employed to relay him to an unmanned vessel in orbit around the moon. Subsequent inspection revealed that another unauthorized transwarp device had been placed on it and wired into the empty ship’s engine. A device powerful enough, if its entire energy output was compiled and utilized for a single massive burst, to send someone willing to take the risk of attenuated physical dissemination and consequent serious injury to a single destination anywhere in this galactic region. The effort burned out the device, but a record of the attempt was retained.” Kirk paused. “Mathematically, at least, it appears to have been successful.”
“Very clever,” Spock could not keep from commenting. “It would take an exceptionally robust human to survive such a radical transporting. Even a Vulcan would be stressed. But if successful, the perpetrator would be safe. Burning itself out with the effort, the transwarp device could not be used by anyone to follow.”
Marcus listened carefully to both men, missing nothing, before nodding that he understood. “So Harrison’s gone to the Klingon homeworld. Is he defecting? Or just defective?”
“There’s no way to know for sure, sir,” Kirk murmured, “without interviewing him for ourselves.”
Marcus shook his head slowly. “Somehow I don’t think John Harrison is going to sit still and answer questions, even if you could capture him alive. Which you cannot.”
“That remains to be seen, sir,” Spock pointed out. “The recordings preserved by the now-useless transwarp transporter were very precise. Not only can we tell that he transported to Qo’noS, we can resolve the transmitting to a specific corner of that world. It is apparent that he has taken refuge in the Ketha Province. His choice of Qo’noS as a refuge now makes sense. He likely believes that even if the Federation can determine where he went, it will not dare to follow. At the same time, he can hardly be certain of a welcome by the Klingons. So he transports to their homeworld, but chooses to materialize in a region that has been uninhabited for decades.”
Marcus frowned. “How do we know this Ketha Province is uninhabited?”
The science officer continued. “The Klingons make no secret of its long-ago abandonment, sir. There was a plague in what was formerly a heavily developed region that their medical science could not counteract. The most ruthless methods were employed to finally stamp it out.”
“I’d rather not ponder what passes for ‘ruthless methods’ among the Klingons. And this province has not been repopulated since?”
“No, Admiral. It is a well-known fact among those who are familiar with Klingon history and society. While the Klingon Empire has expanded to other worlds, this one province on their own homeworld remains deserted, rather like the obverse of a national park. Its extensive central conurbation and abandoned industrial facilities remain a place to be noted but shunned, not visited.”
“He must be hiding there, sir.” Kirk stepped up to the edge of the desk. “Spock’s analysis is correct.” Beside and slightly behind him, the science officer half raised an eyebrow but said nothing. “He knows if we even go near Klingon space, much less their homeworld, without a formal invitation, that would be all the excuse they’d need to ignite all-out war. They’d welcome it, I suspect. Starfleet can’t go