Previously, on A Mind Occasionally Voyaging…
Now, the pacing of this story is not quite perfect. But this is not because of my shortcomings as a writer, no: this is a subtle hint that we are in a universe slightly askew of the proper causality. Yes. We’ll go with that…
Prisoner 5398 sat quietly on her bunk in the high-isolation facility on Salius VI, as she did for almost every hour of every day for thirty years now. Though she had never given any indication that of resistance or that she was anything other than utterly resigned to her fate, she was treated by the handful of people she interacted with like an existential threat.
Existential.
Her existence was a crime. It was illegal for her to exist. There was only one possible resolution to that, and some days she lamented that the Federation had so far remained unwilling to take the last step.
She was permitted the most basic comforts. Her cell was comfortable. She could read anything she liked so long as it was a physical, printed form. She could request things be shown to her, though her viewscreen was strictly playback-only; they could not risk she might hack the system. She was not permitted writing materials: any wisdom she cared to pass on might taint humanity. At least, for most of her incarceration, that had been the case.
She was not normally provided with news of the outside world, but she knew, in broad terms, that there was a war on. It was not going well, she concluded, from the fact that yesterday, she had been permitted a visitor for the first time. A gruff, bitter admiral, who had offered her far more than he was actually going to give her in return for her input on the design of a new dreadnought. She had… Expressed disapproval of the whole idea. She expected she would be left here to rot forever.
Needless to say, it came as a surprise when the photon torpedoes took out the facility’s power supply. It came as a further surprise when she felt the sudden rush of nothingness that came with matter transportation.
Prisoner 5398 had been out of the loop long enough that she could not identify the class of ship onto which she had been beamed, though the stylings clearly marked it as Starfleet. Her keen eyes caught a registry marking, though. USS Reliant, NCC-1864. It was not a ship she was familiar with.
Nor did she know the man who now stood in front of her. Clearly not Starfleet, though a Starfleet insignia badge, retooled into a necklace, hung against his muscular chest. In a flamboyant, magnanimous tone, he declared, “Welcome aboard the Reliant, Lieutenant Commander Chin-Riley.”
“Who are you?” she asked, “And why am I here?”
“You are here because I believe we are kindred spirits. I offer you asylum, justice, and revenge. I know your burden. Your pain. I too was rejected by those who lack vision. I too was abandoned and left to rot by Christopher Pike. My name is Khan.”
“I’ve got sickbay ready. What is all of this?” Doctor M’Benga asked as he walked into Pike’s stateroom.
Pike gestured to the couch. The Kirk brothers, La’an, Xon and Doctor McCoy were already seated. “Have a seat, Doctor. We’re about twenty minutes out from Regula One. I’d like you to accompany Captain Kirk, Doctor McCoy and Lieutenant Saavik. We can’t afford to delay any longer than necessary en route to Salius, but we’ll leave you with the Galileo, in case you need to evacuate.”
“Saavik?” Jim asked. “But La’an-”
“Will be staying on the Enterprise,” Pike said. “I hate to pull rank on you, Jim, but in light of where we’re going, Commander Noonien-Singh has some… Relevant experience.”
Jim opened his mouth, but then nodded. “Any idea what we’re in for?”
Pike looked away. “I had to call in a lot of favors to get access to this. Computer, request security procedure and access to Project Genesis Summary.” A full security check with retinal scan was reserved for the most critical data related to the war effort. It took several seconds for the computer to satisfy itself.
The image of a blonde woman in a scientist’s coverall appeared on the screen. “Carol?” Pike asked. Jim nodded.
“Project Genesis. A proposal to the Federation,” the image of Carol said. “What exactly is Genesis? Well, put simply, Genesis is life from lifelessness. It is a process whereby molecular structure is reorganized at he subatomic level into life-generating matter of equal mass. Stage One of our experiments was conducted in the laboratory. Stage Two of the series will be attempted in a lifeless underground. Stage Three will involve the process on a planetary scale. It is our intention to introduce the Genesis device into the pre-selected area of a lifeless space body, such a moon or other dead form. The device is delivered, instantaneously causing what we call the Genesis Effect. Matter is reorganized with life-generating results.”
The screen showed a simulation of a barren planet. Sam recognized it as a recreation of the surface of Mercury, though the exact appearance of the planet was certainly chosen arbitrarily. The Genesis device looked like a photon torpedo as it struck the surface, but instead of an explosion, a wave of fire swept across the surface, leaving in its wake blue oceans and green vegetation. “Instead of a dead moon, a living, breathing planet, capable of sustaining whatever lifeforms we see fit to deposit on it. The reformed moon simulated here represents the merest fraction of the Genesis potential, should the Federation wish to fund these experiments to their logical conclusion. When we consider the current refugee crisis and food supply problems from the ongoing war, the usefulness of this process becomes clear. This concludes our proposal. Thank you for your attention.”
“It literally is Genesis,” Sam said.
“The power of creation,” Jim added.
“Wholesale reorganization of matter at that scale,” Pike said. “What if it were used where life already exists?”
Impassively, Xon said, “It would destroy such life in favor of its new matrix.”
Pike looked away. “A planet creator, or a planet-killer. Doctor Marcus wanted to find a lifeless space-body, but I’m sure you can appreciate the alternatives.”
It was La’an who drew the conclusion. “If you could land this on Romulus. Or Qo’nos. Or…”
“My God,” M’Benga barked. “You’re talking about universal armageddon.”
“It’s always been easier to destroy life than to create it,” McCoy said. “Until now.”
“Jim,” Pike said, “You can not allow Genesis to fall into the wrong hands. Whatever it takes.”
“Understood, Admiral.”
“This is Enterprise calling Space Lab Regula One. Respond please.”
Saavik touched the communication controls. “Commander Uhura, this is Lieutenant Saavik. We’ve arrived safely. No signs of life yet.”
“Understood,” Uhura responded. “Be advised Enterprise will be breaking orbit and proceeding to Salius Six. Enterprise out.”
“Guess we’re on our own,” McCoy mused. “What the hell happened here?” His flashlight caught a rat and he jumped back, startled. Something brushed his head and he looked up…
To Be Continued…
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