Titan 5 - Over a Torrent Sea (11 page)

“It gathers data until struck by lightning,” Eviku said, “or maybe until some other factor causes it to descend. It floats atop the water until the squales find it. At their signal, it plays back its data encoded as sound patterns. Only then, when its data has been downloaded, does it begin to regrow its flotation sac.”

“What you’re saying,” Riker replied slowly, “is that the squales manufactured this creature.”

“That they bred it, yes.”

“And probably the other anomalous species we’ve observed,” Pazlar said. “It explains the strange behaviors that have no survival benefit. They’re performing tasks for the squales. Harvesting foodstuffs, carrying things around. Even swimming into the squales’ beaks when they’re called. Maybe even doing more complex work. The molluscoids with prehensile digits could give the squales the fine manipulative capability they lack, explaining how they were able to achieve a lot of this engineering.”

“So how did they domesticate the molluscoids in the first place?” Ra-Havreii asked. “Without the capacity to confine or handle the animals…”

“It wouldn’t require any technology,” Pazlar countered. “As long as one species could control another’s movements well enough to regulate who they did or didn’t mate with, then selective breeding would be possible.”

“Well, how do you do that without fences or walls?”

“We did it all the time back home. Plenty of Gemworld sports depend on it.”

“So the bottom line,” Troi said, interrupting the building heat between them, “is that the squales are definitely intelligent.”

“I have no doubt of that,” Eviku said. “Not only intelligent, but technological, in a manner of speaking: capable of selectively breeding other life forms to serve as their tools.”

Pazlar sighed and turned to the captain. “And they’re aware of us, sir. Since the bugeye piscoids have been observed calling to the squales, I think it’s a safe bet that they’re like the weather balloons, and probably like those small shelled creatures we’ve seen being carried by pis
coids flying overhead. They’re probes, sir. Sensors. And they’ve been hovering around our away teams since day one. The squales may have been keeping their distance, but they’ve been watching our every move down there.”

The room fell silent, except for a hushed “Oh, my God” from Christine Vale.

Finally, Eviku asked, “How does the Prime Directive apply in a case like this? Should we just…leave and hope no real damage is done?”

“They’ve been watching us for the past ten days,” Pazlar said. “We’re not just some sighting they can dismiss as a trick of the mind.”

“But they’re not a technological people,” Vale put in. “Without written records, the knowledge could fade into legend.”

“Don’t count on that,” Ra-Havreii said. “If they’re anything like my people or the Alonis, they may have a means of preserving detailed oral histories and passing them on exactly. Indeed, I’d say they must have such a thing, in order to preserve the complex bioengineering skills they possess.”

“We have no way of knowing how we may have inadvertently affected their society,” Troi said. “We mistakenly breached the Prime Directive, but just pulling out now would be an abrogation of our responsibility. We have to try to make contact, see if there’s a way to mitigate the damage.”

“How do we know it will damage them?” Lavena asked. “If they’ve been watching us so closely, maybe they’re fascinated by us. Maybe they’re eager to learn.”

“Then why have they been so careful to avoid us?” the captain asked gently.

“This is a world without metal, without plastic,” Troi said, both answering and reinforcing her husband’s point. “They’ve never seen anything that isn’t alive. I can hardly imagine how alien we must be to them. There’s no telling what kind of fear or crisis of belief we could provoke. We have to try to establish communication so we can assess the effects of our presence and try to mitigate it.”

“Increase our interference to reduce its effects?” Ra-Havreii asked. “That hardly seems logical.”

“There is precedent,” Troi said. “On Mintaka III, when the presence of Starfleet observers was accidentally exposed to the natives, they reacted badly with a religious fervor that almost became destructive. Since the people had only fragmentary information and no understanding of what it meant, it left them confused and frightened, provoking aggression and intolerance. Captain Picard resolved the situation by making open contact and explaining our true nature. Giving them more information helped them make better decisions about how to cope with this knowledge and incorporate it into their worldview. Once they were back on their own track, of course, we left them alone again.”

“The Prime Directive is about respecting other people’s right to make their own choices,” Riker said. “We try to avoid contact with young societies, not because they’re too fragile to handle it, but because there’s too much temptation for
us
to try to exploit the situation, to pressure them into believing what we want. But if they find out about us on their own, then if we try to hide or misrepresent ourselves, then that’s exactly what we’re doing: trying to manipulate their way of seeing things to suit our ends.

“Bottom line, we’re already in a first contact situation. It’s no longer a question of whether to communicate with the squales, but how. And as with any first contact, it’s incumbent on us to treat them with honesty, fairness, and respect.”

Vale frowned. “I’d say ‘how’ is the question in a more logistical sense. How do we talk to them when they’ve been avoiding us?”

“We haven’t really been trying to talk to them,” Lavena said. “Just to watch them from afar. Maybe if we let them know we’re interested in talking, they’d respond. After all,” she reminded the others, “they saved my life. They came to help us when we were in danger. I think that says a lot about their attitude toward other life forms.”

Riker pondered her words. “I’d like you to spearhead our efforts, Aili. You’re the one person among us who’s already made some connection with the squales, however tenuous. And you’re the one person who can live the way they do, who’s most familiar to them.”

“I’m glad to try, sir,” Lavena told him. “But…I’m not a trained diplomat. I…” Her eyes went to Troi.

“I’ll assign Counselor Huilan to assist you,” Troi said, looking unhappy. “He doesn’t have much experience as a contact specialist, but…I obviously can’t go down there.”

“Of course not,” Riker said, discreetly touching her hand.

“Umm, Captain?” Lavena said. “If I may…I think it would be a good idea if…if you came down with us.”

He looked surprised. “Why me, Ensign?”

“Well, you are an experienced diplomat…but also,
you’re a musician. I figure if we’re going to try to communicate with a species of singers…”

“I think she’s right, sir,” Y’lira said. “The squales’ language relies heavily on pitch, rhythm, harmony, syncopation, and other musical elements.”

“Syncopation?” Riker grinned his big, infectious grin, the same one that had won Aili over twenty-two years ago. “So they’re jazz musicians?”

Y’lira’s gemlike eyes just stared. “Sir?”

“Never mind.” He turned to Troi. “It’s tempting, but…the baby could come any day now. I can’t be away…”

“Will,” the counselor said. “We’ve always agreed, you’re the captain first. Aili’s right—you could be valuable down there. And if I go into labor, you’re just twenty minutes away by shuttle. Go.” She smiled. “I know you’ve been dying to.”

Eagerness warred with reluctance on Riker’s face, but he split the difference and settled on captainly resolve. “All right. I’ll lead the away team.” He turned to Ra-Havreii. “Doctor, I’d like you along as well.”

It took a moment for the Efrosian engineer to realize he’d been addressed. “You’d…Me, sir? Wait, me…down there?”

“Yes.”

“On the planet, you mean?”

“That’s right.”

“Me.”

“Is there a problem, Doctor?”

“Well, sir…I get terribly motion-sick without a steady surface beneath me.”

“We have inertial dampers in the shuttles, and Ree can give you an antiemetic.”

“My people sunburn very easily…”

“The sun’s far away and doesn’t give off much UV,” Pazlar told him.

“I’m a poor swimmer. Sir.”

“You always did pretty well in my quarters,” Aili said with a grin.

“Your quarters, my dear, are not ninety kilometers deep.”

“You said it yourself, Xin,” Troi told him. “The squales’ language may be similar to Efrosian. Your own musical skills could prove invaluable.”

“I don’t doubt it, but I’d be happy to consult from the ship.”

“If I’m going, Doctor,” Riker said in a tone that brooked no more argument, “you’re going.”

“But—Very well, sir,” he said with a heavy sigh.

The captain rose, signaling the end of the briefing. “Prep a shuttle,” he said. “We leave at 1400.”

The crew filed out, and Aili came over to Ra-Havreii. “You’ll love it down there, Xin. It’s so warm and beautiful…a very romantic setting,” she added, winking at Melora.

Ra-Havreii didn’t look reassured. “Maybe,” he said. “But it’s just so…
outdoors
.”

DROPLET

O
nce the
Gillespie
set down at the main floater-island base, Aili wanted to waste no time getting into the water. But Xin Ra-Havreii was less enthusiastic, hesitating even to leave the shuttle. It took a verbal prodding from the captain to get him out, and he trod gingerly across the loose soil, his eyes scanning it as if for land mines. “There, this isn’t so bad, is it?” Melora asked.

“Ohh, I can feel the ground rocking beneath me.” He looked even paler than usual.

Aili couldn’t resist teasing him. “I thought you liked to feel the earth move.”

“I prefer my metaphors less literally realized, thank you.” He looked back and forth at the Selkie and the Elaysian who flanked him. “Although I must confess, the company of two of my favorite intimates could do wonders to distract me from these environs—if you’d both be inclined to cooperate.”

Melora threw him a cold look. “We’re here to work, Xin. Try to stay focused.” She strode ahead of them.

Ra-Havreii looked after her for a bit, nonplussed. But he soon shook it off and focused on Aili. “Ah, well. All work and no play, as they say. I’m sure you and I could create sufficient distractions on our own.”

Aili was tempted. Although Xin and Melora technically had an open relationship, they had been involved enough in each other that Aili hadn’t shared a swim with him for months. But after a moment, she smiled and said, “I appreciate the offer, but Melora’s right. I’m really looking forward to working with you on the squale language, but let’s leave it at that for now, all right?” After all, Melora was her friend too, and Aili didn’t want to add complications while Melora was still unsure where her relationship with the engineer stood. Aili had been the one to suggest that Melora should let Xin go, and she didn’t want Melora to think she’d had any ulterior motive behind that suggestion.

Besides, Captain Riker was right behind her—also at her suggestion. She wanted him to be comfortable working with her, without their past liaison becoming an issue, and so she didn’t want to give the impression that she was a potential homewrecker.

Ra-Havreii sighed. “Oh, very well. At least the work should keep me occupied. Assuming you manage to open communication.”

She patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I have some ideas about that.”

Riker gave her permission to take a quick swim off the shore while he checked in with the base team. She has
tened to the shoreline, and as she stripped off her hydration suit, she noticed that Counselor Huilan had arrived beside her. “Do you mind if I join you?” the diminutive blue S’ti’ach asked.

“Not at all, Counselor.” She dove into the water, reinvigorated by the flow of fresh water across her gill crests. Moments later, she saw Huilan’s small furred form floating above her, dog-paddling with all six stubby limbs.

Realizing something, she surfaced in front of him. He was grinning widely, his big ears perked up in pleasure. “Hold on. How are you floating? I thought you were supposed to be hyperdense or something.”

The ears sagged, his big eyes looking away. “Oh. That. Umm…” Aili wouldn’t have been able to recognize S’ti’ach embarrassment before, but she was fairly certain she had a referent for it now. “Well, yes, I do have a relatively dense bone structure—necessary for a high-gravity planet. But by the same token, you don’t want a high body mass on a high-gee world—harder to move around. Plus a low-density body provides more cushioning in falls.”

She didn’t let the lecture distract her. “But you tell people you’re heavier than a full-size humanoid!”

“Yes, well…” He slumped in surrender. “Look at me, Ensign. I’m small, cute, and furry. Other species have a pervasive tendency to want to pick S’ti’ach up and…
cuddle
us. It’s embarrassing.”

Aili laughed until she saw Huilan’s stern glare—which made her laugh even harder. “You know I am a predator, right?” Huilan reminded her, showing his impressive array of teeth in what was not a smile.

“I’m sorry,” she said, still chuckling.

“Oh, that’s all right. It’s not really that great a secret anyway; simple observation and reasoning should be enough to reveal it. But people tend to take what they’re told at face value. It’s an interesting psychological experiment to see how different people respond to the fiction.” He narrowed his eyes. “Or their discovery of the truth.”

“Well, far be it from me to tamper with an ongoing experiment,” Aili told him. “I promise I won’t tell anyone else.”

“Good.”

“In exchange for one quick cuddle.”

Huilan growled, but acceded to her terms.

The base’s equipment included a couple of small scouter gigs, courtesy of
Titan
’s industrial replicators. Aili proposed heading out in one of them, rather than the larger, more intimidating aquashuttle, to try to make contact with the squales. She advised beginning with a small party, and since Ra-Havreii was dealing with a bout of seasickness (probably psychosomatic but genuine in its effects), Captain Riker accompanied her as musical consultant for this first trip. They were joined by Huilan, who was small enough not to be intimidating.