CHAPTER 12:
Spock sat silently in a chair, the points of his elbows on his knees, long hands linked together with both index and middle fingers aligned and pressed lightly to the straight line that was his mouth. By all appearances he was the embodiment of serenity, but behind closed eyes there was chaos and noise. He had long since removed the cumbersome environmental suit to don the more comfortable generic black uniform that was beneath it.
Commander Thel had put both Spock and Lt. Chekov in separate rooms. They were only told to wait and were not permitted to leave. Though Spock did not see the chamber for Chekov, he was confident that it was in all probability much like Spock's own: no accessible computer, one chair, one table, one cot, and an armed security officer guarding the door from the outside.
There was no way to find out what was happening beyond these walls.
Spock only knew that the Enterprise had engaged in battle with a Klingon vessel. The fates of either ship or the landing party on Ceti Alpha V were all but unknown. The captain's situation was particularly precarious. There was no reason to think the worst had befallen Jim, but there was no reason to hope for the best either. There simply was not enough information and it made Spock feel helpless. It stirred up emotions that he could feel threatening to cloud his logic. His human half was beginning to fret.
What is your mission? inquired his Vulcan side.
To discover the cause of Ceti Alpha VI's imminent destruction.
That was his purpose. That was within his control. That would be his focus. It was logical.
Thel assured him that this planet was indeed doomed to explode, but she failed to specify precisely how. The door to his room then slid open and Lt. Mallory entered unarmed.
"Commander Thel requests your presence," he said politely. "I'll take you to her office."
Spock silently cooperated and rose to his feet, his snug shirt given one careful tug to smooth out wrinkles before he followed. Mallory was courteous in his escort through the maze of halls. He navigated them with ease, never needing to pause when the darkly lit pathway would divide into two seemingly identical corridors. The caves were oddly dry, no smell or sensation of dampness.
"Watch your head," he would instruct in an especially low passage.
When they came to an open doorway, Mallory stopped at the door and waved Spock to enter. The Vulcan passed from the jagged and shadowy corridor into the diffused lighting of a sleek office. It was the first room that Spock had seen thus far that resembled anything Starfleet. At his entrance, Thel rose to her tall stature behind a small metal desk, her monitor automatically fading to the Starfleet emblem to conceal whatever had been on display.
"Commander," she greeted smoothly and extended a willowy hand to a vacant chair on the opposite side of her desk. "Will you be seated?"
Spock stood beside the chair but only folded his hands at his back. "No, thank you. I prefer to stand."
"As you wish." She, too, stayed on her feet. "I have just been informed that the Klingon Bird of Prey has fled. The Enterprise is victorious and does not seem to have received any critical damage."
Spock wanted to sigh with relief, to smile even. Instead he nodded once. "I am pleased to hear it. Have we your permission to depart, then?"
"The moment we are done here, you are free to leave. Your persistence in landing on this planet may actually prove quite advantageous. I am well aware of the Vulcan disinclination to lie…"
Spock was silently offended at her insinuation that Vulcans lied, even if it was true that every Vulcan lied by saying they never did.
"Therefore," she went on, "I intend to show you precisely what kinds of measures we are taking to prevent the complete rupture of this planet. That way you will not be forced to falsify—or be tempted to be truthful—in your report of your mission here. I will, of course, make clear what you are required to omit."
Spock's interest was piqued. An agent of Section 31 was offering to share some information with him and he could not help the lure of knowledge. The more information that he received here, the more questions he knew not to ask.
"Understood."
She glided towards the door. "Come with me, then."
Spock followed one step behind her, but as close to her side as the confined space of the corridors required. Thel was considerably taller than he was, the crown of his head perhaps level with her pointed chin. Mallory, meanwhile, had vanished. He did not linger in the hall after escorting Spock, no doubt to tend to other duties elsewhere, whatever they were.
"The reason behind Ceti Alpha VI's instability needs little explaining," she spoke calmly as she led the way through the labyrinth. "The Tellarites practically cored out a majority of this planet's most abundant mineral—pergium—and in doing so could no longer bypass or safely counter the unstable deposits of tekasite."
Tekasite was an element whose explosive qualities were so famous they were almost exclusively used for weaponry. She continued:
"The Tellarites abandoned this mining operation completely, taking their haul and leaving this planet to crumble into itself. Though the Tellarites are long gone, the planet is still struggling to find its new equilibrium. These rocks contain immeasurable potential energy that if released would not just fracture the mantle and crust, but break this entire planet into pieces…"
She trailed off as they arrived at a securely locked door, an armed officer standing vigilantly on each side of it. Thel stepped ahead of Spock without so much as regarding the security men to access the panel beside the door. Long fingers danced over the keys to put in her access code, and with a cheerful beep, the door slid open.
The door must have been insulated, because as soon as it was open, Spock's sensitive ears were bombarded with such an ambiance that he involuntarily winced, his hands almost lifting to cover his ears.
"Apologies, commander…" Thel said softly. "I should have warned you. What you are hearing is what is keeping this planet intact. If you are not too uncomfortable, shall we proceed?"
The Vulcan wished he had been given some preparation. Though it created the slightest twitching in his eye, his curiosity prevailed. "It's tolerable." He felt like he was shouting with the buzzing in his head, though he knew he kept his voice outwardly calm.
Thel entered first and he followed. The room—or cavern rather—was practically all machinery. It scaled the serrated rocks up and down for hundreds of feet, perhaps even miles towards the core of the planet. The cross-hatched metal of a catwalk stretched across this vast abyss to connect the entrance door to another, secured set of double doors and was the only thing separating Spock's feet from a rather unpleasant plunge.
As they crossed this aged bridge towards the double doors, the sound only intensified. Thel, and perhaps average humans as well, seemed unaffected by this barrage that cut through Spock's brain like metal wires of varying size. Some cut like razors, other like dull knives. He put on a face of indifference but couldn't stop the appearance of a vein at his temple.
Thel reached the doors and opened them, but she did not enter. She stood aside and gestured inward. "You may look but you are not authorized to enter."
Spock moved only close enough to do as instructed and looked through the open doors. This room was small, but cluttered with even more machinery. Operating them were three visible technicians. There were too many monitors displaying too much data for Spock to grasp it all as completely as he would have liked. But with a glance at the most telling visuals was all the information he felt he needed.
"A planetary resonator," he said with a betraying tone of interest.
"Yes."
"You cancel out the potential energy of the rock bursts by emitting extreme frequency waves. The amplitude does not seem sufficient for a planet of this size…"
"It isn't," she agreed. "That is why there are four other tactically positioned resonators throughout Ceti Alpha VI. Each of them are constantly monitored, the frequency levels constantly adjusted according to the ever-changing natural energy of the planet. We occasionally allow seismic activity to occur or if need be induce it to release some of the energy and reduce the strength of any potential burst. We can withdraw if you're satisfied."
Spock didn't realize that he was squinting, his vision having blurred from the vibrations that rattled through the occipital area of his head. He nodded and appreciated Thel's brisk movements as she secured the doors once more and led the way back across the chasm and into the corridor. When she closed the door, the sounds were cut off and Spock took in a slow breath. He could feel the residual buzzing in his head as his body calmed itself.
"It seems illogical…" he said at last, looking to the other commander, "to choose such a faulty planet for a weapons facility. The Ceti Alpha system has no strategic advantages for the Federation whatsoever."
"I'm confident you'll understand when I say Section 31 has strategic reasoning apart from the Federation."
That was her way of telling him there were more secrets here and that she was not going to share them. And she was right. Spock understood. That didn't mean he was comfortable with it.
She motioned for him to follow again and they walked together through the dark tunnel. "Now that you have proof of Ceti Alpha's VI's volatility, you can truthfully report the unpredictable nature of the seismic activity here and the very real likelihood that one tectonic slip will trigger a planetary explosion. What you will omit completely is the presence of Section 31 here, including our countermeasure and all names of personnel and our purpose here."
The last part would be easy to omit, because Spock was certain he didn't know their true purpose here. She had said nothing about the colony on Ceti Alpha V since Spock had informed her of it. He was tempted to ask, to remind her if she had (unlikely) forgotten. But his lips remained sealed. There was a gap in his understanding of Section 31's presence here, and it seemed highly probable that Ceti Alpha V figured into it somehow.
"As we speak, Lieutenant Chekov is being briefed on the importance of confidentiality. The less he knows, the better. Once you two return to the surface, you will not speak a word of this to anyone. To do so could jeopardize not only Section 31 but the Federation as well. Our secrets are our strength."
"Understood," Spock said simply.
"If there is nothing else, Mr. Spock, you and Mr. Chekov will be escorted to the surface so that you may make your way back to your shuttlecraft."
"I do have one inquiry," said Spock. "Is there any news of the Klingons that were reported to have landed on Ceti Alpha V?"
"They were eliminated. That is all we know."
"Thank you, commander," Spock said graciously. "I have nothing further to ask."
She walked with him back to their temporary quarters and at their arrival the Russian was being led out of his room by Mallory. He looked mildly stressed, no doubt from the same pressure that Thel had placed on Spock regarding secrecy. But the young lieutenant looked relieved to see Spock and some color returned to his face.
"A safe journey, Mr. Spock," Thel said kindly.
"Thank you, commander," Spock said politely, unable to crack his cold regard towards her.
Thel took her leave of them and they were assisted by her officers back into their environmental suits. Mallory was with them every step of the way as he alone led them to the elevator. Once they were on the old platform, he gave them a friendly nod and smile.
"Have a safe trip back to your ship, gentleman. I wish we could have been more entertaining hosts."
"Good bye!" Chekov forced a smile and a wave, but as soon as the elevator began to climb and they were out of sight and ear shot of Mallory, his face dropped. "I theenk I've had enough entertainment to last me ze rest of ze year."
The joke fell flat on all levels and Spock didn't acknowledge it. The Vulcan was too busy sorting the new information in his mind to pay much mind to it. The silence quickly began to bother Chekov as he displayed obvious anxiety by tapping the hand rail, then his foot.
"Meester Spock—"
Spock sighed.
"—do you theenk they know about you-know-who's colony?"
"I don't know who you mean, Mr. Chekov…" Spock said with disinterest.
"You know…" he whispered rather loudly through the communicator of his helmet. "Khan."
"What of him?"
"Do you theenk they know?" he didn't mind repeating himself.
"To whom are you referring, lieutenant? The only other lifeform on this planet, aside from me and you, is Sulu."
"But Meester Spo—Oh."
One dead pan look from Spock was enough to remind the young man to shut up. They were given explicit orders. Unfortunately, humans occasionally needed reminders of things they had learned less than twenty minutes prior.
It was dark when they reached the top of the quarry. The ground was as black as the starry sky above and the shuttlecraft stood out like a ship at sea with its lights blinking a short distance away. They both turned on the lights of their suits, which illuminated the ground at their feet and the mounds of rocks ahead, allowing them to make a safe trek back to the vessel.
"Mr. Sulu, if you read, we are approaching the shuttle," Spock's communicator spat out static.
"Aye, sir!" Sulu let his happiness be heard in his voice.
The shuttle's door lowered and they climbed in. With Sulu's help, they disrobed from the environmental suits and slipped on their respective blue and gold shirts once more.
"Prepare for deployment, Sulu…" Spock ordered as he slipped into the co-pilot's seat.
Sulu obeyed without pause, but as his hands worked over the controls, he was glancing furiously between Spock and Chekov. "Well? What did you guys find down there? It's been hours. I couldn't get through the interference so I was starting to think the worst."
"As you can see your concern is no longer necessary, we are in good health," Spock said simply. "We found the required evidence that this planet is indeed unstable and at risk of exploding. There are no means of predicting when."
Sulu paused and stared at him. Spock was vague and he knew it was uncharacteristic for him (to say nothing of Chekov's own uncharacteristic silence). Sulu was not stupid, but his suspicions were the least of Spock's worries.
"Shall we return to the Enterprise? Or would you prefer to linger on an erratic planet, Mr. Sulu?"
"Aye, sir… Deploying now." Sulu cleared his throat and activated the vessels thrusters for lift off.
