Текст книги "Reap the Whirlwind"

Автор книги: David Mack

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Epilogue

Ministers

of Vengeance

Two to Tango

Zett Nilric’s ship, a new Nalori argosy named Icarion, had been drifting for nearly two days with its engines offline. Its life support had been kept at a bare-minimum level, and its effective communications range was less than one light-minute. Unless another vessel was making a determined effort to find it and knew exactly where to look, it was unlikely that the Icarion would be detected. But because his employer had made specific arrangements with Starfleet to keep this sector of deep space clear of patrols and unwatched by long-range sensor arrays, Zett had every reason to believe that he was working in privacy.

It was time. He passed one glossy, midnight-black hand over his ship’s immaculate main console and tapped the secure-frequency transmitter, sending a brief, ultra-low-power pulse of encrypted data into the emptiness of Sector Tango-4119. If his contact was punctual, the wait would be short.

Behind him, in the main cabin beyond the cockpit, the stone sarcophagus sat secured to the deck. Zett was not a man who spooked easily, but he wanted this cargo off his ship. He had sneered at the obvious terror its contents had inspired in the primitive aliens from whom he had acquired it, but within two days of taking possession of it, he had become wary of the artifact. An aura of menace emanated from it. He was certain that it was infecting his dreams with terrors and disquieting his waking thoughts with demoralizing subliminal insinuations. Less than four days in its presence had convinced him that evil was more than an abstract concept—it was a concrete reality, lying silent inside a two-meter-long coffin of dark gray, rough-hewn granite.

He jolted with surprise as the double beep of a response signal shrilled in the silence of the cockpit. A deep breath restored his calm, and then he opened the channel and issued the challenge phrase. “If you approach for the attack, never forget to wait for the right moment.”

A gruff voice answered over the comm, “In waiting for the right moment, never forget to attack.”

Zett transmitted beam-in coordinates to his contact, got up from his seat, and walked back into the main cabin. Four signal-blocking pylons stood at the corners of the sarcophagus, as insurance against the client’s potential impulse to try to steal it via transporter beam. The Nalori assassin stepped past the stone coffin and placed himself between it and the beam-in coordinates. Then he waited.

Moments later a shimmer and a singsong, oscillating drone of high-pitched white noise filled the air a few meters in front of him. The swirling glow of light coalesced into a humanoid shape and faded to reveal a ridged-headed, black-bearded, swarthy Klingon named Qahl. As the last traces of the transporter effect faded, the visitor took one step forward, looked Zett in the eye, and pointed at the sarcophagus. “Is that it?”

“Yes,” Zett said. He stepped aside to give Qahl an unobstructed view. “Examine it first, if you like.”

The Klingon stepped past Zett and positioned himself next to one long side of the artifact. His large, callused hands caressed the ruts and peaks of the object’s primitively carved stone lid. Zett followed him and stood on the opposite side of the ancient burial case. Qahl asked, “Where did you get it?”

“Are you prepared to pay an extra five million?”

Qahl scowled at Zett and grunted as he resumed his tactile examination of the casket. “I want to look inside.”

“Go ahead,” Zett said, moving back to give him some room.

Struggling to get a solid grip on the lid, Qahl glared at Zett. “You could lend a hand.”

Gesturing with a fluid, top-to-bottom sweep of his hand at his custom-tailored charcoal suit and perfectly polished black shoes, Zett flashed a smile of glistening black teeth. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m not dressed for manual labor.”

Qahl grumbled under his gagh-fouled breath, which Zett could smell from meters away as the Klingon huffed and struggled to lift the sarcophagus lid by himself. With tremendous effort he raised one side of it several centimeters and tilted his head to peek under it, into a mesmerizing flicker of violet light. His eyes widened, and his jaw went slack.

Zett counted to ten, decided Qahl had seen enough to make an informed decision, and pressed his palm against the stone lid, forcing it shut with a resounding boom. “Satisfied?”

The Klingon nodded, palmed a sheen of musky perspiration from his brow, and stepped back. He reached into a fold of his black-and-gold uniform jacket and produced a credit chip, which he handed to Zett. The trim, shaved-headed Nalori accepted it with a polite half-nod and carried it to an interface on the bulkhead to verify that it was genuine, wasn’t booby-trapped, and contained the correct amount of remuneration. Stroking his twisted, pale-violet beard braid, he watched Qahl in the corner of his vision while he waited.

To his surprise, there was more money on the chip than had been agreed upon. He turned and narrowed his flat-black, pupil-free eyes at Qahl, who, apparently having anticipated Zett’s wary response, grinned broadly. “A bonus,” the Klingon said. “To show our gratitude for your successful and no doubt highly dangerous assassination of our turncoat agent on Vanguard.”

In Zett’s opinion, his assassination of Lurqal—a.k.a. Anna Sandesjo—had been some of the sloppiest work he had ever done. He preferred to kill his victims in private and make their bodies disappear without a trace. A murder suspected but never proved was the height of his art; a public act of arson with broad collateral damage was an amateurish atrocity. Unfortunately, because of the short notice he had been given by the Klingons and the extraordinary security measures that had been taken by Starfleet Intelligence, the brute-force bombing of the Malacca had been the only viable tactic available to him.

He ejected the chip from the wall panel, tucked it into his pants pocket, turned to Qahl, and said simply, “Thank you.” Then he took a remote control from his jacket pocket and entered the disarming code for the transport scramblers. “You’re all set.”

Qahl plucked a communicator from his belt and flipped it open. A few guttural Klingon commands later, he and the stone sarcophagus dissolved in an incandescent flurry of golden particles accompanied by the siren song of a transporter beam.

Zett returned to the cockpit and sat down. He had no idea what had been inside the sarcophagus, or why the Klingons had been willing to pay such an outrageous price to acquire it. All he knew was that he was glad to have it off his ship.

All in a day’s work, he told himself as he fired up the engines of the Icarion, set course for Vanguard, and made the jump to warp speed.

The knife that T’Prynn pulled from her chest wasn’t real, nor was the dark green slick of warm blood that trickled along the wavy line of the blade’s temper. A chill wind swept across the desolate nightscape of sand and broken stone, a cold promise of torments yet to come. None of those was real, either.

Neither were the starless sky, the endless night, the great trackless wasteland spread out beneath the void. Not the pain of her shattered bones, not her flayed skin, not the burning welts across her back, not the split in her lip stung by her saliva, not the coppery swell of blood in the back of her throat.

The only things real in this frozen purgatory were T’Prynn’s grief, rage, and despair. Isolated inside her psyche, bereft of her psionic defenses and patient meditations, she clung to her guilt, her anger, and her bitter sorrow; they were all she had left. Her wailing cries and guttural screams were as much inventions of her imagination as the banshee howls of the wind, but her anguish was genuine. It was real, so she clung to it.

Time slipped away from her. The land and all that stood upon it—every lonely menhir, every dead and twisted tree—were lit from within by a surreal, dull gray twilight. Her pale skin was the ashen hue of a corpse, and her blood ran black from wounds that refused to heal.

Anna’s ghost drifted in silent strides across the desert, her accusing stare paralyzing T’Prynn. Then she vanished in a blossom of flames, like a scrap of parchment consumed in a bonfire.

Why did I let her go? How could I?

Sprawled on the frigid sands, T’Prynn scuttled in a tight circle, like a scavenger searching the seabed in an ocean of regrets. In every direction she watched shades of her former self replay shameful moments from the life she had led.

Weak men she had coerced into peril. A good man she had deceived and ruined. Countless tiny acts of blackmail, fraud, and extortion. Principles betrayed in the name of “the greater good” and an illusory, unattainable commodity called “national security.” Real lives had been lost and real people had come to harm because of her efforts to promote and defend an abstract concept. It had been an illogical, wasteful endeavor.

What am I? What have I become?

His foot slammed into the back of her head.

The impact threw her facedown into the sand, and when she looked up it was because Sten was dragging her by her hair. Jagged rocks bit into her lower back as he pulled her over the ground toward a long, rectangular pit of glowing coals. Around them stood all the ceremonial trappings of the kal-if-fee, from the lirpa and the ahn-woon to the braziers of coals and many other barbaric remnants of a past that would not die.

Scorching fires charred the backs of her bare thighs as she twisted but failed to break free of Sten’s grip. On the other side of the coal pit, he hurled her to the ground. As he kicked at her, she tried to catch his foot, but he was too quick. His foot slammed into her midriff, winding her and cracking her ribs. She doubled over and clutched at her gut. Then his foot struck her under the chin and snapped her head back, flinging a long trail of green spittle from her mouth.

Crawling like an animal, she dug into the ground with her fingertips for purchase. Slithering, unable to rise, she clawed her way toward the weapons, which were arranged together several meters distant. Sten strolled nonchalantly ahead of her and picked up the ahn-woon. He tested the flexibility of the rawhide strap and turned to face T’Prynn, who continued to drag herself toward the weapons, determined to arm herself.

The ahn-woon cracked loudly in T’Prynn’s ears as it snapped with agonizing precision across her left cheek, drawing blood. She fell onto her elbows as her left hand pressed against the fresh wound. Warm green blood coated her palm, leaked between her fingers, and ran down her forearm.

Sten circled her, putting the strap to her as he went. It tore ragged gaps in her uniform and her flesh. Each strike fell with greater force than the last, wounded her more deeply. She was almost relieved when most of the ahn-woon’s length coiled around her neck like a noose. Tensing her throat to spare her trachea from being crushed, she pried desperately at the strap’s coils, which felt like iron bands around her throat. Sten gave it a firm tug and spun T’Prynn around to face him. He dragged her toward him, until she was close enough to smell the sweat on his skin and see the spark of Pon farr madness in his eyes. Controlling the ahn-woon with both hands, he twisted it slightly and tightened its hold on her throat.

Asphyxia set in, softening her vision, filling her ears with the roar of her own slowing pulse, clouding her mind with panic. Sten gazed down at her with condescending pity.

“Your struggle is pointless, T’Prynn. I have always been stronger than you, and I always will be.” Fury burned in her eyes, and he smirked at it. “You know I speak the truth. In all those moments when you have lacked the strength to do what had to be done, I gave you that strength. My strength.” To her air-starved mind, he had become little more than a dark blur against a pitch-black sky, a shadow in a world without true light. “Why go on fighting, T’Prynn? You’ve lost, but you don’t need to be destroyed. Surrender.” All she saw was his silhouette looming triumphant above her as he bade her, “Submit.”

There was a rock in her hand, a sharp and pointed stone. She had no memory of picking it up, but it was as real in her grasp as her fear. A savage thrust plunged it deep and squarely into Sten’s groin. He bellowed in agony and staggered backward, releasing the ahn-woon, which went limp around T’Prynn’s throat. She let go of the stone, which fell with a soft thump into the sand. Her Vulcan blood now fully inflamed, she began un-coiling the ahn-woon from her neck and forced herself to stand on unsteady feet.

Dozens of wounds inflicted on almost every part of her body bled copiously, covering her with an emerald sheen.

The last wrap of the ahn-woon fell from her throat. She flicked her wrist, and the bloodstained rawhide strap snapped loudly, commanding Sten’s attention.

“You’ve only postponed the inevitable, T’Prynn.” He reached back, picked up a lirpa, and swung its blunt, heavy end-weight and fan-shaped blade with leisurely ease. “Accept your defeat, and I will spare you.” He advanced on her, spinning the lirpa in slow, hypnotic turns.

And once more he dared to command her: “Submit.”

She looped the ahn-woon around the lirpa’s handle and disarmed him with one pull. His weapon flew into her hands.

Then he had her answer.

“Never.”

The saga of

STAR TREK VANGUARD

will continue

Star Trek Vanguard

Minipedia

DEW: Star Trek Corps of Engineers: Distant Early Warning

HAR: Harbinger

STT: Summon the Thunder

RTW: Reap the Whirlwind

Adams, Lieutenant Donovan—Search party leader, Gamma Tauri IV. KIA. (RTW)

Adjudicator—Member of the Shedai Serrataal. Ally of the Maker. (RTW)

Aen’q Tholis —Tholian warship destroyed by Romulan bird-of-prey Bloodied Talon. (STT)

Age of Grim Awareness—From Shedai history: Time in distant past corresponding to the Tholians’ achieving sentience. (RTW)

Alakon, Councillor—Member of Klingon High Council in 2265; commoner-born, ascended through honorable combat. (HAR)

al-Jazaar, Imam—Religious leader on Starbase 47. (HAR)

al-Khaled, Lieutenant Commander Mahmud—S.C.E. leader aboard the U.S.S. Lovell. (STT) Promoted to lieutenant commander during mission to Gamma Tauri IV. (RTW)

Anderson, Ensign (Brett)—Engineer aboard U.S.S. Bombay. KIA. (HAR)

Anderson, Ensign Jeff—Member of S.C.E. team on U.S.S. Lovell. Lost right arm in action against Shedai sentinels on Gamma Tauri IV. Best friend of Ensign Brian O’Halloran. (RTW)

Anitra, Senator—Junior member of Romulan Senate. (STT)

Anzarosh—Spaceport town on Kessik IV. Shabby, dirty, depressing. (HAR)

Apostate—Second-oldest of the Shedai, leads opposition movement against the Maker. Source of first contact, with Ensign Vanessa Theriault. Destroyed the Jinoteur system, believed to have been lost with it. (RTW)

Archer, U.S.S. —Namesake ship for the Archer class, which includes the U.S.S. Sagittarius.

Argashek, Councillor—Member of Klingon High Council in 2265. Allied with Councillors Grozik and Glazya. (HAR)

Argelian flu—Viral malady that afflicted residents of Martian city of Cydonia in 2266, including Dr. Ezekiel Fisher’s daughter, Jane, and her husband, Neil, and sons, James and Seth. (RTW)

Arinex—Star system within a couple of days’ high-warp transit from Starbase 47. (RTW)

Arjuna, U.S.S. —Ship of the Archer class.

Armnoj, Sakud—Accountant to Orion merchant-prince Ganz; transported from his home on Yerad III by Cervantes Quinn and Tim Pennington; kept a pet slijm named Sniffy. Assassinated by Ganz after delivering potentially incriminating records to him aboard Ganz’s ship, the Omari-Ekon. (STT)

Artemis, U.S.S. —Ship of the Archer class. Avainenoran—Shedai name for the planet Gamma Tauri IV. (RTW)

Avenger—Member of the Shedai Serrataal; allied with the Maker. (RTW)

Azrene [The Violet]—Member of the Tholian Ruling Conclave. (HAR)

Babitz, Dr. Lisa—Chief medical officer, U.S.S. Sagittarius. Blonde, blue-eyed, tall, pretty, germophobic. (RTW)

Ballard, Lieutenant Curtis—Original chief engineering officer, Starbase 47. Was part of the team that built Deep Space Station K-5. Flummoxed by systemic failures caused by Shedai Carrier Wave. Killed by the self-destruct function of a Rigelian scrambler-transmitter that had been insinuated into Starbase 47’s comm relays. Replaced by U.S.S. Lovell engineer Isaiah Farber. (DEW)

Buquair III—Planet where, in 2263, an underwater earthquake generated a tsunami that damaged the Federation-run Glassner Colony. The U.S.S. Lovell and its S.C.E. team, along with several other ships, were dispatched to aid the colony. During the relief mission, the S.C.E. team discovered an alien spacecraft that had long ago crashed on the planet, and which was continuing to transmit an S.O.S. (DEW)

BelHoQ, Commander—First officer of the I.K.S. Zin’za. (RTW)

Belleau Wood, U.S.S. —Starship to which a young Diego Reyes was posted after leaving the U.S.S. Helios, but prior to his command of the U.S.S. Dauntless.

Berry, Ensign Daniel—Navigator of the U.S.S. Bombay. KIA. (HAR)

Beyer, Lieutenant—Female security officer on Starbase 47. Escorted envoys out of a diplomatic meeting led by Ambassador Jetanien. (STT)

Bloodied Talon —Romulan bird-of-prey, commanded by Commander Sarith, dispatched on undercover mission to Taurus Reach. Destroyed the Tholian warship Aen’q Tholis, witnessed the destruction of Palgrenax. Transmitted data back to Romulus before being destroyed near the Palgrenax system by the I.K.S. Zin’za. (STT)

Boam II—Colony world that reporter Tim Pennington hoped to visit in order to conduct interviews; he never got there. (STT)

Bohanon—Member of research team studying the Shedai artifact on Erilon. Killed by the Shedai wanderer. His autopsy yielded valuable information about the Shedai meta-genome. (STT)

Bohica—Borzhan administrator of the Klingon-occupied spaceport facility in orbit of Borzha II. (RTW)

bojnoggi —Thick Tellarite concoction, richly caffeinated; according to Dr. Anthony Leone, it’s similar to mushroom soup. (STT)

bolmaq —Klingon herd animal. (STT)

Bombay, U.S.S. —Federation starship, Miranda class. Commanded by Captain Hallie Gannon. Destroyed at Ravanar IV by attack of six Tholian cruisers, four of which it destroyed in self-defense. (HAR)

Borzha II—Location of a Klingon-occupied spaceport; site of repairs for the I.K.S. Zin’za after failed attempts to explore the Jinoteur system. (RTW)

Borzhans—Pacifistic people whose world was occupied by Klingon forces in 2266. (RTW)

Bowman, U.S.S. —Ship of the Archer class. Brassicans—Animal-vegetable hybrid species native to Nejev III. (RTW)

Briv, Lieutenant Commander—Tellarite male, unusually slim for his species. Sensor-control officer, Starbase 47. (DEW)

Broon—Human crime boss, rival of Ganz; tried to assassinate Cervantes Quinn for Ganz, failed because of T’Prynn’s intervention. (HAR) Captured Quinn, Tim Pennington, and Sakud Armnoj near the Jinoteur system, but the trio escaped and framed him for their piracy on a Klingon sensor probe. (STT) Broon’s ship (no name given) was captured by the Klingons and impounded at Borzha II. (RTW)

Brummer, Lora—Human female. Ex-wife of Tim Pennington. (HAR)

Café Romano—Outdoor eatery in Stars Landing, aboard Starbase 47. (HAR) Owned and operated by chef Matt Romano. (RTW)

Cahow, Petty Officer 2nd Class Karen—Engineer on the U.S.S. Sagittarius. Average height and build, blond hair, phobic about being on planetary surfaces. (RTW)

Camigliano—A varietal of Brunello wine available in Manón’s Cabaret. (RTW)

Cannella, Lieutenant Commander Raymond—Fleet operations manager of Starbase 47. Big guy, balding, New Jersey accent. (HAR)

Cardalian Mountains—Geological feature of Gamma Tauri IV. (RTW)

Castellano, Ensign (Tory)—Engineer on the U.S.S. Bombay. KIA. (HAR)

Catera, Dr.—Medical doctor from U.S.S. Endeavour who provided medical care to the research team on Erilon. (STT)

Centauri Star, S.S. —Civilian transport ship that made port at Starbase 47 en route to Gamma Tauri IV. (RTW)

Charles, Lieutenant—Security officer attached to the Federation Customs Office on Starbase 47. (HAR)

Che’leth, I.K.S. —Klingon warship that escorted a personnel transport full of Klingon scientists to Gamma Tauri IV. (RTW)

Chelon, Rigelian—Bipedal species with leathery carapace, beaklike proboscis, unexpressive faces. Skin tones vary between various shades of green, brown, and gray, and rarely black. Eyes vary from amber to jade green to silvery metallic. (HAR) Skin excretes deadly contact toxin during times of stress. (STT)

Chichén Itzá, S.S. —Freighter-transport that experienced some minor delays receiving a docking berth at Vanguard because of its failure to file an updated flight plan. (HAR)

chom pattern—Martial-arts regimen, similar to a kata, that includes moves and stances for knife combat. (HAR)

ch’Sonnas, Lieutenant Thanashal—Science officer on the U.S.S. Bombay. KIA. (HAR)

Code One—ER alert on Starbase Vanguard which means that the commanding officer requires emergency medical attention. (RTW)

Code Two—ER alert on Starbase Vanguard which means that one or more of the station’s senior officer requires emergency medical attention. (RTW)

Cofell, Agent—Operative of Starfleet Intelligence who escorts Anna Sandesjo (aka Lurqal) from her temporary quarters to a secret transport off of Starbase 47. (RTW)

Collig, Ensign Donovan—Member of Starbase 47 security team; filed sloppy investigative paperwork that derailed a criminal investigation by the Starfleet JAG office. (STT)

Colloquium—Gathering of the Shedai for the purpose of governance and coordination of action; led by the Maker. Requires physical presence of its participants. (RTW)

Conduit—Artifact of the Shedai with which they can communicate instantly across great interstellar distances, and through which they can project their consciousnesses to other worlds. (HAR/RTW)

Conduit Song—The carrier-wave signal of a Shedai Conduit. (RTW)

Cook, Colleen—Junior archaeologist from the Starship Endeavour, assigned to help Lieutenant Ming Xiong study the Shedai Conduit on Erilon. (STT)

Cooper, Commander Jonathan—Executive officer of Starbase 47. Wife: Jen; son: Jake. (HAR)

Cydonia—City on Mars; home of Dr. Ezekiel Fisher’s daughter, Jane, her husband, Neil, and their sons, James and Seth. (RTW)

D’Amato, Lieutenant Oriana—Helm officer of the U.S.S.

Bombay. Wife of Enterprise senior geologist Lieutenant Robert D’Amato. Had a three-month affair with married reporter Tim Pennington. KIA with the Bombay at Ravanar IV. (HAR)

Danac—Pit boss in charge of gambling receipts aboard the Orion ship Omari-Ekon; reports to Orion merchant-prince Ganz. (RTW)

Danes, Ensign Scott—Security officer on U.S.S. Enterprise. KIA on Ravanar IV, by Tholian demolition trap. (HAR) Darjil, Centurion—Officer aboard the Romulan bird-of-prey Bloodied Talon. KIA. (STT)

Dauntless, U.S.S. —Federation starship, class undetermined. Previously commanded by Diego Reyes, with Hallie Gannon as his first officer. (HAR) Had run-ins with a Klingon vessel commanded by Gorkon. (RTW)

Davis, Lieutenant Kurt—Second-in-command of the S.C.E. team on the U.S.S. Lovell in 2266. (RTW)

Davlos III—Planet whereon, in a barfight, Tarmelite enforcer Morikmol allegedly ripped a Klingon’s arms from their sockets. (RTW)

Delmark—Nondescript Orion man in his mid-thirties with dark hair, a lean physique, and a complexion of an especially deep hue of green. Member of Ganz’s extended criminal organization. (RTW)

Denobulan Wildcard—Game of chance with some similarity to poker. (HAR)

Desai, Captain Rana—Ranking member of the Starfleet Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps on Starbase 47. (HAR)

Destrene [The Gray]—Member of the Tholian Ruling Conclave. (HAR)

Diamond, Lieutenant Jessica—Weapons officer on the U.S.S. Lovell. Shoulder-length brown hair. (DEW/STT)

dierha —Romulan time unit, roughly one hour. (STT)

Divad—Safecracker employed by crime boss Broon. (STT)

Dohan, Lieutenant Commander Yael—Gamma-shift officer of the watch on Starbase 47. Light-brown hair, cut short; slender but muscular; Israeli ancestry. (RTW)

Dramian-weed tea—Beverage favored by Captain Matuzas, a former CO of Diego Reyes aboard the U.S.S. Helios. (DEW)

Drexler-class frigate—Class of Federation vessel considered obsolete by 2265; not too far removed from the Daedalus-class ships. Diego Reyes served aboard one, the U.S.S. Helios, under the command of Captain Matuzas. (DEW)

D’tran, Senator—Oldest member of Romulan Senate in 2265, older than Praetor Vrax. (STT)

Dunbar, Lieutenant Judy—Senior communications officer aboard Starbase 47. Twirls hair as nervous habit. Photographic memory. (HAR)

Duras, Councillor—Member of Klingon High Council in 2265. (HAR)

Epimetheus, S.S. —Mining ship whose crew laid claim to Kessik IV before Starbase 47 was constructed. (HAR)

Erilon—Class P glaciated world in the Taurus Reach. Location of a Shedai Conduit, and site of type-V life readings. Attacked by Shedai Wanderer, in the form of black sentinels. Currently houses a formidable permanent Starfleet ground installation. (HAR/STT)

Eskrene [The Ruby]—Member of the Tholian Ruling Conclave. (HAR)

Estrada, Lieutenant Hector—Communications officer, U.S.S. Endeavour. (STT)

ewa —Romulan time unit, roughly one second. (STT)

Falstrene [The Gray]—Member of the Tholian Ruling Conclave. (HAR)

Farber, Lieutenant Isaiah—Chief engineering officer, Starbase 47. (HAR) Former member of the S.C.E. engineering team on the U.S.S. Lovell. Helped identify Shedai Carrier Wave signal and harden the starbase’s systems against it. (DEW)

Finneran, Yeoman Suzie (Midshipman Cadet)—Tall, auburn-haired young woman who serves as Commodore Reyes’s gamma-shift yeoman. (HAR)

First Conduit—Enormous artifact of the Shedai, located on Jinoteur IV. Source and nexus of their interstellar power. Can only be controlled by Shedai Serrataal. (RTW)

First World, the—Shedai name for Jinoteur IV. (RTW)

Fisher, Dr. Ezekiel “Zeke”—Chief medical officer, Starbase 47. (HAR)

Fisher, Ely—Son of Dr. Ezekiel Fisher. (RTW)

Fisher, Jane—Daughter of Dr. Ezekiel Fisher. Husband: Neil. Sons: James and Seth. (RTW)

Fisher, Noah—Son of Dr. Ezekiel Fisher. (RTW)

Fontana Meadow—Greensward located inside the hollow terrestrial enclosure of Starbase 47. Named for the prominent fountain in its center. (HAR)

Ford, Crewman Donna—Enlisted engineer on the U.S.S. Bombay. KIA. (HAR)

Gabbert, Lieutenant Christopher—“Room boss” in charge of directing Starfleet covert operations on Gamma Tauri IV. (RTW)

Gallonik III—Planet that erupted into a civil war in 2177 because of a misprint in its first treaty of global alliance. Its articles of territorial sovereignty contained conflicting geographical coordinates for the borders demarcating areas of settlement for its two rival sentient species. As a result, 738 million Gallonikans died in the conflict. (HAR)

Gamma Tauri IV—Colony planet in the Taurus Reach. Contracted former mining consortium executive Jeanne Vinueza to serve as its president in 2266. Also site of a hidden Shedai Conduit. Starfleet efforts to find the artifact motivated Klingon forces to land on the politically unaligned world, as well. An attack by Shedai sentinels wiped out the colony and provoked Starfleet and the Klingons into annihilating the planet’s surface. (RTW)

Gannon, Captain Hallie—Commanding officer of the U.S.S. Bombay and former first officer of Diego Reyes aboard the U.S.S. Dauntless. Blonde, optimistic. KIA at Ravanar IV. (HAR)

Ganz—Orion merchant-prince. Operates from his ship the Omari-Ekon, docked at Starbase 47. (HAR)

Ge’hoQ—Klingon name for Gamma Tauri IV. (RTW)

Gek, Dr. Varech jav—Tellarite scientist, works in the Vault with Lieutenant Ming Xiong. One of Starfleet’s top minds in theoretical chemistry and molecular physics. Excitable; a bit of a gossip. (STT)

Geller, Rabbi—Religious leader aboard Starbase 47. (HAR)

Gerzhog, Captain—Commanding officer of the I.K.S. HovQaw’wI’. (RTW)

Getheon—Planet on which a team of dilithium prospectors became temporarily stranded because of a failure in their ship’s warp drive. (HAR)

Ghrex, Ensign—Denobulan female, engineer with the S.C.E. team on the U.S.S. Lovell. Participated in the research mission to Erilon. (DEW STT)

Glassner Colony—Federation settlement on Buquair III. Damaged in 2263 by a tsunami generated by an underwater earthquake. The colony was aided by the U.S.S. Lovell and its S.C.E. crew, as well as by several other vessels. During the relief mission, the S.C.E. team discovered an alien spacecraft that had long ago crashed on the planet, and which was continuing to transmit an S.O.S. (DEW)

Glazya, Councillor—Member of the Klingon High Council in 2265; allied with Grozik and Argashek. (HAR)

glenget —a backless piece of furniture designed to permit a Chelon to kneel comfortably in repose. (STT)

Gonmog Sector—Klingon name for the Taurus Reach. (RTW)

Gorkon, Councillor—Member of the Klingon High Council in 2265; will preside as Chancellor in 2293. (HAR)

Grap’hwu Province—Geopolitical subdivision of the planet Palgrenax. (STT)

gredlahr —Andorian beverage, luminescent yellow. Similar to rum, though sweeter. Available from the bar on the OmariEkon. (DEW)

Greenfield, Yeoman/Lieutenant Toby—Senior administrative assistant to Commodore Diego Reyes. Short, doe-eyed, efficient, cute, mid-20s. (HAR)

Greisman, Dr. Stewart—Assistant chief medical officer of the U.S.S. Bombay. KIA. (HAR)

Griffin, Dr. Bruce—Assistant chief medical officer of the

U.S.S. Endeavour. Has a reputation for always being prepared. (STT)

Grinpa, Dr.—Klingon researcher studying Shedai artifacts. (RTW)

Grozik, Councillor—Member of the Klingon High Council in 2265; allied with Glazya and Argashek. (HAR)

Guerin, Nurse (Jean)—Member of the medical staff on the U.S.S. Bombay. KIA. (HAR)

Halse, Ensign—Bridge officer, U.S.S. Endeavour. (STT)

Hanigar—Klingon Imperial Intelligence supervisor, in charge of field agent Mogan. (RTW)

Hayes, Cargo Chief—Non-commissioned officer, U.S.S. Bombay. KIA. (HAR)