Star Trek: The Original Series - 082 - Federation (43 page)

Ttne Enterprise shuddered as she dropped to sublight and the sounds of her torpedo launching tubes echoed. On the screen, Cochrane saw the pursuing cruiser pass in a blur, and even as he braced lbr impact, he tried to analyze the computer imaging that enabled him to see an object moving faster than light.

But no impact came. Instead, a double set of silent explosions pulsed from the screen.

Chckov raised his fist in victory. “Got them! Fore and aft, sir!

They ran into their own torpedoes just as ours hit. Reading heavy damage.” Kirk remained calm. “Go to maximum warp, Mr. Sulu.” “Cruiser is coming about, sir.” “Maintain course. Chekov, ready on phasers.” Then impact finally came as the Enterprise swept past the damaged cruiser and both ships exchanged torrents of phaser fire.

Cochrane saw an eruption of plasma on the cruiser’s starboard flank. and then it was gone from the viewscreen.

Spock reported. “We took no significant damage from that barrage, but our shields are now at forty-three percent.” “Status of the damaged cruiser?” Kirk said.

“Still in pursuit,” Sulu answered. “But only at warp five.”
‘Time to destination?” “Seven minutes, fifteen seconds.” Cochrane watched as Kirk stretched, and was amazed at the captain’s ability to remain so focused on the moment. Cochrane knew tinat with the differences in their speeds, the Enterprise
ould make it to the singularity before the cruiser could attack again. But even though that next attack was minutes away, Kirk behaved as if his work was finished. Cochrane decided that was the only way a starship captain could approach his work. If he really stopped to think about the power he controlled and the danger he faced on an ongoing basis, he’d be paralyzed.

Kirk slipped out of his chair and headed for Spock’s science station. “Uhura, status on Starfieet’s response?” “The Excalibur and Lexington are en route, priority one. ETA: Excalibur, fourteen hours; Lexington, twenty-two hours.” “What do you think, Mr. Spock? Can we elude both of Thorsen’s cruisers for fourteen hours?” Spock remained seated at his station as the captain approached. “We need only elude them for thirteen hours, twenty-two minutes,” he said.

Kirk smiled. “That makes me feel so much better.” Then he became serious again. “What are our chances, really?” Spock considered his answer for a few moments. “For the entire period, virtually nonexistent.” Kirk didn’t seem fazed by his science officer’s pronouncement, though, as if he had already come to the same conclusion. “How long can we last?” “Two, perhaps three hours,” Spock said. “If we manage to destroy or cripple one of the cruisers, we might be able to survive an additional four hours. However, sublight maneuvers close to the singularity’s event horizon will exert a sizable strain on our structural integrity field. Even if we avoid additional weapons damage, we will be forced to leave the vicinity of the singularity at that time.” Kirk rubbed his eyes, the first indication Cochrane had seen of the exhaustion he must feel. He also rubbed at a spot on his back, wincing as he did so.

“I am open to suggestions, Mr. Spock.” But Cochrane spoke first. He needed to understand exactly what kind of danger he was exposing these people to. “What’s a structural integrity field?” was his first question.

“An internal forcefield system that augments the mechanical strength of the Enterprise’s spaceframe,” Spock answered. “The stresses involved in moving from sublight to warp velocities, in changing course at high-impulse speeds, typically are in excess of what the ship’s physical components can withstand. While we are close to the singularity’s event horizon, we will need considerable power from both our artificial gravity generators and the structural integrity field in order to overcome the intense, gravitational tidal forces we will experience.” “Is this giving you any ideas, Mr. Cochrane?” Kirk asked.

-Couldn’t we last longer if we didn’t move as close to the horizon? The gravitational stresses would be less.” “True,” Spock said. “But as gravitational stresses decrease, so does the distortion effect on the cruisers’ sensors.” Cochrane understood. “Like a submarine,” he said. “The closer to the event horizon we are, the harder we are to detect, but the more pressure we’re under.” “Very apt,” Spock agreed.

“And if we hit bottom,” Kirk said, “we get smeared across the event horizon of a black hole with two hundred times the mass of the sun collapsed into…” Kirk looked at Spock. “What’s the estimated size of the singularity at the heart of TNC 658137” “No more than a meter,” Spock said.

Cochrane shook his head. “In my time, we had no way of knowing what was inside a singularity. It was the point at which our understanding of physics completely broke down.” “In our time as well, Mr. Cochrane,” Spock said. “There are many valid theories worked out in considerable detail, and we have discovered some technologies that allow singularities to be used and manipulated as power sources. But since there is no possible way to extract useful information from inside a singulari-t3, no attempt to probe one, or to see inside one, has ever yielded results. Thus, no theory can be tested.” “Destination in four minutes,” Sulu announced. “TNC 65813 onscreen.” Cochrane looked at the screen and saw a luminous whirlpool of glowing gases and dust slowly expanding as the Enterprise neared it. At almost ninety degrees to the spiral arms of the whirlpool, solid shafts of light shone top and bottom, slowly precessing like sweeping searchlights. And in the center of the whirlpool, right where the gas and dust reached maximum velocity in their long fall into the singularity hidden at the black hole’s center, where their kinetic energy should make them glow the brightest, right at the edge of the event horizon, there was only a black disk.

“Incredible,” Cochrane said, overcome by the sight.

The black disk marked the point at which the gravitational attraction of the singularity within accelerated everything to the speed of light—including light itself. No matter, no electromagnetic impulse, could ever have enough energy to emerge from that point. The black hole would inevitably swallow everything which came near, pulling it endlessly down to the inconceivably dense singularity at its heart.

“Have any ships ever been this close to this object?” Kirk asked.

“Automated probes only,” Spock said.

“Then let’s put all nonessential sensors on ‘record,’” Kirk said.

“We shouldn’t waste the opportunity.” Once again, Cochrane was impressed. Only minutes from a life-and-death struggle, Kirk was concerned with science, with exploration.

“‘O brave new world,’” Cochrane said, softly enough that only the Companion could hear him.

But Spock looked at him and nodded, as if acknowledging the sentiment, and Cochrane decided the shape of Vulcans’ ears must be more than purely decorative.

Kirk kept his eyes on the screen, but Cochrane doubted he was taking in the beauty of the sight. “Mr. Spock, is there anything we can do to add to the sensor confusion we’re trying to exploit? So we can stay farther above the point of no return as Mr. Cochrane suggested?” “An interesting proposal,” Spock said. He joined the captain in staring at the screen, and again Cochrane was certain that it was not to appreciate the power of nature.

“By setting photon torpedoes to explode just above the event horizon, it might be possible to cause it to oscillate, setting up gravitational disturbances. Using the transporter to deposit small amounts of antimatter within the gas and dust could also create gravitationally distorted sensor echoes indistinguishable from the Enterprise, which should serve as effective camouflage.” Spock turned to his station. “I shall attempt to work out the details.” Kirk nodded at Cochrane. “Good work, Mr. Cochrane.”

Cochrane appreciated the captain’s sentiment. He was making the outmoded scientist feel like part of the crew, a talent Kirk used on all the people under his command. Cochrane knew he had only made a wild suggestion. It was Kirk and Spock who had applied the suggestion to the situation at hand and found something useful in it. Still, it encouraged him to try again. Who knew what other wonders of technology this age held?

“If you’re trying to create a real disturbance,” Cochrane said, “is there any way you can rig one of your torpedoes to detonate.just und,’r the event horizon?” Kirk angled his head in forbearance. “The force of the explosion could never emerge on this side of the horizon,” Kirk explained.

“I know,” Cochrane said. He let go of the Companion’s hand and went to Spock’s science station. “But a matter-antimatter explosion a few meters underneath the horizon could make it ring like a bell, setting up gravity shock waves all around the black hole, like waves in a pond.” Kirk looked at Spock. His expression said he had no argument against the suggestion.

Spock raised an eyebrow, indicating significant surprise, Cochrane knew. He began to adjust controls on his computer interface. “That is an admirable tactic. But there would be relatMstic time-dilation effects to take into account, and they xvould delay the appearance of oscillations on this side of the horizon.” “What about detonating the torpedo at warp velocity?” (‘ochrane said. “The continuum-distortion field eliminates time dilation.” “Unfortunately,” Spock said, “the torpedo’s warp drive would be destroyed at the instant of detonation, causing time dilation to return.” Cochrane fowned. Spock was right. But then Kirk raised a finger.

“Put the torpedo in something, Spock! A shuttlecraft!” Spook raised both eyebrows. “Of course. If a shuttlecraft containing the torpedo pierced the event horizon, the torpedo Could be detonated inside the shuttlecraft’s warp field. The explosion would proceed in real time for the few nanoseconds before the shuttlecraft was destroyed.” “Provided the warp field is still within contact of the event horizon!” Cochrane added excitedly. Then his elation left him.

“But how do you get something the size of a shuttlecraft through an event horizon?” “Theoretically, that is not difficult,” Spock said. “It has artificial gravity and inertial dampening systems in place, as well as a structural integrity field. Since it can withstand the stress of moving from sublight to warp speed, it can assuredly survive the transition through the event horizon. In terms of overall acceleration, this would be several orders of magnitude less stressful.” Spock hesitated for a moment. “Once inside the event horizon, though, the shuttlecraft’s power plant would only be able to power the necessary systems for an hour at most.” Kirk looked pleased. “But we’ll only need a few seconds, Spock.

Have the hangar-deck crew load photon torpedoes with timers onto the remaining shuttlecraft.” “Coming up on TNC 65813,” Sulu said.

Onscreen, the black disk flared and sparked with flashes of energy as dust particles collided at relativistic speeds above it.

“Close orbit, Mr. Sulu. Five thousand kilometers to start.” “Dropping to impulse,” Sulu said.

Cochrane could hear the ship’s engines strain. He understood that without the Enterprise’s artificial gravity, inertial dampening systems, and structural integrity field, the ship would already be breaking up under the black hole’s tidal forces the way the gravity of planets like Saturn created the dust and debris of its rings by breaking up larger bodies that passed within the Roche limit~ the critical distance any object could remain without being torn apart.

Cochrane went back to the Companion. “Don’t be frightened,” he said.

“When we are with you, we fear nothing,” she said.

“I wish the captain had someone like you to draw strength from,” Cochrane said.

The Companion watched Kirk take his chair, saw the way his hands found their way to the arm controls. “He does,” she said. cochrane wasn’t sure he understood what she meant.

The screen was awash in streaks and flares of energy as the t.~zfc~7,.ise’s navigational deflectors pushed the high-speed dust and debris orbiting the black disk out of the way.

“How much longer till those cruisers arrive?” Kirk asked.

“Cruiser one in six minutes. Cruiser two in twenty,” Chekov answered.

“Does that give us enough time to test one of the torpedoes in a shuttlecraft?” Kirk asked Spock.

“l would recommend against it, Captain. If the technique works. we will need each of our remaining shuttlecraft to deliver torpedoes to the black hole. If it does not, testing will not matter.” “Very well. Have the hangar crew stand ready for launching shuttlecraft on automatic pilot. Mr. Sulu, change orbits as soon as we’re out of line of sight of the cruisers, then scan for regions of high sensor distortion. We’ve got six minutes to find a hiding place.” The ship began to buck, just a gentle rhythm, but noticeable nonetheless. Cochrane looked at Spock.

“That is the expected operation of the inertial dampeners,” Spock said in response to Cochrane’s unasked question.

“What would happen if it wasn’t the expected operation?” Cochrane asked.

“At this distance from the singularity,” Spock replied calmly, “we would be little more than thin layers of organic paste, smeared on opposite sides of the Enterprise’s ruptured hulls.” “She’s quite a ship, isn’t she, Mr. Spock?” “Indeed she is,” Spock said; then he turned his attention back to his computer.

On the screen. Cochrane had difficulty orienting himself. There
ere only flashes against utter blackness, but no indication of the curve or size of the object they orbited.

“Out of line of sight,” Sulu announced. “Changing orbital planes. Picking up sensor distortion nodes directly ahead.” “Very good. Mr. Sulu,” Kirk said. “Let’s try to sneak into one.” As Cochrane watched, the orientation of the screen image changed so that he saw a large black ellipse at the bottom, against glowing auroras of scintillating gas and dust. Directly ahead, a twisting knot of glowing yellow light, dropping streamers of red, slowly grew larger. Cochrane decided it was the sensor distortion node, rendered into something the human eye could make sense of by the Enterprise’s computers. He could believe a starship could hide in one. Once again, Kirk had come up with a worthy strategy.

But he wasn’t the only one.

As the image grew larger on the screen, collision alarms sounded and a dot of orange light flew out from the node.