After a brief delay, Zhao said, “Acknowledged. Prepare to beam up. We’ll notify Vanguard to send in the specialists…. And tell Klisiewicz I said ‘nice work.’ Zhao out.”

Staring down into the basin, Klisiewicz shook with the raw thrill of discovery. The tip from Xiong had been a long shot, but it had paid off. Unlike the Ravanar artifact, this one appeared to be intact. There was no telling what clues it might yield in Starfleet’s search for the secrets of its creation.

More important, Klisiewicz knew, finding another sample of the meta-genome on a world that also housed another of these majestic machines was unlikely to be a coincidence. Klisiewicz was certain that when they compared notes, Xiong would agree that the meta-genome and the massive artifacts must somehow be connected. Klisiewicz didn’t know yet what that connection might be, but looking down at the glistening obsidian structure below, he was certain that he had just taken the first step toward deciphering a map written on the stars.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Here we come.

Epilogue

Scorching wind ripped across a blackened plain on Ravanar IV. Gargantuan stratocumulus mountains of dust, blasted high into the atmosphere, blotted out the starlight, turning the night into a pitch-black inferno of howling sandstorms.

The Shedai Wanderer moved through the lightless maelstrom, guided by memories that refused to die. There was life here, she recollected. Brief…fragile…but it was here.

It was too soon, she knew, for this world to have run its course. It should have had billions of years left to it. The Shedai would not have chosen it otherwise. Someone laid waste to this orb with malicious intent. Arriving at the sandswept ruins of the Conduit, she intuited who was to blame for this horror.

Once more they wreak their havoc upon us.

Eons had passed in blessed silence. Left to bury themselves in their own ashes, most of the Shedai had been content to let the past claim them, satisfied to slumber until time unmade them with the slow inevitability of entropy. A few who could not abandon their legions of helpless “flickers of life” to the arbitrary designs of the universe had remained awake these many millennia, perhaps entertaining some forlorn hope of finding new hosts for the Conduits, and of elevating the Shedai once more to their past glory.

Until the song of the Conduit roused her a day-moment ago, the Shedai Wanderer had given up such ambitions; she had been embraced by the blissful darkness of oblivion. Wrenching herself back into the light, the heat, the torment of mere being, was an indignity that stoked her fury. The song of the Conduit had brought her up from the bedrock, out of the cold sanctuary of her grave, into this fiery desert wrought by fear and hatred.

She picked through needle-like fragments of the Conduit’s explosively shattered black stoneglass. Our legacy has become a target. The Wanderer cast her fury upward, toward the obscured heavens, imagining who would be so brazen as to risk awakening the wrath of the Shedai. Only a great power would dare such a reprisal.

She clutched the razor-sharp black shard, paying it no heed as it sliced through her flesh; she knew the wound would heal in moments.

They will come for us next, she concluded.

I must awaken the others.

The saga of

STAR TREK VANGUARD

will continue

Guide to Principal Characters

COMMODORE DIEGO REYES

(COMMANDING OFFICER)

A fifty-something human officer of Chilean ancestry, born and raised in the Lunar settlement of New Berlin, Reyes is a rough-hewn but amiable CO, with an appreciation for irony and dark humor. As a thirty-year Starfleet veteran, he’s experienced enough not to be easily surprised, but he’s still intrigued by the unknown and the mysteries of the universe. His command style is smooth and decisive, seldom hesitant, and can come in quick bursts.

Despite his friendly disposition, he maintains more emotional distance from his crew than most Star Trek COs we’ve seen. He hides his strongest feelings, is stoic about pain, and limits his mirth to a lockjawed grin. Part of Reyes’s closed-off manner is the result of his bitter divorce from his ex-wife, Jeanne, which has made it difficult for him to trust anyone or form close relationships. Though he won’t admit it aloud (and maybe not even to himself), he really wishes he had children.

Reyes is one of the four people on the station aware of the secret aspect of the Federation’s mission into the Taurus Reach. The others are T’Prynn, Jetanien, and Xiong.

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER T’PRYNN

(INTELLIGENCE OFFICER)

A relatively young (seventies) Vulcan, T’Prynn keeps a low profile aboard the station, specializing in information gathering and analysis, threat assessment, and, when necessary, covert ops. Her wit is dry, her sarcasm sharp, her voice smoky-sweet. Off duty, T’Prynn sometimes plays piano in the starbase cabaret. In contrast to her cool behavior, her music is passionate and eloquent. Her performances lead some of her associates to wonder if it’s her way of circumventing her people’s strict dictums of logic in order to express her turbulent inner state of mind. Like many other Vulcans, during childhood she was pledged to a mate, Sten. Upon reaching adulthood, she spurned him. Unwilling to release her, Sten invoked the kal-if-fee. But instead of selecting a champion to fight on her behalf, she herself faced Sten in ritual combat and slew him to win her independence. The unexpected consequences of that act have tormented her ever since.

AMBASSADOR JETANIEN

(SENIOR FEDERATION DIPLOMAT)

On permanent assignment to the Federation Embassy on Starbase 47, Jetanien supervises a small staff of envoys, attachés, and aides to deal with the full spectrum of diplomatic issues that come up in the Taurus Reach. Jetanien is a wise and learned statesman with a firm belief in the ideals of the United Federation of Planets, a wry sense of humor, and an appreciation for unpredictable twists of diplomacy. When the need arises, he can be a passionate orator and a tough negotiator. His knowledge of history is detailed and highly nuanced. His role is to expand Federation control in the region through political alliance and expansion of colonial holdings.

Jetanien is a Rigellian Chelon, a species glimpsed among the background aliens during Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The Chelon are amphibious bipeds, tall, broad, with a tough armored hide where their turtle-like ancestors once had a carapace. Their skin tones range from greenish to blue and yellow, and, rarely, black. Their eyes are large and see well in darkness. Their clawed digits are long, webbed, and nimble. They live much longer than humans, and reach maturity more slowly (thirty years).

LIEUTENANT MING XIONG

(ARCHAEOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY OFFICER)

Xiong is not just a brilliant researcher. He is trained in a variety of skills, including piloting, general engineering, and operations in extreme environments. Despite his skills, however, he’s not likely to advance in rank. He has a lot of suppressed anger and can be hostile toward authority figures. He says things in meetings that he shouldn’t. He’s young enough (thirty-one) to be an idealist and old enough to be disappointed by the galaxy’s cynicism. His superiors respect his talents but worry that his volatility will embarrass them, spark a war, or be aimed at them. Because of Xiong’s expertise and security clearance regarding the Taurus Reach mystery, Reyes cuts Xiong a lot more slack than he does to other officers—but there is a limit.

What really bothers Xiong is that he wants more openness in the exploration of the Taurus Reach mystery; he sees a chance for the open exchange of scientific ideas to build bridges to other civilizations, like the Klingons and the Tholians, but he’s been ordered to keep his findings quiet. As long as he plays by the rules, he’ll continue serving detached duty aboard the three starships assigned to Vanguard’s command. Like many idealists before him, he rails against injustice and defends underdogs, even when it puts the Federation in politically awkward binds. Experience has not yet dimmed his belief in justice; Xiong joined Starfleet not just to see the galaxy, but to help it.