Section 31 Bk. 4 : Shadow

by Dean Wesley Smith; Kristine Kathryn Rusch

• ISBN13: 9780671774783
• ISBN10: 0671774786
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2001-05-22
• Publisher: Star Trek

Summary

They are the self-appointed protectors of the Federation. Amoral, shrouded in secrecy, answerable to no one, Section 31 is the mysterious covert operations division of Starfleet, a rogue shadow group committed to safeguarding the Federation at any cost

Excerpts

Chapter One 23 hours, 7 minutesSeven of Nine opened her eyes. Her regeneration was incomplete. Someone had interrupted her. She scanned the darkened cargo bay, her senses on alert. It took her only a moment to spot B'Elanna Torres standing near the alcove's controls."Sorry to wake you," Torres said. Like the others on board, she did not properly refer to Seven's regeneration cycle.Seven did not "sleep" as they did, so the term "waking up" did not actually apply to her. Instead, during her regeneration cycle, repairs were made to her cortical subprocessor, and her day-to-day functions were improved.Of course, she knew better than to correct Lieutenant Torres. That would lead to an argument -- the same argument they had had before, in fact -- and that would be inefficient."I trust you had a reason for disturbing me," Seven said."The captain is intrigued by those two suns that we found. The collision will happen soon, and she wants to divert course so that we can record it." Torres shrugged. "She said -- ""'How many other starships would get an opportunity like this one?'"Torres raised an eyebrow. "She spoke to you about this?""No." Seven sounded as weary as she felt. "She has said similar things about astronomical events before."Torres crossed her arms. "You don't agree with her on this one?""I believe watching two suns collide will be interesting, but it will also be dangerous. If we are too close..." Seven let her voice trail off. Torres knew what would happen. They all did."That's why the captain had me wake you," Torres said.Seven resisted the urge to correct her."She wants us to calculate the exact moment when those stars will hit each other.""I believe you are capable of doing that on your own."Torres gave her a small smile. "I'll take that for the backward compliment it was.""You already told the captain that.""Of course. But she wants more than one set of eyes on this. She trusts yours, for some reason."The edge was still there. Seven stepped out of her alcove. She and Torres had reached a kind of peace over the years that Seven had been onVoyager,but it was an uneasy peace. They respected each other, but actual friendship between them might never be possible. They could barely have a conversation without irritating each other."I shall meet you in astrometrics," Seven said."I'll walk with you," Torres said. "I have some figures on this padd, and I'd like to go over them with you."Seven sighed inwardly. She had hoped for a moment alone. Of course that would not happen. When Captain Janeway wanted something, she wanted it immediately.She took the padd from Torres's hand and started toward the door of the cargo bay. It had only been two hours since she had entered her alcove. She did not feel as fresh as she should have. She had just entered the most important part of her regenerative phase when Torres had interrupted her. Seven would have to reprogram the alcove next time to compensate.Torres kept pace with her as they left the control area. "The gravitational fluctuations are severe." She was at Seven's right, leaning in toward the padd. "We'll have to -- "Seven felt the explosion before she heard it. A wave of energy and debris sent her flying across the bay. Then the sound followed, so loud that it felt as if her ears had imploded. Her system registered light and heat and power as she tumbled like a weed in the wind.The instant stretched into forever, and then to her surprise, she found herself on her back against one of the barrels, her feet twisted beneath her. She did not remember landing.Her body ached and her ears rang, but she did a quick systems check. Except for scrapes and bruises, she was undamaged.She used her elbows to prop herself up.Her section of the bay was ruined. Metal shards and still pulsating chunks of electronics were scattered all over the section. A fire burned w