James Blish - Star Trek 8

On their latest missions, Starship Enterprise and her crew journey to a glaciated wasteland where beautiful women rule; defeat the ferocious double of Captain Kirk on board the Starship; visit an eerie planet where it's always Halloween; and even dare to go beyond the edge of the galaxy.

BASED ON THE EXCITING

NEW NBC-TV SERIES CREATED

BY GENE RODENBERRY

A NATIONAL GENERAL COMPANY

STAR TREK 8

A Bantam Book / published August 1972

All rights reserved.

Copyright 1972 by Bantam Books, Inc.

Copyright 1972 by Paramount Pictues Corporation.

This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part,

by mimeograph or any other means,

without permission in writing.

Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada

ISBN-13: 978-0553127317

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, Inc., a subsidiary of Grosset & Dunlap, Inc. Its trade-mark, consisting of the words "Bantam Books" and the portrayal of a bantam, is registered in the United States Patent Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, Inc., 271 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Lee Cronin)

The curiously elegant spaceship depicted on the Enterprise screen had failed to respond to any hailing frequency or to approved interstellar symbols.

Nor was its shape familiar. Scanning it, Spock said, "Design unidentified. Ion propulsion, neutron conversion of a unique technology."

Kirk said, "Magnification Ten, Mr. Chekov."

But the close-up revealed the ship as mysterious as beforea long, slender, needle-thin splinter of glow against the blackness of space.

"Well, Scotty?"

"It beats me, Captain. I've never seen anything like it. But isn't she a beauty?" He whistled in awed admiration. "And ion propulsion at that. Whoever they are, they could show us a thing or two."

"Life form readings, Mr. Spock?"

"One, sir. Humanoid or similar. Low level of activity. Life support systems functioning. Interior atmosphere conventional nitrogen oxygen." He peered more closely at his scanner. "Just a minute, Captain..."

"Yes, Mr. Spock?"

"Instruments indicate a transferal beam emanating from the humanoid life form."

"Directed to where?"

"To here sirthe bridge of the Enterprise."

People moved uneasily at their stations. Kirk spoke into the intercom. "Security guard! To the bridge!"

But even as he issued the order, a figure had begun to take shape among them. It gathered substance. A superbly beautiful woman stood in the precise center of the bridge. She was clad in a short, flowing, iridescent tunic, a human woman in all aspects save in her extraordinary loveliness. On her arm she wore a bracelet, studded with varicolored cabochon jewels or buttons. She was smiling faintly.

Her appearance, no Transporter Room materialization, was as mysterious as the ship.

Kirk spoke. "I am Captain James T. Kirk. This is the Starship Enterprise."

She pressed a button on the bracelet. There was a humming sound. The bridge lights dimmed, brightened, dimmed again; and with the look of amazement still on their faces, Kirk, Spock and Scott went stiff, paralyzed. Then they crumpled to the floor. The humming sound passed out into the corridor. Again, lights flickered. Three running security guards stumbledand fell. The humming grew louder. It moved into Sickbay where McCoy and Nurse Chapel were examining a patient. Once more, lights faded. When they brightened, McCoy, the nurse and the patient had slumped into unconsciousness.

Silence flowed in on the Enterprise.

Still smiling, the beautiful intruder glanced down at Kirk. She stepped over him to examine Scott's face. Then she left him to approach Spock. The smile grew in radiance as she stooped over him.

Nobody was ever to estimate accurately the duration of their tranced state. Gradually, as awareness returned to Kirk, he saw that other heads around him had recovered the power to lift themselves.

"Whatwhere" he asked disconnectedly.

Sulu put the question. "What happened?"

Kirk pulled himself back up into his command chair.

"Status, Mr. Sulu?"

Mechanically Sulu checked his board. "No change from the last reading, sir."

"Mr. Spock?"

There was no Mr. Spock at The Vulcan's station to reply. Perplexed, Kirk looked at Scott. "The girl," Scott said dazedly, "she's gone, too."

"Yes," Kirk said, "that girl..."

His intercom buzzed. "Jim! Jim! Get down here to Sickbay! Right now! Jim, hurry!"

McCoy's voice had an urgency that was threaded with horror. In Sickbay the Enterprise's physician was trying to force himself to look at his own handiwork. Within its life function chamber, he had encased Spock's motionless body with a transparent bubble device. There was a small wrapping about the upper part of the cranium. Frenziedly working at his adjustment levers, he said, "Now?"

Nurse Chapel, at her small panel, nodded. She threw a switch that set lights to blinking. "It's functioning," she said, her voice weak with relief.

"Thank God."

McCoy was leaning back against the table as Kirk burst through the door.

"Bones, what in the name of" Kirk broke off. He had seen through the transparency of the bubble. "Spock!" He glanced swiftly at the life indicator. It showed a very low level. "Well?" he demanded harshly.

It was Nurse Chapel who answered him. "I found him lying on the table when I recovered consciousness."

"Like this?"

"No," McCoy said. "Not like this."

"Well, what happened?"

"I don't know!" McCoy shouted.

"You've got him under complete life support at total levels. Was he dead?"

McCoy raised himself by a hand pushed down on the table. "It starts there," he said.

"Damn you, Bones, talk!"

"He was worse than dead."

"What do you mean?"

"Jim" McCoy spoke pleadingly as though he were appealing for mercy from his own sense of helplessness. "Jimhis brain is gone."

"Go ahead."

"Technically, the greatest job I ever saw. Every nerve ending of the brain neatly sealed. Nothing torn, nothing ripped. No bleeding. A surgical miracle."

"Spock's brain" Kirk said, fighting for control.

"Gone." McCoy had given up on professional composure. His voice broke. "Spockhis incredible Vulcan physique survived until I could get the support system to take over. The body livesbut it has no mind."

"The girl," Kirk said.

"What girl?"

"She took it. I don't know whereor why. But she took Spock's brain."

"Jim..."

"How long can you keep the body functioning?"

"Several days at the most. And I can't guarantee that."

"That's not good enough, Bones."

"If it had happened to any of us, I could say indefinitely. But Vulcan physiology limits what I can do. Spock's body is much more dependent than ours on that tremendous brain of his for life support."

"I ask youhow long, Dr. McCoy. I have to know."

Wearily, McCoy reached for the chart. "He suffered a loss of cerebral spinal fluid in the operation. Reserves are minimal. Spock's T-Negative blood supplytwo total exchanges." He looked up from the chart. "Three daysno more."

Kirk moved over to the bubble. He could feel his heart cringe at the sight of the paper-white face inside it. Spock, the friend, the dear companion through a thousand hazardsSpock, the always reliable thinker, the reasonable one, the always reasonable and loyal one.

"All right, thenI've got three days."