Star Trek: The Next Generation: Starfleet Academy #7: Secret of the Lizard People Read online

  Alien Attack!

  Cadet Data is among a handful of first year cadets selected to observe a super-Jovian planet ignition—the collision of two huge gas-giant planets resulting in the formation of a new star. They will watch this occurrence from a safe distance aboard the Republic.

  But a distress call from an alien space station draws their starship off course to an asteroid belt near the colliding planets. The rescue team soon finds itself under siege by deadly attackers, and Data and his group are separated from the main team.

  Now, with time running out, Data must defeat the invaders and rescue the aliens before the collision destroys the space station…and the Republic!

  Cover art by Catherine Huerta

  Interior Illustrations by Todd Cameron Hamilton

  Sweeping Doctor Steinberg behind him, Data caught one of his opponent’s wrists and whipped him toward a bulkhead...

  Bracing himself for the attack of two other creatures, he fended off the first of them with a backhanded smash. The other managed to get a sharp-clawed grip on his arm.

  The android was about to take hold of the lizard-being by the scruff of its scaly neck and fling it away, when he was filled with a sensation unlike any he’d ever known. A powerful electrical charge was running through him, savaging the workings of his neural net, disrupting his most basic functions.

  Even as Data sank to his knees, no longer in control of his own limbs, he realized that the electrical emission had come from the creature holding on to his arm.

  Taking note of his helplessness, another creature jumped him. And another, Unable to defend himself, he could only watch as they tore at his containment suit and speculate as to what would happen when they got past it and began tearing at him….

  Star Trek: The Next Generation

  STARFLEET ACADEMY

  #1 Worf’s First Adventure

  #2 Line of Fire

  #3 Survival

  #4 Capture the Flag

  #5 Atlantis Station

  #6 Mystery of the Missing Crew

  #7 Secret of the Lizard People

  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

  #1 The Star Ghost

  #2 Stowaways

  #3 Prisoners of Peace

  #4 The Pet

  Star Trek movie tie-in

  Star Trek Generations

  Available from MINSTREL Books

  The sale of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as “unsold and destroyed.” Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this “stripped book.”

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A MINSTREL PAPERBACK Original

  A Minstrel Book published by

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

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  Copyright © 1995 by Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved.

  STAR TREK is a Registered Trademark of Paramount Pictures.

  This book is published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc., under exclusive license from Paramount Pictures.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN: 0-671-50109-7

  First Minstrel Books printing April 1995

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

  A MINSTREL BOOK and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  Cover art by Catherine Huerta

  Printed in the U.S.A.

  For Jake, our newest Trekker

  STARFLEET TIMELINE

  2264

  The launch of Captain James T. Kirk’s Five-year mission, U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701.

  2292

  Alliance between the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire collapses.

  2293

  Colonel Worf, grandfather of Worf Rozhenko, defends Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy at their trial for the murder of Klingon chancellor Gorkon. Khitomer Peace Conference, Klingon Empire/Federation (Star Trek VI).

  2323

  Jean-Luc Picard enters Starfleet Academy’s standard four-year program.

  2328

  The Cardassian Empire annexes the Bajoran homeworld.

  2341

  Data enters Starfleet Academy.

  2342

  Beverly Crusher (née Howard) enters Starfleet Academy Medical School, an eight-year program.

  2346

  Romulan massacre of Klingon outpost on Khitomer.

  2351

  In orbit around Bajor, the Cardassians construct a space station that they will later abandon.

  2353

  William T. Riker and Geordi La Forge enter Starfleet Academy.

  2354

  Deanna Troi enters Starfleet Academy.

  2356

  Tasha Yar enters Starfleet Academy.

  2357

  Worf Rozhenko enters Starfleet Academy.

  2363

  Captain Jean-Luc Picard assumes command of U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701-D.

  2367

  Wesley Crusher enters Starfleet Academy.

  An uneasy truce is signed between the Cardassians and the Federation.

  Borg attack at Wolf 359; First Officer Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Sisko and his son, Jake, are among the survivors.

  U.S.S. Enterprise-D defeats the Borg vessel in orbit around Earth.

  2369

  Commander Benjamin Sisko assumes command of Deep Space Nine in orbit over Bajor.

  Source: Star Trek® Chronology / Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda

  CHAPTER

  1

  “Super-Jovian planet ignition,” said the Academy instructor, a man named Pritchard, whose jug-handle ears were each almost as large as his narrow, bony face. “What is it? And why should we care?”

  Without the slightest hesitation, Data raised his hand. His friend Sinna, who was sitting next to him in the Academy’s large, semicircular lecture hall, looked at him and rolled her eyes. No doubt, it seemed to her that he was always the first one to come up with an answer—despite the relative obscurity of the subject.

  Then again, Data was an android, with a positronic brain capable of storing as much information as a fair-sized computer. So it should have come as no surprise to his fellow cadets that he knew a few more things than they did.

  “Mr. Data,” said Pritchard, taking notice of the android’s raised hand. “I see that you, at least, are as prepared as ever.” He cleared his throat. “Well, then?”

  “Super-Jovian planet ignition,” Data declared, “is a process that involves a pair of gas-giant planets on a collision course. One of these bodies must be at least seventy-five times the mass of Jupiter, the other ten or more times Jupiter’s mass. When such worlds come together with sufficient impact, the greater of the two may grow heavy enough to begin fusion and become a new, small star.”

  The instructor nodded approvingly. “Yes. Exactly right. And of what significance is this to us?”

  This time there were a number of hands, Sinna’s among them. But Pritchard’s gaze remained fixed on Data.

  “Go on,” he told the android.


  Sinna grunted softly. The streaks that ran from her temples, behind her ears, and down her neck turned an even deeper shade of blue—further evidence of her frustration. Ignoring his friend, Data provided the response required of him.

  “As Starfleet officers,” he explained, “we may encounter this phenomenon or something similar. At such a time, it will be our responsibility to recognize what is happening and to record it with the appropriate array of sensor instruments. Moreover, a super-Jovian ignition may cause gravitic aberrations in space, creating hazards for starships … and also for planetary populations in the same solar system.”

  The instructor smiled. “Very good, Mr. Data. Very good, indeed. And you will be glad to learn that there will soon be a chance for you to put your theoretical knowledge to the test.”

  The android looked at Pritchard and shook his head. “No, sir,” he said. “I will not be.”

  The instructor’s smile faded a bit. “I don’t think you understand what I’m telling you,” he persisted. “You see, you and everyone else in this room have been selected to take part in the examination of a super-Jovian planet ignition. A real one, mind you,not a holographic recreation. Starfleet is taking the Republic out of mothballs for the occasion … so you can all get some deep-space experience under your belts.”

  All around Data, cadets were grinning and nudging each other enthusiastically. Sinna seemed pleased as well. But the android could not take part in their celebration.

  Nor could he allow Pritchard’s remark to go uncorrected. “I am not glad to learn of the activity you have described,” said Data.

  The instructor looked at him, his wispy eyebrows pinching together. “And why is that?” he inquired.

  “As an android,” he explained, “I am incapable of gladness, just as I am incapable of sorrow, anger, or affection. In fact, I am incapable of any emotion at all.”

  Pritchard sighed and folded his arms across his chest. “Ah, yes. Yes, of course. I am familiar with your troubles in that regard, Mr. Data. I assure you … when I said glad, I intended it only as a figure of speech.”

  The android tilted his head slightly—a habit of his when engaged in an attempt to comprehend human behavior. “I see,” he responded. Understanding spoken language would be so much easier, he mused, if people would only say what they really meant.

  Recognizing idioms had been a particular problem for him since his arrival at the Academy nearly three weeks ago. Indeed, he had been here less than an hour before a fellow cadet generously advised him to “pull up a chair.”

  Data had done exactly as the cadet had suggested. It was only after his action was followed by a round of uproarious laughter that Sinna offered him an explanation. It seemed “pull up a chair” was jargon for “sit down.” Again, a case where humans perversely refused to speak in precise terms.

  Back on the Tripoli, the Starfleet ship that had discovered him in the Omicron Theta system three years earlier, he had had little contact with any crewman but Captain Thorsson. And Thorsson was always careful to use words the android could not misunderstand.

  Even after his departure from the Tripoli, his experience with biological beings had been limited. As a result, he was almost totally unprepared for the onslaught of quirky and unfamiliar words and phrases that the other cadets seemed to employ on a constant basis.

  Unfortunately, this did not work to enhance Data’s chances of being accepted among them. After the “chair” incident, the other cadets appeared to see him as someone different, someone apart—and therefore, to avoid him whenever possible. It was a pity, he thought. After all, he had come to the Academy seeking the companionship of what he believed were his peers.

  Perhaps when one was an artificial life-form, he thought, one could have no peers. Except Sinna, of course. And hers was a most unusual case.

  Data had met Sinna on the transport vessel bearing both of them to the Academy. She was one of four Yann who had been accepted into that year’s freshman class.

  Since the Yann were a clannish race, given to congregating in groups and depending too much on one another’s support, the Academy administrators had seen fit to separate Sinna and her companions as much as possible. Apparently, this was perfectly acceptable to Sinna, who had acquired a measure of independence through her association with the android.

  It was a good thing for Data, too. Without Sinna, he would have had no friends here at all.

  “Well, then,” said Pritchard, “I believe that’s all the time we have for today. But if you’re smart, you’ll study up on the phenomenon you’re about to witness out in space.” He turned to the android. “Except for you, of course, Mr. Data. You obviously know all you need to know about super-Jovian planet ignitions … and just about everything else.”

  The android inclined his head ever so slightly. “Thank you,” he told the instructor—even though he knew Pritchard was wrong.

  There were many things he didn’t know—things that came as easily as breathing to all the other cadets. And at times, he wondered if he would ever be clever enough to learn them.

  It wasn’t long before Data, Sinna, and the rest of their Academy contingent were beamed up to the starship Republic and shown to their quarters by the vessel’s skeleton crew. The idea was that with some fifty cadets aboard, only a handful of real officers would be needed to pilot the Republic and oversee the necessary experiments.

  Within hours, the ship broke its orbit around Earth and took off for Beta Arantialus, the system where the super-Jovian planet in question would soon become a full-fledged star. At slightly more than warp eight, the Republic was slated to complete the journey in four days.

  It was at an after-dinner briefing that Data learned which cadets he would be working with and what experiments they would be conducting. As it turned out, the android’s subgroup would be in charge of recording certain mass-to-energy conversion ratios—as important a job as any other on this voyage.

  However, that was not the news that intrigued Data the most. It was the fact that second-year cadet Glen Majors had been chosen by Captain Clark to lead the subgroup.

  “You know him?" asked Sinna.

  At that moment, Majors was standing on the other side of the briefing room. He was tall and athletic-looking, with thick, dark, wavy hair and a quick, easy smile. He was surrounded by several ranks of admiring first-year cadets—most of them female.

  “We have never met,” Data conceded. “However, I have read a great deal about him. Cadet Majors has set new records in several of the Academy’s academic and physical performance categories. By all accounts, he is destined for a choice spot on one of the fleet’s foremost vessels.”

  Sinna grunted. “Really,” she said. She didn’t appear to be particularly impressed.

  The android, on the other hand, was determined to meet Glen Majors. It seemed to him he could learn a lot from such an accomplished young man.

  However, before Data could carry out his intent, he was approached by a couple of first-year cadets. One was slender, with hair the color of ripe wheat. The other was shorter and powerfully built, with dark eyes and a complexion to match.

  The android had seen both cadets in class, though he had not been introduced to either of them. Apparently, that was about to change.

  “Hi,” said the slender one, smiling warmly at both Data and his companion. “I’m McCall. My friend here is Piazza.”

  “Yes,” the android responded. “I know. I have heard various instructors refer to you by name.”

  Sinna just nodded her head. She didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic to meet these two.

  “And you’re Data,” noted the one called Piazza. He fixed his dark, almost black eyes on the android.

  Data was not surprised that the cadet knew him. He was, after all, the only android in the entire Academy—perhaps in the entire universe.

  “In fact,” he said, “I am Data.” Remembering his manners, he indicated his companion with a gesture. “And this is S
inna. She is a first-year student at the Academy as well.”

  The two cadets turned to the Yanna. “Pleased to meet you, Sinna,” said McCall.

  Sinna eyed him. “Same here,” she answered.

  But even the android could tell that her heart wasn’t in it. He wondered about that.

  Turning back to Data, McCall said, “They tell me you’re an android. Is that true?”

  “Quite true,” Data confirmed.

  “I’ve never met an android before,” the human went on soberly. His brows met over the bridge of his up-turned nose. “What’s it like?” he asked. And then, with even greater intensity, “Being you, I mean?”

  As McCall completed his query, Data saw him dart a sideways glance at Piazza. Piazza glanced back.

  “It is difficult to answer that question,” the android replied honestly. “Having never been anyone else, I have no ready standard for comparison.”

  McCall nodded sagely. “I understand. Maybe I can put it another way, then.” He paused, appearing to weigh his choice of words carefully. Finally, he seemed to have devised the proper phrasing. “When you get hungry, do you prefer to eat raw metals … or alloys? And do you prefer them with condiments or without?"

  Data looked at him. Apparently, this individual knew very little about androids. But then, he was hardly alone in that regard.

  “First of all,” he answered, “I do not get hungry, though I may sometimes eat when others are eating for the sake of sociability. For the purpose of nutrition, I occasionally ingest a semiorganic nutrient suspension in a silicon-based liquid medium. However, I have never felt the need to sample either metals or alloys, nor do I indulge in condiments of any sort.”

  Piazza cleared his throat. Data glanced at him but saw that the cadet’s discomfort was only momentary.

  “And what about rest?” asked McCall. “You feel the need to catch a few winks now and then, don’t you?”

  “If by winks you are referring to sleep,” the android explained, “then I do not seem to feel such a need. My systems are efficient enough that they do not require downtime. However, I could mimic sleep by slowing down my various functions … that is, if I were motivated to do so.”