Crisis of Consciousness Read Online Free PDF

confer with his chief engineer, whom he quickly updated.
    “Well , ” Scott said, “that explains it. Most systems are down, and I surely won’t be able to get external sensors working while those devils’re there . ”
    “We’ll need internal sensors. Then we need to reroute battery power to the cargo transporters,” Kirk said. “Mister Spock will provide the details.” He motioned to Spock, who moved to Uhura’s station with a data card, while Kirk returned to the command chair.
    “I am so sorry for all this, Captain,” Pippenge said. His tone, even through the universal translator, was marbled with regret.
    “Did you have any idea that this could happen, Ambassador?” Kirk looked at Pippenge sidelong, a hard stare which was meant to elicit the truth.
    “My word, I did not .”
    He was believable, the captain decided for the third time. But having been fooled by others in the past, he kept searching Pippenge’s manner and determining that the Maabas ambassador was forthright.
    “Captain?” Spock called from Uhura’s station. “Mister Scott will be ready to proceed momentarily.”
    “Aye, but one question, sir . ”
    Kirk thumbed the intercom on the arm of his chair. “Go ahead, Mister Scott.”
    “Where do you want them beamed? Out into space with wide dispersion or into fatal orbit around the star?”
    The captain had already pondered that question and knew exactly where he wanted the Kenisian amplifiers. “Neither,” he said. “Hold them in the buffers.”
    Silence. Kirk imagined Scott’s eyes had widened a bit. After a moment, the engineer confirmed the order. “In the buffers, sir. That’ ll take some doing if we don’t want ’em to degrade in the process . ”
    “They can degrade—after we study them.” Kirk glanced toward Spock to confirm his science officer would be able to glean the information from the transporter circuits.
    The Vulcan nodded once.
    “Aye, sir. Stand by . ” In the background, Kirk could hear Scott ordering someone to bypass a troublesome circuit. There was a brief silence, then the soft clicking of controls and a slight dimming of the power of bridge lights and consoles alike. “We’re ready, Captain . ”
    Kirk pulled in a long breath and let it out with one word. “Energize.”
    Over the intercom, Kirk could hear the hum of the cargo transporter. It was a slightly different sound than the personnel system. Designed for items of larger bulk and not confined to a small circular pad, the cargo transporter used more power. Some people who’d traveled by it said it was on the harsh side—not painful, exactly, but clearly not usually meant for living matter. Kirk had experienced it himself but hadn’t noticed a difference. Perhaps it was just one of those old salts’ tales.
    As the hum diminished, Scott’s voice rang out more clearly than before. “Transport complete, sir. We have them in the buffer . ”
    Already there was an apparent change. The lights had come back to full strength, and the ship sounded herself again.
    “All sensors are back on line,” Spock reported as the main viewscreen returned to a starscape view.
    “Mister Chekov, target the source of that dampening field.”
    “Torpedoes, locked.”
    “Fire,” Kirk ordered without hesitation.
    Enterprise spat forth two orange orbs of power that slammed into the bottom of the Kenisian ship and sizzled along its shields.
    “Phasers. Fire.”
    Blue bars of energy connected Enterprise ’s phaser banks to the underside of the other vessel. The explosions from the torpedoes had disrupted their shields enough that the phaser beams broke through, and a small explosion erupted from the Kenisian ship’s belly.
    Spock lifted his head from his scanner cowl. “I am no longer reading the dampening field emanating from their vessel.”
    “I hope they can’t repair them,” Chekov said.
    Kirk nodded his agreement as he rose and pushed himself toward the upper bridge. “Correct me if I’m wrong,