Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Paul Ruditis is the author of many licensed fiction and nonfiction companion books, from Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Star Trek and Bones, among others. He lives in Burbank, California.

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Shockwave

Pocket Books

Chapter One

Enterprise sailed toward the planet at low warp, setting an almost leisurely pace in keeping with the mood of the crew. Even though only a portion of them had been able to take part in the recent shore leave on Risa -- the self-proclaimed pleasure planet -- the mood of relaxation had been contagious. Throughout the ship, people were considerably less stressed and actually appeared to be enjoying the often repetitive tasks of maintaining the ship as it traveled through space. Of course it helped that no one had fired upon the ship in several days.

In their current mission, making contact with a new species was primarily the responsibility of the senior staff, while the rest of the crew continued their day-to-day work, eagerly anticipating data regarding the latest alien interaction. Once the data began streaming in, their fun began. Each department would glean bits of information most suited to its field of study and then examine it, learn from it, and prepare a report. The reports would be logged, compiled, and forwarded to Starfleet, where the folks back home would have their own fun. Being on the front line of exploring new worlds and new civilizations made even the lowest ranking crewmembers beam with pride over the importance of even the most menial of jobs.

True, there had been some awkward first contacts, the Klingons and the Andorians came to mind. Despite his crew's best efforts, the Klingons had been downright hostile. The Andorians dubbed the humans "pinkskins" and judged them guilty by association, but they seemed to be thawing...a little. The same could not be said of the race that was humanity's very first alien encounter, the Vulcans.

Captain Jonathan Archer thought over those first contact situations as he walked through the corridors of Enterprise. Their next mission promised to be almost as relaxing as the recent R&R had been -- or, he hoped, even more so considering his visit to Risa had ended rather abruptly.

Archer always looked forward to the thrill of making contact with new alien races even more than the rest of his crew did, although he tried not let it show through the professional air expected of all Starfleet captains. It was often difficult for him to keep in mind that with every thing he said and every move he made, he was representing the entire populace of Earth. It was daunting to say the least.

"Mornin', Captain," Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker said as he and Sub-Commander T'Pol caught up with Archer as they passed the mess hall.

"Sir." The Vulcan nodded her greeting.

"Good morning," he replied. "Have all the preparations been made?"

"Yes, sir," T'Pol replied. "We should be entering the star system shortly."

"They don't have a problem with us dropping by?" Archer asked as he entered his private mess followed by the officers. Stepping up to the serving station, he poured coffee for himself and Trip. Archer then poured T'Pol her mug of hot water and noted silently as she added a slice of lemon.

"Living dangerously?" teased Trip.

As the ranking officers on Enterprise, the trio had grown into a rather comfortable and sometimes even informal working relationship. Archer and Trip had been friends for years and quite often fell into casual banter when discussing official business. However, as a Vulcan, T'Pol had been much slower to understand the benefits of such a friendly, informal atmosphere, but had been gradually coming around as she grew more comfortable with the erratically emotional crew.

"On the contrary." T'Pol ignored Trip's teasing and continued her report. "The operations supervisor said they haven't had visitors in nearly six months."

A sly smile came to Trip's face. "Is it really a matriarchal society?" The grin broadened as his mind played over the full implications of his question. "Do the women make all the decisions?"

"Until recently," T'Pol explained, apparently without noticing the subtext in Trip's sudden interest in the colony's hierarchical structure. "But in the last decade, the Paraagan males have made great strides to acquire equal rights."

Accepting his own cup of coffee from the captain, Trip conspiratorially added under his breath, "Still, it'd probably be best if we didn't get too flirtatious."

"Probably," Archer agreed, knowing that the odds of his chief engineer making such a breech in protocol with the colony's leaders were slim, but probably higher than the possibility that he would do such. Back to the topic at hand, Archer was impressed by the accomplishments of the society they were about to visit. "I read that the colony started off twenty years ago with just thirty miners and now there are over three thousand. They have schools, landscaped communities, and even some kind of museum."

The three officers took their seats around the table, their empty breakfast plates waiting to be filled. They often dined together in the captain's mess, and their places had already been set for them as their meal was being prepared by Chef.

Trip considered the accomplishments of the Paraagans. "You think twenty years from now there'll be Earth colonies out this far? Human kids growing up on 'New Sausalito'?"

Archer thought over the idea while a flood of possibilities flashed through his mind. Their mission could easily involve discovering those suitable environments in which Earth could expand its borders into space. Early human exploration had always been motivated by the search for new land. Though Starfleet's interests were primarily scientific, it wasn't too much of a jump to add territorial concerns to the list.

"If my father was alive, he wouldn't doubt it for a minute," Archer said, referring to the man who had introduced him to the concept of space exploration, inspired his interests, and helped nurture them. "We're making history with..."

"...with every light-year," Trip continued the sentiment in unison with his captain and friend. "You know, I think I've heard you say that at least half a dozen times."

Archer was a bit embarrassed at being caught in his inspired ramblings. He took an almost gleeful pride at being given the opportunity to live out his dream, and his father's as well. It certainly wasn't his fault that every now and then he was awestruck by the enormity of what his crew was doing. The first humans to travel so far out into space, visiting new planets. How many other people woke up this morning to prepare for a meeting with a new race of people?

The com chirped, rousing Archer from his thoughts. Getting up from his chair, he took a few steps to the companel on the wall and pressed a button to make contact with whoever was paging him. "Archer here," he said into the air.

"The Paraagans have given us clearance to enter orbit," Ensign Mayweather's voice came over the com system.

"Have you received their landing protocols?" T'Pol asked from her seat.

"They're coming in now," Mayweather confirmed.

"We're on our way," Archer replied.

Trip and T'Pol were immediately out of their chairs.

"I hate meeting new people on an empty stomach," Trip said, looking down at the still empty plates.

"Perhaps you can find a Paraagan male willing to prepare you a substantial meal," T'Pol suggested, implying that she hadn't entirely missed the sexist undertones of the earlier part of the conversation.

Archer enjoyed seeing Trip caught off guard by her comment. He remembered how difficult things had been when she was first assigned to join them on...