Chain of Attack Read Free

implacable wall of logic.
    Then, abruptly, another shudder rippled through the Enterprise , not as powerful as the first but enough to send both of Crandall's hands clutching at the padded railing.
    "What—" he began, but before he could get a second word out, Spock was checking his instruments and reporting.
    "The field strength has decreased to zero, Captain."
    "It's gone, Spock? The area of turbulence has disappeared?"
    "Precisely, Captain."
    "And the so-called anomaly at its center?"
    "Unknown, Captain. I would suggest dispatching another probe."
    Kirk considered a moment before turning to face the viewscreen again. "Take us back to within probe range, Mr. Sulu. Warp factor two."
    "Warp factor two, sir."
    "Any indication of renewed turbulence, Mr. Spock?" Kirk asked, his own eyes fastened to the forward viewscreen.
    "None, Captain."
    Finally they were once more within one hundred thousand kilometers of the anomaly, and Spock's fingers were moving unerringly across the controls of the auxiliary panel that was linked to the probes. As before, the probe would be beamed to within five thousand kilometers of the anomaly using the cargo transporter. From that point, it would proceed under its own impulse power into the anomaly.
    Even so, several minutes went by before Spock looked up from the controls.
    "The so-called anomaly has vanished, too, Captain."
    "And what does that mean, Spock?" Crandall cut in. During the seemingly interminable wait, he had alternately stood and paced, fidgeting and frowning impatiently all the while.
    "It means precisely what I said, Doctor," Spock said. "The anomaly associated with this particular area of gravitational turbulence appears to have vanished at the same time as the turbulence itself."
    "What about the others? There are a dozen others nearby, aren't there?"
    "There were fifteen in all, Doctor. There is no way of knowing their status without traveling to the vicinity of each and checking."
    "Well, what are you waiting for?" Crandall demanded.
    "Captain?"
    "Your opinion, Mr. Spock?" Kirk asked.
    "It would seem logical to check at least one of those we have already visited, Captain, to see if the disappearance is limited to this one anomaly."
    Crandall heaved a sigh of annoyed relief. "And if it's gone, too, then I assume we will be heading back to the Federation. It seems to me, considering the total lack of useful results obtained so far, we have wasted quite enough time on this project. Kirk?"
    "As you have said, Dr. Crandall, you are an observer," Kirk said, his tone nearly as neutral and precise as Spock's. Then, turning back to the forward viewscreen: "Lay in a course that will take us to all six previously visited anomalies, Mr. Sulu. And Mr. Spock, keep an eye on those new instruments. We don't want another unscheduled trip."
    "Of course, Captain," Spock said, and a moment later Sulu acknowledged that the requested course had been laid in.
    "Cautiously, then, Mr. Sulu. Warp factor two."
    "Warp factor two, Captain."
    On the forward viewscreen, the distant Shapley Center slid to one side and vanished as the Enterprise turned and aligned itself for its new destination. In a few seconds, only the scattered stars of the outer edge of the Sagittarius arm of the galaxy could be seen, and beyond them the faint band of light that was the Orion arm, one tiny patch of which held all the stars within the Federation.
    "How long will this—this exercise in futility take, Kirk?" Crandall snapped, a new level of hostility evident in his voice.
    "The original observations were scheduled to take three standard weeks."
    "But if there's nothing left to observe—"
    "Then perhaps it will take somewhat less time."
    " Perhaps? Good Lord, man, do you mean to say—"
    "I mean only to say," Kirk cut in, "that this disappearance merely deepens the mystery surrounding the nature of these anomalies, and that I can see no reason to cut short our mission until we have learned all that we possibly