Free Star Trek: The Rings of Time by Greg Cox Page A

knew where exactly C/2018 had been and what secrets it might hold? Past comets had been found to contain complex organic compounds, including amino acids. Nobody had discovered life on a comet yet, butthe possibility was there. If nothing else, Sacagawea might provide clues to determine whether C/2018 was from the Kuiper Belt, the Oort Cloud, or someplace farther out in space. It might even prove to be that rare comet that was just passing through the solar system on its way out to interstellar space. If it was on a truly hyperbolic orbit, it might never pass this way again.
    All the more reason to check it out when we can, Shaun thought. “You set, Doc?”
    “ Sacagawea is in position,” O’Herlihy reported. “No orbital adjustments appear to be needed at this time. It should intercept C/2018 in approximately eighty-five minutes. We can initiate landing procedures then, assuming that—what the devil?”
    Before their eyes, the comet suddenly veered to the left.
    “Crap!” Fontana exclaimed. “Is it supposed to be able to do that?”
    “No!” O’Herlihy frantically worked the LIDAR controls, trying to keep it locked on the detouring comet. “It was following a standard elliptical orbit, more or less. This should not be happening!”
    Zoe flew toward the windows for a better look. She typed more notes into her tablet, then held it up to take a picture. “Holy cow. This trip is getting better and better.”
    Shaun was glad somebody felt that way. For himself, he was getting tired of the impossible biting them in the butt. “Talk to me, Doc. What the hell is that thing doing?”
    “It’s changing course, away from Sacagawea, and slowing down.”The shocked scientist stared at his monitors. “It’s heading in toward the planet, avoiding the rings.” He shook his head, looking even more flabbergasted than when he had detected the stowaway aboard. Awe reduced his voice to a whisper. “It’s not behaving like a proper comet at all, more like . . .”
    “A UFO?” Zoe winked at Shaun. “What do you think, Skipper? Friends of your dad?”
    Fontana look askance at Shaun. “You told her about that?” She knew what Zoe was referring to, of course. Shaun had shared that colorful bit of family history with Fontana back when they were dating. “Don’t be ridiculous,” the copilot snapped at Zoe. “There must be a sensible explanation for this.”
    “Like what?” Zoe asked.
    Fontana groped for a response. “Maybe the same thing that’s affecting the rings?”
    Whatever that is, Shaun thought, scowling. He wanted answers, not more mysteries. “Where is it heading, Doc?”
    “It seems to be heading for . . . the north pole of the planet.”
    “You mean the hexagon,” Zoe said.
    “Possibly,” O’Herlihy admitted, with a distinctly pained expression. “At least, that general vicinity.”
    Zoe let go of her tablet, which remained floating within reach, and rubbed her hands together gleefully. “The plot thickens.”
    “Tell me about it,” Shaun said. Their carefully planned operation, meticulously worked out by NASA and its international partners, had just gone out the proverbial window. Sacagawea, waiting in orbit for its celestial rendezvous, had been stood up. C/2018 had ditched them, almost as though it was on a mission of its own. Careful, he warned himself, you’re starting to think like Zoe.
    But maybe that wasn’t entirely a bad idea. Their mission had just gotten a whole lot stranger and more exciting. Perhaps it was time to start thinking outside the box.
    “Set a course for the north pole,” he instructed. “We’re going after that comet.”
    Fontana stared at him as if he had lost his mind. “But that’s not part of the mission plan.”
    He couldn’t blame her for being startled. NASA flights were not improvised. Every task and maneuver had been plotted out months, if not years, in advance, especially where dangerous new objectives were concerned. Hell, there had been ten trial runs