“But do we have the right to reinterpret the Prime Directive?” Vale asked. “If the rules are going to be changed, isn’t that for Starfleet Command and the Federation Council to take up? There’s a reason why the Directive uses space travel as its standard. It says something about a species’ readiness to accept the idea of being part of a larger cosmos, their curiosity about other forms of life, their ability to reach out to them. However advanced the squales’ biotech may be, the idea of space travel is totally new to them. It could be generations before they’re ready to cope with it.”
Suddenly Lavena wore a knowing smile beneath her suit visor. “Commander, I think you should come down to Droplet. There’s something Melo mentioned to me that I really think you should see.”
Lavena’s invitation extended to Riker, Ra-Havreii, and Pazlar as well as Vale. Christine was uneasy about leaving the ship without both its command officers, but Riker assured her that they would be safe in squale…tentacles. She wanted to convince the captain to stay behind, continue recuperating, and spend time with his family, but she could tell that Lavena’s little secret had fired his curiosity and nothing would stop him.
Their destination was one of the woodlike lattice structures that the squales used as secure facilities. They found that the top spiral of the lattice had been bred to fold open in response to a vocal command, irising out in an intricate, flower-petal pattern that was beautiful and stunning to see on such a scale.
The aquashuttle wouldn’t fit in there, of course, so the visitors donned scuba gear to dive in—all save Lavena, who went in nude save for a combadge choker and wrist tricorder. Hardly regulation, but everyone except Ra-Havreii seemed to be taking it in stride. They were accompanied by Melo, the leader of the astronomy pod Lavena had bonded with, and by another pod leader from a bioengineering group, but not the one Lavena and Riker had dealt with before. Reportedly this pod specialized in breeding life forms devoted to meteorological and astronomical research, such as the “weather balloon” creatures that had first tipped the crew off to the squales’ sentience. Lavena had dubbed this squale Anidel after a famous astronomer from her world.
Once Vale dove into the water and her vision cleared, the object of their journey came into view. It was a large conical structure, over four meters high. Its surface was a honeycomb lattice of hard, whitish material, the holes filled with a smooth translucent substance. It tapered to an elongated spire at the top, and four large fins were evenly spaced around its lower perimeter. It reminded Vale of the silica shell of a protistan organism she’d once seen under a microscope. Beneath the conical “shell” bulged four large spheroids, with pulsing tubes leading into them from parts unknown.
“What is it?” asked Riker. But the squales remained silent. “Lieutenant?”
It took a moment for Lavena to realize he was talking to her. “I’ll tell you if you order me, sir…but I think they want you to figure it out for yourselves.”
It was hard to tell through the scuba mask, but Vale was sure Riker was grinning. “I enjoy a challenge. Commander Pazlar?”
Melora had been glancing at the squale Lavena had named in her honor, or perhaps glaring. She had initially been flattered to learn that Lavena had named a pod leader after her, until Lavena had demurred that they had little in common beyond profession—with Melo being much more good-natured. Now, the Elaysian refocused on her work, bringing her wrist tricorder to bear. “The shell is of a dense organic polymer of some kind.”
“The clear parts of the shell seem to be a polymer resin,” Ra-Havreii added a few moments later.
“The interior appears to be filled with the same oxygenated fluid used in the lifepods,” Melora reported.
Riker swam up and gazed through the translucent ports. “It’s hollow, all right. No sign of internal organs—maybe in the lower part. And there seems to be…algae growing on the inner surface.” He played his helmet light over it. “It’s green…. Photosynthetic?”
“Yes,” Pazlar confirmed.
“The creature has an interesting nervous system,” Ra-Havreii reported. “The wattage is surprisingly high. You could power a light panel with it, which is more than you can say for the humanoid brain.”
Vale swam to the upper portion, which bulged out slightly before tapering to the spire. The honeycomb cells were smaller here, and she realized they spiraled down, growing larger as they went, as in many natural shell formations. But there was a discontinuity in the shell pattern. “There’s some sort of valve here—several plates of that dense polymer that seem to open outward. Maybe ‘hatch’ is a better word.”
Melora’s eyes were wide under her scuba mask. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Don’t tempt me,” Vale answered.
“What do you mean?” Ra-Havreii asked.
“Melora,” Vale went on, “what can you tell about the pods at the bottom?”
The science officer swam down to scan them. “They’re made of a more flexible biological material, but they’re still very thick-skinned. I think…yes…they seem to be designed to contain fluids under very high pressure, complete with interior baffles. These conduits seem to be for filling the tanks…. Must use peristalsis to build up pressure.” She looked to Lavena. “Do we have to guess what they’re for, or will you tell us that?”
“Well, once they’re fully grown,” Aili said after a brief exchange with the squales, “two will be filled with oxygen and the other two with hydrogen.”
“My god,” Vale whispered, gazing at the conical shape of the object.
“What is it?” asked Ra-Havreii, still not seeing it.
Vale’s response was preempted by Riker’s awed laughter. “This is fantastic!”
“Will someone tell me what it is?”
Still laughing, Riker crowed, “It’s a baby space capsule!”