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

cult following on the Internet.”
    Zoe beamed, clearly flattered. “So, what did you think?”
    “To be honest, they were a little far-out for my tastes.” He called up one of her online exposés on the computer terminal. “You really think Khan Noonien Singh is still alive?”
    A notorious dictator, Khan had wielded consider-able power back in the nineties. At the height of his influence, he was said to have been the de facto ruler of large portions of India, South Asia, and the Middle East. He had been overthrown in ’96—about the same time the DY-100 had disappeared, come to think of it. That had been a pretty tumultuous year.
    “Maybe. They never found his body, you know—at least, not that it could be reliably determined. What’s more, according to my research, some eighty of his closest advisers and followers remain unaccounted for.”
    Shaun hadn’t heard that before. “Where do youthink they are? Tora Bora? A luxury estate in Kashmir?”
    “Haven’t figured that out yet,” she admitted. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll find them waiting for us out by Saturn.”
    “I wouldn’t count on that,” he said. “Although you certainly have a vivid imagination, I’ll give you that.”
    She grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
    The timer beeped.
    “That’s it,” he announced. “You’re done for the day.”
    “Thank God!” She switched off the treadmill and unhooked the harness. “My feet are killing me. They’re not used to supporting all that weight, you know.”
    “Don’t remind me.” His feet always felt positively raw when he got on the treadmill. He traded places with Zoe and strapped himself in. Back in orbit around Earth, he had once jogged in place for a full ninety minutes, just so he could say that he had literally run around the entire planet. He flicked the treadmill on. It felt as if he was walking on a bed of nails.
    And he still had an hour to go!
    “Oh, my poor little piggies.” She peeled off her socks and sneakers. Floating free, she massaged her aching feet. “Hey, Skipper, since we’re finally opening up and all, mind if I ask you a personal question?”
    “Not about Area 51, I hope.”
    “Nah, although don’t think for a minute that I’ve given up on that angle.” She wiped off her sweaty face and limbs with a towel. “This is just for my own curiosity. Off the record.”
    He started to pick up the pace. “Okay, shoot.”
    “What’s the story with you and Fontana?”
    Whoa! He missed a step but quickly recovered. “What do you mean? We’re just colleagues, that’s all.”
    Once again, that wasn’t entirely the truth. He and Alice had conducted a discreet affair more than a year ago, shortly after his divorce, but had broken things off before it could get in the way of the mission. Ever since the Lisa Nowak scandal of 2007, NASA had frowned on excessive “fraternization” between astronauts. No way would they have both been assigned to this mission had the higher-ups known about their prior relationship.
    “Uh-huh. Right.” Zoe scrutinized the jogging astronaut. “I’ve been watching you two. There’s a definite vibe there. I’ve seen the way you look at each other when you think nobody’s looking and how awkward it is whenever you accidentally touch each other. ’Fess up, Skipper. You two practicing orbital maneuvers on the sly?”
    Damn, Shaun thought. He had to give her points for observational skills, not that he intended to share his private life with a nosy reporter. Off the record or not, that was between him and Fontana. “Like I said before, you have a vivid imagination.”
    “But I also like to get my facts straight.” She deposited the towel in a sealed hamper. “Seriously, what’s the scoop? I mean, I know that the doc is happily married and all, but you really expect me to believethat you and Fontana aren’t getting busy on this trip? It’s a long way to Saturn and back.”
    Shaun hoped that zero g didn’t make blushing