following us, something huge. It must be what we
passed near when we came out of leap. It looks like a Ghost, like those
pictures you brought back, but it's four times that size! It's as big
as a damned planet, yet it's pacing us, watching our every move and
slowly gaining!"
71 "See if you can patch through to the main view screen up
here," North ordered.
72 "Working on it, sir." A couple of times a hazy picture began to form
on the screen and then blink out. Finally, it
came on clear and sharp.
73 "Oh, my God!" gasped Helm. North could understand his outburst.
74 "Put a size grid on that thing," ordered North, "so we can get some
idea of its size. Put a ship of our class under it for comparison. "
There WAS NO COMPARISON! The other vessel, if it could be called that,
dwarfed their ship, making it look like a tiny toy in comparison.
75 Suddenly North began to hear voices inside his head. They sounded a
little like his command link, but were much clearer.
76 "We're close enough to scan, Commander," someone was saying, "we
appear to have done them little damage, but some of the crew has
sustained injuries. All our circuits are functional now. Those crewmen
who were not at their stations are functional. Our shields are
up, and we no longer have any effect on their progress. It is like we
are not even here. We are visible though, and they must see
us. Shall we expend enough energy to become invisible?"
77 "I think it's a little late for that," the soft spoken Commander
answered. "I sense another's presence. Could one of them hear us?"
78 "Sir, this is impossible," announced North's Navigator, "that thing
HAS to be there, but it doesn't