The talk of the Devil brought Chekov no reassurance. His first visit to Argelius II had been a dozen years earlier, on shore leave from the Enterprise after a series of stressful missions. The visit had been very… well, “relaxing” was hardly the word, but quite pleasant and fulfilling for a twenty-two-year-old ensign on his first visit to a hedonistic society. He had gone down to the surface in a shore party including Lieutenant Uhura, who had promptly lit out on her own pursuits, as they had not yet become more than casual friends. It had been a rewarding but blurry few days—at least for Chekov. Uhura had also seemed highly satisfied when he had seen her again at the transporter station, but he had respected her privacy. However, once they returned to the Enterprise, they had been shocked to discover that the vessel had been invaded in their absence by a murderous incorporeal entity calling itself Redjac, which claimed to have been Jack the Ripper and other infamous serial killers from history—or rather, to have possessed and controlled their bodies, as it had possessed a local administrator who had killed several Argelian women as well as Karen Tracy, a medical technician Chekov had been rather fond of. Naturally, Captain Kirk and Mister Spock had managed to save the day, beaming the entity’s deceased host body into open space on wide dispersal. Chekov hadn’t been sure if he was glad or sorry to have missed it, given that most of his crewmates were still coming down from the tranquilizer high Doctor McCoy had put them on to starve the entity of the fear that sustained it. Lieutenant Sulu seemed to have had nearly as good a time at the helm station as Chekov had on the planet.

But who could really say what it would take to kill an incorporeal entity that had survived for centuries? Chekov knew from his recent experience with the Spectres that it was possible to kill such an entity while it was joined to a humanoid host, but Redjac had evidently been able to jump between hosts far more readily—even possessing the Enterprise computer for a time. What if dispersing its transporter beam had only weakened it temporarily? Could these disruptions affecting multiple ships near Argelius be a sign of its restoration?

Chekov reined in his imagination. He was Reliant’s chief science officer; his job was to formulate hypotheses based on evidence, not speculation and old fears. Soon they would have more information about the nature of the disruptions, and Chekov could practically hear Spock’s voice in his head reminding him to take the time to fill the gaps in his knowledge with data rather than hastening to fill them with conjecture.

Indeed, it was only moments more before Kyle was able to clear up the signal interference. “Argelius II Orbital Control coming through now, sir,” he reported.

Terrell nodded. “On screen.” He turned to the main viewscreen.