Dark Matters_ Cloak and Dagger (Book 1) - Christie Golden [51]
"It's running a parallel course inside our shields. They must have approached us and gotten in by dropping to an extremely slow speed. We didn't even detect a blip from the computer," said Kim.
"And even if we had, we wouldn't have trusted it," said Janeway.
"The dark matter readings are extremely high," Kim continued. "It could be damaging our shield ca-
pabilities. Who knows what such a large concentration of it could do?"
"We've got to get rid of it. Janeway to sickbay. How's that autopsy coming?"
"Slowly and carefully" the Doctor replied. "Even more slowly when you interrupt."
"Learned anything?" Janeway ignored the EMH's sarcasm.
"Death was attributable to suicide. The centurion ingested a philotostan chip. The dark matter had spread throughout his system, but it had not yet built up fatal concentrations in the tissue. Not that we know how much concentration proves to be fatal yet. The dark matter has utterly ravaged all his systems. Death by massive organ failure was not far away, and it appears that any pain control systems were the first attacked. He suffered throughout the entire ordeal."
Janeway felt a pang of sorrow for the late centurion. He was an enemy, but no one deserved to die like that. She tightened her mouth. Nobody under her command was going to surfer the same fate, if she had anything to do with it.
"In your professional opinion, would it be hazardous for anyone infected with the dark matter to transport off the ship?" she asked, changing the subject.
"At this point, taking a shower might be hazardous for anyone infected with the dark matter," the Doctor replied tartly. "We simply don't know. I am operating, if you will pardon the pun, in the dark. Dr. R'Mor? Your advice?"
"Telek R'Mor here, Captain. You will recall that earlier I told you that dark matter reacts in a completely unpredictable manner. However, in our tests, centurions with dark-matter personal shielding, such as the ones in sickbay, had transported to and from vessels at short range with no ill effects. Of course," he added heavily, "that was before we knew that dark matter had ill effects."
"Would environmental suits delay any infection?" Janeway asked.
"I doubt it Remember, the dark matter particles routinely pass easily through solid matter in their natural state. Even forcefields probably have only limited efficacy."
Janeway took a deep bream, thinking. "We'll have to take the risk. Chakotay, I want you to take Ensign Yorik and beam over to mat scoutship. I'd send Torres, but we need her here right now. The ship needs to be disabled."
"Aye, Captain." Chakotay's face betrayed no hint of reluctance, despite the fact that no one knew for certain what would happen during beam-out. Janeway clung to the hope Telek had offered, mat no ill effects had been observed when experiments had been conducted back in Romulan space.
Of course, that was before we knew that dark matter had ill effects....
Janeway shook off the Romulan's ominous last comment She couldn't afford to think about it. They all had jobs to do.
Chakotay nodded to Yorik as the Vulcan entered and lightly stepped onto the platform. He took a deep breath, ordered, "Energize," and hoped for the best.
He and Yorik materialized in the cargo area of a small scoutship. They'd checked to make sure that life-support was functional before they beamed over, of course; however, most of the lights were out and he was glad they'd brought wristlights. He shone a beam around. The console loomed up, dark and brooding like a hidden beast. What illumination came from various stations was blue and murky. He tapped his combadge. Ensign Yorik stepped forward and began to examine the console.
"Chakotay to bridge. We made it safely. Vorik's trying to shed some light on the subject, but--"
Suddenly the console sparked. Yorik grunted and stumbled backward, clutching his face.
Everything went black.
CHAPTER 11
"CHAKOTAY?"
Silence greeted Janeway. "Kim, what's going