Death of a Neutron Star - Eric Kotani [40]
"Well," Janeway said. "I felt I needed to warn you and your crew, so that you might get ready.
Well be glad to help you if such an attempt is made."
"If what you say is true, we could use all the help we can get," Fedr said. "We are outfitted as a research craft. We would stand no chance against the Qborne."
"Fine," Janeway said. "Consider us your protector until we need to get out of here ahead of the explosion. After that, you're on your own."
Captain Fedr actually smiled again. "Thank you, Captain Janeway." He started to cut the connection when Dr. Janss said something from off screen.
"Oh, Captain," Fedr said, "my chief physicist wants to know if you are going to try to alter the course of the neutron star yourself. And if so, how
Janeway laughed. "If we think it will work, and save those inhabited systems, we're going to try. Right now our plan is to use the warp core on the Qavok prince's yacht."
Captain Fedr stared at her for a moment; then he burst into laughter.
"Captain," he said between chuckles, "I like you more and more every minute."
"Same here," Janeway said, finding herself almost laughing along with the Xorm. "I will be in touch."
She motioned for Harry to cut the connection, and then she turned around.
Her entire bridge crew was smiling, except, of course, Tuvok.
"He's got quite a laugh," Harry said.
"Infectious," Chakotay said.
"That it is," Janeway said, still fighting not to burst out laughing. "That it is."
"THREE HOURS AND FIFTY MINUTES REMAINING," THE computer said as the last of the senior officers filed into the meeting room.
Janeway was privately beginning to regret having ordered the countdown. Whenever the computer reminded them of the time, the knot in her stomach twisted again, pulling at her insides like a monster eating at her. They had to find a way to solve this.
She forced herself to try to relax as she waited until everyone was settled. Everyone was present except Tom-who was remaining in the pilot's chair until this was all over-and the two Lekk passengers. Janeway had excluded them because she had wanted only crew in this meeting, so they could speak as freely as possible.
"Reports?" she said.
B'Elanna shifted forward on her chair. She had a black smudge on her cheek and another on her shoulder. "The yacht has more problems than I care to count," she said. "Bad design, bad construction, and really bad maintenance, for starters. But the good news is that the warp core is intact and functioning. I think I can get their ion drive up and running enough to fly the thing down into the star."
"Shields?" Janeway asked.
"Never had much to begin with, but what it had is there and operating. One of the only things that is. I can install enough shields to last as long as we need them to."
"Good," Janeway said. Then she turned to Seven expectantly.
"The yacht's warp core is insufficient to cause the desired results we need to effect a change in the explosion of the secondary neutron star."
"What?" Janeway said, rocking back as if the news had just slapped her.
And in a way it had.
She had been counting on using that yacht.
"Please explain," Chakotay asked.
"The warp core of the Qavok yacht," Seven said, "is approximately four times smaller than our main warp core on Voyager. The resulting explosion when the tidal forces of the binary breach the core-will not be sufficient to change the time of the final binary disruption by two point three nine milliseconds."
Seven sat there, impassionately, seeming to wait for the next question. But Janeway didn't know what the next question was.
"How short will we be?" Chakotay asked.
"Short enough to send the star through five inhabited systems," Seven said, "and solidly into the Alpha Quadrant many millennia in the future."
"There's no way that is going to happen," Jane-way said.