Death of a Neutron Star - Eric Kotani [61]
The tractor beam settled the shuttle safely onto the shuttlebay deck with a slight thump. Tyla sat silent for a moment in the co-pilot's chair as beside her Tuvok shut down the last of the shuttle systems.
After he was finished, she said, "Thank you for allowing us to help."
Tuvok nodded. "You were logical choices."
Tyla smiled.
She climbed from the chair and a few moments later was heading down the hallway toward sickbay. She'd been with Dr. Maalot so long, she was actually starting to like the physicist. And when the shock wave had sent him against that bulkhead and knocked him unconscious, she was worried for his safety.
Very worried.
Then suddenly he had disappeared from the shuttle-"beamed," as they put it, to sickbay. And at that moment she understood, finally, how she had been so easily captured during her stupid escape attempt.
A dozen people were sitting on the floor of the sickbay, holding an arm or a bandaged leg, apparently waiting their turn. The few beds were full and a bald-headed human was efficiently moving around the tables.
"Please state the nature of your medical emergency," he said, glancing up at her as she entered.
"Just here to check on the condition of Dr. Maalot," she said. "I am not injured."
"Well," the Doctor said, "thank you for that." He shook his head in seeming amazement, then pointed over his shoulder. "He's on the first bed. Nothing serious."
Tyla felt a sense of relief at that news.
She moved over to where Dr. Maalot lay, his eyes closed. As she approached, he smiled weakly. "Thanks for coming to check up on me, Lieutenant."
"We've been together too long now to have something happen this close to the end."
"Did we stop the Qavok?"
"Completely," Tyla said, smiling. "Captain Jane-way sent the prince's yacht right into the middle of them, set to blow up." She loved the irony of that solution.
Dr. Maalot sat up, looking almost shocked. "With the energy container on board?"
Tyla nodded, still smiling. "None of the Qavok captains wanted to get in trouble by destroying their prince's yacht. Janeway just floated it right out into the middle of them, hailed them to tell them it was their reward, and then blew it up. Wonderful, just wonderful."
Maalot laughed, then moaned and lay back down, still smiling. "It seems," he said, "that your stealing the yacht saved our planet."
Tyla stopped smiling. She didn't like the idea of being considered any sort of hero. She had simply been doing her job.
Dr. Maalot didn't seem to notice her change of mood. He just went on. "It's just too bad that now Janeway won't be able to trigger the exploding neutron star and get its primary companion out of the galaxy safely. Too bad for a number of worlds along the way."
Tyla suddenly found herself thinking of those worlds. There were millions on those worlds who would have made a different decision today. Saving their own worlds would have come first over saving another. Just as saving the Lekk homeworld had been her first priority.
"The Doctor says I should be up in fifteen minutes. Where will I be able to find you?"
Tyla shrugged. "I guess I'll ask Captain Janeway if I can watch the neutron star binary explosion from the bridge."
"I would like that," he said. "Would you ask for me, also?"
"I'd be glad to." She patted his arm. "Now you rest until the Doctor tells you to move."
"Young woman," the Doctor said to Tyla, "I wish more of my patients were as smart as you."
"He's the smart one," she said, pointing at Maalot. "I'm just a soldier."
The Doctor only grunted and went back to work.
She moved out into the hall, and suddenly, for the first time in a while, she realized she was hungry. Maybe the strange man, Neelix, would be able to find her some food. She had time.
Or at least she thought she did.
"Captain Janeway to Lieutenant Tyla. Would you please report to the bridge?"
The question froze her in midstep. She glanced around, but couldn't see what to do.