Death of a Neutron Star - Eric Kotani [62]
"Excuse me," Tyla said. "I'm Lieutenant Tyla. How do I respond to the captain?"
The guy smiled and pointed at the wall. "Right there. Tap it once and speak. The computer will get it to the right place."
"Thank you."
She quickly tapped the button. "Lieutenant Tyla here. On my way."
"Thank you," Janeway said.
Tyla nodded and stepped back, almost bumping into the crew member who had stayed to make sure she didn't need any more help.
"Sorry," he said. "
"You know it isn't often many of us get called to the bridge."
Tyla smiled. "That's all right," she said. "I'm just a guest. There aren't many of you lucky enough to be on Voyager."
He nodded, clearly thinking about what she had said as she turned away and headed for the bridge at a fast walk.
She really did feel that any crew member of this wonderful craft was lucky. And if she didn't have so much information about the Qavok to take home, she would be tempted to ask to stay on board.
But not this time.
JANEWAY ENDED THE BRIEF CONVERSATION WITH LIEU-tenant Tyla and glanced around the bridge at her crew. They were all staring at her, the joy of surviving the Qavok attack suddenly forgotten after hearing her exchange with Seven.
Lieutenant Tyla entered the bridge, and Janeway motioned that she take a position next to Tuvok. Torres came in behind her by a few steps.
Good.
"Here's what I'm thinking," Janeway said. "I believe that in about sixteen to eighteen minutes the Xorm ship Gravity will send a warp core down at the binary, in an attempt to shift the neutron star onto a path through the Qavok home system."
"What?" Chakotay said.
Tyla looked suddenly ill.
"Is that possible?" the first officer asked.
Janeway nodded. "Seven did the initial math, but yes it is, using a standard warp core found on Xorm and Qavok ships."
"And you think they're carrying a second active warp core?" Chakotay asked.
"Actually," Janeway said, "this is only a suspicion. Lieutenant Tyla, what can you tell us about the Xorm? So far we've been taking them at face value."
Tyla shrugged. "There's not much to say. They have been at war with the Qavok for centuries, but over all of my lifetime, they have never actually fought. They both worked for my homeworld to join their side, and when we opted to stay neutral, the Qavok invaded."
"Do you think the Xorm are capable of doing such a terrible thing?"
Again Tyla only shrugged. "I would imagine that anything is possible. The Xorm are smarter than the Qavok, but less military. If the Qavok thought of a way to send the star into our homeworld, I'm sure the Xorm thought of a way of using it against the Qavok. That would solve their perennial Qavok issue permanently."
"All right," Janeway said, "so we can't rule out the possibility. I'm afraid we must progress under the assumption that they are going to try it."
"Captain, if you'll pardon me," Kim said, "but I'm still not following."
"Tom?" Janeway asked, turning to her pilot.
"Nobody in their right mind would stay in that low orbit for observation," Tom replied. "There's nothing they can get there that they can't get at a higher orbit. Therefore, it only makes sense to conclude that they wanted to-stay that close for reasons other than research."
Kim nodded. "Got it."
"B'Elanna," Janeway said, "any chance of weapons anytime soon?"
"Not for hours," she said, "Sorry."
"We'll just have to think of other options."
"Captain," Tuvok said. "The shuttle still has weapons capability."
"But no power?"
"Correct."
"Well, we still may be able to use those weapons. Get back down to the shuttlebay and stand by. Lieutenant Tyla, would you go with him?"
"Pleasure," she said.
"Okay, people," Janeway said, "red alert. Battle stations. I want everything ready if we need to move."