Distant Shores - Marco Palmieri [10]
“Paris, can you steer us?” Janeway called, and then Tuvok looked and saw her on one knee, reaching for Chakotay’s armrest. The first officer was sprawled several meters away, just now beginning to rise.
“I’ll try,” Paris said as he gripped one edge of the helm, helping right himself. Hand over hand, he worked his way to the center and, without pausing to sit, looked at his board and then entered commands. The change in subliminal sound indicated he was cutting propulsion, and he heard a whine as the inertial stabilizers were attempting to right the ship.
“Watch out!” Paris’s sudden cry immediately caused Tuvok to grip his station and plant his feet, determined to ride out whatever came next. Despite the warning, the next mine exploded right over the bridge. It did not pierce the shielding, but the concussive force rattled the upper hull of the starship and people once more were bounced around, flotsam caught in a sudden wind. Holding himself in place, Tuvok could only watch as Janeway went tumbling forward, her head smacking into the helm, bouncing her backward and into Paris’s chair. Finally, she slumped to the ground.
“Captain!” Chakotay called to her, then crawled over to check her pulse.
Tuvok remained at his post, despite a desire to help his friend. Instead, he turned and ordered Seska to assist the first officer.
“Mr. Paris, keep us moving,” Chakotay called as he continued to check the captain’s vital signs.
“Bridge to sickbay,” Kim called. “Activate Emergency Medical Hologram.”
Within a second, a voice replied over the bridge speaker, “Please state the nature of the medical emergency. Oh. Where is everyone?”
“This is the bridge,” Kim replied. “We’re under fire and the captain’s unconscious. She’ll be brought down in a moment. Please stand by.”
“Understood.” And the hologram cut the signal.
“Smart move, Harry,” Paris, finally in his chair, called from the helm.
“Cut the chatter,” Chakotay snapped. “Seska, you and Lieutenant Baxter take the captain to sickbay.”
Tuvok knew that Janeway making Chakotay first officer made a great deal of sense to her, but he suspected even she had not imagined that he would be left in command during a potentially hostile situation so soon after coming aboard the ship. “Commander Chakotay, what are your orders?”
What were those first orders to be? Chakotay hadn’t counted on being left in command during a crisis this quickly. In the short time since moving aboard Voyager, he had barely had a chance to read up on the ship’s more state-of-the-art specs. He knew about the neural gel packs which altered the way the ship responded to commands, but little else. He also knew that how he comported himself during this crisis was how he was going to be perceived not only by Janeway’s people, but his own.
His next thoughts were interrupted by Tuvok’s firm voice.
“We need to leave the minefield as expeditiously as possible,” Tuvok said to Chakotay. The first officer narrowed his eyes, disapproving of being told what to do. He blinked and cleared the expression, surveyed the bridge, and then settled back in his chair, leaving Janeway’s empty.
“Status, people,” Chakotay called out, stalling his first order.
“Shields are stable,” Tuvok reported.
“Engines lost six percent efficiency,” Paris added. “Lieutenant Carey’s trying to compensate. Helm responsiveness is down; it’s how we hit that mine. Once off course, it was just a matter of time before we hit another.” Torres could have those repaired in a nanosecond, Chakotay mused.
“Tuvok, can phasers destroy the mines from a safe distance?” Chakotay asked.
“Unknown. Each detonation has shown consistent range and yield. However, a succession of such explosions may either increase the energy fallout in the vicinity or possibly trigger a larger chain reaction.”
“You mean they may all explode at once?” Kim’s voice took on the nervous timbre that Chakotay started to find irritating. Was he ever so young?
“It is one possibility,” Tuvok