Equinox - Diane Carey [17]
Oh, this was going to be some experience.
"Commander!"
Chakotay turned at the call and found Ensign Gilmore trying to catch up to him without breaking into a jog. He'd noticed that about all the Equinox people-
they were all nervous, all holding back, trying to appear aloof and at ease while none of them really were. He couldn't blame them. They were trying to fit in, and it wasn't unusual for people to try too hard. This kind of thing would take time.
And tolerance from such as him, of course. Phasers on tolerate, full power.
"I've been assigned to one of the repair crews on the Equinox," Gilmore said as she came to his side in the bustling corridor.
She looked very different than the first time he'd seen her. She was one of those people who cleaned up well. Her blond hair seemed longer now that it was washed, and thicker. Her cheekbones showed more without dirt smearing her face, and her large doll-like eyes had traded in fear for worry.
There were crew moving everywhere lately, everybody busy with work about the newly discovered Starfleet ship, and the Voyager was more crowded with the Equinox crew on board. It was great.
"I was wondering," Gilmore went on, "if I could join a different team. On Voyager."
"Problem?" Chakotay asked. With that one word he was insisting she behave like a Starfleet crew member, giving him an analysis of her reasons for such a request-even though he knew.
She smiled nervously. "Oh ... just a little posttrau-matic stress ..."
At least she admitted it.
"Bad memories," Chakotay understood.
"A few."
Now she was really pretending. Just a few?
"Actually," he offered, "I could use someone with your engineering abilities."
Genuinely relieved, Gilmore gave him an unencumbered smile. "Thanks."
They walked together in silence for a few paces, Chakotay hoping Gilmore would relax a little more, but maybe he was right the first time and that would be a longer process. They were all skittish. This was a big change.
"Clean ship," Gilmore seemed obliged to say.
"We do our best." He didn't pause to explain that keeping the ship clean was one of the ways they kept the crew busy during the long, long hours that composed the boring part of spacefaring, especially when the mission was just to go really far away. He didn't want her to feel as if her own existence until now had been too tragic to be worth anything-after all, she'd been somewhat busier on her own ship than just sweeping and polishing.
"I'm so used to dodging falling bulkheads," she said, "hopping over missing deck plates ..."
Chakotay nodded, hoping to distract her from dwelling on the cloying past. "In a few weeks, you won't even recognize the Equinox. You'll be happy to go back."
She pressed her lips in a doubtful smile, but she was troubled by that. "Unless I decide to stay on Voyager."
Was she joking? No, he didn't read that at all. The veil of humor was too thin.
"You said you could use someone with my engineer-
ing abilities," she tossed off. Perhaps she realized her first comment was inappropriate.
"I don't think your captain would appreciate that," Chakotay said, and he turned the corner toward the turbolift. "He's got a skeleton crew as it is."
Ouch-shouldn't have mentioned that! Not with the condition those bodies were in when they were discovered. Slip of the tongue. He hoped she didn't notice.
They still didn't know how the "enemy" killed or even what they were. What kind of attack could cause that desiccation? Chakotay wanted to ask her, had the feeling she knew, yet had promised himself he wouldn't push these shaken-up people. They deserved a rest, not an interrogation.
Why would she want to stay? He could empathize with the way she felt about being comfortable and safe after what she'd been through, but leave her ship? Her captain?
Without exploring the questions in his mind, he let her off the temporary hook and tapped the lift controls. The door slid open instantly. One to a customer, no waiting.
He strode in, turned-Gilmore