Flashback - Diane Carey [58]
"I hope so." Chakotay fought to keep any anxiety or anticipation out of his voice, just in case the results were no better than Kim expected.
They all peered at the harsh blue soup on the forward screen, and in a few moments could see the form of the cargo shuttle streaking toward them. Meteor-yes, it was coming toward them as if hit in the back end by a meteor. That's just about what it must have felt like, if they ignited on-board sirillium tanks.
"Keep those tractors ready, Mr. Carey. Don't let the readings fool you. Do it visually as much as you can."
"I intend to, sir."
"Sorry," Chakotay offered. Leaving behind his desires to direct the details, he crossed the bridge to
the upper deck and leaned over Kim's controls. "Mr. Kim? How're we doing?"
"Sir, in this turbulent inward current, I don't think we could bring the shuttle all the way around to the main bay. Not safely, anyway."
"You have another suggestion? The docking ports on the secondary hull, I'll bet."
"Yes, sir, and given the pattern of this current," Harry said, pausing for a moment to look at his screen, "I'd recommend the . . . port side."
"Okay, you're with me. Mr. Carey, you have the bridge."
"Aye, aye, sir."
"Bring that shuttle around to docking port four."
"Aye, sir. I'll try to have it there by the time you arrive."
"That would be above and beyond the call of duty, and now, of course, I'm holding you to it."
Carey tossed him a hopeful glance as he took the tactical post. "Easy for me to take credit, sir, when Harry did most of the-"
The lift doors closed on the end of Carey's sentence.
Riding the turbolift down to the secondary hull, Chakotay could almost swear he felt the clunk as the shuttle bumped up against the docking port and pressure was equalized. He knew he couldn't really feel it-in fact, the timing was wrong. The shuttle wouldn't even be alongside yet. But he kept imagining it over and over.
He looked at Harry Kim. "Worried?"
Kim's youthful face was stiff, but his eyes were tightly betraying what he was thinking. There really wasn't any right answer. If he was worried, that said he was concerned about his friends, but it also meant his confidence in the ship and the rescue methods was less than it should be.
"Tom and B'Elanna can handle an emergency, sir," he said ultimately, choosing his words very carefully. "But they didn't expect to be under fire. They didn't even have the shuttle's shields up."
"Why not?"
"The shields would've constantly tried to repel the energy currents. It would've been a much rougher ride, sir."
"Shields down . . . B'Elanna said she had a coolant leak in the cabin. If she didn't manage to get it locked down, we're not going to very much enjoy what we find when we open up that hatch."
"Sir," Kim said then, "what do you think happened to Kes? Why did she start firing the phasers? And what was all that about Klingons?"
"I don't know. But I intend to find out."
Finally the lift pressed to a stop and the doors flew open. Chakotay led the run down two corridors and through the small-engine maintenance bay to the docking port. Immediately he checked the panel.
"Docked," he said. "But not equalized yet. Another few seconds . . ."
Harry Kim stood on the other side of the en-tranceway, his arms at his sides as he tried not to
make any overt gestures that would give away his tension, but it was almost palpable.
Seconds were long and tedious until finally the green light flashed EQUALIZED.
The hatch hissed, and Kim lunged to open it, giving up on trying to appear unconcerned.
Putrid, acidic atmosphere gushed out at them and almost drove them back. Chakotay had to step back to suck a clean breath and hold it long enough to reach inside through the pink pall.
Instantly the sound of coughing led him and Kim to the two crewmen. Chakotay found B'Elanna first-she was trying to haul Paris out.
He waited until Kim grappled with Paris, then he dragged B'Elanna out and struggled with