Ghost of a Chance - Mark Garland [98]
Paris was the first one through the entryway.
Janeway raised her light with his to scan the room. She could hardly believe her eyes.
The room was immense and filled to every corner with dozens of containers, large and small. But without opening a single one it was clear what most of them contained. Diagrams had been attached to the cartons, all of them depicting hardware and components, from EPS conduits and regulators and graviton generators to phaser emitters.
And in between the many stacks and rows of crates, on open pallets and protected by clear covering, there rested larger equipment meant for heavy excavation and assault. The Televek had come prepared for some serious digging and a no-contest perimeter defense.
"I can tell you right now," B'Elanna said, striding up to a short stack of crates, the end cap of an aisle formed by dozens of crates, all slightly larger. "We've got that EPS regulator we need, and about seven more, right here."
She laid her hand on one of the crates and seemed to trace the surface with her fingers, then she looked back at the others and smiled.
"They're a little different from ours," she added, turning again to the diagram on the crate's exterior, examining it more closely. "But I think this'll work."
"Janeway to Voyager. We're going to need an engineering team over here right away. We've got a big job for them."
B'Elanna started tapping at the nearest crate's keypad while the others headed into the stacks.
The rest of the away team, led by Lieutenant Carey, arrived moments later and went straight to work, cataloging first, opening crates when necessary, then reviewing the data they had collected with one of the two engineering officers. Six hours later Lieutenant Torres pronounced them finished.
Not only would the storeroom provide the EPS unit they needed to bring the phasers back, but one large crate held a precious bonus--a pair of warp-capable tactical probes roughly the size of Voyager's photon torpedoes. B'Elanna examined the find and decided that the entire guidance and instrument mechanism would have to be gutted, but the units could be converted to resupply Voyager's limited stores.
And there was more--a considerable collection of components and hand weapons, no doubt on both ships, all for the taking, but many of them would have served little purpose aboard Voyager, and it was not immediately clear what some of the others were for.
Moreover, Voyager's own storage capacity was severely limited.
In the end, choices had to be made. The second cruiser was largely left alone.
As Janeway sat in the captain's chair reviewing the final list of procurements, she found she had few complaints.
"That will be all for now," she said, adding a satisfied smile as she handed the PADD back to B'Elanna. She placed both palms flat on the arms of the chair and gazed at the main screen, which was filled with a view of Drenar Four and the stars beyond. "Prepare to get under way," she told the bridge crew.
"Are you planning to visit the Drenarians again before we leave?"
Chakotay asked from his own chair, just to Janeway's left.
"No," she said. "We've gone over the line as it is. I think the Prime Directive has been bludgeoned enough for now, current arguments notwithstanding."
"Of course, Captain," Chakotay said wryly.
Janeway looked at him. "Haven't we already had this conversation?"
"Several times," Paris remarked, eyes steady ahead.
"It remains a question that has no definitive answer," Tuvok said. "We cannot be sure how much of the Drenarians' current civilization is the result of the ghosts, or the being or beings who created the ghosts.
Therefore, one cannot truly say whether or not we acted irresponsibly when we attempted to avert their destruction."
"I have some idea," Janeway said, looking first at him, then at the others. They waited quietly for her to